The Messy Mama Brain Dump: June School 🦃 WEEK 4: November 24–28

 

The Messy Mama Brain Dump is a feature where I talk about anything and everything related to parenting, being a mom, and kids.

Every week I alternate between: Colors, ABC's, numbers/counting, animals, emotions/feelings, body parts, and shapes. 

I will TRY to post this every week, but we'll see how that goes. 

🦃 WEEK 4: November 24–28

(Short week — Thanksgiving week!)

Monday – Colors

Theme: “Thanksgiving Table”

DIY Thanksgiving Plates

Pie Color Sorter

Read The Crayons Give Thanks

Tuesday – Alphabet

Letter of the Day: D for Dinner

Make “D” dinner plates with paper and draw favorite foods on them.

Hunt for things that start with D: dog, dish, duck.

Have a pretend Thanksgiving feast

Wednesday – Emotions

Theme: “Gratitude Day”

Talk about what makes us feel thankful and loved.

Make a thankful jar together.

Read Thankful Thanksgiving

Thursday – Family/Feast Day (Thanksgiving)

🦃 Celebrate, relax, and snuggle!

Friday – Rest/Reflection Day

🍂 No structured lesson — talk about favorite parts of Thanksgiving week and draw them.

The Messy Mama Brain Dump: June School 🦔 WEEK 2: November 10–14

 

The Messy Mama Brain Dump is a feature where I talk about anything and everything related to parenting, being a mom, and kids.

Every week I alternate between: Colors, ABC's, numbers/counting, animals, emotions/feelings, body parts, and shapes. 

I will TRY to post this every week, but we'll see how that goes. 

🦔 WEEK 2: November 10–14

                             

Monday – Shapes

Theme: “Harvest Shapes”

Build barns, tractors, or turkeys out of shapes.

Sort different shapes into “field baskets.”

Go on a shape hunt around the house.

Tuesday – Alphabet

Letter of the Day: B for Barn

Make “B” with building blocks.

Paint or color a big red barn and trace the letter B on it.

Find things that start with B: ball, book, banana.

Read Barn in Fall by Chambrae Griffith

Wednesday – Body Parts

Theme: “Helping Hands”

Trace and decorate hands for a thankful tree.

Talk about what our hands do to help others.

Fingerplay: “This is the way we wash our hands.”

Thursday – Numbers

Theme: “Counting Pies”

Pretend bake mini “pies” with playdough.

Count the number of “ingredients” each one needs.

Do simple 1–5 or 1–10 counting songs.

Read You're My Little Cutie Pie by Nicola Edwards

Friday – Colors

Theme: “Brown, Tan, and Gold”

Mix paints to make brown.

Paint pinecones or leaves gold.

Color sort fall objects.

The Messy Mama Brain Dump: June School🍁 WEEK 1: November 3–7

 

The Messy Mama Brain Dump is a feature where I talk about anything and everything related to parenting, being a mom, and kids.

I wasn't sure if I should put this under mama brain dump or Schoolin' with my Homies. But ultimately I decided to do it under Messy Mama because this doesn't just apply to homeschooling parents, but also so they can learn before going to Pre-k.

Every week I alternate between: Colors, ABC's, numbers/counting, animals, emotions/feelings, body parts, and shapes. 

I will TRY to post this every week, but we'll see how that goes. 

Monday – Alphabet

Letter of the Day: A for Apple

Paint with apple halves to stamp big red “A”s.

Hunt around the house for things that start with “A” (apple, apron, animal).

Trace the letter A in cinnamon or sugar for a fall scent sensory twist.

Read "You're the Apple of My Pie" by Rose Rossner

Tuesday – Numbers

Theme: “Counting Corn”

Use dried corn kernels to count and scoop.

Make a corn cob craft with numbered kernels.

Play “How many?” while filling cups with spoons.

Wednesday – Colors

Theme: “Fall Rainbow”

Sort leaves by color (red, orange, yellow, brown).

Mix paint to match leaf shades.

Read Mouse’s First Fall and talk about colors in the pictures.

Read "The Colors of Fall" by Danna Smith

Thursday – Animals

Theme: “Turkey Friends”

Learn what turkeys say and what they eat.

Make a turkey handprint craft.

Pretend to be turkeys running from the farmer.

Read "How to Catch a Turkey" by Adam Wallace

Friday – Emotions

Theme: “Thankful Feelings”

Talk about what makes us feel happy, thankful, and loved.

Draw or paint things June is thankful for.

Read "Llama Llama Gives Thanks" by Anna Dewdney

The Messy Mama Brain Dump: Wintery Snack Ideas for Kids

 

The Messy Mama Brain Dump is a feature where I talk about anything and everything related to parenting, being a mom, and kids.

1. Snowman Popcorn Balls: 

Shape popcorn into snowmen and use pretzel sticks for arms. 

2. Reindeer Sandwiches: 

Use cookie cutters to shape sandwiches and add pretzel antlers. 

3. Marshmallow Snowmen: 

Float marshmallow snowmen in hot chocolate. 

4. Snowflake Tortilla Chips: 

Cut tortillas into snowflake shapes, bake them, and serve with salsa or guacamole. 

5. Peppermint Bark: 

Melt white chocolate, sprinkle crushed candy canes on top, and let it set. 

6. Polar Bear Paw Cookies: 

Use sugar cookies, white frosting, and chocolate chips to make cute paw prints. 

7. Frozen Banana Penguins: 

Dip banana halves in chocolate and decorate with candy eyes and beaks. 

8. Snowy Pretzel Sticks: 

Dip pretzel rods in white chocolate and sprinkle with white or blue sugar crystals.

9. Igloo Fruit Cups: 

Use mini marshmallows to create an igloo on top of a fruit cup. 

10. Frosty Fruit Pops: 

Blend yogurt and fruit, pour it into molds, and freeze for a refreshing treat. 

11. Winter Wonderland Trail Mix: 

Mix together popcorn, white chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows for a fun snack. 

12. Hot Chocolate Bombs: 

Fill chocolate spheres with cocoa mix and marshmallows, then drop them in hot milk. 

13. Snowy Cheese Balls: 

Roll cheese balls in shredded coconut to make them look like snowballs. 

14. Christmas Tree Veggie Platter: 

Arrange veggies in the shape of a Christmas tree and use a dip for the trunk.

The Messy Mama Brain Dump: Our Favorite Toddler Toys for 18-24 months

The Messy Mama Brain Dump is a feature where I talk about anything and everything related to parenting, being a mom, and kids.

Being a parent is hard, especially to a bored toddler. June outgrew all of her toys and was always bored if we weren't playing with her, so we had to get her all new toys and now she's rarely bored.

Here are some of the newest toys we got her that we absolutely love and think your toddlers will too.

Pretend play:

June is really big into pretend play right now. I love seeing her use her imagination and watch how much she actually knows what to do with the items. 

Kitchen: 

She got a kitchen for Christmas and some play food and kitchen accessories and she absolutely loves it. It doesn't have to be anything expensive or big, just something they can play with. 

Tea party:

She got a tea set for Christmas and adores it, it goes up there with the play food but this is a little more simple.

Baby dolls:

She loves babies. She has a bunch of them and she's getting to the age where she can play with accessories with them like pacifiers, bottles, etc. And she does. It's the cutest thing. 

Makeup:

She loves play makeup and she even has a little makeup vanity she plays with. She still likes anything that lights up or makes noise and the one she got is absolutely perfect. 

Doctor/dentist set:

Her favorite toy in her doctor set is the stethoscope, she likes to make the "bum bum bum bum" noise when she does it, but the one we got also comes with some dentist stuff. It's great for teaching body parts, showing what they do at the doctor and dentist, and hopefully helping her to feel at ease at the doctor.

Gnome Homes:

This one is the cutest I swear, it's different size mushrooms and gnomes, they have numbers and colors, and the dots on the top of the mushroom match the number on the bottom of the mushroom so she can associate the numbers with counting things. 

Dog:

June saw this on amazon months ago and wanted it from the moment she saw it. It's a cheaper kind of those fur real pet toys, it walks and barks and sings Bingo. Which can be obnoxious after the 100th time of hearing it, but she absolutely loves it. She treats it like a real dog and calls it over, brushes it, and kisses on it. Which is adorable. And it's really nice to be able to get her a cheaper version of a toy before spending a lot without knowing if she'll play with it.

Little People:

I haven't seen little people toys since I was little, I don't remember if Finn ever had any but if he did I don't remember. With that being said June is currently obsessed with Nightmare Before Christmas and when I saw NBC little people toys I knew I had to get them for her. We didn't get any kind of play set except the figurines and she loves them. They're great for her imagination and it's easier because it's characters she recognizes. 

Jack in the Box:

Speaking of NBC I got her a Jack Skellington Jack in the box and she does not get tired of this toy. It makes her jump every time but she always says AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN. 

Trains:

June loves all things that "go", cars, trains, etc. We got her some wooden dinosaur trains that magnetize together and she LOVES it. 

Animal tree:

We love this one because it teaches her about matching numbers and about animals. So we say "The sloth goes in number 10!" and if it's an animal that makes noise (Do sloths make noise? I don't know) then we do the noise with it. 

Aqua Art:

June is getting to the age she wants to color but it's still really messy. So this aqua art is perfect. Not only is the only mess it makes clear, because it's water, but you can paint them over and over and over again. 

Drums/Music:

Music is always good I think, June has loved making music since she was born. So for Christmas we got her not one but two drum sets. And she loves it. It keeps her busy for hours and I love seeing her musical capabilities grow. She also has a piano and a couple other musical items.

Elephant:

Finn had one of these as a toddler and loved it and June loves it just as much. She can play with it by herself and not hurt herself on it. The only downside is she likes to shove the wrong items in it and then she needs us to get them out.

Dream Machine:

This thing is the best. We got it for her for Christmas last year but she's really getting into it this year. We have so many stories for it and she knows how to play it all by herself. Again the only downside is that it has to be dark and that she needs help switching stories. She will usually watch the same story 10 times though before needing it to be changed.

The Messy Mama Brain Dump: Indoor Activities to Beat the Winter Blues

  

The Messy Mama Brain Dump is a feature where I talk about anything and everything related to parenting, being a mom, and kids.

My kids spend most of the time inside already to be honest, it's too hot during the summer and during the winter I just want to be inside. June is too little to go outside, Finn likes to go jump on his trampoline.

But what are some fun inside activities for an 11 year old and 2 year old that aren't electronics? Don't get me wrong, we love electronics in this household, between the movies, tv shows, and video games. But we don't want it all about electronics all the time right?

For the 11 year old..

Reading marathon: Pick a series of books and have a reading marathon with some comfy blankets and hot cocoa.

DIY crafts: Get creative with some fun crafts like making friendship bracelets, painting, or building models. Finn really likes to make stuff with clay.

Baking: Try out some new recipes and bake cookies or cupcakes together. We have so many cook books I would love to start cooking or baking more with him!

Board games or puzzles: Perfect for a cozy day inside. Choose a challenging puzzle or a favorite board game. We own about 600 board games as a family, so board games are always a good one for inside.

Indoor scavenger hunt: Create clues and hide items around the house for a fun scavenger hunt.

Science experiments: There are tons of simple science experiments you can do at home with household items.

Indoor camping: Set up a tent or make a fort in the living room and have a camping day with stories and snacks.

Art challenges: Have fun with art challenges, like drawing something in a limited time or using only certain colors.

Learning a new skill: Explore online tutorials for things like coding, magic tricks, or even a new language. Finn is working on learning the electric guitar and June is working on drums!

For the 2 year old...

Sensory bins: Fill a bin with rice, beans, or sand and add small toys for them to explore.

Building blocks: Let them build towers and other structures with blocks.

Playdough: Let them mold and create with playdough.

Puzzles: Simple puzzles can be both fun and educational.

Coloring books: Grab some crayons and let them color in their favorite books.

Bubble play: Blow bubbles and let them chase and pop them around the room.

Dress-up time: Use costumes or old clothes for some imaginative play.

Musical instruments: Let them explore simple instruments like tambourines or maracas.

Storytime with puppets: Use puppets to tell stories and engage their imagination.

Water Play in the Sink: Fill the sink with a little water and let them play with cups, spoons, and small toys.

Color Sorting with Pom Poms: Get some colorful pom poms and have them sort them by color into different containers.

Indoor Bowling: Set up some plastic bottles as pins and use a soft ball to knock them down.

DIY Cardboard Box Car: Turn a cardboard box into a car and let them "drive" it around the living room.

Shadow Play with a Flashlight: Turn off the lights and use a flashlight to create shadows on the wall, letting them make shapes with their hands.

To do together?

Storytime: Read their favorite books together.

Finger painting: Set up a space for some messy, creative fun with finger paints.

Indoor obstacle course: Use pillows, chairs, and blankets to create a fun obstacle course.

Dance party: Play some music and have a mini dance party.

Balloon games: Blow up a balloon and have fun keeping it in the air.

What indoor activities do you do with your kiddos to beat the winter blues?

The Messy Mama Brain Dump: Toddler Youtube- Christian and Secular

 

The Messy Mama Brain Dump is a feature where I talk about anything and everything related to parenting, being a mom, and kids.

Youtubers for June we love and why.

I'm not ashamed to say we let June watch Youtube a lot of the day, it keeps her busy so I can get stuff done and it really is helping her learn. So here are the Youtubers she watches through out the day.

First I'll do regular videos and then after that I'll do Christian videos, just in case you don't want Christian ones. 

It's CeCe is educational, entertaining, and full of bright colors. It holds her attention and helps her to learn.

We love Super Simple Songs because it's just like it says, it's simple, fun, short, educational songs.

Paisley's Corner and Silly Miss Lily are June's current favorites. She will sit and watch Silly Miss Lily for hours, she is fun, she teaches sign language, she teaches pretend play, and she also has a lot of the same songs as Ms. Rachel.

Ms. Rachel is a classic, obviously. Just like Silly Miss Lily Ms. Rachel teaches signs, colors, foods, songs, words, and more. 

Toora Roo teaches a lot of music and songs and keeps June very entertained.

Jack Hartmann is mostly short songs but it's all teaching, from sign language, to colors, to letters, to math, it's great even for above toddlers and we love it. It holds her attention because it's short songs and me and Finn have even learned signs from him.

Bright educational videos that teach while entertaining.

We love MyGo because it's shows and it has someone doing signs while the characters are talking, it's great to be able to see signs in conversation while being entertained. 

Laurie Berkner is just fun music and songs but she also sings while reading books which is a lot of fun.

Christian videos

A fun and cute way to learn about Christ and God

This one isn't our favorite, but we still love it because it is still educational and Christ centered

I love this one because it tells us stories from the Bible.

We love music especially worship music.

These ones are a little more old fashioned hymns, but I think they're also important. And June seems to love it.

Honestly who doesn't love Veggie Tales.

This is one of our all time favorites, it teaches about the earth, animals, nature, how to take care of yourself, and all kinds of other stuff and is completely Christ centered. They sing, they pray, they teach. We love it.

The Messy Mama Brain Dump: An Introduction

 

The Messy Mama Brain Dump is a feature where I talk about anything and everything related to parenting, being a mom, and kids.

Hey y'all! I decided I wanted to start posting about parenting stuff, I don't know how many posts I'll have but I can think of at least 5 I want to do, so here we are! I just wanted somewhere I can just rant, talk about, joke about, make recommendations, etc for parents. 

I'm not a perfect mom, I don't have all the answers, and of course my opinions are all my own. This isn't a place for me to shame other parents, it's just a place for me. 

So a little about me just in case you're new here.

My name is Ash, I have 4 kids total. I have two here on earth and two in Heaven.

Finnlan James is my oldest, he's my sunshine baby and he's about to be 11 in August, for those of you that have been around for a while, I know you're saying 11 already!? And YES SAME. He is going into "6th" grade, we homeschool and he does school stuff from many different grades. He wants to be a marine biologist or paleontologist when he grows up and he loves video games, reading, watching movies with us, playing board games, painting, making stuff with clay, and just being an awesome big brother.

**Trigger warning for the next two babies as they are angel babies and I mention miscarriages**

Greyson Nathaniel is my next oldest, he is one of my angel babies. I lost him in December of 2018 when he was 15 weeks old I had a missed miscarriage. We associate buffalo plaid, bears (Teddy and brown/grizzly), red and black, and the song My Wish by Rascal Flatts with him.

Henry Oliver is next and he is unfortunately also an angel baby, I lost him in July 2019 at 15 weeks gestation as well. We associate fir and evergreen trees, foxes, the colors orange and green, and the song A Million Dreams by P!nk (From The Greatest Showman) with him.

We unfortunately don't know why we lost the boys, they were perfect and healthy and everything about the pregnancy was healthy. We think it's because of my PCOS but we really don't know.

**End trigger warning**

Juniper Hensley Grace is our youngest and our rainbow baby and she is about to be 14 months on July 1st. Hensley is after Henry and Grace is after Greyson. We adopted her from my cousin as soon as she was born, she's always been with us and we officially adopted her in April of this year.

She loves Ms. Rachel, Silly Miss Lily, and Bluey are her favorites, she talks all the time, she's working on walking, and she knows a ton of signs.

With this feature I will be posting sign language that she's learning, youtubers we love, food ideas, etc. Just all kinds of messy mama brain dumps.