Do your preschoolers use a ton of chapstick?  Mine do!  And I needed an alternative to help their cracking lips (gotta love winter weather) and something that I felt safe with them ingesting.  I was inspired after reading about a friend who mixed shortening and a juice mix to create a yummy edible lip balm.  We adapted it slightly.  We like a “harder” solution – here’s what we made, and my kids love it!
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What you will need make your own edible lip balm:

1/2 a cup of vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon of …

I got this idea from chatting with Kellie, from Chicks With Kidz, she had a great idea/suggestion to include my kiddos in making our own variations of trail mix.  We eat granola regularly for breakfast, but I have always been the one mixing it up!  With her encouragement my one year old now has a way to “help mommy” cook breakfast!  Thanks Kellie!  We are always looking for ways to include our kids in household chores and activities!
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How to make your own Granola Mix:
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Grab handfuls of any or all of …

Do you remember Cootie Catchers from when you were a kid?  I loved them!  Here is a cootie catcher perfect for the learning to read kiddo in your life!  For our paper we used one of the sheets of Shaving Cream Painted works from yesterday.  I was inspired by Jimmie and her daughter Sprite (love their blog).  They created cootie catchers for learning history and math facts at Heart of the Matter Homeschoolers.   If they can make one for the Civil War, I bet I can make one about “Short …

We love Fantastic Friday (every Friday – or nearly every one) we like to mention some of our favorite posts of the week.  This week I found a bunch of home remedies including DIY cough drops, recipe to make your own really nice smelling disinfectant spray, and a bunch or chicken soup and make-ahead meals you can have waiting in your freezer.  Everyone hates being sick.  Here are some simple things that you can make and prepare to help you fight those germs!
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Homemade cough drops.  You can find instructions on …

Our oldest has learned her letters, the sounds that they make, and is starting to blend sounds. This is a really nifty phonics “tool” that we created to help her mix the sounds of letters. What you will need to make it: Wirebound Index Card Book, Scissors, Tape and a Marker. I divided our phonics flip chartinto three sections for three letter words, but I have also seen them split into four sections to help your early reader work on consonant blends.  After you cut the …

My sister-in-law is a kindergarten and early elementary teacher.  She has raved about how marvelous these “yarn wax sticks” were, how she uses them in numerous way in her classroom, how easy these sticks are to manipulate and how they are a no-mess craft/activity.   They sound terrific – so I set out to make my own to use with our homeschool preschool.  If you are interested in buying them, check out Wikki Stix!
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Are you struggling to find something to give/make for someone on your list?  Wanting to give a handmade gift that people will really use?  In this day of heightened environmental awareness a canvas bag is a great gift.  I found this was a project that showcased the work of  even the youngest budding artists in an aesthetically pleasing way.   Use it as the gift itself or as an eco friendly alternative to wrapping paper.
Materials to make your tote bag:

old cereal box to use as a “frame”
tote bags (pick the size and …

Want to make a homemade, personalized gift for Christmas?  Something from this list should inspire or help you!  Have any ideas that were not listed?  Lets see if we can come up with more!  Have a blog with instructions on how to make one of the gifts mentioned below?  I’d love to hear from you and feature you!  Have a similar list of gift suggestions?  Join our Linky at the end!
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Jars of Fudge and Icecream fixings
Cake-in-a-Jar
Coffee Mixes with chocolate spoons
Hot Coco Mix with Chocolate dipped pretzels
Box of assorted cookies (Biscotti …

These are so yummy and easy to make! I love, LOVE, chocolate covered espresso beans – but the few times I’ve made them in the past I’ve just made a massive mess.  Lets just say my lumps of beans were not very appetizing.  Thanks to Mandy from The Trenches of Motherhood, I found a really easy way to make chocolate covered coffee beans!
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In Mandy’s own words (reprinted with her permission):

I used to drink coffee in my late teens when it was the “cool” thing to do. But not anymore. …

My kids love tactile learning!  I saw an example of this (much classier) somewhere – I can’t remember where the inspiration came from, it’s not entirely original, but it stuck in my head.  The craft store had a sale on felt this past weekend, it was time to make our own!  Hopefully, your kids will enjoy interacting with shapes.
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Supplies needed:

Felt, lots of colors!
Shapes to trace (I used some blocks and lids to make patterns of the various shapes we included)
Scissors
Extras (beads, scarps of yarn, pipe cleaners, etc.)
Your imagination

Instructions:  Cut …