Teacher Appreciation Week Crafts for Kids

My friend Becca asked me to come up with some fun crafts for her kids to make for Teacher Appreciation Week.  Without further ado, here are my favorites!  Oh, and a very Happy Teacher's Appreciation Week to all my teacher readers!  xo, Ashley

"Thanks A Latte" Printable and Tutorial via Eighteen25

Chalkboard Spring Vases via A Subltle Revelry

Click here for a tutorial on how to make your own Chalkboard Paint

Apple Core Thank You Card via Lisa Storms

Apple Cupcakes with Free Printables via Love From the Oven

Fingerprint Stationary via Family Fun

Mini Oreo "Apple" Pops by Brooke via Skip to My Lou 

Christmas Ornaments for Kids Tutorial

I just got home from spending Christmas with my family in the north woods.  It was so wonderful to be together for the holidays!

My family waited until I got there to pick out a tree and we decorated it together.  I love seeing all of my ornaments from when I was little.  I know Christmas is over, but I wanted to share a couple ornaments I found that I had crafted when I was young.

This adorable bird nest ornament is super easy to make with your kids.  As I've mentioned before, my mom is pretty crafty and I made this ornament with her a long time ago.  You can find all of the materials at the craft store, but you might need to stop by the grocery store for the cinnamon sticks.  

You will need:

6 cinnamon sticks

Ribbon

A cute tiny bird

Nest materials-- you could use mossy stuff from the craft store, twigs, raffia, shredded paper, etc...

Dried flowers

Glue -- hot glue works great!

1.  Glue your cinnamon sticks together to form a house shape.  Make a square with 4 sticks and then use 2 to create a triangle on top.  

2.  Form a nest with your nest materials.  Glue it to the cinnamon stick house.  

3.  Glue your bird in the nest.

4.  Decorate the nest and cinnamon stick house with dried flowers and a ribbon.

Isn't this little nutcracker ornaments so cute?!  I'm pretty sure he's my handiwork.

To make the nutcracker ornament you will need:
1 Old fashioned clothes pin
Paint
Fine tip Sharpie marker
Black pom pom
2 Wooden matches
Thread or ribbon for hanging the ornament

1.  Glue 2 matches to the sides of the clothes pin for arms.
2. Paint the clothes pin to look like a nutcracker-- black pants, red shirt, gold belt and buttons, and whatever color skin and features you like.  A fine tip Sharpie marker would be great for the eyes and mouth.
3.  Glue the pom pom on top of your clothes pin.
4.  Glue thread or ribbon to the back of the ornament to hang on the tree.

Strawberries - my favourite summer fruit! Whats yours?

It is starting to warm up here in Australia, and my favourite part of warmer weather is fruit! Refreshing, cold fruit! My favourite is Strawberries. They are just always a fruit I can rely on to refresh me! My kids love them too which is great. I did some research on them ( but I love researching!) and here are some things I learnt:

1. Available all year round, but peak from November to February
2. On average there are 200 seeds on the outside of a strawberry (amazing!)
3. An excellent source of vitamin C and vitamin B (folate)
4. 100g has 90kJ - which is a healthy snack, and good for those who are watching their weight.
5. Strawberries are not a berry, rather a member of the rose family and the real fruits are the yellow seeds
6. Strawberries as part of a healthy diet, may help decrease blood pressure, and may reduce the risk of heart disease.
7. Strawberries contain Phytochemicals known to act as antioxidants
8. There are a few hundred different varieties of strawberries
9. Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in spring.
10. They are great to share, and served with a lot of foods.

You can use strawberries in fruit salads, fruit punch, cheese and fruit platters, sorbets, ice creams, tarts, cakes, sauces, crepes, waffles or served over breakfast cereal. But I love them best dipped in chocolate!

What is your favourite fruit?

Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam Extended Edition DVD Review

Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam Extended Edition, a Walt Disney movie was sent to me to review. This movie takes place a year after the first film as Mitchie Torres (played by Demi Lovato) and her mother return to Camp Rock for the summer. Camp Rock owner Brown Cesario (played by Daniel Fathers) tells everyone that another camp called Camp Star has opened too.

Camp Star is owned by Axel Turner, who has a grudge and wants revenge on Brown Cesario and is determined to close Camp Rock. Camp Star offers better facilities and more pay. He starts inviting Camp Rock people to his camp and sure enough, nearly all Camp Rockers make the switch and join Camp Star.

Brown and members of Camp Rock are devastated. Mitchie, and friends decide to step up and prevent the camp from closing and become part of the staff to save the camp.

As Axel is determined to close down Camp Rock, Axel issues a challenge to Camp Rock. A battle of the camps in a televised musical performance. Brown knows its a ploy for Axel to shut down Camp Rock but without consulting him, Mitchie and friends agree to the competition and now both camps prepare to square off in a musical competition.

We really enjoyed watching this movie, its a great movie about friendships, rivalry, honesty and the reinforcement of values that, in a world where tweens and teens feel pressure, doing your best and having fun is more important than winning at all costs!

Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam Extended Edition has fantastic dancing and music, that will be enjoyed by the whole family.

The extended version of the film will make any Camp Rock fan excited! It adds to the length of the movie and two exclusive additional songs “Walking in My Shoes” and “Different Summers” are a fantastic addition to the movie. You will want to get up and dance along with them! ( I did and my kids laughed at first and then joined in the fun!)

Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam Extended Edition was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on 20 October 2010.

TinkerBell and the Great Fairy Rescue DVD Review

My seven year old son and one year old daughter were so excited when we got the opportunity to watch a pre release DVD copy of 'TinkerBell and the Great Fairy Rescue'.

They already have 'TinkerBell' the first movie, and 'TinkerBell and the Lost Treasure' the second movie and absolutely love them. My son has watched them over and over and over again!

He was soooo excited to watch TinkerBell and the Great Fairy Rescue and sat down to watch it straight away, along with my one year old daugther.

The movie begins in the beautiful flowering countryside setting, one summer, when TinkerBell while investigating a fairy house, is discovered by Lizzy a little girl.
TinkerBell develops a special bond with Lizzy who is in need of a friend. The other fairies, try to rescue TinkerBell. However Tinker Bell turns away her fairy friends in order to help her new human friend, risking the safety and furture of all fairies.
Its a exciting, magical and action packed adventure, a story about the power of believing and friendship.

My sons review on the movie is " This is the best movie ever, mum." He really enjoyed watching the movie
and was so intrigued by the story. He even made his own fairy house.

Hubby and I have also enjoyed all the TinkerBell movies and this one is yet another awesome TinkerBell movie! The DVD is available from 15th September 2010.

Other reviews - Me & Boo, Stuff with Thing, HomeAge,  The Muffin Monster Bubbalog Blog 

Aspiring Mum,  Becky and James,

Book Review: Naturally Better by Kristen Morrison

I came across a fantastic book titled Naturally Better by Kristen Morrison. This book is about Kristen and her family, their ongoing battles that they face in finding natural ways to help her son who has Down Syndrome.

It is such a inspirational, heartfelt and empowering story that you will just keep on reading and won't be able to put it down. Kristen has written this book that is easy to read in much detail about her feelings and experiences she faced whilst doing a lot of research and therapies for her son. This book shows every parent that with courage and determination,  there is a lot that can be done ourselves to help the health of all children and create the best future for them. Kristen only wants what is best for her son, and so she has used every resource she could in finding how to best help her son without drugs but rather with natural methods.

I highly recommend this book to ALL parents - a must read, a beautiful story about a mothers love for her child, the lengths she has gone to get help and find what is best. This book is about her personal opinions, research, findings and thoughts that she has written and expressed. She is a mother who is a warrior and advocate for natural therapies, that have helped her son.
To buy her book check her website: http://www.naturallybetterkids.com/

Your ONE years old baby girl !

This week was my daughters first birthday! Can't believe how quickly the first year has gone. I remember when I was pregnant and getting ready to start my maternity leave, I couldn't wait. Mainly because I was so tired and sore all the time!

The day came for my baby girl to be born, the most miraculous feeling ever, and even better was when she met her big brother. Its so beautiful to see them bonding, playing and looking out for each other.

Everyday is the most beautiful day, to watch her grow, develop and learn something new each day.

I cried the day of her birthday! (course I did) They were happy tears knowing my baby girl has made it through her first year.... and yes I will cry on all her birthdays, tears of happiness!

Such a great joy, knowing that I can love my two children so much, protect them and learn along with them!

What do you cherish the most about your childrens birthdays?

Silent Reflux- do you know what it is?

I didn't even know about silent reflux until I had my baby girl, my second child. She is 11mths old now and doing great, but I just wanted to share this incident with you:

I was awoken at 12:05am by a high shrieking cry from my 9 week old baby girl. I rushed to her room only to see her with her mouth covered in bubbles and it looked like more bubbling was coming out of her mouth, while she was struggling to breathe and cope with it. I picked her up and she was still struggling to stop this bubbling that was still coming out of her mouth. Everytime she took a breath the bubbles would go back in her throat which made her choke as she tried to spit it out. I woke my husband and I rang the ambulance. The 000 operator told me to put my finger in her mouth and try to scrape away the water/bubbling stuff and put her on her side and not pat her back. We did exactly what he told us and although my baby was struggling she was crying - which is a good sign - the operator stayed on the phone until the ambulance officers came. Took them 17 mins. they checked her out and everything was fine , heart beat fine, clear lungs, no temperature. this all subsided within about 5 mins or so after they arrived. we then picked her up and she seemed fine and content. My body inside was shaking and anxious throughout the whole thing, but I kept it together on the outside for my little girl. what a scare! They didn't know what had happened only that maybe she is coming down with a cold or may have reflux. Yes she does have silent reflux.

Silent reflux is when your baby is spitting up but instead of it leaving through the mouth, it is swallowed by the baby which gives them a burning feeling in their stomach. This can happen a few times a day. Other symptoms are gagging, choking or burping more than usual.  I have been trying to get more information on silent reflux and what it is, and how to treat it. I have come across a great site RISA - Reflux Infants Support Association Inc. which has lots of information and great to support parents.

Kick it to me - Jack plays soccer book Review

My 7 year old son recently read a book called
Kick it to me - Jack plays soccer. He absolutely loves this book. 

It is a childrens book about a boy called Jack whose dad teaches him the basic skills of kicking and dribbling a soccer ball. Jack is so excited and his success makes him feel confident to handle the soccer ball on his own.

After reading this book my son was practising the soccer moves and told his dad he wants to play in the park on the weekend.

What a great book that encourages kids to go outside and try the soccer moves themselves.

Play Valley Kids is a fantastic site that is all about playing sports, having fun and, for parents, getting involved in kids play time. The website has tips, skills and drills, as well as free colour-in pictures to download, and  games and videos coming soon to their website.

So be sure to check them out and you can purchase the book Kick it to me - Jack plays soccer, on
the Play Valley Kids website too.

Does your child like playing sports?

Fisher Price Walker to Wagon Review

I bought this Fisher Price Walker to Wagon for my 10 month old daughter from Kmart for $29 last week. I thought that was a great buy.( Toy sales are great aren't they?)  She absolutely loves it.

She is crawling everywhere and starting to stand up on her knees. So at the moment she is sitting in front of it playing with all the colorful and interesting features it has. They are the big spinning beads, a clicking dial, a roller ball to spin, jingle ball to bat, and colourful pages with friendly characters to flip. There are also 3 colourful shapes that can be dropped through the lift-up door. This is great as it develops her motor skills, coordination and can identify colors and shapes.

The day will quickly come when she will be able to hold on to the handle and walk around with it. It also turns into a wagon so that it can be dragged around. I think this is great you can get more use out of it.

So if you need one this is great and I recommend it!

Did/do your children use a walker?