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Winter Village House Lego Advent Calendar
For the last few years I have had lots of fun building my kids a LEGO advent calendar for Christmas. This year I wanted to replicate the feeling of the traditional cardboard advent calendars. The calendars with the beautiful Christmas scene and the little doors hiding a picture behind them. They were always my favourite as a kid. So with this goal in mind and inspired by all the Winter Village builds on the internet, I set about making my own winter scene. My winter village house has a total of 24 doors to open, one for each day leading up to Christmas. They are not numbered and can be…
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Egg Carton Pumpkin Garland
For Halloween this year the kids and I made this super easy pumpkin garland. It looks really cute hanging on our mantel. Supplies Egg carton Orange paint Black marker or fine line pen String Needle Scissors Step 1 To create your pumpkin shapes cut down an egg carton into the egg cup shapes in the bottom of the carton. To do this we removed the lid, then cut the bottom in half and then into pieces. Finally we trimmed them into a nice round shape. Step 2 Now it’s time to paint your little pumpkins. We chose to paint ours orange but you could have multicoloured pumpkins or whatever suits…
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Bears in Woolly Jumpers Craft Inspired by “Norton and the Bear”
Are you looking for a fun craft to make with your children for Book Week? This cute bear craft was inspired by one of this year’s CBCA shortlisted Picture Books ” Norton and the Bear,” written and illustrated by Gabriel Evans. “Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Or is it just annoying? This irresistible read-aloud helps children deal with the sensitive topics of conformity, individuality and belonging in an accessible, kid-friendly way. Whether you’re more like Norton or the bear, this story will show you that there’s room for all kinds of creative expression.” Norton and the Bear is such a fun and humourous story, and I loved all…
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Australian Bird Craft Inspired By “Busy Beaks”
Are you looking for a fun craft to make with your children for Book Week? These cute Australian birds were inspired by one of this year’s CBCA shortlisted Early Childhood books, “Busy Beaks,” written and illustrated by Sarah Allen. “Spend a day with Australia’s most vibrant and unique feathered friends. Full of splashing shorebirds, clattering cockatoos, parading penguins and greedy galahs, Busy Beaks is the perfect introduction to birds of all shapes and sizes.“ Busy Beaks is a wonderful mix of picture story book and fact book in one beautifully illustrated edition. It guides readers through a day in the life of our Australian birds from sunrise to sunset. My students just…
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Tent Craft Inspired By “There’s No Such Thing”
Are you looking for a fun craft to make with your children for Book Week? This tent craft was inspired by one of this year’s CBCA shortlisted Early Childhood books, “There’s No Such Thing,” written and illustrated by Heidi McKinnon. Bear can’t sleep. Did you hear that? Did you feel that? What was it? It wasn’t a hungry giant or a blood-sucking spider or a fire-breathing dragon because there is NO SUCH THING… Is there? In this heart warming and fun story, Bear and Teddy are camping. But Bear is worried about the things going bump in the night. Luckily, Teddy is there to reassure him, that everything is not as scary as it seems… Today…
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Make a Star Garland From Old Books
Book Week is one of my favourite times in the library, and for this year’s theme, “Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds,” I created a space display that also doubles as a photo booth. To add to this display, I decided to hang some book page star garlands around the library. They were so quick and easy to make and they look pretty too! Supplies Old novels String Sticky tape Scissors Star template Pencil Step 1 Rip pages from an old novel and trace around a star template. I used old glow in the dark stars as my templates, but you can easily download templates from the internet. I used…
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Puppy Dog Ears Craft Inspired By “When Billy Was A Dog”
Are you looking for a great craft to make with your children for Book Week? These puppy dog ears were inspired by one of this year's CBCA shortlisted Early Childhood books, "When Billy Was a Dog," written by Kirsty Murray and illustrated by Karen Blair. This craft Includes free printable templates.
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Birdhouse Treasure Box Inspired by “Tilly”
Are you looking for a great craft to make with your children for Book Week 2020? These birdhouse treasure boxes were inspired by one of this year's CBCA shortlisted Picture Books Tilly, written by Jane Godwin and illustrated by Anna Walker.
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Spoon Dolls
Looking for a fun craft idea your kids will love? Why not make a spoon doll. They are super simple to make, lots of fun to play with and there are endless possibilities to create.
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Our Little Playroom Reveal
Our little playroom reveal. Keeping mess and toys under control in our small playroom was really tricky. It was time for a makeover. Our new design now has plenty of space for all our toys and LEGO!