Teacher Appreciation Coloring Page

March 15, 2022 / ProjectMom / Leave a comment

Time to celebrate our wonderful teachers! Teacher Appreciation Week is May 2nd – 6th this year (2022) and I’ve created two new printable coloring pages. As a simple DIY teacher gift – Simply download, print and color these Teacher Appreciation “Thank You” cards.

Whether it’s a school teacher, sports coach, piano instructor, or even a caretaker – these real life superheroes cannot be thanked enough for taking the time to help us learn and grow!

A simple coloring page that’s easy for even the littlest of ages to provide a gift to their teachers with their own personal touch. The perfect way for your child to show their gratitude and make their teacher’s day extra special!

Click on the images below or HERE to download the printable coloring pages from my Etsy Page.

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

Colorful Pencil Personalized Notepads:

Flower Pot Amazon Gift Card:

Thank you to all the hard-working teachers!

“It takes a big heart to shape little minds”

Thanksgiving Activity Placemat

November 24, 2021 / ProjectMom / Leave a comment

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.

Hidden Message Valentine Mystery Worksheet

January 30, 2020January 30, 2020 / ProjectMom / Leave a comment

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:

Hidden Message Valentines Mystery Printable Worksheet
Secret Agent Pens
Secret Decoder Screen
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
The Day it Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond
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

Halloween Party Games

October 30, 2019September 1, 2020 / ProjectMom / Leave a comment

I volunteered as Room Parent for the first time this year and found out I’ll be rolling solo. At first I got nervous, realizing a seasoned Room Parent wasn’t going to take me under their wing and show me how to throw a class party. Then I realized it’s probably a great thing because it allows me to get creative and come up with new and fresh ideas!

Since Halloween is my favorite holiday, I couldn’t be happier it’s my first class party to plan. Ghosts, zombies, vampires, mummies and witches – what’s not to love?? In the *spirit* of coming up with unique ideas, I created these spooktacularly fun and simple DIY games…

Zombie Ball

Rules: 2+ players race to knock down a row of zombie-themed water bottles, using only a ball dangling from a stocking on their head.

Preparation: Using these FREE Printable Plants vs. Zombies inspired labels – I wrapped them around the water bottles (sized to Ice Mountain), adhered them over the existing labels using double sided tape, and sealed the two ends together with packaging tape (which happened to be the perfect width for the seam). To knock down the zombies, I used these black stockings stuffed with an old tennis ball.

CLICK HERE for FREE Printable Zombie Water Bottle Labels.

Frankenstein Fishing

Rules: Players take turns catching Frankenstein Fish. Each fish has a letter on the back, which the players use to work together and come up with as many Halloween themed words as possible.

Preparation: I used this Frankenstein Fishing Printable, cut out the rows of fish and attached a paperclip to each tail. I then used contact paper to laminate them for extra durability, and cut out the shape of each fish. For catching the fish, I used a magnetic fishing pole I happened to have.

CLICK HERE for FREE Printable Frankenstein Fishing Word Scramble.

Skull Toss

Rules: Players toss mini skulls into 3 black jack-‘o-lantern buckets, each containing a prize. I used spider rings in the 1st, vampire fangs in the 2nd, and glow in the dark bouncy balls in the 3rd (each player receives only one from each bucket).

Halloween How-to-Draw

This will be a drawing station where each student receives a pumpkin drawing pad and skeleton pens (Thank you Target Dollar Spot!) along with a packet of Halloween themed How-to-Draw sheets – like this easy to follow Haunted House from Art Projects for Kids. Google and Pinterest are great for more resources!

Now that my planning and game creation is complete – I have 2 days till the Halloween Party… Wish me luck!

“Zombies – They love you for what’s on the inside.”

Build a Robot Papercraft Valentine

January 16, 2019January 11, 2020 / ProjectMom / 2 Comments

Jacob has been into origamis lately, so for Valentine’s Day this year I purchased these fun Papercraft Robot Cards. The thick, plastic-like cards are pre-cut and creased, which makes them durable and easy for little hands to work with. No cutting or sticking is required – just pop-out and fold! UPDATE: The product I originally used has sold out, however another company, Box Buddies, offers a similar product.

To go along with them, I created this simple Robot Valentine. We stuffed both of them into fun blue envelopes I had leftover from the boys’ birthday (similar ones available on Amazon), but they could easily be attached by simply using a paperclip. Now Jacob is just “a bot” ready for his Valentine’s Day party at school!

To create your own Robot Valentine, download the FREE printable here.

If you would like smaller Valentines, click here for a PDF with 4 per page.

Other favor ideas for this DIY Robot Valentine:
– Make Your Own Robot Stickers
– Robot Erasers
– Robot Fidget Toy

“Are you a robot – or do you think for yourself?”

Mermaid Valentine Printable

January 13, 2019January 19, 2019 / ProjectMom / 1 Comment

For Valentine’s Day this year, I started by looking up some fun favors on Amazon and presenting them to the kids. Avery was super stoked about the flippy sequin bracelets I found, so we went with a Mermaid theme.

Inspired by her favorite color at the moment – GOLD, I created this super sparkly mermaid Valentine. Paired with the sequin bracelet favors and signed using my glitter pens, Avery’s definitely ready to make a splash at her school celebration!

Favor ideas to pair with this Valentine:
– Mermaid Sequin Bracelet (as shown in photo above)
– Mermaid Folding Paper Fans
– Sequin Mermaid Tail Keychains
– Mermaid Favor Assortment (Stamps, Stickers & Tattoos)
– Glitter Spiral Notepad / Pencils
– Mermaid Tattoos
Depending on your favor, you can tie it on with string, attach with double sided tape, or use a fun glitter or mermaid Washi tape.

To create your own Mermaid Valentine Printable, download here.

“Be a mermaid and make waves.”

Sun Catcher Valentine

February 10, 2018February 10, 2018 / ProjectMom / Leave a comment

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!

Project: 1st Blog Post

October 13, 2015March 25, 2016 / ProjectMom / Leave a comment

Meet the Goofballs:

Jacob (left) – Enthusiastic and strong willed 3-year-old who’s favorite activity is making coffee for mom and dad.

Avery (center) – Sweet and silly firecracker of a 1-year-old who loves to play with rocks.

Evan (right) – Playfully clever and caring 3-year-old who has the memory of an elephant.

Lucky Parents of These Adorable Children:

Cory (aka Dad – although the boys sometimes like to call him “Lex Luthor” when they want to be chased down by an evil villain) and myself (aka Julie/Mom).

Realistic Family Portrait:

Pretty much sums up my experience of being a parent.

A little about me and why I decided to start a blog:

I exited Corporate America three years ago to take on the self-appointed assignment of raising my kids full-time. I’m not a fan of calling myself a “stay-at-home mom”, as I feel it discredits my regular expeditions with 3 kids in tow, so I’ll call myself an “occupational mom”.

Walking away from my career was a huge adjustment for me. I found myself managing motherhood similar to a job – goal driven, ambitious, organized and detail oriented. This may sound rigorous, but I guess it’s a little (or a lot) of my Type A personality coming through. Thankfully I have a creative and adaptable nature that seems to balance me out a bit. In the end, I’m glad I decided to stop working because I love being able to experience every little moment of my children’s lives with them – the good, the bad and the unbelievably chaotic.

As if raising three kids isn’t time consuming enough, I tend to keep myself extra busy with little things I like to call “projects” (going back to my business roots, it seems like a natural term to use). Whether it’s homemade Halloween costumes, photo books, seasonal crafts, organizing fundraisers, or remodeling our basement. We also just started the process of building a new home to be closer to our family – because the current 15 minute commute just isn’t close enough! 😉

I wanted to start this blog as a creative outlet to post some of my artsy projects. I thought it would be a great way to keep friends and family up to date on some of our adventures, as well as share fun ideas for kid crafts/activities, creative ways to document life with photography, and general DIY projects. I should also mention that, by no means do I consider myself a writer, so please excuse any incorrect punctuation or lack for brilliant and witty literature. Either way, I hope you enjoy my blog and maybe even find some inspiration for a parenting project of your own!

“Creativity is contagious, pass it on.” – Albert Einstein

Projects In Parenting

Fun ideas for kid's crafts, activities and DIY projects – including free printables

creative