Creative Family Fun

Your one-stop shop for kids activities and family fun

Terri Thompson

Martha Stewart Crafts for Kids ~ Review and Giveaway (now over)

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*Disclosure: I was sent a free copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own. This post also contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Congratulations to entry #3 Nicolette Roux who follows me on Pinterest! Thank you to all who entered.

I was recently contacted by the lovely folks at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to see if I wanted to review Martha Stewart’s Favorite Crafts for Kids: 175 Projects for Kids of All Ages to Create, Build, Design, Explore, and Share. How could I say no?

The book is full of fun and amazing projects. Some are simple, others are quite elaborate, and all look like tons of fun. I let the girls leaf through the projects and they found so many they wanted to make. You can make a toy service station out of mostly recycled materials, design your own painted umbrellas, or make tiny trinket boxes for all your little collections. Your kids can make their own games to play, like rock dominoes, or make a nice gift for someone, like pretty button frames. This is the perfect book to have on hand for a rainy day or to help combat summer boredom. You can also view some of the projects here at the Martha Stewart’s Crafts for Kids video collection.

After leafing through the book several time, we decided to make these foil-and-paper crowns for our first project. We added our own little twist and turned them into fun 4th of July crowns.

The girls folded, cut, and stuck stickers. The instructions were simple and easy to follow. The girls did not have any difficulty making these crowns.

After a bit of modeling, we declared the project a success and the book a keeper. Now I’ve got to start gathering materials for that toy service station!

I’f you’d like a copy of the book, you can get it on Amazon here or in your local book store.

Or, you could try to win a copy for yourself. That’s right! I get to offer one reader a copy of Martha Stewart’s Favorite Crafts for Kids along with a gift package of Martha Stewart craft supplies to help you get started crafting. Included are Martha Stewart Crafts satin paint set, Martha Stewart Crafts essentials paper pad, Martha Stewart Crafts basic brush set, Martha Stewart Crafts crafter’s clay nature starter kit & Martha Stewart Crafts craft glue. You can enter via Rafflecopter below. You must be at least 18 years old and a US resident. Giveaway ends June 30, 2013 at midnight (CST).

10 Ways to Play This Weekend: Week 45

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  1. Celebrate summer by creating a hand print sun craft with Naturally Educational
  2. Create water color fish with 3 Dinosaurs
  3. Make confetti pop fireworks with No Time for Flashcards
  4. Go outside and make a sensory soup out of fresh herbs with Happy Hooligans
  5. Have a wacky watermelon day with Growing a Jeweled Rose
  6. Go diving for sight words with I Can Teach My Child
  7. Combine science and art while making sun prints with Creative Family Fun
  8. Do some beautiful sun weaving with NurtureStore
  9. Do pulled-string painting with Inspiration Laboratories
  10. Water an alphabet garden with Toddler Approved

How are you going to play this weekend?

Creative Family Challenges

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Are you following me on Facebook yet? If not, you may want to stop by and hit “like.” Why? Well, I’ve started offering a daily Creative Family Challenge. Each day I’ll share a fun & easy way to connect as a family.

Look for shapes in the clouds and make up stories about what you find. That was yesterday’s challenge. It’s easy; it doesn’t require any special supplies; and is certainly achievable for any family. I don’t plan on stressing you out with these challenges. Do one today, or just jot the idea down to do on a less busy day.

You can get these challenges if you follow Creative Family Fun on Facebook. I’ll also be offering the challenges on Google+, if you prefer that format.

Please join in and let me know you’re up for the challenge. Share with your friends. (Hit the share button on Facebook… I’d love it if you do!)

Now it’s time to go have some family fun! Will you join me?

10 Ways to Play This Weekend: Week 44

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  1. Have a summer backyard picnic with Mess for Less
  2. Make a cute nuts & bolts photo frame for Father’s Day with B-Inspired Mom
  3. Make daisy chains with Creekside Learning
  4. Play in a gardening sensory bin with Mama Papa Bubba
  5. Make dad a fun card for Father’s Day with DadLibs with Creative Family Fun
  6. Make your own super hero masks with Red Ted Art
  7. Dive into a new chapter book series for the summer with Imagination Soup
  8. Create with some homemade rolling pin stamps with Thrive 360 Living
  9. Make easy Father’s Day candy wrappers with Hands On: As We Grow
  10. Paint with tools with Stir the Wonder

How are you going to play this weekend?

 

My Reading Promise or Why Reading Aloud Matters

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Reading aloud is important. We’ve all heard the many reasons why it’s crucial to read to your young kids. In fact, we should start reading to them as soon as they are babies. It’s the first step on that reading path and it’s an integral part of their education.

But, is that all? To me, reading aloud is not just about the educational benefits, it’s about so much more.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

I recently read The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared by Alice Ozma. I had been wanting to read it for awhile now. I love books and reading has always been important to me. I knew I would love the book and I was right.

This book is a memoir of the books Alice and her father shared. When Alice was 9, her father made a promise to read to her every night for 100 nights. That promise became a streak that lasted 3218 days. The last day Alice’s father read aloud to her was her first day of college. This book is not just a book about reading. It’s about so much more. Because reading is always about so much more.

There has never been any doubt in my mind that I would read aloud to my children and read aloud often. My Mom made sure there were always plenty of books in our house and that we took frequent trips to the library. (Thank you Mom!) I want to do the same for my own girls. I hope to still be reading aloud to my girls even after they can read themselves. I hope to be reading aloud to my girls for a long, long time.

Why?

It’s about the connection…

It’s a simple way to connect on a daily basis. You’re in the same place, the same story. Maybe you’re traveling together to Narnia, Hogwarts, or the 100 Acre Woods. No matter where, you’re there together and that’s important. You’ll share an experience. You’ll share points of reference. Maybe you’ll even share an inside joke. All of it is important. And all of it can be achieved by reading aloud together.

It keeps you talking…

My girls and I have been reading the Little House books together. We’re not just reading them, we’re talking about them, asking questions, and trying to understand a very different way of life. They are infinitely fascinated by Laura’s life and I encourage their curiosity every step of the way.

Reading aloud can help you introduce difficult topics to your kids such as death, war, or racism. I don’t plan on shying away from such topics once my girls are older. I plan on opening that door and embracing those discussions. Reading aloud can make that happen and that’s important.

Like Alice’s father did all those years before…

I promise to read aloud to my girls everyday.

Will you join me?