Thanksgiving Day Turkey Craft

I haven't posted a craft for the kiddos in a while. However, I am excited that Turkey Day is just around the corner! I've decided to embrace my role as "babysitter" at Thanksgiving this year. Need a last minute idea that keeps the kids busy? Stick around! ;)

After being inspired on Pinterest, I started cutting out all the parts essential to making a turkey. I wanted to include scrapbook paper for feathers, but I also didn't want to wipe out my stash. Ha! Who am I kidding. Paper Packs from Hobby Lobby last for years. If you are taking notes from me, DON'T be stingy with your scrapbook paper. Anyway...I also included some newspaper and wrapping paper.

Somewhere in the midst of my paper mess, the turkey beaks changed from orange to yellow. Magic!

If you are doing this craft for a large group of children, I suggest making extras of everything. You will need way more than what you think. Kids have a way of...

1| Running out of items

2| Losing small pieces of paper

These turkeys are ready to go! I just need to find two cute cousins to help assemble them. Something tells me that won't be hard. 

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Broken and Burdened

I lay awake as the colors of my room fade away into black and white. The red numbers of my alarm clock shine in solitude. They remind me that I have two days left.

I stare at the cold wall next to my pillow.

I'm not ready, Lord. Infectious smiles and giggles have found a way into my heart. It will be strange not seeing their faces everyday. They wait all day to share their stories with me. Who is going to intently listen?

A tear slips down my cheek.

You've called me to another place. I'm willing to go, but it's not easy. When they quietly mention not knowing what they're going to do next year...my heart breaks. If it were up to me I'd agree to another year in an instant.

Rain falls outside my open window.

You carefully remind me that there is another family needs a Full-time Nanny. It's not the first time You have brought this to my attention. It's a hard thing to explain.

I pray that I have planted the right seeds, and shown Your amazing love. I've tried my best to teach lessons and ended up learning a few myself. It's been a good run. Show me where you need me to go. May the right doors be opened, and others be locked tight. You hold the keys to this life.

Broken and Burdened,
Angela

Memorial Day Flag Craft

Before the hustle and bustle of Memorial Day weekend, the kids sat down for their weekly craft.

We got our hands messy and created this American flag with handprints and polka dots!

I read the story Memorial Day Surprise by Theresa Martin Golding. It focused on the best part of Memorial Day parades. No, it's not the firetrucks, friends, or CANDY! Memorial day is about honoring those who served our country. We took a few minutes to talk about our family members that were in the war. Here's to the start of a long weekend!

Scrappy Mother's Day Craft

The kids and I made books for their mother last Friday! 

Supplies: Three paper bags (per book), ribbon, a glue stick, hole punch, lined paper, white paper, scrapbook paper scraps, five of your favorite photos, stamps (optional), A Happy Mother's Day image found via google.com

I recalled making this books with a neighbor when I was little. My friend's mother was really into all things scrapbooking. I looked up a tutorial to refresh my memory. It can be found here.

Gather your supplies and start cutting! Depending on the age of your kids this craft is pretty customizable. 

The kids I worked with were ages 5-8, and I did a lot of gluing ahead of time. They just had to write five things about their Mother and color pictures on the blank pieces of paper. The boys weren't too happy about having a writing assignment, but they got into after a while. Everyone loved "secret pocket" that hid their drawings. 

Note: This was a lot of work for one day. It might be more enjoyable to have the kids work on it a few times during the week.

Have fun and happy crafting!

Outdoors at Last!

With exception of a few snow days, we've been stuck inside for months. It was nice to FINALLY get outside. The grass was still on the muddy side, but these kiddos needed to get some energy out. We had a case of cabin fever at its finest.

Lucy could not pull her rain boots on fast enough! She quickly zoomed off on her beloved princess bike. It must have been nice to feel the wind in her hair again.

The boys wanted to help pick up pine cones in the yard. Partly because of the game they were playing. Note: I love hearing them talk in their own imaginary worlds. Cocoa and I decided to pick up sticks while the kids played. I wanted to keep the sticks inside my bucket. She seemed to have other plans...

We cannot forget Buck! He was happy to have some company as he frolicked through the grass. Rain or shine, snow or sleet, this dog loves to be outside. How have you been enjoying Spring?

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

Back in March we had a week full of Dr. Seuss activities. I have been meaning to post about it, but life has been pretty busy! The kids love to make popsicle stick puppets, and we hadn't made any since Groundhog day. I wanted to find a way to incorporate them into this craft. Making a Topsy Turvy cake seemed to be very fitting.

Lucy got to work painting Bowtie pasta red

Gabriel and I worked on drawing characters from the books. I gave him a few verbal prompts here in there. 

"What would you put on a cake for Dr. Suess?"

Our finished Cat in the Hat puppets

I carefully cut small slits in the paper with a razor blade and reinforced it with packing tape. The puppets took the place of candles at the top of the cake! Unfortunately, one of our artists was under the weather. We saved his puppet for him, and it was added later on.

I found this fun Lorax game on pinterest!

Rachel @ Joyfully Weary provided this awesome Cat in the Hat Matching Game printable.

You can find more Dr. Seuss themed activities here.

At the end of the week Lucy handed me this super detailed drawing. It was a great way to say thank you! :)

Faith and Trust

The story I am about to tell involves the 7 year old that I babysit. He was playing with his sister's Leprechaun trap at the kitchen table. Technically, he should be the one pictured above, but we all know that little boys do not have time for pictures. They have superheros to play with, and Trio sets waiting to be built. One cannot simply sit still for a few minutes. ;)

We had just finished playing a homemade dice game with some plastic turtles - four to be exact. No one caught a leprechaun at school, and Gabriel thought something needed to go inside the trap. Aha! Turtles would get the job done. They were green after all! Moments before he had gotten his finger pinched inside the trap, and it really surprised me that he continued to play with it. Boys learn to be tough at a young age.

With a mischievous smirk on his face he turned to me and said, "Angela, close your eyes and stick your hand into this box!"

Hmm, I started to wonder what his intentions were. We had a casual conversation before I dared to expose my hand to any danger.

Me: You want me to do what? Ohhh no! I know what you are going to do. You're going to snap the box shut the second I put my hand inside.

G: No, I won't I promise!

Me: Then why are you smiling like that?

G: Just close your eyes.

Me: Okay, I trust you, but if you end up doing it...you're going straight to a time out. I know you understand how much that hurts. It just happened to you.

At this point my hand still hadn't left my side. If I really trusted him I would have put that trust to action. So, I closed my eyes extra tight, lifted my hand, and guess what?

He was telling the truth.

I always find it fascinating that God can use little things throughout the day to teach me important lessons. I just have to be ready to hear them.

"But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Hebrews 11:6

When we have faith in the Lord, we can trust Him. Faith starts in believing that He is. 

Faith - A settled conviction concerning the veracity (complete truthfulness) of God.

The attributes of God are endless! We can have faith that He speaks the truth. Our faith and trust need to be put to action. A lot of times that is easier said than done, but those who diligently seek Him will be rewarded for their faith.

Saint Patrick's Day!

The kids and I celebrated Saint Patrick's Day on Friday! We read Leprechaun's Gold by Pamela Duncan Edwards, The Night Before St. Patrick's Day by Natasha Wing, and Good Luck Bear by Greg Foley.

I threw together a quick Leprechaun craft with the help of Pinterest! (Noah's finished piece is pictured above)

 Lucy went wild when she added the freckles! It made me giggle, and she couldn't figure out why.

Gabriel's leprechaun was super silly. He loves to make his artwork stand out from the rest. He told me that it was wearing Groucho Marx glasses. He also tried his best to draw a tie, but he didn't like how it looked. Who knew sole patches could hide mistakes?

I tried to get a picture of all three leprechauns in one shot. This was the result. Lol!

Here's the Leprechaun collage that we made on Monday!

Even though the kids already heard The Leprechaun's Gold at school, they still enjoyed finding all 16 four leave clovers hidden within the book. It was a nice surprise! I had fun seeing them working as a team. What a perfect way to end the week.

"Peg And The Whale" Craft

Peg And The Whale by Kenneth Oppel was really fun! I was searching for a story about a whale at our library. I found this book on the shelf and put back all my other choices.

I loved the detail on each page - we attempted to recreate these pages (otherwise known as a spread)

The kids enjoyed using the dry brushing technique with a few of our stencil brushes. Tapping brushes against paper is stress relieving for all ages. :)

After finishing our orange sky, each child used some crayons to add waves to their blue paper. Then, we got started on our puffy, pink clouds.

The end results were pretty awesome!

The bright colors felt refreshing in the middle of winter. I was happy to use a lot of my Elmer's construction paper. It never seems to stick together all the way. I'll be happy when it's gone!

 I painted 3 coffee filters with black tempera paint before hand. It gave the whales a wrinkly look. I'm glad I did this step ahead of time. Our final touch was adding Peg to the top of her whale!

Lovely Valentines

What did you spend your Valentine's day doing? My day was sprinkled with love by the people closest to me! Hugs, sweet treats, cozy socks, and heartfelt notes. What more could you ask for?!

I gave the kids "retro" valentines in their mailboxes. I was surprised that the boys actually knew who Johnny Bravo was. What a blast from the past! I remember my dad strongly disliking the sound effects in that show. I'm sitting here laughing because it really wasn't that long ago.

Last night my youth group held a Valentine's Banquet for our parents. It seemed to be a hit! This was my last year planning the event. That being said, I had a pretty crazy week filled with projects that needed to be finished on time. Note: After three years you end up making your goals bigger and better. I came home from work on Thursday and started dipping pretzels sticks in white chocolate. They turned out really cute! You have to see them. :)

"Think about the person that you love the most person on this earth and think about them being nailed/crucified on a cross." -Francis Chan

God went through that because He loves us that much. I thought about this quote as I worked on decorations. I had pandora playing in the background and each love song made me think my Savior. God's love is the best love of all! If you had a valentine this year, know that God put them there.

Jesus on the Shelf

Today I decided to stop by one of our thrift stores to see what I could find. I had a few minutes, and a project on my mind. When I found out that all books were 50% off I ran walked quickly over the that section of the store.

I saw this book sitting by itself. I scooped it up thinking, "Hey! I know exactly what this is!" It was The Jesus Storybook Bible Deluxe Edition written by Sally Lloyd-Jones. I have heard great reviews about this book!

I decided to flip through the pages to give them a health and wellness checkup. They weren't ripped anywhere, the dedication page wasn't used, and the bookmark was still creased in new condition. I knew that it was coming home with me.

I had the pleasure of serving with Chris and Sara Chavez this summer. God has given Mr. Chris the gift of sharing God's word to all ages. I enjoyed listening to Him teach at our VBS. This book reminds me of that week.

I have to mention that the doodle-like illustrations wonderful. Each chapter has great potential to hold the attention of its readers. Which isn't always an easy thing to do these days!

The book retails for $16.49 - I payed $2.05

Little things make me happy. ;)

I cannot wait to share it with the little people in my life.

Winter Activities for Kids

Hot Chocolate Math 

I love that this game can be customized so easily. You can make it simple like the cup on the bottom left, or make it more advanced for older kids!

 Penguin Time Cards

Match the two cards with the same time on them! Most kids are great at reading the digital clocks around the house, but analog clocks can be a little tricky. Unfortunately, I only had Whole Hour clocks saved on my computer.  If this is too easy, we can always turn it into a matching game.

 Tweezing Poms 

This game is obviously geared towards younger kids. They use the tongs to move pom poms from the bowl to the tray. I've seen it on a lot of blogs! Skills practiced: sorting and fine motor skills.

Name in Lights

I wrote a bunch of family names on some paper (each one is double sided). This game helps practice spelling and upper and lower case recognition. You could also spell out words that are related to Christmas. The colored beads remind me of Christmas lights. I even added some fun shaped beads that can be used to dot letters.

Little b, Little d

Who didn't get these letters mixed up as a kid? Playing the game essentially like Slap Jack, working through your deck of b’s and d’s. Be prepared to slap the b or the d, depending on which letter was chosen for that game. (I stamped the letter on each end of the card so that you can see it from both sides of the table.)

Tic-Tac-Toe

I found some felt pine trees in our flannel board stash. Poor little trees...they were getting pretty lonely in our basement! I decided to let them see the light of day again. After drawing some lines on a piece of card stock, the trees are ready to be planted in rows of 3. Which tree farmer will win?

Popsicle Stick Puzzles

I found a couple winter friends in an old magazine that was headed for the recycle bin. If the puzzles are a hit, I will definitely be making some more!

Snowman Hide and Seek

The kids loved finding pumpkins hidden all over the house in October! I'm back with another version of the same game - perfect for the middle of winter! The snowmen where originally gift tags from Hobby Lobby. I numbered them from 1-10. The kids like lining them up to see who is missing.

Joyfully Weary: Winter Size Sort (pdf available here)

This is an easy way to practice sorting objects by size. I added some card stock from my scrapbook paper collection for stability.

Sorting Poms

Here's another game that sorts objects by size - it's pretty self-explanatory. I'll give them the tongs for this one too.

Winter Memory Match

I made this matching game from a sheet of free stickers that I received in the mail. Not all of the cards are pictured here, but you get the idea!

Snowman Addition

This was another fun way to use our red and white poms! I think I found this printable via Pinterest, but I can't seem to find it pinned on my boards...at least I favorited it!

Polar Bear Clean up

Inspired by this cute Gingerbread game, I printed 3 polar bears and added my own numbers. I slipped them into protective sleeves to save time. The blue chips were borrowed from our Bingo set. Kids will pretend that they are washing away the dirt from their bear with each roll of the dice. They will shout "Clean!" after crossing each number off their card. The player that finishes first is declared the winner.

Christmas Egg Race

I needed a new purpose for these wooden spoons. Who says Egg Races are only held in March? I plan on adding some weight to each egg, and letting the kids go through a "course" inside the house. We will see how this goes! Some of the spoons have shorter handles, but their bases are relativity the same size. In addition to practicing balance, the kids can experiment to see if the size spoon affects anything.