News with Naylors

Halloween Oobleck : Easton really liked this activity! I mixed 1/2 Cup Water with 1 Cup of Cornstarch (1:2 ratio). Once the water and cornstarch were mixed together, I poured the mixture onto a cookie sheet. Water and cornstarch is an interesting combination. If it's played with or rolled into a ball, it becomes a solid and if it sits, it oozes into a liquid. I dumped a few plastic Halloween objects I bought from the Dollar Store into the mixture and let Easton go to town. After playing for a while, I brought out a small bin and filled it with water. Easton liked watching the cornstarch dissolve in the water and learning if the Halloween objects sink or float. Lots of great science in this activity! Click here to see the inspiration for this idea.   Decorate a Haunted House : I bought a " haunted house kit " from a local grocery store. We frosted and decorated our haunted house (first picture). I also really liked the idea of making a foam haunted house  (second pict...

Book : "We're going on a Ghost Hunt." This book is really similar to "We're going on a bear hunt" - which is one of Easton's favorite books. I like the bear hunt book better, but Easton seemed to really like this one as well. We read it over and over today and even reenacted the story at home (see activity below). Click here to purchase this book online. Ghost Hunt : After reading the book above, we reenacted the story at home. I bought a little blow up ghost at the Dollar Store and hid it in our living room. I also set up a mini obstacle course as things for Easton to go through to find the ghost. For instance, I set up hula hoops and when Easton jumped through them I said, "Oh, no. Hula Hoops. Round, circular hula hoops. You can't go under them, you can go over them, you have to go through them!" I said something similar with a pan full of spiders, a table, tunnel, and slide. I just used things we already had at home. Easton LOVED...

Easton's favorite song is "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam". He loves to sit on our laps while we sing and throw him up in the air on the word "sunbeam". Even though we sing this song often, I realized he probably didn't know what a "sunbeam" meant, so that's what this lesson is based on. For other Family Home Evening lessons, search our  Family Home Evening Index .  Prayer : Song : "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam" (Primary Children's Songbook pg. 60) Click here to sing along. Picture : I showed Easton a literal picture of a sunbeam (google "Sun Beam" to find a picture you like) and we talked about how warm and happy the sun makes us. We talked about how we love to play outside when the sun is shining. Next, I told Easton how Jesus wants us to be like the sun or a sunbeam. This means Jesus wants us to be good examples and make other people feel warm and happy. Let's talk about how we can be sunbeams (see activi...

This lesson is based on the current nursery manual, Behold Your Little Ones. Click the link to view the original lesson " My Family Can Be Together Forever " from LDS.org. You can do this lesson all in one night or slit into two separate lessons. For example..the first week you could do the temple picture, video and necklace. The following week, you could show the picture of your wedding photo and visit the temple. For other Family Home Evening lessons, search our  Family Home Evening Index .  Pr ayer : Song : "I Love to see the Temple" (Primary Children's Songbook pg. 95) Click here to sing along.  We used the actions from the manual while we sang this song: I love to see the temple (put fingertips together to form a spire) I'm going there someday (walk in place) To feel the Holy Spirit (put hand over heart) To listen and to pray (fold arms) Picture : I showed Easton the picture of the temple from the manual and we talked about how ...

This lesson is based on the nursery manual "Behold Your Little Ones". Click the link to view the original lesson,  "I can Pray with My Family"  from LDS.org. For other Family Home Evening lessons, search our  Family Home Evening Index . Prayer : Scripture : 3 Nephi 18:21 "Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed." After reading this scripture, I explained that Heavenly Father wants us to pray as a family. We grow closer to Heavenly Father as a family and it invites His spirit into our home. Song : "Family Prayer" (Children's Songbook Pg.189)  Click here to sing along.  We did the actions below from the manual while we sang the song. Let us gather in a circle (walk around in a circle) And kneel in family prayer (stop walking and kneel;  have the children repeat "family prayer" after you) To thank our Heavenly Father (fold arms) For the blessing...

My mom always had a small stack of books she would pull out of storage for each holiday. I loved this tradition! I bought a few of our first Halloween Books this year. I also rented a bunch from the library for a bigger selection. The pictures and descriptions below are from Amazon. Here are our favorites: "Froggy tries to find just the right costume for Halloween and although his trick-or-treating does not go as he had planned, he manages to enjoy himself anyway." Froggy's Halloween: For some reason, this book was Easton's VERY favorite this year. He loves the part where Froggy puts on his costume and says "Ta-da!" We read this book every day once, sometimes twice this month. Click  HERE  to purchase online. "The witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch's hat, then her bow, and then her wand!  Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items, and all they ...

I attempted to make "spider pancakes" for breakfast this morning. Easton could tell they looked like spiders, so that's all that really matters, right? I love the whole wheat pancake mix we always have on hand. It's called Kodiak Cakes. I've seen the mix at local grocery stores, but I always buy ours at Costco. Easton loved them! See the bottom pictures to see what a squeeze bottle can do. Spider Hats: Easton loved this hat! He wore it for a long time, including the time he jumped on his crib mattress while the spider legs bounced up and down. It's pretty self explanatory. I cut a black piece of card stock paper in half (hot dog) and stapled the ends together to make the center of the hat. (I stapled one end, measured Easton's head and then stapled the other end to make sure it was the correct size.) I cut another piece of paper into eight long strips and folded them accordion style. Then, Easton helped me glue on the legs and goggly eyes.  Click...

This lesson mostly contains ideas from my favorite Family Home Evening blog, "The Golden Seven". Click the link to  view the original lesson   from the Golden Seven Blog. For other Family Home Evening lessons, search our  Family Home Evening Index .  Prayer : Song : "A Happy Family" (Primary Children's Songbook pg. 198)  Click here to sing along.  We used these actions found in the nursery manual: I love mother; she loves me (place hand on chest) We love daddy, yes sirree; (nod head up and down) He loves us, and so you see (extend arms) We are a happy family (hug self) I love sister; she loves me (place hand on chest) We love brother, yes sirree; (nod head up and down) He loves us, and so you see (extend arms) We are a happy family (hug self) Pictures : First, I held up a picture of Jesus and His mom . I explained that Jesus was once a little boy that liked to run and play just like Easton. Heavenly Father blessed Jesus with...