File Folder Games

In an attempt to keep my kiddos a little quieter during our weekly church meetings, I decided to make some file-folder games. These were a lot of fun to do, and I look forward to finishing the rest of them! Here is how I did it....

Supplies Needed:

(1) File folder game books (or come and borrow mine. I've already paid for it, so save yourself some money!) They can also be found online.

Copies of the games, colored and cut out.

File Folders (I cut mine down to fit my laminating sheets. If you plan on taking your folders to Kinkos or somewhere to laminate, you can leave them full-size.)

Glue or tape (to attach the sheets to the folder)

(Above) The supplies gathered and ready to go!)

This particular game is a rhyming game. They need to match the pictures up with words that rhyme. (Car/Star, Tie/Pie, etc.)Once your papers are mounted on the folder, simply laminate.

**Spotlight Review. I have this WONDERFUL laminating machine that I received as an early birthday gift from my hubby. It is called the "Your Story" machine. Not only does it laminate, but it also binds books!!! Let me tell you that it has been the BEST thing ever! I have had SOOO much fun with it. If you ever need to laminate some things, give me a call!After laminating all the pieces, simply cut out. Using velcro or magnets, attach small pieces to both the file folder and on the "game" pieces.

We plan on taking a few of these in the car for our Disneyland trip. I hope the kiddos like them!

Crafting SANITY!

SO, I missed blogging yesterday....lets just say that I have been horrid sick since Monday morning and haven't felt like doing much lately. :oP

BUT, here I am today, looking at the mess that accumulated while mommy took a few days off! What a JOKE! I think the biggest joke of all is that my craft items, ie: laminator, book bindings, felt, sewing projects, etc, etc, etc. have no home! If my laptop was fixed, this is where I would download a picture of my pathetic "craft bin" in our room! (It would scare you--trust me!)

SO. This is where I need YOUR help!! What has worked for you as far as organizing your craft, sewing, project, etc. items in your home? Is there a trick or tip that you have found valuable in containing the clutter? If so, leave a comment at the end of this post. Hopefully we can all find some suggestions and solutions to help solve this craft dilemma!

Thanks so much!

Board Book: Part Two

I have gotten quite a few questions about the board book project that I posted previously. I must admit, it is taking me a lot longer than I had anticipated due to the fact that I must work on the pages during nap time (which is almost non-existent in our home right now.)

SO, to help answer your emails, here is what I am doing with the board books: I-Spy books for Christmas. Here is a preview of some of the pages for the book.

These photos are a 7x7 format, so they will fit nicely on the board book pages. Since my boys can't read on their own and I want these books to be "quite books," I decided to use pictures for the finding page, rather than words. Below is the second page for the book. I'll post more photos as I finish them. I am doing a "toys" page, a "lego" page, a "book page" and many more! Hope this inspires you to find a use for the blank board books. Enjoy!

Preschool: Squares

My boys are starting preschool this week and we couldn't be more excited. My Aiden is going to a preschool two days a week and I am going to be team teaching with some great moms for Branson's preschool. In an effort to be prepared for our lesson this week, I thought I'd share some ideas for our weekly theme: squares. There are so many fun ideas to choose from, so I'll just post a few for you to enjoy. (The target age for the lesson is 2-3yrs.)

Square Songs.

1. Using large, square cutout shapes, sing the following song:

"Put your square in the air,

Hold it high and keep it there.

Put your square shape on your back,

Now put it on your lap.

Put your square shape on your toes,

Now hold it on your nose.

Hold your square shape in your hand,

Now everyone will please stand.

Wave your square shape at the door,

Now lay it on the floor.

Hold it high and jump, jump, jump

Now throw it way, way up!"

Square Crafts.

1. Using colorful paper, cut out several different sizes of squares. Let the children glue or tape them on a white paper to form a picture. Show them before hand a sample of square flowers, houses, people, etc. Let their imaginations run wild!

2. Take four craft popsicle sticks and form a square. Let them decorate it with markers, foam stickers, pom-poms, etc. You can use it as picture frame for their square craft listed above, or you can take their photo and place in the square.

3. Using inexpensive sponges, cut them into squares. Allow the children to sponge-paint squares onto paper.

4. Take a cutout square and glue it to a craft stick. Put eyes, a nose, mouth and hair on the square to make it a stick puppet.

Square Activities.

1. Tape squares on the ground in a line or circle. Let them hop, crawl, run, etc. on the squares. You can also play a cake-walk type game with the squares.

2. Hide square objects or cutouts around the room before class. Let the children run around and find all of the squares in the room. Have them place them on a table for everyone to talk about.

3. Take turns holding up everyday objects and ask, "Is this a square? How do you know?"

In addition to some of the ideas above, we will be tracing squares, counting the sides on a square, learning that a square has equal sides and we will have some square snacks. Have fun with your children and teach them the great things about squares!

Oobleck

It will soon become evident that I LOVE Dr. Suess books. On a recent reading adventure, my children and I read "Bartholomew and the Oobleck." My boys got the biggest kick out of the sticky oobleck in the story. I decided to make them some of their own oobleck to play with. I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

(2) plastic cups

Stirring stick (I used a popsicle stick)

Water

20 Mule Team Borax

Food Coloring (optional)

School Glue

2 liter bottle

1. Start by measuring out equal parts of glue and water in separate cups. You can decide how much you would like--just make sure that you have a 50/50 ratio. Set aside.

2. Using the 2 liter bottle, add 1 cup of the borax. Fill bottle 3/4 of the way full with water. Shake bottle for 5 minutes until borax is dissolved.

3. Now, using the glue and water previously measured out, combine them together into one cup. Add food coloring if desired. Mix well using stirring stick.

4. Here comes the fun part! Slowly add the borax solution a few drops at a time while stirring. The mixture will instantly begin to thicken.

5. Continue adding borax until oobleck is the consistency you'd like. (I did mine really stiff so it won't stick to carpets, tables, clothes, etc.)

6. Remove oobleck from stirring stick. Rinse under cold water.

7. Play away! Enjoy this fun recipe!

*DO NOT ALLOW CHILDREN TO EAT! BORAX IS TOXIC IF SWALLOWED. ADULT SUPERVISION IS REQUIRED WITH YOUNG CHILDREN.

P.S. Borax will be used in a future post on making your own laundry soap! Keep it handy for later.

Reading Flashcards

With school quickly approaching, my mind has shifted to learning activities for my children. My boys love reading books and looking at pictures. In an attempt to help them recognize words, I made some photo flashcards for them to play with.

Using my camera, I took some pictures to include on the cards. Using a photo editing software, I added the word below each picture. I then printed them on photo paper. You can also put a ring through them to secure.

Here are a few examples of the cards I made. Keep in mind that my boys are really young, so I stuck with 3 and 4 letter words. If your child is older, you can choose any words you'd like.