Love to Laugh and Learn - Page 8 of 29 - Fun and interesting activities to do with the children in your life.

Celebrating Father’s Day: Crafts and Gift Ideas

June 8, 2025 by Mama Carmody Leave a Comment

Dad. Father. Pops. Just a few of the names for the first man in your life. Father’s Day is a wonderful time to pause and celebrate the love, laughter, and life lessons he’s shared with you. That’s why I’ve gathered some meaningful Father’s Day crafts and gift ideas to help you show just how much he means to you.

Vintage photo of a smiling father holding his infant daughter on his lap in a striped chair, used in a Father's Day blog post celebrating dads and special memories.

What are some of your favorite memories with your dad?

I remember going fishing with my dad. Sitting in his lap as he taught me to read is another favorite memory. And then there was his calm nature. Like the time I slammed on the brakes and nearly launched my mom into the front seat from the back. Without missing a beat, he looked over his shoulder and said, “Well, you told her to slam on the brakes.” That was my dad. Calm, even in chaos.

Finding ways to celebrate him was always a challenge. He never asked for anything. However, he appreciated everything.

So, if you’re stuck on what to get the special man in your life, here are a few ideas to inspire you. Some are handmade with love. Others are ready to buy. These Father’s Day crafts and gift ideas are easy for kids to help with and are sure to bring a smile.

Father’s Day: Crafts and Gift Ideas

🎨Handprint Keepsake

One of my favorite crafts to do with my preschoolers was a special handprint picture. I would paint Dad’s hand and press it to the paper, then paint the child’s hand and place it right inside Dad’s.
I’m including a free printable with a sweet quote to go along with this keepsake—just print and create!

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🖼️ Popsicle Stick Picture Frames

These are simple to make and full of heart. Here are two easy ideas:

“I’m Nuts About You!”
Glue small hardware nuts (the kind that go with bolts) to a frame and write this pun along the bottom. Add a photo of Dad and child.

“Love You to Pieces!”
Use those leftover puzzle pieces from broken puzzles and glue them randomly around a frame. Add this fun message and a favorite photo together.

For sturdier frames, I recommend jumbo craft sticks like these (affiliate link):
👉 Jumbo Craft Sticks on Amazon

Or if you’d rather skip building the frame from scratch, I found this great kit on Amazon. It includes pre-assembled frames and even comes with fun Father’s Day-themed stickers—perfect for quick decorating!👉 Check it out here (affiliate link)

Quick & Easy Father’s Day Gift Ideas

If crafting isn’t your thing, here are a few fun gift ideas (yes, these include affiliate links, which help support my blog if you make a purchase):

📚 Dad Joke Books

Got a dad who loves to joke around? Here’s a whole page of dad joke books that’ll keep him laughing (and you rolling your eyes) for days: 👉 Dad Joke Books on Amazon

🔥 Grill Gloves for the BBQ King

My son-in-law is a grill master, and he loved the heat-resistant grill gloves I gave him for his birthday:
👉 Grill Gloves on Amazon

🍖 BBQ-Themed Aprons & Shirts

I’ve designed several BBQ-themed aprons that celebrate America’s most beloved grilling styles—Texas, Kansas City, Memphis—and just plain BBQ fun.
They’re available on Redbubble as aprons or t-shirts, perfect for the grill-loving dad: 👉BBQ Aprons 👉BBQ T-Shirts

However you choose to celebrate, I hope this Father’s Day is filled with laughter, love, and a few unforgettable moments. Whether it’s a handmade gift, a quiet afternoon together, or just a great big hug, the time you share is what truly matters.

Let’s honor all the amazing men who help shape little lives—dads, grandpas, uncles, and bonus dads, too. They deserve to be celebrated for the love, strength, and smiles they bring.

From my heart to yours,
Mama Carmody

Favorite Mother’s Day Handprint and Footprint Crafts

May 5, 2015 by Mama Carmody 18 Comments

Favorite Mother’s Day Handprint and Footprint Crafts

Favorite Mother’s Day Crafts

Mother’s Day has always been extra special to me—especially when my children were young. I always enjoyed receiving crafts made from their little hands and feet. They usually made them at school and brought them home for Mother’s Day. Now that I’m a grandmother, I once again love receiving those special presents.

Salt Handprint Ornaments

Our first grandchild was born in July of 2013. For Christmas that year, we received a special little handprint ornament. I was lucky enough to be there when my daughter and grandson were making them. Even at 5 months old, he enjoyed making crafts. My daughter said she got the idea from the post, “Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments” by Olive Juice Mama.

My special handprint gift from my daughter and grandson.

With Mother’s Day around the corner, I thought I would share some of my favorite handprint and footprint crafts (hint, hint to my daughter).

Handprint Bouquet

This handprint bouquet would be perfect for Mother’s Day. I found this craft on Happily Frazzled.

Footprint Butterflies

I fell in love with these footprint butterflies the first time I laid my eyes on them. I especially like that they are created on a canvas so they can be hung on the wall. These came from Project Balancing Act.

Butterfly Footprints, courtesy of Project Balancing Act

Handprint/Footprint Apron

I love the outdoors, especially in spring. This apron reminds me of a warm spring day, and it’s decorated with handprint flowers and a footprint butterfly. I found it on Little Page Turners’ blog.

Fingerprint Hyacinths

I thought using fingerprints to create these hyacinths was genius. Aren’t they adorable? This came from Dali’s Moustache.

Fingerprint Pendants

If you like jewelry, these fingerprint pendants are perfect. You can have a piece of your little one with you wherever you go. Don’t forget to put the child’s name and date on the back. I found this craft on A Girl and a Glue Gun.

Fingerprint Necklace, courtesy of A Girl and a Glue Gun

Handprint Flower Pot

If you have a passion for working in the dirt, planting flowers, vegetables or herbs’ then I bet you would love to receive this special little flower pot. This came from Michellan.

Fingerprint Planter, courtesy of Michellan

Love Canvas Art

Here is another special canvas piece. It’s the word “love” made with your little one’s handprints and footprints. This came from Country & Victorian Times.

Plaque

What grandmother wouldn’t love this piece of art?! I just need it to say Mama instead of Grandma. I found this on I Watch Them Grow.

I hope you enjoyed some of these special crafts. If you are now a grandparent, share this post with your children and give them a hint as to which items you would love to receive for Mother’s Day. I would accept any of them, with great joy. Which one is your favorite?

Pumpkins are Orange; and Other Learning Concepts

October 26, 2011 by Mama Carmody 22 Comments

Pumpkins are Orange; and Other Learning Concepts

I thought I would take another object of the season and give you different learning activities that you can do while you are enjoying this time of year. Yes, some of the ideas are very basic and may seem obvious but sometimes when we are busy with house cleaning, cooking, baths, homework and may even work outside the home, a little extra help coming up with fun educational activities can be quite useful.
Learning Concepts: colors, senses, math concepts: size comparison, measurements, fine motor skills, biblical, reading

Colors

A lot of learning comes from simply talking with your child and challenging them to take a look at their surroundings. When you go to pick out your pumpkins this year discuss with your child the colors they see. The obvious color they will mention, when looking at a pumpkin, is that it’s orange but there are probably other colors on it too. Some of them have green spots or possibly dirt stuck on it. What color is the stem? Is it brown or is it still green? If you are in a pumpkin patch, the vines may still be laying around. Are they still green or have they turned brown? Possibly some of the leaves on the vines have turned yellow. Just keep talking and encouraging your child to take in the sights that surround them.

Pumpkins are Orange: Learning activities that include pumpkins.

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Arts/Crafts

Click here and you can get a template of a pumpkin to print out and have your child color or paint it. After your child has applied the color, cut out some eyes, noses and mouths. Let your child decide what kind of facial features they want to put on their pumpkin. If you have children that cover a wide age span, let the older ones cut out the facial features for the little ones.

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Size Comparison

Do you have more than one child in your house? Did you purchase more than one pumpkin for your front porch? Take the time to talk about the different sizes you have. Have your child point out the biggest one and the smallest one. Is there a middle size one? Even some of the fast food restaurants don’t realize that you can’t have a middle size if there isn’t a large and a small one.

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Biblical

There are many interesting ways to incorporate biblical lessons in the fun activities you are doing. Here is a fun one that you can do while carving your pumpkins this Halloween.

Materials

Large pumpkin and a carving knife.

Object Lesson on Prayer

{cut off top of pumpkin}
Lord, open my mind so I can learn new things about You.
{remove innards}
Remove the things in my life that don’t please You.
Forgive the wrong things I do and help me to forgive others.
{cut open eyes}
Open my eyes to see the beauty You’ve made in the world around me.
{cut out nose}
I’m sorry for the times I’ve turned my nose at the good food You provide.
{cut out mouth}
Let everything I say please You.
{light the candle}
Lord, help me show Your light to others through the things I do. Amen
Inspired by the children’s book, “The Pumpkin Patch Parable”, by Liz Curtis Higgs

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Sensory Play/Fine Motor Skills

While you are busy carving that pumpkin, let you child have some fun with sensory play. Believe it or not squishing the slimy inside of a pumpkin and picking out the slick seeds are great for their senses and fine motor skills. Why is sensory play so important to children? As Amanda Morgan explains on her blog, NotJustCute, children are wired to use their senses from the day they are born. Amanda says, “The senses are their most familiar, most basic way to explore, process, and come to understand new information.”

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Measurements

Is there any better way to learn about measurements than by cooking with your family? And just think, when you are done with this math lesson, you get to eat the results!

There are many types of math skills involved in cooking. If your children are younger, just having them count is good for them. If you need 2 cups of flour, have the child count along. If your child is older, then cooking is a good way to introduce and strengthen their skills with fractions. If you need one cup of sugar, ask your child how many half cups would equal one cup.

The following recipe is one that my niece brought home from school when she was in the second grade. It became a family standard and we call it Stephanie’s Sweet Pumpkin Bread.

Stephanie’s Sweet Pumpkin Bread

4 eggs
½ cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup cooked pumpkin
2 tsp. nutmeg
1 ¾ cups molasses
½ tsp. ground cloves
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. baking soda

Instructions:
1. Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Beat well.
2. Add the water, oil, pumpkin, molasses and brown sugar. Beat well.
3. Sift in the flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
4. Stir all the ingredients well.
5. Grease two loaf pans. Pour the batter into the pans. Be careful not to fill them more than 2/3’s full
6. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350°.
7. Let the bread cool in the pans for at least 15 minutes before removing.

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Great pumpkin books:

Speaking of great pumpkin books, how about the book about the Great Pumpkin:
“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” by Charles M. Schulz
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
This is a wonderful book that should be shared from generation to generation.

Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Rebecca Estelle hates pumpkins because she had to eat tons of pumpkins when she was young. She doesn’t even want to look at a pumpkin. So how does she end up with a yard full of pumpkins and what does she do with them? Read this fun little book and find out.

Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
This is a light-hearted look at the life cycle of a pumpkin named Jack. The plant’s cycle throughout the seasons is told in a simple, easy to understand, way.

Dr. Pompo’s Nose by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
This is one of my favorite pumpkin books. I read this to my preschool classes every year and they loved it. It is written in rhyme, which I love. The way Freymann and Elffers carve facial features into the pumpkins, to give them personality, is absolutely adorable. Your child will enjoy helping Dr. Pompo figure out what the lost stem might actually be.

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How to Eat a Pumpkin : A Lesson From a 3 Year Old

How to Eat a Pumpkin, Part 2

Pumpkins are Orange; and Other Learning Concepts
Thanksgiving Learning Activities
Thanksgiving Fun with Turkeys

Zombie Zapper Brain Boost Smoothie

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Activities

January 20, 2013 by Mama Carmody 22 Comments

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Activities

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated on the third Monday in January so it falls on or near his birthday, which is January the 15th. The foundation of almost all of my learning activities is books. The book I would like to start with, to aid in learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. is called, “Martin Luther King, JR. Day (Holidays, Festivals, & Celebrations)“ by Trudi Strain Trueit. The suggested reading level for this book is 5 years old and up so this activity may work for a little bit older child than some of my previous posts.

Because of the way the book is divided, you could either read through the whole thing at once or read one or two sections at a time. The book really isn’t very long so I would probably read through the whole thing first and then go back and reread or simply discuss some of the parts while introducing some of the following activities.

After reading through the book, go back to page 4. It mentions that M.L.’s mother said that some people didn’t realize that beneath the skin everyone was the same. To emphasize this point conduct this simple lesson that I found on Pinterest. The activity came from The First Grade Parade blog.

Here is how Mrs. Carroll suggests doing this activity:

1. Show your child a white egg and a brown egg.

Martin Luther King, Jr. , brown egg and white egg

2. Have them discuss how the eggs are the same and how they are different.
3. Remove the eggs from the child’s sight and break them open on a plate. Leave the egg shells out of sight.

Martin Luther King, Jr. - egg activity — Martin Luther King, Jr. – egg activity

4. Ask the child if they can tell which egg came out of the white shell and which came out of the brown shell.
5. Conclusion: We may look different on the outside but we are all the same on the inside.

On page 12 of the book, “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Holidays, Festivals & Celebrations)” by Trudi Strain Trueit, It talks about the famous, “I Have a Dream”, speech. The wonderful thing about the times we live in is that we have easy access to history. Your child can actually see Martin Luther King, Jr. giving his speech. Here is a YouTube clip you can share with your child. It doesn’t take very long and he gives the speech with such passion that it holds your attention.

YouTube Video of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech:

“I Have a Dream” August 28, 1963

Craft

I found a cute craft on Pinterest that I would like to share with you. It came from the Teach Preschool blog. It goes along with the “I Have a Dream” speech. Another book I would suggest in preparation for this craft is, “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Ready to Read, Level 1)” by Margaret McNamara. Although, the book doesn’t go into a lot of detail about Martin Luther King, Jr. it does discuss the “I Have a Dream” concept quite a bit. I like using this in preparation for the craft because it gives the child some ideas of the kinds of dreams that Martin Luther King, Jr. might have had; such as dreaming that no one would be poor or that everyone would play together nicely. Giving the children some direction through reading this book may result in more answers that dream about the welfare of others instead of dreams of getting more candy or going to Disney World.

“I Have a Dream” Cloud Craft
from Teach Preschool

Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" craft materials — Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” craft materials

Materials Needed:

White construction paper or poster-board
cotton balls
glue
pen or marker

Directions:

1. From the white construction paper or poster-board, cut out some cloud shapes.

Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" craft — Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” craft

2. If your child is too young to write then record what their dream would be on the cloud.
3. Put glue around the edge of the cloud and take cotton balls and pull them apart to stretch them and lay them in the glue.

Martin Luther King, Jr Day: "I Have a Dream" craft — Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” craft

4. Now you can hang your child’s dreams around the house and remember what Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed for this country.

Story Time

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Holiday House Reader) by David A. Adler
Reading Level: Ages 6 and up
Learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his dreams. His dreams that all people would be treated the same. Find out how he tried to change laws with peaceful actions. One of my favorite quotes from the books is, “He taught his followers to fight hate with love.” We would all be better off if we could remember that.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (On My Own Holidays) by Linda Lowery
Reading Level: Ages 7 and up
This is a very interesting and informative book about the struggles that Martin Luther King, Jr. faced during his lifetime. You will read about his hurt and disappointment when he is no longer allowed to play with his best friend; a little white boy. You will read how much Martin Luther King, Jr. loved to learn and was an excellent student. But most importantly, you will get to find out how much he wanted peace and for people to be treated equally, no matter the color of their skin.

Martin Luther King, JR. Day (Holidays, Festivals, & Celebrations) by Trudi Strain Trueit
Reading Level: Ages 5 and up
I love this book. There is a lot of historical information for a picture book. It is well written and not overwhelming. The book is broken down into eight chapters. Six of the chapters cover the story of Martin Luther King, Jr.. The chapters are very short and great for a young listener or reader. The longest chapter is two pages long and consists of nine sentences. The book explains what it was like for Martin Luther King, Jr. when he was a young boy growing up in the south. You will read about the way his family influenced his life. They encouraged him to be proud but peaceful. I plan on using this book as the basis for a lesson for pre-kindergarten and older. I highly recommend it.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Ready-to-Read. Level 1) by Margaret McNamara
Reading Level: Ages 4 and up
I enjoyed this book. It is a fun read but it doesn’t really talk a lot about the great things that Martin Luther King, Jr. accomplished. It mostly talks about him having a dream. It does say that he dreamed the world would be a better place but that is about all the information you get. I have seen a cute activity where kids write down their dreams, for the world, on little clouds. I would use this book to set up that activity but if I was really wanting my children to learn something about Martin Luther King, Jr., I would choose a different book.

Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington (Penguin Young Readers, L3) by Frances E. Ruffin
Reading Level: Ages 5 and up
This book is specifically about the march on Washington, D.C.. It tells about the events that led up to this peaceful protest. Pick up this book and find out what kind of changes were made in our country because of the march on Washington and why these changes were needed.

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Children’s Books about Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 16, 2016 by Mama Carmody Leave a Comment

Children’s Books about Martin Luther King, Jr.

Below are some books to help your child learn about Martin Luther King, Jr.. I love using books when teaching children. Children can learn so much while simply enjoying a story. There are varying reading levels for these books starting at age 4 and going up. They are listed alphabetically. There are some affiliate links below but all the reviews are my own. I either all ready have the books or I got them from the library and read them so I could review them for you.

Share these books about Martin Luther King, Jr. with your children.

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