Holiday Toy List

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Halloween Goodies

Here is my annual preschool Halloween books and movies post!  Some repeats here as they are always good classics!  I always buy 1-2 additional Halloween books every year, I just love this season.  And we are all ready for that Fall season with Pumpkin spiced everything and cooler weather!


BOOKS:

1) For babies and toddlers Five Little Pumpkins ($5.39) 

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.  The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late."Get ready for some wicked fun as these five pumpkins run and roll! My children have loved this sweet rhyming book the past few years and love that it's a board book.

2) For Preschoolers:
Little Critter: Happy Halloween, Little Critter!  ($6.29)
My preschooler loves this book!  It has lift the flaps in it too and she loves all of the different halloween characters.

3) We love the If You Give A Mouse book series, and haven't read this one yet, but plan on ordering it!  My preschooler and toddler will love reading this one.

It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse! (If You Give...)  ($6.12 Board Book) The mouse decorates all of the pumpkins in the pumpkin patch with different faces.

4) For all ages:
The Hallo-wiener ($5.71)

This one is close to our hearts because we have a little Dachshund at our home and tells a great Halloween story, kind of like the Ugly Duckling.


5) There is the always popular : Haunted Clubhouse (Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) (6.29$) 

6) We love the 'night before' series and especially their  The Night before Halloween ($3.59)
'Twas the night before Halloween, and all through the house, All the creatures were stirring, except for the mouse. The monsters had gathered to plan and prepare, For the trick-or-treaters who soon would be there?."

7) Doc McStuffins Boo to You!   (7$) This one is a touch and feel book and my 4 and 2 year old love this episode on TV and also enjoy this book too! And it's a great board book to take in the car and not worry about it getting torn up.

8) And one more for the preschool and school aged kids: Room on the Broom (6.29$). We love this book at our house and there is an App on the iPhone too that's super fun and cute.  

The witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch's hat, then her bow, and then her wand!  Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items, and all they want in return is a ride on the broom.  But is there room on the broom for so many friends?  And when disaster strikes, will they be able to save the witch from a hungry dragon?

TV Shows and Movies

Halloween season isn't complete until they've seen a few Halloween cartoon specials and movies. Don't forget to DVR some of the ones coming up for free, and the Disney Jr episodes like the Halloween Doc McStuffins.

1)Spookley the Square Pumpkin  ($9.98) About a square pumpkin who is different and feels left out, but then saves the day after a storm hits the pumpkin patch!

2) The All-Time Classic!  Look for this one on TV and DVR it, if not order it here: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Remastered Deluxe Edition) ($10.99)

 

3) This one I haven't seen yet, but looks really cute!
Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest ($9.96)

4) Thomas Halloween. Need I say more if you have a preschooler who loves trains?
Thomas & Friends: Halloween Adventures (free for Amazon prime streaming, or $9.99)

6) And for the older child, like an Alice in Wonderland Halloween adventure (but mostly for kids 10 and up)
Coraline ($6.99)

 

So there you have it. My picks for your little ones this Halloween.  Have fun getting in the spirit and Happy Halloween!

Age of Innocence

I sat and watched Mr. Rogers with my toddler this morning, and it brought back so many memories of my childhood.  I used to LOVE that show and still to this day, whenever I think of how crayons are made, or where milk comes from, I think back on the 'how to' videos he used to show. Do you remember those??

But I digress, so what I started remembering was how at the beginning of every episode, I would try to guess which colored sweater he would choose from his closet.  Ha, that was one of the highlights of my day! Wondering what color he would choose.  If only my life now was that simple!  Watching Mr. Rogers, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, taking a nap and playing OUTSIDE. Preschool is such an innocent age.

For the majority of little kids out there, there isn't much worry.

With all of the drama on TV lately (especially here in Dallas), I realized how innocent young children really are and how much of this cruel world they have not gotten to know yet.  As I was getting dressed this morning, I signed a big 'ugh' as I tried on my jeans and my post pregnancy tummy looked bigger than I remembered.  I started thinking how my preschoolers don't know what 'fat' means.  They think everyone is beautiful (and they are gosh darn it) but you know what I mean.

My preschoolers have no idea what plastic surgery is.  They think yellow pants and an orange and dark mustard yellow flower shirt goes together along with their red bow and are fully confident in going to school in that outfit.

Preschoolers are okay with passing gas in public and talking about their 'vaginas' to complete strangers.

They are okay with giving random strangers hugs and so TRUSTING.

But on a darker note, they have no idea that planes crash, that there is a deadly virus called Ebola, that people can kidnap them and do cruel things.  They think everything is sunshine and roses.

When I turn around and see my little girls crying because one of them isn't sharing, I cringe at the thought that it is all they are worrying about today, meanwhile mommy watches that Isis crisis on TV at night.

I have no advice here or real great insight, but I just love seeing their little innocent cuteness.  I sometimes want to shelter them and have them finger paint and dig for worms all day.  Is that so bad?

Pre K School Woes

Sorry about not posting anything in awhile. I was really enjoying my free time with my girls over the summer and was being super lazy.  I loved waking up in the morning and having nothing planned.  No rushing to be at school or a class, because for those that know, getting out the door on time with 2 preschoolers is a task for an army team! I loved that we were free to go and do whatever we wanted this Summer. Visiting the library, going to indoor play areas, play dates, swimming pools, kid movies, etc.

And now?  Geesh, where do I start? If I didn't have time to shower before, now I have no idea where I find the time.  I know, a little TMI, but my life is now a race ever since school started.

Which has made me really think about, or should I say 'dreading' the whole 5 day a week PreK programs that many schools are doing including mine. Yes, I know children need the educational and social stimulation of preschool, not to mention that moms need a break to go to the grocery store alone without toddlers screaming.

But with my first born going to a school that only has a 5 day a week option, I am having major mom mourning.  Like I am sending my child off to Kinder a year early!  As a stay at home mom family, we have made sacrifices so that I can stay at home with my girls and spend the first years before Kindergarten with them.  Seriously, they are 4 years old, why do they need to go 5 days?

Yes, I know, seasoned moms have told me that they need 5 days, because Kindergarten is crazy busy and exhausting.  That kids will get home at 3pm and crash in bed by 6pm, so if they go 4-5 days a week for PreK, it is easier for them to prepare.

So it's been 1 month now and my child is definitely exhausted. She cries when she wakes up, whines on the way home and before bed? Let's just say she is going to bed at 7pm which is early for her. By Friday, the poor girl is so tired she takes a nap during 'rest' time and also naps on the weekends to catch up.  She LOVES her school and wants to go every day, but a part of me is really having a hard time with it. Sigh.

I am planning to take her out one day a week, sometimes with her sister so we can all be together and other days when her sister is in school so we can have some 'alone' time.  My daughter is having a major jealousy issue now with her baby sister too, like saying "I want her to go back into your tummy!" So, let's just say spending one on one with her while I still can is important to me- before she is considered truant in Kinder :)