Fantastic Find

Craft Stick Easel

Make a craft stick easel for your child's small paintings or drawings. Find the Tiny Easel instructions on Family Fun.

Parents.com has a yarn bracelet craft that my daughter and I have been doing a lot lately. We found an abundance of plastic heart bangles at Dollar Tree, Target and Walmart before Valentine's Day. We've gone a little crazy since the yarn we like has a big selection of color combinations!

Cut an 8' ½" to 9' piece of yarn.

Length needed depends on weight of yarn (we use Peaches & Creme and Sugar'n Cream which are a medium 4) and size of bangle. It's better to have too much than too little.

Tie yarn around the bangle and cover the loose end by wrapping the yarn around it.

Do three or four wraps at a time-- tight and close together-- and then unwrap the hanging yarn from twisting around the bangle or you'll end up with a mess.

When it's all wrapped, cut excess yarn and secure end with a little super glue (do this near top, not inside, of bracelet or it will scratch when worn). A little hot glue works too but I prefer super glue.

These beautiful bangles would be perfect as a party favor or a party craft.

** linked to:

• Sew Can Do

• The Girl Creative

• Blue Cricket Design
• Tidy Mom
• Fireflies and Jellybeans

Heart Healthy Exercise Game Printable

Marie from Make and Takes shares so many easy and fun ideas for kids. Last year I saw her Heart Healthy Exercise Game and knew it would be fun for my daughter's 2nd grade Valentines party.

I wanted each kid to have their own game board. My husband drew simple stick people for me because I don't draw, not even stick figures. I printed the game boards on card stock.

Just like Marie shows I cut out little felt hearts and hot glued them leaving a 3/4" opening. I took felt and fun foam scraps for the kids to decorate their beanbag before filling it with beans or rice. The beanbag activity was first and then the game was played in group rotations. At the end of the party the kids had a fun game to take home!

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Here is my redesigned Heart Healthy Exercise Game board. If you would like to download it for free click the link below the image and it will take you to google docs.

Heart Healthy Exercise Game printable

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RECIPE: Nut Germ Crunch

This is my kids' favorite after-school snack.

NUT Germ Crunch

• a recipe from me •

Ingredients:

graham crackers

Nutella

whipped creamy peanut butter

toasted wheat germ

Directions:

Spread a layer of nutella on cracker. Spread a layer of whipped p.b. on cracker. Sprinkle wheat germ on top. Nutty, crunchy and so yummy! Betcha can't eat just one! ☺

I put wheat germ in a spice bottle so it's easier to sprinkle. I whip the peanut butter in large amounts and store it in a Nutella container.

We also like Nutella/p.b./wheat germ on bananas, apples and popcorn.

Read articles about wheat germ on Livestrong.com including toasted vs. untoasted wheat germ.

Kids' Card Game Holder

While playing card games like UNO my son lays out his cards face-up and tries to shield them from his opponent. Now he can hold his cards like a big kid because Adapting Creatively shared how to make a simple holder with two CDs (offset) and super glue. It works great, costs nothing and I like to use it too. A Gamewright card holder is over 5 bucks.

*post contains affiliate links

Mom, What's for Dinner?

These three delicious main dishes are in my recipe file for life!

This past Friday and Sunday I made Hawaiian Haystacks from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. That tells you how easy and delicious I think this recipe is. NO cream of chicken or mushroom soup as an ingredient-- hooray! I'm showing my own picture because I actually took a picture (the next day as I was enjoying leftovers).

My daughter ate two bowls of this Ultimate Beef Stroganoff {Slow Cooker} from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. NO cream of chicken or mushroom soup as an ingredient-- another hooray!

One afternoon I made my husband and I Skillet Turkey Tetrazzini from Real Mom Kitchen. I think the kids would have liked it but there was only enough leftover for my husband's lunch the next day. We were hungry and it was yummy!!

Joseph's Lullaby

MercyMe's "Joseph's Lullaby" is a beautiful song.

It's one of my favorite spiritual Christmas songs.

Buy it on Amazon.

*post contains an affiliate link

Career Paper Dolls on Education.com

There are 20+ free, printable, black-and-white Career Paper Dolls on Education.com! There's a boy and girl to dress up with the outfits. You have to sign up to be a free member before you can download.

Drawing and Doodling

My daughter really enjoys art in any way, shape or form! We already think Ed Emberley's drawing books are wonderful but I came across two Joy Sikorski drawing books that she loves! My daughter didn't get her art interest from me, I'm not even good at doodling (it was fun to do in a boring school class though)!

Printable art fun:

Free online art lessons:

Digital art fun:

Kid Minute to Win It

Do you watch Minute to Win It on NBC? The first week of school we were still holding tight to summer so one evening we had fun outside playing a couple Minute to Win It games! We picked two of the simpler games and changed their blueprints a little. My kids wanted to win a million bucks but they settled for a fruit roll-up and a later bedtime!

• some ping-pong ball games: Ping Tac Toe, Puddle Jumper, Blow Ball •

• pedometer games: Temper Tantrum, Nervous Nelly, Bobble Head •

I cut the top off an old sock for the pedometer to stay on the foot. You can find pedometers at Dollar Tree.

• • More Minute to Win It games that would be fun for kids: A Bit Dicey, Baby Blockin', Breakfast Scramble, Caddy Stack, Cyclone, Floatacious, Keep It Up, Nose Dive, Pop Top • •

Free Owly Comics Downloads

Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is in May when artists like Andy Runton, author of Owly graphic novels, have free comic booklets at comic book stores. This year I planned to have my kids and husband head to the comic book store down the street so we could add more Owly goodness to our collection! Unfortunately we all forgot since we were preoccupied with a newborn. Thank goodness Andy is kind enough to share free PDF downloads of Owly FCBD fun! You can also order FCBD Owly booklets from past years for cheap + shipping (US Media Mail $4.95) from Top Shelf (scroll all the way down)!

Not sure what graphic novels are and if they're right for your kids? Read Using Graphic Novels with Children and Teens on Scholastic's website. It says "graphic novels have emerged as a growing segment of book publishing, and have become accepted by librarians and educators as mainstream literature for children and young adults—literature that powerfully motivates kids to read."