Clothespin Airplane




We made airplanes with clothespins and popsicle sticks. Our sticks were colored sticks, but you could use plain ones and then paint them, or put stickers on them, or color them with markers......endless possibilities.

Just glue the sticks to the clothespins, allow them to dry, then play!

We were going to just make them with 2 wings on top and bottom, but we just read a book called "The Airplane Alphabet Book," that showed a tri-plane that had 3 wings! So, we simply placed a 3rd wing inside the clothespin.



Do you like this idea?

Looking for more activities for your little BOY?
http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2012/03/crafts-activities-for-boys.html


He Lives!


I cut these pictures of the Savior's last week and resurrection out an old issue of the Church's children's magazine, The Friend. I glued them onto card-stock and cut a little extra on the bottom to help the pictures stand up. 



For Easter, we are going to have our Family Home Evening be about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and use these pictures to teach.
 I love teaching my children about Jesus Christ. I have a strong testimony of the life, atonement, and resurrection of my Savior. It has brought me so much hope and a clearer perspective of my life here on earth. I know that because Christ rose from the dead, we will all live again. And we can be with our families forever. As a wife and mother, future grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt......I consider this the greatest knowledge that I possess.

Video: He lives!

Easter Egg Counting


To have fun with counting, I put dry beans into plastic easter eggs. One by one, LM opened the eggs and counted the beans. Then he put the beans on the plate to match the number.

Using these sports-themed easter eggs made it especially fun!

Spaghetti & Meatball CUPCAKES


Daddy had a Bday recently! We made these spaghetti and meatball cupcakes and took them to him for his "lunch." haha. The idea is from this awesome book: Hello Cupcake! They are SUPER easy to make: Just pipe frosting to look like spaghetti noodles, place a round chocolate candy on top and then plop some strawberry jam over it. Yummy.


Circles


Using old lids that I washed out, we drew circles onto paper using crayons. The circles don't show up very well in this photo, but it turned out to be a pretty cool work of art!

Cotton Ball Bunny


I saw this idea on allkidsnetwork.com. I loved it because it was cute and easy. Even LB (18mo) had fun with this.

Here's what you need:

  • Cotton balls
  • White card stock
  • pink construction paper
  • Googly eyes
  • glue
  • marker


Here's what you do:

  • With the card stock, cut out a circle and 2 bunny ears
  • Cut out smaller versions of the ears with the pink construction paper.
  • Put glue all over the white circle
  • Place cotton balls on the glue
  • Glue on the ears, nose, and eyes
  • Draw the mouth with marker

Upside Down Bunny Ears


For Book & Craft, we read Bunny's Lessons by Harriet Ziefert.

We made Bunny Ears out of white card stock and pink construction paper. When I cut out the ears, I intended to have them pointing up, but in the book we read, the bunny's ears were square on top and i thought it looked really cute. So, we simply turned them upside down!

We made a pair for each of us and hopped around like bunnies and danced. We even have worn them as we've played with the Physical Activity Cube.

"Go up to the Mountain"

I recently read something amazing and want to share it with you.

In the Bible, the book of Haggai chapter 1 verse 6, the Lord is pointing out how the children of Israel were not prospering. I don't know if you ever feel like this as a Mother, but sometimes I do:

Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink . . . 
(I love this next one:) and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put into a bag with holes.

But the Lord had an answer for the children of Israel, and He has an answer for us too. His answer is in Haggai 1:8, and 2:18-19

Go up to the mountain . . . even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid . . . from this day will I bless you.

As I read this, I understood profoundly how essential it is that we receive the blessings of the Temple.

But, are there Temples on the earth today? Actually, yes! Over 160 all over the world. 
Look here.

Life is not always easy. Sometimes it seems we give all we can and it's still not enough. Our loving Heavenly Father has provided a place where we can go to be reminded of the things of eternitythe things that really matter. In the Temple we understand who we really are and that we have great worth. We understand why we are here on earth and gain strength to face the challenges of life. The Lord shows us that He can make so much more of our lives than we can. 


We understand our Heavenly Father's plan for us as individuals and especially as families. .


It is in the Temple that families can be sealed together for eternity. We can be with our families forever. Our Heavenly Father has given us Temples because He wants us to receive all these blessings and so much more. So, "Go up to the mountain."


(Temple in Guayaquil, Ecuador)

Baa Baa Black Sheep


We did this craft at the Library a couple weeks ago. They recited the Nursery Rhyme, "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and the kids made their own black (and other colors) sheep.

The sheep outline was printed on paper, or you could draw your own. then the kids curled little strips of black construction paper around the crayons and glued them on.

This is a fun craft for spring and Easter too!

Physical Activity Cube

To get a little more physical activity into our days, I made this exercise cube for my kids! A great way to help kids exercise and get out some wiggles!
 Here's how I made it:




  • Using white cardstock, cut out 6 squares. (Mine are about 6"x6" squares.)
  • Write the activities on each square.
  • Tape the squares together using clear packing tape.
  • Before you tape the last square on, stuff in a few pieces of crumpled newspaper to give it more stability.

Here's what's on it:
  • Spin in a circle.
  • Jump 5 times.
  • Flap your arms like a bird.
  • Hop on one foot.
  • Dance!
  • Run from the front door to the back door.
The boys love it! 
Do you like this idea?




You might also like:


http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2012/02/heart-race.html

http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2014/03/lego-spoon-race.html



http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2012/09/rocket-run-preschool-learning-activity.html

http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2012/11/turkey-in-bag-game-for-preschoolers.html







Looking for activities for little BOYS?
http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2012/03/crafts-activities-for-boys.html



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Get Enough Sleep

I've recently discovered something remarkable:

I need sleep.

And far too often, I don't get enough.

Are you like me?

I stay up late doing things that I want to do and can't do with the kids awake (crafting, reading, tv, movies, blogs, internet, hobbies, etc.) I want to squeeze in all the "free" time I can, which inevitably leads to me staying up extremely late.

I've noticed that when I don't get enough sleep,  I am sluggish and moody. I am less patient and easily frustrated. I am less nurturing toward my children because I failed to nurture myself and my need for rest.

So, I decided that I needed to make a sacrifice for the sake of my and my family's health & happiness.
Since my boys never (unfortunately ever) wake up later than 6:00-7:00am, I am trying to go to bed no later than 10:30pm.

I've actually been trying to do this for a few months now. So far I've found that when I do get enough sleep, I have more energy to meet the demands of motherhood & homemaking with happiness rather than resentment. I am more productive. I am more patient and loving to my children. I also feel closer to my Heavenly Father as I seek His guidance in my life. Basically, I've discovered that it's worth it.

It is really hard sometimes to stop what I'm doing around 10:00 and get ready for bed. But a good solid 8 hours later when  LM comes in the room and awakens me from my deep slumber, I'm grateful that I did. The day is so much better for everyone when Mommy wakes up on the right side of the bed.

Easter Egg Memory


For this game, I put matching Easter erasers into plastic easter eggs. We took turns choosing an egg, opening it, then choosing another to try to find the matching eraser. (Sometimes we each had 2-3 turns to try to find the match)

You can usually find Easter erasers in the dollar store. But you could do something similar, even if you don't have them. You could use matching papers, coins, buttons, stickers.....anything!

Pom-Pom Owls


We read Wow! Said the Owl, by Tim Hopgood and made our own little owls.

I happened to have found a package of black pom-poms in a clearance bin at my local craft store several months ago. I really didn't know what I'd use them for. Hoo'd a thought they'd turn out like this? ha!
 I know. I know. You think I'm a hoot.
hoo hoo!

Anyways, if you want to make some, you can find pom poms in any craft store. (These are about 2" or so.)
I cut out the yellow eye circles, beak and feet using felt and we glued them on.
Then we glued the googly eyes on.
And I tried to give them owl ears by pinching the pom poms a bit.

Apple Buddies


If you are what you eat, then these little fellas must have wanted to keep the Doctor a million miles away! haha.
Anyways, 

If you want some apple friends, here's what can bring them to life:
  • apples
  • googly eyes
  • craft foam
  • easter grass
  • push pins
  • glue
Now create!

Easy Frog Craft for Kids

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