I have been working with my little one on her colors recently and thought that I would incorporate her love of animals with reviewing this concept! We went to the ZOO not too long ago and I was hoping that I could use my own photographs for this book but it didn’t work out as planned so THANK goodness for google! I was able to find animals for 10 colors and I am thrilled with how the book turned out!

Here is a blank pdf of Colors at the Zoo for you to download. Just print and add the name of an animal for each color. You can then add photographs or have your little one draw the illustrations!

One of the most important lessons you can teach your child is of their divine nature and self worth. I want my daughter to know more than anything else that she is loved by her family here on earth and by her Heavenly Father.

So naturally the idea came to me to write a little book for her about just that! I used the words to the familiar primary song I Am a Child of God by Naomi Randall and inserted pictures of her that followed the text. It has turned out really cute and my daughter had me read a few times already today.

Here is a pdf to download of the text to Naomi Randall’s song- download and insert your own images or have children illustrate. Then print, staple, and voila! Or to make them a little sturdier- gather up old board books or buy some blank books from barebooks.com and print the story on sticker paper. Attach the paper to the pages of the book. Either way, the finished product is a mommy made book!

I have an upcoming post on the I am a Child of God quiet kit- I have been compiling a lot of great activities that I have found online (as well as some mommy-made ones). This will be a great resource to helping our little ones stay reverent at church and learn about Jesus!

Jacs is developing a real love of books. She has some new favorites this month: We’re Going On a Bear Hunt, Hop on Pop, and Mr. Brown Can Moo- Can You? These books have great rhythm- plus she is obsessed with certain images- like upside down Mr. Brown or a cat slurping milk (She will point to her milk, then the cat’s milk, then to her milk again… she is making her first text to self connections!  ) To broaden her little book schema, I wanted to make a book about a primary song… and since we sing Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree with Jacs, I thought this would be great one to start with! I wanted to have her be my model for the pics. Since she can’t do any of the signs yet, I had to do a little photo editing to make it all come together. Enjoy!!!

I wanted to make Jacs a special book for this month… I was considering making her a book of the inauguration, and I still might make her one if I have time, but I knew deep down that this month had to be a Grandma Findlay book. I contemplated writing a story about her life, or the memories I have of her- and was struck with this short excerpt from Grandma’s book Back To Innocence. Its a story of the desire she had as a young child to receive a doll for Christmas, being disappointed about never receiving one- and learning how food is more important than trivial gifts. This special tribute book is very meaningful to me because it is written in my Grandma’s own words.

As some of you might know, Jacs is having a kitchen themed Christmas this year. We got a really good deal on a play kitchen, bought her some pots and pans, and of course I had to make her some related books! She loves to point at things and ask “that?” so I decided to make a collage book for that very reason! I made her a book about fruits and a book about veggies- and she can point and ask away!