I know what it’s like to be stuck indoors all day. It’s not raining right now but we did get about 8 inches of snow! To spice up our day and pass the time, we tried this super easy Treasure Bag Craft from an amazing new craft book we got to review from Dover Publishing!

Make in a Day Crafts for Kids

This new book from Dover Publications is perfect for the craft lover in all of us. Even if you dislike crafts, the quality of these projects are going to please you! The results will give you handmade items that can double as gifts, party favors or turn into your favorite accessory!

These crafts are perfect for kids ages 6+. Some are easier and others require more skill, but most can be adapted so the whole family or class can enjoy! The step by step directions make it a perfect crafting book for older children to do on their own. The 15 different projects, from decorative to practical, will become your favorites after getting this book!

Save 25% with code WHCZ on Make in a Day Crafts for Kids! Make sure you check out the author, Cintia Gonzalez-Pell’s amazing blog for more inspiration!

Easy Treasure Bag Craft for Kids

We choose to try the treasure bag craft because it looked like something I would actually use! There are so many things you could do with these bags; party favors, jewelry keeper, makeup bag.

Check out the LIVE video to see how we made ours or grab the book for 25% off with code WHCZ by 4/30/18 or while supplies last!

How easy is that?! After the video, my kids couldn’t stop making treasure bag after treasure bag. If you know me and have a birthday coming up, you’ll probably be getting one as a gift. lol.

Crafts for Kids Giveaway

Stop by our Facebook page to Enter to Win a free copy! Make sure you comment on the post with the video above and tag a friend or share the video! Can’t wait to send 2 lucky winners a copy so they can start making their own amazing crafts!

The post Easy Treasure Bag Craft for Kids – Giveaway! first appeared on True Aim.

Heidi (affiliate link) is a work of fiction written in 1880 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as Heidi’s years of learning and travel and Heidi makes use of what she has learned. It is a novel about the events in the life of a young girl in her grandfather’s care, in the Swiss Alps. She is an orphan girl who has simple, but exciting mountain adventures! No wonder my daughter likes it. Heidi is one of the best-selling books ever written and is among the best-known works of Swiss literature.

I decided to look up some of the customs and traditions of the Swiss people. They are known for yodeling, cheese, wrestling, woodcarving and decoupage! I thought we would try our own little Swiss art project and made up a decorative template we could trace and make our own decoupage!

Decoupage for Kids

The picture below is an example of traditional Swiss Decoupage. As you can see, it is very intricate. Popular themes are black and white, cattle driving or Swiss scenery with floral and heart motifs. There is even a Swiss association called Friends of Decoupage!

For our decoupage, I made a simple template with birds and a flower. If you have older children, I have also made some templates with more intricate designs. You could also try making your own. A lot of artists will fold their paper in half and make the design, cut it out and open the fold so they have a mirrored symmetrical design.

The supplies we used in this craft were a cutting board, cardboard, craft paper, template, tape, a knife or push pin, a hole punch and some string.

We put the cardboard on a cutting board just in case we cut through the cardboard. After cutting out the template, we taped it on our craft paper and then started cutting with the knife. You’ll want to supervise your children very carefully so they are not putting their fingers in front of the knife and holding it correctly.

If you are worried, you can give them a push pin and have them poke small holes around the design instead. Then they can leave it the way it is, with just pin pricks in the paper showing the design, or they can cut it away with scissors.

We laminated ours with some clear adhesive paper and then hole punched the top to make a sun catcher.

The post Swiss Inspired Decoupage for Kids first appeared on True Aim.

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Christmas Crafts

Gingerbread Crafts for Kids – Year Round Homeschooling

Everyone loves a good gingerbread craft!

Winter ABC Sorting Mats – Homeschool Preschool

For younger kiddos, practice the alphabet with these adorable winter-themed sorting mats!

Christmas Melting Ice Art – Mini Monets and Mommies

If you don’t mind getting a bit messy, try this Christmas melting ice Christmas tree.

Salt Dough Ornaments – The Practical Mom

Salt dough ornaments are a great and easy way to personalize your Christmas tree. Here are some great suggestions!

Sight Word Snow Globe – Life Over C’s

Gather some fake snow and sparkles, and practice sight words with this adorable (plastic!) snowglobe.

Gingerbread Man Counting Games – Pre-K Pages

Practice counting with this fun gingerbread game!

UP NEXT WEEK: Christmas Recipes with Kids!

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The post Christmas Crafts and Mom’s Library #168 first appeared on True Aim.

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Turkey Crafts

Thankful Turkey Craft – Joyously Domestic

What are you thankful for? Incorporate Thanksgiving’s messages of thankfulness into this turkey craft.

Free Turkey Printables – Living Montessori Now

Here is a compilation of turkey printables and activities.

Painted Paper Plate Turkey Craft – A Little Pinch of Perfect

If you have a few paper plates lying around, create a turkey with them!

Do You Want to Make A Turkey? – Sight and Sound Reading

Do you want to make a turkey? Practice fine motor skills with this craft.

How to Make an Adorable Turkey Finger Puppet – Artsy Momma

Create this adorable turkey finger puppet with this easy to follow tutorial!

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UP NEXT WEEK: Thanksgiving Printables!

The post Turkey Crafts and Mom’s Library #164 first appeared on True Aim.

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This Week’s Giveaway!

I See Me Personalized Book Giveaway!

Enter to win any single book of your choice from I See Me!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pumpkin Crafts

Find the Letter on the Pumpkin – Hands on As We Grow

For younger kids who are learning their alphabet, try this “find the letter” pumpkin activity.

Pumpkin Patch Preschool Printable – Homeschool Preschool

Homeschool Preschool is known for their adorable free printables. Here is a pumpkin patch inspired printable.

Easy Rice Krispie Pumpkins – Embark on the Journey

If you’ve made Rice Krispie treats before, this should be a breeze!

Pumpkin Science Exploration – Pre-K Pages

Introduce kids to science the fun way – hands-on activities. Get messy with this hands-on pumpkin exploration activity.

Big Pumpkin Storytelling Paper Plate Craft

Inspired by the book Big Pumpkin, create a pumpkin paper plate.

Describe a Pumpkin Using All 5 Senses – Gift of Curiosity

Describe a pumpkin using all five senses – what does it feel like? Look like? Smell like? This can easily be adapted for older children as well, as it requires some interesting thought!

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The post Pumpkin Crafts and Mom’s Library #162 first appeared on True Aim.

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Back to School Crafts

Back to School Counting Mats – Living Life and Learning

Check out these adorable counting mats for preschoolers and kindergarteners!

Back to School Printable Note Cards – Kandy Kreations

Enjoy these encouraging little back-to-school printables!

2015-2016 Book Based Activity Calendars – Growing Book By Book

Check out these printable book-based monthly calendars.

Back to School Mad Libs – Amy’s Wandering

Get your creative juices flowing with these fun Mad Libs!

Apple Anatomy – A Little Pinch of Perfect

Learn the parts of an apple with this free printable. Best part? Snacks are involved!

Planning Your High School Classes – The End In Mind

This may be quite a ways for some of you, but still a great resource to keep on hand by Lee Binz, the Home Scholar.

50 Freezer Meals and Tips for Back to School by A Life in Balance

Make the back to school transition easier with these freezer meal tips!

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The post Back to School Crafts and Mom’s Library #153 first appeared on True Aim.

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This Week’s Featured Posts…

Sugar Scrub

An awesome smelling recipe that comes with a free printable!

Mother’s Day Tea Craft

This is so cute and there are lots of other poems to help kids make their own cards if their mother’s don’t like tea.

Cherry Blossom Craft

I think this is a beautiful way to say Happy Mother’s Day!

Flower Q-Tip Painting for Toddlers

This makes painting practically mess free!

Free Mother’s Day Snack Tag Printable

Take the kids to the store and have them pick out a special snack to share with Mom!

Hand and Footprint Flower Art

So Cute! Make it a tradition and watch them grow!

Preschool Crafts for Mother’s Day

Lots of crafty ideas for preschoolers to make!

10 Non-Flower Mother’s Day Crafts

These are really fun and unique!

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The post 20+ Mother’s Day Gifts Kids Can Make first appeared on True Aim.

Space is such a fun subject so for day 4 in our Creation Story books, we did 2 crafts and a couple of simple experiments.

There are so many different activities you could do for this day, as numerous as the stars really. Here are a few that we did, plus you can find more resources for studying space here.

Creation Craft

The first craft we did was a Sun Sun Catcher. Yes, real original, I know. They turned out beautiful though!

To make our suns, we used yellow, orange, red, and pink tissue paper. First I had the children cut the tissue paper up into little pieces, but that didn’t work out very well. So we ended up just tearing it into pieces. It was a lot funner that way too.

I cut a whole in the center of a piece of blue construction paper by folding it in half and cutting a half circle on the folded edge.

I helped the children place their construction paper onto contact paper and then they placed the tissue paper where they wanted it.

For our stars and moon, we made scrap paper collages again. This time, I had the kids glue a bunch of pieces of yellow paper, in different designs, on yellow construction paper.

We did the same with blue paper for the moon.

Then after they were dry, we cut the yellow paper into a star shape and the blue paper into a circle for the moon.

We glued them onto our copy-work page and practiced our handwriting. If we ever do this again, I might have the children paint the paper black before they put their star and moon on.

Experiments to Demonstrate Earth’s Orbit

Our galaxy is so unique, it is impossible to think that it happened through random chance. If any one thing was off you would have, extreme temperatures, low oxygen levels, drought, high radiation levels; life just would not be able to exist on earth. Click here to print off an experiment worksheet for this activity and record your findings.

First, I showed the children how the earth revolves around the sun and why that is important. First I took a round cake pan and put a piece of yellow paper in the middle for the sun. I drew a black dot on a marble to represent us on the earth. The kids took turns moving the earth around the sun by turning the pan.

They could visualize how the earth goes around the sun and gives us nights and days. Now, I should have put the sun a little bit off centered because that is what it is really like.

For our second experiment I wanted to show the kids what gravity is. I had the children take turns spinning a basket around with toys in it. They had to spin it fast enough to get the toys to stay in the basket. I told the kids how our whole solar system works together to help us stay put and not float around because it gives the earth it’s gravity. So gravity is basically a force that pulls things together.

The moon is very important to the earth because it’s gravity helps us stay in our orbit and gives the earth a constant tilt. If the moon disappeared one day, everything on the earth would change.

What if the Moon Disappeared?

To give the children an example of what would happen if something in our solar system changed or disappeared, we watched some of the video below.

Everything in our solar system was made so that life could exist on Earth. So, after I finished each activity, I reminded my children of God’s amazing power, wisdom and how He cares for us sooo much.  Psalm 147:4-5 “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.  Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.”

More Ideas for Day 4 of the Creation Story for Kids

Creation: Sun, Moon & Stars- No Sew Quiet Book for Toddlers

Creation Daily Number Flip Book

The 7 Days of Creation in Legos {Day 4 – Sun, Moon & Stars}

Paper Plate Craft & Day 4 Memory Card Printables

View All the Posts in this Series

The post Creation Story for Kids: Day 4 – The Sun, Moon, and Stars first appeared on True Aim.

My childhood was a good one, right out of the city limits on my grandmother’s country property. I had hours of free time and thoroughly took advantage of the adventure waiting outdoors.

Now that I’m a mother in the digital age, it’s easy to succumb to planting my children in front of the TV, handing them the iPad, or letting them play computer games when I want to keep them busy. I’ll make the excuse that what they’re watching or playing an educational game and so it’s OK.

Really, they need time to roam and play free of any outside influences. That’s why I love Nature Weaving.

God’s creation is healing to the body and soul. So, I send my children outside each day to get fresh air, vitamin D, and some exercise.

But it’s not always sunshine and butterflies. My kids get into fights, they complain about being bored, they try doing dangerous things. When that happens I like to give them some thing productive to do.

Recently I showed them how to weave with plants. We went outside and collected long lily grass, lavender and wild flowers.

After 30 minutes of collecting, and eating a few strawberries, we brought everything inside so I could show them how. Now they do it all the time.

With a little tape, we lined up the long strands of grass like a loom and weaved other’s through them. The lavender and wild flowers made great accents.

It isn’t really about the product, but about how they use their imagination to create something with nature.

Audrey is 6 and did really well with this craft. My two-year-old loves picking the grass, piling it up, and taping it together. It’s great for scissor skills too. Does he like weaving? Eh, not so much.

After my children got tired of weaving, we hung our creations up in the window and let them dry. They still have the sweet lavender scent and look great even after they’re dried.

Have you weaved with nature before? Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear about it!

The post Beginner Sewing Activity: Nature Weaving first appeared on True Aim.

This post contains an awesome Giveaway! For more information read my Full Disclosure.

Welcome to Mom’s Library!

Filled with parenting tips, activities for young children, crafts, devotionals, recipes, and more!

Be sure to subscribe so don’t miss the next Library!

This Week’s Giveaway!

Green kid crafts offers amazing activity kits to inspire STEM learning with your child! Enter to win one today!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Week’s Featured Posts…

Toilet Paper Roll Barn Yard Animals

Who knew TP rolls could look so cute!

Homemade Cards from a Paper Bag

My daughters make a LOT of cards so I will definitely be using paper instead of plastic at the store next time.  

Up-Cycle Pool Noodles into Lightsabers

I’ve seen pool noodles used as lots of things, but this is perfect for your Star Wars fans!  

Painting with Corn

Don’t throw out your dried up corn! Paint with it.  

Up-Cycled Bracelet from a Styrofoam Cup

These are super creative and I can any girl really enjoying making these!  

Milk Carton Weaving

Turn a milk carton into a beginners weaving loom.  

Apple Stamping

We got some really bad apples this year so I can’t wait to try this. Even if we didn’t, I like how this activity uses the core of the apple so you don’t have to waste anything edible.  

Twisty Cup Games

A genius use of 2 clear plastic cups. Don’t throw them out, wash those used cups and make a game for your kids!  

Use Your Recyclables in a Unit Project

We love doing a lighthouse unit during the spring and then going to visit a real lighthouse in the summer!  

More Plastic Cups Games

My kids play this one all the time!  

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The post 10 Up-Cycle Crafts and Activities! Mom’s Library #107 first appeared on True Aim.