Last year I saw, in a great magazine, the steps needed to make adorable Christmas trees out of old paperback books. I made about 3 or 4 of them and made sure they were different sizes too! I had such a blast making them and my kids like them too. This year when Fall came around (well, here at least) I found the best idea yet! Pumpkins made out of old paperback books! I just love it when I get to reuse something, or try a new twist on something. This pin made me run to my stack of old books and grab the necessary tools to make one for my fall decor. My oldest son really enjoyed watching me make it. It was pretty funny to hear him say after each piece "ooooh, a little closer mama!" Easy enough! All you need is a little pumpkin half shaped piece of paper and a craft knife or razor blade. Wanna know why I am showing you scissors? Pay attention to the later photos. Trace your half pumpkin shape on the first and last page of the book. Cut around 5-8 pages at a time, no more or your … [Read more...]
Lunch Box Notes
We all know that bento box lunches are the rage lately. Search the internet and you'll find all kinds of moms showing off how creative they can be with their kid's lunches. In fact, Lindsi has come up with some great bento lunches! I, however, am not that creative, nor do I feel I have the time to go crazy packing a lunch that my daughter may (or may not) scarf down in 10 minutes. I bet most of you feel the same (kudos to those who are more like Lindsi though!). So how do I make my daughter's lunch special? How do I compete with an awesome bento box? I put random notes in her lunch box! This is not a new idea. In fact, my mom used to put notes in my, my sister's, and even my dad's lunch box when I was growing up. From a simple, "I love you," to a longer heartfelt letter, I loved being surprised when I opened my lunch. I now pass the tradition on to Nutty and will continue it when Tottie is in school. Like my mom, I have no set schedule. Random notes are much more … [Read more...]
Fall Sun Spiral
My girls love anything you can hang from trees. They love wind chimes, sun catchers, and wind socks. Tottie and I had some time together this morning before preschool so I thought it would be fun to make a fall sun spiral with her. When it was finished and hanging on the tree, she was so excited to watch it twirl around and catch the light! To make your own fall sun spiral you need: Clear contact paper (2 pieces, equal sizes) Small leaves you find on the ground Glitter Any other flat, small decorations you may want (we used foam shapes) Sharpie Scissors 1) You'll start by drawing a spiral on one piece of your contact paper. Make sure it is on the contact paper side and not the backing side. Also make sure your lines are wide enough apart to fit your leaves in between them and have a bit of room left. 2) Next, peal the backing off the contact paper and add the leaves, glitter, and other decorations to the sticky side. Make sure to keep the decorations … [Read more...]
Kids In The Kitchen–Guest Post
Getting your kids in the kitchen may seem like a lot of work, but it is one of the best ways to teach them life long lessons! I am going to tell you about the amazing benefits that you and your child will receive from spending time together in the kitchen while we bake monkey bread. Let’s start with washing our hands. This is the perfect time to teach your child a thing or two about microbiology. You can say something like this: There are teeny, tiny bugs that are invisible to your eye. They live all over the place! Some of them help us, but some of them can make us sick. It’s important to wash our hands so that we only keep the good ones around us. Let’s sing happy birthday twice as we rub our hands together really fast with soap, and then we can rinse them with water. Why do we have to rub our hands together really fast? Good question! That’s what’s going to get the bad bugs off, since soap alone won’t do the trick, so rub, rub, rub! Click photo to enlarge Now it’s time to … [Read more...]
Fall Cookies- Pinned It, Did It
Have you ever had one of those moments (usually happens to me on Pintrest) where you stop and you go "oh DUH!"? Well that is what came to mind when I saw the original pin. I saw these cookies and knew I had to give it a whirl. It is SO easy too! All you need is a bag of cookie mix, a rolling pin and a leaf shaped cookie cutter....and viola! Beautiful fall colored cookies. I made a double batch of sugar cookies to start. Next, I divided the batter up into four and colored each one a different fall color. I grabbed a small chunk from each colored batch and lined it up next to each other then rolled it out. We used our two leaf shaped cutters to make the cookies and baked. This sure was fun! I am totally adding this to my "to do list" for each fall. Click on the button above to learn more about Pinned it, Did it! … [Read more...]
Early Second Language Learning–Guest Post
As an adult, have you ever felt frustrated when you couldn’t communicate with another person due to a language barrier? Perhaps you then wished you would have studied a foreign language beyond the mandatory high school or college courses. In today’s society bilingualism and even multilingualism are a norm. As the demographics of our country rapidly change, it is vital to understand about foreign cultures and languages. Employers greatly value individuals who are bilingual and frequently applications who boast these skills stand out in a highly competitive job market. There have been a wide variety of research studies demonstrating the benefits of early second language learning . School systems all across the country continue to implement and improve their foreign language curriculum. Many schools now offer elementary language immersion programs where children are taught by teachers who speak fluently in the targeted foreign language. The goal of immersion programs are for students … [Read more...]
