DIY Holiday Toy Guide, Featuring Your Toys

Make your own Holiday Toy Guide featuring the toys you already have.

#1 tip before hitting the Holiday Toy Sales:

Take inventory of the toys you already have.

Free Printable Cover for your DIY Toy Guide

 After seeing how excited our kids get looking at the newspaper Holiday Toy guide ads, I thought I'd make my own Toy Guide of toys we already own for my kids to look at when they think they are bored or when I am working and need something to keep them busy.  Instead of asking them to go play, I hand them the Toy Guide and say, what do you feel like playing today? The visuals really help them want to play with their toys. It seems the only time they really want to play with their toys is when I'm cleaning or organizing their rooms when they see toys they don't remember they have. "Oh ya, I love this toy" (that they lost under their pile of dress-ups).
This process also helped me realize we already have way too many toys and  helped me to better plan for my holiday shopping this week. This will help reduce my kids' Christmas List.
Try making one of your own and use the free graphic above as your cover.

How to:

1. Open Microsoft Word, create a 'table' with 3 columns and tons of rows (as needed).

2. Search the internet to find pics of toys you have. This was quicker than laying our actual toys out and taking photos to upload. I did that for a few of our unique toys or things I've made, and if I had pix of my kids already playing with a toy I used that but for the majority I found a pic online using Google Image Search. I would cut and paste it right into my document.

3. Label all the toys - this was helpful for my 7 year old

4. Organize pages into categories. I called them "Centers" since that is what my child has at school for play time and she loves having "Centers".  Here are my "Centers":

Activity Center: (ball/bean bag toss, board games, box games, Sit 'N Spin, Hula Hoop, Jump Rope, Hallway Bowling

Creation Center: Playdough, Moon Sand, Bendaroos, Coloring books, foam stickers, lacing cards, Dry Erase Kit, Stacking Blocks, Mr. Potato Head

Exploring Center: Reading spot, felt story board, Puppets, View Master, Magnetic letters & games, Puzzles, ABC Magnet Fishing Game, Pretend Grocery store, restaurant at our Diner, Librarian.

STUFFED ANIMAL TIP:

Our kids like to make a zoo by grouping their 'like' animals, play Veterinarian, Dog Catcher, Parades, Animal Saffari (like hide and seek or an egg hunt with the stuffed animals) & Puppet Shows.

Music & Computer Center: Instruments, Juke Box Dancing, Player Piano Dancing, Beatles Rock Band, Click Start, kid lap tops, Online approved games.

Girl Center: Dress-ups, dolls, kitchen, rubber stamps, craft kits, etc...

Boy Center: Dinosaurs, Building Set, Trains, Cars, Legos, Lincoln Logs, Magnetix, Dress-Up, Pirate Treasure Box Hunt.

Outdoor Center: Sidewalk Chalk, Fort, Sandbox, Scooters, Bikes, Bubbles, I plan to add more in the summer time - like going on walks or to the park.

I Plan to add more to this guide as we get new toys or get rid of toys they grow out of.

You get the idea. Look through your house and compile your own list or categories.

5. Print pages out, put in sheet protectors and put inside a folder with 3 prongs. Print out the cover pic above or make your own then let your kids start shopping at home.

After School Tip: This is our routine

Wash Hands, Snack time, Homework & Reading Time, Center Time (pick an activity from the Toy Guide)

ObSEUSSed Book Suggestion: Too Many Toys by David Shannon. One of our favorites, read my post about having Too Many Toys.

Linked to Today's Creative Blog, Get Your Craft On Tues.

Teaching Children to Give Thanks this Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks. This is a great Thanksgiving book to remind kids to think about the things they are thankful for.
  

By Margaret Sutherland


This week, as we prepare for Thanksgiving, I am reminded of the story of two little boys who first thought to play a trick on a poor man by hiding his shoes.  Then one of the boys suggested to put a silver dollar inside each shoe instead. 
My cousin made a video of this story that shows the Grateful response of the poor man. See the video below. It reminds me that we never fully know the circumstances of others and should look for ways we can bless others lives. We should also teach our children to look for opportunities to serve our neighbors as a way to show our grattitude for what we've been given.

Read "Lessons I Learned as a Boy" by Gordon Hinckley.
This is a wonderful story to share with children during Thanksgiving.



The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, You Must Try

One of our all time favorite classic read-aloud stories is There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly Illustrations by Simms Taback.  This version is so colorful and entertaining. Our kids enjoy watching the cut out circle that shows you what the old lady has eaten and a preview of what is to come on the next page.

Scholastic also has a great video with music to read along with and watch. They have more great activitiy ideas to go along with this book.

I found this great puppet in a teacher's store 12 years ago and decided to get it for my mother-in-law as a gift since she collected puppets that went with books. Large Puppet by Alma's Design

I always wanted my own once I had kids but could never afford it so I decided to make my own. Here is what I came up with, using the real puppet as an example (with no pattern). I found cute calico fabric, brownish grey yarn for hair, great cream lace for trim.  I made sure she has a large tummy to hold all the props. I found other little toys and made a felt cat to use for props for her to eat. The kids love to move her arms to help her eat.

Then, a few years after making the one in brown, I found the original at a yard sale for $3. She was missing her nose but I couldn't pass her up.

There are a variety of new versions written by Lucille Colando, illustrated by Jared D. Lee.

I adapted my props to go with this new book. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves (Perhaps she'll sneeze). She eats some leaves, a shirt, some pants, a pumpkin, a pole, some hay and rope. At the end she does sneeze and the kids all guessed that it would make a scarecrow. The rhyming and illustrations were great again. I borrowed our teacher's extra large version and sat the old lady on my lap while I gave each child a prop to take turns putting it in.  They asked to read it again as they love hands-on activities with books. (As do I.)

HALLOWEEN VERSION:

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat where she eats a bat, an owl, a cat, a ghost, a goblin, some bones, and a wizard.

THANKSGIVING VERSION:

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie, "a Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry." Written by Allison Jackson, illustrated by Judith Byron Schachner. More activities from MakingLearningFun.com

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed some Snow. She also swallows some coal, a scarf, a hat...what do you think it makes at the end?

Check out all the great Old Lady activities on Teaching Heart.

Which one do you like best? My $3 yard sale find or the one I made by hand because I couldn't afford the $40 store version?

Copy and paste these into word and resize to fit page. You could use a plastic zip bag or brown paper sack to put the old lady on the outside and let the kids put the animals inside during the story.

There are so many different versions. Try Marcia's Lesson Links Old Lady Who Swallowed a Hamburger

For younger kids I often change the words to "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly, perhaps she'll CRY." "She swallowed a Horse, she choked of course."

Hope you have fun reading this "Must have" book to your kids.

Linking to Today's Creative, Get Your Craft On
It's Sew Stinkin Cute, Craft Thursdays
My Backyard Eden, Make It Yours Day

Fox on Blocks: Dr. Seuss Activity Blocks

Here are some blocks I created 7 years ago for my first baby when I could not find any commercial Dr. Seuss toys online.

I found some plain wood 2x2 blocks at a thrift store.  Then I covered each one with a bright colored craft paint, Dr. Seuss stickers, a stencil to paint letters and Modge Podge to seal them. My kids have loved stacking them. But now they're a little older and need a challenge to keep them interested in the blocks.

I just came across this inspirational craft from Mandy from the Sugar Bee Craft Edition blog. All 6 sides have a different interactive activity for your child to play with.

Click to see the Tutorial for these Dr. Seuss Activity Blocks.  It is such a creative idea. Now I want to re-do my blocks after seeing this amazing idea. I can't wait to fix my blocks up!

The blocks have 6 sides so there are 6 different activities:

1. Word Game – using “fox in socks” arrange these blocks to create lots of fun and crazy rhyme sentences.
2. Puzzle – even older kids enjoy the puzzle – it can be tricky because the blocks rotate so you have to figure which way is up.
3. Look Alike - match pictures that look alike – one is odd man out.
4. Color Naming – perfect for younger kids – name colors, have them find them, let them name colors – even “rainbow” is included.
5. Counting Fish – one fish two fish – find the blocks with specific numbers of fish, group them in “less than” “greater than” and many other fun things can be done with this side.
6. Body Parts Mix-up - head-body-feet of three “things” – match them all up, or have fun mixing them up.

You can see more cool Dr. Seuss Crafts, like a Grinch Advent Calendar, on So You Think You Can Craft.
Linking to Hookin' Up with House of Hepworths #24. Black Kat's Design, Cheap Thrills Thursday. Fingerprints on the Fridge, Feature Yourself Friday

Foto Fly and Funny Face Photography

 Loving these pics I just got at Foto Fly. - My Baby SAT IN THE HAT. I just had to do it since I'm ObSEUSSed!

When I went to the Cupcake Conference back in July they gave us a coupon to try out a local photo studio in Draper called Foto Fly. They normally charge $79 for a CD of all the images with a release and $4/printed sheet- very reasonable- so they are booking appointments like crazy and word of mouth is spreading quickly. I just went in last week to get my 3 month old's photos done. Here are a few of my favorites.

As you can see in this picture, my baby had a melt down. He got very fussy but the photographers, Victoria and Daniel were so patient and great at trying to keep him happy. They were also very patient with my 4 yr old and my 2 yr old niece who were running crazy in the halls. They do have a cute playroom that was playing a movie but when those two get together they love to chase each other. My son turns 5 this month. We took a few shots of him too. They don't charge an extra sitting fee for more family members to be in the shots. Next time I need studio shots I'll be back at Foto Fly.

For all my outdoor and casual professional photo shots I'm sticking with Funny Face Photography.  They do commercial, children, family and wedding photography and they happen to have the most rockin' photo booth around (from Salt Lake to Vegas, based in St. George).  It is elegantly decorated and can hold up to 15 people. It has customizable features such as the props, curtains, logo, live video or photo slide show on an LCD screen outside the booth with optional music.

Photo Booths are a huge trend at weddings right now and company parties.  And, did I mention that my brother and sister-in-law run Funny Face Photography? They are amazing! Let me know if you have an event coming up that you'd like to have this at a blogging conference, holiday company party, birthday party or high school dance? It is always the hit of the party. I've loved helping my brother run the booth when I get the chance because I enjoy seeing everyone having a blast dressing up in the props and getting free photo strips as their party favor.

This is my other sister-in-law, at her vintage wedding this summer. Notice the booth in the background.