Crafts: Noah's Ark Paper Plate Craft

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Materials

• crayons (or paints, markers, etc.)
• paper plates
• scissors
• glue sticks 
• optional (pictures of animals) 

Steps

1. Introduce the story of Noah's Ark to your child(ren) with appropriate materials. I have listed some materials at the end of this post to help you get started.

2. You will need two plates per child.  One plate for the background and one to form the boat and rainbow. Cut one plate in half and cut that half to form the boat and rainbow.

3. Color the plates. The larger, intact one should be colored blue for the sky and water.  The boat and rainbow can be colored appropriate colors (or whatever color you little ones would like to use).

Coloring the sky and water. 

Coloring the boat.

4. Glue the boat and rainbow onto the larger plate.

Getting all the necessary materials. 

5. Optional. Before gluing the boat onto the paper plate, your child can attach animals to the plate to ride in the boat. Children can either draw their own animals or find pictures to glue onto their craft. 

2 year old's finished project. 

Resources

123 Homeschool 4 Me's Noah's Ark Craft
Arsty Craftsy Mom's Noah's Ark Craft

Looking for More Paper Plate Crafts? 

Our children have made paper plate pigs, snakes, and chicks.

Learning about the Four Seasons and Building Fine Motor Skills

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Studying the four seasons, especially if you live in an area where the temperature and seasons do not drastically change may not always be easy. To help our children understand and learn about the four seasons, we created different Seasons Bottles together.

Materials

• clean, clear plastic bottles
• pom-poms
• shells (The ones I used were from a collection I had for years. I did not purchase any for this project.)
• sand
• raffia
• ribbon
• snowflake sequins
• artificial leaves
• artificial flowers 
• small Christmas ornaments 
• glue (hot glue gun) 

While completing the project, there are many ways you can expand this beyond just talking about the four seasons. For example:

• You could count out the number of items you are using in each Seasons Bottle
• Compare and contrast the shapes and sizes of items used
• Use the same items for each but in different colors or designs (for example red & green pom-poms for the winter one with yellow ones for the summer one) 
• Listen to the sounds the items make in the bottle as you gently shake it 
• Use items that require cutting and have your child practice using scissors 
• Use different stickers to decorate the outside of the bottles

Winter

My son helped put the items in for winter including snowflake ribbon and red and green pom-poms.

Autumn

My daughter helped with the Autumn bottle by putting in orange raffia, leaf ribbon, and orange and brown pom-poms.

Spring 

This one is still waiting to be completed as we gather materials for it. What items would you include? 

Summer 

We placed small sea shells in this bottle and when we get sand from our next trip the shore, we will put some of that in the bottle as well. 

If your children are older, you can have them collect the various items from your home, the store, and neighborhood for your seasons bottles. 

After they are completed, I would recommend gluing the lids onto the bottles.  

Resources 

Mama. Papa, Bubba. Season Sensory Bottles. 

Sun Hats and Wellie Boots Discovery Bottles: Four Seasons 

Looking for more activities? 

Creating activities for younger children can be fun and exciting but all your projects do not need to look like the fancy ones you may find on Pinterest. As long as you and your children are having fun and learning, then you are creating happy memories. 

I created weather-themed bottles that are similar to these for the seasons as well as projects with felt and ribbons to help them build their fine motor skills.  And don't forget there are many more ways in which children build their fine motor skills from sorting buttons or beads to playing with clay. Learning can take place every day! 

Crafts: Veggie Tales Cardboard Tubes

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For my son's fourth birthday party, we held a Veggie Tales themed party.  As there are not many options for decorations, I created a lot on my own.

These cardboard roll Veggie Tales characters can be made with or without your children's help.  I painted them all myself but your child could easily do the painting and even the decorating depending upon their age.

Materials

• clean cardboard tubes of various sizes
• paint 
• paint brushes 
• construction paper
• markers 
• scissors 

Laura, Mr. Nezzer, Mr. Lunt, and Madame Blueberry 

Steps

1. Gather your materials.

2. Paint your rolls (depending on which characters you want to create, you will need different colors).
Green: Larry, Peas, Mr. Nezzer, Pa Grape, Archibald, Petunia, Junior, the scallions
Red: Bob
Orange: Laura, Jimmy, Scooter, the Peach
Blue: Madame Blueberry
Yellow: Mr. Lunt and Jerry

3. After your rolls are dry, draw faces on your characters.

4. Cut out needed materials for your characters and attach them to the dry, painted rolls.

Larry, Bob, and the French Peas 

We used our characters as decorations and after the party the children have been playing with them.  After almost two weeks, they are still in pretty good shape considering they are just cardboard.

Jimmy and Jerry Gourd

Pa Grape and Archibald 

Petunia and Scooter 

Resources

I saw this image on Pinterest and thought, hey I can make those!
My Party Ideas - Veggie Tales Pinterest Board.
Official Veggie Tales Webpage

We have enjoyed all these movies together as a family!

I linked up with the following blog(s):

Crafts: Veggie Tales Balloons

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We celebrated my son's fourth birthday with a Veggie Tales themed party.  Since their party items are a bit harder to find and those I did find, were a little too expensive for our budget, I made a lot of decorations for his party myself.

These are our Veggie Tales Balloons.  I used 7 inch and 9 inch balloons.  We also made others for the porch including Jimmy and Jerry Gourd.

Larry Cucumber 

Bob the Tomato 

French Peas 

close-up of Mr. Nezzer 

Pa Grape and Mr. Nezzer 

Scooter and Archibald Asparagus 

close-up of Archibald Asparagus

Mr. Lunt

Junior Asparagus 

The characters who wear hats (like Mr. Lunt and Pa Grape) as well as the asparagus were a little more complicated to draw.  Mr. Lunt was especially difficult as he doesn't have any eyes because they are always covered up by his hat, hair, or something else in the cartoon.

Resources 

Little Lamb Gallery Inspiration's Veggie Tale Party 
Crafty Geek Mom's Veggie Tale Party 
My Pinterest Party Ideas - Veggie Tales 

Here are some Veggie Tales items for your little one.  (P.S. I really liked Celery Night Fever.  Very funny.)

Looking for more Veggie Tales posts? We also created cute stained glass to decorate the windows, cardboard tubes, as well as other decorations and games for our son's birthday party.

Homeschool Quest: What Does It Take to be a Good Student?

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If your child is homeschooled or attends a public or private school, there are still some common tips that will help them become a good student. I am sharing a modified version of my Class Rules and Expectations from the years I was a high school teacher. 

Daily routine

Following a daily routine is a good first step into being a good student.  

• Be punctual
• Have all necessary materials at hand 
• Be aware of what is required each day - read instructions, listen to verbal directions, or begin a daily activity
• If applicable…have homework ready to be turned in or checked. If you need to turn it in via an online system, make sure you click that 'button' that turns it in for you. 

Class Rules 

If you attend school, almost all teachers have the same rules. And even if you are homeschooled, some of these will still apply (while others will obviously not apply to a homeschool setting):

1.     Respect each other and your teacher.

2.     One person speaks at a time.

3.     Be prepared to contribute to class each day.

4.     Plagiarism is not tolerated.

5.     Unacceptable language and discriminatory or threatening remarks are not tolerated.

6.     All rules and polices are as laid out in your school's student handbook. 

Other ways to be respectful in a classroom:

1)   If you have a textbook or other course books, bring them to class and maintain them. Bringing your books is important because they are good references and having them covered helps protect it for the future and against any fines you might incur.

2)    Please do not bring food or drinks into the classroom.  Most schools do not allow you to have these items in your classroom.  Plus if it spills, your room might attract insects or other pests which are no fun to be around.

3)    Please leave cell phones in your lockers or have them switched off during class unless your teacher is asking you to use them for class. Every phone has a silent option and I recommend you leave yours silent.  If your teacher asks you to use your cellphone for an assignment, use it for the assignment and not to check social media, sports news or to text your friend or family member. In almost all cases, you will be able to wait 40 minutes until the end of class to see what your best friend wanted to tell you.

4)    Please do not open or put on lotion, perfume, cologne or hair spray in the classroom. This is just a respectful way to show your classmates and your teachers that you see the classroom as a place to learn and not a place to beautify yourself.  Plus some of your classmates or teachers may be allergic to certain scents.  

Plagiarism

Do NOT plagiarize. Do NOT copy from another student, website, or book.  Your work must be original.  All projects should be accompanied by a work cited page or bibliography. If you think someone might accuse you of copying, create a work cited page even if it is not needed. 

Class Requirements

If you attend public or private school or a course at a homeschool co-op, you will need certain items for each class or teacher. 

What you do you need for class?  Listen to your teacher and buy what they request. They often have reasons why they like certain things like a three-ring binder to a 5-subject notebook. For example, when I taught World History, I required my students to have a three-ring binder because we had lots of worksheets to include in our unit studies.  

If you can't afford the class requirement, ask for help.  Your teacher may have extra materials.  

Organization is a must when it comes to wanting to get good grades or just passing that class.  Find a system that works for you (and that doesn’t mean leaving everything on the bottom of your backpack or locker). 

Being a Good Student Contract

Most teachers require you to sign a class contract or keep a copy of the class rules in your folder or notebook. These are some basic guidelines that will help you excel as a student if you follow them daily. 

1)      I will be ready to work.

2)      I will follow directions the first time they are given.

3)      I will bring all necessary materials to class including:

a.    a pen or pencil

b.    my three-ring binder, notebook, loose-leaf paper, etc

c.    my homework

d.    my textbook covered

e.    other materials as requested. 

4)      I will always try.

5)      If I am absent, it is my responsibility to:

a.      get the notes from a classmate or my teacher before/after school.

b.      turn in homework from the date of my absence(s).

c.      schedule a quiz or test make up.

d.      pick up new homework or worksheets.

6)      I will not plagiarize or copy for anyone (including my classmates, siblings, friends, books, or the Internet).

Every tip or suggestion may not apply to every child but they are a good place to start on one's journey to becoming a good student. 

If you are looking for more assistance in education or homeschooling, you might enjoy my posts on back to school essentials, homeschooling a high school student, or top five tips for studying history.