Bragging about 2015!

It had been a year since I Quit Sugar- And I'm over 10 kilos lighter & pretty ready to wake up & move my B around in spite of having Hypothyroidism. It's also been over a year since we stopped buying toys- other than toy cars, as we embraced the "less is more" philosophy (Even Santa got him a Globe this year!). 

We had a badass Art Studio in India - a room only meant for art! With my son's friends coming over for Art Sessions too! Here's how we created one with *no* budget.(Then we shifted countries and are still figuring our sweet spot at our new home!)

The *most* popular post of 2015 however was 17 Busy Bags! (Don't worry it is not a round up!). It's been 5 months and I still have some of these bags around which he pulls out and plays with. 

Amongst our Art Projects, the *most* common last year was Paint on Salt & Ice. I mean, what would I do without Salt & Ice? I still have a slab of ice or two in the freezer at any given time, to give it to him when he's bored!

We also explored many interesting ways to use Yarn in process art. Tie it to a pencil, around a TP roll, around a Jenga block, around a sponge roller or simply stick a squiggle on a paper & paint around it! 

We also went crazy trying to marble eggs with nail polish (tip: don't try it! Try marbling with tempera paint instead)

My son's *absolute* favourite projects were Paint on Salt Castles, Paint with bubbles and Paint with Tangram Pieces - each of which lasted for weeks each ! With gorgeous results that too!

We made a coupla things together too. Cute little gifts for Teachers, a cardboard castle (with a functional drawbridge too!) And Tunnels & Ramps for his little toy cars.

We made some puppets to add some fun to story telling. This way the roles are reversed and your kid tells you the story instead. 

I made my first decorative cake- with the Minions theme! And the last few months have been a bit obsessed with the Solar System and Earth

A little bit science-y and stem-y too. Learnt about Math concepts like Weight, Lengths, Shapes & Time. We explored Magnets, made a Magnetic Fishing Sensory Bin and also took the Baking Soda & Vinegar experiments to a new level by making Fizzy Hearts & Stars!

Another hugely popular post was Toddler Poke & Peg Activities. (Although I posted way past his toddler days). 

Using Stickers as drawing prompts was a big boost to putting his imagination on paper- Reminds me that I must try this again. 

We planted different types of seeds together, since I had a wonderful maid who was a pro at it (These days I leave such experiments to his school!)

I had also written two Parenting Posts, I guess these are popular because one feels nice when someone else's in the same boat too? 

Here's Why I don't trick my child with stories to make my life easy (I still don't!) and Why I sent my kid to bed without dinner (It still works!) 

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