Amy's Wandering

FREE December Writing Prompt Calendar

December 1, 2014 By: amyswanderingcomment

I had a few requests to continue the writing prompt calendar, so here it is! This is a subscriber-only freebie and can be found at the bottom of every email. Have fun writing!!

Nativity and Santa Christmas Countdown Printables

November 25, 2014 By: amyswandering25 Comments

I’ve got TWO adorable printable Christmas countdowns to color! One follows the nativity story, and the other has a Santa theme.

–>> DOWNLOAD CHRISTmas COUNTDOWN <<–

Each countdown has 24 days and is meant to be started on December 1st.

–>> DOWNLOAD SANTA COUNTDOWN <<-

For best results, make sure your printer is set to borderless or whole page.

You might also like:

FREE Printable Christmas Wish Lists

FREE Printable Nativity Scenes

FREE Snowflake Patterns & Templates

FREE Christmas Traditions Worksheet

It’s a Great Week for Thanksgiving Funschool

November 18, 2014 By: amyswanderingcomment

I rounded up some of my favorite Thanksgiving posts to help you add a little Funschool to your week!

Thanksgiving Mad Libs

21 Free Thanksgiving Unit Studies

The Old Lady’s Thanksgiving Dinner

Free Thanksgiving Activity Packs for Preschoolers

Give Thanks Cards for Random Acts of Kindness

Activities for A Turkey for Thanksgiving

Our Favorite Thanksgiving Books

Funschool: Give Thanks to the Lord

Funschool: Easy as Pie

Funschool: A Little (Pop)Corny

Thanksgiving Activities to Encourage Gratitude

Free Thanksgiving Planners

November Assignment Sheets

Gift Ideas for Your Minecraft Fanatic

November 18, 2014 By: amyswanderingcomment

This post contains affiliate links.

Minecraft Gift Guide

Minecraft is the Great Motivator for a couple of my kids. They know that schoolwork and chores have to be done in order to play. And compared to most of the other video games they own, I really don’t mind them playing because it encourages creativity and cooperation. They like to hang out on the Skrafty Homeschool Server, and have even taken a class. Hopefully, this list will make it easier to shop for your Minecraft Fanatic!

p.s. Minecraft toys are a hot item this year, especially the Lego sets – they are already limiting them to two per person. I would suggest purchasing soon if they are at the top of your child’s list.

p.p.s. We own the torch and it is really cool!!

Minecraft Gear

{Minecraft Gear}

Blue Diamond Sword & Pickaxe // Wall Torch // Steve & Creeper Masks // Light-up Redstone Ore // Light-up Diamond Ore // Complete Handbook Collection

Minecraft Legos

{Minecraft Legos}

The Village // The Farm // The Cave // The First Night // The Nether // Micro World // Micro World – The End // Crafting Box // The Ender Dragon // The Mine

Minecraft Toys

{Minecraft Toys}

Diamond Steve Figure // Mini Vinyl Figure Set // Baby Cow Plush // Baby Sheep Plush // Magnet Sheets

Minecraft Papercraft

{Minecraft Papercraft}

Animal Mobs // Overworld // Hostile Mobs // Shelter // Minecart // Utility Pack // Snow Set

Minecraft Clothing

{Minecraft Clothing}

Creeper Hoodie // Career Opportunities T-Shirt // Animal Totem T-Shirt // Periodic Table T-Shirt // Diamond Hoodie // Gamer Socks // Creepers Gonna Creep Long Sleeve T-Shirt

Minecraft Accessories

{Minecraft Accessories}

Pixel Sunglasses // Diamond Dangle Earrings // Ironsword Belt // Treasure Chest Wallet // Creeper Wallet // Diamond Crafting Hat // Phone Cases (several choices) // Creeper Mug

Minecraft Stocking Stuffers

{Minecraft Stocking Stuffers}

Lanyard // Pickaxe Stylus // Baby Animals Stickers // Pin Pack // Note Cube // Ornament Set // Cookie Cutters // 2015 Wall Calendar // Animal Toys

Visit the rest of the iHomeschool Network Gift Guides

You might also be interested in these:

{Doctor Who Gift Guide}

Gifts Ideas for a Pretend Play Home
{Gift Ideas for a Pretend Play Home}

A Magical Winter Wonderland

November 17, 2014 By: amyswandering1 Comment

This post contains affiliate links.

Create a Winter Wonderland

It is a December tradition in our family to spend an evening creating snowflakes. We gluestick them on windows, doors, and mirrors (the glue washes right off). Last year, we used them to create a Magical Winter Wonderland over our kitchen bar. It was beautiful and I can’t wait to create another one this year!

Our Winter Wonderland Supply List:

free snowflake templates
white copy paper
scotch tape
scissors
paper edger craft scissors
1 strand white lights
needle
white thread
cotton balls
iridescent pearl beads
clear glittery snowflakes from Dollar Tree
white tulle circles from Dollar Tree
Command Strips mini clear hooks
our favorite hot chocolate (with lots of whipped cream)
Elf DVD (for inspiration)

First things first – make the snowflakes! To keep the frustration level down, I pre-fold a ton of paper for the younger crew. That way, they can jump right in to the cutting fun. We use some free snowflake patterns as a guide because otherwise our snowflakes all end up looking pretty much the same. Paper edger crafts scissors are an easy way to give your snowflakes a fancy touch.

string the lights

Next step – string up the lights. I used Command Strips mini clear hooks to attach my strand of lights to the ceiling. You could also use pushpins or small cuphook screws. I think this would look great with icicle lights, but just use whatever you have on hand.

snowflake garlands

Now for the fun part – creating the wonderland! There is no right or wrong way, just use your imagination. We taped our paper snowflakes directly onto the strand of lights. The glittery plastic snowflakes have a loop that we carefully hung over a bulb. We even crafted some teeny tiny snowflakes out of the paper scraps and popped them onto a few of the lights. To top it off, I glued together a few paper chains.

strings of snowflakes

Once we had our base constructed, we added a few more details to fluff it up a bit. The strings of iridescent pearls were draped throughout. Using the needle and thread, I ran a gather stitch down the middle of the tulle circles and pulled the thread until it formed a little tulle puff. I also spaced out some cotton balls onto a long length of thread – just run the needle right through the middle.

magical wonderland

We turned the lights down and enjoyed the breathtaking sight. We loved it so much, and had so much fun, that I think we might go a little crazy with it this year. Stay tuned for our results!

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