OK, I am so not the crafty type in the least bit; however, since I am a former elementary school teacher, many expect me to be very Becky-Homecky and do cool, elaborate activities that enrich my children’s brain growth.  I had aspirations to be this way.  Honestly, I did.  Then I had kids.  And all the stuff that goes with that.  And all the stuff that goes with THAT.  So what I’m saying is that if I am going to put something on this little blog here that is a craft, it will rest assured be easy because I 1) don’t do crafts and 2) if I dare to venture out and do them, they will be a cinch.

One of my favorite children’s authors is Eve Bunting.  We have her book entitled “Night Tree” in our holiday book bin and for the first time this year, the kids have taken a bit of an interest in reading the tale.  It’s about a family that decorates a tree in the forest with edible decorations for the animals  to eat on Christmas Eve – super charming with adorable illustrations.  We decided to make our own “Night Tree” so here’s what we did:

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First, find some pine cones or buy them from a craft store.  Tightly tie some ribbon around the top of the cone and spread with peanut butter (use a small spreader for little hands).  Note the random LSU cheerleading outfit on Susannah – might be odd for a little girl from Indiana but we do have a slight obsession with cheerleading outfits and don’t care where they are from…

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Next, roll the pine cones in bird seed (use a jelly roll pan!).  Enjoy the pudgy hands of Solomon.

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Redirect toddler eating the bird seed…I don’t even want to think about that diaper…At least we have Ellie’s rump in the background…

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Get tired of saying “Do not eat the bird seed, Solomon.”  Move toddler to seat with Goldfish.  In other words, don’t even try this with kids younger than two.

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Find a tree and hang them up.  Voila!  Done.  Now didn’t I say this was an easy one?

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Sawyer was in his toddler class while the above activity took place.  He did his when he got home – could be why it was a success because I did one child at a time.   Had to include him as well…

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