Parent-Child Journal

Something that I have discovered that helps my kids express any anxiety is a Parent-Child journal. I made the one pictured here for my daughter on her first day of second grade. We write messages back and forth to each other and leave it on the other's pillow. Whenever she has something she wants to discuss with me, but feels awkward approaching me about it, she can leave me a note. Sometimes writing feels safer. I use the journal to remind her of things we're working on and to praise her efforts. I think it will also make a wonderful keepsake for us after we fill it up.

I began with a regular composition notebook. I covered it with scrapbook paper and painted the edges to finish it off. I added a little label and we have a great book.

Now that my son is beginning to write on his own, he has requested a book. It is definitely high on my list to create one for him, too.

A Parent-Child journal definitely Works For Me.

-Julie

Grateful For Knitting

I am a novice knitter. I will be honest and say that I only know how to do one thing - make scarves. Luckily, my kids are both super excited for this winter to come so that they can wear my creations. They keep picking new colors they would like and I am happy to oblige with my limited skills.

I am grateful for a relaxing hobby that I am just beginning to explore. I am also grateful that my kids are so supportive and can't wait to see them wearing their new items.

Motherhood brings so many wonderful moments and, on this Gratituesday, I am cherishing this one.

-Julie

Be sure to enter the Muvee Reveal Giveaway here on our blog!

Thrifty Fall Owl Theme Craft

It has become obvious here that I love a thrifty craft. This is one we've pulled out the past few years. We love to hang these cute owls up to help us celebrate the return of the fall season. We actually have an owl living in our backyard right now. Although I don't love the fact that he keeps us awake at night, it will be a funny family memory.

This is a very easy craft. You need to take a large sheet of brown construction paper and round the ends. Fold one end down and tack it with a gluestick in the center. This is the owl's head. Take another sheet of brown paper and create wings. You can hinge them with brads or just glue them direclty down. With bits of white, yellow, orange, brown and black paper, you can create eyes, a beak and "feathers" for your new friend.

I hope you enjoy this craft and will link your Thrifty Thursday ideas below. You can find details of how to participate here.

-Julie

Paper Bag Books

I have a very thrifty craft idea that Works For Me. We often make paper bag books. The kids use them for gathering treasure on nature walks and as scrapbooks for special memories. They couldn't be easier, so I thought I would share the steps.

Begin with a few paper lunch bags. You will get two pages per bag since you will be folding them in half. We usually use four. Alternate the folded end left and right (photo 1). This will give you flaps and pockets on alternating sides once you assemble your book.

Fold all of your bags in half and punch holes on both sides of the fold, top and bottom (photo 2).

Run a piece of ribbon or string thru the holes to the outside of the bags (photo 3). Tie the ribbon in a knot to hold your book together.

Decorate your cover and interior pages (photo 4). A simple sheet of stickers from the craft store and some photos can make a fabulous scrapbook. Hand the kids a glue stick and let them loose! For a nature album, they can slide their finds into the pockets and folds and jot notes of the things they see during your walks.

I hope that you enjoy making your own paper bag albums!

-Julie

Easy Suncatchers

Most craft stores have very inexpensive selections of suncatchers. My kids are always drawn to them, but there is a definite mess involved with the paints and the expense involved there as well. If paint comes in a kit with the suncatcher, we always seem to get the one that has dried out and hardened.

I was recently introduced to a much easier way to decorate suncatchers. Sharpie Markers! We have a nice selection of these already, but I had never thought to use them for this.

Hope this tip helps you with your crafty time!

-Julie

Thrifty Craft - Beads

A very thrifty craft idea is an inexpensive bag of plastic beads. They can be found at your local craft store and come in many designs and colors. You can string them on shoelaces, yarn, pipe cleaners or plastic laces. You can make jewelry, bookmarks, crazy animals or endless other possibilities. We tend to display our creations for a while and then remove the beads to make a new craft! Even more thrifty!!

What idea do you have to share for Thrifty Thursday? You can find details on how to participate here.

Family Art Time

One of our favorite family activities is visiting local gardens and parks. I often take a sketchbook and pencils with me when we go. After watching me, my children will now often join me with their sketchbooks!

Your local craft store will have inexpensive books and multi packs of pencils. It is a wonderful way to allow children to stop and really look at the details in the world around them. Remember to have them sign and date their work. It is wonderful to watch their skills grow and improve.

I hope that you'll consider blending art and nature with your family.

-Julie

Altering Bargain Clothing

When we find a good clothing deal, we try to snag it. I purchase up to one size ahead for my kids. We often find great deals at end-of-season sales, resale shops and Goodwill. I will not let a slight alteration or a missing button stop me from snagging a great deal! If you find an item in a store with an imperfection, you can often get an even greater discount.

I have learned to do minor alterations, but I tend to sew by hand. I can hem. I can reattach buttons. I can put a tuck in the waistband of a skirt or pair of pants to tighten the fit. We also recently found this tank top for our daughter. We got it for an incredible deal, but it was a little low in the front. We are strict about modesty with her, so we needed to make an alteration. I chose to sew the straps together in the back, making a sort of X on the back of the tank. Now, it is a perfect fit, and a one-of-a-kind item!

If you're able to complete simple alterations, don't forget to look at what a garment CAN be when you find a good deal!

Share your Thrifty Thursday tips with us! Details on how to join can be found here. And, don't forget to enter our current giveaway from Easy Daysies here.

-Julie

Expanding Literature

I try to find every opportunity to expand our literature lessons and make the books come to life for my kids. Today, I thought I would tell you about what Works For Me.





We recently decided to work thru the Magic Tree House series. This is the second time thru for our oldest, but the youngest hasn't heard them yet. We began with the first and I chose to make it a unit. The first book is Dinosaurs Before Dark. I read it aloud while they worked with Legos and built their own house. When we were finished, we put together a large dinosaur floor puzzle together. I had also found some dinosaur poem prompts online and some cards that we could use for a Concentration type game. After we completed these, they wanted to build their own treehouse.



They put this together with zero guidance from me. I'm a proud mama, but I think its pretty fantastic! It became the centerpiece of the rest of the book series for us. A lot of imaginative play revolved around it and we have truly enjoyed making each book in the series come to life for us.

I hope this helps you look at the opportunity to expand your literature selections with your children. Look at the games you have, check online resources and think of imaginative play opportunities. Please let me know if this sparks some fun ideas for you and your children!

-Julie

We are currently hosting a wonderful giveaway that will make Back To School even easier! Enter for your chance to win an Easy Daysies magnet set here. They are a great visual reminder to help your kids organize their day!

Thrifty Thursday - Simple Art Project

Welcome to our first Thrifty Thursday! Join us here each week to see our favorite "thrifty" ideas and please play along on your own blog and link with us!

I do consider myself to be quite thrifty when it comes to children's art. I like to use things around the house when it comes to our creative time. I recently brought the kids some of my husband's coffee filters. We pulled out some craft sticks and other various "bits" and created some beautiful butterflies! They chose to color some of the filters, and others were left plain. They were crumpled and glued to the back of the craft sticks. Then, they were "accessorized" with google eyes, pom poms and whatever else struck them that day.

A very fun craft for pennies! I hope you can make some of these with your creative kids!

-Julie

What can you share with us for Thrifty Thursday? Link your blog posts below. Guidelines can be found here.

Retell Favorite Stories

An excellent way to reinforce sequencing and the parts of a story is to have your child retell their favorite tales. It is a fun activity that you can all work on together.

Choose a favorite story. Here, we used Goldilocks and the Three Bears. For younger children, find images you can print and let your children color. We have used coloring books and printed images from the internet. Have your child color in the characters (and get a good laugh when they choose to color Goldilocks skin purple) and mount the characters on popsicle or craft sticks. For older children, have them draw the characters on their own. If they are old enough to cut, this is also good scissor skill practice.

After you have your characters, you can create your setting. We made this house from several sheets of construction paper. We even added the chairs, beds and a kitchen table with bowls of porridge.

Gather everyone around and let your child retell the story! Help them put the parts of the story in the correct order. You can even point out that most stories contain a problem and solution. Discuss what these are for your story.

I hope that you can create some brilliant storytelling experiences with your children!

-Julie

Thrifty Craft Idea

I have a brilliant, thrifty craft idea for you! Did you know that both Lowe's and Home Depot offer children's projects on Saturdays? We are often too busy to stay and put the craft together, but they are more than happy to give you a kit to go!!

We take advantage of these programs as often as we are able. To extend the crafty potential, I will put out some acrylic paints for the kids and let them paint the pieces, or the finished project. Their dad will often step in and help with the actual construction, or we'll make boys vs. girls teams and race! They have made some wonderful creations and we have them proudly displayed in our craft space!

Visit Home Depot and Lowe's to see the dates and times in your area and get crafting!

-Julie

Organizing Your Craft Supplies

I am always working to foster creativity in my children. I consider myself to be an artist and a "crafty" person, and I am passing that down to my kids. In order for them to truly explore their creativity, I have found some ways to make their supplies more accessible to them.

Some of my favorite organizing for creativity tips:

- If you have a space where they can be free to be messy, set them loose! We have an area in our basement that has laminate flooring and we moved our old kitchen table there as well. This has now become their "art table" and they are free to ink, paint and glitter it up! If you don't have a space in your home, set them loose outside!

- Make supplies easily accessible to little hands. Children will truly use what they see. You can repurpose many things from your home and great yard sale finds for your organization. We keep our markers and scissors in a long wooden box. Our colored pencils live in an old Ball jar. The stamps and ink pads are in a three-tiered basket. Paper is in a letter tray on a neighboring surface and other supplies are stored in boxes by theme (i.e. beading, tape/glue, a basket filled with bits and pieces like milk caps, feathers and popsicle sticks, etc.).

- Make clean-up easy. We keep a supply of baby wipes and a large trash can in our creative space. When the creations are complete, we sweep off anything we aren't going to recycle into the trash. We wipe down the table and put supplies back so we're ready for our next creative adventure.

- My biggest suggestion is to set up the space and then step back and let them create what they can imagine. I am a HUGE proponent of letting them guide their own creative expression and in giving specific feedback on their work (for example - "I love how you used those splashes of red in your painting." instead of "What pretty colors!")

I hope you that you and your kids have the time to be creative and get messy!

To see what everyone else is talking about, visit Talk About It Tuesday.

-Julie