Scarecrow Pete

I love all things fall! For some reason my creativity abounds more in fall than any other time and my crafting comes out for my kids to enjoy.  This month we have been focusing on all things fall and we read the book Scarecrow Pete by Mark Kimball Moulton. It is an incredibly cute book about how a boy makes a friend in the garden and how his friend Scarecrow Pete helps him learn to love reading.

Supplies you will need:

• small mason type canning jar with lid and ring
• small square of off white cloth
• small amount of batting
• fabric paint or markers
• hat, nose and necktie for scarecrow

I really don't think I need to explain how to make the craft as it is pretty self explanatory and if you have any crafting ability, believe me when I say you can do this one.

I printed out a bunch of bible verses to put inside and each day we will take time to read one.  During the month of November we will write on a slip of paper something we are thankful for and put it inside Pete.  Overall it was a fun craft, a cute book and it is my prayer that the greatest book of all makes a permanent mark in my kids lives. Thanks for reading.

I am linking up to stArt at A Mommy's Adventures and Kids Get Crafty at Red Ted Art.

The Elves and the Shoemaker

It has been way too long since I last posted. We have still been learning, creating and having fun but I just haven't taken time to document it on my blog. I have to admit I kinda petered out on the letter of the week crafts and learning. I just lumped the last few letters together as animals the same week we went to the zoo and called it done. I just sort of lost energy at the end of the school year.

This summer I am taking some time to focus on classic (as deemed by me) children's stories and planning crafts and some learning activities around that. This week we read The Elves and the Shoemaker. The girls liked the magical idea of the elves helping out the humans and we had some really fun imaginative play. I had the wonderful role of the shoemaker which means I got to close my eyes and "sleep" while the girls laced up the shoes. I simply cut out a very rough shoe form, punched holes in it and let the girls lace them up. We did this several times and they had a blast and I really did get some good rest time even if I didn't really sleep.

After playing I took the girls into the kitchen and we made footprints on mural paper. I just used 2 old pairs of shoes, dipped the sole in paint and had them "walk" their hands over the mural paper. They had a lot of fun and both chose a different shoe pattern.

We also did some jump counting. Old hat for Lydia but still pretty new for Emma. The idea of "pairs" led to some great practice of jump counting by 2's. But enough about that, now just look at the pictures.


Here are the shoes that the elves had so much fun lacing.

Really diligent work.

Here is a picture of both of the girls prints.

Up-close of the "fancy" shoe print.

Up-close of the flip-flop print.

I really am looking forward to teaching the girls some classic stories and the fun of easy ideas that come from learning them.

Thanks for reading!

I am linking up to stArt at A Mommy's Adventures and to Red Ted Art.

stArt - A Balloon for Isabel

Some books just scream "Craft!" We recently got a book at the library that did just that. We picked up A Balloon for Isabel by Deborah Underwood is a cute book about a porpupine who wants more than anything to get a balloon for graduation like the rest of the animals in her class but the porcupines are not allowed to have balloons. She tries several different ideas to "pop proof" herself until she finally comes up with a plan that works.

The girls LOVED this story. I can't even count the number of times I've read it. It really is a cute story and think it is worth a read.

Here are the pictures of the main culprit who loved the story. First we started with a toilet paper roll.


Then we poked some toothpicks through it. This step took a lot of help from me if not entirely me. I had the girls count out the number of toothpicks.



Next we added Isabel's pop proof idea - gumballs. We used pom poms to represent the gumballs as I didn't want to buy a whole bunch of sugary gumballs.


Lastly the girls drew faces on the rolls. I know they could have been more elaborate with faces, arms, painting etc. but the girls still liked them and it's the idea that counts. Thanks for reading!

To find out more about combining stories and art check out A Mommy's adventures. For other great craft ideas check out Red Ted Art.

stArt - While The World Is Sleeping

This week we are talking about birds and what better way to introduce the week than by feeding them so we have some to look at and observe.

We read the book While the World is sleeping by Pamela Duncan Edwards. It is a nice story about different animals and their nighttime habits.


First we dried out bread by leaving it out all day. Then we used cookie cutters (we used a large heart) to cut the bread. We poked a hole in the bread and I tied a piece of string through the hole. Then we spread peanut butter on the dry bread.

After we spread the p.b. on the bread we dipped it in birdseed.



Then we hung them up on the birdfeeder.



We did this project in the late afternoon and when we woke up in the morning they were one. It is my belief that we didn't feed the birds but the deer! Either way it was a fun simple activity. I think our picture window and birdfeeder are the best form of entertainment.

Funny story about our birdfeeder..... one day last spring Lydia remarked that she was "bored" and then added "I think I will go watch the birds." I thought it was hilarious because most people (no one in this house) would consider watching birds a very boring activity.

To find out more ideas for crafts check out: A Mommy's Adventures and Red Ted Art.

stArt - moon

This week we are studying the moon and the planets. For our focus story we read Off! to the Moon by Stephanie Marbury. In the story a father shares a story with his son about a trip he took to the moon when he was a young boy.

For our craft we made a moon. First we glued beans to a small round paper plate. After they dried we wrapped the plate in aluminum foil pressing down on the indentations from the beans for the craters of the moon.


Here Emma is picking up the beans and gluing them to the plate. Good fine motor skill practice.


Here is the final product. Not perfect but still a good idea. (I read about this idea somewhere but can't remember where. Sorry.)



It was a fun and very simple craft (the only kind I do) and a cute story.

To see what other families are doing with crafts and stories checkout:

A Mommy's Adventures and Red Ted Art

stArt - A color of his own

This week we read the book A color of his own by Leo Lionni.

The art project didn't turn out quite the way I expected but the girls had fun.

I started by printing out a lizard coloring page. I placed a small amount of watered down paint on the picture. The plan was for the girls to blow through a straw to spread the paint. It didn't work very well so we resorted to just painting it. Here are the pictures.






To check out how others are combining art and books check out stArt at A Mommy's Adventures.

stArt - The runaway pancake

This week we read and listened to the book Marsupial Sue Presents "The Runaway Pancake" by John Lithgow. We did some gingerbread man activities this week and from my perspective this story has a similar storyline to the famous Gingerbread man story.

For the craft we simply painted a paper plate and added some googly eyes, a nose and a mouth. (I added some feet though the runaway pancake only rolled in the book.)


We also made some Puffy Oven Pancakes for dinner.



It was a great way to bring a fun story to life. The only down side is that once you have listened to the audio book you get the song stuck in your head.

Check out how others bring books to life at A Mommy's Adventure.

StArt - Nuts to you

This is our first StArt project although it is not the first time we've read a book and done an art project to match it.

We read the book Nuts to You! by Lois Ehlert.

First we went outside and picked up some acorns.



Then I printed out an acorn template and taped it to the bottom of a pan. I put some paint on the edges then plopped in a few acorn and let the girls tilt the pan back and forth to paint the acorn. (Similar art projects use marbles and probably work better.)


The acorns did not roll very well but the final product was still very cute.


For more StArt projects check out A Mommy's Adventures.