VALENTINE'S DAY BOOK + CRAFT

CUTIEPANTS VALENTINE'S DAY BOOK ALERT!! Click, Clack, Moo I Love You! is pretty much everything you ever wanted in a Heart Day picture book: hearts, lots of giggles, sparkle and sweetness galore PLUS dancing mice and casserole! 🤓

Kinley and I both love every book in the Click, Clack, Moo series and we were so excited when this one showed up on our doorstep (Thanks, Simon Kids!!) Do you know these crazy farm animals? The premise of them all is a little like Toy Story on a farm -- what the animals do when the humans aren't paying attention, ya know?

In this one, a cute little yellow duck is rushing around getting everything decorated and ready for a big Valentine's Day dance for all of the animals. She makes everyone a sparkly valentine and a necklace with hearts made of everything she can find. We saw a crafty opportunity the minute we saw those sweet little accessories! Sparkly heart necklaces?! SIGN US UP!

Wanna do a little Valentine's Day bookish play, too? This is the perfect super easy classroom party activity -- super low-mess, quick and easy, and they can wear the finished products for the cookie and candy eating!

EGG CARTON DINOSAURS

** This post is sponsored by the folks behind the new TV show, Gigantosaurus.

Good news, my fellow dinosaur-loving friends: Gigantosaurus, that hilarious/super cute must-read-aloud picture book we all know by heart and adore, is coming to the Disney Channel in the form of a brand-new must-watch preschool kiddo TV show! Kinley and I had the privilege of a sneak peek at the first episode and we both loved it. The dino buddies are charming, the colors are super bright and happy, the story lines are smart and engaging, Gigantosaurus is just the right mix of goofball and ferocious, and the theme song is so dang catchy you will probably find yourself humming it even after the kiddos are in bed (not speaking from personal experience or anything 😉).

Because I am both amped about the premiere and in full on egg-carton-critter-making mode, I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate that big fierce wild bookish dinosaur getting his own show than to make a cute little slightly-less-fierce egg carton version of him. Wanna make one (or 12) too? 😁

A BOOK & A CRAFT: ESCARGOT

Disclaimer: This post was written by a person who unabashedly loves both snails and all things French-y, so she may be a tad bit biased towards books with adorable French snails for main characters. Continue reading the following gushfest at your own risk. You have been warned.

Escargot: the tale of a little French beret-rocking snail in search of the perfect salad.

I mean, you guys, I just can't. This book was made for us.

Sweet little manipulative Escargot is on a mission to both make you love him and to get to the other side of the table where the salad of his dreams is waiting. He tries every method imaginable from showing off to telling sob stories to convince you that he is indeed the best kind of creature on the planet. Let me tell you, his tactics worked on me.

SPLISHY-SPLASHY PUDDLE PAINTING

Are you here for puddle printing instructions? No worries, they've just moved on over to our brand-new website -- you can find them right here.

See you over there, friend!
xo Cara

SPLATTER PAINT STARRY SKY

K and I have been participating in some Instagram art challenges lately and we have been having a creative blast. It's so fun to be given a theme or material to work with and brainstorm together until we have the ultimate idea.

This week's challenge on one of our favorite accounts (@kidartlit) is Night. That's pretty broad, right? I was having such a hard time narrowing all of the fun night things (night sky, skylines at night, nocturnal animals, glow in the dark, all of the nighttime books, etc) down to one to plan an art project around, so I went to Kinley for some help.

I asked her to tell me some things about nighttime that make it different than daytime, and she actually thought up a lot more than I thought she would, and even a lot more than I had thought of.

She said that we wear jammies at nighttime, eat dinner and watch shows at nighttime. It's dark outside at nighttime, and Daddy comes home from work. But, she said her favorite night things were the moon and the stars.