5-19-11 I Love You Little Monkey Paper Plate Mask

Friends:

Have fun monkeying around with this cute craft! It’s a paper plate monkey mask. Ooh ooh ooh, Eeh Eeh Eeh! Grab a big banana for me!

Supplies:
2 paper plates
Glue stick
Crayons
Pencil
Scissors
Cups – 1 small, 1 medium, and 1 large
Black marker – 1 fine tip and 1 thick tip
Jumbo craft or popsicle stick

Directions:
Color one of the paper plates brown. On the second paper plate, with a pencil, trace the small cup twice for the eyes. Then trace the medium cup twice for the ears. Finally trace the large cup once for the monkey’s mouth area. Make a black circle inside the eyes (small cup circles) for the pupils. Color the ears (medium cup circles) and the mouth area (large cup circle) a tan or beige color. Draw a C inside the left ear and a backwards C inside the right ear. Use the glue stick to attach to each side of the monkey’s head. Glue down the eyes and the mouth area. Next, with the thick tip black marker, make two dots inside the large circle for the monkey’s nose. Underneath, draw a curvy smile. To finish the monkey’s face, draw a semi-heart from one side of the top of the big circle to the other side. The dip of the heart should be between the monkey’s eyes. Write “I Love You, Little Monkey!” on the craft stick. Glue the stick to the bottom back of the paper plate. Now you’re swinging!

Here’s what I did with my mask… I placed it on the front door to greet my 10 year old daughter on her way to school. What a fun surprise!

5-19-11 I Love You Little Monkey Mask on the front door

I’m bananas about monkeys! How about you?!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

11-15-09 Giving Thanks Tree

TOGETHER TIME ACTIVITY: THE “GIVING THANKS” TREE
This year, I am creating a “Giving Thanks” tree. As thanksgiving guests walk in, they will be asked to write down, on a maple leaf, one thing they are thankful for. These leaves will be affixed to a large tree. When the tree is completed, everyone will be able to read all the blessings on the tree. It is a beautiful way to give thanks for our bounty.

Materials:
Science Display Board
Large paper bag or brown butcher block paper
Paper in autumn colors: red, orange, yellow, green, brown
Maple leaf pattern http://familyfun.go.com/printables/turkey-maple-leaf-pattern-for-thanksgiving-703422/
Cardstock or poster board
Glue stick or school glue
Double stick tape

Instructions:
Freehand draw a large tree on a large paper bag or on butcher block paper. Glue it to the middle of the display board. Create a maple leaf traceable pattern on cardstock or poster board. Fold a sheet of “autumn” paper into four, trace the maple leaf. Cut it out. This will yield four maple leaves. You can also trace a small child’s hand and use that as a “leaf” pattern. Create leaves in various Autumn colors. Write the words “Giving Thanks” on each side of the display board or print them out and glue them to the board.

As guests come in, have them write one blessing on a leaf. Use double stick tape to affix the leaf to the tree. Soon, the tree will be full of blessings, things they are thankful for. May those leaves “fall,” fly away, and become someone else’s blessing.

To make the Giving Thanks Tree even more special, consider donating money in the amount of the leaves on the tree to a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter, a battered women’s shelter, the Red Cross, or your favorite charitable organization.

Friends,

Today, my house was bustling with eight children (three teens and five children)! Soleil, my 17 year old hung out with two of her friends while Eliana, my 7 year old, had her four cousins over (Jourdan – 10, Camrynn – 8, Ashlynn – 7, and Jasmynn – 5). I had a busy day. Whew!

The day began with a meat-free lunch (today is Ash Wednesday – no meat for Catholics) of bow-tie pasta topped with tomato basil sauce and grated ricotta. Here are the kids getting ready to eat (right to left – Eliana, Camrynn, Jasmynn, Jourdan, and Ashlynn). Say cheese!

The teens refused to let me invade their lives with my digital camera, so no pics of them. You have to pretend they exist. After a delish dessert of chocolate cake with peanut butter-chocolate frosting, we started Valentine crafting. Here is Ashlynn, hard at work. Can you guess what she is gluing?

Yes, that’s right! left-over Mardi Gras beads! We were making Valentine hearts. Eliana shows off her finished product.

Now that’s what I call a work of “heart.” Then we began making Valentine shakers. Here are all the kids with their shakers.

A close-up of the Valentine sh-sh-sh-shaker.

We had fun playing games, singing, and shakin’ our shakers. But boy, am I exhausted! Between the teens and the tots, I spent more energy than I do with a group of 300 students at a performance! LOL

I don’t know how the Brady Bunch did it. Oh yeah, I do. It was TV!! Where is Alice when you need her?!!

Until next time… Happy Tales to You!

Warmly, Dianne