Holiday Dotted Pin Hole Art Templates

My kids like to create art, but they get bored with all the same methods, so every Christmas we do pin hole pictures by taking a pushpin and some construction paper and start poking holes.

But today, when I went looking online for new templates, I couldn't find anything super cute.  It's all the same old stuff (I think they're the same templates I used in second grade).  So I came up with some of my own!

You can get this one for free:

Just click THIS LINK to download.  After you've downloaded, print it on colored paper, and use a pushpin to make holes where ever there is a dot.  Then just flip your paper over to see your masterpiece!

Father's Day Books to Read Out Loud

This week just couldn't be complete without reading some books about daddies.  Then we'll all be in the right mood to celebrate on Sunday.  So here are the Father's Day children's books we're thinking about trying:

	"A Perfect Father's Day" by Eve Bunting looks like a fun (and funny) book.  Dad's having a nice relaxing day when his daughter decides to make Father's Day perfect by taking him to do all of his "favorite" things.
	"I Love My Daddy" by Sebastien Braun looks really sweet and simple, talking all about what Daddy's do for their kids to show they love them.
	"Froggy's Day with Dad" by Jonathan London is definitely on our list because we really like all the Froggy books.
	"Because Your Daddy Loves You" by Andrew Clements is a book I want to read over and over.  Not necessarily for the kids, but to remind myself as a parent how to react when shoes get lost and messes are made.  Plus the pictures are super cute.
	"Hooray for Dads!" with Spongebob MUST be read and reread, because we love all things Spongebob.
	"How to Talk to Dads" by Alec Greven looks interesting.  I don't know if it's one my younger kids will like, but judging from the description I think the rest of us are thoroughly going to enjoy it.
	"Arthur and the 1001 Dads" by Marc Brown includes another one of our favorite characters, and Arthur books are always perfect to have my eight year old read to his younger siblings.

I think these books will really put us in daddy-appreciation mode, or at the very least keep us happily entertained for awhile. 

Free Printable Bingo Game about Feelings

When kids are young it's brutally apparent that they have a wide range of emotions.  But sometimes they have a hard time identifying how they're feeling.  (I kind of don't blame them, because sometimes, as an adult, I still have a hard time putting my finger on exactly why I'm feeling a certain way. - that can't just be me....right?  hopefully.)

Play this fun printable bingo game to teach little ones about different feelings.  You can act out the emotions while you play.  Maybe even on purpose.

The Sugar Bug: A Game About Dental Hygiene

Sometimes my kids need a reminder about their dental hygiene.  Instead of giving the typical lecture, I decided to make a game of it.  This is a printable card game, all the instructions and pieces are included.  So now you can teach your kids good dental hygiene habits the fun way.

Printable Sight Words Flashcards

Now that the school year is almost over I want to make sure my kindergartener has all of his sight words memorized.  I think in his class they call them "popcorn words" or something like that, but I call them sight words because you know them by sight not by sounding them out. 

All the words included can be seen in the preview image - I think it's a good amount (although, I think the english language is easier if you just memorize all words since most of them don't follow the phonics rules).

Snail Trails: Practice Tracing or Cutting

I don't know about your kids, but mine need some serious handwriting and cutting practice.  We're pretty big into art around here so they have some great experience, but accuracy doesn't really come into play.  With these printable worksheets they can either trace the lines or cut along the lines (some of these are way more tricky than others, but I figure that's good for my second and fourth graders to practice with).

11 Books to Read for Mother's Day

Reading is a big part of our day, and while the kids would be content with reading the same books over and over, I like to change it up every once in awhile.  I figured while we were going for something new they might as well go with a theme.

So here are 11 Children's Book Suggestions on the theme of Mother's Day:

	"Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman is my one of my favorite books from my own childhood.  My kids love it a lot too.
	"If I Could: A Mother's Promise" by Susan Milford looks quite endearing - it lists all the things the mom raccoon would do for her child if she could.  The pictures in this book are super cute.
	"Mother, Mother, I Want Another"  by Maria Poluskin Robbins seems like a silly and fun book about a baby mouse wanting his mom to give him another kiss, but the mom thinks her baby is asking for a different mother entirely and goes off to find one.
	"Fancy Nancy's Marvelous Mother's Day Brunch" by Jane O'Connor is definitely on our list  because I find that one can never go wrong with Fancy Nancy.
	"Hero Mom" by Melinda Hardin looks interesting because it's all about moms that serve in the  military.  And all military moms (and dads, and people in general) are heroes.
	"I Love Ewe" by Aaron Zenz is good for a fast read for the little kids.  The cute animal pictures and fun word play are sure for a quick smile.
	"Just Me and My Mom" by Mercer Mayer looks awesome to read, because I love that little critter lots and lots.  I had a little critter book when I was young and I remember relating to him a lot because he kept making messes no matter how hard he tried not to. So, naturally, he'll always be a favorite.
	"Me and My Mom!" by Alison Ritchie caught my attention because of the picture on the front of the book - it's just so cute!
	"My Mom is the Best Circus" by Luciana Navaro Powell is another quick read, and looks really promising. Because sometimes, as a mom, I feel like I'm living in a circus too.
	"Pirate Mom" by Deborah Underwood looks perfect for my second grader.  I think he'll find it hilarious to read about a mom being hypnotized into thinking she's a pirate.
	"Ramona and her Mother" by Beverly Cleary is for sure on our reading list.  Because Ramona's antics are timeless and hilarious.  Plus I haven't read this for one for a really long time.

Now we just need to get started on our list - which I'm now excited to begin.  And hopefully that will inspire you into a little mom-themed reading of your own!

Vegetable Wordstrip Printable Puzzles

My kids love to do puzzles, so I like to find ways to make them cheaply and also maybe sort of teach them something.  These printable wordstrip puzzles have vegetables on them - they include a riddle about each vegetable and spell out the word as the puzzle comes together.

Make sure to print these on thick paper and then laminate the pieces so that they last longer in the hands of little kids.

Check out our animal wordstrip puzzles too!

Monster Match: Printable Matching Game

Monsters are awesome.  And playing games with monsters - also awesome.  This printable game teaches basic matching skills and turn taking.   Plus, it's just fun to play.

This printable includes:
• 6 different cards (so you can play with a total of 6 players)
• a printable die
• instructions

Animals Word Strip Puzzles Printable

These printable animal puzzles are lots of fun for little fingers.  Just print them on thick paper and laminate them so that your kids can play with them over and over.  All the cut lines are on the pictures so it's super easy to make the puzzles.  And as your kids are putting the picture together they're also spelling the word.

Easter Egg Bingo Free Printable Game

Today I plan on playing Easter egg bingo with my kids.  It's great for my younger kids to practice their matching and turn taking skills - but my older kids also love it.  It might be because we use treats as place markers and we get to eat them when we win....

This free printable bingo game comes with six bingo cards, and a set of calling cards.

Colored Eggs Match Printable File Folder Game

File folder games are some of my favorite quiet time activities.  We take them to church, on car trips, to the Dr's office - - pretty much anywhere I know my kids are going to need to suppress their wild animal tendencies for awhile.

This file folder game is especially fun because it has colored Easter eggs that can either go in the basket, or matched to their spot on the grass.  My preschooler loves it because even though she can't read the words she still knows where the eggs go.  (And I hope that seeing the words over and over will help her recognize them in different settings.)

Clothing Bingo Printable Game

Just click the image to download this free bingo game.

I love playing bingo with my little kids (my older kids like to play it too) especially when they're learning something at the same time.  This is a great printable game for young kids who are learning the names of clothes and covers 18 articles of clothing from underwear to scarves.

Valentine Magnet Pairs

This kind of magnet is so easy to make - just print and cut out the circles, use rubber cement to attach them to the backside of craft pebble jewel thingy, and hot glue on a magnet.  I hardly doubt it could be easier.

And you'll love these magnets because they come in cutesy Valentine pairs and your kids can play matching games on your fridge, or you can give each pair away as a special lovey dovey gift.

just click the image to download this free printable.

My favorite is the penguin.  Probably because I just know lots of cool people.

Christmas Craft Stick Puzzles Printable

So school's out for the holidays, and I still need my kids to stay busily out of my hair while I finish up some last minute Christmas presents.  So I'm hoping to entertain them with some new Christmas craft stick puzzles.....at least they'll be busy for about 2.7 minutes.

Just click the image to download these free craft stick puzzle printables, or you can click here.

If you're not sure how craft stick puzzles work, you can check out the tutorial we posted here.

The Letter D for Preschoolers

We've missed a few weeks of our little preschool, but I don't sweat it too much.  We have plenty of opportunities to do little things throughout the day that aren't exactly "in the curriculum" but involve numbers and letters and colors and stuff anyway.  So it's all just dandy.

This week we're going to be talking about the letter D:

• We'll be watching the Storybots letter D video, and also this other semi-cute video on youtube that has some kid drawing animals that start with D.



• Then we're coloring this letter D worksheet, and this D is for Dragon coloring page (except that we had to draw eyelashes on the dragon before we could color it because apparently it just wasn't girly enough).

• And then we're going to be doing this door activity sheet.  (Just click on the picture, then when it's all huge and stuff right click and either save or print.)  You need to print the door sheet on thick paper and then cut around 3 sides of each door so that the door can "open".  Then adhere a separate paper to the backside so that it's on there really well, but you still want those doors to open.  Then have your child draw something different behind each door, just make sure the things start with the letter D.  (The sheet has suggestions if you need help coming up with D things.)

And that's pretty much all we'll be doing, officially school-wise speaking anyway.  Because we have other stuff to do, like finding all the Christmas decorations that are still semi-packed away in random places from our last move.

Disguise the Turkey Printable Game

My kids only have a day and a half of school this week and they're going to need something to do.  I figure this Thanksgiving printable game will at least keep them occupied for a few minutes.

This turkey is a master of disguise, otherwise he'd be eaten for Thanksgiving dinner!  This free printable works best when you put magnets on the backs of each piece so your kids can disguise the turkey over and over!

Just click the picture or click here to get this free printable.

(The printable includes one turkey and 10 pieces.)

The Letter L and the Number Five

We keep missing weeks for our little preschool activities. But......oh well. So this week we're talking about the letter L and the number 5. This is what we're doing:

• We're watching the letter L Storybots video over and over (and then we're going to go around the house singing "la la la la la la...." because the song will undoubtedly get stuck in our heads).

• We're also printing out the letter L coloring and tracing pages from www.storybots.com because right now my kids can't get enough of the Storybots, and it's helping them learn their letters so, YAY.

• We are also going to print and play with the letter L file folder game from greenjellowithcarrots.com (and we'll be getting in some numbers while we play because you have to count the lady bug spots to know where to place each bug on the game).





 

• We are also going to make ladybugs out of paper plates, except that our lady bugs are going to have 5 spots.  I'm getting this idea from www.clickacraft.com

• And lastly, we're going to print this cute butterfly worksheet that has nothing to do with the letter L, but everything to do with the number five.  This worksheet is from www.netmums.com

Free Printable Halloween Bingo

Get our free printable Halloween Bingo game with four bingo cards, a set of calling cards, and instructions.  It's lots of fun to play and we guarantee that your kids will probably kind of like it, maybe.