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!

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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!

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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?

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Have you been looking for some scriptures and activities to do with your child that also correspond to the alphabet? One reason I started Impress Your Kids is because as I scoured the internet, I couldn’t find a list of alphabetical scriptures that worked for a 2 year old!

I finally put them all on one page for your convenience! Just click the letter below and you’ll go to every Scripture/Alphabet craft, activity, recipe and coloring sheet Leigh and I did with our kids. Enjoy!

(ps…for some reason there is nothing for I, M and Z. I have no idea why. I will be remedying that soon. Because I know we did those letters!)

(cool abc’s by shabby princess.com)

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The Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness has been…well, kind to us. We’ve had a lot of fun with this one and been able to talk about it a lot. Kindness is one of the easiest ones to measure and act on –especially for a 3 year old with a 1 year old brother! Here’s a few more activities we’ve done this past week and few more we haven’t done—but I think would be super fun!

Bible Story

Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). I just realized this story may have been even better for GOODNESS! Oh well, the point here is the same—a man is kind to someone different than him.  Lydia has just now started noticing differences in people’s skin and styles, so she didn’t quite get the full depth of this story. We read it in about 3 different Bible story books. Her favorite was from the See With Me Bible. It’s the Bible told in pictures. And the pictures are brilliant. Lydia will look at all 350 pages in one sitting. Speaking of which…

Books

I was looking up ORANGE books on Amazon and found this cute book about a bear, Orange Pear Apple Bear. The whole book only has five words in it. They are just rearranged depending on what Bear is doing with his fruit. This would actually be a great one for any time during the Fruit of the Spirit. I’m going to try to check it out at the library.

I went to the Family Bookstore yesterday to scope out their Holiday books (found nothing interesting!) but while I was browsing through the kids’ section, a title caught my eye: Lyle the Kindly Viking! I had forgotten there’s a Veggie Tales DVD of the same title! We even have it at home. This was the Little Golden Book edition. The book is really more about sharing, but I think that is a valid aspect of being kind. And a very tangible one!

Snacks

Jello Jigglers. Here’s another great anytime snack for the Fruit of the Spirit. In fact, you know what I would love to do? Find some cookie cutters in the shape of fruit (uhm, like these!). Then make several different flavors of jello jigglers, cut them out and have some jiggly Fruit of the Spirit!

We made orange jigglers this week–and I don’t think my daughter has ever had jello! She thought it was the best thing ever. We used some Christmas cookie cutters—so we made presents and gingerbread men to remind us to be kind by giving gifts to people. How’s that for creative?!

Movies

After I got the book, we of course, had to watch Veggie Tales’ Lyle the Kindly Viking. Lydia watched it after church with her Daddy. I tried to quiz her about it afterwards…she didn’t quite get it. I said, “Was Lyle kind? Did he share?” She said, “No. He just talked kind.”

*sigh*

Stay tuned this week for our next Fruit of the Spirit: LOVE!

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