Paper Plate Hanukkah Menorah

My Nanny Kids loved making this paper plate menorah for Hanukkah. Let the kids paint the paper plate, candles, and flames themselves. Older children can cut out their own candles and flames. But you can cut the shapes for little kids and allow them to paste the candles to the back of the paper plate […]

“The Dreidel That Wouldn’t Spin” by Martha Seif Simpson and Make a Dreidel Craft

Weekly Trip to the Library “The Dreidel that Wouldn’t Spin: A Toyshop Tale of Hanukkah” is a folklore-inspired tale. In this story, a magical dreidel just won’t spin for greedy, spoiled children. The shopkeeper wonders: will it spin for another child — one who carries the true spirit of Hanukkah in his heart? “The Dreidel […]

Holiday Cardboard Picture Frames

Creative Wednesdays I typically buy a wooden frame for the children to decorate and put a photo in for a winter holiday gift for their parents. But this year I wanted to try to make the frames myself by recycling cardboard boxes from deliveries. If you care for older siblings this is a great project […]

Thanksgiving Wreath

Creative Wednesday With Thanksgiving tomorrow there’s no better time to help kids appreciate all they have. Each year I have my Nanny Kids make a Thankful Wreath. When I first ask children about what they are thankful for they often just rattle off a list of all the toy. Being thankful for material possessions is a […]

“Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister and Project

Weekly Trip to the Library The Rainbow Fish is an international best-seller and a modern classic children’s book. The Rainbow Fish is vain and thinks he’s better than the other fish because he is so beautiful. He is lonely and without admirers until a wise female octopus advises him to give away his scales. The […]

Pizza Counting Puzzle

Creative Wednesdays Children love pizza so why not let kids practice counting with this super easy counting puzzle. Have children help you paint and cut the paper plates if they are old enough. It’s also fun for older siblings to help make this pizza counting puzzle for their younger sisters or brothers. You Will Need: […]

“Snakes” by Gail Gibbons and Hanging Pattern Snake

Weekly Trip to the Library There are about 3,000 kinds of snakes. Snakes by Gail Gibbons shares information about the different functions of these cold-blooded animals’ physical characteristics. Snakes teaches children how they live, how they give birth (most lay eggs, some give birth to live babies), and how they eat (they swallow their prey […]

Hot Glue Rubbings

Creative Wednesdays Use this activity to hide lower case and upper case letters or messages on pieces of construction paper with a hot glue gun. Have the kids put a piece of paper over the hot glue messages and rub them just as they would when making leaf rubbings to uncover their message. Using a […]

“Room on the Broom” by Julia Donaldson and Finger Puppets

Weekly Trip to the Library “Room on the Broom” is one of the most loved children’s books. In “Room on the Broom” a witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch’s hat, then her bow, and then her wand!  Luckily, […]

Printable Halloween Puppets

Creative Wednesdays I found these hand puppet templates online to print for my Nanny Kids. There are options to print color or black and white puppets. I printed them without color so the kids could color their puppets how they choose. You can download free templates at the savvysparrow.com. We used templates from easypeasyandfun. You […]