Creative Family Fun

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Holidays

Valentine Word Family Game

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I love to add a holiday twist to learning games.

It adds to the fun and can help make a reluctant kid eager to learn.

Since Valentine’s Day is coming up, I’m going to share some fun ways to incorporate the holiday into learning. We’ll start with a simple Valentine word family game that makes use of heart doilies.

Get out paper doilies to help practice word families with a fun Valentine Word Family Game. It's a fun Valentine reading game.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

I usually like to stick with supplies that I usually have at home to make a learning game. But, this time I made an exception. I spent a little bit of money on some heart doilies to make a fun activity even more special.

Supplies Needed:

Heart doilies
Red or pink construction paper
Circle punch
Black Marker

Get out paper doilies to help practice word families with a fun Valentine Word Family Game. It's a fun Valentine reading game.

Make your Valentine Word Family Game:

Decide on the word families you want to work on. Choose the ones that your child is working on in class or select something you see they are struggling a bit with. If you’re not sure where to start, here is a great list of word families I refer to quite often.

Use your heart doilies for your word family base. Use the black marker to write a word family on each doily. Don’t do too many, 3 or 4 word families should be plenty.

Next, make your game pieces. I have a circle punch, so I just cut out four circles from my construction paper for each word family. If you don’t have a circle punch, you can cut out small squares or even small hearts.

Write a word on each circle from each word family. I had four circles, so four words for each word family.

An example would be: -est family, nest, rest, test, best.

Get out paper doilies to help practice word families with a fun Valentine Word Family Game. It's a fun Valentine reading game.

Play the game:

Give your child the word family doilies. Turn the paper circles upside down and mix them all up.

Choose a paper circle and read the word. Put the circle on the correct word family doily.

Keep playing until all the paper circles are on the correct doily.

Extend the fun:

Use just the word family doilies and see how many words you can write down for each word family.

Play the game with more than one kid. Have each child take turns turning over a paper circle.

How would you use this Valentine Word Family Game?

Get out paper doilies to help practice word families with a fun Valentine Word Family Game. It's a fun Valentine reading game.

If you enjoyed this post, you are welcome to share the above photo on Facebook, or the photo below is perfect for Pinning.

Get out paper doilies to help practice word families with a fun Valentine Word Family Game. It's a fun Valentine reading game. #Literacy #ReadingGame #ValentinesDay #BetterThanHomework

You may also like one of these reading games:

Word Family Four Square 

Stacking Rhyming Words

Word Family Sort at Creative Family Fun

Word Family Snowball Toss at I Can Teach My Child


10 Fun Ways to Celebrate New Year’s Eve with Kids

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What are you doing on New Year’s Eve?

If you’re like many parents, you’re probably spending it at home with your kids. That’s what we always do.

We make up a bunch of yummy appetizers, get cozy, and settle in to ring in the New Year. Very rarely have we all managed to stay up until midnight.

I do love staying home on New Year’s Eve with kids, but it’s fun to add a few activities to make the evening extra-special. Try one of these fun ideas to celebrate New Year’s Eve all day long.

What are you doing on New Year's Eve? If you're spending time with your family, you'll love one of these fun ways to celebrate New Year's Eve with kids.

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.

Fun ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve with kids

(Pictured left to right)

Reflect on the past year. Spend some time talking about all your favorite things from the past year. This year in review printable from Wondermom Wannabe will get you started. (Not pictured)

Set goals for the new year. Do you have any big plans for the new year? Do your kids have any goals? Spend some time setting goals with this New Years printable from NurtureStore.

Talk about your New Year’s wishes. Talk about your wishes for your family, your community, and even the world for the coming year. You can record them all on this Wishing Wall at Buggy and Buddy.

Watch the ball drop – at home. There’s no need to turn on the tv or stay up to midnight, you can make your own ball drop for New Year’s Eve. JDaniel4’s Mom has a great STEM ball drop activity you can do any time of the day.

Celebrate with science! Do a fun New Year’s science project to ring in the new year. This Confetti Science activity from Little Bins for Little Hands is tons of fun and has a big WOW factor.

Make a special drink just for New Years. Modern Parents Messy Kids has some fun ideas for fun fancy mocktails that the kids (and you) will love.

Celebrate with fireworks. No, not the real ones. Instead make your own Sparkler Firework Craft from Kids Craft Room. They’re safe, sparkly, and fun.

Countdown with a homemade countdown clock.  Make a fun clock, like this one from Buggy and Buddy, to countdown to the new year. Hint: You can use this to countdown earlier in the evening in case your kids need to go to bed early!

Make a fun craft to celebrate. There are so many fun crafts for New Years. This fun fireworks craft from In the Playroom would be a great choice.

Enjoy a classic confetti popper. These can be messy, but tons of fun. And, isn’t that what vacuums are for? Little Bins for Little Hands will teach you how to make your own confetti poppers.

What are you doing for New Year’s Eve?

What are you doing on New Year's Eve? If you're spending time with your family, you'll love one of these fun ways to celebrate New Year's Eve with kids.

Felt Bird Ornament: Christmas Sewing for Kids

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Have you seen all those themed Christmas trees? They’re beautiful and often very clever. I’m always blown away when I see some of the themed trees.

My tree won’t ever be on display in a store window, but it does have a theme. My very favorite theme of all.

Memories.

It’s full of memories. I hang ornaments that both my husband and I received as a child, ornaments that my kids’ grandparents give them every year, and many lovely homemade ornaments. Those homemade ornaments are the best ones of all. And this year, we’re going to add a Felt Bird Ornament (or two) to the tree.

 
Make this simple felt bird ornament inspired by the book The Birds of Bethlehem by Tomie dePaola. It's a simple sewing project for kids.

When you look at our tree, you can see the how my girls’ skills improved over the years, from paper and glue to salt dough creations. This year, we’re showing off a new skill – sewing.

My girls were delighted to get out their sewing kits and stitch up simple bird ornaments for our tree.

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.

The Birds of Bethlehem

I discovered a lovely Christmas book this year, The Birds of Bethlehem by Tomie dePaola. It’s the story of the Nativity told from the point of view of the birds of Bethlehem who saw all that happened. My older girls (ages 7 and 9) enjoyed the story, but it’s also one that preschoolers and even toddlers would enjoy.

I was completely enchanted by all the bird illustrations. They were simple and translated well to a simple sewing project. Keep reading to find out how we made our Felt Bird Ornament.

Make this simple felt bird ornament inspired by the book The Birds of Bethlehem by Tomie dePaola. It's a simple sewing project for kids.

Supplies Needed (for each bird ornament):

1 sheet of felt (approximately 9″ x 12″)
Bird pattern (click here to download pattern)
Scissors
Straight pins
Needle
White thread
Fiberfill

Prepare your pattern

Before you begin, print out the bird pattern. You can click here to download and print. It’s hand-drawn and inspired by all the bird illustrations in the book.

Fold your felt sheet in half and pin the cut-out pattern to your felt with straight pins.

Cut around your pattern. Because of the folded felt, you’ll have two birds.

Make this simple felt bird ornament inspired by the book The Birds of Bethlehem by Tomie dePaola. It's a simple sewing project for kids.

How to make your felt bird ornament

Thread your needle with your white thread. We used white thread for a contrast and so you could see the pretty stitches.

Note: I doubled the thread so you could see it better. Basically, put the needle in the middle of your length of thread. Take both ends of the thread and knot them together. Now you’ve got a double-thickness of thread.

Put the two bird pieces back to back and start sewing the two pieces together. We used a simple whip stitch to combine the two pieces. This is a very easy stitch for kids to try. Basically, you push the needle up through the back, come up through the front. Then bring the thread from front to back and push the needle up through the back again.

Click here for a detailed explanation of a whip stitch.

Make this simple felt bird ornament inspired by the book The Birds of Bethlehem by Tomie dePaola. It's a simple sewing project for kids.

Sew all around the bird. Keep an opening from the beginning of the tail to the base of the neck for your stuffing. (See photo above.)

Do not tie a knot or cut your thread yet.

Make this simple felt bird ornament inspired by the book The Birds of Bethlehem by Tomie dePaola. It's a simple sewing project for kids.

Use your fiberfill to stuff your bird.

Make sure to push some of your stuffing up into the head and into the tail. We left part of our tail flat to look more bird-like.

Make this simple felt bird ornament inspired by the book The Birds of Bethlehem by Tomie dePaola. It's a simple sewing project for kids.

Once your bird is stuffed, use the leftover thread to sew the hole together. Continue on using a whip stitch until you’ve sewn all the way across your hole. Tie a knot and cut your extra thread.

Use another length of thread and your needle to sew through the top of your bird and form a loop for hanging on the tree. You’re all done.

It’s time to hang your ornament on your tree.

We’ve got our Birds of Bethlehem felt bird ornaments hanging on our memory tree now. Not only do they tell the story of the Nativity, but they also bring back memories of our afternoon sewing.

Make this simple felt bird ornament inspired by the book The Birds of Bethlehem by Tomie dePaola. It's a simple sewing project for kids.

Our Felt Bird Ornaments are part of a lovely blog hop – 10 bloggers, 10 books, and 10 fun Christmas activities. Check out all the other participants below.

1st Day Inspired by Family-The Legend of the Christmas Cookie book & Easy Reindeer Cookies
2nd Day Teaching Mama  The Legend of the Candy Cane book & Easy & Cute Candy Cane ornament
3rd Day Beautiful Messy Motherhood A Carol for Christmas book & Write Your Own Christmas Carol Idea
4th Day Meaningful Mama The Crippled Lamb book & Handprint Nativity Craft
5th Day Happy Home Fairy -M is for Manger book & another lovely and different (from the one above) Nativity Handprint Craft
6th Day Simple Home Blessings Who is Coming to Our House book & Christmas Garland craft
7th Day The Chaos and the Clutter
8th Day Creative Family Fun The Birds of Bethlehem felt bird ornaments. (You’re here now!)
9th Day True Aim Education
10th Day Sunshine Whispers

Telling Time with a Turkey Clock

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How does a turkey tell time?

With a turkey clock, of course!

Okay, okay… I know none of us are trying to teach a turkey how to tell time. But, I know plenty of kids that need to learn.

A Turkey Clock is a fun Thanksgiving math activity that will help your kids learn how to tell time.

And, once you’ve made your clock, check out all of our fun Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids here.

Practice telling time with a turkey clock. It's a fun Thanksgiving math activity that your kids will love. It's perfect for homeschool or classrooms.

Let’s gather our supplies and get ready to make this fun paper plate clock.

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.

Practice telling time with a turkey clock. It's a fun Thanksgiving math activity that your kids will love. It's perfect for homeschool or classrooms.

Supplies Needed:

2 paper plates
Orange, red, brown, white, and yellow paint
Red construction paper (you’ll only need a small piece, so a scrap of paper will work)
Ruler
Black permanent marker
Brass fastener
Glue

Practice telling time with a turkey clock. It's a fun Thanksgiving math activity that your kids will love. It's perfect for homeschool or classrooms.

How to Make Your Clock:

Use your ruler and a pencil to divide the edges of one paper plate into 12 equal sections. This will be your turkey feathers and the numbers on your clock.

Paint each outer section in alternating colors of orange and red.

Paint the round middle section with brown paint.

Practice telling time with a turkey clock. It's a fun Thanksgiving math activity that your kids will love. It's perfect for homeschool or classrooms.

While your turkey is drying, draw two beak shapes on your second paper plate. These will be the hands on your clock, so you will want one beak to be longer than the other.

Paint each beak with yellow paint.

Cut your beaks out once they are dry.

Practice telling time with a turkey clock. It's a fun Thanksgiving math activity that your kids will love. It's perfect for homeschool or classrooms.

After the brown paint dries, locate the middle of your turkey plate. Put your brass fastener through the wide top of your short beak and then the wide top of your long beak. Attach your beaks to your plate by pushing the fastener through the middle of your turkey plate.

Paint two white ovals above your beaks for the eyes.

Use the red construction paper and cut out a small piece for the wattle. Glue this next to the beaks.

Once all your paint is dry, use your black permanent marker to write your numbers on your clock and add the details to your eyes.

Practice telling time with a turkey clock. It's a fun Thanksgiving math activity that your kids will love. It's perfect for homeschool or classrooms.

How to Play with Your Turkey Clock:

Tell Time: Move the beaks to a specific time. Have your child read the clock and tell you what time it is.

Move the Beaks to a Specific Time: Ask your child to show 3:00 or to show 6:45. Call out different times and have them move the beaks to the correct locations.

Find Elapsed Time: Elapsed time is the amount of time that has passed. You can use your turkey clock to practice calculating elapsed time. Set the clock to a specific time, such as 2:00. Ask your child what time it will be in 30 minutes. Let them use the clock to figure out the new time.

Practice telling time with a turkey clock. It's a fun Thanksgiving math activity that your kids will love. It's perfect for homeschool or classrooms.

This Turkey Clock is a fun tool to use in the classroom or at home to practice telling time. It’s easy to make and a great way to get your kids learning.

Practice telling time with a turkey clock. It's a fun Thanksgiving math activity that your kids will love. It's perfect for homeschool or classrooms.

You may also like one of these fun math activities:

Thanksgiving Math Activities for Kids

Pumpkin Pie Fractions

Apple Counting Rocks

Sidewalk Chalk Clock Game

Turkey Feather Math at Fantastic Fun and Learning

Gift Ideas for Kids Who Love to Create

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My oldest daughter is a maker. She love to draw, craft, sew, and bake.

I love to buy her gifts that support this interest. Gifts that promote creativity or that can teach a new skill. I want to give a gift that may be the beginning of a lifetime hobby.

Here are some great gift ideas for creative kids in your life. Light that spark of creativity.

What kids of gift do you get for kids who love to create? Your creative kids will love one of the ideas in this gift guide.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

What kids of gift do you get for kids who love to create? Your creative kids will love one of the ideas in this gift guide.

Gift to Help Them Create:

Get them a set of fun markers like Mr. Sketch Scented Markers.

Or their own Sharpie collection.

Or maybe they would like a nice set of colored pencils for creating.

Creative kids need a place to create. A simple sketchbook is great for this.

Or maybe they want to create pictures on these mini scratch art sheets.

Give them a new art supplies to experiment with. Chalkboard markers would be fun.

So would a pack of sculpting clay and some sculpting tools to work with.

What kids of gift do you get for kids who love to create? Your creative kids will love one of the ideas in this gift guide.

Gifts to Teach Them a New Skill:

Teach them to sew while they make a simple sock kitty.

Or they can sew up a set of cute woodland animals.

They can learn about weaving while working with a new wooden weaving loom.

Learn the art of origami with a My First Origami kit.

We love Klutz Kits and always have fun with them. This Felted Friends kit is a fun one which teaches the craft of felting.

Or learn how to work with clay by making mini Clay Charms with this set.

What gifts are you going to get your creative kids this year?

What kids of gift do you get for kids who love to create? Your creative kids will love one of the ideas in this gift guide.
You can find even more links to great gift guides at this post, 50+ Gift Guides for Toddlers, Kids, and Teens. You’ll find something for everyone on your list!