Kid Friendly Archives - Page 6 of 33

Gingerbread Family Home Evening Lesson

December 8, 2013 By Michelle Barneck Leave a Comment

Monday nights mean Family Home Evening where we have a little lesson, song and activity and teach our kids about different values. Last Monday, I made up a little FHE lesson on the fly as we decorated a gingerbread house and it turned out pretty fun so I thought I’d share.

My boys are little so we learn about simple subjects. This time the lesson was about family. Each part of the gingerbread house represented something to do with our family.

Base or foundation (cookie sheet) = Eternal marriage in the temple.
Walls and roof = Each member of our family, we are all different, but everyone fulfills a different role and all are important.
Glue = Love is the glue that holds our family together.
Candy = Kind words and service to one another makes our home a sweet place to be.

The kids had a blast decorating the house and it was super easy using a gingerbread house kit from Ikea and some candies we picked out at the dollar store.

Do you have fun Christmas family home evening ideas? Do you have a family Christmas tradition you do each year?

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Lavender Bubbles

November 5, 2013 By Michelle Barneck Leave a Comment

Hello there! I’m Kelly from Smart School House and it is always such a privilege to be here! Today I have a beautiful craft to share with you and your kids will love it too. That’s right, it’s beautiful and kids will love it. Introducing: DIY Lavender Bubbles!

See the full tutorial…

Now, I realize that the weather has cooled off a bit in some places (and it might even be snowing where you are). However, here on the coast of California, the weather is still lovely! So, in celebration of Halloween being over and the crisp skies outside, I decided to create something that was inspired by nature. Plus, you can’t eat it! Let’s be honest here, after all of that Halloween candy, doesn’t it sound nice to go outside and play? Exactly! DIY lavender bubbles are perfect to relax your kiddos while playing outdoors.

I have a lot (a lot) of lavender growing! Here is a picture of the lavender in my front yard. This lavender has inspired me to make so many things on my blog!

To make the DIY Lavender Bubbles, you only need a few simple ingredients:

A Bubble Container
Pipe Cleaners
Lavender Scented Dish Soap (I found mine at the dollar store!)
Sugar
Food Coloring

To make the Lavender Bubbles:

Combine 4 cups of warm water with 1/2 cup of sugar. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, add 3/4 cup of the lavender dish soap Add 1 drop of blue food coloring and 3 drops of red food coloring Store in an air tight container.

To make the DIY bubble wand:

Create a circle near one end of the pipe cleaner and twist any extra around the stem of the pipe cleaner (so easy!).

Have you ever made your own bubble solution? There are so many ways you can do it. Keep in mind that your dish soap might be a little different than mine and that’s ok! Simply add more or less as you see needed. The same goes with the food coloring! Some lavender dish soaps are more purple than others, so if you just add a little at first, it can’t go wrong! Have fun and happy fall!

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Thanks Kelly! I adore the idea of a gift that can be both beautiful and so much fun!

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Fall Fashion for Girls

October 22, 2013 By Michelle Barneck Leave a Comment

Hello everyone! I’m Sumo, from Sumo’s Sweet Stuff!

I’m so excited to be visiting with you today. I absolutely adore Michelle, and am so thrilled she invited me over. If you don’t know me, my blog is a little bit crafts, and a whole lotta sewing. I’ve got three little girls that I enjoy sewing for.

Michelle asked me to share about little girls fashion, so I’ll share a bit about what works for us and our style.

One thing I absolutely love are bright, bold prints. I am often drawn to fabric that is big and colorful. Sometimes, when you find a print that you really, really like, you might consider using it on a larger scale. In my post about the Sally dresses that I made for my girls, you can see that I let the bolder, busier prints be the main part of the dress, and let a more subtle print stick around for the pockets.

Little Girl Fashion - Sally Dresses by www.SumosSweetStuff.com

Now, with that being said, I am also a huge fan of pattern mixing. I think it is fun to throw some patterns together, as long as it is in a more controlled way; basically not too over the top. On a smaller scale item, like this Ruffled Bustle Top, you can mix the patterns without it being way too overpowering with all of the different prints. Especially when paired with a simple, solid colored shorts or pants.

Little Girl Fashion - Ruffled Bustle Top by www.SumosSweetStuff.com

There is also a Bustle Skirt, if you prefer to go that route. Again, paired with something simple and plain on top helps to balance it out!

Little Girl Fashion - Bustle Skirt by www.SumosSweetStuff.com

A great staple for a fall wardrobe (or any season really!) is a maxi skirt. They are so versatile, and can be paired with just about anything. Fall and winter? Let’s throw it together with a sweater, tights, and boots. Spring and summer? A t-shirt and flip flops is perfect! If you can sew, this 30 Minute Maxi Skirt might be just the thing for you. And if you don’t, check the stores! Maxi skirts are super trendy right now!

Now, with three girls, I have a love for coordinating. I call it coordinating, not matching. Coordinating is different, you see. Coordinating is when you find the same item, but have it as many different ways as you need, which in my case is three. These Beachy Boatneck shirts that I made are a good example of coordinating. Same shirt, different prints. You can do this easily with store bought items as well! I am always on the lookout for shirts in different color ways. And I know what you might be thinking about that maxi skirt picture above. Those skirts are totally matching! But their tops aren’t, which I think is another great way to coordinate.

Little Girl Fashion - Beachy Boatnecks by www.SumosSweetStuff.com

Here’s another example of coordinating from our recent family pictures (taken by Your Vantage Photography). All in the same color scheme, all peplum style tops, and my girls’ shirts are all store bought. Same style of shirts, but all totally different.

Those are just a few of the things I go by when I’m planning out things for my girls to wear. I hope you’ve enjoyed what I’ve shared, and can’t wait to see you over at Sumo’s Sweet Stuff!

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Thanks Summer! Aren’t her girls adorable?! We went to lunch one day and I couldn’t believe how many people stopped to comment on how cute her girls and their outfits were! Be sure to check out her site for tons of adorable patterns and ways to dress up your cute girlies!

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Cub Scout Participation Chart

October 4, 2013 By Michelle Barneck 3 Comments

In Cub Scouts we start each week by repeating the Pledge of Allegiance, the Cub Scout Promise and the Law of the Pack. We work with the Wolves so it is good practice to help them learn it for the rest of their time in Cubs. Between asking for a volunteer for each one, them looking for it in their book and standing up and sitting it each time was taking up to 20 minutes to get through this which is ridiculous considering we only have an hour. We needed a chart to streamline so each cub scout got a chance to practice.

I threw this participation chart together with some clothes pins, cardstock and paper scraps. I covered a clothespin with paper for each scouts name to rotate through the chart. I added an “arrow point” for each assignment and we just move the names down each week so everyone gets a turn.

We are a religious pack so we start and end each time with a prayer. You could easily leave these blank or change them to something specific for your pack. The boy who says the Pledge asks the boys to stand and the boy who does the Law of the Pack says ” too” to have them sit. I left the last one blank, but the boys decided to add treats on that one so each scout will taking a turn bringing treats to share at the end.

To eliminate the book searching, I wrote the Cub Scout Promise and the Law of the Pack on the back of the chart for a little cheat sheet until they have it memorized. The chart has been a huge help and now it takes under 10 minutes to get through all of it so we have the bulk of the time for the activity.

Do you work in/have boys in scouts? What things have helped you?

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