I grew up in the 90’s and hair styles were different. Top of the trends were hair wraps. I know you remember, don’t deny it. All you do is start with one of those little plastic hair ties that are super hard to get out and bundle up a small section of hair usually next…
Q-Kids: Chicken Coop Club Story #2
Week two of the Chicken Coop Club is now live! New feature this week is an audio reading of the full story. So print off the FREE activity page and listen to my story while you play with your kids. This week’s story is about the game of BINGO! I hope you enjoy it. Happy…
Q-Kids: Archaeology At Home
My kids are really into (read obsessed) with finding “ancient artifacts” ever since they saw the Let’s Go Luna episode about Egypt. We’ve been looking at the photos in a few of my adult books about archaeology. I thought that would satisfy them. Dear readers, they want more. So we went onto YouTube and looked…
Q-Kids: Chicken Coop Club Story #1
I’ve been working with the amazing Townline Hatchery to create a fun children’s tale series focused around raising your own poultry. This new series is called The Chicken Coop Club. These mini stories focus on living out the backyard farm while under these strange circumstances we are all subject to right now. Bonus being that…
The Perfect Page Turn
With picture book writing their is a real art to handling a page turn. You have to think through not only the words but the accompanying art on the pages. There are many amazing tools out there to help you envision what your story will look like with each turn. You can find a wonderful…
Q-Kids: Hot Rock Art
The broken crayon is the bane of my craft box. If you’re int he same boat as me it’s time to collect all those broken bits and get to crafting. My kids have wanted to do the “painted rocks” art and leave them on our local trails for awhile now. The issue is all the…
Q-Kids Activity: Cookie Cutter Fun
It’s Monday. Just in case you needed a reminder. Staying in quarantine is getting longer and longer and even those of us with that extra serving of creativity are losing steam. We are also running low on all the snacks and comfort foods. So for snack time this week things got a bit crazy. I…
Bibliographies for Writers
You know those pesky end notes after research papers in high school and college? Well they’re back. In fact they never really left and are super important for writers who want to write in certain areas. If you’re writing nonfiction I’ll assume this is all old news to you but other types of writing that…
Q-Kids: Nature Weaving
My kids love to be outside. Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t been cooperating much here. But for those that do have fair weather this activity will have kids exploring and gathering all over your yard. There are many nature weaving photos available on Pinterest. My version is handy because I utilize something I already had on…
Making the Most of Time
Today I didn’t know what to write. I’m feeling far less than inspired in these current times. So I looked up some quotes from others wiser than myself instead. Here’s what I found. Hopefully you find them as inspiring as I do. “If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is…
Quarantine Check-In
How are you holding up? Take a moment this morning and take a mental inventory. Did you get some fresh air this weekend? Did you connect with someone you love? Did you accomplish something that needed to be done? Have you read something exquisite? Just like a boss would do, I’ve found it essential to…
Q-Kids Art Activity
This little mini series is an attempt to help out my fellow parents who need ideas to break up the day. These ideas will be fast, adaptable, and hopefully use things you already have on hand, all from home. BOX VEHICLE I know we are all getting stuff through delivery right now and that cardboard…
Q-Kids Art Activity
This little mini series is an attempt to help out my fellow parents who need ideas to break up the day. These ideas will be fast, adaptable, and hopefully use things you already have on hand, all from home. PINE CONE FLOWERS We have a lot of pine trees in our yard and I know…
Q-Kids Art Activity
This little mini series is an attempt to help out my fellow parents who need ideas to break up the day. These ideas will be fast, adaptable, and hopefully use things you already have on hand, all from home. BEADING Whether you’re kids are small or big you can get a lot of fun with…
Q-Kids Art Activity
This little mini series is an attempt to help out my fellow parents who need ideas to break up the day. These ideas will be fast, adaptable, and hopefully use things you already have on hand all from home. MAKE A PUZZLE My kids love puzzles and this is perfect for any artist. Have the…
Q-Kids Art Activity
This little mini series is an attempt to help out my fellow parents who need ideas to break up the day. These ideas will be fast, adaptable, and hopefully use things you alread have on hand, all from home. TRACK A PLANT’S GROWTH I bought a hyacinth for Easter last week and it hadn’t started…
Q-Kids Daily Art Activity
I know these past two weeks I’ve posted about teaching art classes but in all honesty I’d had those posts scheduled out before the whole virus crisis happened. I’m not teaching right now at all. But it occurred to me that just because I don’t have a classroom to go into that I can’t share…
Teaching Shadows
You’d think rule one of any teaching class would be never turn out the lights. But here I am, the newly minted art teacher, closing the blinds and flipping the switch. I mean how else do you really teach kids about shadow without a spotlight and some well placed puppets? So here I am with…
It’s Practice not a Mistake
My posts on Mondays have been delayed lately because I’ve received a new opportunity to teach art to kids. It’s sticky madness to be totally honest. I don’t mind though. Creativity is happening. Mistakes are termed as practice. Freedom of expression is running rampant, often literally. If you hear a voice within you say ‘you…
The Good, The Bad, & The Changes
I’ve had the opportunity through my amazing agency Golden Wheat Literary to be working through a marketing series. The goal is to get a better grasp on our audience and make our efforts line up across our platforms. While it sounds like a less than fun experience I’ve actually had a realization this week. I…
