Creative Family Fun

Your one-stop shop for kids activities and family fun

Terri Thompson

Best of 2015 – Project: Around the World

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Earlier this week, I counted down the top-viewed posts of 2015. Now, I’d like to share my favorite posts of 2015. They’re all part of a fun project my girls and I started at the very beginning of the year, Project: Around the World. We thought it would be fun (and challenging) to make our way around the world and to do an art project inspired by each country. We decided to go alphabetically so it would be easy to keep track of the countries we’ve done and the ones still to go. It’s been an incredibly rewarding project so far. The things we have learned have been amazing!
 
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It is hard for me to pick a favorite project from this series. I’ve loved everything we have done so far. So, I went to see what was the most popular post. It was our Colorful Building Paper Collages from Argentina (pictured above). We used the colorful buildings in the neighborhood of La Boca in Buenos Aires for our inspiration. You can read all the details at this link.

 

 
What else have we done?
 
We were inspired by the famous Blue Mosque in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan and created watercolor tiles. (Top left)
 
We created our own version of prehistoric rock paintings inspired by Tassili n’Ajjer in Algeria. (Top right)
 
We learned about the Aboriginal culture in Australia and made paintings in the style of Aboriginal dot painting. (Bottom left)
 
We listened to the music of Mozart and painted on top of sheet music while we explored Austria. (Bottom right)
 
 
Now you know my favorite project from 2015, why don’t you check out some of the other favorite posts from my fellow bloggers below.
 

 

Top Parenting Posts
 
 

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Top Educational Posts
 
 
Top Craft Posts
 

 

 

 

 
 

Top 10 Posts of 2015

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Every year, I look back to see what my most viewed posts were. What did you like the best? This past year, many of my popular posts were fun learning activities for grade-schoolers. They were also some of the projects we had the most fun with.

Are you ready to count them down? You’ll love all of these posts!

10. Gratitude Conversation Starters –  I think a lot about gratitude in November and December and I want my kids to think about it too. I created these printable gratitude conversation starters to help us start talking about gratitude as a family. They’re perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas time.
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9. Math Fact Islands – My oldest daughter refuses to practice math facts with flash cards at home. That’s okay… they’re really not that much fun! I’ve been trying very hard to make math fact practice fun at home, so I came up with Math Fact Islands. She can move and learn at the same time! It’s a versatile game about you can use it for addition, subtraction, or multiplication facts.
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8. Dear Teacher: There Are a Few Things I Need You To Know – Teachers are busy, and I never have enough time to talk to them about my daughters as much as I want to. This post is everything I wish I was able to tell my girls’ teachers each and every year.
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7. Project: Around the World – In the beginning of 2015, we started an ambitious project. We were going to create an art project inspired by every country in the world. We started alphabetically and slowly made our way through all the “A” countries. We took a break over the holidays and we’re ready to start back up again after the first of the year.
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6. Melting Crayons Science Experiment – Will crayons melt in the sun? We set out to find out and turned it into a fun science project. Try it yourself on a sunny day and print out the My Science Experiment printable sheet to guide your experiment.
 
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5. Number Line Secret Code – This project took a little while to set up, but the results were worth it. My girls loved practicing their math skills to solve the secret message. They asked for it again and again. This was definitely a win-win project at our house!
 
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4. Library Scavenger Hunt – I know a lot of kids are like mine and don’t want to get out of their comfort zone when it comes to reading. I wanted to encourage my girls to read new genres, but I wanted to make it fun too so I came up with this Library Scavenger Hunt. I’ve got two versions, one for picture books and one for chapter books. You can get both printable scavenger hunts at the link below.
 
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3. Plus 1, Minus 1: An Easy Math Card Game – Sometimes the best activities are the easiest. This fun card game is perfect for any kid practicing their plus 1 or minus 1 math facts. My daughter had a ton of fun playing it and I loved that the only thing I needed was a deck of cards.
 
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2. Driveway Hundred Chart – This is another entry in the “math doesn’t have to be boring” category. My kindergartner was doing a lot of work with hundred charts in school and I wanted to reinforce the learning at home. So one day, I went outside and drew a huge hundred chart on our driveway! It was so much fun! Check out this post for all the fun games you can play with a Driveway Hundred Chart.
 
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1. Classroom Treats for Holiday Parties – According to page views, I’m not the only one who’s every struggled with coming up with fun ideas for classroom treats. It’s especially hard when your school has a “store-bought treats only” policy. I went searching and found some fun ideas that would be perfect for a classroom  holiday party.
 
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A Week Full of After School Activities Plus the After School Linky Party – Week 17

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It’s After School Linky Party time! If you’re like me, I’m sure you’ve got kids home from break all week. You’ll find tons of ideas here to keep them busy. Get them learning, having fun, and being creative with all the great ideas in this linky.

I’ve pulled together five of my favorite ideas in this after-school (or winter break) planner. Have fun playing and learning together!

(Pictured left to right.)

Day 1: Get ready for New Year’s Eve! Make fun confetti poppers with Little Bins for Little Hands.

Day 2: Have some math fun. Explore numbers using magazines with Math Geek Mama.

Day 3: Grab some holiday leftovers and do a sink or float experiment with EDventures With Kids.

Day 4: Have some fun playing with Marshmallow Sensory Dough with Sugar Aunts.

Day 5: Craft and give back at the same time. Find out how to craft for a cause with Mama Smiles.

Check the linky below for even more great ideas.

 

Make sure to visit all the After School Activities Hosts:
The Educators’ Spin On It
Planet Smarty Pants
Boy Mama Teacher Mama
Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational 

Check out the link up below for even more great after school ideas. If you’re a blogger, please link up any ideas for elementary-aged kids (ages 5 and up).

Printable 2016 Calendar

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All I want every year is a pretty vertical calendar I can clip on a clipboard. It doesn’t sound like too much to ask, or so I thought. I remember last year putting my Google skills to the test to try to find one I liked. It was tough. I never did find on that I liked. Maybe I’m too picky.
This year, I didn’t even bother searching. I convinced myself that I could do this myself. It can’t be that hard. Or so I thought….
I won’t bore you with the details, but as you can see, I did it. I created the simple and pretty calendar of my dreams and I’m sharing it with you.
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details.

 

I kept things simple. Each month is on a separate page. It’s a great at-a-glance calendar. Use it to record important dates. Keep track of school events and school holidays. Label important birthdays so you don’t forget!
I agonized for awhile about whether or not to include holidays, but in the end, I left them off. I wanted this calendar to work for anyone in the world. There were just too many holidays to include for everyone (cause I wanted to include as many as I could) that I was afraid the calendar would get too cluttered and wouldn’t be useful for you. I’m leaving it up to you to include all the dates that are important to you.

Use the link below to download and print your calendar. Print on card stock for durability and clip it on a clip board for ease of use. I hope you enjoy it!

 

I hope this is the exact calendar you’ve been searching for to. I know I’m happy not to have to go on a Google search.

 

A Week of After School Activities Plus the After School Link-Up – Week 16

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It’s After School Linky Party time! Everyone is still having fun with Christmas and New Year’s Ideas. If your kids are already off school for the holidays, you’ll love this list. Get them learning, having fun, and being creative with all the great ideas in this linky.

I’ve pulled together five of my favorite ideas in this after-school (or Christmas break) planner. Have fun!
(Pictured left to right)

Day 1: Do your kids have Star Wars fever? They’d love to have some fun with this BB-8 inspired play dough from Left Brain Craft Brain.

Day 2: Get ready for the New Year’s celebration. Make a New Year’s Eve Countdown Ball with JDaniel4’s Mom.

Day 3: Create personalized ornaments for your family with this idea from The Educators’ Spin on It.

Day 4: Make DIY Dotty Tote Bags from Cutting Tiny Bites for a last-minute gift or to use as a library bag.

Day 5: Go for the gold and set New Year’s Resolutions with this Olympic-themed idea from Planty Smarty Pants.

Check the linky below for even more great ideas.

 

Make sure to visit all the After School Activities Hosts:
The Educators’ Spin On It
Planet Smarty Pants
Boy Mama Teacher Mama
Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational 

Check out the link up below for even more great after school ideas. If you’re a blogger, please link up any ideas for elementary-aged kids (ages 5 and up).
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