bybmg: Crafting with Kids

Showing posts with label Crafting with Kids. Show all posts

Need a simple winter craft? I'm over at Des Moines Moms Blog sharing Simple DIY Snowman Ornaments!

We received these products free for review. See my disclosure for details.

I've talked about letting go of control a little bit as a mom recently and embracing your kiddos for who they are, and I'm realizing that perfectionism often carries over into the holidays. I want the perfect holiday card. The perfect picture. And really, it doesn't always embrace the feelings of the season. This year, I'm partnering with Ben the Rooster for our cards. If you've been around here, you may have heard me talk about Ben before or seen me mention him on Instagram. Ben the Rooster is a children's pen pal service.

Spring is the season for the bright blooms of daffodils! Though we have no daffodils in our yard, I thought it would be fun to make some using recycled materials and things we had around the house. Hopefully, this will inspire your child to participate in many creative learning activities this spring! So dig an egg carton out of the recycling bin and start creating

Need a quick and easy way to color your Easter Eggs without much fuss? Today I'm sharing a way that can be accomplished in just minutes!

My Valentine decor is lacking around the house, so I thought it would be fun to have the boys help me make something. Again, I'm a craft supply hoarder, so I had everything I needed to make this project at home!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #JoinTheSearch #CollectiveBias

Christmas is such an exciting time at our house and I LOVE sharing the season with our boys. I enjoy finding ways to keep things hands-on and help our boys be involved in the season! Today I wanted to share five ways we make things kid-friendly around our house in anticipation of Jesus's birthday including something new this year, Shepherd on the Search!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BackToPlay #CollectiveBias Thank you Back to Nature Macaroni & Cheese for sponsoring this post. Try the new Back to Nature Made with Organic Macaroni & Cheese Dinners!

Today I wanted to tell you a little about a fun activity we did this summer along with one of our favorite easy lunches, Back to Nature Mac & Cheese! Since National Mac & Cheese Day is July 14th, you can celebrate with this lunch and craft idea.

We love being outdoors in the summer, and our neighborhood is perfect to stroll around. The other day I thought we would go on a walk with a little purpose - to collect items in nature that we liked or found interesting.

When I told Henry about it, he was psyched and right away wanted to dress for the occasion.

"I want to wear a nature shirt."

Wesley was quick to follow his big brother and declare the same, so we dug in their drawers and found the best nature shirts we could find.

Henry also found a notebook he wanted to take along and even taped some nature items in it before we had a chance to leave the driveway.

The boys had a blast and stopped every few steps to pick up an item they liked. From weeds to leaves to sticks to even a loose feather, they were so into it!

Calvin enjoyed the walk, too!

I thought it would be fun to capture pieces of our adventure in something the boys could look at every day, so we turned our nature finds into place mats. Here's what you will need to make your own:

clear shelf liner paper
brown craft paper
markers and crayons
items from nature

I cut each boy a piece of the brown craft paper, and they got to work. Wesley was all about the coloring, coloring the leaves and the paper. Henry was more purposeful and started drawing a scene.

I took a piece of the clear shelf paper and took off the backing. Wesley stuck his leaves and flowers on the paper. It was a little sticky, but with my help he got it done.

Then we put the craft paper on top of the clear shelf paper and he colored on the other side. Then, he layered on a few more leaves and flowers and we put a piece of clear shelf paper over top to seal it all in.

I followed the same protocol with Henry, though he wanted to be more purposeful about where things went. He taped some leaves and clover to his picture and they we layered on the shelf paper.

On the back side, he placed a lot of his nature walk finds on the shelf paper, then we sealed it all up pressing both sticky sides of the shelf paper together.

These placemats are the perfect backdrop for our frequent gatherings at the table. The day we made these place mats, we enjoyed some delicious mac & cheese!

But not just any mac & cheese, we had Back to Nature Mac & Cheese. Have you heard of it? It's a delicious mac & cheese. It’s non-GMO and contains no artificial flavors, preservatives, or synthetic colors. It's a good source of calcium and protein. It's quick and easy to make which is always a win in our house! We made the traditional macaroni shaped-pasta with this meal, but I know my boys will love the Back to Nature Silly Sea Life Mac & Cheese Made with Organic Pasta and Back to Nature Crazy Bugs Made with Organic Pasta, too!

You can find it at Target in the aisle with the packaged dinners.

Now the boys have a fun little memory of our adventure in nature to enjoy while we eat. What are you favorite ways to get out into nature this summer? Make sure to stop by this page to learn more about Back to Nature Mac & Cheese!

I'm thrilled to be a part of a blog hop today sharing ideas of how to celebrate Christmas with your little ones!

Today I'm sharing a simple craft I made with my boys.

As I was going through the Tuesday Talk links from last week, I just LOVED that there were so many fun Thanksgiving ideas. So many so that I can't share them all, but I picked a few to highlight. I hope to accomplish at least one of these in the next week!

I have (as of the day I wrote this post) 3,802 pins on my Pinterest Boards. Sifting through them and actually doing them can be a struggle, but every so often, I actually try something out from there. Today's project is one of them, Straw Rockets!

Sometimes I come up with an idea for an activity for the boys to do and it's a total flop. Sometimes I come up with an idea and it goes exactly as planned. This time it took a different turn and came out even better than I had expected!

I received this product free for the purpose of review. The opinions are all my own. Please see my disclosure statement.

Junior Explorers is monthly subscription box. I is geared toward children ages 5-12. Each month, your child gets a package with a mission to learn about places around the world. It combines science, collecting items, and online games. I received a kit about the Great Barrier Reef. It came with a fun intro letter telling us a little about the topic and what we would be doing along with a code to access the online activities.

I am so excited to be a host for the Summer Activities for Kids Link Party!

Summertime is such a fun time of the year with little ones. It can also become overwhelming as there is so much free time you wonder what exactly to do to fill it. This summer, let's prepare ahead of time. This way we can plan out some fun and educational activities for our little ones before the moments of boredom and craziness hit!

I'm planning to link up a few of my activities from last summer, my favorite being the ice block of toys Henry hammered at last summer. I can't wait to see what everyone shares!

As a teacher, I LOVE summer. More time with the kiddos, beautiful weather, but it can also be difficult finding things to do. Do you struggle with what to do with your kiddos all summer long?! Come back next week to find a plethora of ideas other mamas have tried and even add your own, if you'd like!

Join us on Monday, May 12th, and link up your posts of summer activities (past or present). The link party will be going on for the entire week and the following Monday (May 19) we will post a list of all the activities everyone has shared! So let us join together and share some ideas and inspiration!

** This link-up party is being hosted here at Living In This Season , Elizabeth at All Kinds of Things, Tara at Mrs. Coach Sims, Britt at The Fisk Files, and Becky at BYBMG When you link up your post next week, it will be visible in this space, and on all the other blogs who will be sharing in hosting (we are still finalizing the list of hosts.)

Looking forward to you joining us next week!

Russ and I are both teachers, like I mentioned before, and we are so lucky to have the summers off with our boys. I enjoy our summers so much, but always love to plan ahead with some things to keep the kiddos busy. I get a little stir crazy without some plans. So I don't have to go out and buy things all at once, I've slowly been stocking up on little things to do.

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