Snow crafts

With all the snow falling A17 and I figured it was time for some snow crafts. The first idea I found online. You make this snowflake print by cutting a bell pepper in half. Dip each half in white paint or use a paintbrush to paint it on. Be sure to cover the parts in the middle too. Press the pepper down on a sheet of blue paper--press hard on the middle. It didn't turn out as well as we had hoped, though A17 thought the pepper was cool! We had to add a little more paint to the center to make it more snowflake-ish.

The second snowlflake was made by putting glue in the center of the paper and using qtips to make a snowflake pattern. Two very quick and easy snowflake crafts!

Christmas Countdown Calendar

A17 has been requesting magnet activities so we made this magnetic Christmas countdown calendar. I found ideas for it here . I modified the ideas to make this easier and cheaper. We bought a cookie sheet at the dollar store as well as mini ornaments. I already had the scrapbook paper, adhesive and magnetic tape.

To make this calendar, cut scrapbook paper to fit the cookie sheet. Mark 25 squares on the middle sheet. Use tape runner or other paper adhesive to glue down the paper. Place number stickers on square . If you don't have number stickers, just use a marker. Embellish with stickers, mini ornaments, etc. Cut small sqares of magnetic tape and adhere to back of counters. I used these presents because they were light weight and stood up so A17 could manipulate them easier.

Enjoy the countdown to Christmas!

Touchmath Cubes--free!

The Touchmath website has some freebies for those wanting to sample the program or add to their curriculum. This fall they added these cubes as a special download for their 35th anniversary. Each month several cubes are available. 1 and 0 will be out in December.

We have used the cubes to play counting games. You can also use them to create simple addition or subtraction problems.

Fall Crafts

A17 loves crafts. He made these leaf decorations with his Grandma. They collected leaves and ironed them between wax paper.

They were hung by punching a hole with a hole punch and tying coordinating ribbon.

He also made these leaf rubbings with his Grandmas. Leaves that were thicker are easier to see when you rub the crayon over them.


These foam and pom pom turkeys were made with a kit I found on clearance after the holiday last year.

Next up--Christmas crafts!

Columbus Lapbook

A17 and I read the picture book In 1492 by Jean Marzollo today and put together this lapbook on Columbus. I found some printables at Enchanted Learning and ABC Teach.

We used Boardmaker pictures to write a sentence about Columbus and highlight the dates. I did the cutting and A17 helped with coloring and gluing.

We also did a simple experiment with a ship, water and wind. The ship is made from a plastic lid, playdoh, a toothpick and a square of paper. We set it in a tub of water and blew on it to see how fast it went and where it would end up. A17 really loves any kind of experiment!

Christmas Bags by Kendra

I know it's early, but if you are like me, things that aren't planned in advance don't get done! Kendra over at Aussie Pumpkin Patch posted about her Christmas bags. This is a wonderful idea for organizing and completing holiday crafts. Basically you put the supplies for a craft in an individual bag. These bags are then given out one at a time. I like that it helps me be ready in advance with supplies. I also think more craft would be actually completed this way. These would also work well for workboxes.

First Day of Fall!

September 22 is the first day of fall. The smell of apples and cinnamon, crisp fall air, the sound of crackling leaves --our favorite season!

We've had a slow start to school, but have made some plans for enjoying the fall season season. We're planning a trip to the apple orchard followed by crock pot applesauce, a wheelchair accessible hayride, fall leaf walks, pumpkin decorating, and a halloween party.

One of our favorite fall books is The Apple Pie Tree.

We are also thinking about fall crafts. A17 picked out some fall/halloween themed foam crafts at Joanns. We also found some fall ideas on the Crayola website.


Happy Fall!