How it's going.... and Creative Cat's Tuesday

Last week I made an activity/learning clipboard that gave us something different to focus and learn each day. I just thought I'd give you a quick update on how it's working. First of all my kids are so excited about this. It gives them something to look forward to all day and they can't wait to do it! Last week we played and learned the rules of baseball, we practiced leading music and we made brownies together. Library day has been great because the kids know they will only have their books for a week so they have been really trying to read a lot so they can finish their books before we have to take them back. For craft day we made cute little flowers out of hands. I saw the idea on Jamie and Kelli's blog called The Junk Box. I like the look of theirs with the yellow pipe cleaner, but we didn't have that on hand so we just decorated the fingers with glitter. I'm thinking about joining the anti-glitter coalition because of how much glitter I keep finding in my house even after a week, but they had a blast so it's worth it. My son even loved it. We just used a boyish print paper for his. For another way to make super duper cute and kid friendly felt flowers check out Hannah's post HERE.

I would have to give the clipboard a big two thumbs up. It forces me to do something really interactive with my kids even when I don't really feel like it, which is unfortunately just what I need.

I decided I'd like to give you an opportunity to share any of your creative ideas on Tuesdays. It can be something you've made, a room you've decorated or a fun thing you've done with your kids. Really anything under the sun. They only give you a few options for what to call it and still be free, so I picked Cats on Tuesdays. Ha ha ha. Please don't post pics of your cats, we just need to stretch that into Creative Cat's Tuesday( I don't know if that's actually legal, I may be really irritating the cat community. We'll see if anyone complains). I'll see if I can get this to work. Today is kind of a test run. I would love to see what you are doing! If you don't have a blog and would like to have a project shown just email me a picture with a description and I will post it for you! If you don't have anything to share this week get crafting and be ready next Tuesday!!

"Mom, I'm bored" board

Becky sent me an awesome idea yesterday. A lot of houses have great big mirrors in the bathrooms. She created a really cool border using vinyl shapes that she cut out with a Cricut. She used Sure Cuts Alot software which allows you to make any shape or true type font without having cartridges(nice). I think it is a very inventive idea and how perfect if you are living in an apartment because you can easily take it down when you leave! Check it out HERE. Thanks again for your email Becky! I really appreciate it!

Do you ever hear your children complaining of being bored? I remember being bored as a kid, but as an adult, I really can't imagine ever feeling that way. I really do pack my days so full that I sometimes wish I had a couple more hours mixed with a bit more energy to accomplish everything that I'd like to. Although I am really busy, sometimes I feel like I am busy with the wrong things.

There are a ton of things that I want to teach my kids, but sometimes I just forget to do it. I decided to come up with a way for me to remember to teach them about something every day. I bought a clipboard at the dollar store and painted it blue.

I cut out pieces of craft paper and put different categories on them. The categories are things that I feel like I want to focus on teaching my children on a weekly basis. I'm sure our categories will grow over time. The thing that is going to make this successful is my kids! They are so excited about it. It actually surprises me. My oldest ran down the stairs this morning to see what we are focusing on today.

It's not going to be a huge thing. Maybe just the half hour after dinner that we work on them. For my categories I picked:

• Sports(I'm not super great at any one sport, but I know enough about a lot of them to give my kids a good intro. Plus it will remind us to exercise as a family.)
• Cooking(I thought I would have the kids plan and prepare a meal with me including shopping for the ingredients. I figured I could throw a little budgeting and time management into the mix.)
• Music(learn a new song, teach them how to lead music or go to a musical production.)
• Library day(literacy)
• Service(family service project once a week. I'm really excited about this one.)
• Family Night(spend the night with each other and include a spiritual lesson, game and of course treats.)
• Crafts(my kids always craft while I am crafting each day, but I rarely teach them how to do what I am doing. I want to start.)

I glued a bunch of magnets on the back of the clipboard and hung it on the fridge.

I decided to keep mine pretty simple, but you could do all sorts of embellishing if you are a better scrapper than I am:)

I also wanted to share with you the cutest thing that my son did for me yesterday. While I was painting he made a craft corner for himself in our pantry and would NOT let me peek while he was working. He knows I love decorating, so he made me this:

He even took one of my old sponge brush sticks and glued it to the back as a hanging mechanism.

So clever and sweet!

Children's art board

My next project was inspired by my hubby's random junk(no, that is not the name of a blog, even though it could be a cool one). He loves to bring home really bizarre things. I tried to clean out the garage yesterday and it didn't take me long to realize that I wasn't the right person for the job. There was too much stuff in there that I had no idea why we had, so I turned the job over to Joe. I did however happen upon these little black numbers.

They are probably used for mailboxes or something...I decided to use them and make a place for my kidlets to display their artwork. I also decided to use some pink cardboard letters and some clothes pins.

I routed a piece of mdf and glued the clothes pins onto the bottom of the board.

After the glue had dried, I painted everything a light green. It was a little bright so I also sanded the edges and rubbed a dark stain to help age it a bit. After everything was nice and dry I randomly glued the letters and numbers on.I love the new addition to our loft!! And want to hear something cool? I was lucky enough to hit two studs when I hung it up and I didn't use a stud finder!! That never happens!

Piece of Cake!

I have to let you know about this jackpot blog named Piece of Cake. It's my Sis-in-Law Val's blog. Val used to teach school and she has taught preschool. She has amazingly fun ideas all the time and has created a blog to share all of her goodness. She has activities for your kids to do for holidays plus tips on helping them learn to read and a whole lot of other cool stuff.  This morning we are doing some of her fun Valentines ideas! It really is a very helpful site.  

Fleece Snowman Hat

Look at this cute idea for a fleece hat and scarf!!  This looks like a very simple project and something that the kids could help with.  

Magnet/everything board

We have my Sis-in-law Sarah to thank for this project. Yes, you are probably noticing that I have many talented and creative people in my family. I have to laugh when I think about this magnet board. Sarah was visiting Utah last summer and her church group decided to take on this project. Sarah tried her hardest to stay out of it because she was out of town and there wasn't much time to get it together. As much as she tried to fight it, she couldn't help herself. I'm sure she is such a blessing to her enrichment committee.  They turned out wonderfully.  They are so multi-functional.  They are a magnet board, flannel board, wipe-off white board and a vinyl pocket.  What a great thing for any family home evening or Primary lesson!! For the wipe-off board you use white tile board from Home Depot! Isn't that awesome!  You use Duct tape to put around all the edges which comes in all sorts of colors(I did not know that). She says she likes the black because it gives it a professional look.  If you would like to attempt to make these I will help you get in touch with Sarah for more detailed instructions.  What a great idea!! Thanks for letting us see your pictures Sarah!