We are finally getting around to cleaning the garage, and while doing so I stumbled upon half a dozen bars of goat’s milk soap. My girls knew what that would mean right away – felted soap! :)



I love this project, particularly with my little ones. I have blogged about it before. It takes minimal time & set up (this was a wonderful mid-morning project for us today). Bonus the kids can make a soapy mess – where they are cleaner than they were when they started. :)

Materials are simple: wool roving in various colors, bars of soap, some bubble wrap, and some hot water (as hot as you can stand to touch). There are two ways to approach it. My 3.5 year old likes to soak the wool in the hot water and drape it over the soap. I find wetting the soap and getting the bubble wrap soapy wet works best. Then I drape the dry wool around the soap, and rub the bar all over with the soapy bubble wrap.

My 2 year old is happy to simply dip small pieces of roving in her own bowl of warm water. I am always amazed how she can be entertained for the morning just by doing this. I put a towel on the table and her lap to catch wet drips. Forming the wool into long “snakes” and “worms” as she calls it – or balling it up to make small balls or even her own rendition of food items…it truly is a wonderful display of imaginative play – and what toddler doesn’t like to play in water?? :)

My 3 year old chooses the colors and dips and drapes, while I then take over with forming the felt by agitating the wool all over the soap with the bubble wrap. She is much more into it now than she was when I first tried this technique earlier this year. Once we are done we put them out in the sun to dry.



They don’t have to look perfect, in fact they will keep felting every time you wash your hands! Just have fun with your pre-schooler, and let their imagination take over.

I normally make my own liquid hand soap using sls-free organic soap base, but I find my little ones can be wasteful pumping out too much. The felted bars have been a wonderful alternative. They still get to make something handmade for the home, and I find felted soap doesn’t get used up as quickly as a plain bar of soap that constantly gets pummeled with water. :)

What did parents do before there was digital cameras? I know in my home growing up, photos were taken at special occasions and film otherwise conserved when photographing day to day things. One or two shots only – and you better be smiling! ;)

Many of the things I end up blogging about are because my kids say, “Mommy can you take a picture?” or “Mommy, take a picture!” often holding the object up for the camera.







My youngest is rather fond of these Animalz figures, which reside on our nature table. I found them on sale last year and thought they would make a good alternative to Ostheimer Wooden Animals – which I love but are quite pricey. My oldest could not care less about them, but my youngest tends to them everyday…



A clever handmade wooden car I bought on Etsy last year. I am sure I blogged about it them, but this tired mama is not inclined to look up that post at the moment… :)

All the above items, were picked on our morning nature walk. My children are 2 and 3. And where did we do this nature walk? On our property. We do not live in the woods, but in a typical suburban home. I find that in the summer heat none of us really want to be out or away from home for very long, and I am always amazed what the girls can find just on our lawn. I appreciate that they can examine the ground in places where we adults just walk over and find the tiniest delightful plant life and insects. It is also nice, when my husband gets behind cutting the back lawn! That is when most of the gems are found. ;)



For the month of August we are examining shapes and colors in nature. So the girls will spread their finds on the floor and start grouping them by color, then we switch and group by shape, and then look at patterns. My two year old is not so into this unlike my 3 years old (almost 4). So I just let her examine her nature finds as she feels fit. My oldest loves to group and inquire about the different shapes. Once we are done, it is time to light the candle on the nature table and allow them to place the objects as they like onto the table.





It is fascinating to watch them work. My youngest takes mostly to arranging the animal figures on the table, and also scattering her leaves and flowers throughout the table. My oldest likes to group her leaves in a bowl, and her “apples” in another bowl (small crab apples from our flowering crab tree) – like with like. Then she takes to arranging the flowers most carefully in their small multi-vase.









Of course, once they are finished, blowing out the candle is enjoyed by both. :)