Creative K Kids

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Thoughtful Thursdays: God Has Given Us So Much

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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Does it ever overwhelm you how God has given us so much?

I shared last week how I found out that I would be teaching Mystery of History next year. Even though I have taught in schools and have a teaching degree, I have never taught history in a classical way like Mystery of History does and I have never taught 11 students from 1st – 8th grade before.

Since Mystery of History: Ancient Times covers the time of Creation all the way through  the resurrection of Christ, I am also going to teach Bible at the same time. Here is how I have been overwhelmed by all that God has given us and by the goodness of God to direct our paths. I will put each link as a bullet point below so you can go to the various resources if you wish.

I had started looking at Bright Ideas website at all of the different supplemental resources they provide to go along with Mystery of History. I was debating whether or not we needed to buy the supplemental CD ($149 for a co-op license) or just buy the notebooking pages. I decided to start googling notebooking pages, when — duh — I remembered I had a lifetime subscription to NotebookingPages.com. I went over there and found tons of notebooking pages I could use.

These 7 websites have sets of free notebook pages, free memory cards, free timeline characters, free supplemental books and videos, free lesson plans, and more for the Mystery of History curriculum.

  • There are many free resources even without the subscription to NotebookingPages HERE.
  • I googled some more and found an incredible set of pages at The Notebooking Nook.
  • I found these awesome timeline characters from My Homeschool Printables. She has them for all 4 volumes!
  • BibleStoryPrintables.com also had a whole set of notebooking pages and timeline printables that coincide with Volume 1.
  • Then I went and asked to join the Yahoo group for Mistory of History, Volume 1. Holy cow! They have so much free information right in that group. I LOVED the listening guides they have for every. single. lesson!!! (And the answers — all printable!) So cool! They have supplemental files with ideas for videos and extra readings. And there are lesson plans showing how they used Story of the World, The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World, Veritas Press History Cards, Victor Journey through the Bible (or David C. Cook Journey Through the Bible by V. Gilbert Beers), and more. Because I’m geeky enough, that yes, I ordered all those books (all were used books on Ebay and Amazon of course) — and more — as I want the kids to have real books to look upon and I want my 7th – 8th graders to do more reading than what MOH provides in their lesson plan. I’ll do another post with all the books I have ordered so far — and I’m going to stop looking as I have more than enough now.
  • In the supplemental information, the links for some videos kept directing to the TBN website, but I couldn’t find the videos. I finally found out that the videos, Ancient Secrets of the Bible,  are now all available on Amazon Prime — yay for me as I am a Prime member! I need to watch the videos first to make sure they line up with what we believe, but they look like they might be good. You have to be a Prime member to watch these for free. You can always try Amazon Prime for a 30-Day Free Trial to see if it is worth it for you to be a Prime member. (affiliate link)
  • My biggest hang-up was what was I going to have my 7th and 8th graders do for Bible that was challenging enough but yet not teacher intensive as I am just a volunteer at our little school and I still have to teach phonics to two different grade levels and get home to get stuff done for part or the day. I went to a website where a blogger was sharing her lesson plans. She had her high school kids read The Lie by Ken Ham. I thought about ordering it, but I first went to Answers In Genesis’s website. Can you believe that The Lie is online for free — and many other books and videos as well. And they have a whole kid section with printable kid devotionals and kid videos and kid books and free printable PDF’s? I knew they had videos that could be watched, but not all this other stuff! Talk about doing a happy dance and also having my brain explode with too much information!

I have too much information now! This never would have been possible 10-15 years ago. Only in this information era with the worldwide web at our disposal are we able to take advantage of all these resources. I am also so thankful for all of these bloggers who have made notebooking pages and other resources and let us download it for free! Amazing!

God has given us so much — not just in our ability to study and have quality education for our children at an affordable price. Every day as we look around us and see how much God has showered us with His blessings, our hearts should respond in praise and adoration.

God has given us so much -- He is always worthy to be praised.

What are you praising God for today?

Come link up your thoughtful posts to Thoughtful Thursdays linky party!

Here were two heartfelt posts from last week:

Here are the rules for this linky:

The thoughtful topics for your posts could be related to but not limited to the following topics:

* homemaking * homeschooling * devotional or Biblical posts * Christian in nature * family/marriage * inspirational *

  1. Do NOT link up recipes, reviews, giveaways, diy, or crafts.
  2. Link up to three posts that have not been linked up to this linky previously!
  3. We would love it if you visited a couple other posts and left a comment or shared/pinned the post!
  4. If you include your e-mail in the linky form below you will be added to a weekly reminder e-mail when the link party goes live. Your e-mail will not to added to any other lists or given out.
  5. If you wish, please follow Creative K Kids by subscribing to our newsletter or following us on social media.

If you link up, we would love if you put this button somewhere on your blog (sidebar, post, or party page) or provide a text link so that others can also find these great posts.

Creative K Kids


Mother’s Day Giveaway + DIY Mother’s Day Gifts and Cards

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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My kids go to a modern-day version of a one room schoolhouse. I started looking for Mother’s Day crafts that I could do with different age groups. Teenagers don’t want to do handprint crafts anymore. I found so many crafts and cards that I didn’t include all of the crafts I loooked at, and I finally stopped looking as I had so many great crafts already. Have fun looking at all the craft and card ideas below, and then enter the awesome Mother’s Day Giveaway at the bottom of the post!

DIY Cards for Mother’s Day:

10 DIY Cards kids can make for Mother's Day!

  1. Firefly “You Light up my Life” Mother’s Day Card (Free Printable)
  2. “You are my Sunshine” Mother’s Day Card Kid Craft
  3. Bright and Cheerful Kid-Made Mother’s Day Flower Card made from cupcake liners from  I Heart Crafty Things
  4. Sign Language “I Love You” card
  5. Fingerprint Flower Mother’s Day Card
  6. Make a Huggy Mother’s Day Card Craft from Moms & Crafters
  7. Fingerprint Cards for Mother’s Day from Fun Handprint Art
  8. Free Printable: Mother’s Day Card from Home Cooking Memories
  9. Flower Cards from Red Ted Art
  10. 3D Flower Card DIY – Pop Up Cards for Kids from Red Ted Art


36 DIY Crafts and Gifts for Mother’s Day from kids of all ages:

36 DIY Crafts and Gifts Kids of all ages can make for Mother's Day

  1. Free Printable Bookmark Craft for Mother’s Day
  2. Spoonful of  Kisses for Mom
  3. Free printable flower pot craft for Mother’s Day from Fun Handprint Art
  4. Mother’s Day Spoon Flower Craft from Crafts by Amanda
  5. Free Printable Handprint Craft from Fun Handprint Art
  6. Handprint Crafts for Mothers Day with Printable Poems from Creative K Kids
  7. Soup Can Flower Pots from Adventures in Wunderland
  8. Sharpie Mug Plant Pots  from Clare’s Little Tots
  9. Tissue Paper and Cardboard Tube Flower Craft from Bugsy and Buddy
  10. A Plastic Spoon Spring Flower Craft For Kids
  11. I Love you Because… Mother’s Day Craft for Kids
  12. Easy Mother’s Day Roses Print Craft for Kids to Make from Jenny at Dapperhouse
  13. Fine Motor Skill Flower Beading for Kids
  14. Gorgeous Jewelled Heart Suncatchers
  15. Mother’s Day Mug from Crafts ‘n Coffee
  16. Salt Dough Handprint Bowl* from Messy Little Monster
  17. DIY Cupcake Wrapper Flower Garden Mother’s Day Gift from Jenny at Dapperhouse
  18. Pour Painting Flower Pot from Messy Little Monsters
  19. Painted Wood Spoons Gift Idea from Club Chica Circle
  20. How To Make a Delightful Flower Pot Wind Chime
  21. Thumbprint Charm Heart Necklace & DIY Gift Wrap*
  22. Mother, You Deserve a Hand Printable
  23. DIY Crepe Paper Tulips for Mother’s Day from Jenny at Dapperhouse
  24. Handprint Poem and Canvas Keepsake from Fun Handprint Art
  25. DIY “Hands Off Mom’s Coffee” Coffe Cup from Fun Handprint Art
  26. Scented Hanger from With a Blast
  27. diy coffee mug and teacup candles
  28. 10-Minute DIY Milk & Honey Soap*
  29. Easy Homemade Lavender Soap from Happy Deal – Happy Day
  30. Easy Sugar Scrub Flowers
  31. DIY Bath Salts
  32. DIY Bath Bombs from Fiber Artsy & Craftsy
  33. Mother’s Day Lemon Lavender Milky Bath Salts Recipe from Pretty Opinionated
  34. Pedicure in a Jar
  35. DIY Bead Necklace Using Nail Polish from Pastels and Macarons
  36. 3 DIY Mother’s Day Gifts Under $10 from Cutefetti


Now enter this wonderful Mother’s Day Giveaway!
Mother's Day Giveaway ending May 12, 2017. Worth $250!

We are so excited to be giving away $250 in cash prizes for Mother’s Day to one lucky reader.

The prize will consist of $250 in gift card(s). The winner will choose the gift card(s) you want. Please choose a gift card(s) which comes from an online store and can be paid by US dollars. EX: Amazon, Target, Walmart, Macy’s, Kohls, etc. You may ask for more than one gift card, but they must add up to $250.

Now its time to meet our wonderful co-hosts who have made this giveaway possible.

Tammy – My Life Abundant | Sinea – Ducks ‘n a Row | Dana – Goods Giving Back | Monica – Mommy & Love | Meredith – The Mom of the Year | Tammy – Creative K Kids | Dana – How in the World | Audrey – That Recipe and Munofore | Erlene – My Pinterventures | Trish – By Trish Sutton | Michelle – Our Crafty Mom | Holly – Pink Fortitude | Marie – The Inspiration Vault | Susan – Culinary Envy | Carol – The Red Painted Cottage | Kim – Shopping Kim | Linda – A Labour of Life | Pam – Mom Does Reviews | Abby – Winstead Wandering | Debi – Life Currents | Samantha – Simply Samantha Bush | Carrie – Curly Crafty Mom | Lauren – Mom Home Guide

Please stop by and say hi to these wonderful ladies and their blogs.

The giveaway will end midnight on Friday, May 12th, a few days before Mother’s Day. You will have 48 hours to respond to the email claiming the prize. If we don’t hear in 48 hours, we will choose another winner. The giveaway is open to anyone over 18 years of age and able to receive egift cards.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thoughtful Thursdays: A True Friend

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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These Thoughtful Thursdays are supposed to be what I am learning each week. However, some weeks, it doesn’t feel like I’m learning much.

Last week was a great week. We had an uplifting, God-honoring Easter service on Sunday. There were many visitors at church, and we had the highest attendance we have had since we have been here. That is an answer to prayer, and we are praying that many of those visitors will continue to come and have a stronger relationship with the Lord.

We had a relaxing afternoon at home, and I was able to talk to my extended family via Skype for a couple of hours — that was wonderful.

This week, we are back in the groove of school, but I am also preparing for our missions conference that will start this Saturday! I made 7 pencil pouches for the missionary kids to go with some coloring pads, and tomorrow I am going shopping for all the food I need. It will be fun!

I told my husband that I because of my busyness, I did not know what to write for today’s post. He told me to take one of his newletters he does for our church — so I will! I always learn from his teaching, and I know you will enjoy it too. I went all the way back to the first one he wrote for our church which was from his sermon called, “Marks of a True Friend.”

What I find amazing is that we never outgrow our need of a good friend. Sometimes I think we feel that kids are the only ones who deal with peer pressure over the desire to have friends. But I have seen grown women also wanting to fit into the “in-group” and desiring a really good friend. I remember a time in my life as a young mom where I wanted a good friend. God gave me those friends — and five children so that now I don’t desire a friend as much as I’m so busy!

God has made us so that we desire companionship and good friends. But we need to make sure that we have good friends — and that we are a true friend ourselves!

Here are three marks of a true friend:

  • A friend gives hearty counsel. 

Proverbs 27:9 states, “Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.”   Hearty counsel is counsel that is from the heart, counsel that is earnest and full of life. It is biblical counsel that comes from a heart of love and concern; it is offered in a state of humility and confidence. This type of friend says “I love you and I want to help you be more effective for the Lord.”  It desires a life of spiritual fruitfulness. We welcome and encourage that type of friendship. A friend who gives good counsel will keep you on the right path when you have many options from which to choose.

A true friend brings rejoicing. Proverbs 27:9

  • A friend gives good correction.

Proverbs 27:6 declares, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”  A friend who will not correct me when I am wrong is no friend at all. Since no one is perfect and it is sometimes hard to see past our blind spots, it requires others to see our faults and shortcomings. A friend who gives good correction will help you get back on the right path when you have strayed onto the wrong path. Proverbs 17:7 declares, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”  We should be able to influence each other to have the character and attitudes of Jesus.

  • A friend gives continual comfort.

Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”  The bumps of life need the shock absorber of true friends. Fair-weather friends are no friends at all. We should be there for each other in good times and bad times. We should love each other at all times. Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”  The truth is, our heart’s desire is also God’s desire for us. We love Him and then we love each other.

A true friend loves at all times

I hope this encourages you to find and to be the right kind of friend. Share these verses with your kids so that they know what to be looking for as they look for a good friend. Friends can make or break you! Let’s choose (and be) true friends!

Come link up your thoughtful posts to Thoughtful Thursdays linky party!

Here are the rules for this linky:

The thoughtful topics for your posts could be related to but not limited to the following topics:

* homemaking * homeschooling * devotional or Biblical posts * Christian in nature * family/marriage * inspirational *

  1. Do NOT link up recipes, reviews, giveaways, diy, or crafts.
  2. Link up to three posts that have not been linked up to this linky previously!
  3. We would love it if you visited a couple other posts and left a comment or shared/pinned the post!
  4. If you include your e-mail in the linky form below you will be added to a weekly reminder e-mail when the link party goes live. Your e-mail will not to added to any other lists or given out.
  5. If you wish, please follow Creative K Kids by subscribing to our newsletter or following us on social media.

If you link up, we would love if you put this button somewhere on your blog (sidebar, post, or party page) or provide a text link so that others can also find these great posts.

Creative K Kids


Thoughtful Thursdays: Religious Easter Crafts for Kids

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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  • Easter is the most important holiday of our Christian faith.

Therefore, we make a “big deal” of it in our household. It’s easy to make a big deal of it when I sing in the choir, my husband will be doing part of the readings and preaching the sermon. But we don’t want this to become a big day because it is a big day in the church. It is a big day to us personally. Christ died for me individually!

Now the kids have done 3 Easter egg hunts, will get Easter baskets, and will color Easter eggs. So to balance off the secular — because that is fun (but not the meaning of Easter), we make resurrection rolls, do devotions with Resurrection eggs, read Easter picture books such as this one, and do Easter crafts that are religious in nature (like this craft and this craft).

Last week, I shared an easy craft that could be made for Easter with the kids. I asked some other bloggers if they also had some religious crafts or fun activities that could be done for Easter, and here are just a few ideas:

14 Easter Crafts and Activities you can do with kids to help share the true meaning of Easter

  1. Free Printable Celtic Cross Coloring Page from Mama Likes This
  2. Resurrection Garden from The Farm Wife Crafts
  3. Resurrection Eggs Craft from The Farm Wife Crafts
  4. Easter family devotional to share from Adventures in Mommydom
  5. Another Easter family devotional for your family and Sunday School class from Adventures in Mommydom
  6. {Craft for Kids} Legend of the Dogwood from JDaniel4’s Mom
  7. Empty Tomb Garden DIY Easter Decor Project from Mission: To Save
  8. Easy Easter Craft for Kids for Juggling Family Life
  9. Resurrection Cross Craft for Easter from Simple at Home
  10. Resurrection Eggs Color Your Own Printable from  Simple at Home
  11. Easter Activity: Family Easter Garden from Weaving Ideas
  12. Easy Easter Cross Craft for Kids from Creative K Kids
  13. DIY Easter Tissue Paper Suncatchers (cross and printables) from Creative K Kids
  14. Cross and Egg craft using colored eggshells or tissue paper — free printables from Creative K Kids

A few other semi-related posts to Easter from last week:

Come link up your thoughtful posts to Thoughtful Thursdays linky party!

Here are the rules for this linky:

The thoughtful topics for your posts could be related to but not limited to the following topics:

* homemaking * homeschooling * devotional or Biblical posts * Christian in nature * family/marriage * inspirational *

  1. Do NOT link up recipes, reviews, giveaways, diy, or crafts.
  2. Link up to three posts that have not been linked up to this linky previously!
  3. We would love it if you visited a couple other posts and left a comment or shared/pinned the post!
  4. If you include your e-mail in the linky form below you will be added to a weekly reminder e-mail when the link party goes live. Your e-mail will not to added to any other lists or given out.
  5. If you wish, please follow Creative K Kids by subscribing to our newsletter or following us on social media.

If you link up, we would love if you put this button somewhere on your blog (sidebar, post, or party page) or provide a text link so that others can also find these great posts.

Creative K Kids


Thoughtful Thursdays: DIY Castle Crafts

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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I’m thinking VBS all the time right now.

It’s the first time our church has done VBS for a long time, and I’m in charge of it. Since we have just been at this church since June, 2016, we are going with curriculum to help make it easier. Our choice was Regular Baptist Press’s  Over the Moat: Drawbridge to the King curriculum as I have used their products before.

I would love to hear from VBS enthusiasts about what you have done that has been a big hit in your programs. We will go out in our neighborhoods the first couple of weeks in April inviting people to our church’s Easter cantata and also including flyers about the upcoming VBS summer program in June. 

So please tell me some great VBS ideas! I really do want to hear all you have to offer. Either email me (there’s a contact form at the bottom of the page or my email is in the sidebar) or leave me a comment. Do you do big prizes? big snacks? How do you draw in kids? I absolutely VBS, and want it to be a program that is well-done.

Although we ordered the curriculum, we will probably come up with crafts ourselves. If any of you are doing the same RBP curriculum, here are some good crafts that are not too difficult or expensive that will go with our castle theme. There are 5 different categories, which is perfect as there are normally 5 days of crafts. We might do some easier crafts with the younger children and save the harder crafts for the older children.

Here are 5 categories of crafts you can do that have to do with castles. Use for VBS or for a unit study.

Castle crafts:

Stained Glass Crafts:

Sword Crafts:

  • DIY Sword using cardboard cut in the shape of a sword
  • DIY Sword using inner tube of wrapping rolls

Shield Crafts:

Crown Crafts:

Come link up your thoughtful posts to Thoughtful Thursdays linky party!

Here are the rules for this linky:

The thoughtful topics for your posts could be related to but not limited to the following topics:

* homemaking * homeschooling * devotional or Biblical posts * Christian in nature * family/marriage * inspirational *

  1. Do NOT link up recipes, reviews, giveaways, diy, or crafts.
  2. Link up to three posts that have not been linked up to this linky previously!
  3. We would love it if you visited a couple other posts and left a comment or shared/pinned the post!
  4. If you include your e-mail in the linky form below you will be added to a weekly reminder e-mail when the link party goes live. Your e-mail will not to added to any other lists or given out.
  5. If you wish, please follow Creative K Kids by subscribing to our newsletter or following us on social media.

If you link up, we would love if you put this button somewhere on your blog (sidebar, post, or party page) or provide a text link so that others can also find these great posts.

Creative K Kids


DIY Dr. Seuss’s “Cat in the Hat” Hat

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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Last year, we had fun making a “Cat in the Hat” hat in my Kindergarten class.

Make a fun and easy DIY "Cat in the Hat" hat! Paper plates, construction paper, glue and a stapler is all you need!

I found the idea on Pinterest, but I made my hat bigger than the tutorial I found.

Make a fun and easy DIY "Cat in the Hat" hat!Here are the supplies you need to make the “Cat in the Hat” hat:

  1. 1 Sheet White Construction Paper, 12″ x 18″
  2. 1 Sheet Red Construction Paper, 12″ x 18″ *
  3. 2 Paper Plates, middles cut out (regular sized plates, not small ones)
  4. Glue
  5. Scissors
  6. Stapler

How to make the “Cat in the Hat” hat:

  • Draw a 2″ line across the bottom of the white construction paper (the long edge). Cut from the bottom of the paper up to the line every 2″ apart, creating tabs.
  • Fold up all of the 2″ tabs at the drawn line.
  • Cut 3 – 2″ x 18″ strips from the red construction paper.
  • Cut the center out of both of the paper plates, leaving about a 2″ brim.
  • Turn the white paper over and glue the cut red strips on to the white paper. About 1 3/4″ up from the tabs, glue the first red strip. Then skip about 1 3/4″ of white paper and glue another red strip. Then skip another 1 3/4″ of white paper and glue the last red strip to the very top 1/2″ – 1″ that is left of the white paper. 
  • Place glue on one of the short edges. Roll the completed construction paper into a cylinder, right side facing out, and glue together. I then stapled the top and bottom as far as my stapler would reach as the hat  didn’t want to stay together without the help of the staples.
  • Put glue around the edge of one plate (see pictures). Place tabs of the hat on the glue.
  • Put glue around the edge of the other plate. Put the plate over the top of the hat, glue side down. Move the plate down until it is on top of the tabs, sandwiching the tabs between the two plates creating a completed rim.
  • You may want to put a few staples around the rim to make sure everything holds together.

The “Cat in the Hat” hat is now ready to wear!

Let the kids wear the hats as you read them fun Dr. Seuss books and they eat fun snacks.

I also made these fun food items for our class to eat on our Dr. Seuss’s birthday celebration:

Easy Green Eggs and Ham for Dr. Seuss's birthday
Easy Dr. Seuss hat made out of an Oreo cookie, strawberry, and banana.

16 Favorite President’s Day Crafts, Activities & Food

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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Since today is President’s Day, I thought it would be fun to share some President’s crafts and activities. It was harder to find crafts for President’s Days than other holidays. Many of the pins on Pinterest did not go to the correct source or post, but I still managed to find 16 ideas on Pinterest that look like they would be fun to do.

Have a wonderful President’s Day!

16 different crafts, activities, and fun foods that can be done for President's Day

 


  1. President’s Day Cookies (food) — at least 11,600 pins
  2. Abraham Lincoln’s Log cabin — at least 5,100 pins
  3. Washington & Lincoln double sided craft — at least 2,900 pins
  4. Abraham Lincoln Mask Craft — at least 2,500 pins
  5. Abe Lincoln Puppet — at least 1,900 pins
  6. George Washington craft — at least, 1,400 pins
  7. 4 Presidents’ Day Crafts for Kids — at least 1,200 pins
  8. President Lincoln & Washington Toilet Paper Tube Craft for Kids — at least 1,100 pins
  9. Abraham Lincoln Printable craft — at least 1,100 pins
  10. Lincoln’s Hat Treats (food) — link no longer goes to a post, but you can see from the picture how to do it. At least 820 pins
  11. Abraham Lincoln’s Hat — at least 739 pins
  12. Presidents’ Day Log Cabin (food) — at least 700 pins
  13. Abe Lincoln Hat and George Washington wig — at least 490 pins
  14. President’s Day Abraham Lincoln Paper Plate Kid’s Craft — at least 70 pins
  15. Abraham Lincoln Plate Craft for Kids — at least 57 pins
  16. Abe Lincoln Handprint craft — at least 50 pins

Valentine’s Day Punch + DIY Upcycled Valentine’s Container

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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Thank you Tampico for sponsoring this post. Check out Tampico Products on their website.

Holidays are a big deal in our house. We go all out putting up decorations, making desserts, and having a special meal. However, our “going all out” does not mean that we spend a lot of money. Our special Christmas and Valentine’s Day Tampico Punch is very affordable, and you can use the plastic jug to make a Valentine’s Day container after you make the punch.

Make an easy punch using 3 ingredients and upcycle the #TampicoJuice jug to make a Valentines container. #ad

Here’s how we make our Valentine’s Day punch out of only 3 ingredients:

Make an easy punch using 3 ingredients -- #TampicoJuice, ginger ale, and sherbet . #ad

Pour 1/2 gallon of Tampico Tropical Fruit Punch and  1 – 2 liter of Ginger Ale into a punch bowl. Top with scoops of raspberry sherbet. 

Punch is done!!

Make an easy punch using 3 ingredients -- #TampicoJuice, ginger ale, and sherbet . #ad

After the punch is done, rinse out your Tampico jug and let it air dry. 

Now you and your child can use that jug to make a decorated Valentine’s container for your child’s Valentine’s Day party. I can see a teacher collecting these jugs before a class party, doing the first step below (cutting out the heart), and letting the kids decorate their jug themselves for a class activity.

Here’s how we made our Upcycled Valentine’s Container using a Tampico Jug:

Upcycle a plastic jug (we used a #TampicoJuice jug) to make a Valentines container. #ad

  • Rinse out jug and let dry. Remove the Tampico label. This was very easy to do as it is not sticky, so it leaves no residue and there is very little marking on the Tampico jugs.
    Upcycle a plastic jug (we used a #TampicoJuice jug) to make a Valentines container. (remove label) #ad
  • Cut out a paper heart the size you think would make a big enough opening for all the candy and valentines to fit easily into the jug.
  • Tape the heart to the side of the jug opposite the handle.
    Upcycle a plastic jug (we used a #TampicoJuice jug) to make a Valentines container. (Tape heart that is the right size onto jug) #ad
  • Use an X-acto knife to cut around the paper heart. 
    Upcycle a plastic jug (we used a #TampicoJuice jug) to make a Valentines container. (Cut around taped on heart with an X-acto knife. #ad
  • This next step is optional: I was concerned with my daughter scraping her hand getting the candy in and out of the opening, so I took the X-acto knife and cut a horizantal line from the heart on both sides to the back of the jug, leaving about an 1 1/2″ portion of plastic jug not cut. Now I could open the jug more to get our hand in the opening if desired. I do not think this step is necessary though if you make your opening big enough and your child’s hands are not too big. Make sure the jug is completely dry.
    Upcycle a plastic jug (we used a #TampicoJuice jug) to make a Valentines container. #ad
  • Decorate! We used Washi Tape and a tape that I got from JoAnn’s that is like Washi Tape called Tape Works to decorate our jug. We also placed some decorative basket filler in the bottom of our jug, and then we put some candy Grandma gave us in it.
    Upcycle a plastic jug (we used a #TampicoJuice jug) to make a Valentines container. #ad
  • My daughters had fun putting stickers on the jug. You can see the finished product up above all the directions!

We were quite happy with the results. We could have used Duck Tape or more stickers or other products as well. Be creative! To me, it was easier the jug than decorating a box.

I bought my Tampico flavors at Walmart. My Walmart had three different flavors of drink. On Tampico’s website, you can see that they have 10 different flavors of Tampico. Just think of all the possibilities for affordable, creative, fun drinks!

Thoughtful Thursdays: Show Others You Care

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I decided to go look at my old “thoughtful”  posts from February to see what I had already posted on love.

I found a post where I made some printables with some verses on love, and another post where I shared many verses that talk about God’s love.

Then I found this old post from 3 years ago that I never posted. I don’t know why it was never posted, when I had written the whole post and even added pictures and printables, but I want to share it with you today. 

This originally should have been posted a couple of weeks after Valentine’s Day, and I had titled it, “Love Does not Need to End Just Because Valentine’s Day is Over.” I left this the way I wrote it 3 years ago, and added a few notes on the bottom.

Last week, I was rebuked in my soul.

Family is very important to my husband and me. Growing up, neither one of us came from a family that was financially wealthy, but we were rich in our family’s love for each other. “Blood is thicker than water” was instilled in us at a very early age.

Now I am grown with five children of my own, and I have told people, “I may not have a lot of money, but I have five children. We may not be able to retire in style, but that’s why we have five kids–they can take care of us!”

And I would get responses such as, “That’s not the way it  is anymore.” “Kids don’t take care of their parents these days.”

And I would vehemently oppose that. I would think, “But it doesn’t have to be that way!”

Now, I know of course that sometimes parents need more help than children can give and that it is in the parent’s best interest to get them some help. I am just opposed to the idea that children don’t want to mess up their lives to take care of aging parents. I feel that it is my responsibility to do as much as I can to take care of the parents who invested their lives and money into the raising of my husband and me.

So I blithely continued on my way. And then last week, I got a wake-up call.

I decided to call my grandma who is 91. She lives eight hours away from me and her son does a great job making sure her physical needs are met. But while I’m on the call, she tells me that I am her favorite grandchild. (Shh–don’t tell my sisters and cousins!)

Now probably part of the reason for this is because I went to stay with her for a couple months right after my grandpa died unexpectedly. My grandma was only 64, and she had 50 cows to care for on the farm, hay growing up around her, fences that had to be mended, and she just lost the love of her life. Her life had revolved around him for over 40 years, and now he was suddenly gone. So as an eleven year old girl, I helped carry pails of water out to the barn dressed up in her old sweater. We would go down in the basement and stack her wood for the next winter. I would hold the hammer as she fixed the fence out in the hay fields. We would take turns pushing that old push lawnmower around her huge yarn. And we would play card games and make grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. I gave her a reason to keep living–she just couldn’t stop as she had to take care of me. She took me to church as she knew that is what my parents would have wanted–and she made new friends.

me on the farm with grandma

Pictures are grainy–but they are from 1986!

A few years ago, I also took care of her for a few weeks after she had been sick. I was the only one able to do it, but the caretakers came in my house, and she always felt a little bad about that seeing I had 3 very small children at the time.

But another reason is that I call her periodically. However, it had been two months since I had called her–and that smote me to think that she thought so highly of me, yet I was too busy to call my own grandmother who now is stuck in her house most of the week. And I say that I expect my children to take care of me some day?

How do I pass on that love for the elderly, that love for family, if I talk the talk but do not walk the walk?

Well, we had already decided that we were going to go visit some Senior Citizens who live in a retirement center right by our house for Valentine’s Day. I feel that my kids “get, get, get,” and that for Valentine’s Day, we should show some love to others that are not just their friends. So we prepared a plate of goodies for the three apartments we were going to–and I packed a box of goodies to mail to my grandma.Love gifts to the elderly

We were able to go visit these people on the Monday before Valentine’s Day, and it was such a special occasion! The one couple used to live in Germany. They were 13 years old when the war started. I can’t wait to hear their story one day. The other couple is close to 90 years old as well. They had a display of shells and sea stars under glass that the kids loved seeing, and the last lady had a teacup Maltese that my kids absolutely adored.

Visits to our elderly friends

Visits to our friends

To tell the truth, we got more of a blessing out of it than they did! Two couples have already sent us Thank You notes–talk about good manners that are lost today as well!

And what did we learn from it? That love does not have to end just because Valentine’s Day is over. We have already told them that we want to visit them more in the summer when we can have later nights and we can go outside (their apartments are small for 7 additional people–5 of them being rambunctious children!)  

I do not know for sure that my kids will care for me when I am older and frail, but I hope that they at least will have a love for the elderly and those who need help — and that is my job to teach right now!

It does not have to be complicated. It can be just a conversation, a card, a phone call, or a hug. When we went, I just took a paper plate, punched some holes in around the edge, ran some ribbon through the holes, and tied a bow at the top. I tied it up in some basket cellophane wrap that I had and attached a tag I made. I did not want my children to have the excuse that you have to go out and buy something big to go show love. Even those who do not have much can be a blessing to others.

We can still show love to others all year long!

If you would like to print out these little cards for yourself,  just click on them!

Printables that you can put on a gift to show someone you care.

Click on the picture to print.

Printables that you can put on a gift to show someone you care.

Click on the picture to print.

Update to this post:

My grandma is still alive at 94, but doesn’t remember me unless she sees me as she has dementia. She is now in a nursing home as she needs too much care for her 70 year old son to give her. 

I called her recently and said, “This is Tammy — your favorite granddaughter!” She said, “Well, I don’t know about that, but thanks for calling!” She still has a sense of humor even with her dementia. I don’t call her like I should. This post was a reminder of what I need to do as a daughter and granddaughter. 

The husband of the couple that I mentioned that we went to see from Germany just passed away a couple of weeks ago. What a sweet couple they were!

Now we live in Florida and are in a church that is comprised of 60% of the congregation being over the age of 65. Before Christmas, another mom and I were taking 1-2 of our children weekly to go visit different elderly people in our church who needed encouragement. They are so kind and loving and full of wisdom. We need to start going on visits again. We also go swimming in a couple of the pools that are owned by elderly widows in our church. They have become 2nd moms/grandmas to our family. 

 

Things come and go. Relationships and people are what matter. Take time to nurture the people in your life!

Make a gift for someone that shares you care. It doesn't have to be expensive! It just takes a paper plate, hole punch, ribbon, some goodies, and these free printables. The heart printables are perfect for Valentine's Day, but they can be used all year long!

Here are some other Valentine’s Day posts you may be interested in viewing:

Here are a couple of posts I enjoyed last week:

Come link up your thoughtful posts to Thoughtful Thursdays linky party!

Here are the rules for this linky:

The thoughtful topics for your posts could be related to but not limited to the following topics:

* homemaking * homeschooling * devotional or Biblical posts * Christian in nature * family/marriage * inspirational *

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  2. Link up to three posts that have not been linked up to this linky previously!
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If you link up, we would love if you put this button somewhere on your blog (sidebar, post, or party page) or provide a text link so that others can also find these great posts.

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75+ FREE Printable Valentines

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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If you are like me, you like to make your own Valentines for parties, but you don’t want to search and search for the perfect Valentine.

I found over 75 Valentines that can be printed off and done at home.

Over 75 Valentine Card ideas that can be printed at home!

There are so many ideas, I don’t know which ones we will choose! Since I have 5 kids, there are ones that will make all of them happy.

I found all of these on Pinterest, so all of the links except one will take you to Pinterest, and then you can click on the link which will take you to the blog post. One of the links on Pinterest did not take you to the blog post, so I found the blog post and included it instead of the Pinterest link. I do check all of the links, and if they do not work, I do not include them.

On the top, you can see the picture links, but I’ve also included text links below the pictures. Have fun!


  1. Tic Tac Toe Valentine’s Day Card — at least 64,600 pins
  2. Have a Kool Valentine’s Day Printables — at least 58,200 pins
  3. Share the Love: I’m beary happy you’re in my class — at least 49,500 pins 
  4. Glow Stick Valentine Candy Free Card for Kids and Free Printable — at least 41,900 pins
  5. Free Printable Smarties Valentines — at least 37,100 pins
  6. Valentine Donut Printables — at least 34,700 pins
  7. You’re the “Balm” Valentine’s Day Card Printable — at least 26,600 pins
  8. Printable Religious Valentine Cards for Kids — at least 24,600 pins
  9. Goldfish Crackers Printable Valentine Cards — at least 24,200 pins
  10. Printable Starburst Valentine Cards — at least 22,200 pins
  11. Valentine Heart Bookmarks to Print and Color — at least 21,000 pins
  12. Starburst Valentine Label Topper (goes to the blog as the Pinterest link was not right) — at least 20,100 pins
  13. Free Printable Valentine “You Make My Heart Race” Valentines  — at least 17,500 pins
  14. Friendship Bracelet Valentines — at least 17,000 pins
  15. You’re AwesomeSAUCE, Valentine — at least 16,200 pins
  16. Star Wars Valentine’s Day Cards for Kids — at least 15,700 pins
  17. Printable Valentines cards with Skittles — at least 15,600 pins
  18. Printable Valentine: Have a Colorful Valentine’s Day — at least 14,600 pins
  19. “you’re exSTRAW special” easy printable Valentine’s Day card — at least 14,400 pins
  20. Printable Star Wars Valentine’s — at least 13,000 pins
  21. Free Printable Valentines For Kids — at least 11,600 pins
  22. Free Hotwheels printable! {Valentines for boys!} — at least 10,500 pins
  23. One in a Melon Valentine for Kids {Free Printable} — at least 10,400 pins
  24. Printable Star Wars Valentine’s Day Cards — at least 10,400 pins
  25. Printable Kid’s Valentine — at least 9,400 pins
  26. You’re All That and a Bag of Chips Printable Valentine — at least 7,700 pins
  27. Free printable Valentine cards — at least 7,000 pins
  28. You’re A-MAZE-ing Free Printables — at least 6,400 pins
  29. LEGO Valentine’s Day Cards – Printable — at least 5,600 pins
  30. Free Printable Valentine Paper Fortune Cookies — at least 4,900 pins
  31. Bubbles Valentine & Free Printable — at least 4,300 pins
  32. Printable Pokemon Cards — at least 4,200 pins
  33. Free Printable Valentine’s Day Cards for Kids with Owls and Birds — at least 4,100 pins
  34. Pencil Arrow Valentines — at least 3,900 pins
  35. Orange  You Glad Printable Valentines— at least 3,500 pins
  36. Homemade Valentines? Check! Grab this printable Pencil Arrow themed Valentine’s Day cards. — at least 3,400 pins
  37. Hey Smartie! Printable Valentine — at least 2,900 pins
  38. Free Printable Dinosaur Valentines — at least 2,800 pins
  39. Heart Stamper Non-Candy Valentine with Printable — at least 2,600 pins
  40. Finding Dory Valentine – Free Printable — at least 2,600 pins
  41. Disney’s Frozen Free Printable Valentines — at least 2,600 pins
  42. Free Printable Valentine’s Day Chocolate Bar Wraps — at least 2,500 pins
  43. Kids Printable Valentines Using Extra Gum! — at least 2,400
  44. Emoji Printable Valentines — at least 2,300 pins
  45. I Like You Beary Much Valentine Printable — at least 2,200 pins
  46. Free Printable Pokemon Valentine’s Day Cards – 6 Designs with Lollipops! — at least 1,800 pins
  47. Free Star Wars Valentines Printables — at least 1,700 pins
  48. John 3:16 Printable Valentines with Globe Keychains — at least 1,600 pins
  49. Printable Pop Rocks Valentine’s Day Gift Tags — at least 1,300 pins
  50. You Make My Heart Pop! Valentine’s Day Idea — at least 1,200 pins
  51. Playdough Valentines — at least 1,200 pins
  52. Free Flashlight Valentine Printables — at least 1,100 pins
  53. Modern Lego Printable Valentines — at least 1,100 pins
  54. DIY Fishbowl Valentine Printable — at least 1,100 pins
  55. Free Valentines with Bubbles Printable for Kids — at least 1,100 pins
  56. Free Valentine’s Day Printables: Donut Labels — at least 1,000 pins
  57. Free Printable Car Valentine Card — at least 1,000 pins
  58. Free Printable Valentine Lunch Box Jokes — at least 950 pins
  59. Butterfly Printable Valentines — at least 946 pins
  60. Free Printable Valentine’s Coloring Bookmarks — at least 900 pins
  61. Free Printable Valentine’s – With Bible Verses — at least 851 pins
  62. Free Star Wars Printable Valentines Cards Idea with DIY Pencil Lightsaber — at least 770 pins
  63. Free Printable Valentine’s Treat Tags — at least 655 pins
  64. 8 DIY Non-Food Valentines for Kids — at least 563 pins (You can find these here on Creative K Kids)
  65. Applesauce Valentine Printable — at least 554 pins
  66. Dino-mite Valentines — at least 530 pins
  67. Rice Krispies “Treat” Valentines with free Printable Tags — at least 399 pins
  68. Tic Tac “Mint to Be” Classroom Valentine’s — at least 361 pins
  69. Free Printable Emoji Valentines — at least 354 pins
  70. Printable Bookmark Valentines — at least 345 pins
  71. Printable Classroom Valentines — I Like How You Roll — at least 344 pins
  72. Star Wars Printable Valentines — at least 326 pins
  73. Simple Sunglasses Printable Valentine — at least 322 pins
  74. Heart Tangram Printable Valentine Cards — at least 287 pins
  75. Color by Number Printable Valentine — at least 257 pins
  76. Printable Valentine Cards with Crayon Hearts — at least 250 pins (Find this printable HERE on Creative K Kids)
  77. Printable Frozen Valentine’s Day — at least 100 pins (Find this printable HERE on Creative K Kids)

Websites where I share my giveaways:

Blog Giveaway Directory

Giveaway Monkey

DISCLAIMER
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Amazon Affiliate:

Tammy Doiel (Creative K Kids) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
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