Winter Scene Craft/Cutting Practice

Happy New Year!  I rang in the New Year as every mom should- giving Motrin to one of my older children after nursing my newborn :)  And if that wasn't special enough, my newborn baby and I took a special trip to the ER at 4am. Gotta love RSV . . . not!  

We have had a house full of sick children.  One virus has cleared the air, but RSV can last for over a month.  I think we are through the thick of it though.  Although I am planning on easing (ever-so-gently) back into homeschool Monday, I'm not sure if we will be well enough to do so.  But no worries! That is the luxury of homeschool- I am my own boss!

Daddy returned to work yesterday, after pampering me for 3 wonderful weeks.  That meant that this mama had to have a few activities up her sleeve, especially because Old Man Winter is finally rearing its ugly head- and I hate the cold. Just like my Thanksgiving cutting practice activity, I created a winter one.  The page full of clipart is enough to split between two activities or two children.  Just print, children cut along the dotted lines, and glue onto the background scene.  I really like these activities!  No prep, creative, and strengthens all those skills little ones need- fine motor, cutting, gluing, etc. You can download your free copy here in my TpT store. Enjoy! I'd like to make some more, so leave some feedback with scenes you'd like to see!

If you have been blessed in any way shape or form by the services I've offered on this blog, you may want to send a monetary gift my way.  If so, that would be most appreciated!  I love what I do and am looking forward to helping others educate their little ones.

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7 FREE B&W Winter Skip Counting Puzzles

I hope that you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!  This was one of my favorite years yet.  We usually stay home, as my husband is a fantastic cook, and I don't want to go anywhere else for a fine meal!  We always put up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving, especially this year since the baby is due soon.  I had plans to take photos of the boys in their new Santa jammies. But after setting up the tree, we found that one of the string of lights doesn't work!  We were debating on spending $100 on a new tree (not ideal with lots of baby purchases and hospital bills coming up), or trying to find replacement bulbs and fixing the string of lights (too tedious for me!!).   Either way, we weren't about to run out to the store at 5pm on Thanksgiving.  

Our new tradition is to record us decorating the tree as a family.  The camera caught our disappointment, but it also caught a lot of laughter!  My husband is a clown!  We have a small white Christmas tree and he told the kids to decorate that one instead.  It was HILARIOUS watching them wrap the HUGE garland around, and around, around the tiny tree!  So even though this pregnant mama's plans were ruined, we had a blast making the best of it.  We then watched Ernest Saves Christmas and died laughing!  I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard!  I haven't been laughing a lot lately, not with pregnancy exhaustion and fog crowding my brain.  

But earlier in the day I did manage to take some maternity pictures, which is quite a feat when you are the photographer and the model.  Nothing like taking a bunch of pictures that look good on a tiny screen, only to find out later that they were underexposed!  :(  But thankfully, my computer is only one room away from the baby's room!  

Nothing fancy or overly creative, but treasures for me all the same.  It's almost over!  I have loved being pregnant the most this time around, although all 3 pregnancies were a pleasure.  

Now, on to today's freebie:

What a fun way to celebrate the Christmas/winter season! Download these free puzzles in my TpT store. Then, print! Have your children color the pictures, cut along the dotted lines, and glue their puzzles in the correct order onto a piece of construction paper.  These puzzles teach skip counting by 2's and 5's.  Kiddos are sure to love this activity!  Don't forget to comment below and as always, Subscribe by email so you're the first to get these and more!  

If you have been blessed in any way shape or form by the services I've offered on this blog, you may want to send a monetary gift my way.  If so, that would be most appreciated!  I love what I do and am looking forward to helping others educate their little ones.

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FREE Thanksgiving Craft/Cutting Practice

I'll admit it.  I am a bit of a control freak (which is one of the reasons why I homeschool).  I didn't give my precious (ahem, more like impulsive and careless) firstborn scissor privileges until he was a preschooler.  I felt pretty guilty when his best friend, a child I babysit, could cut beautifully, while mine didn't even know how to properly hold the scissors!

I've loosened the reins quite a bit since then.  We paint, cut, and glue constantly now.  When Mama wants some quiet time to play on the computer, I give them a folder full of scraps and let them cut and glue until bedtime.  The living room looks like a tornado whipped through it, but I park the trashcan in the middle and they clean up every single solitary piece so I don't even have to vacuum!  No television?  No bickering?  No vacuuming!?!?  Yes!  Let's do this more often!

I created a fun cutting activity for little (or bigger) ones.  It also serves as a craft too, a cute one that you'll want to display or give to Grandma.  There are enough images on the sheet I created to make two Thanksgiving scenes. 

Either bag up the extras for another day, or split between two kids.  I also included a simple Thanksgiving border page.  While this can serve as an easy background page for your child to glue the clipart on, it doesn't have to be.  I wanted to provide something extra that involves no prep, just in case. 

I loved the results of this printable, so much so that you'll be seeing more just like this with different themes (race car, Christmas, winter).  You can find this for free in my TpT store!  

Speaking of loosening the reins and doing more cutting, gluing, and painting- we made some fun crafts this week as we gear up for Thanksgiving!  Are you like me and are tired of seeing 100 turkey crafts and few revolving around the Pilgrims and the Mayflower?  My oldest is 5, so this is the first year I've really taught him the first Thanksgiving!  I found 2 easy crafts from one really great site. 

First up- a paper plate Mayflower!

1) Paint paper plate blue (yes, it sure does look purple, doesn't it??)

2) Cut another paper plate in half and paint brown.

3) Cut another paper plate into fourths- making 2 sails.  The other half of the plate is extra or for a second child.  Glue a craft stick down the middle of the ocean and into the boat pocket.  Glue on sails.

4) Staple brown boat onto the blue ocean plate, but only around the edges so a pocket is formed.  This is where you'll put the pilgrims.

4) Color a picture or two of pilgrims, cut, and glue into the boat (pocket).

He's a messy one, ain't he?

Easy craft number 2- an Indian Corn with the colors of salvation.  I was thrilled to find this Christian craft!

1) Print worksheet.

2) Let children paint the Indian corn with q-tips.  We painted the husk green with a paintbrush.

These were cute, easy, and had such a great message.  My little guy walks by the fridge and says, "The red is for Jesus' blood."  I love to hear him say that.  A lot.

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If you have been blessed in any way shape or form by the services I've offered on this blog, you may want to send a monetary gift my way.  If so, that would be most appreciated!  I love what I do and am looking forward to helping others educate their little ones.

My Pay Pal Account