Books and Giggles
I’m excited to share another children’s story and craft combo with you. This gingerbread house craft is made with popsicle sticks and decorated with easy-to-find embellishments. Yes, you can leave it up the entire holiday season. You can even save it to put up year after year. And, to make this gingerbread house craft more meaningful, I’ve found…
This cookie cutter ornament is pretty and durable – so you can pull them out again years from now and remember when little hands made them. To make it extra engaging now, I’m also suggesting a picture book to go with the craft. This morning I went shopping near the mall and ran into a whole lot of Christmas. As…
The first year I tried to teach my kids about Thanksgiving didn’t go very well. We did an activity where they took pictures, with my help, of things they were thankful for. The trouble was (and I didn’t realize this until we were done), all the pictures were of toys. Not exactly what I was…
I have one more Thanksgiving book and craft to share with you today. This one is about the pilgrims, and I’ve made simple toilet paper roll pilgrims to go with it. (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for…
This coffee filter turkey craft wobbles adorably and has a brightly colored tie-dyed look. Add this to your Thanksgiving craft list for sure! (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to…
Today I’m sharing another one of our favorite picture books, and a storytelling basket to go with it. There’s a free printable template, too, so that you can make your own. These pieces could also be used on a felt board. (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate…
Inside: a Thanksgiving placemats craft inspired by the story Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson My children didn’t use to like Thanksgiving. I remember being surprised a few years ago when Liam loudly expressed his disapproval of the holiday. “How could you not like Thanksgiving?” I asked him. “There’s all that yummy food, and we get to…
Today I’m sharing an easy craft to go with a much-loved picture book. You could also do it as a stand-alone Halloween craft, but it’s more fun with a book, don’t you think? You could even do this at another time of year and use a cat that’s less spooky. The Caldecott winning Kitten’s First…
I really must be going crazy. I just spent several days wondering how to make a spacesuit for a toy dog. I’d made a fun Mars rover craft to go with the picture book Max Goes to Mars – and sent it over to Cerys at Rainy Day Mum for a guest post on her blog. (I’d love it if you…
Inside: A rocket craft for kids, plus suggested children’s books about rockets. My daughter has been all about space this year. With that in mind, I wanted to think up ideas for a rocket craft she’d love. She loves imagining traveling to the moon in a shiny rocket, and so I thought right away of using foil. Last…
As a mom of little kids and a former teacher, I get excited when we read a picture book that can teach a big kid reading comprehension skill. (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees…
Inside: a process art thunderstorm craft for kids After reading stacks of picture books about storms, my kids and I wanted to create a thunderstorm craft to go with the stories. My first thought for making clouds, probably like yours, was cotton balls. I wanted them gray, so we tried painting them. Let me just say…
Books about storms can help calm children’s anxieties. Here we’re sharing the ten best books we found about rainstorms, thunderstorms, and hurricanes. Rumble, crash, boom! Thunderstorms can be scary for little kids. If your child is afraid of thunder, being calm and empathetic can help. So can reading books about storms. Storm Season Here in Texas,…
Realizing you can skip pages or parts of pages when you read aloud to your little kids is liberating, even if you do feel a little deceitful about it. There’s really no reason to feel guilty. In our house, we did plenty of book shortening until the kids got old enough to catch on to…
Do your kids ever get stuck on Repeat with a book that annoys you? Maybe you even liked it the first five or ten times, but the 97th time? Ugh. We have a few books that I flat-out won’t read anymore. (We have plenty of other choices.) Is that mean? I figure I’m teaching…
You know when your kid finds a book that they want you to read over and over? Recently, one of my 5-year-old twins latched onto the book Tiptoe Joe by Ginger Foglesong Gibson. I totally haven’t minded. When a book opens with a cute rhyme like “Tiptoe fast, tiptoe slow. Say hello to Tiptoe Joe” across three…
Last week I walked into the kitchen and caught my 5-year old working hard to read the label on a little crate of oranges. I can’t tell you how much this warms my book-loving heart. Before we were married my husband once caught me engrossed in reading the label on a 12-volt battery. Yes, I…