family project By Betsu

1. Disguise a turkey. Send home a pattern in the shape of a turkey. Instruct families to disguise the turkey so that he won't get caught for Thanksgiving. I loved the creativity....we had Santa with a bag of toys, an NBA basketball player, etc.

2. 100s Day Project: Create something out of 100 items. Another project that shows their creativity. I've had a rocket built out of 100 styrofoam cups, a house of cards with 100 playing cards hot-glued together, and a flag made out of 100 red, white, and blue buttons.

3. Milk Jug Challenge (for Earth Day): Create something out of a reused milk jug. I had everything from planters to masks to birdfeeders, and even a crocodile with a moveable mouth!

Another book I found that I have used for less time-consuming projects is a book from Random House. I can't remember the title, but it's a book of word puzzles. It's designed for parents and children. Each page is set up with a puzzle for the parent and a puzzle for the child. The pages face each other, so that the parent and child sit across the table from each other as they work their puzzles. The puzzles always have something to do with each other, for example the parent puzzle might end with a question, and the child puzzle ends with the answer. It's a great book, and parents love the puzzles.