Printable Lenten Calendar for Kids

In my search for Lenten activities for my Sunday School class I found this Printable Lenten Calendar for Kids and thought some of my readers may enjoy it as well.  It's a great visual for kids to countdown to Easter Sunday.  It's also available in several languages.  :)

click here to download this calendar

Enjoy! 



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Pencil Valentines with [Cutie Cupid Tag] Free Printable

Creating just the "right" class valentine is hard work especially with a 6 year old little boy who has his own opinions of what he wants his valentines to look like.  I jokingly told him (but I was somewhat serious) that "your older brother never did this to me, he always liked my valentine ideas." -- ha!  He's a chip off of the old block and loves to throw out crafting ideas.  Remember his Football Heart Valentines from last year and the Dinosaur Valentines from 2011?  This year was no different.  
This year….he was insistent to give a pencil to each of his friends.  We played around with different ideas of how to create our valentines that we could incorporate a pencil and finally settled on the one I'll show you in this post.   For the base of the treat holder I'm using the Trifold Card Die from My Creative Time.  The adorable little cupid guy is from My Cute Graphics.  

Download this cutie cupid tag here.  <---

Tri-fold Card Die by My Creative Time

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--> BLAST FROM THE PAST <--
If you're looking for another idea with this sentiment here is one Spencer and I created several years ago and we also have a video tutorial to go along with it.  :)

Just Write for Me Valentine

You Rock Valentine

Valentine Tractor School Box

Tractor Goodie Bags

Sharing with some of these linking parties this week! The Gunny Sack ~ Strut Your Stuff ~ Craft-O-Maniac ~  ~ That's What Che Said ~ Keeping It Simple ~ Young & Crafty ~  ~ Somewhat Simple ~ Tater Tots & Jello ~ Home Stories AtoZ ~  ~ A Diamond in the Stuff ~ Lil' Luna ~ Create & Inspire ~ Purple Pumpkin Blog Pin It

Christian Valentines with Free Printables

I {love} Valentine's Day crafts -- I think it's one of my favorites to plan for.  For my Sunday School kids I found these fun Valentines for their treat bags….and thought I'd share them with you too.  

Valentine Cards

Valentine Memory Cards

Remember these fun paper catchers.  You fold the paper and ask the person a number, you count that number of times with the folded paper, then read them the special message.  

Valentine Catchers

Free Printable Valentines with Bible Verses

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Elf on the Shelf ~ A Christmas Tradition! Linky Party

  I must have been hiding under a rock all of these years because 2011 was the first holiday season that I ever heard about the Elf on the Shelf Christmas tradition.  Yes, where have I been??  Last year….it was a little late in the season to get started so I figured I'd wait until this year to get our family a kit.  So I was thrilled when I saw them at a local shop (I paid $29.99 +tax) and am now searching online and pinterest for ideas to get our Elf as part of the family.  

Here's the story behind the tradition…..
Adapted from Wikipedia - the online dictionary Every day from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve, each family's scout elf watches over the children and then at night, once everyone goes to bed, the elf flies back to the North Pole to report back to Santa about what activities, good and bad, took place throughout the day. Before the family wakes up each morning, the scout elf flies back from the North Pole and hides. By hiding in a new spot each morning around the house, the scout elf and the family play an on-going game of hide and seek. The Elf on the Shelf explains that elves get their magic by being named. In the back of each book, families have an opportunity to write their elf's name and the date that they adopted it. Once the elf is named, the scout elf receives its special Christmas magic which allows it to fly to and from the North Pole. However, the magic might go if touched, so the rule for The Elf on the Shelf states: "There's only one rule that you have to follow so I will come back and be here tomorrow: Please do not touch me. My magic might go, and Santa won't hear all I've seen or I know." Although families aren't supposed to touch their scout elf, they can talk to it and tell it all their Christmas wishes so it can report back to Santa accurately. [read the rest of the story here>>]

I figure that our Elf on the Shelf kit will "arrive" around Thanksgiving Day addressed to Spencer (my 6 year old).  I'm going to wrap it in kraft paper and "address" it to Spencer….leaving it in a safe place near the backdoor for him to "find".  It's all in fun!  Since it has a story book included I think this will be a wonderful start to our holiday season.  Spencer will get to name our Elf and learn all about the tradition.    I'm planning to get my oldest son involved in some of the moving of our Elf.  I'm not sure if our Elf will participate in mischief because I don't want to confuse Spencer ….but I'll see how it goes.  I know some may not agree that the Elf should do mischief -- but that's the beauty of the tradition; you can make it what you want it to be.       I've collected a few ideas for our Elf on the Shelf tradition and thought I'd share them with you too. Pinterest Elf on the Shelf Ideas  

  I can't wait to share our journey with our Elf on the Shelf (yet to be named).   If you have ideas, pictures to share or posts you've written please share them on the linky party below. Elf on the Shelf Links only please =)
        graphic credits: My Cute Graphics



Sharing with these linking parties this week! Pin It