Creative Family Fun

Your one-stop shop for kids activities and family fun

Terri Thompson

A Week of After School Activities Plus the After School Linky Party – Week 15

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It’s After School Linky Party time! I love seeing all the great ideas you link up every week. Last week there were so many fun projects, Christmas ideas, Hanukkah ideas, winter projects, book lists, science, and so much more. I’ve pulled together some of my favorite ideas from last week in a handy after school planner. Hope you have lots of after school fun this week!

(Pictured left to right.)

Day 1: Make pink glittery pinecones inspired by Pinkalicious with Cutting Tiny Bites.

Day 2: Play a fun word family board game with Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational.

Day 3:  Do some Christmas science. Collect and compare different types of evergreen trees with The Educators’ Spin on It.

Day 4: Make homemade cinnamon ornaments inspired by Jan Brett’s book, The Gingerbread Baby, with A Little Pinch of Perfect.

Day 5: Do a volunteer project from home. Kids Money Lessons has some great ideas for volunteer projects you and your kids can do from home.

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).

12 Days of Picture Books

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Can an ordinary person change the world? You bet they can! This is one of the many life lessons I’m trying to teach my girls and luckily there’s a great book series about real people to help inspire this lesson.
We’re joining forces with Penguin Kids to share some of their favorite picture books as a part of the 12 Days of Picture Books. They will have daily giveaways on their Facebook page between now and December 18th. You’ll have to check it out!
Penguin Kids generously sent us a copy of one of the books they’re featuring in the giveaway. Keep reading to find out why we loved it!
Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. Please see my disclosure for more details.
The day our book came in the mail was not the first time we had read I am Amelia Earhart by Brad Meltzer. We had checked it out from the library a few months back and renewed it as many times as we could. It is that good. We’ve since gone on to read others in the series. In fact, I am Rosa Parks is sitting in our library basket as we speak.
Quite frankly, I’m grateful for Brad Meltzer for writing this series. I’m grateful for a easy-to-read and engaging series of biographies for young kids. I’m grateful to have this tool to teach my children about amazing people who did extraordinary things in a way that shows them that anyone can do great things. I am grateful for Amelia Earhart and how she is teaching them to reach for the skies and to know no bounds.
If you haven’t read this series, I’d encourage you to check it out. Abraham Lincoln, Lucille Ball, Jackie Robinson, Helen Keller, and Albert Einstein round out the series. And, to my 3rd-grade daughter’s relief, I am Martin Luther King Jr. will be coming out in January.

 

 

If you would like the chance to win I am Amelia Earhart, you must stop by Penguin Kids Facebook Page today!
Stop by everyday through December 18th for even more chances to win some of the books pictured above.
If you’re looking for great books to give this holiday season for kids of all ages, you need to check out this awesome Penguin Holiday Gift Guide! (If you go nutty over beautiful covers like I do, you need to check out the Collectibles section. Drool.)
 

Gingerbread Man Paper Doll Decorations

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Did you ever make a chain of paper dolls? My girls have been making paper dolls for weeks now and I’m finding them all over the house. I decided to capitalize on their interest and added a Christmas twist. We made gingerbread man paper dolls. It was so much fun and the process was so easy!
Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details.

 

Supplies Needed:
Brown wrapping paper
Pencil
Gingerbread man cookie cutter
Scissors
Sharpies (markers or crayons would also work)
In all of our paper doll experiments, we learned that the longer the piece of paper, the better chain of paper dolls you will get. Since you only get a few paper dolls out of a regular sheet of paper, I tried to think outside the box. What could we use? Luckily I remember the roll of brown wrapping paper we had. It was perfect! I used our cookie cutter to measure out the height of the strips that we needed, then cut a few long strips of paper.

 

Fold your long strip of paper accordion-style. Once folded, you’ll want it to be exactly (or close to) the width of your cookie cutter. Trace around your gingerbread man on the top of your folded paper.
Keeping the paper folded, cut around your traced lines. Remember, the arms need to stay connected so do not cut around the hands.

 

Once you’ve cut out your gingerbread men, unfold them. I was able to get a chain of seven gingerbread men. If you want to make a longer chain, just tape a few chains together at the hands.

 

Once you have them cut out, it’s time to grab the Sharpies and decorate! We spent a fun afternoon creating our gingerbread men. You can make an entire chain that looks like cookies or you can let your imagination run wild. The girls made entire gingerbread man families. They were all dressed differently and each one had a name. Needless to say, their gingerbread men never became decorations. The girls were too busy playing with them! So much fun!

 

I’ve teamed up with a great group of bloggers to bring you a lot of fun Christmas decoration ideas. Please check out all the links below for some more great ideas.
Crystal Snowballs at Rainy Day Mum
Jolly Kid Made Salt Dough Ornament Garland from Crafty Mama in ME
Fine Motor Egg Carton Snowman Craft from Sugar Aunts
Kid Made Pom Pom Garland from Spark & Pook
How to Make a Simple Jingle Bells Christmas Ornament from Peakle Pie
Bubble Wrap Holly Wreaths from Crafty Kids at Home
Nativity Lantern from Sun Hats and Wellie Boots
DIY Gift Wrap – Potato Print Penguins from Mum in the Madhouse
Glitter Glue Gingerbread Man Decoration from Adventure of Adam
Gingerbread House Photo Frame Ornament from Teach Me Mommy
Tissue Paper Christmas Wreath from 3 Dinosaurs
Kids Art into Christmas Decoration from Non Toy Gifts
Pom Pom Santa Hat Decoration from The Gingerbread House
The Little Blue Truck Handmade Christmas Card Holder from My Bright Firefly
Make a Snowman Decoration Using Recycled Lids from The Creative Pair

 

A Week of After School Activities Plus the After School Linky Party ~ Week 14

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It’s After School Linky Party time! I love seeing all the great ideas you link up every week and last week there were some amazing ideas. I am loving all the great Christmas ideas you have. They’re so fun and festive!

I’ve pulled together some of my favorite ideas from last week in a handy after school planner. Hope you have lots of after school fun this week!

(Pictured left to right)

Day 1: Decorate your tree. Make sand-filled Christmas ornaments with Gifts of Curiosity.

Day 2: Be an engineer and make a Healthy Gingerbread House with EDVentures with Kids.

Day 3: Practice reading with this Santa Sight Word Activity from Books and Giggles.

Day 4: Get out your LEGOs and make some Christmas LEGO Mazes with Science Sparks.

Day 5: Get creative and paint with lightsabers. Mini Monets and Mommies shows you how to do this fun Star Wars themed art project.

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).

Cardboard Tube Yeti Craft for Kids

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Have you ever had a pleasure of discovering a new children’s book that completely delights you?

I love children’s books and have many favorites. But, recently, Penguin Kids sent us a review copy of The Thing About Yetis by Vin Vogel, and the girls and I fell in love.

Because, the thing about yetis is that yetis are completely delightful.

So delightful that we were inspired to make our own cute yeti craft.

Create a cute cardboard tube yeti craft for kids inspired by the fun children's book The Thing About Yetis by Vin Vogel. Adorable!

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details. Penguin Kids sent us a free copy of this book to review, all opinions and craft ideas are my own. 

To say we were enchanted by The Thing About Yetis by Vin Vogel is an understatement.

We all know that yetis adore winter. Right? But that’s not all yetis delight in.

You’ve got to read to find out!

This book is perfect for your little ones and makes a great read aloud. We loved the whimsical pictures and by now we’ve read it about a million and a half times.

It’s fun, it’s sweet, and it’s not just for winter.

Create a cute cardboard tube yeti craft for kids inspired by the fun children's book The Thing About Yetis by Vin Vogel. Adorable!

To go along with the book, we couldn’t resist making our own yetis using supplies we already had at home. We modeled ours after the book, because that is the cutest yeti I’ve ever seen.

Supplies Needed

Cardboard tube
White paint
Glue
Cotton balls
Googly eyes
Red pipe cleaner
Bead
White paper

Create a cute cardboard tube yeti craft for kids inspired by the fun children's book The Thing About Yetis by Vin Vogel. Adorable!

 

How to make your yeti craft

Step 1: Paint your cardboard tube white. Let the paint dry a bit before continuing on to the next step.

Step 2: Pull apart your cotton balls and glue them all over the tube. We found that using a sponge to apply the glue helped it go on more evenly.

Step 3: Once your tube is completely fuzzy, add your googly eyes and the bead for a nose. Cut off a small piece of the red pipe cleaner to make your mouth.

Step 4: Draw two arms on your white paper. Cut them out and glue them to the sides of your tube.

Create a cute cardboard tube yeti craft for kids inspired by the fun children's book The Thing About Yetis by Vin Vogel. Adorable!

That’s all it takes to make your own cute yeti craft!

Decorate with them or use them for pretend play.

Because the thing about yetis is that yetis are quite adorable.

Create a cute cardboard tube yeti craft for kids inspired by the fun children's book The Thing About Yetis by Vin Vogel. Adorable!

You may also like one of these fun kids crafts:

Fun With Elephant & Piggie: Cardboard Tube Piggie Craft

Cardboard Tube Bear Craft

In the Tall, Tall Grass Book and Craft

Yarn Wrapped Snowflakes at What We Can Do with Paper & Glue