Jan Brett Play Masks

I made these masks for my kids nearly four years ago, and we are still playing with them!

Even baby gets in on the action!

Author and illustrator, Jan Brett provides a wide variety of free animal images on her web site for this project.

We chose several animals from different books and printed them onto lightweight card stock. After carefully cutting along the edges [I also opted to cut out the eyes, so my children could peek through, but you don't have to], I laminated them and then used clear packing tape to attach each mask to an over-sized wooden craft stick [which you can find at most craft/hobby supply stores]. 

You do not need to laminate the masks, but I highly recommend it if you desire to play with them for awhile. If you do not have access to a laminating machine, you might consider using this process to protect your masks using clear packing tape. You could also punch holes on both sides of the mask and tie elastic string to the back, so your child can wear the mask.*

The animals we liked best were the:

monkey,

jaguar,

fox,

cat,

rabbit,

owl,

badger,

bear,

and mouse.

But there are so many more to choose from!

Jan offers many other free activities and printables on her site.  A few of my other favorites are her coloring murals, her coloring alphabets and alphabet tracers, and her matching animals game. There are LOTS of fun things to do...all available for free. If you have never visited her site, I recommend taking a minute or two to browse her pages; I'm sure you will find something you and your kids can enjoy together.

*[just be sure he/she has space to breathe and see to prevent injury]

President's Day Coloring Pages

Crayola provides a variety of presidential coloring pages for kids.

Abraham Lincoln:

George Washington:

Also:

Happy Birthday, Presidents!

George Washington

US Presidents

Valentine's Day Project

In the spirit of loving, my children and I crafted a fun project. 

We call it our "prayer chain", but you can call it whatever you would like to.

We wrote down names of people we know on strips of paper and linked them together.  Each evening at bedtime the kids tear off the end link of their chain and pray for that person.  As they get older, I would like to have them send an encouraging note or thoughtful gift to each person...maybe next year.   :)

For this project, you will need:
- strips of scrap paper - any color you choose.
- glue or tape
- pen, pencil or marker to write with

First, cut your paper into strips of similar length and width [no need to be precise for this activity].  I used blue for my son and pink for my daughter.

Then have your child[ren] write out names of people they know on the strips, such as family, friends, classmates or teammates, etc.  If you have younger children, you can write out the names for them or enlist your older children to help their younger siblings by writing them down.  Each strip should have only one name written on it.

Begin creating your chain by bending one strip of paper so that the two ends meet together.  Glue or tape the paper together at the ends, forming a circle.  You will continue to form "links" with each piece of paper, by looping the paper through the end link before forming and gluing your paper circle.  Once all your paper strips have been chained together, find a fun place to hang your chain. My children have a white board in their room where they can display all their art projects...so this was a perfect place for us to hang our chains.

Spend some time with your kids remembering to love the people who have been placed in your lives.

Following a Recipe

I admit...I am a terrible recipe follower. 

Not because I can't.  I just don't. I always "have" to add just a little something...or cut an ingredient, or tweak a step just a bit. I don't leave well enough alone very often. 

My son has been practicing sequencing lately as part of his reading comprehension.  His last few projects involved reading a recipe and labeling the placement of each step within that recipe.  So his page looked something like this:

Directions for making Peanut Butter Cracker Cookies:

Get out your crackers and peanut butter. Put peanut butter on half of the crackers and then cover with the other half. Melt chocolate. Dip the cracker sandwiches into chocolate with a fork or spoon. Let the chocolate drip from the cracker into the bowl. Cool cookies on wax paper.  Eat the cookies! 

Fill in the blanks with a number to tell the order of each step in the recipe.

______ Dip the crackers in chocolate.

______ Put peanut butter on the crackers.

______ Eat the cookies!

______ Get our your peanut butter.

______ Melt the chocolate.

______ Cool the cookies.


I thought it would be fun to actually MAKE some cookies as part of his assignment...so we did! 

+

=

[Yum!]

And we had lots of fun making them.  He was so excited!  Afterward, he told me it was [and I quote]: "Waaaaay too much fun, Mom.  I forgot I even had a Wii!" [Hahahahaha!  That just cracks me up.]

Of course, I HAD to modify the recipe...but in the spirit of learning to follow directions, we did follow all the steps.  I just added sprinkles on top at the end. :)

Once we had coated all of our cookies, we had some chocolate leftover, so we found a bag of pretzels and dipped them in too!  Yum! 

Here is a link to a recipe for similar cookies.*  You could simplify just about any recipe and do this exercise with your kids...they might even have so much fun they forget all about that Wii, or _________ [you fill in the blank with whatever they love to play with].


*[Since Ritz and most peanut butters contain hydrogenated oils, we found similar "healthier" crackers and peanut butter in the natural food section of our grocery store...and they tasted just as great!]

April is here!

[Well...in printable calendar form, anyway.]

Interviewing Children

It has not quite been a year since I last interviewed my children, but since I'd like to make it a yearly event, I thought planning to interview in January would be a fun way to start each new year.  Now that January is nealy over, I'm already behind schedule...but when am I EVER not?!  Ha!

Here is a list of questions to get you started in interviewing your own children. Modify the list according to your own child's age level and if you come up with any fun questions I didn't think of, I'd love to hear them! 

I am looking forward to hearing my childrens responses...hopefully I'll be posting some of their answers soon.

Enjoy learning about your kids!

A Garden in January

At any given moment, my daughter views life in one of two seasons. It is either a "grass time" or "snow time".  Although it is still January, there is not much snow on the ground right now...just patches of accumulated drifts or plow piles here and there that have all but dwindled entirely. 

With melting snow comes excitement and anticipation of the looming springtime.  [Or "grass time", as my sweet girl would say...] And my children have begun preparing for warmer weather. 

This is our paper garden:

Our paper garden, from left to right they planted: apples, watermelon, cauliflower, cantaloupe, bananas, and broccoli.

Complete with a variety of fruits and vegetables, this little plot has yielded many a crop to my imaginative little ones.  Occasionally I am offered a half a watermelon, or maybe a head of cauliflower.  A tiny hand extends to me what would appear to be nothing, but is indeed a very thoughtful gift, and I bend down and nibble the invisible food "Mmmm"-ing and "Ahhhhh"-ing until those innocent faces are beaming with pride.  I can hardly wait to see their excitement when we plant our real seeds this "grass time"! 

My son used a ruler to draw rows to plant his harvest in.  He chose which plants to sow and cut out his own shapes from construction paper, and then glued his plants in the rows. 

After each row was "planted", he created a dimensional label for that row, marking what food had been planted there. 

So, if you need a project to keep your little ones busy while they are cooped up in "snow time"...maybe try planting a paper garden and have some fun pretending its "grass time".