Chicken Scratch n Sniff

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T08:36:00.002-07:00

I made these cute little flowers at the beginning of the month for our Days of Love. Today, my goal is to give them all away. When you do something nice, a service for someone, you can leave behind or give that person one of these flowers. It can be anonymous or you can write your name on the back. The intent is to emphasize that love isn't just something we say or something we put on a card or piece of candy; its an action. I'm also hoping my children see that I don't just cook them dinner because I have to; its because I love them. I have about 20 of these so here's hoping!

Our Valentine's

2012-02-13T21:14:00.001-07:00

Time for another holiday already! Time just seems to be flying past for me. This year I have two in school needing to bring Valentine's for the class and teachers so this is what we came up:

My oldest wanted to do these Star Wars Valentine's for the boys and heart Rice Krispie treats for the girls. I ended up using Cheerios since that's what we had on hand. Then we dipped the tops in melted chocolate and puts some sprinkles on top. I love how the Star Wars ones turned out. They are really great!

My next daughter made soap balls with a sheriff's badge in the middle. It goes with her whole cowgirl obession. We wrote, "You are a 'soap'er star!" since the badges are star shaped. The soap balls aren't hard to make. I just used Family Fun's directions. I would have loved to make them look more like snow balls but with our badges, it just wasn't going to work out. The smell gets a bit overwhelming when you have so much grated soap so its best to work in small batches FYI.

Now what to do for the teachers? Well, we decided to go with cake in a jar with real raspberry frosting (I just substituted raspberries for strawberries). The frosting is amazing! I didn't use cream cheese but I can just imagine how great that would taste- next time. I made my cake from scratch but I'm sure a box mix would do just fine. The hardest part for me was keeping the jars clean where there wasn't supposed to be anything. I ended up using lots of moist paper towels to clean things up. The other problem I had was the seeds from the raspberries plugged up my frosting tip so I just scooped it on instead of doing something fancy. I still love how they turned out though!

You would think I'd be done but no- my younger daughter also wanted to make these flowers and these birds for her teacher and the teacher helper. I would have loved to make the flowers that big but I just didn't have the materials or the time. So I ended up getting green pencils and using the small roll of crepe paper that I already had. They still turned out cute. The hardest part was spacing the petals out right. I think on my second one I should have placed them closer together. I guess I'm not perfect afterall. Shucks.
Happy Valentine's Day!

Gospel Principles Chapter 8: Praying to Our Heavenly Father

2012-02-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

Gospel Principles Chapter 8: Praying to Our Heavenly Father

"Learning to Recognize Answers to Prayer" by Elder Richard G. Scott (Quorum of the 12 apostles)- How we can recognize the answers we are given and why we may be having a hard time.
"Lessons from the Lord's Prayers" by Elder Russell M. Nelson (of the 12)- What we learn about how to prayer when we look at the prayers the Lord and others have given.
"A Child's Prayer"- I love this song from the Children's Songbook. This link includes the words, music, and audio.
"The Lifeline of Prayer" by President James E. Faust (Second Counselor at the time)- The importance of prayer and what the meaning of prayer.
"Pray Always" by Elder David A. Bednar (of the 12)- 3 ways we can make our prayers more meaningful.

George Albert Smith Chapter 5: The Holy Priesthood—for the Blessing of God’s Children

2012-02-06T15:16:00.001-07:00

George Albert Smith Chapter 5: The Holy Priesthood—for the Blessing of God’s Children

"Keys of the Priesthood" by Elder Russell M. Nelson (Quorum of the 12 apostles)- Includes the history of the priesthood in ancient times and while the Jesus was on the earth then discusses the priesthood in modern times.
"The Power of the Priesthood" by President Boyd K. Packer (of the 12)- Its power when firmly affixed in the families. Includes the importance of women and the influence they can have in helping priesthoold holders.

"Blessings of the Priesthood"- A 3 minute video clip on the wonderful blessings that the Priesthood has given us give by Elder Robert D. Hales (of the 12).
"Personal Worthiness to Exercise the Priesthood" by President Gordon B. Hinckley (President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time)- The responsibility of Priesthood holders to act in appropriate ways in order to exercise the Priesthood.

Behold Your Little Ones Lesson 8: Sunday Is a Day to Remember Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

2012-02-06T14:52:00.001-07:00

Behold Your Little Ones Lesson 8: Sunday is a Day to Remember Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

Sunday Can- Similar to the bag activity in the manual but has some listed suggestions and where to get the pictures.
Sunday Word Search- for older kids
Sunday Activities- Unscramble the letters for older kids OR use the pictures for the bag activity or to show good Sunday activities during the lesson. If you want you can glue these pictures on a big piece of paper in a circle. Add some non appropriate activities for Sunday. Below each picture draw a happy face or a sad face for whether its a good or not activity. Then attached another paper circle big enough to cover the faces with one window cut out. Have the children turn the paper and say whether it is a good thing to do on Sunday or not as they look at the faces.

Remember the Sabbath Day- Better for a FHE activity but still good for the older nursery. For each activity an older child says is good to do on Sunday, they can put a piece of manna into the basket.
The Lord's Day- another fun way to show what to do on Sunday. You could make one more appropriate for nursery by gluing in pictures instead of words. Good way to keep some kids attention.
The Sabbath Day- a song with written music that you could teach.
Bingo Board- Use pictures of appropriate Sabbath Day activities and glue onto a bingo board type format just for fun. Older kids might be able to play if everyone gets a chance to win. This link has a template board and word suggestions.
Daniel, Lions, and Me- Cute view finder idea. Could use as is or paste pictures that go with the lesson in place of words and just use the lion because its fun or tie it into Daniel's story.
Lily's Sunday Morning- A matching sock game so Lily can go to church.
Getting Ready for Church- Find the items in the picture that are needed so they can go to church.
Jesus Christ: Creator, Exemplar, Redeemer- Pictures and stories you could use to show how to we can remember Jesus on Sunday.
Going to Church Maze- Going to church and bringing a friend so have to make it through the maze. Older nursery may be able to do this on their own but you can do this as a class if you blow it up a bit.
Songs on the Sabbath Day- Play these in the background, sing some, talk to your primary chorister about these, etc. These links include the words, music, and audio. "When I Go to Church" "The Chapel Doors" "Saturday" "Remember the Sabbath Day" "Heavenly Father, While I Pray"

Behold Your Little Ones Lesson 7: Jesus Christ Created the World for Me

2012-02-01T21:51:00.001-07:00

Behold Your Little Ones Lesson 7: Jesus Christ Created the World for Me

The Creation- Some other pictures of the creation that you could us during the lesson. Try putting them together as a necklace or giving out to each to child to hold when you tell your lesson.
Reverence for the Creation- This one has some pictures to glue onto a box lid to create a scene.
The Creation Word Search- for older kids.

My Creation Book- Another creation book that you could use. Also could just cut out and use for a collage. Also try gluing the pictures on a piece of paper in a circular pattern. Cut a window the same size of the pictures on another piece of paper. Then attach the window paper on top of the paper with the pictures with a brad. Trim edges and you should have a fun view finder.
The Creation Coloring Page- Another fun coloring page for the Creation.
Creation Crossword- for older kids.
Animal Match-up- Cut the pictures in half. Glue half on a paper beforehand and have the children do the rest at nursery. Or play memory matching up the two sides of the animals. There is also an idea below about making new creations from leaves. The kids could also make silly animals by mixing up the halves instead.
Gratitude for God's Creations- A pioneer perspective on being grateful for God's creations- includes a picture of pioneer wagon that can be used as a view finder.
My Father in Heaven Loves Me- Another hand out to color.
I Live in a Beautiful World- Can color these pictures or use them to talk about different ways we can appreciate God's creations- through all our senses.
Coloring Page- Picture of creation with animals to color. This one has children in it.
What Am I?- Close up pictures that you then have to guess what the object is.
World Frame- Draw a picture of yourself in the middle enjoying God's creations.
Picture Puzzle- Print out a picture from the Gospel Art kit of the Creation or use one of the coloring pages and make a puzzle. Have the children do it during quiet time or when they first come in.

Valentine Pouches and Love Boats

2012-02-01T12:46:00.002-07:00

For our Days of Love, I first had to quickly make our Valentine pouches. I say pouches because the original idea came with a Kangaroo thought with its pouch being the mailbox and a sign saying "You make me hoppy!" or something silly like that. Turns out I ran out of time and energy so we ended up with these simple pouches hung over the fireplace just like Christmas and its still great.

Here's all you have to do.
1. Grab two paper plates. Cut off the top 1/4 of one.
2. Put the plates top sides facing each other and staple.
3. Punch a hole at the top and tie some yarn through it.
Voila! I put names on the front and left the rest blank because the surprise for Day 1 was the pouches and things to decorate them. This time it was foam hearts and smelly markers. They did a fabulous job decorating them.
I think it would be fun to draw a face peeking out over the edge too.

Now what do you do with the scraps of extra plate you cut off? Throw them away? Of course NOT! Why not make them into a Valentine boat?

1. Grab some straws, scissors, a brown paper bag or other paper, tape, stickers, and markers.
2. Cut the straws in half. You only need 1/2 straw per paper plate scrap.
3. Cut a triangle out of the paper bag or pretty paper. Tape onto the straw.
4. Tape straw sail onto the scrap plate- on the top side.
5. Decorate the bottom side of the plate with stickers and messages.
Presto chango! A love boat! You could put cute sayings like "Will you be my shipmate?" or "You are boat-iful" or just decorate.

Note #1: Didn't want to make the pouches but do want to make the boats? Just cut a paper plate in half and use a whole straw instead of a 1/2. The proportions will be paper.

Note #2: You can staple two scrap plates together and put treats inside or one of their little toys to inspire some fun play and laughs.

Days of Love

2012-02-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

Its the night before February which means I'm getting ready for our 14 days of love. That's where we get out our mailbox (it happens to be a pirate one this year due to our last Spring Break activities) and start sending each other love notes. Usually we make Valentine boxes for Family Home Evening just before February out of old Kleenex boxes- lots of easy ways to jazz those things up just check this one out- however, this year I've decided to surprise them with Valentine pockets since I'm running behind.

What's next?
I put out different supplies everyday for them to make love notes. This year I'm putting the supplies inside our mailbox so its a fun surprise. Supplies I put in the mailbox include:
Stickers, decorative paper, fancy scissors, glue, glitter glue, fun smelling markers, old magazines, lots of paper, craft foam sheets, previous year's leftovers or clearance Valentines, yarn, doilies, feathers, random odds and ends to glue on, and some Valentine craft kits. Try these printable love postcards too (keep scrolling until yo usee it). They then spend the morning making each toher Valentine's until its time to go to school. Then they come home and do some more. Sometimes I'll pull one aside and give them something extra to put in like a piece of candy or an extra fun sticker to give to the person or even a small toy- most likely they will pull me aside and ask first though.
We also try to do small acts of love for each other. Just little acts of service then we say, "Because I love you." Its a good reminder that love is more than words but its an action.

I love having this time to show my kids how much I love them. This year I'm planning on doing something similar to some of these ideas:

Airplane fork from Kara's Party Ideas. I thought this would be a great surprise for breakfast or dinner then make some heart shaped meal like pancakes or heart shaped buiscits- something easy but fun.

From a Day in My Life. I'm actually going to attach a rocket on to one hand for some and just do the hugging idea for the others. The rocket ones will say "I love you to the moon and back." That was something my Dad and I would say to each other because we would always try to outdo each other in how much we love but to the moon and back was the furthest thing in my little kid world so that's a whole lot.

Balloons with attached love note for fun memory idea from here.

Love this idea from Lil' Luna but I'm going to use small baby jars since I'm not giving all my kids this many gummy worms! Plus I don't want fighting over a big one. Maybe my husband can have the big one.

This one I've seen a couple of times. Here are Martha Stewart's directions.

I love the ideas from Life in Wonderland. There is more than just the dinosaur if you check it out.

Just a few ideas. I'm really looking forward to the next two weeks. We should have all kinds of fun and love! Check out the next post if you want to see how I made our pockets and another Valentine.

The Help I Needed

2012-01-31T19:59:00.001-07:00

Gotta love Pinterest. I found 3 great things that I've been meaning to do that someone else did for me! Saved me tons of time. Thank you so much!
1. I'm trying to teach my children more and more hymns. We decided to start off with "Choose the Right" since it goes with the Primary theme this year. I was just about to stop pinning and start it when I came across this one already done! The best part- its from our primary chorister so all the pictures are the same ones they have started learning already. They thing its so cool. Thank you!
2. Article of Faith pass off cards. This is actually a full size page that so you can learn Article of Faith #1 but I'm shrinking it down and using it for a pass off card reward as well. Once my children say it to me by heart I will give them the small version to keep on a ring with the words "I memorized Article of Faith #1" on the back. I also plan on putting the full sized up in our house so they are constantly seeing and reviewing it even though we have moved on to the next one. Thank you!
3. Flannel board stories. I knew that the Friend had several pictures that I could use to make flannel board pictures, I'd just have to go through and find them all. Well, guess what? This nice lady has already done it! Thank you!

So much time saved! Love that.

Behold Your Little Ones Lesson 6: The Holy Ghost Helps Me

2012-01-28T21:39:00.003-07:00

Behold Your Little Ones Lesson 6: The Holy Ghost Helps Me

"Listen to the Still, Small Voice"- I like the idea of using a blanket to explain how the Holy Ghost can warm and comfort you. You could bring a blanket and pin some pictures that also explain what the Holy Ghost does or ways to invite Him into our lives- ex. prayer, love, etc. More ideas under the picture but more for older children- great for FHE.

"Understanding the Holy Ghost"- This is for older children for FHE. Its a crossword puzzle and fill in the blanks to help explain roles and attributes of the Holy Ghost.
Holy Ghost Invitation- A invite that shows ways we can invite the Holy Ghost into our lives. May be good for coloring (but not the Jesus picture- not supposed to). More ideas for older children underneath.
Gifts of the Spirit Treasure Box- Make this treasure box then fill with gems (paper or real). You can read a few of the scriptures but also tape a picture on to the back of the gems that represents that idea. Or just fill with other pictures like the ones form the lesson on the cube. More ideas underneath- mostly for older kids.
"The Holy Ghost Testifies to Me"- Another coloring page.
"The Liahona and the Holy Ghost"- I love roller boxes (you may have to scroll down a little before you see the diagram). This is a mini one with illustrations and the story of the Liahona. You could also use the cube pictures from the lesson instead. Several more ideas underneath.
"A Happy People"- There are some drawings that you can color and use as flannel board figures to go with the story. However, that may be better for older kids. So you could use these picture in your lesson, in the roller box, or just to color.
Wordsearch- Includes other names for the Holy Ghost but must look up the scriptures to figure out what to look for. Great for older kids.
"The Kingdom Up on High"- You could make this picture into a necklace and hand them out to the kids. More ideas for older kids underneath.
"When Jesus Christ was Baptized"- The song. Could play during coloring time or learn the words and sing.
"Remember"- Cut these pictures out and play a memory game with the older nursery children. Or use the pictures to create a collage about the Holy Ghost and Baptism.
Articles of Faith- Say and repeat (or sing and listen to) the 1st or 4th Article of Faith.
1st Article of Faith Wordsearch- For older kids, find each word of the article of faith in the wordsearch.
"I Know My Father Lives"- The music that goes with the song in the manual.
"I'm Trying to be Like Jesus"- Song with music. These are great to play during a quiet time activity like coloring or during a part of the lesson. There is also "Listen, Listen," Search, Ponder, and Pray" "The Holy Ghost" and "The Still Small Voice."
Tracings- Have each child lie down on a piece of white butcher paper then trace them. Cut out if possible or just have the child color and decorate (may need help with face). Explain that the Holy Ghost is a spirit that looks like our bodies. This was one of the ways that really helped my children understand that the Holy Ghost really looks like us but in Spirit form- not like the ghosts in books.

Comforts for Baby Products

2012-01-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

As a BzzAgent, I get to try all kinds of great products for free. This month, I tried 3 Comforts for Baby (a Kroger brand) products: sippy cups, baby wipes, and diapers.

Here's what I found:
Comforts Sippy Cups- Durable and reliable as long as you put the lid on right (I made the mistake of not checking once and got quite wet). I like that the lid has a cover but at the same time,
I would rather it be without because when you put it in the dishwasher, it gets a pile of water and gunk in it. Its easy to clean out but I still would rather do without it. It doesn't leak much which is great too. I turned it upside down, shook it, and threw it a little and it only dropped a few drops which is better than what my Gerber ones have been doing lately. Its easy to grip and my son likes them just fine. I forgot to look at the price but I'm assuming by what I found with the other products, that it would be very reasonable.
Comforts Wipes- At first I was disappointed by how stiff the wipes were but grew to appreciate it. Because they are stiffer than Huggies or Pampers wipes, they separate from the previous wipe easier and hold up better. Huggies and Pampers wipes tare easily and Comforts does not. As long as my baby's bum isn't sore, I would definitely use these again. I also really liked the container they came in more than the other brands. I usually cut my wipes in half to make them last longer but that makes it so I can't use the dispenser from the other brands- they just don't go through without a mess or without great struggle. However, I can use the Comforts one and its wonderful! I am now only using this one. It so nice and easy. I love the design. The wipes were at least $5 cheaper when comparing a big box to the other brands.
Diapers- The price of the diapers is great. You get twice the amount of diapers for the same price as Huggies or Pampers. They seem to hold up well to my newborn's messes and have had only one blow out incident which is pretty good. They have nice flexibility and are soft for the baby. I love not paying extra for name brand characters too. I like the bumblebees just fine thank you and I don't think my newborn cares that its not Winnie the Pooh or Sesame Street. I almost got the training pants instead though because my other son would have loved the firetrucks on them! I'll have to try those next time. I would definitely buy these again.
Thus far Comforts for Baby has impressed me and I would willingly try their other products expecting the same high quality.

Craft Bucket

2012-01-26T22:39:00.001-07:00

This is another present I gave this last Christmas. This time for my daughter and she absolutely loves it and uses it a lot so SUCCESS!

Its a craft bucket.

She is constantly wanting to make crafts. I have lots of things available but having your own things to use whenever your want is even better. I picked up a bucket from the grocery store of all places. Guess what? You can ask the bakery department if they have any extra frosting tubs and they will give them to you for free! These are nice sized buckets- not quite as big as a regular one from the hardware store but plenty big for us and did I mention, free (these are great for storing food items that you buy in bulk too like rice or flour)! You will have to wash them out though. Then I bought a bucket tool organizer that fits over the bucket. It has tons of pockets for organizing all sorts of craft things like markers, pipe cleaners, crayons, pencils, erasers, stickers, etc. They are usually around $10 but I bought mine on Black Friday so got it even cheaper.

Inside the bucket, I stuck a ream of paper, yarn, a whole bag of foam stickers, and a few other things. Now when she wants to make something, she just gets out her craft bucket. Its easy to carry to wherever she needs. When she first opened it, she spent the next 10 minutes just organizing everything. It was great.

Slamming Doors

2012-01-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

Do you have this problem? My kids don't purposefully slam the doors (most of the time) but it happens a lot- especially with my 2 year old who is still learning. In fact, this has happened so many times that their bedroom door came off! So to prevent that from happening again, I attached these lovely pool noodles to the tops of the doors. Bonus: no smashed fingers! The doors still close most of the way but its quiet and softly. Plus, its super easy to do.

Just grab an old pool noodle (the ones with the bigger hole in the center will work better) and a serrated knife. Select how long you want your door cushion to be and cut it (should slice right through easily).

Then cut through only half of the noodle lengthwise until you get to the middle. Separate it just enough to stick on to the top of the door. Voila!

When you do need to close the door, just take it off. I attach mine on to the door handle so I can slip it right back on afterwards.

I also added smaller ones to the closet doors. The noise would always wake up my napper. I made these small though since I'm not as worried about protecting the door, just trying to cut back on the noise.

Now what to do with the leftover, now smaller pool noodle? Slice it all the way in half and you have another new toy (like we really need more!).

You can use them for car races by slanting them against something.

Or as train tracks like my son loves to do. Other ideas:

Balance beam in an obstacle course
Tight rope when playing circus
Start or Finish line in races
For jumping over in games
Bridge for vehicles- just secure the ends or middle
Sword fights

And I'm sure there are many more uses that will be revealed as time goes on.

Homework Games

2012-01-25T14:30:00.001-07:00

Isn't it so frustrating when your child doesn't want to do homework? I agree completely. To make reviewing material a little less annoying, I try to make up as many games as possible that get them practicing the activity without really noticing or more so minding so much. Here are a few we do:

Scattergories Phonograms

Get some phongram flash cards and pair it with a Scattergories Dice. You'll want to put your phonograms in alphabetical order for this game. Roll the dice then show a phonogram flash card that starts with that letter. If you get a star, the child gets to pick with phonogram to do. If you can a letter with all the phonograms already done, you get to pick which one to practice. So far, this one has worked great when they are more hesitant because the dice is so much fun to roll.

Phonogram and Numbers Signs

When we are in the car, we look at all the signs around us. I give each child a specific task. One might need to look for two letter phonograms or more, one tells me the sounds of the first phonogram in the sign, one tells me all double digit numbers, one needs to add the two numbers together, etc. Its always more fun with a little I Spy.

Geography Anytime

I keep this map up in our Reading Center all the time. Its a shower curtain with a cloth one behind to use as a curtain. We reference this anytime a location comes up in conversation, in movies, TV shows, books, etc. You might see a rectangle on the map right now. That's a cut out of a Cars 2 location. We mapped out all the places Lightening McQueen raced.

ABC's on the Wall

I love this pocket chart. I bought it on clearance at a teacher's store last year. It is fabulous. (Don't have one? Line a piece of cardboard with duct tape then make pockets out of clear packing tape) I printed out alphabet cards- mine came from a book but you could just use a fancy font and print then laminate. I will put them out sometimes in a mixed up order and don't even have to say anything. Someone will come by and fix it and usually get everyone else involved too. Sometimes we use the letters when practicing our spelling words or phonograms too. Just doing things different everyday helps. I also do this with numbers for math problems.

Lego Sentences

These are blocks that we had that didn't go with the majority of the others we had so I repurposed them with labels and words. I've seen them with just letters on them too to build words. The small yellow ones I like because you can put a label on every side, the others I use the two sides. Then my kids can build sentences, stories, etc. I can give them specifics like use an adjective, subject noun, and pronoun or they can build a sentence and tell me the parts. Of course, my youngest still uses them to just build. My older ones like that because then the sentences come out really silly and they get a good laugh.
The blocks can be a fun gift too!

One last way is using window markers. Crayola makes some that work well. I have my kids spellings lists on a clip that they can study every morning at breakfast by themselves (I actually have two lists on one thing so 2 can study at a time- they usually end up testing each other which is a nice bonus). Then I'll take the list and have them write the words on a window. Another bonus: they clean the windows when they are done because I'll give them some free drawing time too.

Hope that helps! Do you have any other great ideas? I'd love to read them!

Tell Me a Story

2012-01-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

Story Cards

Like to tell stories? My kids love it when my husband makes up stories but every now and again he would get stumped. So a couple of years ago my children and I made this game for his Father's Day present. I printed out all the clipart from Microsoft free clipart site in black and white so my children could color the pictures for him.
Then we cut the pictures out and put them on different colors of cardstock and laminated them. I ended up using 4 catergories: 1. Characters 2. Locations 3. Actions 4. Characters doing Actions. We have loved playing this game ever since. My kids still jump up and down with excitement when Dad brings it out. There are ton of ways to play. Here are a few of our favorites:
1. Pick four cards (one from each catergory) and starts the story without looking at them. You can decide when to turn them over but can't look until then. It makes for some funny twists in the story.
2. Pick any number of cards and look at them but don't show anyone else. As you tell your story you reveal the cards at the appropriate moment.
3. Everyone picks a different category card and each take turns telling the story.
4. Everyone grabs about 4 or 5 cards. Someone gets to be the modiater and stop the person telling the story whenever they want and points to the next person who has to start with one of their cards (you can decide before hand if they are allowed to look at them first or not).
5. Give each person a number of cards and tell them the story can be as long as you want but when you use your last card, you only have 2 sentences left to finish the story.
6. Use all the cards for your story.

I even used this game for Family Home Evening. I gave each child only one category. We played a couple of games using the versions above. The last one involved using the rest of their cards to tell a story. Some quickly found out it wasn't as fun or easy to tell a story if you only had one category especially if it was locations. I tied it into how every member of our family has different talents. Sometimes those talents work great with what we are doing but its even better when we combine our talents as a family to do something- its more fun and easier.

Thumbprint Art Projects

2012-01-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

I love a great art project! Fingerprint art is one of my favorites because its not too messy and it can last for hours! This past weekend, I showed my kids Ed Emberley's Complete Funprint Drawing Book that my Mom had given me a while ago. My two oldest (7 and 5) did the whole book all Friday afternoon and into Saturday. It was fabulous because they were busy doing something new while developing their artistic talent and expanding their creative brains. Here are a few examples of their drawings:

First Tries

Circus Time

If you don't have access to the book, this site shows you a few how-to's pretty well.

Gospel Principles Chapter 7: "The Holy Ghost"

2012-01-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

Gospel Principles Chapter 7: "The Holy Ghost"

"Holy Ghost" Quotes- Several quotes from leaders of the chruch about the Holy Ghost on this page. You can then click on the whole talk if you wish.
"The Unspeakable Gift" by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (Quorum of the 12, 2003)- Mentions the difference between the Light of Christ, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost. Also talks about the great blessings that are ours because of the gift of the Holy Ghost.

"How Does the Spirit Speak to Us?" by President Boyd K. Packer (Quorum of the 12)- Gives examples and references to how the Holy Ghost speaks to us.
"Receive the Holy Ghost" by Elder David A. Bednar (Quorum of the 12) The gift of the Holy Ghost involves action on our part- desire, invite, and obey.
"That We May Always Have His Spirit to Be with Us" by Elder David A. Bednar (12)- How we withdraw ourselves from the Spirit and how the symbol of the Liahona can help us in understanding the Holy Ghost

Gosepl Principles Chapter 6: The Fall of Adam and Eve

2012-01-22T21:37:00.001-07:00

Gospel Principles Chapter 6: The Fall of Adam and Eve

"Lessons from Eve" by Elder Russell M. Nelson (Quorum of the 12)- 5 things we can learn from Eve.
"The Great Plan of Happiness" by Elder Dallin H. Oaks (of the 12)- We rejoice in Eve's choice. The fall was part of the plan from the beginning.
"Constancy Amid Change" by Elder Russell M. Nelson- The three pillars of God's Plan are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement. The principles we learn.

Gospel Principles Chapter 5: The Creation

2012-01-22T20:57:00.001-07:00

Gospel Principles Chapter 5: The Creation

"The Origin of Man" by the First Presidency (1909- Joseph F. Smith was President at the time)- declares clearly that man was from the beginning in the likeness of Heavenly Father, a personage.

"The Creation" by Elder Russell M. Nelson (Quorum of the 12)- The earth was created that families may be. It is a part of something much bigger. Includes the phases of creation and the components of the plan as well as our responsibility.
"Christ and the Creation" by Elder Bruce R. McConkie (Quorum of the 12)- The three pillars of eternity are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement. The importance of understanding the truths of the creation now and learning from it.
"Create"- A clip from a talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf that talks about our roll in creating today.

George Albert Smith Chapter 4: The Prophet Joseph Smith, God's Instrument in Restoring the Truth

2012-01-22T20:15:00.001-07:00

George Albert Smith Chapter 4: The Prophet Joseph Smith, God's Instrument in Restoring the Truth

"The Message of the Restoration"- This is a video clip about 2 minutes in length of a talk by Elder L. Tom Perry (Quorum of the 12) put with video clips and pictures that testify of the restoration and sums up what happened.

"Joseph Smith: Prophet of God"- This is a whole website of the church dedicated to talking about the prophet Joseph Smith. More information is provided on the mission of the prophet, the life of Joseph Smith, witnesses of the Prophet, historic sites, and resource center. The resource center includes photos, quotes, basic facts, maps, etc. Great site to explore if you have questions.
"Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration"- This is not one you could show in class being as its a whole feature length movie (about an 1 hour) but it is a great movie to watch if you are just looking to glimpse at the life Joseph Smith before teaching.
"The Prophet Joseph Smith: Teacher by Example" by President Thomas S. Monson (President but at the time 1st Counselor)- Things that we can learn from Joseph Smith include courage, faith, honesty, patience, diligence, missionary work, and love.
Pictures- Joseph Smith pictures from the Gospel Art Book.

Gospel Principles Chapter 4: Freedom to Choose

2012-01-19T12:54:00.001-07:00

Gospel Principles Chapter 4: Freedom to Choose

"Agency: Essential to the Plan of Life" by Elder Robert D. Hales (Quorum of the 12)- Defines agency and how we can use our agency to come unto Jesus Christ.

"The Three R's of Choice" by President Thomas S. Monson (President of the Church)- Discusses the Right of choice, the Responsibility of choice, and the Results of choice.
"To Act for Ourselves: The Gift and Blessings of Agency" by Elder Robert D. Hales (of the 12)- I like how he uses Lehi's dream to discuss agency. As we use our agency righteously, more light can come and we are happy. We can also reclaim our agency when we choose poorly. Recommends choices to make now.
"Moral Agency" by Elder D. Todd Christofferson (of the 12)- 3 elements of agency are alternatives, knowing the alternatives, and the freedom to choose. Talks about Jesus Christ's role in our agency and gives some of His examples to follow.
"Atonement, Agency, Accountability" by President Boyd K. Packer (Elder at the time, Quorum of the 12)- Agency given to man without the atonement would have been fatal. The importance of agency.

Behold Your Little Ones Lesson 5: "Jesus Christ Showed Us How to Love Others"

2012-01-16T21:42:00.001-07:00

Behold Your Little Ones Lesson 5: "Jesus Christ Showed Us How to Love Others"

Follow Jesus Christ- Some more ideas for older kids at the bottom. You could make this bouquet or a simpler one out of pipe cleaners and coffee filters (color the edges with markers then spray with a water bottle and the colors with spread nicely) or tissue paper.

Showing the Love in Your Heart- A poem and picture to color that talks about love means acting too.
Love One Another- Scroll down and you'll find a booklet that you can print out, color, and put together that tells us how Jesus taught us to love one another. Or use this for lesson 4.
Love At Home- Cute house that you could make beforehand or get a foam one from the craft stores to put together then do the activity. Plus more ideas.
"Love One Another"- The song from the Children's songbook. Sing this and do some actions to go along with it.
Showing Love Coloring Page- At the bottom you can click on a picture of a boy showing his parents that he loves them by helping them.
"Jesus Said Love Everyone"- The music and lyrics to the song.
Lullaby- A song to teach the children to sing to others. Great way to show love.
Valentines- Rebus valentines- better for older kids but those that still can't read.
Family Love- A fun slider handout that shows ways we show love in our family. Could be used as part of the lesson, as a handout, or for Family Home Evening.
Heart Full of Love- For older children for FHE. How many times can you find the word love.
Valentines- Get some Valentines (after the sales work great!) and play mailman giving Valentines to each other. You could even make some valentine boxes out of old Kleenex boxes decorated with stickers then play- just give everyone a few to start and let them have fun.
Make Valentines- Make some valentines to give to family members. Getting heart dollies, stickers, and construction paper makes the job easy. Or use the ones at Scriptures 4 Kids- a super site!
Name tags or Badges- Make tags or heart badges to give each child. When they do something loving, put a sticker on it. You can have them act out some ways at the beginning and give them stickers for that then just keep going as the class goes on.
Give out Stickers- Have the children give stickers to each other and say "I love you"
Lesson ideas- During the lesson you could use pretend food and act out the stories a little bit more.

Great Game for Little Ones

2012-01-16T20:14:00.001-07:00

Now that Christmas is over, I can show you what I made this year and not ruin the surprise for others. One of my favorites is what I call, "The Super Splendid Dice Game." Its a good game to start playing with little ones since lots of rules and waiting isn't their forte.

All I did was make a dice out of cloth squares and stuffing as well as some paper game cards. I made the dice soft since its for little kids and mine is a boy (keep those injuries to a minimum) plus it could be bigger this way. There are 5 categories for this game; the 6th side of the dice being wild. They are "Pretending," "Seek and Find," "Sounds," "Songs," and "Actions." I only made 10 cards for each category. I printed out coloring book style pictures from clip art programs that I have but also used the free clip art from Microsoft a fair bit and tried to personalize it as much as possible. For example, I know my son loves firetrucks so I made sure that one of the categories included something about one. My children colored all the pictures then I glued them on to heavier colored paper and laminated the cards (you could even use contact paper). I ended up including a song book as well just in case. I put everything in some extra baby wipe containers that we have and pasted on the name of the game and rules. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Its just a bit time consuming with all the coloring and cutting (I cut out the clip art pictures then the paper I pasted them onto then the laminated version. You could streamline it by printing the clip art onto colored heavy paper but then your coloring doesn't look as great).

The dice (each side being about 3 inches)

My children love playing this game. My 2 year old takes his turn a lot but everyone can still play because you aren't racing to the end. You just cheer each other or have fun doing their activity too. I make the activities more difficult for my older ones (my oldest is 7) so its still lots of fun for everyone.
Here are the cards that I used:
    Sounds- Laugh!, Make a sound like a truck, Crow like a rooster, Sound like a bell, Clap, Gobble like a turkey, Make train sounds, Roar like a lion, Make a fire engine sound, Sound like a dinosaur.
(Example for increased difficultly: Clap in a pattern and have us repeat it or vice versa; Play follow the leader while roaring like a lion)
    Songs- Hinges, Once There was a Snowman, Row row row your boat, Baa baa black sheep, Book of Mormon Stories, I'm a Little Teapot, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, Smiles, The Wheels on the Bus.
(Example for increased difficulty: Sing more than one verse, play an instrument as well, do the actions or make new ones)
    Seek & Find- Find the vacuum (a favorite toy in my house even though its not a toy), Find and stand next to a door, Find a book, Find a clock, Find something in the shape of..., Find something with the color..., Find a fruit or vegetable, Discover a musical instrument, Find something with wheels, Find an animal.
(Increased difficulty example: Find a clock and tell us the time or Stand next to the door and knock out a rhythm)
   Pretending- Pretend to brush your teeth, Pretend to bounce a ball, Pretend to be an airplane, Pretend to be a duck, Pretend to drive a car, Pretend to be a frog, Pretend to be asleep, Pretend to ride a horse, Pretend to be a penguin, Pretend to be a bunny.
(Increased difficulty example: Pretend to drive a car around the footstool, under the bench, and park behind the chair)
   Action- Walk backwards, Color (or draw) a picture, Call someone on the phone (pretend), Share a toy, Do a cheer, Build a tower, Put on a part of a costume, Do a fun dance, Do a puzzle, Turn on and off the lights.
(Example of increased difficulty- Get the phone and show us how to dial our phone number or an emergency number [with the phone off] or Hop backwards on one foot)

This game is great to play with grandparents or even at a toddler party. Have fun with it! We sure do!

Calendar Journaling

2012-01-13T12:35:00.001-07:00

So its day 13 of the New Year and in case you are already getting down in the dumps about your new year resolution, here's an easy way to keep one about journal writing!
If you are like me, sitting down to write about your entire day in a journal kind of, sort of seems... well, daunting. A lot goes on in a day! That's why I love the idea about calendar journaling. All you have to do is get a monthly calendar, hang it up somewhere you can see it (like next to your bed or in the kitchen), and write one thing on it a day. I'm going to do this for my newest addition to the family so I can at least keep track of those important and sweet moments. What makes this idea even cooler today is the Living Social deal going on right now for a Shutterfly calendar- I LOVE Shutterfly. They are my favorite online photo company. I do all my photo books through them too. Today, Living Social is offering a deal on their calendars. $10 for a 12 month wall calendar (I love these because you can put pictures on specific dates so if its your birthday, put your face on it!) or get a 16x20 or 20x30 poster calendar for the same price- even less daunting for journaling. These deals typically only last a day so you'll want to snag it right away especially since these are normally over $20.
Or you could just make your own but this is more fun.

Here's another idea! Container calendaring! Put envelopes in an container for each month. Put momentos in the envelopes and jot a note on an index card. This way you have somewhat of a scrapbook by the years end and a journal reminders to go with it! Check this one out here.

Grocery Game

2012-01-07T14:26:00.000-07:00

If you take a gander, you'll notice I added a new widget (off to the right). Its for the Grocery Game which is a pay for coupon deals and organizing site. I've tried the Grocery Game before and found it good to help me get going on couponing and understanding the best deals when I first moved here. I stopped though because their time frame didn't work with mine. However, they have made several new improvements so I'm giving it another go. We'll see how I like it this time. They have certainly improved the site a lot since I did it four years ago. I really like the way you can organize things and the simplicity of it all. I don't think the release of the deals timing will be a problem this time either. It certainly saves a ton of time if you are an avid couponer like me. The widget that I added will have some of the hottest deals going on in my part of the world. However, you can click on it and get the hottest deals in your area. If you want to check it out and get your couponing on, there is a 4 week trial that you can try as well. If you do try it, tell us if you think it was worthwhile. Thanks!