News with Naylors

2020 Update: Don't forget to check out  Special Witnesses  (5-Day Lesson Plan to prepare for General Conference).  Can I just tell you how excited I am for General Conference this weekend!? It can be challenging to watch with toddlers (I have two boys - ages 3 & 22 months), so I prepared these busy bags to help my little ones be entertained during General Conference. This past week we learned a few simple facts about the prophet and apostles in this General Conference Family Home Evening , and each busy bag will contain an activity and/or snack that relates to the prophet and apostles.    Instructions for Prophet & Apostle Bags: 1) Print  Pictures of Modern Prophet & Apostles  (from Little LDS Ideas). Cut them out and staple each picture onto a brown lunch sack. You will have 15 bags when you're finished. 2) Fill each bag with activities or snacks of choice. For most of our bags, I placed items that relate to the prophet or apostles. For insta

With General Conference this weekend, I thought it would be fun for my boys (ages: 3 & 22 months) to learn a little something about the prophet and apostles. My boys loved opening the eggs and looking at the pictures inside - each picture goes along with an interesting, kid appropriate fact about the prophet and apostles. We will have this poster board in view during General Conference and plan to keep my little ones busy with these " prophet & apostle bags " while watching the sessions. Prayer : Song Options :  I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ - we sang this song while my boys shook their egg shakers (plastic eggs filled with rice and taped close). Follow the Prophet - sing the chorus. Have your child(ren) take turns being the leader while holding a picture of President Monson. March around the room, spin, etc. Introduction : Explain what a prophet is in simple terms. I said something along the lines, "Since Heavenly Father and Jes

I have had so much fun cooking in the kitchen lately. I found another great recipe from Cooking Classy - Navajo Tacos . You can find also homemade fry bread recipe on her site, but to save on time I made our fry bread from rhodes rolls. The meat filling is delicious and so flavorful. It made enough for my little family (2 adults & 2 toddlers) to have navajo tacos a night and regular tacos as leftovers the following night. Rating: 10/10 (picture to come) Ingredients (Tacos): 1 Tbsp olive oil  3/4 cup yellow onion, diced  2 cloves garlic finely minced  1 lb lean ground beef  2 tsp chili powder  1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp paprika  1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed  1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce instead)  1 (4 oz) can diced green chilis  Salt and pepper, to taste Toppings: Lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, olives, avocado, cilantro or salsa Directions (Tacos): 1) Heat olive oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high he

We love holidays! We have two little boys (ages 3 & 1) that really bring the holiday excitement into our home. Every year for Saint Patrick's Day, we have a little leprechaun named, Silly McGilly , that visits our house. He does all sorts of things from bringing chocolate gold coins, changing our milk green, leaving us bubbling pots , hiding magic leprechaun rocks , and preparing scavenger hunts to find a pot of gold. Below you can view a huge list of resources to enhance the holiday with little ones. You can also view what we did at home the past two years. Enjoy! Saint Patrick's Day Crafts Saint Patrick's Day Hunts Saint Patrick's Day Songs (link to come) Saint Patrick's Day Science Saint Patrick's Day Sensory Saint Patrick's Day Treats Saint Patrick's Day WEEK 2016 Saint Patrick's DAY 2017

Here's a list of a few treats that look fun to make for Saint Patrick's Day: Saint Patrick's Day Jello  from Early Learning Mom Trusted. I made these this year, but when I went to the grocery store they were completely sold out of Lucky Charms! I topped these with colored marshmallows from the baking isle instead. Lucky Charm Marshmallow Rice Krispies from The Baking Chocolatess. What a genius idea to use lucky charms to make rice krispie treats! These are on our list to make next year.  Mint Oreo Truffles  from Hossier Homemade. Rainbow Cupcakes  from Skip to my Lou. Pot of Gold Cupcakes  from Baking a Moment. Rainbow Waffles  from Slow Robot. 

Here are a few of our favorite HUNT ideas for Saint Patrick's Day: Alphabet Coin Hunt. Write letters A-Z on office stickers and stick them on plastic gold coins. Hide the coins all around the house (or outside) and give your child a brown plastic bag to collect and identify the coins.  Scavenger Hunts for a Pot of Gold. There are so many great scavenger hunts online that have the clues already done for you. All you do is print them off and hide them where the clue tells you. How easy is that!? We love this scavenger hunt  (pictured below) from Love Grows Wild. You can find other scavenger hunts with printable clues from  Snap Creativity ,  Sunny Day Family , or  Teachers Pay Teachers .  Magic Leprechaun Rocks . These rocks are made with baking soda and a gold coin hidden inside. Hide them around the yard and have your child find them and drop them into magic leprechaun water (vinegar). The rocks bubble and a gold coin floats to the top of the vinegar. These are a

I am not kidding when I say this is the BEST Alfredo sauce. I've been searching for this recipe (slightly adapted from The Recipe Critic ) for many years - one that's packed full of flavor and keeps it's flavor tossed with noodles. This sauce is the perfect creamy consistency and so delicious.  Ingredients (The Best Alfredo): 1/2 cup butter 2 cups whipping cream (1 pint) 3 ounces cream cheese 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon italian seasoning 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 cup grated parmesan cheese (we used the green can) 8 oz. noodles of choice Directions (The Best Alfredo): 1) Cook shell noodles according to package directions. 2) Meanwhile, add butter, heavy whipping cream and cheese cheese to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat and whisk until melted. Add the minced garlic, garlic powder, italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk until smooth. Add parmesan cheese. 3) Bring to

As I was hunting for a perfect Alfredo sauce, I came upon this dish from  The Recipe Critic . This dish is amazing, but the thing that makes it stand out is this delicious and creamy Alfredo sauce. It is packed full of flavor and doesn't loose it's flavor topped on noodles. I served this dish with New York Garlic Knots  (found in the freezer isle) and they were extremely divine dipped in Alfredo sauce. Rating: 10/10  Ingredients (Italian Crusted Chicken): 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, or 6 chicken tender strips 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 cup italian bread crumbs 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1/2 teaspoon parsley Directions (Italian Crusted Chicken): 1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 2) In one shallow bowl, mix together melted butter and garlic powder. In a second shallow bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, oregano and parsley.  3) Dip chicken in first bowl until fully c

Shamrock Ice Painting was my two's favorite Saint Patrick's Day craft this year! This activity is easy to put together, but make sure you plan in advance to allow the water time to freeze. After painting with ice, we made this into a simple science experiment. I found this idea on Toddler Approved . Supplies: Shamrock Ice Mold Water Green Food Coloring Popsicle Sticks Directions: 1) Place 2-3 drops of green food coloring into each shamrock in the ice mold. Fill the shamrocks with water and place a half a popsicle stick in each mold. You may want to stir the shamrocks to make sure the food coloring is distributed evenly. I taped my popsicle sticks into place, so they would stay upright (see picture below). Note: It helped to put the mold on a cookie sheet, so it transferred easily from the counter to the freezer. 2) When you're ready to paint, simply pop the shamrocks out of the ice mold and give your child a piece of paper to paint on. 

If you choose to do ONE activity from my blog, let this be it! These Magic Leprechaun Rocks created an afternoon full of smiles and jaw opening expressions. My two loved looking around our back yard for magic rocks and throwing them in our big bowl of leprechaun water (vinegar). Each rock had a plastic gold coin hidden inside, so after the rocks bubbled in vinegar for a minute or so, the gold coin would float to the top of the vinegar. Thank you for this wonderful idea - from  Gift of Curiosity . These were so much fun, we made similar Alligator Eggs to go along with our Letter A theme this year. Supplies: Baking Soda (we used 4-5 cups) Water Food Coloring Vinegar (we used a large container) Plastic Gold Coins Directions: 1) Fill a large bowl with 4-5 cups on baking soda. Add water little by little until you create a paste. You want the mixture to be damp - not too wet and not too dry. You should be able to make a ball with the mixture that will hold it'

We did this activity for Saint Patrick's Day this year, although it would really be fun anytime of the year! We used them as leprechaun pots, although they could also be used for witches brew at Halloween. My kid's (ages 3 & 1) especially loved how each pot bubbled into a different color. This activity was simple to set up and a lot of fun. This fun idea is from  Little Bins for Little Hands . Supplies: Miniature Pots - these come in a set of 12 Baking Soda Food Coloring Vinegar Optional: Plastic Gold Coins Instructions: 1) Place 12 miniature pots on a cookie sheet. Fill each pot with a couple spoonfuls of baking soda and 2-3 drops of food coloring. I used all different colors of food coloring, to make each pot a different color. You can add a drop of red + blue to make purple or blue + green to make turquoise, etc. I also placed plastic gold coins around the cookie sheet and in a few of the pots. 2) Fill a cup full of Leprechaun Water (vinegar