Autumn is Around the Corner!

Good Morning, Readers!

I hope this finds you doing well.

I've got a couple of things to share with you today.

First off I'm going to tell you a secret about myself:
I am an AUTUMN FANATIC!
Don't believe me?
Check out my All Things Autumn Pinterest Board.
Through the entire month of August,
I was literally chomping at the bit
to get out my fall decor and begin my fall crafts.
And, apparently, my TJ kiddos have been bitten by the autumn bug too...
Last week, two of my little lovelies created this masterpiece for me:

I'm not exactly sure what prompted this magnificent piece of Autumnal Artwork,
but I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!!
(For those of you who don't know,
Tanner's Orchard is a tourist attraction in Central IL
where families can go and pick apples and pumpkins,
take a hay-rack ride, wander through a corn maze,
and enjoy scrumptious Apple Cider and Apple Cider Donuts!)

I'm sharing my darlings' creativity with you today
because I want to make this point:
When kids work hard on something,
whether it be artwork or homework,
make a big deal out of it when they complete it.
Praise them for their hard work and diligence.
I know sometimes when I'm tired or feeling frustrated
I forget to notice the "minor" accomplishments of my lovelies.
But then I remember, to them, the accomplishments aren't minor
and shouldn't be treated as if they are.

Just a point to ponder...:)

Secondly, I have my September Calender of TJ Activities to share with you:

As you can see, September is going to be a busy month!
We have Grandparents Day, 9/11 Remembrance Day,
First Day of Autumn, and Johnny Appleseed's Birthday to commemorate.

As I stated in my last post,
I am 99% certain that I will NOT be able
to accomplish everything on this calendar!
And, frankly, I'm not even going to try!
This Calendar is meant to be a creative help if assistance is needed.

I hope you have a great week!
Happy Crafting!

Welcome to a New School Year!

Greetings in the Spirit of a New School Year!

I hope this finds you ready to take on new challenges!

To start off this first blog post of the year,

I would like to direct you to another blogger's post:
How to Talk so Your Kids Will Listen

In this post, the blogger included some great tips
for controlling one's frustration when dealing with an unruly child
and for calming down a child who is upset.
I hope you will read it and apply it to your life like I did :).

The next thing I want to share with you is:
my agenda for Thomas Jefferson for the month of August.

Just so you know, I am 99% sure
that I will not be able to accomplish a project every single day.
Sometimes things just don't happen...
this is simply a calendar of ideas in case they are needed.
I have similar calendars in the works for every month of the school year.

Here are a couple of samples of the projects we have made so far:

Monday, we made Coffee Filter Poppies.
This project was so easy and I love that the kids were able
to use their own ideas to make their flowers unique.
Some of the kiddos made their flowers round,
others painted individual petals,
and then of course, we have the completely red coffee filter :).
After the paint dried, I had the kids draw on their flowers with markers.
Again, I let them doodle what they wanted.
Some drew a simple circle in the center of their flower,
others drew a circle with spikes coming out of it,
and still others added swiggly lines around the circle reaching out onto the petals :).
I ended up displaying these lovely Poppies on our supply cabinets doors.
They really brightened up the room! :)

Tuesday (yesterday) was National Dog Day!
And in honor of the day, we made Book Page Dalmations.
Again, this craft allowed the kiddos to use their creativity.
At the conclusion of the project,
we had a rather large variety of Dalmations.
Some with extremely long ears, some that looked quite a bit like kittens,
some with big, bright eyes, and some with shrunken heads (seriously...).
This photo is of the one I made
(not all the children were able to finish theirs last evening).

I hope this calendar and these projects inspire you to create your own fun! :)

Let's have a Great School Year!

A Little Birdy Told Me...

Good Afternoon!

I believe it is safe to say that Spring is here to stay!

I wasn't quite sure there for a while!

Anyway, I have a darling little craft with the kiddos

to share with you today:

Free-Style Birdies.

Aren't they adorable?

For complete instructions,

please click here.

This is a link to another blog.

Have a great day!

And happy crafting!

Springtime Crafts!

Good Afternoon!

The kiddies and I have been working hard on SPRINGTIME Crafts!

(Can I get a YAY!????)

It seems like Spring took FOREVER to get here

but now that it FINALLY has

the kiddos and I have BIG plans to enjoy every minute of it!

Here's what we have been up to lately:

In case you couldn't tell,

those are Popsicle Stick Houses

and Dabby Painted Coffee Filter...uh...thingies. 

I'm really not sure what to call them.

We also finished a new canvas project this week:

I LOVE IT! Don't you?

For more details about these projects,

please click here.

(This is a link to another blog.)

What have you and your kiddos been up to?

Thank you for visiting!

Please come back soon!

Button Tree Canvas and several other kiddie crafts :)

Good Morning, Everyone!

I apologize that it's been so long since I've posted.

With Summer Camp swiftly approaching,

things have been crazier than usual.

With that in mind, I'm going to be linking several different crafts to this post.

First we have: a Button Tree Canvas

(a.k.a Our Kindness Tree)

It's it lovely?

Details of the project can be found here.

Next, we have several Dr. Seuss Crafts.

February 26th was an Early Dismissal Day at Thomas Jefferson.

I feel the only way to survive an Early Dismissal Day is to have a plan.

Therefore, I declared February 26th to be Dr. Seuss Day!

We started with "A Wocket In My Pocket" Craft.

I love it!

Then we moved on to: "A Hand-Print Lorax" Craft.

This craft was easy and engaging!

Our next craft was: "A Truffala Tree Forest"

I still have these displayed at the school 

simply because they are bright and spunky! :)

Next, we completed yet another Truffalo Tree Craft.

The kids did GREAT with these!

I had them paint abstract "scenes" on the papers first

and then add the trees later.

Finally, we put together a "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" Canvas.

This actually took us a few days to complete,

but we finished it up on our Dr. Seuss Day :).

In general, I would call our Dr. Suess Day a GREAT SUCCESS!

Details for all of the Dr. Seuss Crafts can be found here.

The next craft I'm going to discuss was made over Spring Break at the YMCA.

Let me introduce: Texture-y Turtles!

You can find the details of this craft here.

The final craft I have to share with you is:
Paper Plate Fishbowls.

These were easy and fun!
Instructions can be found here.

I hope all these crafts have inspired you to get artsy with your kiddos! :)

Have a great day!

Penguin Crafts!

Good Afternoon!

I've got some adorable Penguin Crafts to share with you today!

I have personally made these twice.

Very easy to make, but pretty messy!

What do you think?

Aren't they cute?

For complete instructions,

please click here.

(This is a link to another blog.)

What have you been doing with your kiddos?

Come visit again soon!

Making Eskimos

Good Afternoon!

I am here to day to share yet another winter craft with you.

This one I have previously made before,

but I still love!

And I love to see how a new batch of kids

adds their own "spin" to a tried and true craft.

May I present:

Paper Plate Eskimos!

Aren't they cute?

I absolutely love them!

     

 For complete instructions and more photos,

please click here.

(This is a link to another blog). 

What have you been doing with your kids?

I would love to hear your stories!

Have a great week!

Triple the Winter Fun!

Good Morning!

I'm here to share some more winter fun with you all!

The Kiddos and I have been very busy!

We've made Mosaic Snowmen Faces,

put together foam snowmen,

and designed our own Mittens!

What do you think?

For complete craft instructions

and the link to print your own "Design a Snowman" coloring sheet,

click here.

(This a link to another blog.)

Thanks for viewing

and have fun!

A Whimsical Wintry Canvas

Good Morning!

I hope this finds you all warm and toasty on this Arctic Day!

Today I would like to share a snowflake art project with you.

My beloved, artistic assistant, Nicole, helped me a LOT with this one!

What do you think?

Isn't it lovely?

For more pictures and instructions, 

please click here.

(This is a link to another blog.)

Thank you for viewing!

Stay Warm!

A Deer Canvas

Good Morning!

I have a new craft to share with you!

With the weather being extremely cold, 

I have been in search of new and fun indoor 

projects to do with the kiddos.

This one was COMPLETELY ORIGINAL...

I DID NOT find it on Pinterest

(aren't you shocked!) ;).

What do you think?

To see more photos and find out how to make your own, 

please click here.

This is a link to another blog.

Thank you for viewing!

Have a great day!