Valentine’s Day Coloring Page with John 3:16 Quote

Posted in free worksheets & printables, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

Free Valentine's Day Printable Coloring Page with John 3:16 Quote I made this coloring page not only for my kids to color, but also for my daughter’s Sunday school class. My mom volunteers in the class and I offered it as an extra project for them to color as they arrived on the day they were going to discuss Valentine’s Day.

I try to incorporate the love that God has for us into all holidays when discussing them with my kids and I like the idea of blending “Valentine” with the Bible quote John 3:16. I’d seen it done as a poster, but I wanted something that involved my kids a little more in a hands-on way.

Which is why I created this coloring page. It’s free for home and classroom use, but please don’t sell it! To get the free printable PDF, click the link below:

Valentine’s Day Coloring Page John 3:16

Some of my other free Valentine’s printables include:

Enjoy!

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3Feb2015

“Chalkboard” Valentine’s Day Hearts

Posted in activities for kids, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

"Chalkboard" Valentine's Day Hearts Activity for Kids

This is a fun little activity I did with my girls to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

I cut some hearts out of black construction paper and drew on them with white and silver colored pencils to show my girls how it looked.

The fun mini hearts look like little chalkboards and my girls were delighted with how the light colors looked so vibrant on the dark hearts.

They spent quite a while drawing on the hearts and experimenting with different colors {though mostly after I took the photograph}.

The picture shows just a few of the hearts, but one of the things I also made sure to do was to cut out hearts in varying sizes.

And next time I’ll probably let them help me cut them out, but this time they were too busy coloring. :)

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2Feb2015

Valentine’s Day Letter Search FREE Printable Worksheet

Posted in alphabet activities, free worksheets & printables, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

I made this cute worksheet to include in my kid’s Valentine’s Day activities.

It’s great since my girls are learning their letters, but it’s still fun, even for older kids that are just beginning to read on their own.

It’s also a great worksheet to use if you’re following along with our Alphabet Activities.

It’s free for home and classroom use, but please don’t sell or reproduce it.

You can print the PDF by clicking the link below:

Valentine’s Day Letter Search

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1Feb2015

Valentine’s Day Printable Tags for Bubbles

Posted in free worksheets & printables, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

Free Printable Valentine's Day Tags for Bubbles

These are the Valentine’s Day treats that my kids will be giving to their class this month.

I chose bubbles because I really wanted to avoid adding even more sugar to the student’s pile of what was sure to be a large load of candy.

And bubble are always a hit with kids.

So I looked around and found these adorable mini bubbles at Target in the holiday section of the store. I then found the Valentine’s colored bakers twine in the bargain section near the front of Target.

Of course, you can also sometimes find colorful bakers twine in the baking section of stores, and I’ve sometimes found fun colors of bakers twine in the craft section of my local Dollar Tree.

And if you’re having trouble finding mini bubbles, I’ve found that Party City usually has a large supply of colorful bubbles as party favors.

Free Printable Valentine's Day Tags for Bubbles

Anyway: back to the tags!

I made these heart-shaped tags in red and pink, after playing around with other color combinations like red and blue or red and purple. I found I liked the way these looked best.

And they probably would have looked even better for my photos if my printer hadn’t started running out of ink…..

I made two versions. The first has both a “to” and “from” on it, and the second {seen in the photos} only has “from.”

I did this because my girls are in preschool and it just seemed easier on everyone if we only wrote their names on the Valentines instead of the names of all of their classmates, too. But older kids might want to write who they’re for, so I made that an option.

Valentine's Day Printable Tags for Bubbles

To assemble the Valentines, I first wrote my girls’ names on the heart and cut them out. Then I punched a hole in the heart with a hole punch on the left side of the top of the heart.

Next, I cut a piece of bakers twine about 10 inches long and tied it around the neck of the bubble bottle. I double knotted it so it wouldn’t go anywhere. Then I strung the heart onto one piece of the tied bakers twine and tied another double knot to secure the heart to the bubbles.

You could stop there, I guess, but I went ahead and tied a bow to make them look a little nicer. I double knotted the bow as well, so it wouldn’t come undone.

I then packed all the bubbles into a heart-shaped basket we already had to make it easy for my girls to bring them to school

To open the free printable PDFs, click on the link below for the one you want:

Valentine’s Day Printable Tags for Bubbles {with “To” and “From”}

Valentine’s Day Printable Tags for Bubbles {with “From” only}

Happy Crafting! And please share your photos with me here or on Facebook if you make these!!

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31Jan2015

Valentine’s Day Lunch Snack Ideas for Kids

Posted in food & flavor & recipes, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I’ve already started adding fun Valentines-themed snacks to my kid’s lunches.

The top picture is of heart-shaped strawberries.

Okay, okay… they’re not obviously hearts upon first glance, so I did mention to my girls ahead of time that they were getting strawberry hearts in their lunch bags. Just in case my artfulness didn’t shine through right away.

Anyway, to make quick strawberry treats that vaguely resemble hearts, follow these steps:

Wash strawberry.
Cut top off of strawberry.
Cut berry in half.
Cut a triangle out of the top center of the berry.
Cut off the edges of the top at an angle.
Ensure children they’re getting lovingly carved hearts and not mangled fruit pieces.

You can also toss those extra strawberry pieces into a bowl of cereal or oatmeal, by the way.

And onto the next photo…. I used a tiny {about 1-inch} cookie cutter to cut hearts out of American cheese slices and flour tortillas.

I cut out about twice as many tortilla hearts as cheese ones because my oldest likes to assemble her own cheese sandwiches out of the pieces.

The last photo doesn’t have anything heart-shaped, but instead includes something red.

I tossed a few red M&Ms {leftover from Christmas} into a container of nuts. Cashews, specifically, since I think they taste better than peanuts, and there are kids in my daughters’ classes with peanut allergies.

My girls will eat the nuts without any extra incentive, but I felt the dash of red color just added a little fun.

And if you’re wondering about the containers I had the cashews in, these are the ones I use:

My girls love getting snacks in these little triangle containers. They’re technically condiment containers, but they’re easy to open {even for my 2yo} and they hold plenty of food.

Not a LOT of food, mind you, but a handful of nuts or raisins or goldfish or about 5 or 6 grapes. Enough for a snack.

Oh, and I also cut apple slices and used the same heart shaped cookie cutter to remove the seeds, thus putting a heart in the middle of the circle slice. But I forgot to photograph those. I’ll try to remember next time. :)

Please share any fun Valentine’s snacks you’ve made for your own kiddos!

**********EDIT: Aug 2015**********

Aaaaaand….. now that I’ve been making heart strawberries in a way that’s SO much easier for a while now, I should probably update this post! ;)

Anyway, after I wrote this, I discovered that it was way easier to just cut the strawberry in half and use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the heart. Takes two seconds and looks amazing! Plus – the cuteness factor means my kids eat more fruit! (Even at school!!!)

Check it out:

And you can see that I used one of the larger heart-shaped cutters for the sandwiches. Since peanut butter and (strawberry) jelly can get a little messy, I sometimes cut out the bread first and then fill them instead of making the sandwich ahead of time and then cutting out the heart.

Happy Eating! (Or happy school-lunch making!)

25Jan2015

Flower Shaped Cinnamon Buns

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

These flower shaped cinnamon buns make breakfast a little extra special. :)

And it’s pretty quick to do with the help of store bought cinnamon rolls.

I popped those babies out of the can, formed a flower near the top of the pan {one roll in the center and 5 around it to act as petals} and then cut the remaining 2 rolls in half to use for the stem and leaf.

I was pretty happy about how much it actually resembled a flower even before I added the colored sprinkles.

Once you pull the buns out of the oven, add some colored sugar sprinkles right after spreading on the icing – otherwise the icing will start to harden just enough for the sprinkles to not stick. You have to be kind of quick about this step, so pick out your colors ahead of time.

Now, I made these for my mom on her birthday because she is a gardener and she likes flowers…. but while I was sprinkling on the bright colors, I realized it would also make an impressive centerpiece for any springtime or Easter breakfast or brunch.

Well, that is, it would make an impressive centerpiece if you transferred the buns to a platter instead of being all lazy like me and serving it right on the cookie sheet…..

Either way: enjoy!

And if you’re a big fan of sprinkles, check these out:

Jack O’ Lantern Cinnamon Buns

Milk Sprinkles

Sprinkles Cookies

23Jan2015

Phrenologically Speaking……

Posted in musings by Rosemary Lynn

phrenologically speaking...

So I’m reading a novel on my tablet and this particular word was bothering me because it was SO familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.

What does it mean? What does it mean? What does….. oh, wait! I can look words up on my tablet! Sweet!

And this is the definition I get: phrenologically: (phrenological) of or relating to phrenology

Seriously???

I mean – REALLY?

You know, when I was in school {granted it was many years ago} we weren’t allowed to use the word we were defining in the definition.

Apparently Google Books doesn’t have the same restrictions.

Of course, I soon afterwards picked up a book that used the word repeatedly. But by then, I’d remembered what it meant. Because I looked it up. In a real dictionary.

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19Jan2015

Coffee Is My Boyfriend, But Books Are My Lovers

Posted in books & book reviews, coffee, wanderings in the world & web by Rosemary Lynn

Coffee is my Boyfriend but Books are my Lovers art wood prints and wrapped canvases at RoamingRosie.com

Coffee is my boyfriend, but books are my lovers.

Because we all need priorities in life.

Check out my newest art here:

Coffee is my Boyfriend Wood Print

Books are my Lovers Wood Print

Coffee is my Boyfriend Wrapped Canvas

Books are my Lovers Wrapped Canvas

And I hope you enjoy the art as much as your coffee and your books!

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17Jan2015

Book Review: My First Keyboard Book

Posted in books & book reviews, toys & games & gifts, usborne by Rosemary Lynn

Usborne’s My First Keyboard Book is a lot of fun to play with … and not just for the kiddos.

I enjoy it, too, and so do a lot of adults that come in contact with it.

Part of the reason for this, I think, is the wonderful feel of smooth keys and the beautiful tone of the notes, which isn’t overly electronic. It sounds like you’re playing a piano or a high-quality keyboard.

The book itself teaches you recognizable songs {like Twinkle, Twinkle and Row, Row, Row your Boat} with color coordinated keys. There are dots of color on each key that correspond with patterns of dots that produce the song if you play them in that order.

It’s easier to show you than to tell you, so here’s my video review:

It is an internet linked book, so you can see a video of someone playing one of the songs, read some more reviews, and see pictures of the inside of the book on the Usborne site.

Other things I like about this book are that all of the keys work – even the black flat/sharp keys, and I especially like that there’s an on/off switch on the back. It’s nice to know I can shut it off when we’re not using it and it’s stored on the bookshelf.

It’s easy to play, too. My girls are 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 years old, and while the 2yo isn’t really interested in following the colored patterns, she does enjoy making her own music. The 4yo is able to play the songs by following the patterns, although her rhythm needs some work.

My point is, this book is great for younger kids as well as older ones. Little Ones might need much more practice before getting the hang of it, but older kids will pick it up right away and, like I mentioned above when I pointed out that adults seems to love it, it’s somewhat addicting.

Plus, there are actually a bunch of interactive books that get kids involved with and learning about music, many of which are illustrated in this graphic:

Happy Reading!

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12Jan2015

The Garden of Empress Cassia {a book review}

Posted in books & book reviews, usborne by Rosemary Lynn

The Garden of Empress Cassia by Gabrielle Wang: a Book Review at RoamingRosie.com

As soon as I finished reading The Garden of Empress Cassia by Gabrielle Wang, I was seriously tempted to turn back to the first page and read it all over again.

I liked it that much.

But I had appointments to keep and a review to write, so my rereading will have to wait.

Before delving into the story, let’s get the basic description out of the way: it’s a chapter book of 112 pages that’s suggested for elementary to middle school children between the ages of 8 and 12. Of course, I’m in my thirties and really enjoyed it, so I’d say you could push that age limit out a bit, even if it is targeted to kids.

The story is about a Chinese-Australian named Mimi Lu. Her parents own an herbal shop and insist that Mimi be proud of her Chinese heritage, but Mimi just wishes she could blend in with everyone else. Wishes she could be “normal.” To make matters worse, her father doesn’t want her to pursue her love of art, and she’s being bullied at school.

Another prominent character is Mimi’s art teacher, Miss O’Dell. Miss O’Dell is an Irish-Australian that is a kind, calming, and somewhat enlightening presence throughout the story. She’s also the one who gives Mimi the gift of the magical pastels.

These pastels allow Mimi to draw the ancient garden of Empress Cassia, and the magic in them transports people into her drawings, much like the chalk drawings in Mary Poppins. The garden is a place of healing and inspiration, and it’s beautiful.

The reason we know the garden is so beautiful is because the imagery in the story is so vivid and alive. It’s really one of my favorite things about the book. The writing is so fluid and transportive that the scenes come to life in a natural way that leaves the reader feeling as though they’re experiencing what Mimi is experiencing.

But just in case you can’t quite imagine it for yourself without any help, there’s also a gorgeous illustration of a map of the garden in the back of the book.

My other favorite thing about this book is the strong moral story. It’s not shoved at you or anything, but it’s potent. First of all, Mimi is truly goodhearted. Even when the bully steals Mimi’s cherished gift, Mimi truly worries for the other girl’s safety. And when Mimi questions whether or not she’s actually a good person and deserving of the pastels, the wise old man in the tale helps her distinguish between someone who’s good but occasionally acts naughty and someone who is actually a bad person.

It even ends with showing that Mimi doesn’t really need the magic pastels to make magical pictures. As an artist, she already has this vibrant magic in her heart. And kind of like Dumbo learning he doesn’t need his feather to fly, it allows kids to see that maybe – just maybe – they already are special.

Overall, I feel Mimi is an excellent roll model, and I not only feel comfortable offering this book to my own children when they’re older (they’re in preschool now), I want to encourage it.

This tale is about following your dreams and passions, about being strong and confident in the face of meanness and adversity, and about embracing who you are.

The Garden of Empress Cassia is a story you shouldn’t miss.

Awards for The Garden of Empress Cassia

CBCA Notable Children’s Book of the Year
Aurealis Award Winner
Shortlist, Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards
USBBY Outstanding International Booklist

Click here for a sneak peak of the first 2 chapters!

Unfortunately, you can no longer purchase the U.S. edition from my Usborne Books & More website, but you can still (yay!) find copies of the book on Amazon.

Similar books, with recommended ages ranging from 8 to 12: