Corn Wreath Thanksgiving Craft

It's that time of year, the weather is starting to chill and I'm once again reminded of why I savor the summer so much. Don't get me wrong, the winter is beautiful and the snow is to melt for...but, I love the sunshine and warm weather so dearly! Although, on the plus side, I've been able to drink some of my favorite pours as the season chill sets in. Coffee with a hint of hazel nut, hot tea...I almost had a hot chocolate tonight. Instead, I opted for a hot orange black tea, slightly sweetened. :)

If you find yourself inside avoiding the winter chills, and your little ones are bored, what could be better than crafting together? This fun and easy "Corn "Wreath" is so fun and would look great on your front door.

CORN WREATH

SUPPLIES
*Scissors
*Paper Plate
*Green Construction Paper
*White Construction Paper
*Yellow Tissue Paper

DIRECTIONS
A. Cut the middle out of your white paper plate. You should have a ring when finished.
B. Cut out the corn cobbs, then the corn husks.
C. Paste the yellow tissue onto the white corn cobbs.
D. Paste the green corn husks on the yellow tissued corn cobbs.
E. Before you add the finished corn to the ring, arrange them to get an idea of where they are going to go.
F. Add plenty of paste to the rim of the white ring.
G. Add the finished corn to the ring quickly, if you need to reposition, the paste will still be wet enough to just remove it from the ring. Don't press the corn down firmly until all of the corn has been placed exactly where you want it.

Hint: I use the middle ring/hole as a guide for placing my corn around the rim evenly.

Send me a photo of your finished craft and I'll add it to this post.

Enjoy!

Christmas Penguin Holiday Craft

I promise after this post I'll post some adorable Thanksgiving crafts. I just couldn't wait to get this guy (and Rudolph Leaps) onto the blog. This Christmas Penguin is so easy to make. With some scissors, construction paper, paste and some google eyes...he'll come to life in no time! 

Here's to getting the holidays crafted off right!

CHRISTMAS PENGUIN

DIY

Supplies
*Scissors
*Paste
*Black Construction Paper
*White Construction Paper
*Red Construction Paper
*Orange Construction Paper
*Google Eyes

Directions
A. Cut out all body parts
B. Assemble before pasting together
C. Paste the hat together first. Then paste the inner white body onto the black outer body, add the feet and arms, then the scarf. Be sure to cut the ends of the scarf to make it look more fringed. Lastly, add the hat to his head.

Don't forget to send me your creation...I'll add it to the end of this post with your permission.

Enjoy!

Rudolph Leaps Craft

I'm already planning fun crafts for the holidays. Speaking of holidays, I don't know if you've noticed but, they're officially here. It hardly seems fair. We dread the holidays coming (I secretly await them all year long!) and when they arrive we want them to last longer. (Christmas all year long, right!?) Then we're interrupted with an abrupt halt because the new year has arrived. (Back to work folks.) I guess what I'm really saying is, I already feel like I don't have enough time to add all the adorable crafts I'd like to! Oh well, at least we're starting off with an irresistible Rudolph Leaps craft that you're students will absolutely love you for! Just leave the kuddos and compliments below. ;)

RUDOLPH LEAPS

SUPPLIES
*Scissors
*Brown Watercolor Paint
*Paint Brush
*Jar of Warm Water (I always use warm/hot water)
*Google Eyes
*Black Construction Paper
*Brown Construction Paper
*Red Construction Paper
*Paste
*1 White Paper Plate

DIRECTIONS
1. Cut 1 white paper plate in half. Take one of the halves and cut the head out. It's about 1/3 of the half.
2. Paint the body and head.
3. While paint is drying, fold 1 sheet of black construction paper in half and then, trace your little one's hand on it. Cut it out. You can trace both hands onto one sheet and cut them out separately as well.
4. Cut out the tail and 4 legs from your brown construction sheet.
5. Cut out the nose from the red construction sheet...start off large then work your way down in size. Better to start too big than too small.
6. Cut the hooves out of the left over black construction paper.
7. Assemble your master piece, including the eyes, as you'd like to paste it together.
8. Paste accordingly. I pasted together the head first, then the legs and then added them to the body.

I'd love to see the results, with you're permission, I'll add your photos below.

Happy Holidays!

Geronimo Stilton, The Kingdom of Fantasy Book Review

Title: The Kingdom of Fantasy
Author: Geronimo Stilton
Publisher: Scholastic
Recommended Age: 5+

Captured

     I'm always looking for books that will spark a passion for reading in my 6 year old. Recently, I visited the local bookstore and searched (and searched) for such a book. What I eventually settled on was a book that wasn't like the others. While my 6 year old still loves picture books, his reading skills have excelled and I wanted to get him a book that would serve as a bridge between picture books and chapter books. I believe the Geronimo series serves this purpose perfectly. Therefore, I was captured at the tune of $14.99 for a fantasy colored hardback. While my son is an excellent reader for his age, he still uses the pictures to derive meaning and understanding. Sometimes, he uses the pictures to help him figure out words as well. Pictures also give him a chance to stop, ponder, wonder and imagine.

Synopsis

     Geronimo Stilton is not only the author of The Kingdom of Fantasy, he's the main character. Geronimo is a mouse who runs a newspaper company, The Rodent's Gazzette. One day he discovers a golden staircase and the rest is history.

Review
     The book starts off fast paced. I don't recommend you drink anything caffeinated when reading less your wheels might spin off their axis. From beginning to end, this book is an adventurous ride. Always moving, quick page turns, colorful pictures, silliness and more. The chapters, I should say "chapters," in this book are short. The feeling of short chapters gives a sense of accomplishment as well as makes you feel like your moving along at a fast reading pace. If you're looking for a book that will hold your budding readers interest (with some re-reads just because their imagination was sparked) look no further. Not once did my 6 year old son get bummed we were about to read Geronimo Stilton and the Kingdom of Fantasy.
     There were a few things I noticed about this book that were not particularly appealing. The fast pace was a little too fast for me. I felt like I had to read at a high energy pace the whole time. I really didn't have to read fast the whole time. I just felt a strong push to because there were exciting happenings at almost every page turn. The other aspect of the book I didn't like was the repetitiveness of format. When Geronimo visited each kingdom the format was very similar for each one. I figured out early on that when we visited a new kingdom it would be the same for each one with very little variances.  You will visit a lot of different kingdoms. I was also a little disappointed on how the topics jumped with relative short amounts of wording. Some of the writing seems pointless at times. 
     Bottom line...regardless of my few disappointments, this book is worth the investment. I can't wait to purchase the next book in the series to get caught up in a whirlwind of adventure along with my son.

Back Cover
     I, Geronimo Stilton, never expected to find a golden staircase in my attic. But one day I did! At the top of the stairs, there was a door. And beyond the door was a world I never could have imagined - the Kingdom of Fantasy!
     I set off on an incredible adventure to save the Queen of the Fairies. Along the way, I had to face giant scorpions, witches, sea serpents, pixies, and dozens of other fantastical creatures. Holey cheese, what a journey! I couldn't wait to get home so that I could write all about it in this book. It's full of maps, secret codes, riddles, puzzles and other amazing discoveries that I made along the way.


Purchase
Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Apple

Connect
Geronimo's author page on: Amazon.
Website
Scholastic