Color Clips

Originally posted: May 10, 2010


We recently did an activity that we called Color Clips. I just grabbed a few paint swatches from Walmart, cut out small rectangles, and used double stick tape to adhere them to some clothespins. LM and I then went from room to room looking for things that matched our clips. When we found something, we clipped the coordinating clip to the object. LM had a lot of fun with this one. Especially when he figured out that he could clip a few onto his shirt each time because of the various colors which it contained!

ABC Baby Book

 
Originally posted: March 19, 2010


 This is something I made years ago but we still enjoy! It is an ABC book using pictures of LM (when he was a baby) with different objects or concepts for each letter of the alphabet.

First, I went through our picture folders on our computer and copied and pasted any with cute ones of LM into a separate folder. Then I went through and figured out which pictures could represent which letter of the alphabet.

I have a digital scrap-booking program which I LOVE to use for fun little projects like this. So, I used that to make each page with a background, the picture, and the letter and words above the picture. And since it was all made digitally, I just printed out each page in a 4x6 format and put them in a little photo-album.


I made this when LM was about 1 year old. And since LM is our firstborn, we took pictures of him a-plenty, so it wasn't too hard to find pictures of him representing all the ABC's.

You could make one of these for your child no matter what age they are! And you could also use different concepts: colors, numbers, shapes, anything!

(Since the time I first posted this, I have made one of these for LB also and plan to make one for sweet baby LL! It's kind of become a fun tradition for our family!)

Felt Birthday Banner


Originally published on March 24, 2010




H is for . . . . . Happy Birthday Banner!
 We have recently had a Birthday. A BIG Birthday, in fact. Not too long ago, LM turned 3.
And prior to his Birthday, as I was wandering around the blogosphere, I found not just 1, but 2 fantastic ideas for making Banners for Birthdays or other Holidays. One was found on Rosy ~ Posy, and the other was on Nurturing the Tender Years. I thought it would be fun to make a Birthday Banner and start the tradition of hanging it up for each person's Birthday in our family. It took me a while to get it all done, but I finally finished it the morning of LM's big day! (Phew!)

I mostly followed the superb tutorial on Rosy ~ Posy, with a few variations. Here is how I did it!

First of all, I used felt for all of this. I used 4 colors to cut out triangles that were about 10 inches long, 7 inches wide.


I used a large cup to give me the right size for the white circles. I traced the cup on the white felt, and cut out 13 white circles. 

I typed up the letters for HAPPY BIRTHDAY in a word document. 
(I used the Arial Black font at about size 200.) 
I printed it out, cut out the letters, pinned them to navy blue felt, and cut them out.


 I decided to just stitch the letters onto the white circles by hand.
 For me this was the easiest way, since I've done a lot of hand-embroidery. (Thanks to my Sister-in-law, Sarah, for teaching me!)


Then, I used dark thread to stitch the white circles onto the triangles. 


It took me a while to try to figure out how to connect all the triangles together. As I mentioned above, I was sort of in a time crunch trying to get this done before LM's B-day, so after testing a few ideas, I finally just used navy blue yarn. I tied knots and stitched them onto the corners of each triangle. I'm sure there are plenty of better ways to do this, but it was quick and easy, and it got the banner up in time! Ha ha.


And there you have it!

Sorting Tray - Buttons

originally published: March 18, 2010



We brought out the sorting tray again and used it to sort buttons.


Once LM sorted them the first time, he wanted to do it again but with a bit of a twist. He grabbed my book holder off the kitchen counter that I use for my cookbooks and used it as a slide. He then proceeded to slide each button into its respective compartment.


Amazingly, they all got to where they were supposed to be! I guess sorting is sorting, no matter what the method used.

Mother's Lullaby



My talented friend, Cassidy Clark, wrote a lullaby for her daughter, and it is so touching and beautiful that I just had to share it! 
(Not only did she write the song, she is the one singing it, and these sweet pictures are of her and her daughter!)

There's just something about the lyrics, music, 
and pictures of her smiling and cherishing her baby girl that really resonated with me 
about the joy of raising children ---- the honor of being a mother

 

Sorting Tray - Colored pom-poms


originally published: January 26, 2010



I got this idea from some Montessori-inspired blogs and friends. Basically, you use a simple veggie-tray for sorting things. You can sort by color, size, shape, texture....ANYTHING.
I bought this tray at a thrift store, and the first thing we have used it for is sorting by color.



I cut out different colors of paper and put them in the tray.
Then I had LM sort colored pom poms.


LM used tongs to add some fine motor skill practice.

We even changed out the colors a few times.

Easy to make, and LM has had so much fun with this!

Easy Sticker Activities


I love stickers! -- because there are so many fun things you can do with them!! Here are a few ideas of some easy activities you can throw together for your little ones.

Click on a picture below to view that post. 
Or click HERE to see all these posts.






Color Sticker Matching


I saw this idea on The Activity Mom,

I drew 6 boxes on the paper and wrote the words of each color. We got out a bunch of stickers and I handed them one at a time to LM, who then placed them in the corresponding colored box.

Home Organization Files for Sale!





I enjoy being organized. I'm not always very good at it, but the more organized I can make my crazy life, the smoother things run. And thus I created this binder 2 years ago with all the things I thought would help my sometimes topsy-turvy world run like a well-oiled machine!


Creating the documents for my Home Organization Notebook wasn't very difficult as I simply used Microsoft Word & Excel. Anyone could make them! But, it did take some experimenting and a small chunk of time to create them. If you don't want to mess with making them yourself, I am selling them all for $5.00!

The documents you will receive will have our personal information removed, and you will be free to edit them in order to fit your life, home, and family. NOTE: These files will only include the ones which I have created. There's a LOT of stuff here so don't get overwhelmed. I actually use some of these more than others.


                       See what's included! Click HERE.

To purchase these documents just click on the Buy Now button and you will be taken to PayPal where you can set up an account, pay through credit card, and I will send you an email including all the documents I have created. The email will be sent to whatever email address you provide on PayPal. (note: sometimes it may take me a day or so get the email sent. But please let me know if you haven't received it after a couple days.)


5 Fun Fish Activities for Kids



Here are 5 fun FISH activities you can do with your toddlers, preschoolers or older kids!
Click on a picture below to see that post.
Or click HERE to see all these posts.







Faith in Times of Weakness



I have had a bit of a rough day today. I have been impatient and stressed with my children and have felt the enormity of my weaknesses as a mother. I prayed fervently to my Father in Heaven to help me and tonight I came across this video -- a message which filled my heart with joy and hope. I have faith in eternal things. I know God lives and is aware of my personal struggles and weaknesses. I know He can and will give me strength in the face of all of life's challenges.

Easy Frog Craft for Kids

Summer is in full swing....and ending all too quickly! If you're kids have any bored days where they are jumping off the walls l...