Hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving week, I know we are!! This activity I found on Sugardoodle.net, such a great resource for Young Womens and Primary, but also just for fun things to do with the kids. It is called a Blessing Mix, and we put some together last night for FHE, and I am taking them to the sisters I visit teach, along with having my YW put them together at our activity tomorrow. Here it is:
You mix
2 cups Bugles brand corn snacks
2 cups small preztels
1 cup candy corn
1 cup raisins/craisins
1 cup peanuts/sunflower seeds
1 cup M&M's
16 Hersheys kisses
In a large bowl mix all ingredients except for Hershey kisses. Place a 1/2 cup mixture in cellephane bag. Add one hershey kiss to each bag.
Then here is the little saying that goes with it. I printed it out, backed it on cute paper, and tied it to the cellephane bag with cute ribbon.
Blessing Mix
Bugles: Shaped like a cornucopia or Horn of Plenty. A symbol of our nations abundance.
Pretzels: Arms folded in prayer, a freedom sought by those who founded our country.
Candy corn: The sacrifices of the Pilgrims' first winter. Food was so scarce that settlers survived on just few kernels of corn a day.
Nuts: Promise of future harvest, one we will reap only if seeds are planted and tended with diligence.
M&M's: Memories of those who came before us to lead us into a blessed future.
Hershey's kiss: The love of family and friends that sweetens our lives.
Enjoy! Isn't it amazing their are so many wonderfully creative people out their that we can copy :)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thanksgiving advent calendar
Unfortunately I didn't think of this one until too late for this year, but I am excited to start working on it for next year. I LOVE the Thanksgiving advent calendar Pottery Barn has, and think it would be pretty simple to make my own that would look great in my house. This weekend my mom is coming out and we are going to get all the fabric and get started on it! Next year (when it is done :) I want to put a little slip of paper in every day that says "I am grateful for...." with an activity that goes along. Some activities I found were "I am grateful for good books, go to the library today." "I am thankful for my grandparents, draw them a picture and mail it to them", etc, etc. I love the idea of focusing on gratitude every single day of the month. I know in our house Thanksgiving tends to get overlooked, but I think it is such a great opportunity to help our children realize how truly blessed they are.
Here is the pottery barn link, it wouldn't let me post the pic:
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/ty200/index.cfm?pkey=gthmocctsk
Here is the pottery barn link, it wouldn't let me post the pic:
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/ty200/index.cfm?pkey=gthmocctsk
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Tom the Turkey FHE
I found this great little story, and thought it made a wonderful family home evening. I found clipart for a turkey and then colored one brown,one red, one blue, one purple, one yellow and one green. Then I laminated them, and glued them to popsicle sticks to use as puppets while I told the story. I also cut out feather shapes in each color that can be velcroed onto the brown turkey, so by the end of the story you have a brown turkey with all different colors of feathers. Then I read the following story:
Once there was a little brown turkey who had a terrible temper. He often flew into rages and ranted around until he was a nuisance in the farm yard. One day he lost his temper about some little thing and got so angry he flew into a rage and went RED as a beet. The other turkeys laughed at him and said:
You're RED, RED
RED as a beet:
Red from your head
To the tip of your feet.
Tom Turkey didn't like anyone or anything so he ran away and hid. He sat and sulked for a long time. When he calmed down and came out of his hiding place he was really RED all over. His head was RED and his neck was RED- he was RED from his head to his feet.
He hurried to the edge of the farm to visit Dr. Owl who was wise and knew all the answers to everything. "You have to learn to control that temper of yours!" hooted Dr. Owl. "if you don't remember in time you will end up being a very sorry turkey."
The next day Tom Turkey was brown again except that he had a red feather in his tail. He was very glad to be brown again, but he still thought it was everybody else's fault that he gotten so angry the day before.
Tom's mother called to him to help with the Monday wash. But Tom got the BLUES as soon as he started working. he moaned and groaned until his mother said he was acting like a baby. You can guess what happened next- he lost his temper again. This time he went BLUE all over! As he was running, the other turkeys yelled:
You're BLUE, BLUE
From your head to your toe,
BLUE all over
wherever you go.
This time Tom Turkey sat and sulked and blamed his mother for losing his temper . By morning he was BROWN again but now he had a blue feather next to the red one in his tail.
You can guess what happened the rest of the week. On Tuesday Tom didn't want to clean up the yard. He said he hated cleaning up with a PURPLE passion. Just as soon as he said that, he was in a rage he turned PURPLE all over. the turkeys shouted:
You're PURPLE, PURPLE
That's all we can see,
You'd better go hide
Under your favorite tree.
Of course Tom Turkey sat and sulked and blamed everything onto everyone else.
On Wednesday morning he was BROWN again but he had a purple tail feather added to his RED and BLUE one. He was beginning to feel ashamed that he couldn't control himself like he wanted to.
He went out for a walk when he saw a big ear of corn that his turkey friend was eating. Tom was GREEN with envy. He thought the farmer had no right to give someone else the cob of corn. And before he knew it, he had turned GREEN all over, and was in another terrible temper tantrum. The turkeys all turned to him and yelled:
You're GREEN, GREEN
GREEN as the grass
Why don't you get wise
And stop all the sass
And of course again, Tom Turkey went to his hiding place to sulk and feel sorry for himself.
On Thursday morning he was BROWN again but now he had a green feather amongst the other brightly colored tail feathers. But something was happening to Tom Turkey. He was really beginning to change. He wanted to keep his temper. He didn't feel like being ashamed of himself. He was determined to try hard and do just that.
Of course all the turkeys like to tease Tom and while they were playing a game of Gobble and Waddle someone called Tom a coward. Before Tom stared to think he had flown into another tantrum. this time his face turned YELLOW and his neck was YELLOW and the turkeys were saying he had a YELLOW streak down his back. They yelled:
You're YELLOW turkey
Just like we said
Why don't you go home
and hide under the bed?
Tom Turkey had turned YELLOW all over because he had forgotten to control his temper. But this time he sat under the tree and thought a long time about everything. He had only himself to blame for his mistakes. He was beginning to realize that he was the only one who could make things better.
When he awoke in the morning he was brown again with a new yellow feather in his tail. He didn't say a word to anyone, he just went about his business and said to himself, "I can do it, if I try hard enough!"
Mother Turkey asked Tom to keep an on the little turkeys while she went to the store on Friday. While she was gone all the baby turkeys ran through the house with muddy feet. When Tom saw what they had done, Tom almost lost his temper. But this time he just held his breath as long as he could. He turned as pale as a ghost, but didn't lose his temper. The turkeys yelled:
You're WHITE, WHITE
But your temper didn't show
Maybe you're changing
We really hope so.
all Saturday and Sunday he kept calm and was tickled pink to think he had gone two days without a terrible temper tantrum. He was still a little brown turkey, and a very happy one too.
He reported back to Dr. Owl on Monday and Tom Turkey thanked him for his help. Dr. Owl told Tom he earned the wright to wear the brightly colored tail and that he should show it off proudly from now on.
So when you go to the farm and see the turkey with his fan shaped tail all unfolded, remember this story about the turkey with the terrible temper.
After that we talked for a while about how we can always choose how we react to situations, and that we are the ones who decide how we will feel. Afterwards we made these cute little cupcakes from (again:) www.familyfun.com. Great family home evening, Skylar has made reference to it several times since, so I know she was kind of listening :) Sorry for the cheesy pic!
Here's the link for the cupcake recipe:
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50291
Once there was a little brown turkey who had a terrible temper. He often flew into rages and ranted around until he was a nuisance in the farm yard. One day he lost his temper about some little thing and got so angry he flew into a rage and went RED as a beet. The other turkeys laughed at him and said:
You're RED, RED
RED as a beet:
Red from your head
To the tip of your feet.
Tom Turkey didn't like anyone or anything so he ran away and hid. He sat and sulked for a long time. When he calmed down and came out of his hiding place he was really RED all over. His head was RED and his neck was RED- he was RED from his head to his feet.
He hurried to the edge of the farm to visit Dr. Owl who was wise and knew all the answers to everything. "You have to learn to control that temper of yours!" hooted Dr. Owl. "if you don't remember in time you will end up being a very sorry turkey."
The next day Tom Turkey was brown again except that he had a red feather in his tail. He was very glad to be brown again, but he still thought it was everybody else's fault that he gotten so angry the day before.
Tom's mother called to him to help with the Monday wash. But Tom got the BLUES as soon as he started working. he moaned and groaned until his mother said he was acting like a baby. You can guess what happened next- he lost his temper again. This time he went BLUE all over! As he was running, the other turkeys yelled:
You're BLUE, BLUE
From your head to your toe,
BLUE all over
wherever you go.
This time Tom Turkey sat and sulked and blamed his mother for losing his temper . By morning he was BROWN again but now he had a blue feather next to the red one in his tail.
You can guess what happened the rest of the week. On Tuesday Tom didn't want to clean up the yard. He said he hated cleaning up with a PURPLE passion. Just as soon as he said that, he was in a rage he turned PURPLE all over. the turkeys shouted:
You're PURPLE, PURPLE
That's all we can see,
You'd better go hide
Under your favorite tree.
Of course Tom Turkey sat and sulked and blamed everything onto everyone else.
On Wednesday morning he was BROWN again but he had a purple tail feather added to his RED and BLUE one. He was beginning to feel ashamed that he couldn't control himself like he wanted to.
He went out for a walk when he saw a big ear of corn that his turkey friend was eating. Tom was GREEN with envy. He thought the farmer had no right to give someone else the cob of corn. And before he knew it, he had turned GREEN all over, and was in another terrible temper tantrum. The turkeys all turned to him and yelled:
You're GREEN, GREEN
GREEN as the grass
Why don't you get wise
And stop all the sass
And of course again, Tom Turkey went to his hiding place to sulk and feel sorry for himself.
On Thursday morning he was BROWN again but now he had a green feather amongst the other brightly colored tail feathers. But something was happening to Tom Turkey. He was really beginning to change. He wanted to keep his temper. He didn't feel like being ashamed of himself. He was determined to try hard and do just that.
Of course all the turkeys like to tease Tom and while they were playing a game of Gobble and Waddle someone called Tom a coward. Before Tom stared to think he had flown into another tantrum. this time his face turned YELLOW and his neck was YELLOW and the turkeys were saying he had a YELLOW streak down his back. They yelled:
You're YELLOW turkey
Just like we said
Why don't you go home
and hide under the bed?
Tom Turkey had turned YELLOW all over because he had forgotten to control his temper. But this time he sat under the tree and thought a long time about everything. He had only himself to blame for his mistakes. He was beginning to realize that he was the only one who could make things better.
When he awoke in the morning he was brown again with a new yellow feather in his tail. He didn't say a word to anyone, he just went about his business and said to himself, "I can do it, if I try hard enough!"
Mother Turkey asked Tom to keep an on the little turkeys while she went to the store on Friday. While she was gone all the baby turkeys ran through the house with muddy feet. When Tom saw what they had done, Tom almost lost his temper. But this time he just held his breath as long as he could. He turned as pale as a ghost, but didn't lose his temper. The turkeys yelled:
You're WHITE, WHITE
But your temper didn't show
Maybe you're changing
We really hope so.
all Saturday and Sunday he kept calm and was tickled pink to think he had gone two days without a terrible temper tantrum. He was still a little brown turkey, and a very happy one too.
He reported back to Dr. Owl on Monday and Tom Turkey thanked him for his help. Dr. Owl told Tom he earned the wright to wear the brightly colored tail and that he should show it off proudly from now on.
So when you go to the farm and see the turkey with his fan shaped tail all unfolded, remember this story about the turkey with the terrible temper.
After that we talked for a while about how we can always choose how we react to situations, and that we are the ones who decide how we will feel. Afterwards we made these cute little cupcakes from (again:) www.familyfun.com. Great family home evening, Skylar has made reference to it several times since, so I know she was kind of listening :) Sorry for the cheesy pic!
Here's the link for the cupcake recipe:
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50291
Pilgrim and Indian Week...Part 2
Obviously, the rest of the week we focus on Pilgrims. I have really loved the website www.dltk-kids.com, it is full of printouts, coloring pages, and fun crafts to do. I printed out a pilgrim girl that doesn't have a face so Skylar could focus on not only coloring the pilgrim, but practice drawing her face on as well. We also went to the library and checked out a few books on The First Thanksgiving. Probably our favorite pilgrim ativity is making these pilgrim hat treats from www.familyfun.com. Skylar loves to dip the marshmallows in chocolate, and we all love to eat them!! Here is the link to the recipe! http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=40570
Pilgrim and Indian Week...Part 1
Part one of this week we focus on Native Americans. We did some really fun crafts that Skylar absolutely loved. We always make the traditional headbands with feathers, letting Skylar color the feathers. Then this year we bought indian corn at the grocery store and then rolled it in paint, and then on paper. It made a cool design, and kept Skylar busy for an hour (that is forever for her :)
We also made a fun treat I found on familyfun.com. Basically it is rice krispie treats made with Corn Pops, colored purple and red with food coloring. Then you mold them into corn shapes on a popsicle stick, and use fruit by the foot to make the corn stalks. Our own edible indian corn. The last project we did was too make our own indian corn. I cut out corn shapes from green construction paper, then tore little squares of red, orange, and purple tissue paper. Then Skylar glued all the squares onto the corn, making her own indian corn. So far so good!!!
Welcome!!
One more blog from me, just what you've always wanted!! One thing I have found as my daughter is getting older, is how much I truly enjoy teaching her and doing fun, educational activities with her. I love to know that our time together is meaningful and love to see her eyes light up when she gets something for the very first time. I am so grateful for all the amazing people out there that share all their ideas, I get mine almost exclusively from the internet. Still, doing a theme each week and coming up with activities to go with takes at least a few hours a week. So what this blog will do will give you my week full of activities, all of the things I have put together from countless places, in one little blog :) I hope this might be helpful for someone, if not it is a great resource for me when my little ones get old enough for this. Here we go!!
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