Back to the Future II: Delorean Paper Craft

Recently on the radio they were talking about things that Back to the Future predicted for the year 2015. I found this article, 11 Predictions that Back to the Future Got Right which details those predictions. Makes you wonder whether the inventors got their ideas from the movie or if it is just coincidence?

Remember Marty McFly's super cool Delorean from Back to the Future Part II? Well if you want your very own look no further.

Click here for the Car and here for the tires and Parts.

Also be sure to watch this Back to the Future II original movie trailer (wish the quality were better, but oh well). Enjoy!

Luigi from Mario Bros Cube Craft

Luigi Cube Craft

Indiana Jones Cube Craft

Came across these really cool Indiana Jones cube crafts a few months ago. I can just see them sitting on someone's desk. They would make a great conversation piece!

Click to get your very own Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones and a Fertility Idol from Raider's of the Lost Ark.

Here is a pretty neat Lego adaptation of Indiana Jones. Enjoy!

Origami Paper Cranes

The other day I read Yoko's Paper Cranes by Rosemary Wells to my boys. After we read the book my five year old wanted us to try to make an Origami paper crane. We tried our hardest to follow along with the directions in the book, but could only get so far. Yesterday, my son asked if we could try another attempt. So visual Mama went online and we started watching some videos about folding Origami cranes. We made many feeble attempts to follow along but got confused after awhile. Two videos really stuck out for me, and I am feeling confident that we will eventually figure it out.

This video is just kind of fun to watch and is awe inspiring:



I really loved how well this girl explains each step. She is such a great teacher and you can really hear her passion for Origami!



I hope that you all have better luck than we did on our first attempts. If you have any tips to share please pass them along!

Bald Eagle T-Shirts for the 4th of July

Looking for a fun craft for the 4th? Your kids will have fun making these patriotic bald eagle, Hand-Some Tees! The boys and I made these the other day and we had a lot of fun!

Father's Day Gift Ideas

Mama Urchin has some cool ideas for Father's Day. The Altoid tin is a really neat alternative to your typical greeting card!

The Magic Onions have a cute idea for making a Rainbow Picture Frame for Father's Day!

So why do we celebrate Father's Day?

Learn About Father's Day

Origami Clovers

Saw this on Origami-Instructions.com what a super cool idea for St. Patrick's Day! Here are the original instructions.

Here is some history behind the St. Patrick's Day holiday:

History of St Patrick's Day @ Yahoo! Video

Enjoy St Patty's Day!

Activity TV

Are you ever in need of inspiration? Well look no further than ActivityTV! This neat website has instructional videos (ex/Make a rainstick), games and much more! Very cool resource!

Paper Snowflakes

This past weekend we had a holiday party for the neighborhood children. One of our activities was making paper snowflakes. I must admit I had to look online first and try out many sample cuts myself before I felt comfortable showing the kids. I wish I had seen this video before then. It would have saved me so much time. But don't we learn so much from trial and error?



If you would rather not draw or create your own design you could use a template or pattern. Here are some fun templates from Family Fun Magazine These templates include stars, clovers, hearts and snowmen. You could make them even more fun by using colored papers.
This template from Martha Stewart is a fun geometrical design. But no matter what you decide to use...Just have Fun!

Roll-A- Dice Games

My oldest son loves playing Roll-A-Christmas tree (see below). It is a lot of fun because you are racing another person to see who can draw their Christmas tree first. But if you don't roll the die on the right number it may take you a while to finish. This morning he said it would be fun if there were a Roll-A-Snowman game. So I immediately checked online and was thrilled to find that very game. Can't wait to play that with him later!

The following are drawing games--Supplies: Paper, Pencils, Dice
Roll-A-Christmas Tree
Roll-A-Gingerbread Man

Roll-A-Snowman

Here is another fun art idea: You assemble as you roll the dice! How fun!

Supplies: Printouts, dice

Roll-A-Penguin

Here is a fun Science Experiment game:

Melt An Ice Cube

I also decided to search for other Roll-A-Dice games and was thrilled to find a year's worth at Mrs. Meacham's Classroom Snapshots. She has her games sorted by month and some months offer a few options.

Most of these activities are geared to younger children, but they could easily be adapted to older kids. You could try making it more complicated by doing math equations or adding more numbers and options. Have fun!

Free Lapbooks: Egypt & da Vinci

Handle on the Arts is offering the following two lapbooks free for a limited time only:


Egypt Lapbook
Take a deeper look at the architecture of ancient Egypt with our hands-on Egypt lapbook. Students will explore the steps in making the pyramids, the evolution of the pyramid, as well as other Egyptian architecture such as obelisks and the Great Sphynx.
Activities include vocabulary, a timeline, an art project, writing an acrostic, creating a map of the pyramid tunnels, plus others. The included project guide is complete enough to give you weeks worth of lesson plans, however, the lapbook itself could be completed in a single day.

Leonardo da Vinci Lapbook
Students will explore Leonardo’s most famous works of art, his inventions, his biography, and his art techniques.
Activities include vocabulary, timelines, multiple art projects, creating an invention, writing backwards, and many others. A project guide is included to make this a complete unit study and a great addition to your history
curriculum.