I am not a crafty person by nature so the crafts we do around here are foolproof. I love the look of homemade Valentines cards because they are so much more personal than the generic little cards you buy at the store but with my options are limited by my crafting skills.

I love this super simple idea for creating homemade Valentines and the best part is you can make it from supplies you probably already have around the house!

Supplies

• Camera
• Pipe Cleaner
• Multi-colored cupcake liners

Instructions

These homemade Valentines are so easy that your kids can actually do most of the work. My son made these in our co-op preschool last year and he was so proud of the end result (You’ll have to excuse the photo. I couldn’t find the original at the moment so this was just a quick snapshot that was take of the project last year).

The first step is to take the photo. You can either take a snapshot in your backyard or create a solid background by having your child stand against a painted wall. If you don’t have a solid wall in your home, try hanging a solid color blanket or sheet behind your child.

Lighting is the key to getting the best photo. If you have a wall next to a window that brings in a lot of natural light that will work the best. Outside photos are a great alternative as well.

Have your child make a fist and hold his arm out. For younger kids, you may have to tell them to pretend that they are holding something in their hand. It’s best if your child’s thumb is on the side of their fist so that the end result looks more realistic.

Print enough photos to create the number of Valentines that you need.

Poke a small hole in the photo at the top of your child’s hand. If you want to be fancy you can poke a second hole at the bottom of their hand so it looks like the stem of the flower is coming out the bottom.

Poke a hole in the center of a stack of cupcake liners. Don’t make the hole too big of they’ll slide down the stem. A toothpick works great for this.

Have your child thread the cupcake liners onto the pipe cleaner to make them look like a flower. You can use tissue paper cut into interesting shapes for this too if you want to be a bit more create.

When your child likes the way their flower looks, fold over the top of the pipe cleaner to keep the cupcake liners in place then feed the other end through the hole in the photo.

Optional: If your child doesn’t want a flower in his Valentine, you can use a lollipop instead.

{guest post submitted by Mina of Mina’s Journal}

It is that time again when we remind those special to us that they are thought of and loved.

Make these easy stand up Hearts for Valentine’s Day, a quick project that almost anyone can do, and a nice alternative to the regular Valentine’s Day card.

Materials:

• Stand Up Hearts download (*NOTE: You need Adobe Reader to use this file. Save it to your computer for future use. Design by Mina Keenan.)
• Card or paper
• Scissors
• Glue

Technique

• Just trim around the outer edges, and fold along the tab lines where indicated, and as shown in the photo.

• Apply glue to the end tab and bring it to the back of the heart, letting it ‘naturally’ find it’s place where to stick, approximately two thirds of the way up the back of the heart.

I love new readers. It’s so much fun to watch as kids grasp concepts that they once thought were well beyond their reach. Reading opens up so many things to kids and reading ability will play a huge role in your child’s future academic success.

As a former teacher and a homeschooling mom to 3 kids, I have found a few favorite products over the years that I think are essential for teaching basic reading skills. Each of these products share one thing in common — they make reading a fun experience for the child and help increase skill level.

Letter Tiles

Letter tiles are the first thing I pull out when I have a beginning reader. They can be used for the very basics, from identifying letters and their sounds, to more advanced skills like building words or creating simple sentences.

My favorite set of Letter tiles is one made by Lakeshore Learning because they are magnetic, which makes them easy to use on any magnetic surface (and makes it harder to lose them) and they are nice and chunky so even younger kids can manipulate them without a problem.

Bob Books

I’ve always heard everyone rave about Bob Books for early readers. Now that I’ve tried them, I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why I didn’t buy these when my oldest son was learning to read. We bought sets 1 and 2 for my 6 year old son a few months ago (and have since bought every other set in the series) and I cannot say enough good about them. The way they teach reading is just so logical and getting kids reading full books right away builds so much confidence that they quickly learn to love reading.

My 6 year old is constantly asking to read his Bob Books with me and I constantly hear him say, “I am SO good at reading”. It makes my heart happy to watch as he really develops a love of reading and now it isn’t uncommon to see him pull aside his younger brother and show off his new reading skills by reading a few Bob Books to him.

Magnetic Poetry for Word Play

 Remember how much fun magnetic poetry was on the fridge in your college apartment? It’s even more fun for new readers who can sound out some words but may not be able to put a sentence together on their own. Magnetic Poetry has a great line of magnetic words for kids and they come in several different reading levels.

I came across an older version of these while looking for something to make writing fun for my older son and was thrilled to discover the first words version for my new reader.

We keep a magnetic wipe board up in our family room because it’s great for all kinds of activities and my 6 year old loves to sit with this magnetic word set and build his own sentences. It’s a great confidence builder and he really enjoys all the silly sentences he can come up with.

For younger kids, Magnetic Poetry makes a large letter version that’s appropriate for kids ages 3 and older.

Rusty and Rosy Reading Softward

LeapFrog TAG Reading System

One of the biggest issues I see with early readers losing motivation is that they want to read, and they want to read NOW. When learning to read takes longer than they think it should, kids get frustrated and decide that it’s too hard. The Tag Reading System from LeapFrog is a great way to keep up the momentum and get kids reading right from the very beginning.

We’ve loved the Tag reading system so much that we have 3 of them, one for each kid, and those were all products that we purchased on our own (i.e. the company didn’t send us a single one). We’ve gotten a ton of use out of our Tag systems and one of my favorite things about them is that they use real books, many of them old favorites.

We started our youngest on the Tag Jr. when he was only 2 and it’s been one of his favorite toys from the very beginning.

Audio Books for Kids

The most important thing you can do to help an early reader is help him develop a real love for learning. If a child loves to read, then learning to read will come naturally. There are some great audio books for kids available, or you can make your own by recording your voice reading some of your child’s favorite books.

Audio books allow kids to read whenever they want to and are a great alternative to T.V. time when mom needs to get something done or perfect for a road trip activity. My 6 year old would go nuts for this set of audio Curious George books.

Rusty and Rosy Reading Software

For early readers, repetition is just a part of the game. Learning each letter and the sounds that they make is an essential first step to reading but nothing about that has to feel repetitive when there are so many great options out there to make learning to read fun.

The Rusty and Rosy Reading Software is an adaptive program that helps teach your child all the basics they need to read in a way that feels more like a game.

Dr. Seuss Books

I’m a firm believer that books for kids should be fun and no one does that better than Dr. Seuss. With so much fun word play going on, it’s hard for kids not to be drawn into the classic Dr. Seuss books and many of the early readers are easy enough that kids can start reading them on their own right away.

I read Dr. Seuss to my kids from the time they were tiny babies because the books themselves are so timeless that I still enjoy reading them. I love the Dr. Seuss beginning book collection because it has so many favorites that are prefect for new readers.

What are your favorite products for early readers?

{guest post submitted by Ashley of Our Family Stone}

We are a crafty household. I knit, crochet, cross-stitch and other random things, our girls are ALWAYS pulling out paper and crayons, there are stickers everywhere and together we love to pull out the big tower of craft supplies and create. It makes us happy; it helps our girls feel like they can express themselves and it makes gift giving for the Grandparents easy! It also kills many a rainy afternoon, and when you live in the part of the country we do, there are a LOT of rainy afternoons.

When Christmas rolls around we amp things up a little, crafting reaches its all time high. We’ve been baking (because that’s a craft of its own), making ornaments and crafting Christmas cards! This is a craft we’ve done before and one that gets rave reviews both from our girls and from those who receive the cards! Of all the different cards we make, our Christmas Foil Tree cards are the favourite. They include glue and glitter and everything messy – who wouldn’t love it?

It’s really not that hard, and if you put a disposable table cloth on your table (which I didn’t do in the photos…live and learn) as well as one on the floor under each kidlet it makes the clean-up easy! So why not join us, make 1 or 100 and have a great time! Just make sure if you do, to let us know. We want to see the pictures and hear how it went.

Christmas Foil Tree Cards

Supplies:

• Tin foil (I purchase dollar store foil for our crafts. No sense using your good, expensive foil!)
• Cookie sheet or cardboard (as a surface to attach your foil to) and tape
• Poster board/cardstock
• White glue
• Sponge brushes
• Glitter
• Red and green tissue paper (cut or ripped into smaller pieces ahead of time. This is fun to do with your kids and then just put them in a ziplock bag till craft time)
• Dish for watered down white glue
• Sequins
• Scissors and pinking shears
• Black marker pen
• Ruler
• Christmas shaped templates

Let’s Make it!

1. Cover cookie sheet/cardboard with sheet of tin foil. Make sure all your edges are VERY secure with tape, you don’t want this moving around

2. Squirt white glue all over tin foil and then use a sponge brush dipped in water to spread the glue in a thin layer all over the tin foil

3. Have your kids cover all the tin foil with pieces of tissue paper. Using the watered down glue (one part glue, one part water) and a sponge cover all the tissue in another layer of glue and more paper. This is a layering even, have fun with it! Just make sure each layer, including the last has a layer of water glue.

4. Once you’re done with the sponge brush and tissue and your project is still WET, sprinkle the whole project with a thin layer of glitter.

5. Add sequins

6. Allow to dry overnight

7. Either use your pre-cut blank cards or cut your poster board into the desired card shape and size.

8. Using your pinking shears cut a decorative edge on your cards

9. Once your tin foil is dry you have two choices

i. you can trace your Christmas templates onto it directly and cut them out, then glue them to the front of your card and decorate with stickers

ii. You can cut a piece of tin foil slightly smaller than the front of your card, glue it on, then cut out another piece of cardstock the same size as your card, cut out a Christmas shape from the over lay and glue it on.

10. Allow to dry and mail!

We love this craft! Our family has loved the cards and it’s been excellent! The process of decorated tin foil can translate into ornaments, story pictures and all sorts of things, just use your imagination!

Author bio: Ashley Stone is a Mommy to two beautiful girls, the wife of a handsome husband, and the voice of Our Family Stone. She spends her days working with her kids in tow, baking, crafting, blogging, cleaning and trying to go to the bathroom alone. She started blogging 6 years ago because she wanted to feel like an “author” and to relieve the excess noise in her brain. Ashley has something to say about everything, pop on over to Our Family Stone and you’ll find that out!

{guest post submitted by Mina of Mina’s Journal}

Use these printouts as part of your Christmas gift giving craft stash to help you prepare for the holiday season. Grab your scissors and let’s go!

One of the most recognizable motifs of Christmas has to be the tree. It conjures up images of presents, decorations and lights. Anticipation about being with the people you love, the feasting, and the presents you receive and the reactions of those you are giving something to.

So while a good deal of thought goes into the preparation of those things, the time comes to think of the finishing touches to Christmas gift giving.

These printables feature simple designs and basic colors.

*NOTE: You will need Adobe Reader to view, print and save your downloads. Save to your machine so you can print as many as you wish and then get it out again for next year. All designs by Mina Keenan.

Christmas Gift Tags

Nine tree themed gift tags to put the finishing touches to Christmas presents with sentiments and room for a message on the back.

{download Christmas Gift Tags}

There is also a page of gift tags to color, so you can put your own special touches to them. (Think glitter and gel pens).

{download Christmas Gift Tags to Colour}

Punch a hole in the top and thread ribbon or string through and attach to your gift.

Craft Ideas

Cut and paste tags onto small paper bags for those small gifts like earrings and other jewelry. Draw the top and tie with ribbon to tie to the tree.

Use the printables and get crafty with them bits and pieces you find in the home.

Use ‘Chrissmas-sy’ paper. Use up wrapping paper scraps.

Use the images and text separately by cutting them out and decorating other things.

Make a Christmas Card

A greeting card can be a present in itself. Using some easy techniques you can make something that people will treasure and want to keep.

A nicely made card is a gift in itself. Try using the tags as a card topper.

Make a card by pasting a tag on different sized layers of paper or card.

Christmas Notepaper and Envelopes

A handwritten note to someone special is always a nice touch and is an extra thoughtful, heartfelt gesture.

{download Christmas Tree Notepaper and Envelope1}

Download some seasonal lined notepaper and matching envelopes for those gifts that require a little more writing than just a gift tag or card.

{download Christmas Tree Notepaper and Envelope2}

Trim notepaper.

Cut out the outer bold lines of the envelope.

Fold and cut where indicated

Print and make up five notepapers and envelopes. Package these up in a creative way to give as a gift.

*BONUS: Check this post out for Free Snowman Gift Tags. So have fun with these and have yourself A Very Merry Christmas!

Author bio: Mina Keenan – so in love with paper, cloth and yarn. Crafted all her life. Main focus right now on papercraft – designing printables in particular. Mina’s Journal.

Holiday crafts are a great way to give your home a festive feel and they are a great way to get kids excited about the holidays. We have a few favorite Halloween crafts that we do year after year that are so easy anyone can do them and most of them use things you probably already have.

Paper Bag Pumpkin

This is a great craft for preschoolers and it uses things that you probably already have around your house (always a plus in my book). I used to do this every year when I ran my home daycare and it’s an old favorite with my kids.

This works for kids as young as 2 with adult supervision.

Ghost Feet Art

 I love kids art projects that use hand or feet stamps. They are a great way to keep track of growth from year to year and they are really fun for kids to see them turn into something else. This Halloween craft is super simple so even the youngest kids can participate and it makes a festive addition to your holiday decorations.

This would be adorable put in a frame to bring out each Halloween!

Pumpkin Painting

Carving pumpkins is standard but I get a bit twitchy when my kids start playing with knives so I love opting to paint pumpkins as an alternative. My kids have always loved this activity and if you get creative you can end up with some great results that are a perfect addition to your Halloween decor.

Homemade Halloween Lantern Craft

If you are looking for a Halloween craft for slightly older kids, this one is perfect. It’s still simple enough that I could do it but the end result is some very festive, homemade Halloween decorations. You can keep it simple with a basic jack-o-lantern design or if you are feeling crafty you can try something a bit more complex. Either way, you’ll have some great decorations that your kids can be proud of.

Halloween Crafts from Around the Web

These crafts are definitely on my list to try next year.

Paper Pumpkin Craft

I love the simplicity of this. I wonder if it may be a bit tricky gluing the rings to the paper but I think this would be so much fun for younger kids to do. I know my almost 4 year old would love it. I may have to make the time to fit it into our Halloween plans for the day.

Q-Tip Skeleton

This easy Halloween craft uses Q-Tips to create a skeleton. What a great idea! Since I have absolutely no artistic ability I’d probably use a foam sticker for the skull (or print something off to cut out) but the rest of this is so easy and it’s a great way to teach kids about their skeletal system.

Do you have a favorite Halloween craft? Be sure and add the link in the comments below.

Egg tempera paint is extremely easy to make and gives you a nice shiny finish on your project. Kids can help make the paint (and practice their egg cracking skills) and this is a great way to use up expired eggs.

Just don’t forget to have kids wash their hands afterwards — you are working with raw eggs.

We used our homemade egg tempera paint to make shiny pumpkin pictures. Making their own paint was just as much fun for my kids as painting the picture and it was a fun way to switch things up from a standard painting session.

Supplies Needed

Paper

Egg yolks – You can show kids how to separate the yolks by pouring the egg yolk back and forth between both halves of the egg shelf after cracking it.

Powdered tempera paint or liquid tempera paint – Either one will do. Just use what you already have. I like the washable tempera paint from Discount School Supply. The stuff I have now was purchased years ago when I was running a home daycare and it still works great.

A paintbrush

Instructions

Separate your egg yolks and put each yolk in a separate bowl.

Add your powdered or liquid tempera paint and mix it together. You’ll want to be careful that the paint doesn’t dry on the brush because the egg will work like a glue and be difficult to wash off once dry.

You don’t need much paint in each bowl. Once mixed you should have a nice bright color.

Use the paint immediately to paint your picture then allow to dry on a flat surface overnight.

Be sure and remind your kids to wash their hands when they are done because you are working with raw egg.

The end result has a great, shiny finish and if you are using eggs that would otherwise be thrown out after their expiration date it’s a very frugal art project for kids.

Decorating for the holidays is one of the great joys of childhood but holiday decorations can be pricey.

Fortunately, you can make some great Halloween decorations without spending much money and your kids will be proud to display something that they helped to make.

This homemade Halloween lantern is incredibly easy to make and will do a great job of setting a festive mood. For this simple Halloween craft, all you’ll need is a few supplies, many of which you probably already have around your house.

I’m not really much of a crafter so for me, the simpler the project is the better.

Supplies

Old Canning Jars – If you don’t have any already in your home, check out local thrift stores or garage sales because you can buy these for almost nothing

Orange Acrylic Paint – I bought this for under $1 at a local craft store. Be sure and look for coupons before you shop. Most craft stores offer discounts around this time of year. I took advantage of a homeschool discount from my local craft store by brining in a letter from the school district stating that I was homeschooling.

Paint Brushes – Any smaller paintbrush will do

Masking Tape  - If you want to do a simple Jack-O-Lantern design, this is all you’ll need. If you want to do anything more elaborate, look for double sided tape or contact paper.

Instructions

Start with clean canning jars.

To make a simple Jack-O-Lantern, all you need to do is cut some triangular shapes out of a piece of wide masking tape. My 8 year old was able to do this on his own. We put the paint in small silicone dipping cups. I don’t believe the ones we have are still being made but I love them for painting. You could also use silicone muffin cups or these stainless dipping cups.

Be sure that the tape is firmly adhered to the jar along the edges. This is what will give you nice, clean lines.

Use a paintbrush to cover the surface of your jar with orange paint. We had to do two coats. You can stick with one if you want to allow more light to shine through the jar.

Allow the paint to dry thoroughly before removing the tape.

Or you could do what we did. We aren’t patient people. A hairdryer seemed to do the trick.

If you want to do something a bit more elaborate, you can ditch the Jack-O-Lantern face and get creative. We cut a design out of construction paper then used a combination of tape and glue to get it to stick to the jar.

The edges had to be cleaned up a bit when we were done though, so I’d recommend tracing a design on contact paper, cutting it out and attaching it directly to the jar.

Before you start thinking that I’m craftier than I think I am . . . I didn’t do the adorable cat design. I set my craft sister to work on that one.

When the jars are dry, put a tea light inside and light it. You’ll have an adorable addition to your Halloween decorations.

 This project was adapted from a project published in Family Fun Magazine.

Kids have a much easier time in upper level math classes if they start with a good foundation. Memorizing basic math facts, such as addition and multiplication tables, is a skill that is often overlooked during the elementary years but it’s essential for more advanced math.

Most kids are not thrilled about the idea of memorization, although it does get easier with practice. We turned memorization into a game with this simple activity that helps kids learn their addition and multiplication tables. This takes the fight out of memorization because it’s much more fun than flash cards or rote memorization.

Materials

2 or 3 dice – We had large foam dice that we picked up at a trade show somewhere (similar to this set from Learning Resources) but regular dice from a board game would do just fine. You can also find inflatable dice or buy dice in bulk online if you don’t have any available.

Directions

Addition – Have your child roll the dice. Whatever two numbers (or three if you want to throw an extra die in the mix to make it a bit harder for kids who have already mastered basic addition) land facing up will be the numbers your child will add together. In the beginning, it’s okay for younger children to simply count the number of dots on both dice. They’ll still be learning the basic concept behind addition. As they play the game, your children will begin to memorize their addition facts.

Multiplication – Have your child roll the dice. Again, the numbers that land facing up will be the numbers that your child will multiply together. If you want to work on individual multiplication tables, leave one die facing up (with a 2 for your 2 times tables for example) and roll the second die to create your multiplication problem.

What tricks do you have for helping your children memorize their math facts?

Sometimes the simplest activities are the ones that appeal to preschoolers the most. This early literacy activity is one that we turn to over and over again because it’s always such a hit and it does a great job teaching letter recognition in a hands-on way.

A while back I made a laminated alphabet, with each letter taking up a full 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. Once my kids have mastered writing their own name using the laminated name tag we move onto learning how to write the rest of the letters of the alphabet and the laminated letters are perfect for this because they can be used in so many different ways.

To make your own laminated alphabet, you just need to find a font that works for your kids. I have a few font recommendations here but feel free to use any font that you like.  Type out the alphabet in a word processing program giving each letter it’s own line, then increase the font until each letter is large enough that it takes up the full page (Watch out for wider letters like “w”. You may need to decrease the font for wider letters individually).

You can buy a decent laminator for under $30. I don’t have one so I just took my stack of papers to a school supply store and they laminated it all for me for only a few dollars.

I have all boys — very active boys — and I’ve found that sensory activities are a great way to not only help them understand a concept but sensory activities also do wonders for calming my kids down when they’re wound up. This activity teaches letter recognition and also helps preschoolers practice small motor skills.

We frequently pull out this early literacy activity for my nearly 4 year old during our homeschooling day because it keeps him occupied while the older boys work on other subjects.

Supplies Needed

• Laminated letters (or you can print one letter on a page and slide each page into a clear sheet protector)
• Play Dough (for a fun holiday twist try our gingerbread play dough recipe)

Activity Instructions