My granddaughter is 3 years old and loves to dress up as a princess. This month we chose Snow White from Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs because I think of apples in the fall. Also, her dress has red and yellow; the fall colors remind me of September.
Princess Snow White is a sweet, loving, empathetic, positive, compassionate 14 year old girl from German. Her sidekicks are the seven Dwarfs; Sneezy, Bashful, Sleepy, Happy, Grumpy, Doc and Dopey.
Snow White quote: “I’m sure I’ll get along somehow. Everything’s going to be alright”
Proverbs 31:25 states, “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”
We visited a local apple orchard today, so we took along her outfit. She wore her Snow White dress, her shoes are the black flats with a bow, and her earrings are from a multi color pack. The red bow in her hair came from a colorful bow pack. I used the wooden brown basket to put her apples in.
Here are some more of my toddler and preschool photoshoots:
The girls each had a similar writing paper for the letter A. My 3 year old had a capital A and lowercase a with tracing arrows, along with an alligator to color. The 5 year old had the same paper, but added a short poem and more tracing A’s and a’s on the bottom. I found both of these in the A is for Alligator, Apple, Astronaut Teachers Pay Teachers pack.
A is for Alligator Craft
I printed this A is for Alligator Craft onto cardstock for the girls to paint. I cut out the capital A for them to paint green. After is dried they glued it to a piece of blue construction paper. Then I cut out the teeth and eyes for them to glue on.
Alligator Pie
We read the poem by Dennis Lee:
Alligator pie, Alligator pie… If I don’t get some… I think I’m gonna cry! Give away the green grass, Give away the sky, But don’t you give away my Alligator pie!
We made vanilla pudding and dyed it green, then we folded in 8 ounces of cool whip, and placed this in a graham pie crust. Refrigerate it for a couple of hours, then enjoy!
Each of the girls got to choose a number to place on their side of the board, then they placed the same amount of buttons to match their number. After they did this, we talked about it together to figure out if we should use the “greater than” or the “less than” alligator.
Alligator Crawl
The girls didn’t get to do the Alligator Crawl today, but they liked the idea. One of them had a stomachache today and the other had a nasty fall and scraped up her elbow the day before. We will probably try it in a few days when they are all healed up!
She had this little alligator finger puppet craft in her Abeka Arts and Craft with Amber Lamb book. You just color, cut, and tape. She is growling like an alligator in this picture!
Alligator Color Match
I printed out the Alligator Color Match game, and the girls helped me cut them out. I laminated them and the cut them again. Then we turned them all upside down and took turns flipping to try to find matching colors. They enjoyed this game, but had a hard time when the other girl found their favorite color.
Alligator Swamp
I took a big, clear, shallow, empty tub outside with the kids. I asked them what was in a swamp. First they said water, so I added some water to the tub. Next they said grass and leaves, so they all gathered some grass. And last they said that a swamp has mud, so we added a couple small shovels of dirt. I added some foam hand soap to make it bubbly, and last they put in their Schleich Alligators and Fisher Price Little People Alligators. They loved this sensory tub and played in it for quite a while, and one of them got all wet!
Whenever I start teaching my toddlers their shapes, I start with one shape and then add another once they have mastered the first one. I keep adding shapes while always review the shapes that they have mastered. We use videos, books, flashcards, and coloring pages. I keep adding shapes until they know circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, diamond, star, heart, and crescent.
Shapes Songs
Here is my Shape YouTube List that we watch when one of my toddlers is learning their shapes. The list starts out by reviewing songs and then teaching each shape individually near the bottom of the list. Songs for each shape; circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, diamond, star, heart, and crescent.
Whenever I start teaching my toddlers their colors, I start with one color and then add another once they have mastered the first one. I keep adding colors while always review the colors that they have mastered. We use videos, books, flashcards, and coloring pages. I keep adding colors until they know red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black, white, and gray.
Colors Songs
Here is my Color YouTube List that we watch when one of my toddlers is learning their colors. The list starts out by teaching each color individually and then has review songs near the bottom of the list. This list has Color Blocks songs, Frog Street songs, and The Good and the Beautiful songs for each color; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black, white, and gray.
We visited our first national park this weekend. We camped at Indiana Dunes National Park on the southern part of Lake Michigan. The younger girls got a Junior Ranger National Park Passport Book to put their stamps in. They also completed the Indiana Dunes Junior Ranger program and received their Junior Ranger Badges. The older boys enjoyed cooking over a campfire and hiking up the dunes.
We planed our visit to see all of the things that interested us and also the locations that were mentioned in the Indiana Dunes Junior Ranger activity guide. We read and filled out page 3 at home, we found the mission of the National Park Service online. We used this Great Lakes Map to fill out page 4 of the activity guide. On page 6, we looked up some of the Indiana Dunes Animals to figure out what the Potawatomi would have hunted. We had a little trouble on page 10 identifying the animals with their prints, so we got a little help from the big brothers! We talked about page 15 and answered the questions, then we filled out the last page as well, so we wouldn’t have so much to do at the campsite.
We arrived Saturday afternoon and stopped at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center to pay the $25 for our stay (this pass is good for a week). You can also pick up your Junior Ranger activity guide there if you didn’t print it out ahead of time. After this we went to visit Bailly Homestead and Chellberg Farm near the Visitor Center. Bailly Homestead was under construction when we visited, but we could see the house a bit from the road. You can hike a quarter of a mile between the 2 places as well. After we visited here, we filled out the bottom of page 6 in Junior Ranger activity guide. Next we went to Dunewood Campground to set up our campsite for the weekend (read more about this below).
On Sunday morning we went hiking while it was still cooler out. We decided to hike the 3 Dune Challenge in the State Park at the Nature Center (we learned that we had to pay an additional park fee to enter though). You can read more about our 3 Dune Challenge experience below. As we hiked we tried to use all of our senses, then we filled out the bottom of page 12 in Junior Ranger activity guide. A short distance from the Nature Center we followed the Great Marsh Trail where we saw Bull Frogs and a Great Blue Heron. We were able to complete page 10 in Junior Ranger activity guide after this trail.
Sunday afternoon we wanted to go to the beach for the warmer weather. We tried to visit Dunbar Beach or Lake View Beach because it was closer to the Lake View Pavilion that we needed to visit for page 4 of our Junior Ranger activity guide. Unfortunately, there was no parking anywhere along the beach here, so we had to travel farther to West Beach and try to visit the Lake View Pavilion in the morning. At West Beach we didn’t see everything on page 8 in the Junior Ranger activity guide, but we saw a couple of them. We saw the toad, marsh grass, and Herring Gull; we also saw a tiny dead fish that had washed up on the beach (the girls had fun observing it).
Monday morning we stopped by Lake View Pavilion before heading back to the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center to fill out the last pages (page 10 and 12) of our Junior Ranger activity guide. After the guide was completed, the Park Ranger helped the girls say the Junior Ranger Oath, and then she gave them each a badge. Then they got to stamp their Junior Ranger National Park Passport Books. We also bought a couple of the 3 Dunes Challenge t-shirts in the gift shop.
Dunewood Campground
The only campsite in Indiana Dunes National Park is Dunewood Campground. The girls brought play kitchen toys to use in the sand, and the had a blast getting filthy! The boys brought their cast iron camp skillet to make pancakes for breakfast and quesadillas for dinner (be sure to bring your own firewood). We also had the traditional hotdogs and s’mores! We set up our CAMPROS tent and Kijaro Camping Chairs. The girls liked using our LED lanterns once it got dark.
3 Dunes Challenge
The boys favorite part of the trip with the dune hiking; my 15 year old said that he would like to do it again some time. We wanted to climb The 3 Dune Challenge in the morning while it was still cooler out. The girls enjoyed this too, and discovered that climbing up the sand dunes was easier for them without their shoes on. The rest of us had piles of sand in our tennis shoes by the top of the first dune, except for one of my sons who wore his hiking boots… no sand in those!
The 3 Dune Challenge is a loop if you start at the Nature Center. We just followed Trail 8 until the top of the last dune, then we switched to trail 4. The first dune is Mt. Jackson, 176 feet with a 31 degree slope angle. I really felt it in my calf muscles but it helped to stop about three fourths of the way up for a rest. The next dune was Mt. Holden, 184 feet high with 34 degree slope angle. This one made my hamstrings burn, but again I took a short rest about three fourths up that really helped me. (I saw several families with small children and fantastical mommies with babies riding on their bellies during this hike!) My teenage boys and small girls just went right on up without stopping for rests. The last dune was Mt. Tom. This one had soooooo many stairs! And again, I stopped to rest halfway up. Mt. Tom is 192 feet with a 43 degree slope.
Great Marsh Trail
A short distance from the Nature Center we followed the Great Marsh Trail, which is just about a half hour walk. You can see herons and cranes sometimes, we ended up spotting Bull Frogs and a Great Blue Heron which was amazing.
West Beach on Lake Michigan
The beach was the girls favorite part of the trip, they would have stayed there all day but the boys are usually done with the beach after about an hour. One of the boys didn’t even wear shorts to the beach, so he sat on the towel and dug the deepest hole every… to his elbow! The little girls brought their toy kitchen dishes to the beach and kept collecting little white feathers. They also found and tiny dead fish that wash ashore that they observed until I had the boys throw it back.
My granddaughter is 3 years old and loves to dress up as a princess. This month we chose Aurora from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty because I think of roses in late summer. Also, her dress is pink reminding me of August roses.
Princess Aurora is a loving, hopeful, joyful, graceful, imaginative 16 year old girl from medieval France. Her sidekicks are Flora, Fauna, Merryweather the good fairies.
Aurora quote: “They say if you dream a thing more than once, it’s sure to come true.”
Zephaniah 3:17 states, “The Lord your God is in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
I curled her hair with 3/4 inch curling iron while she played on her new fire kids tablet to keep her busy. She has never had her hair cut, so this was quite the process.
She loves to be barefooted, so we decided not to wear shoes for this shoot.
After we took pictures with the front of the wedding dress, I twisted the purple backing around for a couple of pictures.
When she took her dress off, she wanted to try on the wedding dress. It was so big on her, I had to clip the back.
Here is a picture of me in the wedding dress on our wedding day, and a picture of her when she was 2 weeks old, and last is a picture when she is 5 years old.
Since we have taking Disney Princess Photos of her since she has been born, we decided to have a Princess party this year.
Princess Invitation
I hung up all of her princess dresses on a line and then put a galvanized tub in front. Then she dressed in her Ariel outfit and sat in the tub for the picture. Then I added the party information to the picture and gave it to her friends.
Princess Dress
We had part of her party at the local splash pad, so she just wore her swimsuit. At home she wore her outerspace dress that she found a a local resale shop and just HAD TO HAVE! I did get this “My Favorite Princess Calls Me Dad” shirt for her dad to wear.
Princess Decorations
Princess Pom Poms
I printed out 8×10 pictures of the princesses and found matching color of tulle and ribbons. I used 8 feet of tulle and then folded it into 3 foot sections. Then I used the ribbon to tie in the middle and cut the folded ends to be open. I laminated the princess pictures and punched a hole at her waist. Then pushed half of the tulle dress through. I spread the tulle starting at the bottom layer and then used glue dots to hold the dress tightly against the laminate. Then I used the ribbon that was tided around the middle to tie a bow and used another glue dot to hold it in place too. I used fishing line to hang them.
I made 12 Disney princesses; Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, Pocahontas, Belle, Elsa, Rapunzel, Jasmine, Tiana, Mulan, Moana, and Ariel.
At the splash pad we hung them on the fence between the banner pieces, I was very happy with how they turned out.
Photo Banner
Since she has dressed up as a Disney princess every month for 5 years, I just printed out a 5×7 from each photo session. I folded the top half of the black cardstock to form 8.5×8.5 square. I used double sided tape to attach the photos to white cardstock and then to the black cardstock . I attached a thick ribbon behind the folded cardstock and used glue dots to hold it in place. Then I attached large safety pins to each end of the ribbon.
We attached them to the fencing with the safety pins.
I love making theme foods for my family. I make cupcakes for each princess and I also made another dinner food for each princess; including entrees, sides, drinks, and desserts.
Princess Cupcakes
I made 2 boxes of chocolate cake mixes and 2 boxes of vanilla cake mixes, then I baked them in colored baking cups.
Here is my buttercream recpie:
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup Crisco
4 cups powdered sugar (2 lbs)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon milk (if thick)
Directions:
Cream together the butter and Crisco with a mixer.
Slowly add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time.
Add the vanilla, if it seems too thick you can add a bit of milk.
I used food coloring to make the different colors of icing for each princess, then I used the Wilton 2D tip to make the ruffle looking dresses for them.
I printed out smaller versions of the princesses and attached toothpicks to them. I stuck these into the cupcakes to look like princess dresses.
Drain and add a jar of alfredo sauce. I add some water the the jar and shake it to get more of the sauce out of the jar. (We have tried many of the jar alfredo sauces and the Bertolii is my family’s favorite.)
Rapunzel’s Braided Garlic Bread
Ingredients:
1/4 Cup warm water
1 TBS sugar
2 1/2 teas active dry yeast
3 Cup flour
1 Cup hot water
1 teas salt
4 TBS melted butter
1/2 teas garlic salt
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
Directions:
Make a double batch and use half for Belle’s Pepperoni Roses.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare 2 baking sheets.
Combine 1/4 cup warm water and sugar. Sprinkle yeast on the top and let it set for 10 minutes.
Mix in 2 cups flour, salt, and the h0t water on low.
Slowly add 1 cup flour and mix until dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides.
Dump dough on flour surface and cup into fourths. Cut each piece into fourths again so that you have 16 pieces.
Roll each piece into an 8 inch rope and then braid 3 of them together and place on a baking sheet.
Let sit for 10 minutes while you mix melted butter and garlic salt.
Brush butter on the bread and bake for 12 minutes.
When the bread comes out brush more butter on it and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Belle’s Pepperoni Roses
Ingredients:
Pizza Dough (I used the same dough that I made Rapunzel’s Braided Garlic Bread)
1 jar of Pizza Sauce
Pepperoni
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and prepare a muffin tin by lightly greasing them.
Roll out your dough about 8 inches long and cut into 2 inch strips.
Spread a thin layer of pizza sauce along each strip, leaving and edge along one side.
Spread pepperoni slices along one long side of each strip with the pepperoni hanging off the dough.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Roll dough carefully longwise and place them into the muffin tin.
Bake for 15 minutes and allow to cool before you serve.
Orange Chicken (to add some protein to our meal)
Ingredients:
3 lbs Chicken Tenderloins
1/2 Cup Orange Marmalade
1/2 Cup Honey BBQ Sauce
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
Directions:
Place the chicken in a crock pot on high for 3 hours.
Mix other ingredients in a small bowl.
Drain the liquid from the chicken and cut into 1 inch pieces.
Place the chicken and sauce in the crock pot on low for another 30 minutes.
My beautiful daughter has dressed up as a Disney princess every month for 5 years. When I was pregnant with her, I strategically decided which princess I would photograph each month for the next 5 years. I also started collecting second hand props.
Every August 17, she dressed as Sleeping Beauty (2020-2024).
Every September 17, she dressed as Snow White (2020-2024).
Every October 17, she dressed as Cinderella (2020-2024).
Every November 17, she dressed as Pocahontas (2020-2024).
Every December 17, she dressed as Belle (2020-2024).
Every January 17, she dressed as Elsa (2021-2025).
Every February 17, she dressed as Rapunzel (2021-2025).
Every March 17, she dressed as Jasmine (2021-2025).
My granddaughter is 3 years old and loves to dress up as a princess. This month we chose Ariel from Disney’s The Little Mermaid because I think of the ocean for summer. Also, her fins are teal like the July ocean.
Princess Ariel is an spirited, curious, confident, driven, and fierce 16 year old girl from Atlantica. Her sidekick is Flounder the tropical angel fish.
Ariel quote: “Have you ever seen anything so wonderful in your entire life?”
Isaiah 46:4 states, “Even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.”
We went to play at a local beach for the day. We brought some seashells and a fork to play with in the sand. She also brought her Flounder Plush. She wore an Ariel swimsuit that was given to her last year. I put her hair into a pony tail with a big red bow to match Ariel’s red hair.
Her are some more of my toddler and preschool photoshoots:
