Letter of the Week - Uu

U is for Underwater 
Here's what you need for this project:
- cardstock (blue, green and white)
- blue marker and crayon
- underwater stickers (I found mine at Walmart)
- glue

Click here for free printable Upper Case Letter templates.

U is for Umbrella
Here's what you need for this project:
- cardstock (5 different colors)
- black marker
- glue

 Clara checking in on Sidney work

(wearing her FAVORITE shirt, a Halloween shirt with a skull and cross bones....in April)

Click here for free printable Lower Case Letter templates.

Sight Words
This week's Sight Word is:
- up

Handwriting

Books
Here are some library books we reserved to go along with our theme:

Summer Family Fun Passport -- 2015

I updated last year's Summer Family Fun Passport.  We are officially ready for summer now!

Click here to download the PDF file.

They are very easy to make.  Start by clicking the link above to download the file on Google Drive.

I printed the front/back cover in colored printer paper and multiple copies of the inside pages in white printer paper.  Then I used my paper cutter to cut the inside pages in half.

I folded the front/back cover in half, inserted the inside pages, and stapled them together along the fold.

Then the kids can document our summer fun on the pages - where we went, who went and when we went - and draw a picture of the what we did on the field trip.  For little ones, you can print out a photo from the day and tape it to the paper.

I have a some summer-y stamps (flowers, sun, butterfly, etc.) that I'll use to stamp the back of the page (like getting a stamp in your passport) once the girls are done.  My kids still LOVE stamps!  

PS - I found another fun St. Louis Passport from stlMotherhood.  Click here to see!

Shrinky Dink Jewelry

I just had to share this AWESOME craft that Ava got for her birthday from a school friend.

SHRINKY DINKS JEWELRY!!!!

I can't even remember the last time I did Shrinky Dinks...maybe when I was 7 or 8 years old??  The magic of how this thin piece of flimsy plastic can shrink down into a fat, tiny exact replica of itself can only be appreciated by adults.  I was totally mesmerized by the process.

But the main bonus is how long this project kept my girls busy! ALL DAY!  They got right to work coloring the Shrinky Dinks with the colored pencils that were included in the box.  

Then I got to work shrinky  Dink-ing!  I cut up a brown paper bag to fit over my baking sheet. I have AirBake Insulated Baking Sheets (which I was told - and can confirm - works well with Shrinky Dinks). You can use the same piece of paper bag over and over.  They say to space them three inches apart so I only did 6 or 7 on a baking sheet.  Then it said to bake the Shrinky Dinks for 1 - 3 minutes.  This is what they look like mid-shrink:

 They curl up a bunch and then start to flatten out.

After the Shrinky Dink has flattened out, leave it in the oven for another 30 seconds and then remove.  I let them cool on a cutting board.

It only took them a minute or two to cool down and then the girls could turn them into JEWELRY!!!  Ava immediately made BFF necklaces for her and the friend that gave her this birthday gift.

This was by far the best arts and crafts project we've done in a long time!  I will be keeping my eye out for more Shrinky Dink crafts from now on!

Letter of the Week - Tt

T is for Turkey
Here's what you need for this project:
- cardstock (8 different colors including red, orange, brown and white/cream)
- googly eyes
- glue

Click here for free printable Upper Case Letter templates.

T is for Turtle
Here's what you need for this project:
- cardstock (3 different colors)
- small googly eyes
- glue

Click here for free printable Lower Case Letter templates.

Sight Words
This week's Sight Words are:
- the
- to

Handwriting

Books
Here are some library books we reserved to go along with our theme: