How to Make Your Own Crayons

Pinterest has this ability to convince us that we just might start carrying out these intricate and extravagant and amazing activities with our kiddos...but listen, don't pin ideas that you'll never do...pin the gems that are easy to implement...things you can do with stuff you already have on hand.

For example, check out how we made our own crayons!

I had spotted this idea on Pinterest some time ago, so over the course of several months, I collected our old, broken, junky crayons. (Yes, those of you who know about my fear of clutter are probably shocked I held on to them!)

When I felt I had gathered enough crayons (a sandwich size Ziploc bag full), I decided it was time to do this project. I rounded up a cookie sheet, a couple of silicone molds, and some cooking spray.

Then I got my crew together and enlisted their help! Their job was to peel all of the paper off of the crayons. I had a feeling they would get bored with this and I would be left to do the job myself, but they actually had a great time with this step. 

We had quite the mess on our hands, but my kiddos were excited to see what we were going to do next.

Daddy helped us break the crayons into to smaller piece - approximately 1 inch pieces and smaller.

Then we sprayed our molds with cooking spray (I've been told you definitely don't want to forget this step!) and started filling the molds with crayons...

...making sure to include a fun variety of colors in each section.

Then we placed the molds on the cookie sheet and popped them in the oven.

We let them bake at 300 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. This was much longer than some of the pins I had found recommended. I think it depends on your molds...and your crayons...and your oven...etc.

When it looks as if the crayons were mostly melted (soupy in appearance), we pulled the tray out of the oven and allowed them to cool on the counter (away from little hands!). 

We left them there until they had hardened. 

You could also place your molds in the fridge once they have cooled a bit.

Once they had hardened, we popped our new crayons out of the molds...

...and they were gorgeous!

We couldn't help but start coloring with them right away!

Note: Make sure your silicone molds are oven safe. It seemed that one of our was, but one of ours technically wasn't - so just a heads up on that. Also know that your molds may be permanently stained...but we figure we will just use them to make more crayons in the future.

Follow All Kinds of Things's board Preschool Resources on Pinterest.

Dinner and a Book

An easy way to include literacy activities in to your everyday routines is to read books at mealtime. 

Is mealtime crazy at your house? 

Books have been a great way to bring a little bit of calm to our dinner table, and if your kids are active like mine, it may be one of the few times, you can actually catch them sitting during the day.

Dinner and a Book

Choose a book and then find a fun food item to go with it...Or choose a fun food item and then find a book to go with it...either way works!

For this particular activity, I grabbed this Zoo Pasta from Tuesday Morning and then found an animal book (from our personal library) to read along with it. 

Animal 123 by David Wojtowcyz

Animal night was a hit, and you can do this with just about any theme!

Language Arts...Math...Fun Food...it was all there!

Interested in some fresh reading material? Check out your local library!

For more ideas: How to Build a Great Collection of Books for Your Kids

Painting with Cookie Cutters

Painting with cookie cutters is so much fun and the options are endless when it comes to using them for teaching and learning:

Demonstrate to your child how to dip each cookie cutter in an appropriate amount of paint. 

*For this activity, we usually put paint out on paper plates or small foil pans.* 

Allow them to dip & stamp.

*White drawing paper or construction paper works great for this activity. 

Letters

Numbers

Shapes

Animals

Seasonal Designs 

Grab any kind of cookie cutter - plastic or metal - and let them get started!

Wrap-a-Box Art Activity

Looking for a simple activity that will engage your little artist? This Wrap-a-Box Art Activity has been a lot of fun for the little hands that live in my house!

Step #1 - Grab a box - any size will do. 

Step #2 - Wrap it in white or brown craft paper. 

Step #3 - Give your kids the freedom to decorate the wrapped box however they choose!

Let them use crayons, markers, paper, glue, felt, foam, pom poms - The sky's the limit.

Do your kiddos have a set of Mr. Sketch markers? They are perfect for this activity!

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Free Homeschool Pre-school Printables

If you follow along with me on Pinterest, you know I have a board called Pre-school Resources - This is a working board where I pin ideas that I plan to incorporate in to our Pre-school Home School routines. I try to refrain from pinning things that I know realistically will not fit in to our approach. It's tough to pass up some of those pretty pictures out there, but I try to stick with things that I know I can actually make happen in real life. 

Recently, I have been going back through some of the great pins I have found over the past few months, and I've been printing and laminating - all in preparation for our oldest's upcoming four-year-old year of homeschool pre-school.

Homeschooling a Three-Year Old

I want to share some of my favorite gems with you today! 

All of these printables are free and easy to download/print. 

[One] These A-Z Dot Pages are a great reinforcement activity - even for little ones who already know their alphabet! Love Dot Activities!
If you don't have the Do-A-Dot markers, you can grab some here.

[Two] I have really enjoyed looking through all of the great ideas from In My World. 

Some of the printables are free, but some are not. 

I have found lots of great ideas as well as several free printables that I love!

[Three] These Matching Puzzle Card Sets are great quality! Laminate them to use time and time again!
If you are looking for a great laminator, we love this one!

CVC Matching Puzzle Cards

and

Basic Sight Words

[Four] Shape Mats

20 Pack of Playdoh Available Here

[Five] These Number Worksheets offer a lot of great variety that is perfect for little hands.
Colorful Counting Chips Available Here

[Six] Money Booklets
Double-Sided Magnetic Money Available from Learning Resources

20 Ways to Play & Learn with Coins

[Seven] The sky is the limit with this Rainbow Math Mat! So many great options for math practice~
12-Pack of Colorful Dice Available Here

For more great printables as well as creative ideas for Language Arts Activities, Math Explorations, Science Experiments, Art Projects, and more:

Follow All Kinds of Things's board Preschool Resources on Pinterest.

Today, I'm joining in on a Back-to-School Blog Hop!
Be sure to check out what my co-hosts are sharing as well:

3+ Ways to Show Love to Your Kids in School from Garay Treasures
Count Me In Giveaway from Abiding In Grace
Back to School Tips for Moms from Our Pretty Little Girls
Back to School Boy Style from BYBMG
Tips for Using Your Local Library from Our Life on a Budget
Discovery Puzzles from Polka-Dotty Place
10 Bible Verses to Encourage the Student Athlete from While I'm Waiting
 First Day of School Printable from Morning Motivated Mom
Preparing an Anxious Child from Almond Place
  Tips to Stay Organized With School from Living In This Season

Ever heard of back-to-school parties? Check out this fun inspiration!

Teaching Children to Memorize Scripture

 I am passionate about teaching my children to memorize Scripture, because I know what a powerful impact it had on me as a child!

Teaching Children to Memorize Scripture

Opportunities for Memorization:

We have made Scripture Memorization a part of our daily Home School Routine. For Caleb's three-year old year, we memorized Psalm 23 and portions of Luke 2 (around the holidays). For this coming year, we have started to memorize Psalm 100 and [around the holidays] will revisit portions of Luke 2 - continuing to review Psalm 23 as well. Notice we have only chosen one passage on which to focus each year. This gives us the opportunity to truly meditate on the verses in the passage, but it also keeps us from getting overwhelmed as Scripture memory is also a focus in some of the other programs in which my kids are involved. 

David and I are passionate that our children be involved in a church program that includes a strong focus on Scripture Memorization. Between the months of August-May, they are also involved in faith-based pre-school classes that include Scripture memory in their weekly routines. These verses are reviewed and reviewed and reviewed week after week after week in an effort to make sure they really stick. This makes all the difference!

This coming fall, we are planning to enroll our oldest in Awana. If this program is offered in your area, I would highly recommend it. As a kid, I always enjoyed it, and I am hopeful that my kids will be able to be a part of it for many years to come. 

Practice Ideas: 

Read Aloud - Whether you have chosen a single verse or an entire passage of Scripture to focus on with your children, read it aloud together a lot. Have lots of Bibles around your living space - not simply to collect dust, but to be used! Read your verse(s) aloud before meals...before bedtime...while you're sitting in the car...while you're waiting at the doctor. For most kids, this alone will be enough for them to quickly memorize the passage you have chosen for them. This is all it took for our oldest to memorize Psalm 23...in less than two weeks...just after he turned three. It is amazing what kids are capable of doing - Don't be afraid to set the bar high!

Perform - Our kids love acting things out, putting on puppet shows, making videos of themselves on their tablet. We have started to incorporate Bible memory practice in to these activities, and they love it. 

Share - Our kids are always excited to call or Skype with their grandparents! As they learn new verses, they love sharing them with their family in this way, and we enjoy watching them get to celebrate their accomplishments.

Resources We Love:

Scripture Music - While there are so many incredible resources out there, my absolute favorite is Steve Green's Hide 'em In Your Heart Collection. Even as an adult, I will oftentimes find myself singing these that I learned when I was a little girl.

You Tube/iTunes - There are so many great little songs/videos available on-line that are fun to use for Scripture Memory practice. My kids especially like watching other kids recite a specific passage they are learning. Find something that works for your kids, and go with it!

Pinterest - Pinterest is full of creative ideas and helpful resources! While Pinterest can be helpful, it can also be overwhelming. So find a few things that you think will work for you - Be realistic, and remember to keep this fun for you as well! 

When I find great resources that I love, I like to pin them to this board:

(I especially like the ABC Bible Card Sets - Some of them are free to print!)

Follow All Kinds of Things's board Resources for Family/Classroom from "All Kinds of Things" on Pinterest.

While learning Scripture can be fun and while children do learn quickly, this is something that is going to require energy and effort on your part! In order to be consistent, it will need to be a priority, and you will need to be prepared for distractions that will come your way....and they will come. Satan does not want to see you or your children tucking God's Word away in your heart, because He knows the power it holds. 

David and I are wholeheartedly committed to desperately fighting for the hearts of our children, and we believe that this is part of that. We do not want our children to base their beliefs [and their choices] solely on tradition...or their feelings...or their experiences...or their thoughts. We want them to base these things on God's truth - viewing all of life through that lens. 

As our children grow and mature and eventually leave our nest, we want them understand that there is one and only one thing that will bring true, long-lasting comfort when they face trials...and trials will come. We want them to know where to find peace during stressful situations, answers when they have questions, healing when their hearts are breaking, victory when they are struggling, freedom when they face addictions. We want them to know that God's promises are true and they are flowing for them to embrace all throughout their life.

While lessons in these areas may look a little different for each family, 

here are a few additional resources that have worked great for us:

Pom Pom Painting

My kiddos love to paint, and I get excited when I come across simple ways to make it extra-fun for them! When I discovered the idea of Pom Pom Painting, I knew it would be something fun to try!

I gathered a mini-muffin tin, finger paints, clothes pins, and pom-poms.

I clipped each pom pom with a clothespin - and we used the red pom pom for the red paint, the blue pom pom for the blue paint, etc. 

My kiddos loved this free-painting activity! They made polka dots, lines, squiggles, and more! 

Older children may like to get even more creative (and use lots more colors). 

I love that I already had these supplies on hand - which made it quick and easy to put together!

Up for more pom pom fun? 

Try this super easy Pom Pom Sorting activity!

Be sure to check out my favorite art supplies for kids!

Educational Ice Cubes

There are so many fun silicone molds available these days, and I was especially excited to find some that featured letters and numbers! 

Educational Ice Cubes

I prepared two different measuring cups of water and allowed my pre-schooler to help mix in the food coloring colors of his choice. 

I then let him help me fill the molds and pop them in the freezer.

A few hours later, we popped out our "ice cubes". 

We watched them melt in various temperatures of water as well as directly on a plate. 

He loved this super fun sensory experience - and we had the chance to practice our [letters and] numbers in the process.

Love sensory activities as much as we do? 

Check out some of our favorites!

Homeschool Pre-school at the Beach? Why not!

Follow All Kinds of Things's board Preschool Resources on Pinterest.

Homeschool Pre-school at the Beach

When we head to the beach, there is one little extra bag we bring along for our little ones: 

We pack a bag of beach-themed books and activities that are perfect for keeping little ones engaged during down-time in the condo. 

When it's time to prep meals...or when one little one is resting and the other one is awake...or when kiddos are waiting on grownups to get ready to head out...this bag of goodies comes in handy!

The teacher in me can not help but consider educational activities that fit right in to the homeschool pre-school activities we typically do. 

Ever considered carrying your homeschool pre-school routines over in to your beach vacation? 

Keep it laid-back, fun, low-key, creative, all of those things, and I promise you will never again leave home without your little bag of activities. 

Homeschool Pre-school at the Beach

Beach-Themed Books...

A few of our favorites...

A few more of our favorites...

Visit Amazon for these favorite titles:

Commotion in the Ocean

There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell

Clark the Shark: Tooth Trouble

Harry by the Sea

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed the Sea 

A huge thank you to Shelton Interactive for sending over this gorgeous new Graham Blanchard board book by Callie Grant!

I love the vibrant language...

the gorgeous illustrations...

the realistic scenes...

that remind me of a day at the beach with my crew.

It has been the perfect addition to our beach bag!

Order Here

A festive beach-themed plate can be fun for little ones to bring along in their bag as well.

(Though we typically use lots of paper products when traveling.)

Ready-to-put-together paper crafts...

(Check the VBS section at your favorite craft store!)

tinsy, tiny paint canvases...

(I found this little one at Wal-mart.)

sticker activities...

(Isn't the Dollar Store fun for these kinds of things?)

watercolor books...

(This is the Melissa & Doug Paint with Water Ocean Book.)

cutting practice pages.

(This is a snapshot from our favorite I Can Cut Workbook.)

Don't forget the following:

crayons/markers

small watercolor set

safety scissors

glue stick

and you'll be all set!

Psst...Don't forget the seashells! These will typically be waiting at the beach for you, and they are the perfect objects to use for counting, sorting, classifying, etc.

Don't forget to bring your favorites home with you. Over the years, our favorite shells...just our favorites...have been added to jars like this and displayed around our house. 

Oh yes, the sand will be there waiting for you as well - Use that for handwriting practice, drawing shapes, creating art!

The sky's the limit~

While we love spending time at the beach, we also love the mountains as well! 

We also pack a bag for that trip as well - same idea just a different theme.

**Some of the activities included in these themed bags are also perfect for mini-van travel!**

Homeschooling a Three-Year Old

Looking for more ideas for traveling with little ones?