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Digging for Dinosaur Fossils

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Credits: Thank you  Mom Inspired Life  for this genius and fun idea! Step One: Make the "dirt" for the dinosaur fossils. In a large bowl, mix SIX cups of cornstarch with THREE cups of water to make oobleck. It should be a little bit difficult to mix, as the cornstarch dissolves completely. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 inch pan. Arrange the dinosaur fossils  inside the oobleck however you'd like. Wait 2-3 days (not any longer, or it will create mold) until the oobleck is completely dry and cracked. Step Two: Watch a Youtube video  of paleontologists digging for dinosaur fossils. Ask your child which tools you have at home that could help you dig for dinosaurs. We thought of a few play dough tools (scraper and drill from our dentist play dough set), hammers and screwdrivers from our play tool set, an old toothbrush, and paint brushes. Bring the dinosaur fossils outside or in the tub for some serious dinosaur fossil excavating.  Step Three: ...

Letter D: Songs & Rhymes

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1) Down by the Station: Hold up these  train pictures  from Chirpy Chatterbox while singing the song. Let your child blow a  train whistle  when you say "puff, puff, toot, toot, off we go!" I found our train whistle at the dollar store. Down by the station early in the morning (hold up station picture) See the little puffer trains all in a row (hold up train picture) Here comes the driver to start up the engine (hold up driver picture) Puff, Puff, Toot, Toot (blow train whistle) Off we go! 2) Days of the Week :  Shake egg shakers (plastic eggs filled with rice and taped shut) while singing this song.  Days of the week (snap, snap) Days of the week (snap, snap) Days of the week, days of the week, days of the week. There's Sunday and there's Monday, Tuesday and there's Wednesday, Thursdays and there's Friday, And then there's Saturday. Days of the week (snap, snap) Days of the week (snap, snap) Days of the week, da...

Homemade Dinosaur Fossils

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Step One: Make Salt Dough. This is so easy to make. All you need to do is mix 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt and 1 cup of water together in a bowl. I mixed it with my hands. If the dough feels too dry add a little more water, and it the dough feels sticky add a bit more flour. We added play dinosaurs, a plastic cup and spoon, and a play rolling pin to their high chairs. My boys loved making footprints in the dough, hiding their dinosaurs in a ball, and filling and emptying their cups with dough. Step Two: After an extended time of play (my boys played for over an hour!), you can get to the fossil part. Roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Use a plastic cup (or something similar) to make a circle in the dough. Put a little flour on the play dinosaur (so it doesn't stick) and make an imprint in the dough. Step Three: Place your dough imprints on a cookie sheet and back at 200 degrees for about 2 hours. You'll know they're done, because the dough will look ...

FHE: Joseph Smith Saw Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ

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This lesson contains material from the current nursery manual, Behold Your Little Ones. Click here to view the original lesson, " Joseph Smith Saw Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ " from LDS.org.  For other Family Home Evening lessons, search our  Family Home Evening Index .  Prayer: Scripture Story: Show the picture below and briefly tell the story of the First Vision. "This is a picture of Joseph Smith (point to Joseph; invite your child(ren) to say Joseph Smith). He wanted to know which church was true. He read in the Bible (open the Bible) that we can pray to know the truth (invite the children to pretend to read). Joseph went to a grove of trees (point to the trees) to ask Heavenly Father in prayer. While he was praying, he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ." Scripture: "Open the Pearl of Great Price to  Joseph Smith History 1:17  and tell your child(ren) that you are going to read what Heavenly Father said to Joseph Smith. Explain t...

FHE: Music & Song

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Prayer: Scripture & Introduction: Read  D&C 25:12 - Explain that this is Heavenly Father and Jesus talking: "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads." This scripture teaches us that Heavenly Father and Jesus love when we sing or listen to good music. Do you like to sing? When we sing good music, it helps us feel happy, excited, reverent and good inside. Songs help us remember Jesus. Sing Primary Children Songs: Before our family home evening lesson, I wrote each of the songs below on a brown paper sack. Most of the sacks were filled with items we'd use to sing the song (ie: "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission" had missionary badges inside). When we were ready, my boys (ages 3, 1) chose one sack at a time and we sang the song afterward. I made a playlist of the songs below, so we could sing along. You can download the  Children...

Letter C: Letter of The Week (Age 3)

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Here's what our week looked like for Letter C:  Read, Read, Read . I love reading to my kids on a daily basis. My almost three has always loved being read to, but my one is pretty hit and miss. A lot of days, I'll read to both of them while they're eating breakfast. I checked out our  Letter C Booklist  at the library a week in advance. The picture above were our very favorite books, but you view more great Letter C books by clicking on the booklist link. Read Letter C Book . We also love to read these  Little Letter Books  from The Measured Mom. There are only eight or so pictures in each booklet. I pointed out the uppercase and lowercase C's (since we are focusing on both this year) and we talked about the pictures.  Letter C Songs & Rhymes . This year, I'm putting together an interactive set of songs & rhymes for each letter of the alphabet. I know this series is focused on my almost three, but my one year old h...