Kindness Chart Printable

I was going through old files and found this chart from 2011. I must have been feeling particularly frustrated with the niceness levels around the house when this was made. (It was also January, we were likely full of winter doldrums, too.) The chart has symbols for kids and mom, each with four sections to be filled in whenever someone is showing great behavior. Rewards can be issued when all four sections are filled in. Included is a list of positive behaviors that will earn a mark on the chart:

• Use kind words

• Be respectful

• Be a good listener

• Be supportive and encouraging (still struggling with that amongst the siblings!)

• Be a helper

• Keep your hands to yourself

• Show appreciation: say please and thank you!

I honestly cannot remember if we actually used it. The act of making the chart alone was probably enough to chill me out of whatever crazy state I was in at the time. It seems like a good one to share!

Download Kindness Chart here.

Printable Wednesday – Emergency Bookmarks!

More bookmarks today! As said before, we can never have too many. One to three children always have books in the car when we're out and around. 75% of the time, we get to our destination and hear "I need a bookmark!" from someone. Occasionally I will throw a bunch of extras in the car, but then forget to refill them. This was an idea I had kicking around for awhile ... bookmarks in a tear-off pad for emergencies!



These were made with the same method as the upcycled notepads. I printed and trimmed three pages of bookmarks on cardstock, for 15 bookmarks total. (Another upcycle ... due to a printing mix-up, I ended up with about 300 extra sheets of blue paper at home recently. Yay for using things up!) The bookmarks were lined up and sandwiched between two pieces of cardboard. The original instructions called for paint sticks, but all ours disappeared during OM season. Clip the stack together with binder clips.



I spread Mod Podge on one long and one short side of the stack. Don't even bother with a brush, I just used a finger to dab then spread a thick layer of glue along the edge. Move the binder clips to make sure they are holding the stack in place securely.

Let dry for about an hour and yay! Bookmarks to go!

I had fun making these up using artwork from other projects and not getting too precious about fonts. Here's the printable to make your own! Personal use only, please.

Download emergency bookmark printable here.

Printable Wednesday – Three Bookmarks

We can never have enough bookmarks in our house, so when I'm thinking of things to doodle, bookmarks are the perfect item. It's a small canvas that can be put to practical use!

There's a color version below and a black & white to CIY. Try color pencil, felt tips, sharpies, or watercolor. After coloring, they can be trimmed and mounted on coordinating card stock. If a bookmark turns out really cool or is going to be a gift, I'll take it to be laminated. But most often I'll do a homemade packing tape coating, which works just as well. See below for links to download. Bookmarks are for personal use only, please!

Download color bookmarks here.

Download black & white bookmarks here.

More Photo Booth Props!

I've added to my Photo Booth prop collection! The first batch were for one of Dora's parties and are a bit girly-themed. So before we went on family vacation last year, I made another set for a little more variety. We had a super fun photo session with all the littles ... I was snapping photos for about an hour!



See? The bow works well in the hair or as a neck tie!

They were used again for the second grade class party this week. Super fun!

Would you like them, too? Here you go! Assembly instructions can be found in the original post.

Download bunny ears here

Download bowtie / toothy grin / alien antennae here

Download alien eyes / mask here

Download top hat here

Personal use only, please! 

Summer Art Challenge – Zentangle!

As Dora and I read through the challenge list, we saw the word "zentangle" towards the bottom and looked at each other … what in the world is that? I looked it up … and then my brain exploded. Holy cow, did this look like fun!!

This is totally addicting. For three days, it was all I wanted to do, whenever there was a free moment. Talk about a creative jump start! Besides being relaxing, it looks SO. DARN. COOL. Instant masterpiece. It only takes fifteen minutes to work up a drawing like this, but it looks SO much more complex. 

I used to do work similar to this (take a look at this folder circa 1988, which I have held on to all these years, as a remembrance of my love for all things paisley), but never knew this kind of drawing had a name. Nor did I realize how easy and fun this style is. I have an artist friend who often Pins zentangle artwork, and while I admired it, had never tried to do my own. 

The only must have supply is a good felt-tip pen. Nice drawing paper and Prismacolor pencils are also handy to have nearby. It's best to move quickly and not overthink the design and patterns. 

Interested in trying it? Here's a great how-to on getting started! 

I am crediting this style to getting me super excited about drawing again. And since coloring is just as fun and relaxing as drawing, I'm making two printable zentangle bookmarks and a medallion available for download. Have fun!!

What Do You Hear? Sound Game

Okay, so I did plan one game for the kids over spring break. I've always brought out a basket of plastic eggs as part of our Easter decorations - the kids always find fun things to do with them for a couple of weeks, then they go away until next spring. This year, they were purposed!

I originally saw the idea on Kirsten's blog and saved it in my things-to-do-someday file. I've been trying to do more auditory sensory activities lately with Clark, so it was a good time to try it out.

I filled the eggs with little things found around the house and labeled each one with a number.

The kids had to shake each egg and guess what could be inside. Some were deceptively similar!



It was pleasantly surprising to see all three kids get in on the action. Not making a big deal about it seems to be the key to getting everyone involved. 

Here's a copy of the game sheet - it's labeled with things that should be easy to find around the house. Personal use only, please!

Download What Do You Hear? game sheet here.

Fall Bingo Game

If you have kids, you probably have some parties coming up next week! I made this game a few years ago and have used it many times for fall classroom parties. (Yes, there are a zillion fall bingo games out in interwebspace land, but of course I wanted to do my own thing.) It was designed to give the kids a bit of reading practice, so it's probably better suited for the older grades (2-5). 

Would you like a copy for your kid's classroom? Here you go! (Personal use only, please!)

Download fall bingo game here. 

Page one is the call markers to be trimmed, followed by 20 pages of boards. Print on card stock for extra reusability. I found it fun to give the kids a little cup of candy corn to use as markers (and to be eaten afterwards!) It also worked well to let several kids get bingo rather than clearing the board after each win. Enjoy!!

Halloween Printables!

It's been awhile since I've had something crafty to post, and I'm super excited about this one!

Grandma and I packed treat boxes for the great grandkids yesterday. We included this banner! The page was printed on card stock and trimmed. Rounding the corners is optional, I thought it looked cute. Punch holes in the top corners and string on one yard of ribbon. 

Would you like the printable? Here you go! (Personal use only, please!)

Download Halloween banner here.



We also wrapped mini Hershey bars! I love these! Print on letter stock and trim. Wrap around candy and tape the ends closed. 

Here you go, part 2! (Again, for personal use only!)

Download Halloween candy wrapper here. 

We made cards to go with the packages. Great sale at AC Moore ... a set of Halloween cling stamps and this wooden stamp were .85 total! Also found Halloween sticker books for .77 each.

Candy bars, banner, stickers and bags of candy corn were packaged in these adorable treat boxes (AC Moore - $1.99 / 5) ... could they BE any cuter? I had a lot of fun planning these and Grandma will like having something to give to the great grandkids next week. Happy Halloween!!

Works for Me Wednesday - Photo Booth!

I set up a faux photo booth for the kids to have fun with during a recent party. There are some cute photo props available online, both for purchase and for sharing. Of course, I wanted to do my own instead. I spent a morning working on the artwork, then printed and colored with bright markers. (Yes, I could have let the kids do the coloring, but why should they have all the fun?)



I mounted them on black poster board. (Old phone book + Diet Coke flat = perfect surface for spray glue. Then just rip out and toss the sticky pages when done.) Running a black sharpie over the edges after trimming hides any white and finishes them off nicely.




I taped a bamboo skewer to each shape with black duck tape, and reinforced the frame with skewers as well. A (semi) pressed bed sheet was the back drop. I set up my camera on a tripod aimed at kid height. This was done in the basement play room, so no natural light, but the pics still turned out pretty good.



This was a FUN party activity - the kids had a great time taking snapshots of each other. You could use other props too, like scarves or dress-up clothes, but Dora only wanted to use the paper shapes.








Would you like to use them for your next party? Here they are!

Download balloon prop here.

Download frame prop here. (Tile on two 8.5 x 11 pages)

Download face props here.

Download hat props here.

Download microphone prop here.

Lunch Box Notes

I'm only half looking forward to school starting next week. Yay to getting back to our weekly routine and because we're all ready for a little time apart, but boo to getting up early, the daily hustle, and packing lunches.

During Dora's first year of school, I put a note or joke in her lunch box every. Single. Day. Theo's first year of school brought notes about once a week. The last two years, I've been a bit of a slacker. Notes go in about once a month, if I think of it. I wanted to have a little stash printed and ready to go for this year.

I gathered up some of their old notes (yes, I save them if they return home intact), prettied them up, and assembled on two printable sheets.



There are some for everyday (Happy Lunch!) and for special occasions (You lost a tooth!) Not enough to get through the whole year, but a good start.

There are also some for special treat days ... the kids and I established when they started kindergarten that Friday would be the day to buy ice cream with lunch. (Though during Theo's first year, he got chocolate milk instead because he was at the time a ridiculously slow ice cream eater.) They've tried to up that quota over the years by arguing that "Other kids get to buy ice cream EVERY DAY." and you can just guess how well that goes over in our house. (Has any kid ever gotten that argument to work? But yet, they still keep trying.)



Download Lunch Box Notes 1 here.



Download Lunch Box Notes 2 here.

(And, shhh - don't tell anyone - but I've also used the occasional licensed character.)

Here are some other printable lunch box notes floating around out there. Happy Lunch!

Cute full color and fill-out notes from Buttoned Up.
Fruit labels and notes from AlphaMom.
Happy notes from Frog Prince Paperie.
Crazy sweet food art from Paper & Pomegranates.
Corny jokes (the best kind!) from Cap Creations.

*Update* Here is a fantastic lunch box note round-up ... stop by Making Memories With Your Kids for more!

It's Cookie Time!

Cookie Time! Cookie Time! (I think that Dora and I need to watch Troop Beverly Hills soon.)

Girl Scout cookies are in this week, and Dora usually includes a little thank you tag with her cookie orders.



I worked up this little happy scout today:



She's wearing Crocs, as that seems to be the official footwear of Dora's troop. I put them onto tags that we'll include with our cookie orders. Would you like to use them, too? Here you go!



Download Girl Scout thank you tag here.

And for the visually impaired ...



Download Girl Scout with glasses thank you tag here.

And for all the smart cookies ...



Download cookie thank you tag here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm such a geek that I did Valentine shopping at Staples. The kids really don't need a thing right now, and I so wasn't in to buying something just to buy something. So, I restocked their school supplies and wrapped them all up with a cute package and left them by their chairs at breakfast.



And, they loved it! Clark's favorite part? The hand sanitizer. "Mom, I will use this hand sanitizer. It's BLUE, and that's my favorite color."

Update: Here are the ruler bag tags, upon request. Personal use only, please! Download ruler valentine tags here.



They also got some heart pancakes for breakfast. I didn't go crazy with their lunches, but wanted to leave a few surprises. I used these printables to wrap squeeze yogurt, wrote a little love note on the string cheese wrapper, cut sandwiches into heart shapes and included strawberries with a little heart toothpick. Oh, and some silly valentine jokes. No treats, because they are all having parties at school, and there's an extremely good chance we'll be hitting our favorite ice cream shop after dinner.



I tried to do a fun valentine hairstyle for Dora. I had seen this one and was pretty confident I could replicate it. She asked if I had a printout and I said, no, I read the website, I can do it! She looked me in the eye and said, "Mom, I'd really be more comfortable if you had a printout."

Turns out she was right, because I totally screwed it up, but it still looked okay. Will try to do it the right way next time!