Dragon Wing Preschool Craft (And our 10+ Favorite Dragon books!)

Does your child love dragons? Want to make an easy dragon craft with your preschooler? Then today's cardboard dragon wings are the perfect craft for you! I made these with several young kids and they really enjoyed the process of decorating and designing their wings. 

How to Make Artsy Cardboard Dragon Wings with Preschoolers

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Invitation to Draw Book (And Free Printables!)

Did you know that Jean from The Artful Parent has a new drawing prompt book coming out this June? She sent me a copy of Invitation to Draw to try out with the kids and my youngest and I went to town doodling away. Scroll down below for some samples of our artwork as well as some free sneak-peak printable samples of the book!

Invitation to Draw Book! (And some Free Printables!)

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Our 15+ Favorite Wordless Picture Books

Hi everyone! Happy belated July 4th! How are you all doing? Are your libraries open yet? Ours is open for pick-up service only and I'm super thankful for that! (We missed the library!!!!)

I do find it hard, however, to find and reserve books for my boys online because usually we just browse the kids' section and choose books that speak to us. And now that's just not possible during the pandemic.

In case you're like that too, I thought I'd share today some of our favorite wordless picture books. Why wordless books? Well, I've found these types of books are great for encouraging kids and parents to create stories together.

Our 15+ Favorite Wordless Picture Books

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Cupcake Liner Dumpling Craft (and our 10+ favorite Asian Food Picture Books!)

A couple of weeks ago, our family celebrated New Year (and made a ton of Chinese New Year Crafts.) Even though the celebrations are over, I've still been in the mood to eat lots of yummy Asian food. The boys and I recently tried making dumplings (using this super easy recipe). Today I thought it would be fun to put together a fun list of Asian food inspired picture books + share a cute cupcake liner dumpling craft. Enjoy!

10+ Awesome Asian Food Inspired Picture Books AND a Cupcake Liner Dumpling Craft

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Our 15 Favorite Graphic Novels!

We love reading graphic novels. My preschooler enjoys looking at the pictures and following the fast-paced story. My 3rd grader really loves the storylines. If you're looking for some great graphic novels to read with the kids, check out our list of...

15 Awesome Graphic Novels!

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Also, all photos were taken from Amazon!

Yarn Pinecone Owl Craft (And 8 Awesome Owl Books!)

Are you fully embracing fall and all types of Fall Crafts? It doesn't get very cold over here in California, but chilly mornings and nights do make it feel more fall-ish. A couple of weeks ago I saw these super cute yarn pinecone owls over on  Squiggle Dot and Squeeze's IG feed and was inspired.

So today I'm sharing our adorable pinecone owls. They're sweet and wooly and the perfect cozy craft for fall!  You also probably have all the materials needed right at home. (And in case you're looking for some fun owl books, I've also included a list of our favorite owl books down below too!)

How to Make Cozy Pinecone Owls with kids

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10 Easy Chapter Books about Friendship

Have you ever read the Frog and Toad series?  Our family loves reading about the sweet relationship and adventures shared between those two friends. Inspired by our love for Frog an Toad, I've created this new booklist showcasing other easy reads that also share stories about the silly and sweet relationship between friends. Hopefully, you'll find some new favorite books here as well!

Books for Kids who Love Frog and Toad

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How to Build an Epic Cardboard City With Kids (And our 15+ Favorite Books to Inspire Building)

Looking for an easy and affordable group craft idea?  I recently hosted a cardboard craft event to celebrate the launch of my new cardboard craft book Epic Cardboard Adventures (aff link).  Kids and parents were invited to help me build a cardboard city.  If you're looking for an easy group crafting activity, I really recommend this one.  It's super easy to set up and both adults and kids had a lovely morning of crafty fun!

How to Build an Epic Cardboard City with Kids

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My 3 Cardboard Craft Books are finally here!

Ok.  The title says it all. So please buy my 3 awesome cardboard and duct tape craft books.  End of Post.

Just kidding! (Apparently I'm much too wordy for a 1 line post.)

So grab a coffee or tea and let's chat.

Last June I shared that a publishing company contacted me about writing a series of cardboard craft books. (If you missed that post, or you just want to see a photo of our cardboard-filled garage, click here.)

Well, it's been almost a year since that post and tada.... the books are here!

Don't they look good enough to eat? Num num num num num.

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Twirly Whirly Paper Snowflake Mobile (And our favorite snow books)

Is it a good time to make snowflake crafts with the kids?  The answer to that question is always, "YES!"  Snowflake crafts in summer, snowflake crafts in spring, snowflake crafts all time of the year is my personal crafting mantra.

Well, now that we've removed all the Halloween decorations (sob, sob) my son and I are starting to decorate our home for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  While I've yet to find a good kids' Turkey craft that I like, I can always count on snowflakes to tide us creatively over while I keep looking.

Today's twirly whirly paper snowflake mobile is just such an easy and fun craft.  We made ours ona whim one night together before bed.  Don't you just adore it?  You get to make snowflakes AND watch them "fall" from a cute cloud.

(Hmm, I bet you could easily incorporate some STEAM lessons with this art activity as well!)

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3D "I Love You" Hand Craft (And our Favorite Books about Love)

It's already February and I haven't yet put up any Valentine's Day Crafts this year.  Oof! What kind of kid crafter am I?

I've just been so caught up in what's happening in our country and world that I haven't fully had the heart or energy to embrace doilies, flowers, chocolate, hearts.... basically anything Valentine's yet.  But today I'm turning a new leaf.  Here's my first Valentine's day craft of the season... these 3D "I Love You" Hands.

(They're not quite hearts and flowers and pun-ny sayings.. but it's a start, right?)

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Tape Resist Dinosaur Bone Art (And our favorite 10+ Dinosaur Books!)

I love it when an art and science combine to create a beautiful and easy kids STEM project. When I was growing up science, math, and art were always treated as fairly different topics.  And I get why they taught us that way... it's easier and we get to dig down deep into each one.  But I wish that my kid self also experienced how all three things topics were linked.  Don't artist use math and science when making art?  Isn't there beauty in math and science? Certainly!  And so my inner nerd and artist gets very excited when my son and I do a project that touches on what seem to be different areas.

Ok... but I digress.  Recently my son and I visited our local natural history museum's dinosaur exhibit and marveled at the size and design of t-rex bones.  (Gosh.  Those are some ferocious creatures!  So glad they don't live today.  Eeek.)  So, inspired by that visit and this awesome human skeleton tape resist painting idea, we made our own very beautiful and scientific tape resist dinosaur bone skeleton paintings! 

Tape Resist Dinosaur Bone Paintings 

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Let's design a zoo! (And our 15+ favorite zoo books!)

Are you looking for an easy, open-ended prompt to encourage children's play and creativity?  How about a building challenge?  We've designed and built playdough and rock houses , cardboard bridges, boats from recycled materials, and super hero hideouts.  Today, we're designing and building a zoo!

Designing a Zoo with Kids!

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Playful and Easy Mathematics with Building Toys (And our favorite math books!)

Wanna know a secret?  In college I majored in Engineering and minored in math.  Eek.  Surprised?  Well...it's true!   I'm a bit rusty now... but I will always have a soft spot for mathematics. There was something about solving a difficult problem that was so thrilling and satisfying.

Now that my son is older, my husband (who is also a math lover) and I have been trying to help him to love math too.  With a new baby at home, I just haven't had time lately to plan math crafts and activities.  (Mucho props to all you homeschooling mamas out there... don't know how you do it!)   But, I've been giving myself a bit of slack and telling myself that it's ok.  We've still been learning math together... just in a more open-ended and playful way.  

Playful Math Learning with Kids

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Window process art (and our favorite 25+ art books!)

There is something about process art that really appeals to me.  When my son and I are free to just explore materials, there's more room to be creative (and a whole lot less pressure on both of us to make things "look right.")  We get to explore, create, and talk with each other.  Now, I will always love cute kids' crafts.  (Googly eyes and glitter will always hold a special place in my heart!) But lately I've just had enough time (and energy) to put out open-ended projects for us to do.

Here's a recent window process art activity that we recently did together...

Family Window Process Art

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Our 30+ Favorite Flower and Plant Art + Craft Projects (and books!)

Love flowers?  Well, today I'm in kind of a flowery mood.  I've got a couple of flower crafts that I'd like to try once we all start feeling better.  So until then, I've scoured the blog for our favorite flower and plant project ideas  in case you're in a flowery, springy mood too!

Our 30+ Favorite Flower and Plant Projects

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Foldable, Collapsible Cardboard Superhero Hideout! (And our favorite Superhero books!)

Whizz!  Bang!  Bam! Pow! Got a kid who loves super heroes?  Then today's superhero craft is for you.  Ka-blamo! We're making a collapsible cardboard superhero hideout!

Make a Foldable, Collapsible, Cardboard Superhero House!

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Egg Carton Owls (and Owl Picture Books!)

We've been eating a TON of eggs lately... which means that we now have material for another egg carton craft!  (Yay, woot, woot.  Or should I say... hoot hoot?)  Today I'm sharing this super easy egg carton owl craft that I recently made with my preschooler.  It's a great spring craft that doesn't require any special materials and is super easy to set up!

Hoot hoot!  Let's Make some Egg Carton Owls!

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Colorful 3D Paper Plate Fish Craft (and our 10 Favorite Fish Books!)

Today I've got another unique paper plate craft to add to our ever growing list of paper plate crafts.  Recently I transformed several paper plates into beautiful 3D fish.  Then, my son and I got to work painting them with all the vibrant colors of the rainbow!

Awesomely colorful, 3D Paper Plate Fish

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When I grow up... Fortune Teller Fun with Preschoolers! (And a book list)

Did you ever fold fortune tellers as a kid?  With no set nap times and a new baby, I've been trying to find easy ways to have fun with my older son.  Recently I introduced him to fortune tellers and he totally dug them!  We made them to predict what he would be when he grew up.   He doodled the different jobs that he'd like to do and then we colored and folded the fortune tellers together!

When I Grow Up... Fortune Teller Fun with Preschoolers!   

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