Quiet Time Book

I was trying to make this for Carter for Christmas. But it wasn't quite done then so I made it for his (January) birthday instead.  Even still I didn't have one of the pages done (or started even) so I just left it out and called it done!  =)

I'm not sure I'd seen these books until Pinterest. I got a lot/all of these great ideas from there. And while I say this book was for Carter, it's actually for all of the kids, with specific pages in mind for specific children. (Carter's learning shapes and counting, Eli is into weaving, and Hannah is into braiding). I wanted each page to PLAYable, not just lookable. So here it is:

I struggled to come up with a title for it! I didn't want to call it Quiet Time Book because then it sounds like it's a book about Time.  =)  So I went with this...

Counting/patterns  and shape matching

 

buttons--mixing the colors around on the flower tops. they can store in the flower pot

 

Mr. (and Mrs.) Potato Head page.  All sorts of different pieces, but here are a couple varieties.

 

Weaving and braiding pages

 And Eli was just being silly with this one:

 Before this project, I didn't really know you could sew felt, I didn't know how to make button holes on my sewing machine, and I didn't know how to install eyelets.  Now I do.  It was all pretty easy, just time consuming.  Fun overall though, and I hope it's something quiet the kids can all enjoy!

Family Christmas Board Game

I wanted to make a little Bible trivia game about REAL Christmas facts and the Biblical meanings of traditional Christmas symbols such as the candy cane or Christmas tree.  If you answer your question card correctly, then you move ahead.  I made several of the questions multiple choice for little ones, but if you have older kids you can delete the answer choices and just leave it for open answer.  Use dimes for your game pieces and place small stickers on them to tell whose is whose.

DOWNLOAD and print on cardstock for durability:
Game Board
Question Cards
Answer Sheet with Bible references

This is a pretty short game, you can probably easily play 2 or 3 times through.  I played it with Hannah to make sure I set up the game right and you didn't finish in only 2 turns or something, and it was pretty fun!

Kids Responsibility: Earning Rewards

Alright, here I go again with another CHART and reward system that I hope I can keep up with and will last for more than a week!  We've been doing this a couple weeks now and so far so good!  

Goal: encourage kids to take self-initiative and have good attitudes with their chores and extra things around the house

Examples: 

* Complete morning routine without any reminders-- get dressed, make bed, jammies away, (pull up away)

*  Complete bedtime routine without any reminders-- jammies on, clothes away, teeth brushed without arguing about who's tooth brush goes where

* Clean your room.

* Clean the play room.

* Help put things after dinner.

* Do any extra chores.

This does NOT include things they should already be doing anyway:

* Any chore they are already assigned for the day.

* Taking plate to the sink after a meal.
* Good attitude.

* Anything I have to TELL/REMIND them to do.

Reward:

Kids can earn 1 coin for each thing on list one.  They can then use their coins to "buy" rewards from reward chart.  They can save up to earn something bigger or they can use coins right away and buy something small.  Doing this is also a fun introduction to money and the concept of spending or saving.

big plastic coins

 

These are some rewards I came up with, trying to add variety so it wasn't ALL food-related, but really you can create your own.

5 COINS: 1 small piece of candy

10 COINS: extra book at bedtime, 1st for the day (first choice on where to sit at the table, which plate to use, served first, where to put toothbrush, etc)

15 COINS: buy 1 pack of gum that only you get to eat, stay up an extra 30 min at bedtime

25 COINS: buy a small toy ($5 or less), small ice cream cone, free dessert pass ("on a day when you did not eat all yoru dinner, you may redeem this coupon to still receive dessert"), chocolate milk with dinner for a week

35 COINS: pick out a new book at the store, go to lunch with mom

So far this has especially been motivating to Eli and in 2 weeks he's already earned 14 coins! Most every day he'll do his morning routine and clean his room (or at bedtime) all by himself.  And occasionally he'll clean up after dinner.  It's so exciting to see.  And I realized the other day, you know, it's fine if this isn't what motivates Hannah, though she does do it too. She has 5 coins.  It's fine if they end up having different systems, each child is different.

Awhile back I'd tried to a coin-in coin-out system.  Good behavior earned coins, bad behavior lost coins. But it was just too complicated for me when it came discipline time. And honestly the kids do a whole lot more to lose coins than earn them. So after a break from that and rethinking, I came up with this, and for now it works!

Family Fun: Fall Scavenger Hunt

Hannah's preschool teacher asked my friend Nikki and I to organize a fall scavenger hunt for families to come and do together.  I wish I could show you pictures of the event but it's not until next week and fall is ending soon and I wanted to get this post up so you could maybe USE it!  Me and my Type A, chart-loving self decided it would be fun for kids/families to not only find items but examine them as well, filling out a chart as they go with details including color, texture, measurements, and so forth, trying to include all the senses if possible.  And since this is a family event, I want the scavenger hunt to somehow MAKE something in the end, as a way to preserve the memory of doing that activity together. So most of the items will get used to make a fall mobile afterward.  We are going to set up the string and other supplies so families can make their mobiles THERE, otherwise they're probably more likely to take their stuff home and then forget about it.  Here is the scavenger hunt list, DOWNLOAD HERE (there is a little more than what's pictured here).

And here is a picture of what your mobile will sort of look like!

I'm excited!  I think it will be fun for the kids!  Let me know if you do it!