Handprint reindeer

Today I have a fun Christmas Craft for you to do with your kids.  Its actually from several years ago and was originally posted on my preschool blog. I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorites from time to time.  So this week I'll be sharing some fun Christmas Crafts.  The cute girls in the pictures are now 8 and 11 but luckily still have two little ones that will enjoy these.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------   

Our cute little reindeer. Livy's is green and Aubrey's is red. I think these are my favorite Christmas craft we've made so far. They are just adorable.Painting hands Aubrey took this picture of me painting Livy's foot.

Its pretty fun and easy.  Start with painting the foot and stamp it towards the bottom of the page (toes down).  Then paint each hand and stamp them in a v shape at the heel of the foot.  Let it dry.  Cut around your "reindeer."  Then add face and button or pom pom for nose.

December Visiting Teaching printable

This months message is "Family joy is found in righteous living."  (You can find it here.)  

I love the word joy.  It is actually the word I chose as a goal for myself this past year.  Choosing joy each day and finding joy in our current circumstances.  As I actively did this it was incredible to see my perspective in situations change.  A problem became manageable or do able.  Blessing were noticed.  I found myself stopping for a few minutes to play with my kids.  I smiled more and felt more happiness daily.  

I thought this quote below summed up the message well.  I created two different looks this time.  You can save to your computer and print at your favorite place (size to fit a 4x6).  You can also copy and paste to a word document and shrink to the size you want.  This is my favorite way and I like to fit 4 to a page.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Goal sheet (printable) & FHE idea

While flipping through The Friend (a children's magazine put out by our church) this month this story caught my eye.

  Its about a young boy that was in a terrible accident and the strength he had to relearn how to walk, talk, ride a bike, etc.  I shared this with my children and we talked about how difficult this would be and how hard he must of worked.  I then moved to the conversation to them...what are somethings that are hard for them, what are some things you want to improve on, what are some ways you can do that.  I hope it helped them realize that they can accomplish these goals IF they put the work into it.

We finished by using the printable below to make some goals for this month.  The numbers were used to write specific things they were going to do to accomplish the goal.  

I made a few different ones and you are welcome to use them :)  Copy and paste in a word document.  They are sized to fit the full page or you can shrink them down to fit your needs.

"Owl" always love you prints

I decided to retire these adorable prints from my etsy shop and offer them for free!  There are 2 fun colors to choose from.  Just copy and paste to a word document or save to your computer and print at your favorite store. They are made to print 8.5 x 11 but I centered them to print perfectly as an 8x10.  Let me know if you have any questions.  You can also find additional coordinating owl prints here.  Its still one of my most popular posts.

Mini Gratitude Journals and printable

Whenever November comes around we automatically start thinking of all we have to be grateful for.  Its so wonderful!  Gratitude is something that I want my children to learn and of course is always something I can work on as well.  I have a cute sign in my house that says "there is always, always, always something to be thankful for."  I leave it up year round because being thankful shouldn't just happen around Thanksgiving.

I found this adorable idea here.  I modified it a little bit for cost and ease (also I'm using for an activity with 16 yes 16 8-11 year old girls so these were important).  You can find awesome detailed instructions on her site but here's a basic how-to with my changes and a few tips.

You need:
white cardstock 1 sheet will make 2 (I used regular 8 1/2 x11)
A pack of index cards (I found mine at walmart 100 for less then a dollar)
ribbon
scrapbook paper (scraps work great)
anything to use as embellishments (I used ric rac and some flowers I already had.  Stickers, stamps, or just paper work great too)
glue
scissors or paper cutter
hole punch
tape

1. hole punch your index cards.  I used 12 per book.
2. cut your cardstock 3" by 11"

3. fold your cardstock in half and hole punch.  Use your index cards as a template.
4.  pull ribbon through the holes and tie off.  You do not want your ribbon to tight or the book will not lay very flat when you try to write inside.  Use a pencil or finger to give you enough space.  Another tip...wrap a small amount of tape around the end of the ribbon to make it easier to pull through.
5. decorate!

Here are the printables I made for the front cover.  Copy and paste into a word document. Size them to 2x2 and print. 

I challenged the girls (and myself) to write at least 1 thing they are thankful for a day between now and Thanksgiving.  If they wanted a bigger challenge add 5 a day!  I hope this will get them thinking about all we have to be thankful for.

November Visiting Teaching (General Conference Printables)

I love visiting teaching in November because we get to pick a talk for General Conference to share.  I had a really hard time narrowing down what talk I wanted to use.  It seemed like one after another there was something I needed to hear and now I look forward to going back and reading them.  I made printables for 2 of the talks.  Even if you didn't pick one of these talks or one of these quotes to share with your sisters I hope you will enjoy them for yourself :)

I would love to know what your favorite talk or quote was from Conference. 

President Uchtdorf's talk during the women's conference was one of my favorite talks (Find it here). Its such a great message on faith.  

Elder Nelson's talk found here.  I love the word joy and this talk is exactly what I needed to hear.

I created this handout with a few of my favorite quotes for the message.  You are welcome to use it too.  I like to copy and paste to a word document.  Then size it to fit 4 to a page and print on card stock.  You can also save to your computer and have it printed at your favorite place.  It is formatted to fit a 4x6 print.

October 2016 Visiting Teaching Handout

October's message is all about the family and how it correlates with God's plan for us.  Just a hint Sister Julie B. Beck said "Without the family, there is no plan; there is no reason for mortal life." It's a beautiful message and can be found here.

I created this handout with a few of my favorite quotes for the message.  You are welcome to use it too.  I like to copy and paste to a word document.  Then size it to fit 4 to a page and print on card stock.  You can also save to your computer and have it printed at your favorite place.  It is formatted to fit a 4x6 print.