New Year Activities
Click on the picture below! Cheers to the New Year!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! Check out all of the fun activities by clicking the image below!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Check out all of the fun activities by clicking the images below!
Boo! Happy Halloween!
Check out all of the fun Halloween activities by clicking image below!
Summer Countdown
The school year is almost over! Instead of having your child consistently ask you how many days until school is out- make a countdown! Super easy and can make in minutes.
Every morning have your child tear one chain off and then count how many are left. When there are no more, then it’s summer! Time to celebrate!
Materials:
- Sun template
- colored cardstock/ white cardstock
- scissors
- printer
- stapler
Note: For the sun, you can make multiple ways. 1- Print in color ink (yellow), 2- print on yellow cardstock (like example), or 3- print on white cardstock and have your child color in (watercolors, markers, crayons). The chain can be made with cardstock, ink jet paper, or construction paper.
To Make:
1.) Sun: Decide on which format of the sun you want (see above note). Print Sun template, then cut out.
2.) Chain: Choose what material you want to use (see note above). Having the paper horizontal, cut about one inch strips across. Then cut each strip in half. To connect, bring each end together(overlap) and staple. after the first chain, make sure the rest of the chains connect by hooking them through each other.
3.) Attach the sun to the chain and hang up. We hung ours in the kitchen. Before breakfast every morning she took a link off and then counted down the days.
Happy Summer!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Click on the image below for some fun activities!
GRINCH DAY CELEBRATION- MERRY GRINCHMAS!
Have a fun morning & early afternoon celebrating the Grinch. Have a special breakfast, read the book, complete some fun activities and recipes, then watch the movie. Fun family activity to do while no school over the holidays.
To begin, put on new pajamas and let the day begin. Hanna Andersson has adorable Grinch jammies (long johns) every year. Search for Grinch & you’ll see all they have to offer. We ordered a pair, but unfortunately didn’t make it in time for Grinch Day. I made the mistake of telling my daughter about Grinch Day & once she knew, she couldn’t wait to have it.
In the kitchen when she came downstairs I had the book The Grinch Who Stole Christmas on our island with a small mini one she could use for her Elf/stuffed animals/barbies. Our Elf on the shelf also got involved in the fun. If you don’t want to purchase the book, you can find a video of it on youtube.
Breakfast
Start the special day with a Grinch themed breakfast. Super simple- green pancakes, whip cream and heart sprinkles. Make pancakes as normal, then add green and yellow food coloring to get the color of Grinch green. Ratio should be 3:1 (green:yellow). Add whip cream on top & garnish with heart sprinkles. I found the napkins at Party City. After eating or during, read the book, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
During (while you make) & after breakfast have your child/children complete the activities below:
#1: Grinch Mask & Hide and Seek
Materials: Grinch Mask Template, white cardstock, crayons/colored pencils/markers/watercolors(brush, water cup), elastic string scissors, tape, hole punch
Print the template on white cardstock. Then have your child color in the mask. We used crayons and then a watercolor wash on top. Cut out. For the eyes, fold the mask in half on each eye and cut out. Place tape on top of the ends around the sides (where holes are). This will be like laminate & prevent mask from ripping. Use a hole punch and punch out holes (if no hole punch, make a small slit with scissors), attach elastic string and done! You have a grinch now!
After we finished the Grinch mask, we played a few games of hide and seek. The person wearing the Grinch mask was the seeker & scared the person he/she found.
#2: Free Print Outs/Activities
Great Grinchmas activities can be found here at Seussville. We did the tic tac toe sheet & connect the dots, but so many more great options too. The Tic Tac Toe printable was very small & hard to color, so I made a bigger version here. Use colored pencils or thin markers to color.
For older kids, here is a wordsearch & MadLib. This site has a great how to draw the Grinch too.
#3: Scavenger Hunt
Print out the clues on paper or cardstock. Then cut them out. Either the night before or when child distracted hide the clues.
Clue #1: Give to child/children. Clue #2: Place in the book, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Clue #3: On or in oven. Clue #4: Where children/child’s dirty clothes are (hamper/basket). Clue #5: Christmas Tree.
After the last clue, I asked my daughter, where we can make tasty treats? We went into the kitchen and she found a gift. She opened it and it was Cooking with the Grinch book. After we read the book- we made tasty treats!
#4: Pin the Heart on the Grinch
This is a great and easy to make game! All you need is 2 sheets of green paper and one sheet of red, and some tape. Print out the templates here. Hang on a wall & let the fun begin. Dont forget to blindfold to make more fun!
#5: Grinch Recipes
My daughter likes to have me read the recipes, while we cook together, so I made the recipe cards for us to use. There are lots of great Grinch recipes out there. I wanted a mix of healthy and something sweet to make as a snack during the movie.
Grinch Popcorn Recipe Card – I found the recipe here. Ours is not as green because I wanted to cut back on the sugar/butter intake, so I used less marshmallows & butter. The more green = more sweet & more butter/marshmallows. If want more than 5 cups of popcorn, double the recipe. Have extra supplies in case you want to add more marshmallow mixture or M&Ms to your popcorn. Start with less, and you can always add more. Have your child/children sort the M&Ms, great opportunity to bring up that they are complimentary colors and if extra, you could make patterns with them on another day.
I found the popcorn container at Dollar Tree, and then attached this label with double sided tape to make more festive. You can get your own popcorn containers here.
Grinch Kabobs Recipe Card – Simple & fun. 5 ingredients- mini marshmallows, strawberries (cut top off), banana (slice)= for the hat, and a green grape for the Grinch head. If feeling extra creative, you can let them use these markers and add a Grinch face on the grapes with a black marker.
#6: Movie Time!
Now that snacks are made, it’s time for the movie! There are a few options for the Grinch movie. Amazon Prime has it to buy & Netflix has it too. Three different versions on DVD:
Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch – Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas – How The Grinch Stole Christmas
We have also watch the musical version and short cartoon, which were both on TV.
This is a great short 5 minute video on the evolution of the Grinch from 1966 to 2018.
That concludes Grinch Day! We did all of the activities in the morning and then had lunch. After lunch, we watched the movie.
Happy Grinch Day!
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MEMORY BOOK
Make a special place to document your child’s favorite things, important papers, artwork, and awards they bring home throughout the school year. In a few steps, create a Memory Keeping Binder. Fun and engaging activity to do every year in elementary school. Your family will love looking back on the previous years and seeing how your child has grown.
With the craziness of back to school each year, you can complete this activity any time in the first month of school. Your child’s answers will be the same within a month & you won’t feel rushed. We enjoyed doing this after school started.
- The Memory Book is geared for ages Prek- Grade 5. If you wish to continue past grade 5, there is a blank template to use or if before Pre-k. You can start at any grade or just complete for one grade. We started ours in Kindergarten.
Supplies Needed:
- printer
- white cardstock
- Memory Book Templates
- Pencil, Pen, or Marker
- 3 Ring Binder (white or green)
- Page/Sheet Protectors
- Markers/Crayons/Colored Pencils
- Construction Paper (optional)
How To Make:
Option #1:
Simply Print out and use markers to fill in all of the missing information (Name, graduation year, ages). Place a photo in each frame per grade as you reach it.
Option #2:
1.) Get all of the supplies listed above.
2.) Purchase template.
3.) You will receive a pdf in your email that is registered with Etsy. Open Pdf, then copy and paste the Canva link into your browser.
4.) In Canva, add your child’s name (front, back, on marker for spine) graduation year in the apple (front & back), and age at each grade. Then add a photo inside the frame.
5.) Print pages up until current grade.
6.) Place the cover, back, and spine (side) sheets into the 3 ring binder. I placed black construction paper behind front/back sheets to frame them (optional).
7.) Have your child fill out each sheet (2 total). If their writing isn’t clear enough or too big, fill the answers in for them.
6.) Place the completed sheets into the binder.
7.) Throughout the year add more artwork, awards, and other papers of importance to them inside the additional page protectors.
8.) Repeat next year!
Your kids will love to look back at the past years and see how much has changed!
Happy Creating!
END OF SUMMER SELFIE DRAWINGS
Celebrate your fun summer by capturing the memories in drawings!
Materials
- white cardstock
- printer
- End of Summer Selfies template
- markers- crayons- colored pencils
Start by talking with your family and friends about all of the fun adventures you did over the summer. Then, print the template, gather up some art supplies, and get to drawing pictures of yourself/family/friends doing all of these fun adventures!
Label each picture once you complete them. Make sure to add the date if you are not using the 2021 version.
Additional Ideas:
-Write a small paragraph on the back (or attach a separate sheet of paper) all about your adventures.
-Complete this activity year after year.
-Make this a family project and everyone draws a picture!
The BEST part is you’ll have these drawings to look back on and a wonderful keepsake. Enjoy!
Happy Creating!
MAT Create 