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2014: St. Patrick’s Day Activities

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2014: St. Patrick’s Day ActivitiesAre you ready to get your green on? St. Patrick’s Day is on the horizon. For the one who does not wear green, be prepared to get pinched. 😉

My children have been carefully planning how to incorporate green into their school uniform for Monday.

My son is already wearing his green bracelet and has chosen to wear his black tennis shoes with the green stripe on them.

My daughter has her hair bow selected along with her necklace (see Amazon link below) and ring. She and I spent some time this afternoon painting our nails green, of course.

I will enjoy donning my hat, green shirt, and matching necklace to tone down my nail polish. On Monday morning, I will send my little ones to school with their St. Patrick’s Day jokes in their lunch boxes. They enjoy getting jokes to share with their classmates.

Having posted St. Patrick’s Day party ideas and a list of St. Patrick’s Day activities in 2013, I hope you find lots of shamrock, rainbow, and leprechaun inspiration from these additional St. Patrick’s Day activities.

2014: St. Patrick’s Day ActivitiesSt. Patrick’s Day Accessories

  • Cute nail art designs shared by Quida at Simple Savings for Atlanta Moms
  • Shamrock pendent sold by Amazon for $3.49 with FREE shipping (This is my affiliate link, and Miss 6 is wearing it in the above picture.)

St. Patrick’s Day Printable Activities

St. Patrick’s Day Crafts

St. Patrick’s Day Deals

St. Patrick’s Day Recipes

With all these St. Patrick’s Day accessories, activities, crafts, deals, and recipes, I hope you can find a way to make Monday very special. Enjoy your day as you get on your green.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Question: How will you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

Early Teacher Appreciation Week

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Early Teacher Appreciation Week

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Officially scheduled for the week of May 5 – 9, Teacher Appreciation Week came early for us due to Miss 6’s teacher’s early retirement.

Her teacher is expecting her first child in April, and Friday was her last school day. Therefore, we celebrated an early Teacher Appreciation Week, Monday through Friday.

Making our teachers feel special is not as difficult as it sounds. By listening and paying attention to their likes and hobbies, we can put together a mini-celebration each day of the week to show our appreciation for the hours invested into their students.

Our early Teacher Appreciation Week centered around our teacher’s upcoming delivery and her previous requests:  Early Teacher Appreciation Week

Monday: Homemade card, actually a booklet, made by Miss 6

Tuesday: Wrapped baby outfit, size 3-6 months, with a thank you card from me

Wednesday: Wrapped board book about shapes to start her child’s library

Thursday: Lunch from one of her favorite restaurants picked up and delivered to school by Paul

Friday: Homemade chocolate chip cookies with the recipe that she requested from a previously delivered batch of cookies

We tailored our gifts toward our teacher’s needs and wants. Other options could have included favorite candy, a gift card, a collectible, watching the class for a lunch period, scheduling a field trip, or any other task that would give her a break.

Even though Miss 6’s teacher missed the official Teacher Appreciation Week, we made sure she received the same attention she would have gotten had she remained at school.

Teachers have a difficult job balancing educating the children, partnering with parents, and staying within the bounds of the administration.

When you get a great teacher, it is easy to take them for granted. Love on those excellent teachers as they are jewels and need your encouragement.

If you have Teacher Appreciation Week coming up in May and are unsure about how to celebrate, start noticing your teacher’s hobbies and interests. In using time wisely, you will discover more about these special people.

Once you get some ideas, you will soon find your own way to showing your appreciation. Happy observing!

Question: When is your Teacher Appreciation Week?

An Entertainment Backup Plan

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An Entertainment Backup Plan

Photograph Credit: Fotolio

After today’s events, I am considering creating an entertainment backup plan. Lest you think Murphy hits our home each time we entertain, let me assure you that we entertain quite a bit without incidents.

Tonight was not the case. Everything was going well. I had picked up the pizzas from Papa Murphy’s this afternoon, the house was cleaned, and homework finished.

With the oven preheated, I placed the pizza on the top rack, set the timer, and sat down to rest.

Ahh!

The Incident

Paul came home and was hanging up his jacket when we saw a flash in our kitchen. Checking the light bulbs for outages, we found none. Not seeing anything else, we wrote it off to a power surge.

About 20 minutes later the timer sounded, and I went to the oven. Well, everything was dark.

At this time, I realized that the flash was from the oven. Paul reset the breakers, and then we checked the unit. The oven light and the stovetop worked fine. However, the oven had shorted out. Bummer!

Thankfully, I have wonderful neighbors. I called up one and explained the situation. In typical southern hospitality, she invited me down to use her oven. I enjoyed the time listening and playing with her children while the pizza finished baking.

Considering a Backup Plan

Our dinner turned out well, got off to a little late start, and we had a great night. We are not sure how we will fix the oven. But for now, the rest of our week sports a cooktop menu, so we are good to go.

Though this experience turned out fine, I began thinking about what I would have done had my neighbor not been home. I had called my nextdoor neighbor first, and she was not home. But the second neighbor I called was able to help me out.

Not that I plan to keep numerous options available when we entertain, but I have started thinking about our entertainment backup plan, which definitely includes my fantastic neighbors.

I’m thinking that I might want to choose a cooktop, oven, and freezer/microwave option. Of course, if the power goes out, then I’ll need a grill option. Happy creating!

Question: Do you have an entertainment backup plan? If so, would you be willing to share it?

2014: Presidents’ Day Activities, Crafts, Recipes, and Worksheets

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2014: President’s Day Activities, Crafts, Recipes, and Worksheets

Photograph Credit: iClipArt

This coming Monday, February 17, 2014, is the United States’ federal holiday honoring our Presidents.

Though most activities are centered on George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, Presidents’ Day encompasses all our American Presidents.

When Paul and I lived in Pennsylvania, we took a train ride into Philadelphia one Saturday morning. Besides visiting Independence Hall and the huge Liberty Bell, we toured the Philadelphia Mint.

Wow! I still remember this experience from over 10 years ago.

My U.S. Mint Visit

At that time, the museum portion was intriguing as we learned of the choosing process for each type of American currency printed at that Mint.

Highlighting the events of the Presidents, who were chosen for that currency, I remember how awed I was by the precise and intentional decisions of each stroke.

After viewing the museum portion, we watched from a large window, the workers printing currency. Dressed in their uniforms, including gloves, the process was precise, just like choosing the design.

Though I have not returned to a U.S. Mint since that visit, I still remember that experience and think of it around Presidents’ Day each year. Not sure if Mints still offer visits. If they do, I highly recommend taking a tour.

Without a U.S. Mint in our area, we are not planning any outings – although Sonic has a good hot dog deal. However, we can celebrate Monday with these Presidents’ Day activities, crafts, recipes, and worksheets:

Presidents’ Day Activities, Crafts, Recipes, and Worksheets

  • Enchanted Learning includes a popsicle stick log cabin craft along with Presidents’ Day printable pages, like the math decoder
  • Family Education links to 30+ Presidents’ Day activities
  • Including Thomas Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt, DLTK’s Crafts for Kids focuses on activities for preschool, kindergarten, and grade-school children
  • The list of crafts, coloring pages, and recipes by Spoonful includes the paper plate Uncle Sam
  • A Kid’s Heart provides trivia, games, and puzzles for the child who loves computer time
  • More Presidents’ Day online puzzles and games found at Primary Games
  • FREE George Washington unit study available through Educents
  • Love the creativity for serving lunch by Cookie Cutter Lunch
  • Seeded at the Table shows how to make these red, white, and blue skewers
  • Home and School Mosaics included a Presidents’ Day mini unit complete with videos
  • BeCentsAble compiled a list of Presidents’ Day coupons

If these activities leave you wanting more, then access more patriotic activities from this 2013 post, celebrating Independence Day.

Wishing all Americans a wonderful Presidents’ Day, as we celebrate those who fought, founded, and led the United States of America.

Happy Presidents’ Day!

2014: Snow Day Activities

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2014: Snow Day ActivitiesThankful for a warm home, power, and a healthy family, we have enjoyed our snow days this week. Though it took some time for the snow to accumulate, we were not disappointed with the final results.

This afternoon, we enjoyed sledding and playing with our neighbors in the white stuff before it turned into slush. We tossed snowballs, made snow angels, sled down the hill, and built snowmen.

The time outdoors was great as we have been cooped up this week. We topped off the outdoor activities with an indoor hot chocolate treat. Yum!

2014: Snow Day Activities

The snow did what the train tracks, crafts, drawings, reading, and movie-watching from the last few days could not do. The trips up the snow-covered hill wore them out. All three of my kids were ready for bed tonight.

If you are still stuck indoors and needing some snow day activities to stay active, then try some of these activities:

Snow Day Baking

From this Snow Ice Cream Recipe posted by BeCentsAble to your favorite chocolate chip cookies, baking provides lots of fun in the kitchen while keeping your home warm.

Snow Day Crafts, Games, and More

From building a tent to pulling out the board games, kids hop from one activity to another. For the mama and daddy, who just need a little inspiration, check out these snow day activities posts:

Snow Day Printable Packs

Though Phil, the groundhog, says spring is on the way, we are still very much experiencing winter. My backyard is still thawing the snow, and Miss 3 is not happy that the snowmen are melting. As we could still see some more ice and snow in the coming weeks, these activities are close at hand.

Finding snow day activities lifesavers on these cold days, I am so grateful for the many bloggers who compile these lists and create these printable packs. I appreciate their hard work and willingly pass along their accomplishments that we all may enjoy them.

As I am off to bundle up under a warm blanket to watch the Olympics, may you stay warm, healthy, and energized with these snow day activities. Happy creating!

Question: Are you experiencing snow days this winter?