I am in a funk.  This week has really taken it out of me for some reason.  I need to end the week on an up-note, so I went through some of our files, and here’s what I think might be on the docket for today:

• Muffin tin lunch for my Fun Food Friday.  I haven’t done this yet, and I think the boys will really like it.
• Seeds Family Worship music in the background.  It’s very needed today.
• I might see if this Rainbow bread food coloring painting technique will work on butter cookies.  I made up a batch and they’re looking a bit plain.
• Some quiet time reading from the Jesus Storybook Bible.
• We might make some robot outfits using paper bags like Amanda and Lydia did here.
• Nerf guns may or may not make an appearance…
• I need to drop off some of said butter cookies to a friend, so we may also stop by our favorite park.

Wow – I’m already feeling better about the day!  Let’s see if this little bit of planning can get me out of my funk!  What’s your plan for the day?

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Did you see some of the exciting new websites that launched this week?  The MOB Society for mothers of boys, Raising Homemakers for mothers of girls, and Scripture Dig, for all of us!  What a great week for blog-land!

***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***

I’m lovin’ our LOVE and Compassion fruit this week…or rather, two weeks. I’m not sure what happened, but it’s taken us a while to get through this one! Here are a few more ideas we’ve done or are still up my sleeve:

CRAFTS

Cherry Tree Craft I think this is probably an idea for a George Washington theme in preschool, but I think it’s so cute! Kids love fingerpainting and this one is especially fun. This would also be a great gift to send to your Compassion kids!

GAMES

Hi Ho Cherry-OYou think I’m joking. I’m not. Lydia and I played this the other night and she kept squealing, “CHERRY! LOVE!” I couldn’t get a lesson out of the game but we still had fun and I love that her first thought at seeing a cherry was LOVE!

BOOKS

Who Do You Love?by Margaret Wang. This is one of our favorite books. It’s a touchy-feely book about different bears and the family members that love them!

Who Do You Love?by Mandy Stanley. Every page asks a different animal who it loves. It’s a fun book that ends with “Who do YOU love?” So, we get to talk about the different people we love.

ACTIVITY

Bowl Full of Cherries. You could do this in so many ways! Grab a big bowl of cherries (oh, I wish they were in season right now!) and every time your child shows love to someone (however big or small), let them eat a cherry! You could also do this same idea with cherry stickers on a picture of a bowl. Let your child put a cherry sticker on the picture every time they show love to someone. You could keep it up all week and see your bowl fill to the brim with cherries and love!

RECIPES

Cherry Recipes & Ideas from Wondertime Magazine! There are also some fun cherry facts and even a paint-with-cherries art idea!

COMPASSION

Letter Writing Ideas from the Compassion Blog There are over 600 comments on this post! There are so many great ideas on the type of mailable gifts to send to your sponsored child and great letter-writing tips. Please visit this post to read some for yourself. Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

• glow in the dark peel-&-stick stars
• a scripture in their language (try BibleGateway.com)
• bracelets (remember those friendship bracelts we made as kids? make a matching one for you and your sponsored child!)
• sticker books (my favorite are the Dover Little Activity Books because they have sticker paper dolls of kids from numerous countries!

I hope you’ve had some fun ideas about LOVE but also about showing LOVE to those around you. This Thanksgiving and Christmas season, I encourage you and your kids to take some time out and begin a new relationship with a child from another country. Sponsor a child through Compassion and show them Jesus’ love today!

***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***

Now that we are careening closer and closer to Thanksgiving, I’m on the prowl for fun Thanksgiving crafts and activities. We already did one leafy turkey craft and an OREO turkey (<–my guest post at Make and Takes!) and here are a few we did last year at Impress Your Kids…

Ah, yes. The Indian Corn Napking Ring from Family Fun. Also known as the craft that never was…

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A Thanksgiving JOY jar! A perfect way to keep your kids (and yourself) thankful and joyous during this holiday season!

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A crafty way to GIVE to others this Thanksgiving–with vegetable stamps! I want to do this again this year!

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Thanks AND Giving! This was a fun turkey countdown to Thanksgiving craft my daughter loved!

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Do YOU have a favorite Thanksgiving craft or activity to share?

***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***