Printable Winter Crafts for Preschool

Are you about sick of winter? Kids love to play outside, but you don't dare let them for too long when it's super cold. What was fun in November is getting a little old by February. Teacher Mama is here with free printable winter-themed crafts for bored, winter bound kids. First, clear a spot on the table. Or better yet set up a separate craft table. Bust out glue, scissors, markers, glitter, your nifty scrapbook edging scissors, stickers, pom poms, fake gems all your crafty goodies.Next, go to these websites Read on  Printable Winter Crafts and Activities for Kids

Epiphany Party Planner for Children

Going back to school after the holidays can be dreary. And preschoolers will miss older siblings when they're gone. Why not start the new year off with fun? Here's an epiphany party planner. Little ones can make the food and crafts and surprise brothers and sisters. Or use in school. Epiphany Party Planner. Here are printable epiphany crafts, coloring pages and games, too.

Perfect for home-schooled, Christian, Catholic or public school. Epiphany is January 6 and is also called Three Kings or Twelfth Night. Epiphany marks the visit of the wisemen to the stable in Bethlehem. The wisemen (Magi) didn't arrive with the shepherds. They came later and we celebrate that as Epiphany. This holiday is celebrated as the major gift-giving holiday in many countries. Explore epiphany in social studies culture lesson. Party planner includes crafts, treats and games.

Free Printable Our Lady of Guadalupe Activities

December 12 is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico and the Americas. Our Lady appeared to Bl Juan Diego in 1531 . Here are free printable activities to celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe. As a ten year veteran homeschooler, I was always on the lookout for activities and lessons share our Catholic faith with the children. If you are a catechist, homeschooler or parochial school teacher, you'll need these links.  Free Printable 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' Activities and Lessons

Free Printable Manger Scenes, Nativity Sets

During Advent we prepare our hearts for Jesus. We set out Advent wreaths, calendars. We put up nativity sets, also called
creche, manger scene or naciemiento. Here are free printable nativity scenes. These paper nativity scenes provide hours of educational fun for children and preschoolers as they color, cut out and assemble the manger scene. Children learn the Christmas story as they create the stable, shepherds, animals, wisemen, Mary, Joseph, angel and Baby Jesus.

In our house, we begin with a stable full of animals on the first Sunday of advent. Each day we move the figures a little closer toward the stable. When the children were young, they loved 'helping' Mary and Joseph and the Magi travel to Bethlehem. We would place an unbreakable nativity set on a shelf at child level and they were free to rearrange the characters as they chose. This was before the 'advent' (pardon the pun) of computers. Now you can print entire nativity sets for preschoolers, Sunday Schoolers, students and children to make themselves. Here are the links. Free Printable Advent and Christmas Nativity Scenes 

Free Printable Hanukkah Crafts, Games, Puzzles, Activities

Hanukkah or Chanukah, is the Jewish Festival of Lights. It begins on Kislev 25 in the Hebrew lunar calendar. That's usually a few weeks before Christmas. It's an 8-day celebration. Chanukah starts early in 2013, the day before Thanksgiving at sundown November 27 and goes till December 5. Here are free printable crafts and activities to celebrate Hanukkah.  Free Printable Chanukah and Hanukkah Crafts, Games, Puzzles and Activities 

Gifts Kids Can Make, Story CDs Read by Children

Remember books on tape, which morphed to story CDs and finally e-books? I'm all about homemade and DIY. Here's a tutorial on how to record your own audio book, make into an mp3 file, then give as a gift. Better still, children can read the books aloud and give the recordings as presents. Cheap, educational, interactive and fun! Here's how. Homemade, Educational Christmas Gifts, Story CDs Read by Children

10 Candy Alternative Treats for Halloween

I'm not a complete Halloween Scrooge. I pass out treats. But I do like to give sugar alternatives. I wrote one list and here are 10 more trick-or-treat handouts. Start preschool kids out in trick-or-treat culture with reduced focus on candy. 10 Candy Alternative Treats for Halloween