Homemade Toy Wooden Gun Tutorial

Trying to look like serious Minutemen.

My children begged to buy wooden toy guns on our trip to the Springfield Armory earlier this fall. While supporting a National Park is a worthwhile use of our money, doing so at $20 for each gun (times 4 children) was a little too much for my hubby's frugal nature.

He declared he would make each of our children a homemade wooden toy gun. Last month he made good on his promise. He also included our children in the process.

Here is our homemade wooden toy gun tutorial (these make a great gift for the little boy in your life!):

The Little Drummer Boy Book and DVD

The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats is the classic Christmas lyrics in book form. It tells the sweet story of a poor boy who has nothing tangible to give the infant king.

Instead he gives the only thing he has - the gift of playing a song on his drum.

Who can resist this story?! Especially children who love to "pa-rum-pum-pum-pum." I dare you not to sing the song as you read it!

The Little Drummer Boy version illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats is my favorite. The pictures are full of texture and draw the reader into the story.

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Did you know there is a classic The Little Drummer Boy movie? 

I didn't know about the movie until last Christmas when we bought a set of classic Christmas TV movies. My children watched it a couple of weeks ago and it's cute. 

The story line is a little different from the classic song. The boy is forced to become a drummer and is not happy with his profession until he plays for the Newborn King. 

I wouldn't buy the movie on it's own but as a part of a bundle, it's worth having.

Do you own any copies of The Little Drummer Boy?

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas Book and DVD

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more!"

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss is one of my all time favorite Christmas children's books!!!

Our family reads the Grinch so often during December that we can all quote almost the entire book.

We love the book so much we even carried it on the airplane to read as we flew to Texas earlier this month. I'm not sure our fellow passengers appreciated our read aloud but we certainly had fun.

Why do we enjoy How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Well, it's fun to read the book with emphasis and change our voices. It's also a wonderful story of redemption. The Grinch's heart grows "3 sizes" as he learns Christmas isn't about all the trimmings and packages.

We also enjoy watching the movie. NOT the Jim Carrey version. {shudder.shudder.} We like the original animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas movie. I think the Carrey version adds grown-up and potty humor that doesn't have a place in this wonderful story.

If How the Grinch Stole Christmas! book and DVD aren't in your Christmas collection I highly recommend you add them today!

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Christmas Carols for a Kid's Heart

I smiled today as I listened to my children sing Christmas songs while cleaning their rooms. Nothing is sweeter than hearing my 8 year old sing "Joy to the World" at the top of his lungs.

It's important to me that my children know the old Christmas carols. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to hear traditional Christmas songs. Even Christian radio stations and churches today choose contemporary arrangements instead of the traditional ones.

Christmas Carols for a Kid's Heart by Bobbie Wolgemuth and Joni Eareckson Tada helps me teach my children traditional Christmas music.

Christmas Carols includes 12 different songs in the book and on the enclosed CD. Each chapter contains a brief narrative describing the related scripture verses and the history of the song. The authors also wrote out all of the words to the song so we can sing them correctly with the CD.

I truly love this book and accompanying CD! I highly recommend you add it to your Christmas children's book collection (you should also buy the other books in the series!).

Have you taught your children traditional Christmas carols?

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Christmas Tour of Homes 2011

Welcome to our home!

My 4 children and I started celebrating Christmas right after Thanksgiving. Here are a few snapshots of the Christmas activities and books we've packed into this month so far.

Decorating our Christmas Tree

After my husband carefully put the lights on our tree I pulled out all of our field trip/ vacation ornaments to hang up. While unwrapping each ornament the kids and I talked about where we bought it, who we were with and what we saw on each trip.

Remembering the last 2 years through our Christmas ornaments was a lot of fun! Buying ornaments from our field trips and vacations is one Christmas tradition we'll have for a very long time.

Making Kid's Christmas Tree Ornaments

Seeing all of our field trip ornaments inspired me to make new memories with my children. So this non-crafty mom really got her craft on the first couple of weeks of December!

We made spiced dough ornaments, hand and foot angel ornaments and candy cane reindeer ornaments.  Now our little Christmas tree is really overflowing with ornaments!

Building Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses

Not all of our crafts have been ornaments. My children begged to make gingerbread houses this year so we made individual graham cracker gingerbread houses. I'm not sure which was coated with more frosting - the graham crackers or my children. Either way building with frosting and decorating with gum drops is delicious fun!

Learning the Nativity Story

Our Christmas crafts and books have been fun but the real reason for Christmas is celebrating the birth of Jesus. I want my children to understand and remember the Nativity story so we've been reenacting the Nativity with storytelling blocks, Little People figures, and finger puppets.

We also have nightly family devotions using A Jesse Tree Journey. My children listen as my husband reads aloud the scripture passages and corresponding thoughts. Each child takes a turn hanging the nightly ornament on our tree. A Jesse Tree Journey really is a sweet way of remembering the real meaning of Christmas as a family.

Well, that's just a peak at what we've done this month. I love the saying "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful" because that describes the Christmas celebration at my house. Our decorations are few but meaningful. And our crafts are messy but memorable.

What have you done this month to celebrate Christmas?

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Linked to 2011 Christmas Tour of Homes.

5 Creative Ways to Teach the Christmas Nativity Story to Children

"I guess I don't really understand what Christmas is all about. Can anyone tell me what the true meaning of Christmas is?"

"I can, Charlie Brown," Linus said. Then he stepped to the front of the stage, and he quietly told the story of Christmas, the day the baby Jesus was born." -A Charlie Brown Christmas

I spend a lot of time each December teaching my children the story of the birth of Jesus. As Christians, the story is important to our faith so I really want my children to know and understand what happened.

To help them remember the story I have used 5 creative methods (as in, not reading the Bible) to tell the story.

Nativity Finger Puppets for Elementary Students

My oldest son (age 8) is starting to think the Little People are kind of babyish. Thankfully he still thinks our finger puppets are fun.

We bought our set when he was a baby, which is a good thing because good ol' Amazon has finally failed me. A thorough search of the internet has not produced a single place where you can buy our set, but there are plenty of other finger puppet Nativities you can purchase.

I like using the finger puppets because they are unusual and fun for little hands. They also require audience participation since my 10 fingers are not adequate for all the characters in our reenactments!


Story Blocks for Visual Learners

Years ago I purchased Bible Storytelling Blocks. Nine blocks are used to tell 6 different biblical stories. Each block has one illustration for each of the stories.

You can use the blocks in a bunch of different ways. Children can put the blocks in their box like a puzzle. You can hold up each block for kids to describe the part of the story they see. Or you can tell the story and hold up the corresponding block.

Bible Storytelling Blocks are especially wonderful for visual learners who need to SEE what they are being told.

Side note: There only seem to be 3 sets of the storytelling blocks I own available on Amazon, so I don't think they are produced any more. Keep your eyes open for them at used curriculum sales and Goodwill!

Homemade Christmas Play

Last year we spent an early Christmas with my husband's family. My mother-in-law organized all seven of the grandchildren to put on a homemade Christmas play. She bought costumes but you could easily make them.

My kids loved putting on a play! Well, the 3 big kids did. Sam wasn't so sure about his role as the donkey but he looked really adorable.

Little People for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Children learn by repeating what they've been told during play time. That's why the Little People Christmas Story Nativity Scene is so perfect.

Our set (the manager scene, wise men, and shepherds) live in a basket by our Christmas tree. My children pull the basket out almost everyday and reenact the Christmas story with the sturdy plastic figures.

I really like that my preschooler can play with Baby Jesus and the Angels while my ceramic Nativity set from Thailand stays safely out of reach!

A Charlie Brown Christmas Movie

I would have never thought to use a secular video to teach my children a Bible story. But one day my oldest son (age 8) just started quoting the Biblical account of the birth of Jesus. When I asked him where he'd learned the verses he said from our Charlie Brown DVD. Imagine my surprise!

Linus quotes the verses from the book of Luke after Charlie Brown asks if anyone can tell him the true meaning of Christmas. After watching the video a few times all of my children could quote pieces of Linus' monologue.
It's definitely not a traditional way of memorizing the story of Jesus' birth but it sure is fun!

I hope that my children could answer Charlie Brown's question like Linus did. I want them to understand the real meaning of Christmas isn't "peace on Earth" but that Jesus was born on that day so he could die for our sins. Using these various methods have helped my children remember and understand the Nativity story.

What are some creative ways you teach the Christmas story to your children?

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The Best Christmas Carol DVD Version :: The Muppet Christmas Carol

One of our favorite family Christmas traditions is to read aloud A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It's a small book and quick to read but the best part comes AFTER we've finished the book.

That's when we watch The Muppet Christmas Carol.

I LOVE this movie. The Muppets add a touch of humor to the story. (Light the lamp, not the rat!) They also keep the ghosts from getting too scary so my kids aren't afraid when watching the video.

I always enjoy Michael Caine's acting. His version of Scrooge makes you dislike him while also feeling sorry for him. You see just how much of life Scrooge has missed out on in his pursuit of wealth.

The Muppet Christmas Carol is my favorite version of Dickens' classic Christmas story. I highly recommend every family own a copy of the DVD and watch it each December!!

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3 Tips for Flying with Children

"Real courage is taking a bunch of small children on a plane!"

The gentleman speaking looked old enough to be a grandfather and meant his statement as praise of my little family. At least I think he did.

We were disembarking a plane after a 7 hour journey from Rhode Island to San Antonio, Texas. My 4 kids (ages 3-8) had been awake since 5:30 that morning and were exhausted.

To my amazement our flights departed on time, turbulence was minimal, and my children behaved beautifully. You would have thought they were experienced travelers instead of newbies.

So, how did I take 4 children on a cross-country airplane journey and have a fun time?

I planned snacks.

I looked over our itinerary and realized we had a one hour layover at 10 AM followed by a 4 hour flight. That meant no lunch. Not a good thing for young kids! So, I packed snacks, peanut butter sandwiches, and cut-up apples in each of their carry-on backpacks. It took a few minutes the night before to prepare everything but was definitely worth it!

I planned entertainment.

We don't own portable DVD players, smart phones, or tablets so our entertainment was low tech. I packed books, coloring books and crayons, and card games in each of their carry-on backpacks.

But the most important entertainment happened when we INTERACTED WITH OUR CHILDREN on the plane. We read books aloud. We played UNO. We talked about what we could see outside our windows. Most children will sit quietly if mom and dad are paying attention to them. Mine usually do.

I planned for emergencies.

My youngest is mostly potty trained and has been dealing with ear infections lately. Being "mostly trained" I felt Pull-Ups were a better idea than big boy underwear. I could just imagine us taking off and Sam declaring he needed to go to the potty! I also put a complete change of clothes in his carry-on backpack just in case of accidents. Unfortunately, we ended up using them!

A few days before our flights, we visited our pediatrician just to be sure Sam's ears were clear. Thankfully they were but our awesome pediatrician wrote a prescription for ear drops anyway. He explained that they would numb the ear drum for a couple of hours and make take off much more pleasant for Sam (and everyone else on the plane).

I don't think traveling by plane with small children takes courage, but it does take planning. If you pack plenty of snacks, entertainment, and emergency supplies you will also have a great trip with your children!

What's your best tip for flying with children?

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The Perfect Dessert - White Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Chocolate covered pretzels are the perfect Christmas dessert. The combination of salty and sweet leave me munching handfuls of them. Which isn't good for fitting in my jeans but that's what New Year's resolutions are for, right?

Home made chocolate covered pretzels is an easy recipe and quick to make. Dipping the pretzels with my children just adds to the fun and the mess, but that's OK.

Here's how to make white chocolate covered pretzels:

• 1 pkg of vanilla almond bark (I've also used the chocolate almond bark. White chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips also work well.)
• mini pretzels
• parchment or waxed paper

Step 1: Tape sheets of waxed paper to your table or work surface.

Step 2: Melt almond bark or chocolate chips in small bowls. You want to work with small batches because it hardens quickly.

Step 3: Dip pretzels in the chocolate and place on waxed paper.

Step 4: If you really want to be fancy, drizzle colored decorator's icing or sprinkles over the top of the pretzels before the chocolate sets up or hardens.

Step 5: Let your helpers lick their fingers and sample their hard work!

After the chocolate hardens place the pretzels in a dry, cool place. Metal Christmas tins are great for storing white chocolate covered pretzels. They also make a lot of noise when opened so you know if anyone is trying to sneak a pretzel.

Do you agree that white chocolate covered pretzels are the perfect dessert?

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Lift the Flap Nativity Board Book

It seems like most Christmas children's books are targeted at school-aged children. Toddlers and preschoolers need good Christmas books, too! They're out there; just harder to find.

One of our favorite toddler or preschooler Christmas picture book is Lift the Flap Nativity board book (our other favorite is a board book version of Gingerbread Baby).

The author uses simple but engaging words to tell the story of the birth of Jesus. She includes the angel's visit to Mary, the crowded inn, staying in a barn, the shepherds and the wise men.

Samuel, my 3 year old, enjoys lifting each flap to see what's underneath. Even though he's read this book a million times (slight exaggeration) he HAS to lift every flap. Since this is a board book I don't worry about Sam damaging any of the flaps, so he's free to look at the book anytime he wants.

I'm always looking for more good Christmas children's books. Do you have any recommendations for toddler or preschooler books?

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The Best Ever No Fail Fudge Recipe Tutorial

How-to guide for making fudge:

In sauce pan, combine milk and sugar.  Bring to a rolling boil.  STIR.  Boil for 7.5 minutes once it reaches rolling boil. 

Just starting to boil.

Rolling boil.  Will boil over sides if you don't stir.

Click the link to read the rest of my how to make no-fail fudge tutorial from last year.

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3 Favorite Christmas Tree Ornament Traditions

My favorite Christmas tree ornaments are the ones connected to memories about our family activities. As we decorate our tree each year I feel like I'm walking down memory lane.

This year was especially fun because my kids are finally getting old enough that they remember the ornaments from last Christmas, as well as the events connected to them.

Homemade ornaments

Several years ago I began a tradition of making ornaments with my children. We don't do this every year but it's fun to do every couple of years and see the artistic development in each of my children.

In 2007 we made no-bake spiced dough ornaments. At the time Ellie was just over a year old so we only have ornaments from the then 2 and 4 year old "big" boys. We made spiced dough ornaments again this year and have now added Sam and Ellie's to our tree.

Picture frame ornaments

In 2009 as I shopped the after-Christmas sales I found some really cute baseball picture frame ornaments for .50 cents a piece. Knowing that my boys would be playing T-ball in the spring I bought a couple of the ornaments.

When Christmas 2010 rolled around I pulled out our ornaments and my copies of their T-ball pictures. Every time I look at Will's toothless grin I can't help but smile.

Whether your picture frame ornaments are store bought or homemade I love the idea of watching my kids grow up through our Christmas tree ornaments!

Field trip or vacation ornaments

Another tradition I began last year is to buy an ornament from each of the places we visit on a field trip or vacation. This year we added 6 new ornaments to our tree.

My favorite new ornament is this maple sugaring spigot. I bought it after our maple sugar tour in March. It's a real spigot, not an ornament, but I was able to string a ribbon through it to hang on our tree. Every time I look at it I think of a sunny day spent with friends tapping trees and tasting maple sugar water.

Decorating our Christmas tree was a lot of fun this year. With each ornament I pulled out of the box I asked my children, "Remember when..." They really liked seeing things they had made a little guys, looking at their pictures from last year, and remembering the fun we had on field trips.

These are three ornament traditions I plan to continue through the years. At the rate we going, we're going to need a bigger tree soon!

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How to Make a Simple Photo Wreath Ornament

One of the drawbacks of homeschooling for a not-so-crafty person like myself is that all the cute holiday activities and crafts that go with school have to be organized, supervised, and cleaned-up by MOM. And since I'm "Mom" around here, we don't do a lot of those kinds of activities.

However, I am occasionally inspired. So, armed with a memory from my own public school childhood and a couple of crafty blog posts fresh in my mind, we made a Christmas craft this year! (This post originally published in 2009.)

Behold!

The Simple Photo Wreath Ornament!

1. Download snowflake wreath design from www.papersnowflakes.com/wreaths. Print the wreath on the bottom half of 8.5x11 green cardstock. You might have to adjust the size of the wreath.

2. Fold paper in half with wreath on surface (see upper right in 1st picture). Cut around wreath being careful to cut both halves and leave a piece of the fold at the top.  Cut out inner circle of the wreath on the top half.  (See bottom right with girl's photo inserted).  Punch 2 holes in the top near the fold.

3.  Decorate your wreath! We used washable glitter glue.  It added a bit of 3 dimension, sparkle and fun.  These sort of squirt out the glitter glue when squeezed.  Let them dry for several hours.  How long will really depend on how thick your glitter glue is.  We let ours dry overnight just to be safe.

4.  Once they are dry, glue a photo on the inside so that your smiling face is looking out of the wreath.  Let the glue dry.

5.  Cut several inches of ribbon.  Insert the ribbon through the holes and tie a knot.  Now your ornament is ready to hang!

We inserted extra copies of our Compassion children into the wreaths and sent them to Uganda as gifts. I like to think our ornaments make 3 Ugandan moms smile.

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The Visit of the Wise Men

The traditional American celebration of Christmas includes a variety of characters and themes from Santa to sugar cookies to the three Wise Men. I try to include as much of that variety in our Christmas activities and books as possible.

One of my favorite Christmas children's books is The Visit of the Wise Men by Martha Jander. Jander tells the story of the Wise Men with beautiful rhyming text but it's the illustrations that I love about this book.

Each picture is rich in color and detail. The furnishings, clothing and people have a middle eastern feel to them. That seems appropriate since Jesus was born in ancient Israel - not America.

I appreciate that The Visit of the Wise Men helps my children visualize a culture very different from our own.

The Visit of the Wise Men is a great book to add to your Christmas children's book collection!

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