Sunday, November 30, 2008

Happy Holidays Part 1....

Today we begin part one of our two part holiday series. The children were read the story A Small One about the donkey who helps Mary and Joseph get to the inn to have baby Jesus. I can't tell you about the craft because it's a surprise-- you'll find out on Christmas day.



There is also a video that tells this story-- you can find it on many DVD compilations like Classic Cartoon Favorites, Vol. 9 - Classic Holiday Stories sold at Target or Amazon.com.

Holiday crafts are a dime a dozen, so instead of giving you links to craft sites I thought I might share with you some traditions that might be fun for your family.

Try sleeping one night under the Christmas tree or having a picnic under the tree if you can't be away from a cozy bed.

Wrap up holiday books and have the kids unwrap one every night as their bedtime story.

Bake cookies then take them to neighbors houses or a retirement home.

Choose a family and secretly give them gifts representing the 12 Days of Christmas (e.g. For 4 Calling Birds give the family a telephone calling card, for 6 Geese a-laying give the family eggs.)

Have a Birthday party for Jesus-- complete with birthday cake and balloons.

Join together with a few other families and have a progressive dinner. Have appetizers at one house, entree at another and dessert at yet another. You'll get to see how everyones house is decorated and you'll only have to cook one portion of the meal.

Next meeting I will have lots of ideas for New Years celebrations, so be sure to come back!


Sunday, November 16, 2008

Thanksgiving Activities....

Hello MOPS Mommies!



It is the time of year to be thankful for all the blessings we have and I have lots to be thankful for. I would like to express my thanks to my amazing MOPPET team of Laura, Amy and Julia who make my life so much easier. My Moppet workers never get enough credit and they do so much for me and our children. I would also like to thank you and your adorable children-- we do this for you and we are truly blessed!

Now on to our activities for this week. We read Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland and made hand-print turkeys.
The author also wrote Valentines are for Saying I Love You-- so grab that book in February.

If you are looking for some fun activities to keep little ones busy while you're in the kitchen, check out this site. They have Thanksgiving Bingo cards, coloring pages, word searches for older kids, and lots more!

If you're more into crafty things check out this site where they give you craft ideas appropriate for 2 year olds and up. I love this site because they have crafts into not only age categories but thematic categories as well.

For some recipes to make with little hands try these ideas. My favorite is having them make butter for the dinner rolls-- how fun is that?

Our very own Christine Davis has a friend who has a wonderful newsletter/website with ideas for pre-school aged kids. Be sure to check it out-- you can subscribe for monthly ideas. Thanks Christine for bringing this to my attention!

I hope you and your families have a wonderful and safe holiday!