News with Naylors

Prayer : Song : " A Song of Thanks " from the Children's Songbook page 20. Discussion : We talked to my two about how important it is to say "thank you" to people when they do something nice for you. It makes Heavenly Father, Jesus, Mom, Dad and others happy when we express thanks. Book : We read " Happy Thanksgiving Day! " together. I think this book does a great job of simply explaining things to be thankful for. My two loves when we make the book a part his life. For instance, we named the little boy in the book "Easton" and his dog "Reeks" (Easton's favorite stuffed animal dog.) This book also talks about being thankful to God for things we have. It's a great book for a toddler Family Home Evening. Gratitude Tree : I heard about a Gratitude Tree from my neighbor and thought it would be a great way to teach my two about gratitude. You can find a free   tree and blank leaves printable  from Carrie This Home

My great-grandpa, Clarence, came up with this chocolate chip recipe. The brown sugar and vanilla make these cookies exceptionally yummy. My grandpa has since passed, but I think of him every time I make these. What a wonderful way to remember him! Rating: 10/10 Ingredients : 3/4 Cup butter flavor crisco 1/4 Cup butter (softened) 1 Cup brown sugar 1/2 Cup white sugar 2 Eggs 1 Tablespoon vanilla 2 1/4 Cups flour 1 Teaspoon baking soda 1 Teaspoon salt 1-2 Cups milk chocolate chips  Directions : 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  2. In a large bowl (I use our Kitchen Aid) mix together butters and sugars until smooth. 3. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix. 4. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix. 5. Add chocolate chips. Mix. 6. Use a spoon to scoop the desired amount of dough onto a non-greased cookie sheet. (These cookies turn out better when the dough is not flattened.) 7. Bake for 7 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. 

Choose one of the following dinosaur crafts: 1)  Dinosaur Shape Craft  from Totally Tots: I found this idea on the  Letter D Crafts  list from The Measured Mom. I like that this craft is a shape review - rectangle (legs), circle (head), triangle (plates), oval (tail), and body (dome). Did you notice the dinosaur's body is also in the shape of a sideways Letter D? Have your child identify the shapes before gluing them. 1)  Paper Plate Dinosaur  from The Craft Train: I found this idea from the  Letter D Crafts  list on The Measured Mom. Click the title "Paper Plate Dinosaur" to print the dinosaur templates and view a detailed tutorial with pictures. You will need: Dinosaur Templates (print from link provided) Paper Plates (cut in half) Paintbrush Elmer's Glue  Glitter Bowl Goggly Eyes Paint glue onto a paper plate Have your child dump his/her desired color of glitter onto the paper plate. Allow glue to dry. Glue on your dinosaur template and

1) D is for Dinosaur : Easton loves stamps, so I knew this would be a fun activity for him! You'll need: Dinosaur Stamps   Block  Letter D  on white paper Green construction paper Print or draw a big letter D on a piece of white paper Let your child stamp the paper  Cut out the letter D and glue it onto green construction paper Hang on the fridge as a reminder of your letter this week! 2) Mini Dinosaur Counter Activities: The remainder of our activities use  Dinosaur Counters . T he set comes with 108 dinosaurs in six colors and six types. A booklet is included, which tells you about each of the dinosaurs. I found these amazing Dinosaur Printables  from Preschool Mom - Dinosaur Color Match, Classifying, Numbers Activity and Pattern Strips. Choose your favorite activities to do today. Here is a list of ways to use the dinosaur counters: Pretend Play: If the dinosaur counters are new for you, allow your child some time to play with them before moving on t

1)  D is for Dog  from Miss Maren's Monkeys: I love crafts that include the letter we're working on during the week. Click the title "D is for dog" to print a free template. Talk about a few shapes as you go (eyes - circle, nose - triangle, snout - heart, tongue - oval)  2) Bean Bag Dog Activities: We are going to use a  Bean Bag Dog for these activities. Pass the bean bag back and forth as you count aloud 1-10.  Balance the bean bag on your head, arm, back, etc. and go across a tape line.  Hide the bean bag around the room and find it. Use Hula Hoops - have children throw bean bag in or through a hula hoop. See how far or how high you can place the hula hoop.  Maze - Help the dog bean bag make it to his friend. Take the bean bag up a slide, through a tunnel, under a table, over an ottoman and shoot it into a basketball hoop to his friend. Tape shape printouts on the stairs and see if your child can throw the bean bag to each of the shapes. Talk

1)  Tissue Paper Duck  from The Measured Mom: I thought this craft is adorable. You can find and print a  duck outline by clicking on the title "Tissue Paper Duck". You could glue on white feathers instead of tissue paper if you'd like. Here's what you need: Yellow Construction Paper w/duck outline Goggly Eye Orange Beak White Tissue Paper - we bought ours at the Dollar Store Elmer's Glue 2) "Where's the Duck?" Color Game: I think Easton will love this game! You could use this activity with a magnet board or flannel board, but it would be just as fun on the floor. You'll need: Paper Duck Cut Out Colored Paper or Colored Flannel Sheets (choose 6 or more different colors to review) Black Marker Use a marker to draw a barn on each piece of colored paper - it can be a simple door and window. Lay the barns on the floor and hide the duck under one of the barns, without your toddler watching. You can lay out two barns or as man

1) Alphabet DVD : Today we watched our favorite (mine included!) educational shows, " The Letter Factory ". Before watching this show, my two could recognize a little over half of the alphabet. After watching this show a few times a week for about a month, he could recognize all twenty six uppercase letters and knew all of their sounds. We don't watch a ton of shows/TV at our house, but I would HIGHLY recommend this show to anyone wanting to teach their children uppercase letters and sounds. 2)  Letter D Book  from The Measured Mom: My two loves the simple pictures in these books and I love being able to point out the letter D multiple times as we go through this little book. There are only eight or so photos. Click the title "Letter D Book" to print. 3) Letter D Handprint Art (Dinosaur) : I found a few letter D handprint ideas on Pinterest and my two chose to do a dinosaur. As a reminder, I'm saving all of these to make a book at the end of the

When I was a newlywed, I had a phase where I loved to watch The Food Network. One of my favorite shows to watch was Giada at Home. I made a lot of Giada De Laurentiis' recipes and this is one that my husband and I both really enjoy. Rating: 10/10 Ingredients :  1 pound penne pasta 1/4 cup olive oil 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed 4 cups spinach leaves, torn 1 1/2 cups grated pecorino romano cheese 1 cup mascarpone cheese (8 ounces), at room temperature 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt 1 teaspoon of pepper, split Directions : 1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite (8-10 minutes). Reserve 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid, then drain the pasta.  2) Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until lightly browned (about 2 minutes). Remove the garlic and discard. Add the spinach and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and c

1) Blue Skies & White Clouds Painting from Preschool Alphabet: You'll need: White Card Stock Paintbrush Blue Liquid Water Color (food coloring or watercolors will work as well) On a piece of white paper, draw clouds and a Letter C with a white crayon. Mix water and blue liquid water colors in a small cup. Have your child paint the paper blue, revealing all of the white clouds. 2) Cloud Shapes: We love contact paper crafts around here. You'll need: Contact Paper Tape Black Marker Cotton Balls Draw different shapes with a black marker on the non sticky side of contact paper.  Remove the film and tape the contact paper onto the window (sticky side up). Have your child draw a cotton ball (clouds) from a bag and tell them (or ask them) what the cloud's favorite shape is. Then, have your child place the cotton ball on the same shape. 3) Rain Clouds  from The Happy House Wife: Large Jar Water Shaving Cream (foam, not gel) Blue Liquid

1)  C is for Cookie  from The Measured Mom: I love crafts that use the letter we're working on during the week. I found this idea on the  Letter C Craft List  on The Measured Mom blog. We are going to do ours a little differently, including real chocolate chips. 2) Cookie Jar Number Matching from Tot Schooling: This is such a darling printable and would be a fun way to review and match numbers. We have this   Count and Learn Cookie Jar  (second picture). I found it at Ross a few weeks ago. I like this game, because it also incorporates fine motor skills while learning numbers. The jar asks to find certain numbers and counts for you as a child inserts cookies. Both my boys (ages: almost three and one) love this game and plays with it often. 3) Make Homemade Cookies: I think it's so much fun to bake together with my kids. There's so much learning involved, but I always have to remind myself to expect messes. My great grandpa left behind an amazing Chocolate Chi

1)  Toy Car Painting  from The Measured Mom: My two loves his toy cars, so I knew today would be a lot of fun. Roll the car tires in paint and paint with them! All you need is: White Paper (we will use butcher paper) Toy Cars NOTE:  Try to find some with interesting treads Washable Tempera Paint 2)  Rainbow Car Wash from Fun at Home with Kids: After your cars are nice and dirty with paint, let them clean their cars in a Rainbow Car Wash. My two loved this! You'll need: 1/4 Cup Water 2 Tablespoons Dish Soap (we used dawn) Liquid Water Colors  OR food coloring Mixer Add water, dish soap and a few squirts of liquid water color into a large bowl.  Mix on the highest possible setting for 1-2 minutes, or until stiff peaks appear. Scoop out the mixture into your container and repeat as necessary for each color. NOTE:  We added toy cars,  play kitchen items, a dish scrubber and a separate bin of water. 3)  License Plate Match from Preschool Alphabet:

1)  Coin Piggy Bank from Frogs, Snail & Puppy Dog Tails: Both my toddler boys loved making a sticker piggy bank! Decorate an empty puff's container, or any empty container, with stickers. We used peppa pig and letter C stickers (made from contact paper) and cut a small slit in the top to put coins into. 2) Coin Activities: There are so many great learning activities to do with coins. Insert Coins into a Piggy Bank Coin Sorting from The Measured Mom: I brought out our coin jar and showed my two all the coins. We talked each of the coins and discussed similarities and differences between them. We also put them in order from smallest to biggest. Start by sorting groups of two - big and little coins or silver and copper coins.  Build Coin Towers: Stack as many coins as you can on top of each other.  Counting Coin Identification Book  from The Measured Mom. I thought this little book was a great introduction to coins. There are three versions ranging in difficu

1)  ABC Cup Hunt  from Playdough to Plato: This is a fun and interactive way to review the alphabet. Write letter A-Z on plastic cups.  Place 3-5 cups in a row. Have your child guess which cup has a pom pom (or treat!) underneath. Another Option: Hide the cups around the house. Go on a cup hunt. Hide a pom pom or treat underneath a few of the cups. Once your child finds a cup, have them identify the letter or tell them the letter if they don't know it yet. See if there's a surprise underneath! 2)  Letter C Book  from the Measured Mom: This book only has 8 or so pictures. My two likes reading these little books and recognizing some of the pictures. I also like that there's a Letter C on each page. I often ask my two, "What letter is this?" as we flip through our book.  3)  Letter C Handprint Art (Crab)  from Puppy Dog Tails: I originally saw this idea on the Letter C Craft List from The Measured Mom blog. I loved it the minute I saw it. Instead o