See what we did to go along with this month's Monthly Crafting Pumpkin-Related Book Club theme.
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My bloggy pal Hilary over at Raising Fairies and Knights started a fun Monthly Crafting Book Club - a challenge to create activities to go along with some of the most beloved children's books.
We had some great times last year (see links at the end of this post) and have continued the fun this year:
January - Ladybug Girl Addition Bugs
February - Giraffes Can't Dance Roll-a-Dance Die
March - How Do Dinosaurs...Social Skills Game
April - The Very Hungry Caterpillar Box
May - Unique Nature Creations
June - Pinkalicious-Inspired Collage Art
July - Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten Can Craft
August - Homemade Bow and Arrow Flight Investigation
This month, our little group is getting ready for autumn with this book:
I have to be honest, Irma took up all of my brain space this month and I had no clue what I was going to do for a matching activity for this book.
Then I spent an entire day baking food in preparation for going a week or more without power and I decided to make these fantabulous cookies as a treat:
I even managed to keep our pizza night consistent before the storm hit and made this yummy pumpkin-related pie, as well:
G said I should continue the pumpkin-food theme and just make those recipes to go along with the book, like these muffins and this soup, but I knew we'd never eat all that soup if we couldn't warm it up and I'd already used up a bunch of mushy bananas on my banana bread bites.
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| Pumpkin Seed & Squash Muffins |
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| Pumpkin Soup |
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| Best Banana Bread Bites |
With all the extra work we had going on to prepare for and recover from the hurricane, I was starting to think my "activity" really would just be the pumpkin cookies and the pizza, but then we came up with this idea:
A "Blow the Biggest Pumpkin" Challenge.
First, we each took a balloon. G and I chose boring orange, but Gv insisted that her pumpkin be gold.
Next, we each blew up our balloon as big as we could without it bursting.
(Gv ended up switching balloons with G because she said the gold one "didn't work." Of course, G had already "primed" his orange one first, so that was the only reason she was able to blow it up even a little bit!)
Finally, we took a tape measure and wrapped it around the part of the balloon with the greatest diameter so we could see who won the prize for the biggest pumpkin.
Gv was tickled to learn that her balloon was 28 inches around. She was obviously in third place, but thought that was a good thing, since the Bear Family came in third in the book.
Gv thought G's gold balloon was the largest, but I was confident my orange one would win first prize.
The gold one was 66 inches around.
The orange one was 70!
G said he always knew I was just full of hot air.
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| Anyone can see that my balloon pumpkin is superior! |
Woo-Hoo! I could be the next Farmer Ben!
As an added bonus, Gv decided she wanted to turn her pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern, so I handed her a Sharpie and she went to town.
Luckily, she didn't feel the need to press G and I into pumpkin decorating along with her.
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| It's funny how this balloon looks absolutely obnoxious with all the drawing on it in person, but in this photo just comes across as having lightly-drawn eyes and other facial features... |
So, if you're looking for some pumpkin fun this season, try one of our favorite recipes -- or just grab a couple of balloons and try to blow the biggest pumpkin you can grow!
Do you crave pumpkin-everything this time of year? Or does the balloon challenge sound more like it's right up your alley? I'd love to hear! Either leave a comment below or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com.
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Check out the other amazing crafts that my fellow bloggers came up with for this month.
Come back next month and see what crafts and activities we come up with for our next book selection, Pete the Cat. Join our Facebook Group HERE to participate.
Want to see all the great book activities from last year? Just check these out:
January - Animal Action Dice Game for the book Barnyard Dance
February - Cause & Effect Box for If You Give a Moose a Muffin
March - an alphabetical scavenger hunt for Dr. Seuss's ABC.
April - handwashing fun to go along with The Piggy in the Puddle
May - 5 Little Monkeys Fold 'Em Up for Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
June - pinecone princess & Cozy Sweater Warrior Paper Dolls for The Princess and the Pony
July - lantern craft for Curious George Goes Camping
August - mini backpacks & dress-a-doll fun for Froggy Goes to School
September - pumpkin fun for It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse!
October - monster shape-sort bags & other crafts for Have You Seen My Monster?
November - cozy paper quilt for Bear Stays Up for Christmas
December - snowflake activities for Millions of Snowflakes
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| Click here to see the other fun pumpkin activities! |
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