HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Happy Halloween! Have fun tonight trick or treating with your little ones! Hope for lots of safe fun and tons of candy!
Haunted House
This little project was thrown together from old juice containers and pasta boxes. Zoey really enjoyed it.
Mockingbird Lane
Watching Mockingbird Lane now and it is wonderful! I truly believe that NBC made a mistake by not picking it up.
All Hallow's Read
All Hallow's Read is a wonderful project that Neil Gaiman started last year. Reading is important and what better way to get people and children to read than by incorporating it into a holiday we all love. So instead of buying your children candy (cause let's face it they are going to get enough from everyone else...) give them a book. Or even just borrow a book from the library. :)
Stardust and Coraline
If you have never read a book by Neil Gaiman you should first go here. He is an amazing and talented author who writes everything from children's stories to books for the older crowd. One of my favorites is Stardust.
In Stardust, a young man name Tristran crosses over a wall and into a magical land to begin his journey of locating a fallen star. The book was eventually turned into a wonderful movie, that never got the praise it deserved. Star studded cast of Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Claire Danes brought life to this movie, it was truly incredible and remains a favorite of mine.
In Stardust, a young man name Tristran crosses over a wall and into a magical land to begin his journey of locating a fallen star. The book was eventually turned into a wonderful movie, that never got the praise it deserved. Star studded cast of Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Claire Danes brought life to this movie, it was truly incredible and remains a favorite of mine.
While I love Gaiman for Stardust, Zoey loves him for Coraline. Coraline is another wonderful book and has won MANY awards. A spunky little girl with vibrant blue hair and a yellow rain coat, finds a hidden door and meets her "other mother". The book translated beautifully to screen. With another star studded cast of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, and Keith David the characters jump right off the screen. Many seem to think Coraline is a little scary, I would say it is more spooky. Zoey saw it for the first time last year when she was only three and has loved it ever since. So just use your own judgement.
Casper the Friendly Ghost
Casper has been around for AGES and there are soooo many different versions. Zoey started watching Casper last year around Halloween and fell in love, we watch it all year long. lol
Originally a cartoon from the 40's Casper has been adapted and changed many times.
Originally a cartoon from the 40's Casper has been adapted and changed many times.
Kellogg Mini-Wheats Recall
Today Kellogg recalled Mini-Wheats. 2.8 million packages are being pulled from the shelf because they may contain pieces of metal mesh.
You can read more here.
You can read more here.
Candy Corn Foot!
Trick or Treat. Smell my feet!
This was a cute and easy little craft and I managed to make it educational by having her review letters and practice handwriting! Woot Go Mama! lol.
Paint the little ones foot to look like candy corn and then stamp it down. Then write down the phrase, even Happy Halloween would be cute.
This was a cute and easy little craft and I managed to make it educational by having her review letters and practice handwriting! Woot Go Mama! lol.
Paint the little ones foot to look like candy corn and then stamp it down. Then write down the phrase, even Happy Halloween would be cute.
Dragon's Halloween
Dragon's Halloween by Dav Pilkey is a wonderful Halloween book. It is a little bit older, first printed in 1995. Because of that it may be a little difficult to find, always try Amazon and Ebay.
Dragon's Halloween is made up of 3 different stories (all about Dragon):
- Six Small Pumpkins
- The Costume Party
- The Deep Dark Woods
25 Days Left!
Only 25 days left til Halloween! WOOT! If you are making your costumes you might want to get started! Zoey has decided on princess so I guess me and my sewing machine will be getting to work soon :D
3 Healthy Steps!
Zoey has many different cartoons that she really enjoys. One of them is Special Agent Oso. The great thing about Special Agent Oso is that he goes around helping children and teaching them the 3 HEALTHY STEPS to whatever task it is they are trying to complete.
She saw this video and has been begging me to make juice pops. :) So that is exactly what we did. The video goes a little fast and leaves out an important step so for those of you who have never made juice pops it is REALLY easy.
STEP 1
Find, Get, Buy, Wash.... Obtain an ice cube tray :) lol.
STEP 2
Pour in the juice AND (this is the part they left out) cover in plastic wrap.
STEP 3
Insert toothpicks and freeze :)
She saw this video and has been begging me to make juice pops. :) So that is exactly what we did. The video goes a little fast and leaves out an important step so for those of you who have never made juice pops it is REALLY easy.
STEP 1
Find, Get, Buy, Wash.... Obtain an ice cube tray :) lol.
STEP 2
Pour in the juice AND (this is the part they left out) cover in plastic wrap.
STEP 3
Insert toothpicks and freeze :)
Workbooks
I try my best to plan activities and lessons that my little one will enjoy, but there are some days when I am too tired to do the whole sha-bang. There are also some days when Zoey is wired and attempting a full on project is just a bad idea.
That is why I love these workbooks. The lessons go quick and require ZERO effort from me. I picked them up at the dollar store. :) So YAY! for cheap! lol.
That is why I love these workbooks. The lessons go quick and require ZERO effort from me. I picked them up at the dollar store. :) So YAY! for cheap! lol.
Max's Halloween
Zoey saw this book and wanted it so bad. Max and Ruby is one of the bug's favorite shows. I love Max. He is a very smart little bunny. In this tale Max and Ruby go trick-or-treating.
Halloween Wreath
Here is a fun fact: I am broke. (like everyone else)
So when I decided to decorate for Halloween I knew there was going to be A LOT of creativity involved. One of the best things to decorate with. A WREATH! Even if you are running behind and haven't decorated anything else it at least makes you look like you are on it :).
I will not lie. This was not a quick project. I have never made a wreath before and some of it I did not think all the way through.
Materials:
Pipe insulation (big long foam tube with a slit for wrapping around pipes)
Duck tape
Assorted paints / glitter glue
Old T-shirts
Interfacing (Iron on)
Tulle (Ribbon will work just fine)
Hot Glue
Cardboard (I used old toilet paper rolls)
Popsicle sticks
First off make your wreath. Secure pipe insulation in a circle with duck tape. I went ahead and wrapped duck tape around the whole thing just to make it a little more durable.
Iron on interfacing to your other shirt or fabric. Fold in half. Draw half a bat on the interfacing and cut out. (Just like you learned how to do in elementary school with the hearts)
My bat was droopy. I tried I really did. I even painted him with Mod-podge and then with a glittery black paint, but he would just not stiffen up. So I added popsicle sticks to his back to strengthen him. Then hot glued him to the wreath.
Now... I was supposed to be done at this point. But I didn't like it. It was just missing something. A pop a color... some glitter... something.
TA-DA! Finally... a wreath :D (hoping my next one goes a little smoother.)
So when I decided to decorate for Halloween I knew there was going to be A LOT of creativity involved. One of the best things to decorate with. A WREATH! Even if you are running behind and haven't decorated anything else it at least makes you look like you are on it :).
I will not lie. This was not a quick project. I have never made a wreath before and some of it I did not think all the way through.
Materials:
Pipe insulation (big long foam tube with a slit for wrapping around pipes)
Duck tape
Assorted paints / glitter glue
Old T-shirts
Interfacing (Iron on)
Tulle (Ribbon will work just fine)
Hot Glue
Cardboard (I used old toilet paper rolls)
Popsicle sticks
First off make your wreath. Secure pipe insulation in a circle with duck tape. I went ahead and wrapped duck tape around the whole thing just to make it a little more durable.
Now. Cut up some fabric or a old t-shirt and wrap it around your wreath.
Iron on interfacing to your other shirt or fabric. Fold in half. Draw half a bat on the interfacing and cut out. (Just like you learned how to do in elementary school with the hearts)
My bat was droopy. I tried I really did. I even painted him with Mod-podge and then with a glittery black paint, but he would just not stiffen up. So I added popsicle sticks to his back to strengthen him. Then hot glued him to the wreath.
Now... I was supposed to be done at this point. But I didn't like it. It was just missing something. A pop a color... some glitter... something.
So how about both. Toilet paper rolls cut into letter E-E-K. Lime green paint and glitter.
TA-DA! Finally... a wreath :D (hoping my next one goes a little smoother.)
Halloween
It is that time of year again! I will be posting all sorts of Halloween crafts, books, and movies all month! I am also making Zoey's costume and will be posting that as well!
