The Mama Workshop

DIY Grinch Christmas Ornament

We had so much fun making this DIY Grinch Christmas Ornament and reading the book! I love when we can use supplies we already have. Have fun making one too!

It really is the most wonderful time of the year. So, don’t be a Grinch. Haha! But, really.

We try to be those holly jolly people that smile and say Merry Christmas to everyone. Some people make it really tough. But, it really is about loving the people around you and sharing cheer. So, we’re choosing not to be the old Grinch.

My kiddos really love How the Grinch Stole Christmas. They love how he ends up being good and learning that Christmas doesn’t come from a store. And that he gets to enjoy Christmas.

So, we decided to make a Grinch Christmas Ornament to go along with the book. The kiddos enjoyed making it.

We didn’t have to go out and buy things to make it either. We used what we had. Hopefully, you have all the stuff to make it too.

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Nature-Inspired DIY Christmas Tree Ornament

My kiddos had fun gathering some leaves and twigs to make this nature-inspired DIY Christmas tree ornament. My daughter may or may not have painted herself. LOL

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s time to turn the pumpkins in for Christmas decorations. Eek! This year really flew by.

I have been trying to get us in the Christmas spirit by listening to carols and singing along to them, drinking hot chocolate and watching Polar Express. I think it’s helping a little bit. But, I am not quite there.

So, my son suggested we make a craft.

That is exactly what we did. We made a Christmas Tree Ornament using things we found outside. It’s simple, cute and the kiddos loved finger painting on them.

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Snowball Counting with Number Cards Printable

We have been learning S is for Snow and counting snowballs. It is so fun especially when the setup is so simple! Try Snowball Counting too!

We have been learning the letter S for the past week here at home. Especially S is for Snow. We really wished it snowed here, so we could play in the snow, build snowmen, and look at snowflakes.

But, we don’t have snow (sad face). So, we made our own using conditioner and baking soda. It was a simple recipe: just a half cup of conditioner mixed with 2 cups baking soda. Voila! Snow! We made mini snowmen and drew the letter S in the snow. So, fun. It got pretty messy when the kiddos decided to have a snow ball fight. But, we all got a broom and swept it up. No biggie.

Let them play, right?!

We also made salt dough ornaments. They’re sitting on the counter for us to paint. We have snowflakes and snowmen. I hope they make it to the Christmas tree.

We even checked out a couple books from the library (they’re pretty affordable on Amazon. We just might add them to our library permanently. Here are a couple affiliate links for your convenience. It doesn’t raise the price for you at all: Snow and Little Snow Ghosts).

So, before the snow activities we read these books and I have my son find the letter S on the covers. If he wants, he finds the S’s on the pages. It’s great letter recognition practice!

One of the S activities my son enjoyed was Snowball Counting. It’s so simple. It helps your kiddo recognize numbers 1-10 and even introduce them to a little bit of addition, subtraction and counting.

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Turkey Trouble Disguise Ideas

We have been reading Turkey Trouble and playing with our cardboard turkey and disguises! It is such a fun time! Make the turkey and disguises too!

November is one of my favorite months of the year. I love the family gathering and feasting together. I love the food and the reminder to be thankful for the little things.

My mind is not ready to start thinking about turkey. The year just went by way too fast. But, it’s time to start thinking about turkey. So, we are starting the month off with a book called Turkey Trouble.

I love that the book has some repetition in it, so that it’s easier to retell. By kindergarten, children will be asked to retell the main points of a story.

So, my friend Beth (from Days with Grey) and I have been teaming up each month to provide a book and a craft/activity that you can do with your kiddos to help prepare them for story retelling.

They absolutely don’t have to master the skill now. But, introducing them to the idea is a great way for them to have a great kindergarten year.

You can see a couple of our past Book Box Story Retells here: Room on The Broom, Dragons Love Tacos, The Watermelon Seed.

But, back to Turkey Trouble. If you’re kiddo isn’t ready to put away the costumes (what kid is? My kiddos dress up all year long), then he will love this book. It’s about a turkey who is trying to hide from the farmer on Thanksgiving Day. And the only solution he can come up with is to disguise himself as the different animals on the farm. It’s so silly and the disguises are humorously awful. Will the disguises work? You will just have to read the book to find out.

My son and daughter love it. We make animal noises and giggle about the things Turkey uses to make costumes.

I thought a turkey disguise craft would go along with the book. My kiddos can change the disguises as I read the book to them. I hope you enjoy it too!

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Hand Print Turkey Napkin Ring

We are making this Hand Print Turkey Napkin Ring for each family member! The kiddos will be so happy to see it on the table Thanksgiving Day!

I can’t believe that October is almost over and it’s time to start thinking turkey. It’s amazing (and a little frightening) how time has flown.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It really helps me remember all the thankfuls from the year. It reminds me to slow down and enjoy my favorite people.

I really want to create awesome memories with my kiddos through activities that bring us closer. And I want to involve my kids as much as possible in the Thanksgiving Day preparation.

We are kicking off the fun with these Hand Print Turkey Napkin Rings. I thought the kiddos would get a kick out of their crafts being on the table during dinner.

It really didn’t take much. I love when I don’t have to go to the store to buy things for a craft!

I hope you have fun making this with your kiddos too!

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