Thanksgiving Craft - Accordian Thankful Book

I shared the other day one craft we did in our last week of Friday School and now, I want to share the other.

In my searching of Pinterest (My favorite resource for all things related to teaching co-ops!), I came across an adorable Thankfulness book on Teachers Pay Teachers and knew I had to do it. 

This little accordion book is perfect for any kid from preschool through upper elementary.  For my class of 6-7 year olds, I premade the books by folding the paper, cutting out the turkey head and feathers and stapling it all together.  I was concerned about running out of time.  Depending on age, the kids could complete the whole thing on there own.  The printable comes with a cute poem as well as "I am thankful for . .. ." pages that get filled out and glued on each page.  This would make a great writing assignment for older grades or, as my class did, they can draw pictures on his card showing what they are thankful for as well.

You can find the full printable HERE.

Getting Back on the Wagon - Scrapbooking

I am busily working on the basement clean out and making great progress, if I say so myself.  As is always the case, it is never as bad as the walkway into the basement makes it look.  In other words, stuff tends to pile up right at the entrance - I cleaned that out first and thought, "wow, I'm almost done!".  I'm still taking the time to clean out every single bin, though, in order to cut down on what is really being stored, and setting it up in a way that it will function well.

The other huge project that I'm very behind on is our family memories or, scrapbooking.  When the original Creative Memories closed two years ago, I lost all momentum because all of my supplies were form Creative Memories.  I love their albums and pages.  I have tried to find a new source - an easier and less expensive source to work with and because of that, my photos have just sat.  Money is really, always a tough thing to budget when it comes to this hobby so I'm having to find a way to catch up without spending much. 

I would really like to be back to the point of working on the previous months photos in the current month and yes, I was there once - for almost a whole year I was at that point!  To do that, I have to work two ways.  One, I have to start in August with working on this months photos.  The best way to get current is to work on current stuff.  I know it sounds odd but it is true.  The second thing, is to do what I've started to do 100 times before, go back to the beginning and make sure that scrapbooks are complete; finish up pages; and move to the next album.  I have a couple of years, yes, years, worth of digital pages that are done and ready to print.  I have to start printing or print the photos and make regular photos - it might actually be less expensive to recreate each page then to print the hundreds of pages I have to print.

Here's my overall goals by December:
1) By the end of December I will have July-November 2015 pages completed. 
2) By the end of December I will have gone through and completed every album that is currently on the shelf.  This includes page protectors (which I can get from Hobby Lobby for next to nothing when they are on sale)
3) By the end of December I will have started the process of getting those two years of digital pages into books.  Ultimately, I'd like to do one month . . a month.  Printing or recreating - but that would mean by December I would have 5 months done. 
4) By the end of December I will decide how to conquer 2016 photos - I'm throwing around the idea of trying Snapfish books.  I could then sit at night at the computer and create pages each time I have photos.  Then print the book every . . .3 months or 4 months?  I've even considered this idea for those digital pages - plugging them into a book and printing. 

So, time to get moving on this project!

Make It Monday - Sidewalk Paint

Last week I gave a photo tease of what I would actually be making and yes, I actually did it!  I came across the idea over at Growing a Jeweled Rose and it is so super easy!

Supplies:
Squirt Bottles
Baking Soda
Cornstarch
Food Coloring
Vinegar
Water

Very simply, take equal amounts of baking soda and cornstarch and add it to the bottle.  (I use a rough three tablespoons of each).  Than, add food coloring.  Obviously the more you use, the more intense the color.  Finally, fill the rest of the bottle with water and . . shake!  Shake hard and for a minute or so - make sure that the powdered ingredients are mixed well.   Make as many colors as you want but also fill one bottle for each child with Vinegar.  Once they have squirted their paint, they can then squirt it with vinegar and watch the reaction.

I found these bottles on Amazon.  I checked out the Dollar Store and Walmart and couldn't find any clear squirt bottles. . .. probably next week, I'll find them for $1.00 everywhere HA! 

 Our campsite was quickly taken over with wonderful designs.  My boys tend to play wild and crazy when something new is introduced so when I first gave them the paint, they just squirted it everywhere.  Later we made more and then they actually worked on making actual pictures. 

 Here, Josh is using the vinegar to cause the fizz to happen. 

The bottles :-) 

I was a little worried that the color wouldn't wash off the sidewalk but, we got a good rain on Monday night that washed it all away so, for the record, it will all wash off with water! 

Next time, I would add the baking soda and cornstarch to the bottles before we leave for camping - it was super messy to fill the bottles outside not to mention having to carry huge boxes of each item. 

Some Simple Fall Decorations to make

I've been trying to figure out recently why I don't get nearly the same amount of things done that I used to get done.  I finally figured  it out.  My kids don't take naps.  There was a fairly short period of time where both boys went down for a two hour nap (at LEAST that long) at the exact same time which meant I had two hours to work on crafts, scrapbook, work in the yard or, well, just sit outside and read (and get a tan!).  Now that just doesn't happen.  They boys are almost to a stage now where I can work on crafts and they don't try to take over . .. almost but not quite.  :-) 

So, for this first installment of "Make it Monday" I thought I would share two very simple Fall Crafts I made several years ago.  They are still two of my favorite decorations to put out at this time of they year so even though they are simple, I still love them!

 The mason jar Jack-o-Lantern's are so adorable and so easy to make!  All you need is a few canning jars of varying sizes, some spray paint, Ribbon or Raffia, and Glad "Stick and Seal".

Very simply, cut out the shapes you need from the press and seal and stick them onto the mason jars.  Use spray paint to paint the entire outside of the jar.  Once dry, remove the press and seal pieces.  Tie ribbon or raffia around the neck of the jar.  Feel free to add tealights or electric candles inside the jar for added effect. 

The wood block pumpkins are beyond easy.  Just cut some 2x4 (or any wood in the scrap pile that is thick enough to stand up on its own).  Spray paint the wood orange, cut off some small tree limbs and hot glue to the top of the wood and add some raffia for something extra.  Super cute and so very easy!

A Summer Wreath!

Several years ago I saw the idea of making a flip flop wreath but I could not find the much talked about "Dollar Store Flip Flops." and I wasn't going to spend $5.00 a pair when I needed 5-8 pairs!  Well, this year we went into the Dollar Store a few weeks ago and guess what?  There were those flip flops.  I bought one pair and then went back a week later to slim pickin's!  Wow, those go fast!!!

This is a fun wreath for summer, even if it isn't perfect ;-)  I bought a small wreath form and figured out halfway through gluing the flip flops on it that I should have bought the large form - the flip flops would have fit a little better.  I wrapped the wreath in some simple green burlap ribbon and then added a pink bow when it was all done for a splash of color.  The boys loved "helping" but their favorite part was the fact that there were a couple of extra pairs of Flip Flops that they quickly claimed!! :-)

Hand towels

Really, Hand towels?  Yes!  I had a brainstorm recently have repeatidly trying to get the kids to use a hand towel by the sink to dry their hands and wipe their dirty face rather than using MY towel that was hanging up.  Well, after seeing one more "pizza face" wiped clean on the towel I use after my shower I knew I had to change something!

This was a very simple idea with just some hand towels and ribbon. 

 All I did was sew a small pocket along the short end of the hand towel and insert a ribbon.  I then sewed the end of the ribbon together to try and make it stronger for little hands pulling on it. 

 That's it!  I made two so I always have one to hang up when I wash the other.  I went with black because it would hide stains :-) Between the towel and the ribbon this project cost about $3.50 a towel to make!

Christmas in . . .April?

I've had a project that I have needed to finish since, well, Christmas.  It was actually supposed to be done to put out as decoration FOR Christmas but between a week long bout of the stomach flu that I had back in December, winter storms every time I planned a shopping day in town and a mistake in my order when finally ordered the stuff I needed on-line . .. well, it just got done! 

It is a very simple project that revolves around the Nativity Scene - something that is the basis of my Christmas! 

 All you need is some basic supplies like glass blocks, Christmas lights and ribbon. 

And a super cute kid who wants his photo taken (oh wait, that really isn't a requirement!!)

Here's the final product!!

Like I said above, this really was a simple project.  I ordered the vinyl from MWC Vinyl Lettering on Etsy and was very pleased.  She included a full sheet of instructions on how to make the project look like the one she shared on her Etsy page.  All I had to do was add the vinyl figures to the glass blocks.  Now, if you look close you will notice that the blocks in the first picture are not the same as the final product!  When I ordered the blocks originally, I order two small squares instead of two rectangles!  I finally picked up the right blocks at Hobby Lobby just a week ago.  I also ended up ordering some white LED "wedding" lights to use instead of traditional Christmas lights.  The lights come with a switch on the strand instead of just a blog.  The only thing I haven't done is to put a frosted glaze on the blocks only because I haven't found a . . .well, frosted glaze yet.  That will help cover up the intensity of the lights.  

I'm really excited about this project because I've always wanted a nativity set but didn't want all of the little pieces.  This is the perfect solution.  I look forward to displaying it in just 8 short months HA!  

 

Snowmen

Last year I saw this all over Pinterest last year and wanted to add this to my Christmas Decor this year:

I tried to be "sneaky" and just create this on the fridge but the kids caught me so I ended up with a little more than I bargained for :-)

 I created my snowman on the top of the fridge . .. but had help with the very last button . . .can you tell? 

 Josh then had to create his own snowman on the Freezer. 

 Finally, remember this from my Dining Room Christmas Decor?  Well, Josh and Nate worked together to create this snowman as well. 

All fun Christmas Decor!

Too Cute Not To Toot

You may recall that last week I mentioned that this post is a changin'.  It's going to evolve into something like this:

1) I still want to post/share/remember cute ideas I come across so I will still post new ideas as I see them both for your benefit and my own.  I'm just not going to spend hours . .. over a course of days . .. to search high and low for new ideas.  When I find them, I'll share.

2) I'm going back through OLD too cute posts to find ideas I forgot about it and still want to make.  When I pick a project, I'll share what it is and then once complete, I'll post about it too. 

So my first new project to work on comes from a post back in December 2011 and is for this great Christmas Countdown.  Something simple but fun to do each day.  The idea came from Gingersnap Crafts.

I also have two other crafts I'm working on and had really hoped to get done this past weekend but life seems to "get in the way" . . .or I just enjoy relaxing on the weekend too much!! 

Pre-School and K-4 Report

Welcome back to week 3 round 2 of our school year.  This week seemed to go the most smoothly .  .well, Thursday was a little iffy but I can fix that in the future by not planning 5 cutting, gluing and coloring activities in one morning for 3 different kids.  Wow.  I couldn't keep up.  We also did something fun every afternoon and I have found that really helps to diffuse the day by breaking up day.  Even if it is only a 10 minute thing to do it gets all three boys sat down, and doing something totally different. 

Here's are week in photos!
Monday - 

 Josh working on one of his math worksheets from our Confessions of a Homeschooler curriculum.  He's also working on using a pencil vs. a marker for some of his worksheets. 

 I ordered/downloaded this set of number poem cards from Teachers Pay Teachers that includes the full color card with the poem as shown above, a black/white card to color with the poem and one without the poem.  Such a simple resource to have when teaching numbers.

 Nate was working on making a pattern on the letter's E as that is the letter of the week for the younger boys. 

 Our craft on Monday was making Sandpaper Trees.  I always like to give credit for ideas I use but . . .I cannot find where this one came from currenlty.  For this craft, I cut out the trunk and some branches and had the boys make their tree.  Just as a side note, sand paper does not glue well to sandpaper - you need to glue it right to the paper; don't overlap it.  Lesson learned :-)

 Then we took tin foil and rolled it into balls and dipped them into paint to stamp leaves on our tree.

 The boys had fun and made three very different trees.  I love seeing creativity.

Tuesday: 

 Our Bible lesson this week was on young Timothy and how he learned from Paul to be fair.  We played a game where the boys drew out a card and I read what it said such as "Tell a boy with blonde hair - "I'll be fair""  Needless to say, since they can't read, I made lots of stuff up HA!  Not to mention that I brought this lesson into real life all week but saying, "Now, is that fair (being kind) or unfair?"

 Nate loves his curriculum from Confessions of a Homeschooler as well.  Cutting skills are a must . .. he likes to cut tiny pieces and this week I had them glue the pieces onto the pattern worksheets.  He enjoys that activity alot.

 The boys all love the Do-A-Dot markers - this is one of the activies that Josh got to do that was part of the preschool lessons.  Allowing him to do many of the same worksheets as the younger two on top of his own work has really made him happy.  He gets the best of both worlds - review of the younger topics plus introduction to the new topics.

 I came across a cute idea from Toddler Approved to make nature plates.  While the munchkin was napping, the boys and I walked around the yard and gathered things from nature that reminded us of fall.  We picked sunflower petals, purple flowers, leaves from the willow tree and yellow/orange leaves from the neighbors tree, black eyed Susans and some weeds.  Yes, weeds.  That was not my choice.

 One of the great things about this project was glue.  We tend to use glue sticks more often because they aren't quite as messy but for this project it was glue all the way and lots of it. 

 The finished projects were true masterpieces and included such things as glue waterfalls and glue snow drifts that took about 4 days to dry.  ;-)

Wednesday - 

 We started our morning with an unplanned game of Hungry Hungry Hippo that I turned into a counting activity.  Every time all of the marbles had been gobbled up, we had to count them.  This was also a good lesson for Josh that he can't win every time and he can't steal other people's marbles to make himself the winner.  Yes, he likes to win. 

 Josh loves clocks and time so we started our Kumon Telling Time book.

 Nate also is working out of a Kumon book on cutting and pasting.

 Awhile ago, my mom picked up all kinds of learning books/activities for the boys.  Josh had some down time on Wednesday so I pulled out one of the books and he did several pages. 

 Our afternoon activity is thanks to my mom.  The last time she had the boys they convinced her to buy a marshmallow pop kit and we made them today.  Nate liked the chocolate but Josh loved the whole thing. 

 Josh asked me to buy everything to make them again "sometime".  I wonder if I could put carrots in the chocolate??? HA!

Thursday - 

This is the first activity that really challenged Nate this week.  First, he had to put the elephant # cards in order from 1-10 and then count out the correct number of discs to put on each card.  I love to see him challenged :-)

Our "fun" activity I posted about on Saturday  . . .we put Training Wheels on Josh's bike, which he loves.  I often have to move the truck to the end of the driveway and park "horizontally" so that it blocks the end of the driveway completely so he and Nate can ride bikes up and down the driveway, into the garage and back out. 

I forgot to share this earlier - I mentioned my mom and picked up some fun stuff for the boys for school.  Well, this is another  item we just got out this past weekend.

 This is an awesome floor size tracing and activity book to use with dry erase markers.  I had put it away when my mom first got it because the boys weren't ready to use the markers yet.  But, a week or so ago, I got it out and leaned it against the wall; they finally noticed it on Saturday and have played with it every single day.  My husband said we need to find more of these because they love them :-)

That's our week!  I'm still holding off on the daily notebooks.  My thought now is to use it starting in the next 6 week rotation but do it in the afternoon when we do our art/craft/food activity.  That way they can do what they want in the book but if they go play, that is fine too.  I'm counting this year as just an introduction to it :-)