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Teaching Toddlers Using a Deck of Cards

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I have a three year old daughter who, like nearly all kids this age, loves to learn. There are countless products out there that promise, and many surely deliver, important learning outcomes for an eager kid. As a new mom, I felt utterly overwhelmed by the choices before me in regards to items to buy. I felt pressured to buy and have the right gear. I fretted over buying the right food. I worried if I was preparing my child for school even though that was years away, and I am a seasoned classroom teacher for Heaven’s sake! Now that I have a few years of motherhood under my belt I have really tried to relax, both inwardly and outwardly, in regards to “preparing” my kids for the future.

Using a deck of cards was one way that I found that there are opportunities to teach kids all around us and they needn’t be expensive or purchased at a specialty store nor executed by an education professional.

I also have found that using a deck of cards is handy for those who don’t have kids. My friends and child care providers who don’t have kids (and thus untold numbers of toys at home) could use a deck of cards or simply apply the same mindset to any other learning opportunity. For example, I have only a faint idea of what the game “Dominoes” is about, but the next time I see a set at a yard sale I am snapping it up because I can imagine the fun matching, stacking, and sorting games we could play with the tiles.

Here are the “games” I play with my toddler that are educational and simple using a deck of cards. No, Texas Hold ‘Em won’t be on the list but as I mentioned, dear readers, we have lots of time ahead to prepare for the future.

Shapes

I started out showing my daughter the different shapes on the cards. Diamonds and hearts were easy of course and the spade shape brought about the opportunity to talk about gardening tools like spades and shovels. The club is a lot like a clover, and now my girl uses both words to describe the club.

Colors

You might be unimpressed as a deck typically has only two colors. Most decks have a variety of colors present on the face cards and knowing the colors paired with the numbers and suits presents appropriate and additional challenge to the “game” of playing with cards. Being able to say, “A red, heart, 2!” is actually a lot of information for a toddler.

Number Order

You can practice order number with just a handful of cards or the whole deck, depending on the age and ability of the toddler at hand. I started out by just pulling the 2,3,4 and 5 of one suit, “shuffling” them, and helping my toddler put them in number order. Build up to more number, add more suits, and practice in reverse order.

Matching

This isn’t quite a game, but I call it one and my daughter loves it. I give her the first two cards off the top and I get the next two. We look to see if any of the four cards showing match any of the others. Often they don’t. One of us draws a card from the deck. We see if that card matches the ones in our hands. Often they don’t. We take turns drawing cards (sometimes with me setting some aside if our hands get too full) until we draw a card that matches in number a card in our hand. Then there is lots of cheering because we found a match and that gets set on the table, face up. We repeat in this way, finding matches until we have four of everything or until she has tired of the game. As we find the third and fourth of each number, I can point out one that’s a heart, one that’s a spade, and so on. As I arrange the sets on the table, I try to arrange them in order so the aces and twos are on the left, and the face cards to the right.

Mix Up

My daughter named this Mix Up and the name stuck. She LOVES to mix the cards, face up, in a big mess on the table. Then, she draws whatever card she wants, and then looks for another like it either in suit, color, or number. It is kind of like a treasure hunt for her. I like to save “Mix Up” for the end of the card playing time because the mixing is more kinesthetic, and is more child-driven rather than Mommy-driven.

There are many variations you can feel confident in creating off of these activities. You don’t have to be a teacher, subscribe to a parenting magazine, or have your mother-in-law’s or neighbor’s or friend’s approval to create fun and free ways of teaching kids. What ways have you created learning opportunities for kids, Dear Reader? Tell me in the comment section below!

How to Create Wild Outdoor Arrangements: Barbed Wire Wreaths

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One of my favorite things it arranging plants in junk to make beautiful, funky, and welcoming additions to my home. I see the great outdoors as part of our living space and I love putting my resourcefulness and pruning shears to good use to decorate it.
  1. Find a base. This base item, organic or inorganic, is what you will tie, wire, or otherwise attach your plant matter to. These bases fall into two general categories:Fill Up/Vase-like OR Tie On/Wreath-like

Fill up containers are buckets, pails, boxes, wash basins, pitchers, cans, etc that may or may not be water-tight (I prefer mine not to be) and are suitable for living outside. A rummage through a barn, shed, lean-to, or attic may yield fantastic and free containers. One of my favorites was found on our property after we moved here. The old yellow Pennzoil can had been shot (for target practice, surely) dozens of times. The surface is like a giant cheese grater but is so bright, beat up, and fun, it is a perfect receptacle. Be creative and feel free to think outside my suggested list.

Tie on bases are a sturdy item onto which you can attach plants and then can attach to a fence or gate. Think of a wire wreath base and then go from there to the junkyard or the great outdoors. A manzanita branch (or any interesting limb for that matter), a round of old barbed wire, or a weathered piece of lightweight lumber are at the top of my list for tie on bases. Just bear in mind these items have to be propped up or connected someway to your display site so they can’t be too heavy.

2. Select your plants based on these 3 categories

  1. Color
  2. Texture
  3. Height

What you find in your backyard or roadside may vary greatly from what I can find in Northern California but I seek out evergreen limbs in various lengths, deciduous limbs growing moss, bushes with interesting leaves, and finally shorter, greener plants that may or may not dry outdoors well.

My go-to plant list includes:

Juniper

Pine limbs and cones

Cedar boughs

Oak limbs

Branches from various fruit trees like pear and apple

Oregon grape (which looks nothing like a grape vine and more like holly than anything)

Sweet pea vine

Wild rose (which has wicked thorns)

any green weed that looks like it might hold up well in a dried and wind-blown arrangement.

I choose those plants because grow near me for free,  can be cut to different heights/lengths, and grow in a variety of colors and textures.

Use those guidelines when foraging. I have made really pretty arrangements with just juniper and oregon grape because they dry well and they have different textures. Because this is going to be sitting outside in the elements, keep it simple.

3. Arrange. Generally, I go for a walk with my gloves, pruning shears, dog, and one or two children. I clip whatever strikes my fancy, trying to collect an armful of plants and then walk to the hanging site. So, if I am wiring weeds to a barbed wire wreath, I assemble the wreath at the gate where it will hang.

I have used a variety of materials to secure plants to wreaths in into buckets and I like wire. Because of my husband’s job, I happen to have a lot of wire scrap around, in handy lengths of about 3 feet. You do not need wire but it is pretty tough to beat for securing weightier branches. I have used baling twine, acrylic scrap yarn, fishing line, and leftover twine from packages all successfully. Be resourceful and you will be even more pleased with the frugality and beauty of your arrangement.

I like to start with the longest or tallest branches first and then arrange shorter in front or on top. I set a branch or two, and connect it to the bucket or wreath (or broomstick or weathered old two-by-four or whatever) with the wire or twine, and repeat. Filling a receptacle can be faster and easier than creating a wreath, but if you have adequate greenery, wreath making can be plenty quick. Most of my projects can be measured in the number of nap times they take for completion and this is a half a nap project.

One method to the madness is to alternate between plants. So for example, I might choose a tall oregon grape, then a tallish juniper branch, then a medium oregon grape, then a medium juniper and then finish with a short sprig of whatever green plant I liked, or just a short branch of oregon grape. It really can be that simple. I like to wire in a fall horn (a deer antler that is shed yearly) or a weird old piece of metal junk. My husband builds power lines, so I have all manner of metal numbers and shapes (like stars!) salvaged from old poles at my disposal. Be creative!

The last step is to hang or place your arrangement. This is actually pretty important because inevitably the wind will blow it about and you want this to last. In my case, I want it to last a month or more. Surely you didn’t think I rearrange weekly, did you Wildflowers? Simulate some wind or jostling and secure your arrangement.

Here are some ideas to get you started.

How to Clean Cloth Napkins

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Cleaning Cloth Napkins: How to Take the Funk Out of Kitchen Linens

Cloth napkins, potholders, aprons, and other kitchen linens eventually require a thorough cleaning to rid them of the rancid grease smell that lingers after many months of use. After switching to a high-efficiency washing machine that uses much less water but sometimes leaves a tiny bit of grease behind, I realized that I had to defunk my linens a bit more regularly than if I used a less efficient machine.

How To Clean Cloth Napkins

This post may contain affiliate links.

The most difficult part of this very simple process is accepting that you will have to repeat the process of boiling several times because one apron and a couple potholders (for example) is about all that will fit in a large stockpot.

Make sure the washing machine is empty (to soon receive piping hot linens), then fill a large stock pot with hot water, add a squirt of dish soap (I use plant-based soaps like Seventh Generation or Method) and add a generous ¼ cup of baking soda. Add a few cloth items at a time and be sure that water can flow all around the cloth. This is not the time to stuff the pot full- you want to be able to stir your cloth napkin soup easily to prevent scorching.

Bring the pot to a boil over high heat and stir occasionally. I found that boiling while I was cutting up the fixings for tacos was the perfect time to keep an eye on the pot while I was already tied to the cutting board nearby.

How to Clean Cloth Napkins

It is helpful for the first batch or two if you choose to add one particularly dirty, stained, or discolored item. This can help you determine if the batch needs to boil a bit longer or not. I had a discolored oven mitt that I kept my eye on and when it’s stain lifted significantly, I knew I was done. With this particular mitt, I poured vinegar directly on the mitt while it was still in the pot and vinegar did what vinegar does when it meets baking soda- it foamed and fizzed and helped release the stain so much so that this particular mitt is now part of the regular lineup rather than in the bottom of the drawer.

Turn the heat off and let the pot cool enough to safely pour much of the water out and then dump the very hot and wet contents into the washing machine.

Repeat this process until all your items have been boiled from 20-30 minutes. At this point, I ran my washing machine on a hot cycle with an extra rinse, a regular amount of laundry soap and vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser. Of course, most of those specifics were optional. Proceed with confidence if you happen to be out of vinegar or if you don’t have a super hot setting on your machine.

This post is really about a lot more than a good way to clean cloth napkins. By using cloth in the home (rather than disposable goods) you save money, time buying them, time from hauling out the trash, and it surely is better for Ol’ Mother Earth. Cloth napkins, aprons, and the like are a way to add class and sophistication to the table. I use cloth napkins every day, even if I am serving burgers purchased from the corner place in town and I never miss paper towels or napkins. More on that in another post, Wildflowers.

How to Clean Cloth Napkins

What disposables have you replaced in your home? Share in the comment section below, Wildflowers!

How to Make Easy Cheesecake Spread

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How to Make Easy Cheesecake Spread

This is another near-recipe that is fast, simple, and delicious. I use this sweetened cream cheese spread on graham crackers or apple slices for dessert. My kids love it and I love that it fills them up before bedtime and isn’t full of sugar. I usually make this in the evening after supper, then store the leftover in a wide-mouth canning jar (a pint is a plenty) in the refrigerator to be enjoyed the following day. I also have used this recipe spread on crescent rolls with jam for a fast and entirely inauthentic but husband-pleasing Danish. That recipe will be in another post, Wildflowers.

Ingredients:

One 8 ounce block of cream cheese, close to room temperature

⅓ to ½ cup powdered sugar (I find that a scant ½ cup is sufficiently sweet but I’m always trying to do a bit less)

1- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

about 1 tablespoon milk

Mix:

Add softened cream cheese to the mixer and begin mixing to soften. Of course, I rarely have thought ahead far enough for the cream cheese to actually be up to room temperature and this step makes the cheese much softer and helps it to incorporate the sugar.

Add the powdered sugar, and bring the mixer up to medium speed after the sugar has begun to be incorporated and the danger of powdered sugar cloud poof has passed.

Add the tablespoon of extract, mix, and scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula. At this point, the spread probably needs a tablespoon (give or take, depending on the desired consistency) of milk. Mix for a minute longer and serve.

How to Make Easy Cheesecake Spread

How to Create a Firestarter from 3 Often Wasted Items

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I am often looking for ways to put fewer items into the trash can and while dryer lint and egg cartons don’t take up much room, I prefer to look at the larger picture.  By reusing what I have already paid for, I gain something useful (firestarter) from something that would otherwise take up space in the landfill (dryer lint, egg cartons, and wax).
How to Create a Firestarter from 3 Often Wasted Items

I freely admit that the idea of scented candles and Scentsy burners are not inherently frugal and are indeed wasteful. I really like how they make my modest home smell inviting and clean when it sometimes isn’t and I am likely not alone in this feeling. Reducing waste is just as much a new way of thinking about old things as it is new ways of acting. To those dear readers who don’t get to enjoy a woodstove, think of this post as an exercise in thinking in new ways about old stuff.

How To:

Save the lint from a few dryer loads of laundry and stuff them into egg cartons. Then, carefully turn off the warm burner or blow out your candle. Pour (perhaps with a scrap of paper under your workspace) the warm wax onto the dryer lint, moving the candle or burner the way you might a bottle of salad dressing. You want the wax evenly distributed over the lint. I like to leave my burner upside down on the open carton for a moment, especially if I am changing “smells”.

I shared the process in a quick Periscope broadcast which I saved to my YouTube Channel. Check it out below!