Thanksgiving Activity Placemat

My son Jacob and I were talking about Thanksgiving coming up and he tells me “I’m looking forward to your activities”. I paused, not understanding what he was talking about and asked “What activities?”. He replies, “Like your Thanksgiving Joke Teller“….. While I was happy he appreciated my efforts last year, I felt bad I hadn’t come up with anything new for this year. Not wanted to let him down, I decided to design a Thanksgiving-themed placemat with fun activities including a maze, word search, how-to-draw and one of their favorites – a secret decoder message to solve!

Click HERE to download the Thanksgiving Activity Placemat Printable from my Etsy Shop.

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Valentine’s Joke Teller

The kids really enjoyed my Thanksgiving Joke Teller / Cootie Catcher, so I decided to create another one for Valentine’s Day. Great entertainment for their classroom celebration and perfect way to connect with friends and family over Zoom this year.

Click HERE to download the Valentine’s Day Joke Teller / Cootie Catcher from my Etsy Shop.

Click HERE to download the Valentine’s Day Joke Teller / Cootie Catcher from my Etsy Shop.

Thanksgiving Jokes Cootie Catcher

Because 2020 could definitely use a little more humor and a lot less…. well…. 2020, I designed a joke-telling cootie catcher in an attempt to help spread a few laughs. This fun Thanksgiving printable will keep kids of all ages occupied and is a great way to interact over Zoom with family members who can’t be with you in person this holiday season.

Click HERE to download the Thanksgiving Jokes Cootie Catcher from my Etsy Shop.

Click HERE to download the Thanksgiving Jokes Cootie Catcher from my Etsy Shop.

“Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast!” ― William Shakespeare

Hidden Message Valentine Mystery Worksheet

Jacob was such a fan of the Secret Agent Valentine I designed for him, that I thought I’d use a similar concept to come up with an activity for Evan’s class Valentine’s Day party.

I created a series of worksheets where the kids get to tap into their inner Secret Agent and are challenged with the task to find Cupid’s stolen arrows. Using some of our favorite Love/Heart/Valentine’s Day themed books, the kids dive into the stories a bit deeper to investigate clues, decode messages and figure out who the Arrow Thief is.

Supplies needed:

  1. Hidden Message Valentines Mystery Printable Worksheet
  2. Secret Agent Pens
  3. Secret Decoder Screen
  4. Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
  5. The Day it Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond
  6. In My Heart by Jo Witek
    *Check your local library.

What do you think, Secret Agent? Can you solve the Valentine’s mystery?

Like the idea but want to use a different selection of books or make changes to the worksheet? Contact me through my Etsy shop and I’m happy to work with you to create a custom mystery experience.

Have a spy-tastic Valentine’s Day!

“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.”
– Neil Armstrong

New Year’s Eve Activity Sheet

As a simple New Year’s Eve activity for the kids, I created this printable activity sheet. Similar to a restaurant kids menu, I thought they can work on this at dinner. Figured it will give them a holiday themed challenge, as well as some fun topics to discuss. 🙂

New Years Eve Printable Thumbnail

Click on above image or HERE to download free printable.

Happy New Year!

“Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” ― Brad Paisley

Sun Catcher Valentine

Sun Catcher Valentine Banner - projectsinparenting.jpg

With 8 to 14 inches of snow expected today, schools in the area were cancelled for a rare occurrence — SNOW DAY!! Needless to say, the kids were very excited and we spent most of the morning outside. This afternoon, we decided to stay warm and stick indoors for a Valentine’s Day themed craft.

Using these cute doilies from the dollar store, (click here for a similar product on Amazon) I simply cut out a heart shape from the middle of the doily and attached a square of contact paper (larger than the doily) to one side. Then, with Valentine’s Day inspired colors, I cut small squares of tissue paper and put them in bowls.

Sticky side up, the kids selected their preferred tissue squares and attached them to the contact paper heart in the center of the doily.

When their Valentine heart decorating was complete, I trimmed any excess tissue paper that was hanging over the lace part of the doily, then sealed their heart with another sheet of contact paper. After trimming around the outside of the doily (to cut off excess contact paper), we hung their masterpieces in our window to enjoy the beautiful stained glass colors!

These Valentines also make perfect gifts to send to family and friends! 🙂

“Close your eyes and picture of the sun. That’s what it felt like to love her, warmth.”
– Atticus

Follow me on Pinterest and Instagram for more fun ideas!

Teacher Appreciation Coloring Page

Teacher Appreciation Coloring Page 2 - projectsinparenting.com

Celebrate all the wonderful teachers in your life during Teacher Appreciation Week! Whether it’s a school teacher, sports coach, or even a caretaker – these real life superheroes cannot be thanked enough for taking the time to help us learn and grow!

This year I created a “Thank you” coloring page that’s easy for even the littlest of ages to provide a gift to their teachers with their own personal touch. For the boys, I also included a questionnaire on the back of their coloring page.

tree-growing-in-hands-3.jpg tree-growing-in-hands-3.jpg

Click HERE or on above image to download FREE printable.
Click HERE or on above image to download FREE printable questionnaire.
Click HERE for more options on my Etsy Page.

Teacher Appreciation Printable Etsy Teacher Appreciation Printable 2 Etsy

Looking to give your teacher a little something extra? Below are some fun ideas:

  • Colorful Pencil Personalized Notepads:
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  • Flower Pot Amazon Gift Card:
    81fMZOZ7A4L._SL1500_
  • Sticky Note Dispenser:
    61qPqZV-nbL._AC_SL1500_
  • Tape Dispenser:
    71fG9tVrY5L._AC_SL1500_
  • Apple Personalized Notepads:
    71W31DtlL4L._AC_SL1500_

Thank you to all the hard-working teachers!

“It takes a big heart to shape little minds”

Related: Teacher Appreciation Coloring Page with Questionnaire

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Constellation Sticker Craft

Constellation Sticker Craft - projectsinparenting

All things outer space has been a huge interest of the boys lately. They enjoy star gazing, identifying planets in the sky, and were thrilled to see the Super Blood Moon this past summer.

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Although it would be amazing if the moon were really that huge, it’s enlarged for effect  🙂

Jacob’s favorite thing to wear are his constellation pajama pants (as seen above) and he’s always asking us to point out the Big Dipper, especially after reading Touch the Brightest Star – one of his favorite interactive books, where you trace the Big and Little Dipper with your finger as part of the story. (Great book for any toddler’s bed time collection!)

I wanted a fun way to teach them the basic constellations, and ones that are easy to spot in the sky, so I came up with the following craft worksheets…

Big Dipper WorksheetLittle Dipper WorksheetCassiopeia WorksheetCygnus Worksheet

LeoPegasusOrion WorksheetCepheusGemini

Click on individual worksheet above for FREE printable, or HERE for pdf with ALL Worksheets.

First I had the boys place star stickers on the grey dots, then using the picture as reference, draw lines to create each constellation.

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After learning the constellations, the boys got creative with their worksheets – connecting the dots without stickers, outlining the constellation in all star stickers, putting other stars in the sky, tracing the letters to spell the constellations, etc. I enjoy watching them explore whatever materials I give them. It’s fun when they think outside the box and come up with new ways to do things… A great hands-on way to learn while using imagination and creativity!

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“Don’t wait for the stars to align. Reach up, rearrange them the way you want them to be. Create your own constellation.” – Pharrell Williams

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