A Little Farmyard Fun!

This February weather is taking a toll at our house!! Everyone is just a bit more irritable (myself included), and I am constantly trying to prevent bickering between the older two.  They always start out playing so well together.  Then thirty seconds later, it all changes...

So to try and be a bit more productive, today we read one of my absolute favorite books, made a fun and easy craft, and even worked on retelling the story!! The kids were totally engaged in this for a WHOLE HOUR! This was a win in itself!  Plus the end result was so cute and they had fun TOGETHER!!

We read the book, "Gobble Gobble, Mooo Tractor Book" by Jez Alborough.  This is such a cute story about some farm animals taking turns "driving" the tractor, while using their animal sounds to make it go! All of my kids LOVE repeating the animal sounds throughout the book.  It is the perfect read aloud for any age!!

https://a4291.myubam.com/p/1110/gobble-gobble-moooooo-tractor-book

We started out reading the book two times.  The kids are very familiar with this story, as we have read it many times!! Then we decided to make each of the farm animals!  It was such an easy craft because all we really needed were paper plates, construction paper (although paint would have worked), glue, cotton balls and scissors!  We happened to have all of these things in the house!!  (I love when there is little to no prep!)

Connor and Ellie each picked 3 animals and got started. I helped a bit with tracing the shapes, but for the most part, they could do this independently!  I love doing crafts that allow them both to work at their own level, while reinforcing skills they both need! Yes I am/was a teacher...

The end result was adorable!! Although they tried to stick to the illustrations of the animals in the book, Connor was so excited to make a "Thanksgiving Turkey".  I let him go to town.

Now the kids got to spend some time "retelling" the story using the characters they made.  Connor has been working on this in school and Ellie naturally loves to retell stories! They had so much fun trying out the characters.  Of course they fought just a bit about who made the best sounds :)

I truly love when we have an afternoon like today! The kids are having fun, learning and working together! What can beat that?!

A Little Valentine's Cuddle!

With Valentine's Day, just around the corner, we decided for a fun and "loveable" craft.  Today, we waited until my son, Connor, was home from school, so he was able to join in on the fun!!

We started with one of the sweetest books ever, "Cuddle Bear".  This is a story about a little bear who cheers everyone up, with just a cuddle! The illustrations are adorable and it is a great story for your younger kids! This is also a great book for anyone who might need an extra hug, especially kids!!

http://a4291.myubam.com/p/1350/cuddle-bear

After reading this story, we started on a craft to make our own cuddle bears!! (These would make great grandparent gifts too!)  It was really easy and all of the supplies were things I had around the house!!  

Prior to starting, I did make my own little "tracers" for the bear and heart.  I found a gift box from Christmas and just quickly sketched them out!  This allowed my son to be a bit more independent.  He could then trace, cut, glue and move at his own pace. (He also made 2 more after we finished the first together!)  I traced the shapes for my daughter, and she was able to practice cutting smaller shapes on her own.  

After all of the tracing and cutting was complete, the kids glued the bears on to a separate piece of paper!!  Their bears were "cuddling"a heart and of course they said, "I Love You Beary Much!".  For such a simple craft, it really worked on a lot of skills for the kids. Tracing, cutting, writing, gluing, etc.  Plus, they loved making these!! They both made multiple bears as gifts for mom & dad, a teacher and grandparents!! Anytime I can get them to work together, for an extended period of time, I am one happy mom!!