celebrating children
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Celebrating children on a “HOORAY” kind of day (she: Veronica)

ByVeronica

Hello friends! I hope everyone had a happy Valentine’s Day! In my home, when Valentine’s Day hits, I know that chaos is about to follow. Four out of eleven of our birthdays are in March, so it’s time to get ready. Celebrating children includes one of my favorite birthday traditions, which is linked to one of my favorite items. My sister Mallorie instructed me that I was to hang my banner, and pull out my plate for all those “HOORAY” moments that take place in our lives. Given the number of kids in our home, we have those moments all the time. Birthdays are my favorite. It always goes up and most of the time it stays up for the next day or so, just because I love the reminder of what the word “HOORAY” stands for.

valentine in a jar
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DIY Valentine in a jar with printable (she: Carmella)

ByCarmella

Hello there! It’s Creative Carmella again, and it’s good to be back here at Or So She Says!

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow! Time to start thinking sweet thoughts and giving not-so-subtle hints to the hubby about what kind of chocolates you like best 😉

Today I am sharing a simple last-minute craft that your kids will love helping you with too… It’s a Valentine in a jar!

All you need is a mason jar, a sharpie, some cardstock, paint and treats (cute kid optional). There’s also a free printable included in this post to help you out.

goldilocks valentine
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Goldilocks Valentine… A Fun Valentine Story For Kids (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

Your first year of teaching is a lot like having kids. You think you know what it’s like, but really you have no idea until you’re knee-deep in it every day. I was lucky enough to have Mrs. Lewis (my cooperating teacher) take my hand and guide me through every step of teaching my first year. She was so current, organized, loving, and amazingly creative! The Goldilocks Valentines and story I have to share today came from her. I’ve searched the internet for this story, and can’t find it anywhere. I don’t know if she made it up, (I’ve misplaced my original copy) or found it somewhere. Either way, this is one of my all-time favorite things to do for Valentine’s Day! My boys love to hear it year after year, and it would be the perfect activity for any valentine parties you have next week, or just to do at home with your kids.

family night idea
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February Family Night…Sending the LOVE! (she: Tonii)

ByTonii

I am so excited to be back and sharing a great family night activity for one of my MOST favorite holidays…Valentine’s Day! Now I don’t know about you, but in our house Valentine’s Day has become a family affair 🙂 Don’t get me wrong, I love a romantic date with my hubby, but I am also not about to pass up a chance to spend the month of February teaching my kids how they can better show love in our family and to those around us!

Every year for Valentine’s I put out some cute little mailboxes I got from Target in the Dollar Spot. Once a day starting February 1st I put a little something in each of the kids’ mailboxes, anything from a note telling them something I love about them or a pencil and notepad. It has become one of our favorite traditions, and as I got them out this year I thought maybe we could use them to not only focus on receiving love…but SENDING some love out as well!

make your child feel special
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Make Your Child Feel Special on Valentine’s Day (she: Amy)

ByAmy Lee

One of my goals as a mother is for my children to know that they are loved, cherished and that they matter.

Since Valentines Day is about showing people how much we love and appreciate them, I thought I would do a few special things to show my girl how much I love and cherish her. Read on for simple ways to make your child feel special on Valentine’s Day.

Origami Heart Love Notes (she: Amy)
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Origami Heart Love Notes (she: Amy)

ByAmy Lee

On this coming Valentine’s Day, I plan to fold some origami hearts with little love notes inside and leave them everywhere for my daughter to discover.

Since my little love is still learning her A-B-Cs, I’ll be drawing pictures in the origami as well as using words she recognizes. To make this super easy for you, I’ve created a printable of the origami paper for you to download. It includes 6 rectangles to make 6 hearts. All you need to do is cut, write and fold. I plan to hide these all over the house – peaking out from under her pillow, taped to her toothbrush, stuck under her cereal bowl, attached to the seat belt of her car seat, hiding in her jacket pocket, etc.

Mr. Freeze Dinner Game www.oneshetwoshe.com
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Mr. Freeze ~ Fun Group Game for Parties!

ByMariel

It’s almost New Year’s Eve and if you’re not thinking about hitting the hay, you may be thinking about some possible games to play at your party! I love easy group games that don’t require much prep. This game of Mr. Freeze is so simple and fun to play during dinner, whether with your family or a big group of friends.

Come check it out and stick around OSSS because I’ve got a whole slew of group games for you really soon!

interviewing grandparents www.oneshetwoshe.com
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Family Night: Kids Interviewing Grandparents ~ Family History

ByMariel

Did you know that the more your kids know about their family history… …they will have “higher levels of emotional well-being, and also higher levels of identity achievement.”  They are also more resilient through tough times, according to a fanscinating study done by Emory University.  Pretty cool, huh?  Probably something worth taking the time to…

First Thanksgiving Dinner ~ Fun Family Tradition W/ Printable Invitation (she: Brooke)
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First Thanksgiving Dinner ~ Fun Family Tradition W/ Printable Invitation (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving traditions?  Do you have many?  We have several at our house.  This tradition came from my first grade teaching days.  My cooperating teacher shared this idea with me.  Each year at Thanksgiving our first grade class would reenact the first Thanksgiving dinner.  We would weave place mats, make Pilgrim…

fun ways to entertain kids in the car
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Fun Games for Entertaining Kids in the Car (she: Kristina)

ByKristina

Hey, it’s Kristina from Mother’s Niche. If you’re anything like me, a ride in the car can either give you a little break, or it can make you want to pull your hair out…and it all depends on the behavior of the little rascals in the backseat. Sometimes there really is nothing better than a long drive when it means all of your children are strapped down and unable to tear the house apart. I especially appreciate long drives immediately after a thorough house cleaning.

However, there’s nothing that ruins a car ride faster than squabbling, whining and poking! Here are some fun family games that you can play in the car. Whip them out in desperate moments when you need to distract your children from hunger, bullying, boredom, or even from picking their nose:

DIY Library Card
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Family Library & DIY Pretend Library Card (she: Kristina)

ByKristina

Besides raiding the fridge and climbing everything in sight, my daughter has started getting into imaginary play lately. Since she’s the oldest, I’ve tried to be creative about some things I can make for her.  Last week it was a gas can for her cozy coupe car, and this week I took a stab at…