As we age, we naturally become creatures of habit, both with our behavior and our thinking.We may find it to be much easier and emotionally soothing to stick to the comfort of our familiar routines and struggle to shift away from the way we’ve always done things. However, with a little effort, we can train ourselves to think outside the box and look at things from a sideways perspective.

These are the instructions to make an origami flip top box, a bit like a cigarette box, store cards, crayons, pocky or candy in this box.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Today was a very special day – rainforest day! This is my favorite small world! I have been diligently trying to build this i…

These back to school craft ideas are so much fun! It feels like we just started summer vacation, but school will be here in no time! OK, I think I might have a little more back to school cheer than most people... but I love this time of year! We've already started our back to school clothes shopping. And then after back to school, we can start thinking about Halloween. And Thanksgiving. And then... wait for it... Christmas! Yup, you're totally thinking I'm a crazy person, but I'm okay with that. When I was in elementary school, my mom would

Jay told me he wanted to invite some friends over for an Angry Birds birthday party this year. He told me this months ago and I was g...

Rawr & Stuff's alternate crayon colors are pretty much shovel-ready — you could clean up by selling these on Etsy. I'm very fond of "Moral Ambiguity Gray," myself. Crayons (via…

::shoves 8-year-old out of the way to get gel pens::

A diverse anthology of poetry in various styles, and topics such as “stars in the night sky” and “a box of crayons.”

Tener un hijo ya es suficientemente difícil; las noches sin dormir, los llantos incesantes, cólicos, gases, pataletas y desorden acompañan a cualquier recién nacido. Bien es cierto que los placeres...

Life was simpler when all you needed were crayons and friends.

*Originally posted in 2020 This week for Come Follow Me we are covering Jacob 1-4. I have noticed such a difference in my own reading as I have slowed down and focused on the chapters for the week. I have learned so much and this week I can honestly say I am thankful for the words of Jacob. I choose a couple of topics from the primary manual. All printables are free in the download at the end of this post. As I was reading through the individual and family manual the the words spiritual danger stood out to me and reminded me of a talk by talk by Boyd K Packard- Spiritual Crocodiles. This inspired a few of these activities. Jacob warned his people about a couple of dangerous traps and sins they were falling into just like our prophet and apostles warn of today. Using the talk spiritual crocodiles we are going to talk about some of the things our prophet warns us about today. *Someone let me know this talk was in the Friend a couple of years ago and sent me the link! You can find it here. First I have adorable puppets to help you tell the story. You'll want to read through the talk a head of time and then summarize for your family or class. This will vary greatly on age :) I tried to find pictures to cover all of the different part. To use: print (cardstock recommended), cut, and add to a Popsicle stick. Another activities is to hide the crocodiles around the room. Let your family go on a hunt to find them. Once found write on each crocodile something the prophet warns us about. I left lots of white space to make it easier to write on. This would make a cute display for the week. To step up this activity make binoculars our of paper towel rolls ahead of time. Your little ones will LOVE hunting for crocodiles using their binoculars. Sometimes I just roll construction paper to create them and it works too. One last activity: I think a really important thing to point out is some dangers are easy to see like the lion. You can see it coming and know its dangerous. But there are other dangers that may not be so obvious or hidden like the crocodile. This week I've been talking to my children a lot about the world presenting evil as good and thought this tied in so well. Okay to play you are going to cut out the ponds and the animals. Have everyone close their eyes and hide one animal behind each pond. Then take turns trying to avoid the dangerous animals. After talk about why it was difficult to pick. Maybe bring up the guide in the story and how he warned about the dangers in the water and how it could have been so easy to miss. Then talk about why we have a prophet and that he warns of of dangers that maybe we can see and already know about but also danger we may not be as aware of or thing its not something that we will ever need to worry about. Again adjust the discussion to fit your family. The page with the elephant and lion is just a fun way to sort the pictures after you find them. Next we are going to talk about sharing with others in need and how sharing helps us to be happy. This might be a good time to share one of the humanitarian videos on the churches website found Here. This first activity is a spin on the activity at the end of the lesson. There is a cute spinner for the kids to make. This page provides a space to draw or write some of the ways we can share. (I did change toys for talents. Toys can be combined with possessions. These cards have the same words but can be used as discussion cards, for pictionary or charades. Cut apart and think of something that fits in that category. Here's a story (found here) about David sharing crayons with his little sister and how he felt when he did. After set out some crayons for everyone to share while they color the picture included. (this idea and story came from an old primary manual) I also included the story about Jesus feeding the 5,000. It was a young boy that had the fish and bread and decided to share. (this link has some question & story cards to go with this) That is all for this week. I hope you find something that will work for your family or primary class. As always if you have and questions or trouble with the download please let me know. Download free printables here Additional ideas Jesus feeding the 5,000 here & here Exercising your faith idea here wise man and foolish man ideas here Thank you cards here, here, and here

It's hard to make choices because our brains get tired, and yet we have more and more and more choices all the time. For example, how are we supposed to choose from 120 different crayon color options?

Helping mothers build lives they love and trust their instincts throughout every phase of motherhood. Visit mymmomystyle.com for all of the best tips and tricks for moms.

Explore Owen Jones & Partners LTD's 1820 photos on Flickr!

Children with sensory processing disorder are constantly in search of ways to regulate their nervous systems and organize input coming from the environment. There are varying levels of processing d…

Trapezoids, squares, and right triangles, oh my! We love finding interesting ways to learn shapes and colors. Our DIY geoboard is durable, educational, and sets-up in a snap. This project has bee…

Your day of reckoning is at hand.

This is so smart!

[Contributor post at Allfortheboys.com] It’s go time! Get your kid-official Olympic bracelets – just in time for the games! What’s your favorite color of the Olympic flag? Blue, yellow,…

As teachers, we are always looking for new creative things to do with our students. Whether it be a gift for mom or dad, or just something fun to do with them in the classroom, here are ideas for creative art projects and crafts for the elementary classroom.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. All opinions are my own. Wooo, wooo, wooo! Watch out! The fire truck is coming! We’re off to the rescue! I am so excited about our DI…

Are you working on ending sounds with your learner(s)? These crayon-themed ending sounds sorts are a part of my huge Crayon Box Phonics Set and is the perfect way to work on those ending sounds! *This post contains affiliate links. **The free download link can be found towards the END of this post. Just click ... Read More about Ending Sounds Sorts

Looking for the cutest origami summer craft ever? I recently signed my son up for swimming lessons and realized... oof! Summer is right around the corner! That means that it's time for... summer crafts! Woo hoo! And what better way to inspire some summer crafting.. then this uber cute origami mermaid? Yup. Put this craft on your summer-to-do list! It's a must for all mermaid-loving kiddos! How to Fold an Origami Mermaid! This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support! Full disclaimer: I love making cute origami projects. However, I am an origami newbie and I don't design my own projects. Today's tutorial was inspired by one I found on a Japanese website. (Which by the way.. I can't find the website right now. But when I find the link, I will be sure to put it up here!) The directions were all in Japanese and slightly more complicated. I cut out a lot of the extra folds for this simpler version! Materials Needed to make this Origami Mermaid: To make this origami mermaid, you'll need: Sharpie Markers Scissors Origami Paper Tape Note: I am an origami newbie, so yes, I use scissors and tape. But, I still consider this an origami project because we are mostly folding paper to create this mermaid! Part 1: How to Fold the Mermaid's Face Step 1: Grab a piece of skin colored paper. Place the white side up. Fold your paper in half one way and unfold. Then, fold it in half the other way and unfold. Step 2: Now flip the paper over so that the paper is brown/peach side up. (Mine doesn't look brown because of the bad lighting. Sorry! But it's brown.) Now fold the paper in half diagonally. Step 3: 3a. Now open up your fold and flip the paper back so the white side is up. 3b. and 3c. Your paper now has crease marks so that when it is pressed on both sides and flattened... it should close up to look like a square. (Super cool, right?) Step 4: 4a. Fold back the two top sides. 4b. Fold up the two back sides. (Now you have ears.) Fold the bottom back and you'll have a chin. 4c. Grab your Sharpie and draw on a face. (Leave the top portion of your head pointy so that it can fit into your hair.) Congrats! You've got a face! Let's make that mermaid's body! Part 2: How to Fold the Mermaid's Body Step 1: Grab a piece of skin colored paper. Place the paper white side up. Then, fold the paper in half one way and unfold. Then, fold it in half the other way and unfold. Step 2: Fold up one side so that it meets one of your middle folds. Step 3: Not Shown- Unfold your fold from step 2 to completely open up your paper. (We did the previous folds so that it will be easier to fold along certain lines later on.) Step 4: Now fold the left and right sides of your origami paper in so that they meet the middle. Step 5: (Time to create arms.) 5a and 5b. Push upwards on the bottom creased portion of your paper to create a vertical opening. (I know this sounds weird. The pictures hopefully explain what to do better.) 5c. Press down to create arms. Step 6: (Time to slim down the body.) 6a. Slightly fold back one side. 6b. Now fold that side back the other way. (Kind of like a small accordion fold) 6c. Do the same two folds to the other side of your body. 6d. Flip over your body. It should look like this. Congrats! You have a mermaid's body! Now let's fold a mermaid tail! Part 3: How to Fold the Mermaid's Tail Step 1: 1a. Grab a piece of green paper. Place the paper white side up. Fold the right side over, leaving about a third uncovered. 1b. Fold the left side over so that the sides match. 1c. Fold the top corner down. 1d. Slip your top corner behind the other pieces. Step 2: 2a. Fold the bottom tip upwards. 2b. Now fold the tip downwards. 2c. Flip your tail over to the front. Grab a pair of scissors and cut along the fold to create two fins. 2d. This is what your fins will look like! Step 3: Slide your body into your tail. Fold the two two corners of your tail back so that your mermaid body fits snuggly in place. (Add tape!) This is what it will look like from the front. (Ack! She's naked!) Now let's make some hair. Grab another piece of paper and fashion yourself a hair piece. (The bangs allow you to slip in the pointed part of the face.) See? Tape the head in there. Tape all your body parts together. Add more details with Sharpie marker. Congratulations! You've got yourself an origami mermaid! Grab your mermaid tails and flippers and I hope you enjoy making this origami craft with the kiddos! By the way- if you liked this craft, definitely check out my other origami projects and these toilet roll mermaid and hula girls. They're also uber cute and fun to make! Let's Keep in Contact! You can always find more easy and fun ideas on my Pinterest, Facebook, or Instagram accounts! (Or subscribe to my email mailing list by filling out the pink bar at the top of the screen.) Happy making, friends!

Choosing a good selection of colours for your basic palette means that you will be able to mix any colour you need from just eight to 12 colours.

For Christmas, we received the game Spot It. We have not stopped playing it. It's basically a matching game, but...more fun. ...