school

Such a cute idea from Kaboose.com for some sweet and easy candy rings for your loverly valentine, or valentines. The craft is recommended for ages four and up, but I’m sure any toddler would be willing to help out! They suggest the best candy to use would be foil-wrapped chocolate hearts, which sounds adorable. I can also see little paper valentines rolled up and threaded through the ring. Kaboose also has a ton of great Valentine’s day craft ideas on their website.

I registered the kiddo for Pre-K this afternoon. It was fast and painless, with no lines or hysteria. It was almost too fast. I had wanted to take a picture to document the occasion, but there was nothing to photograph. It was just me and the nice lady sorting the papers. No hype, just life catching up to me.

Last night, as I filled out the registration paper work by candlelight…we had no electricity between 1:00 and 11:30 p.m., after some electrical work we had done…I was a bit sad but mostly in shock.

Where has the time gone? It seemed like the little squiggly, sweet-smelling, chubby-legged 8 pound baby I gave birth to a few short years ago just got up, sat on the couch, counted to 100 and wrote his name, right before he taught me how to play Star Wars Legos on the Xbox.

I’m excited. Really I am. He’s starting a new chapter in his life, and I’m looking forward to his new friends and new horizons.

But my baby can’t be ready for big kid school, for “Prwee-K” as he calls it?

He still gets into my bed in the mornings for some snuggle time. And he wants me to carry him around, and snuggle with me before he goes to bed….holding my hand. Is that how a big kid, ready for life in the fast lane, acts?

No! Big kids in Pre-K dress themselves, and have their lives all figured out daily by 9:00 a.m. They ask questions like, “What’s blood? What does it do?” and “What are clouds?”

Oh yeah. That’s right…he does all of that. Cause he’s a big kid now.

Amazing beings, these children. How they grow so fast and change, right under your nose, catching you off guard with their wee-wisdoms and kindness. We are so blessed.

Well, my heart was in the right place when I wrote my post last week about MLK Day, but my planning skills…another story.

I had intended to volunteer at the Arkansas Foodbank Network for a few hours this afternoon to recognize Martin Luther King, Jr Day. I had also spoken to my son’s teacher about a little service project the kids could do at school for MLK Day.

Well, it goes to show that when you have more than one adult helping to plan, things usually will work out.

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Here’s a quick, little happy for you and your kids to make for Christmas Eve…some reindeer food for the kids to sprinkle on the lawn before slipping off to bed.

It's all sparkly!

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Remember the posts I did a while back on potato stamps and Kleenex ghosts? Well, for the kiddo’s treat bags at school I decided to combine the two to make a candy-free Halloween craft!

Kleenex ghosts parts

All lined up and ready for stuffing!

Each bag got a pocket pack of Kleenex, handful of cotton balls and several feet of white yarn. I also made a sheet of instructions for how to make the ghosts, which I’ve got right here for you too:

kleenex ghosts

We’ve got to make more treat bags for his friends in his other class and tags to attach to them, but it was a very easy project and can be done quickly. And it keeps some candy out of their baskets, which is a good thing!

Usually the kiddo’s school has a Halloween party and we all bring goodies to eat, but I always like to make treat bags for them to take home with them, too. I’ve started to think about different Halloween treats for him to take up to his school, so I thought I’d share what I’ve found so far.

Photo from Craftbits.com

Mummy Treat Cups
Most anyone could make this craft just using what you already have at home. I’m sure any color disposable cup would work, just clear out your cabinets instead of buying more cups at the store. 

Photo from Kaboose.com

Egg Carton Treat Cups
As always, I’m all about reducing, recycling and reusing. This is a great way to reuse your empty egg cartons before they go to the trash or the recycle bin.

Photo from FamilyFun.com

Treat Bag Stickers for Halloween
Have your kids color these sweet Halloween pics then cut, glue them onto a paper bag, then fill with Halloween goodies!

Photo from Kaboose.com

A Handful of Treats
Kids will get a kick out of this treat bag…a spooky popcorn hand complete with a spider ring! Here’s a recipe for making popcorn in different colors…green would be great for a witch’s hand!

I adapted this craft from an old issue of Martha Stewart Kids, but I don’t know the specific one. I can’t find it online either, but here’s a picture of the page-

From Martha Stewart Kids

It seemed like such a good idea, why stop at bats? So I drew a bunch of Halloween standards: witch’s hat and broom, ghouly ghost and a jack-o-lantern to go with Mr. Bat. Here’s the templates:

Witch’s hat and broom templates

Ghost and jack-o-lantern templates

Bat template

You could go two ways with this: print out the templates and let your kids color them then cut them out, or  trace the spookies onto construction or scrapbook paper and cut out the pieces. If you want to trace out the spookies I suggest you print the templates onto cardstock so the it will hold up as you trace around it.

Templates for cutting

Here’s the templates, all cut out and assembled so you will see how they go together.

About to trace

When you get ready to trace your spookie, be sure you trace on the BACK of your paper, and you FILP the template, so it will face the right direction on the pretty side of the paper.

You will have several little pieces that you’ll have to cut, so if you do not own a pair of crafting scissors, like Cutter Bee scissors, I highly recommend getting a pair next time you are at Hobby Lobby (go here to print a store coupon) or even Walmart or Target. And a tip when you are cutting paper shapes: turn the paper as you cut, not the scissors. You maintain control over your cut and it is easier on your wrist.

After all your pieces are cut, assemble them like the photo above and glue down.

Little clips!

To make come bag clips, you can tape or glue regular clothespins to the back of your spookie.

The finished spooky project

What cute little spookies these are! I used mulberry paper for the bat’s wings, and the undried glue dots are showing through them, but they should dry clear. I fringed the bottom of the broom to make it look realistic, and added some gold paint pen to the witch’s hat buckle for fun. Clear glitter on the ghost would be super creepy!

You can have your kids help cut out the spookies, or for the little ones they can color the templates for you to cut out and help glue them together. I hope you can use these terrifying templates for some Halloween goodies in your home!

Leigh

Photo from Melbourne Public Library

When I picked up the kiddo from school today, an adorable card was sitting in his cubby…a not-so-subtle reminder that Grandparents Day is this Sunday. Yeah! Another forgotten holiday to chastise myself about. He had drawn a picture of himself, Grandma and Grandpa, topped off with a blue handprint. A seriously cute card, which got me thinking…

Honestly, this holiday is not on the same level Valentine’s Day in terms of popularity. But it would be a great opportunity to help the kids make a sweet little something for their g-rents and to spend some quality time together.

A handmade card is always a sure fire, easy craft that grandparents luurve. Take the kiddo’s classroom example: all you need is construction paper, a marker and some paint. There are, of course, more intricate and pretty ideas out there. These Valentine’s Day card ideas from FamilyFun could be easily altered for Grandparent’s Day.

Idea Box has several easy and cute gift ideas, generally using only three to four supplies. I love the“My Grandkids Walk All Over Me!” apron, the little scoops of love, and the keepsake handprint craft.

No time for a craft? I truly understand. Give the g-rents a call and see if they can get together with your family Sunday, then get the kids to help you make lunch or dinner, or at least a pan of sweets. The Veggie Tortilla Lasagna and Strawberry Bars from the Kids Health website are very easy and sound super delish.

Creating memories of the time spent together as an extended family is an especially heartfelt way to celebrate Grandparents Day, one that can be enjoyed for years to come.

While you’ve got the family together, get out the ol’ school cassette recorder and capture your parents and child as they play and talk. If your child is a bit older, ask them to write down some questions to ask their grandparents and record the “interview” session. You could also use a video camera or a digital recorder, so you could upload the session to your computer and make copies to share with the grandparents or other family members.

Go to the store and pick up a couple of disposable cameras and ask the kids to take pictures of your afternoon together, or snap a few pictures on your digital camera. Have the printed and send them/drop them off to the grandparents with a note from your children, thanking them for the time spent together.

On the other hand, if your children’s grandparents are no longer living, contact an assisted living facility in your area to see if your family could visit on Sunday to celebrate Grandparents Day with their residents. Go ahead and make that pan of brownies and some small “Happy Grandparents Day” cards-made perhaps on index cards with crayons and stickers-to bring with you. Just having a child in the room can be therapeutic for an elderly person, and the visit will enforce a sense of generations and community in your child.

I hope everyone can find a moment to celebrate Grandparents Day with their families this weekend! Talk to you later-

Leigh

Inspired by Moody Mom’s post on the sweet note she left in her daughter’s lunch box, I went out on the web for ideas for lunch box goodies…

Photo from AlphaMom.com

Skip to My Lou (who I love, love, love…I made her crayon roll recently)  has her free printable lunchbox notes, tags and stickers on Alpha Mom. All you have to do is print them off and cut them out! Super cute, and I want them badly.

Photo from FamilyFun.com

As usual, FamilyFun.com has some great ways to jazz up your kids lunches while keeping them healthy in their series called A+ Lunches and Snacks. Like Moody Mom, this mom from FamilyFun.com used cookie cutters to jazz up her kid’s lunch sandwiches, but she’s got her method down to a science. I love this reader’s idea for letting the kids pack their own lunches, while reigning in on the junk food. And this post for six different ways to make a turkey sandwich is sure to keep some variety in the lunch sack.

Photo from ReusableBags.com

Photo from JumillaStories

A step beyond buying a reusable bag is making your own. The Sew,Mama,Sew! blog has linked to several different styles of lunch bags for kiddos and yourself. My favorite was the kid’s lunch bag from JumillaStories, a blog that I drifted away with for a while as I was researching for this post.

What cute and useful ideas do you have for your kiddo’s lunchbox? Drop me a line and I’ll share with everyone. Have a great holiday weekend everyone!

Leigh

This weather has so put me in a fall state of mind…I can just smell the chili on the stove, feel the crisp in the air, and I am itching to pull out the down comforter for the bed.

I thought I’d compile a few quick and simple ideas from the web for you to do with your kids after school or this weekend:

Photo from kaboose.com

I love this hand print tree from kaboose. It’s good for kids three and up, and would be a great classroom project, too.

DLTK’s hand print wreath would look super cut on your front door this fall! A great craft for children of any age.

Photo from FamilyFun.com

FamilyFun.com has a section of crafts and projects just for fall. I am a big fan of any project that gets you and your kids outside, so I love these Foliage Friends and the Walking Stick Grip. The Pumpkin Roll  is super cute and is an homage to my TP Roll series. You can get the kids to help cut out the apples and thread the pipe cleaners on the Funny Fall Napkin Rings.

Kinderart.com has another great TP roll idea…a bird feeder!

I hope you guys have a little fun today with these ideas!

Leigh