Valentines #2

This is another Sunday school project. We'll be having a valentine party this week and talking all about love, love, love. I printed these out on card stock. Each kid will get some to fill out and give to someone special.



Download Love Coupon sheet here.

Valentines #1

I was proud of myself for getting a jump start on Valentines this year. It was on our calendar for February first: Start making valentines this week! I'm a big fan of homemade valentines and luckily the kids enjoy making them.

I had a head slap moment in Clark's class last week when I realized that he'd need valentines, too. Since his "school" lasts an entire 90 minutes a week, I sometimes forget that all the regular school activities and rituals are still in place.

This is my favorite way to make preschool valentines ... have the kids pick out a character, print them out on little cards and paint with watercolor, something they love to do anyway. Handmade touch without too much work and burns some time, too! Dora and Theo's preschool choices were Spongebob and Woody, respectively. For those valentines, I did a web search for free coloring pages, picked cute artwork, and printed them on cardstock with a valentine greeting.

I asked Clark what he wanted, and he answered without hesitation: puppy dogs! Since we weren't doing a licensed character, I came up with my own artwork, worked it up with appropriately cheesy verbage and printed them out. Rounded corners finished them off nicely.



He was SO excited about painting, we actually got all these done in one sitting and he wanted to do more, so I printed out a few pages of extras. On our way to school this morning, he asked if we could bring his puppy dog paintings, which was cool that he got the idea that he was making them for school. One more week to wait!



I'm including my template for sharing. Please feel free to print and color! Artwork for personal use only ... thank you!

Download Puppy Love Valentine here.

More to come!

Baking Monday - Mocha Cinnamon & Almond Butter Cookies

From last week: Mocha Cinnamon Cookies. I found this recipe on a card that I had written years and years ago. I'm assuming I made them once before, or maybe only copied it down because they sounded good, but never got around to baking them. Verdict: Not good. Blah. They sounded like they would taste awesome, but ended up very bland. They were also too soft - if they had a bit more crunch or texture, they may have been better. I added the icing because they needed something with more flavor. I guess they were well received at pool, but definitely not my favorite. Though Jeff loved them. Hmmm. We don't always have to like the same things? Interesting.



Today: Almond Butter Cookies. Deee-lish! Something a little different from my regular sugar cookies. I love these! I think the icing makes them a titch too sweet, next time I would like to try them with sugar sprinkled on top.

After School Art

This month, we made oil pastel animals. The idea was adapted from this post. Instead of doing just penguins, the kids did all different kinds of animals, using an oval as the base for the body. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera during the program, but they came up with some great creations: fish, sheep, horses, pigs, and some imaginary creatures. They started out with sheets of grey paper, drew their animal in pencil, outlined in thick black marker, then filled in with oil pastels. This was a fun project - everyone got really creative and when they filled up the whole paper, their pictures really popped.

I know it was a success, because Dora and Theo woke up and got dressed on their own the next day and went right downstairs to make more pictures.



Dora's work.



Theo's work. I helped him draw the dinosaur, but the portrait is all his.

Strange Week

It's been a strange week at the Spotgirl house.



The first rule of first grade fight club is ... don't talk about first grade fight club.



Okay, must explain. Boxing is the new thing over here. Wii Punch Out is the current activity of choice. We talk about boxing all ... day ... long. Theo has a good friend who he often trades toys with after playdates. This week, he gave up his super-secret spy suitcase in exchange for a pair of boxing gloves. The gloves are currently in a time out, where they've been since the day after we brought them home. Dora got the idea to use her face crayons to make up Theo's face like he'd really been in a fight. Creative, and a little creepy.



Guess whose toes? Hint: not the child you'd expect to have painted toes. (Disclaimer: it was his request, not my idea.)



It's red. A little too red.



Freak storm that blew through town yesterday afternoon. Very happy we did not have to go out during it.



And one mini product review: I rented Wii Toy Story Mania today and was really disappointed. I found it awkward to navigate - while playing in Story Mode, you can't view which games are available. It's difficult to finish and unlock each game - not because the games are challenging, but each game involves a confusing list of tasks, and your results don't show which ones were successfully completed. Also very little movement involved. Most of the games are target games and the short "extra bonus power boost" movement at the end felt like a tacked-on attempt to get players to move around. After playing all the games in story mode - I think there's about 25 - there weren't any that I wanted to go back and try again. SO happy we didn't buy this one for Christmas!

Sunday School Resources

I'm teaching Sunday school this year for the first time. I was guilted into it. (Ah, guilt, such a powerful motivator.) I'm not very good at it, but it does get easier each week. In the fall, I followed the advice of my very smart and well-organized friend and sat down and made up the curriculum for the year. I wrote down all the class dates, went through the book and selected what lessons and worksheets to use and planned out a theme for each week. This was a huge task, but also a huge help. When I sit down to plan each week, the theme is already in place.

I've found a zillion great resources on the web, but have also come up with a few materials on my own to use in class.



My Finger Prayer - I LOVE the idea of having a little guide for prayer wherever you go. The first graders in our class were probably a little young for this at the time, they may get another copy at the end of the year. I couldn't find an existing printable for this prayer, so I made up my own. The letters are outlined so the kids can color them in, and color the hand, too.

Download Finger Prayer worksheet here.



Heart Puzzle - This went along with our lesson about the Commandments as a reminder of how they can each follow God's Rules. These were printed out on color card stock and the kids got to cut them out and practice piecing them back together again. Each kid got a little envelope to take their heart home. (Busywork you say? Bullseye.)

Download Heart Puzzle worksheet here.



Pretzel Labels - This was a big hit, we used this at the beginning of the year during our lesson on prayer. All the kids got a little clear bag of pretzels with this label stuck on the bag. I read them an expanded version of the story (found online) while they snacked. I discovered something very important that day: when children are eating, they are not talking. This is a sheet of six labels, sized to fit on Avery 3x5 address labels, or print on a large label sheet and trim out.

Download Pretzel labels here.

From the "I Told You So" Files

Me: Clark, I'm going to vacuum now.
Clark: Will it be loud?
Me: Yes, it will be loud. Would you like to go in another room?
C: No, I'm going to stay right here.
Me: Are you sure? It's going to be loud.
C: Yes, I'm going to stay right here.
Me: Okay.
VRRRRROOOOOM!
C: WAAAAAAHHHHH!

* * *

Where is Monday baking, you ask? The pics are trapped on my camera. It's been a busy week and I have not yet had time to hunt down the little USB thingy to connect the card to my computer. By the weekend, I hope. Several other surprises to share, too.