Spring is magical! I appreciate it more now that I am living in a place that has four seasons. I love to see all of the bright tulips and trees in bloom after a long, cold winter. It feels great to go on a walk in the sun and listen to all of the birds chirping! Those birds are the inspiration for one of my favorite traditions with my kids - designing bird houses! Each year, I buy wooden bird houses for the kids to paint and decorate. It is so fun to see the different designs they create. The kids are so excited to hang their bird houses on our trees and watch anxiously for the beautiful birds to come! The kids LOVE it! If you want to share in this tradition you can find pre-made bird houses at most craft stores. Michael's has some two-story ones that I thought were pretty cool! This year I bought these little ones at Target. Hopefully some small birds can fit inside. If your kids are a little older and you want to be really ambitious, I am sure you could build your own bird house which could also be a really fun project! I have seen DIY kits at Home Depot or Amazon if you want a head start.
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Easter is right around the corner! I am sure I will be busy getting things for Easter baskets and Easter egg hunts soon, but I wanted to do something special to help my kids to think about the Savior and his resurrection. Since they are still young, I wanted to make it fun! I have found several scriptures to read with them as well as a few questions and activities that will help them to understand more about the resurrection. I wrote out each scripture and activity and placed them in eggs. My hope is that about a week before Easter, we can open up an egg each day and have meaningful time remembering the Savior. To make it easier on you, I created a list of a few of my favorite scriptures with some questions and activities to go with them. Keep in mind that there are many different scriptures you could use, but these were some that I love. You also don't have to read all of the scriptures in each section. Choose the ones that your family will enjoy the most. Why do we need a Savior? 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 Romans 5:8-11 John 3:16-17 -Find a picture of Christ to hang in your home. Read the story of his Crucifixion. Luke 23:33-45 vs. 34: How can we forgive as He did? vs.43: How do you feel knowing you'll see your loved ones again? Mathew 27:29-31, 37, 38, 46 What happened to the earth after Christ died? Mathew 27:51-54 Where was the Savior placed after he died? Luke 23:50-56 Mathew 27:56-64 -Use play dough to create a garden tomb and stone. Read the story of Mary Magdalene. What did the angels say to her? Who else did she see? John 20:1-18 Luke 24:1-7 -Draw a picture of the angel and Mary Magdalene and place them next to the tomb. What does it mean to be Resurrected? Luke 24:37-40 -Cut out a simple version of a person to represent our bodies. Cut out a piece of vellum in the same shape to represent our spirit. Show how the body and spirit are reunited. What did Jesus ask his disciples to do? John 20:19-21, 25-29- Story of Thomas Mathew 28:18-20-Teach the Gospel to all the world Share your testimony of the Savior with your kids. Have them share theirs with the family as well. In preparation for Easter and this activity, I took some time to study the different accounts of Christ's resurrection and felt a deeper love and appreciation for my Savior. I am thankful for the blessing that we have to be resurrected through the Savior's sacrifice and resurrection. Because of him we have hope, we have purpose in this life, and we can live again. If you can, I would suggest studying his resurrection on your own as well. You'll be glad you did. Below I have added some links to some videos about the resurrection for your family to enjoy! These two videos below are a few minutes long and show the story of the crucifixion and resurrection. I was curious to know why we use Easter Eggs and the Easter bunny during Easter time. This link was interesting so I thought I'd share for fun!
With Valentine's Day coming up I was brainstorming with my kids on things that we could do as a family to celebrate. My sweet Halle had the idea of secretly writing notes for each other all month. I thought it was a great idea, so we decided to make cute Love Note Boxes for each person in our family to receive the notes. I bought plain boxes, but we had to make these store boxes more interesting! We bought fun paper, stickers, foam lettering, and cute phrases to put on our boxes with Mod Podge. This activity brings me back to the days when my mom taught me and my sister how to use Mod Podge and create our own unique boxes. For those of you who have never used Mod Podge, you can get it at most craft stores and on Amazon. It is a glue, sealer, and finisher for your project. You apply it using a foam brush. I have mostly used it to apply decorative paper or magazine pictures onto cardboard or wooden boxes, but the number of projects you can use it for are endless. Mod Podge is fun to work with because, when it dries, it leaves a clear, beautiful, hard finish on your project. The Matte and Gloss finishes are the most commonly used, but there are a number of different formulas. Here's What You're Gonna Need: Pre-cut card board boxes Mod Podge Heart Stickers Foam Wording Decorative paper Magazine Clippings Foam paint brushes Scissors Table covering Tips for the Love Note Boxes 1. Buy paper that has fun wording or phases. They make good transitions between the different patterns. 2. To get a really fun look you can tear the paper leaving the exposed edges to give it texture. 3. You don't have to glue your papers in straight lines. 4. Layer your papers to add interest. 5. Make sure that you have something to cover your table, because it can get a little messy. 6. If you do get it on your table, use soap & water to clean it up. 7. Have some paper or magazine clippings pre-cut. This will help the kids to get started and get the hang of it. 8. Don't be afraid of putting the Mod Podge all over the paper, front and back. It dries clear! 9. I would suggested if you want it to look nice try and use nice even strokes. It is clear but you can sometimes still see lines. (For my kids I just let them go for it!) 10. Get some cute note cards and cut them in half for the kids to write their notes on. They are the perfect size and it was nice to have the note cards sitting out and ready to use! We have been doing these love notes for the past week. It has been so sweet to see each of the kids make different notes and gifts for each other. They have been looking forward to seeing if someone left something for them. The most special thing is that they have each been going out of their way to be kinder and do nice things for each other. We have loved it! These notes are priceless!!!
Christmas is such a wonderful time to remember our Savior, Jesus Christ, and to create memories with friends and family. As moms, a lot of this responsibility of making the Christmas season memorable is up to us! I have created a list of a few of my favorite things that our family likes to do during the Christmas season and some new things we're going to try this year. A few of these ideas may be new to you or you may already do them yourselves. But my hope is that I get you thinking about some things you can do with your families this year to make this Christmas one to remember. Have the kids decorate their rooms for Christmas *I love to see my kids being creative and have an opportunity to contribute to Christmas decorations. Decorate their own Christmas trees Pick out a new ornament together Do a secret service activity for neighbors Create Christmas carols books so we can remember all the words *Christmas songs really bring in the Spirit of Christmas into our homes and helps us to remember what we're celebrating. Sing a Christmas song with the kids each night *Give each of the kids and instrument like bells to play. Set up different battle stations in the house and have a snowball fight with the fake snowballs if there’s no snow Have the kids shop for Christmas presents for each other *I really love the idea of them making each other a gift I just don’t know if that’s going to happen this year. Wrap Christmas books like a present and read a new one each night Paint a wooden nutcracker or ornament Make gingerbread houses *Maybe it' s the lazy mom in me or because my kids are all still little, but I like to buy the gingerbread house sets from Costco. If you have little ones like me this the way to go! The walls are pre-made and it gives the kids more time to actually decorate, they taste good and I don't have to buy a million bags of candy! Trust me it's worth it! Find old toys to donate and make room for new ones Go ice skating Play "Minute to Win It Games" Christmas edition Make Gingerbread cookies * These are seriously my favorite cookies and I have never made them so we're doing it this year! Watch”White Christmas” Make Christmas smelling potpourri with cinnamon sticks, oranges cranberries etc. Have the kids make their own “Find it” game for their friends gift Go see the outdoor lights downtown or drive through the neighborhood Go caroling to neighbors *We used to do this with friends in our neighborhood, and it was some of the best memories I have from Christmas growing up. So get your friends together and go Caroling. Christmas Activity List
Have the kids decorate their rooms for Christmas Decorate their own Christmas trees Pick out a new ornament together Do a secret service activity for neighbors Create a Christmas carols book so we can remember all the words Sing a Christmas song with the kids each night *Give each of the kids and instrument like bells to play Have a snowball fight with the fake snowballs if there’s no snow Have the kids shop for Christmas presents for each other or make them for each other Wrap Christmas books like a present and read a new one each night Paint a wooden nutcracker Find old toys to donate and make room for new ones Make gingerbread houses Go ice skating Play "Minute to Win It Games" Christmas edition Make Christmas smelling potpourri with cinnamon sticks, oranges cranberries etc. Have the kids make their own “Find it” game for their friends gift Watch”White Christmas” Go see the outdoor lights downtown or drive through the neighborhood Go caroling to neighbors Thanksgiving at my home growing up was a wonderful time, full of yummy food and great traditions! We always gathered with family or friends and reminisced on the year. Well...I think that’s what they did at the adult table. Being the youngest of five kids my sister and I were always lovingly assigned to the, “Kids Table”. I am pretty sure that I was still at the kids table well into my teen years. Don’t feel to bad for me I eventually made my way to the adult table after I was married and had my first child. I am exaggerating a little, but in memory of all those fun years I decided that this year I am going to devote my attention away from the typical adult formal table and focus on the most important table at Thanksgiving, “The Kids Table”. 1. Buy some flowers fresh or silk and let your kids create the table centerpiece. 2. Buy a napkin folding book and let your kids learn how to set the table and fold the napkins in fun ways. (This way always my job growing up.) 3. Take pictures of the kids showing what they are thankful for or fun memories from the year. Have them printed and place them on their table as a decoration. Let each child explain to their table why they chose that item or memory from the year. 4. Make them feel fancy by getting special plastic champagne glasses and plastic silver silverware at the store. (I actually found some great ones at the dollar store). I also like to buy Martinelli's to make Thanksgiving special! 5. Use butcher paper or chalk paper for your table covering. It’s always a hit at the kids table. If you think ahead you can create word searches on it using Thanksgiving words, draw place mats, or simply have the kids color on it while they’re waiting. It’s always a good idea to have something for the kids to be doing if the meal prep takes longer than expected. 6. Let your kids help with the food for their table. I like to let my kids either wear my aprons or use their own to feel special. When they lose interest after 15 minutes and you need to get the kids back out of the kitchen, send them on a Treasure Hunt looking for Thanksgiving items. 7. Create conversation starters. A couple years ago I wrote questions on slips of paper and put them in envelopes for each of my guests to answer. It made Thanksgiving more than just meal and made the conversation around the dinner table memorable. Also having the questions in individual envelopes made them feel special. (Ex. What was something that you did for someone else this year that made you happy?) 8. Have the older kids organize games to play after dinner like: “Spoons” or “Spot it after dinner. It is always a fun way to end the day! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and you have been able to enjoy these helpful ideas! |
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