Apples=Awesomeness

I love, love Fall so much. Bring on the pumpkins, the crunchy leaves, the hot apple cider AND the juicy apples. Oh yes, the apples. One of my earliest memories was eating an apple, carefully saving the seeds and then planting them in our backyard. Nothing ever grew, but I am pretty sure my dog King dug them up when I was done.

Sharing a recipe! Caramel Apple Dump Cake

Right click and save to download recipe.

Apple pie is the one thing I love to make in the Fall. I pretty much combined like 3 recipes to make one I like best. My husband loves the cinnamon crumble top that I drizzle icing over. I love the regular crust best. But honestly, apple pie is ALWAYS good. I am in the mood to make an apple run at the grocery store and to have my house smell like cinnamon apples for a day. 

Image from Pinterest.

Last year, I posted some Halloween costume ideas and one of them included a jack o'lantern with a smoke bomb inside it. I found out about an article on how to do smoke bomb photography! You can read it HERE at Shutter Bombs.

Today is my birthday and I am not sure about becoming wiser....but hey, I get some cake! :)

Fun-o-ween ideas!

Squee!! My favorite season is upon us. 

And my favorite month in the whole wide world is...you guessed it...October! I love the colors, the candy and the cooler weather.

Of course, I found some fun Fall and Halloween ideas online to share!

Okay, y'all know I am a rock freak. I have most recently been collecting small pieces of meteorites. So in my rock group, someone shared that she had been painting rocks into pumpkins. I really am going to attempt this one because rocks are free, I have paint and some time. Also, the idea of hiding them in my community is fun!

See? I told you this was cute idea!

And here are some more...

Make ya some Jell-O worms with straws.

Instructions from One Little Project.

Oh...check out this nature spider web. I saw the idea on

Facebook from Mud and Bloom, but it would be fun to go on a

nature hunt and make your own.

Handprint vampires! You can teach triangles, too.

Seen on Facebook on The Kindergarten Smorgasboard page.

I adore this one! You can find potato smashers at the dollar store or thrift store. I never ever would have thought to make spiders out of them. Cool idea from Young School Art.

Okay, I really like how they made a tree and then the kids made owls from paper towel tubes. I think it would be easy to make the tree in Fall colors, too. From Hello Wonderful.

And Hello Wonderful has this Boo handprint art idea!

AND they also have this very trendy and easy-to-make Halloween costume! You can be a fidget popper! Click HERE for instructions.

You can use pipe cleaners and pony beads to make some nifty pumpkins!

Great idea from Cutesy Crafts.

This is a creative art idea from The Pinterested Parent--make pastel resist mosaic pumpkins. Magnificent!

Before you go, check out this house in my neighborhood. My frame cropped out the Michael Myers inflatable...

And this is a fun one making fun of the crate challenge from Tik Tok.

Lunch Box Notes to Give Your Kids a Midday Boost! Lunch Time=Fun Time!

We could all use positive thoughts! 

During traditional school years, kids can find it difficult to return after the end of summer. But in the past year, many children stayed at home for much longer than two months. It’s likely that going back to school has been challenging for your kids. During this period of adjustment, it can help your kids to receive a little extra positivity in their day. Check out these lunch box notes containing riddles, affirmations, and even sidequests to give your kids a positivity boost during the school day. 

Riddles are a great way to get your kids thinking, and a fun lunchtime activity for them to share with their peers.

• What word is spelled wrong in the dictionary? "Wrong."

• I travel all around the world but never leave the corner. What am I? A stamp.

• What can you catch but not throw? A cold.

• The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I? Footsteps.

• What goes up but never comes back down? Your age.

• I can fill an entire room but never take up any space. What am I? Light

Affirmations can boost self-esteem and morale. Kids are in formative stages of their lives, so it’s important for them to develop positive thinking habits. You could even suggest that your kid gives their affirmation to others to read aloud (or include extras for the whole lunch table). 

• I believe in myself.

• I can do great things.

• I can try my best.

• I can say no if I'm uncomfortable.

• I am smart.

• I am unique.

• I am kind.

• I am strong.

• I am loved.

Sidequests are actions kids can complete to spread positivity. Framing these actions as “quests'' helps your kids think of these actions as fun missions to complete, as if they are superheroes. Completing any one of these tasks can help your kid turn their day around, or just give it an extra oomf of positivity. Here are a few sidequest examples: 

• Find 3 different colored leaves during recess.

• Exchange a part of your lunch with a friend today.

• Sit next to someone different while riding the bus home today.

• Say something nice to a schoolmate.

• Help someone today.

In case you’re too busy to write the lunch box notes yourself (which is totally understandable) you can download some of the aforementioned riddles, affirmations, and sidequests below. 

Simply click on the button and print them out. If you keep them in a miscellaneous kitchen cabinet or drawer, you can pull them out each time you pack a lunch. Pop them in your kid’s lunch box to give them a midday boost.

Kitchen Cabinet Kings has 64 lunch box jokes and positive affirmations that you can print and use to stick in your kid's lunch boxes. Are they in virtual school? Then serve one of these on the side or stick in a jar and let them pick one a day. These are so much fun!!

Guest post by Mona Freund in collaboration with Twinkle Teaches. 

Thank teachers!!!

I found a wonderful article that has free printables to help your kids give the perfect gift to their teachers this year to say "thanks for all you do." You can use these anytime of the year like:

-at the beginning of the school year

-as a fun surprise

-on your teacher's birthday

-holiday gift

-end-of-the-year gift

The link (see below) also includes:

• A Teacher Gift Questionnaire to help you navigate finding the best gifts throughout the school year.
• Sanitation Labels to attach to disinfecting wipes, tissue boxes, and hand sanitizer to make a simple, yet effective gift more special.
• Gift Card Tags to attach a teacher's favorite gift card to.
• Plant Tags to attach to a cute houseplant, succulent, or bouquet of flowers.

Go here to get your printables!!

Classroom Haunts!

Today I am sharing some classroom ideas for Halloween. :)

Pumpkin Patch Dirt Cups

These are delicious! And such an easy snack for little ones to make.

From I Can Teach My Child.

Yarn Pumpkins

I never had good luck making these but I am also not a patient person.

From Enchanted Homeschooling Mom. 

Glue Ghosts

I made these with PreK and they were fun!

I put wax paper on the table. The kids used Elmer's glue to make their ghost within a bobby pin boundary, and added googly eyes. They dried overnight, we added the yarn with a hole punch,

 and then they had a cool necklace!

Trash Bag Cats

Very easy. Stuff the head with newspaper. Tie a string or twisty tie to tie 

off the head part. Add construction paper features!

Pattern Witches

A math activity! Make an AB color pattern

from construction paper to make witch legs.

Paper Towel Roll Bats

You can cut a paper towel roll in half (I never used

toilet paper rolls...kinda gross). Have students cover with construction paper or use markers/paint. Add construction paper features.

Very cool!!!

I hope you found some ideas you can use! :)

Freaky Friday!

Happy happy Friday! I had another busy week. A long field trip to Poteau, which was an all-day drive. Lots of organizing and deep cleaning going on in my household, too. Now I want to paint every room a different color. I want a happy color for my living room so I think I am going with this:

This has been me lately:

I need some good sleep!

I tend to be a worrier so that probably does not help me out.

So I belong to a really awesome Halloween group. I am always amazed at some of the creative DIYs they share. I thought today I would share some of these finds with you because I am in a spooky decorating mood.

This is adorable. Plus, cookies!

Someone took a thrift store find and painted it a la spooky!

Paint your pumpkins to be candy corn.

I am a sucker for funny puns. Here are some for tombstones.

They made a coffin from discarded pallets. I love upcycling ideas!

If I get motivated enough, I might make this "finger food."

This DIYer used Mod Podge to stiffen old book pages and then added

computer printed pages. Aged them with tea bags or coffee.

Very easy ghosts.

This is from The Gathered Home.

Get you some plastic bugs from Dollar Tree. Spray paint and hot glue onto wood.

I did make one of these for a Halloween party a few years back!

I really want to make this! I had been given a huge dollhouse and was going to re-do it, but

it sat in my office and I donated it instead. I can handle a small one though.

Made with Dollar Tree nerf-like footballs, and 

cut-up milk jugs for teeth.

This is clever. I have also seen eyeballs made with this technique.

From Paging Fun Mums.

Gold makes everything better.

From Martha Stewart via Plaid.

I love this. I have no trees but if I did...

I have a LOT of balloons so I can totally make this!

From Instructables.