It's March and time to plan another month of the Family Dinner Book Club! This is one of my favorite projects every month and I hope you will join us. The Family Dinner Book Club is a wonderful way to combine reading and family dinner time - each month, Jodie from Growing Book by Book introduces a book with conversation starters and a service project. Then Daisy at Home brings us a delicious themed menu. Finally, I share an easy table craft to complement the book of the month. Combine them all and you have the perfect book themed plan for a fun family dinner!
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This month we are featuring James Herriot's Treasury for Children as our Family Dinner Book Club pick. This is a gorgeous collection of James Herriot's beloved stories of life as a country veterinarian. I remember reading his classic All Creatures Great and Small as a child myself, so I was really excited to share these tales with my own animal loving kids.
It wasn't easy to decide on a craft because my boys loved all the animals in the book, but we finally decided to focus on sweet little Moses the Kitten, and made an easy table craft for kids to make their own version of Moses - a chalkboard cat!
To make your own Chalkboard Cat, you will need:
- Empty cardboard paper roll
- Piece of cardboard
- Scissors
- Chalkboard paint
- Paintbrush
- Glue
- Chalk
Directions:
For each cat, start by cutting your paper roll into a 1 inch wide ring. Then cut a circle from cardboard (approximately 1.5" diameter) and two small triangles for ears.
Paint each piece with chalkboard paint and allow to dry.
Then glue the two triangles onto the back of the circle for ears. Glue the circle onto the ring. Allow the glue to dry completely. Now you're ready to decorate your kitten with chalk!
Draw on a face with white chalk, and decorate your cat any way you'd like. Be creative and have fun! These work great as place cards - just write names on the ring. Or slide your napkin through for a perfect napkin ring.
We had so much fun making these Chalkboard Cats - my boys love erasing the faces and drawing them on again. They work great as a table craft and make the perfect companion to a family dinner discussion of James Herriot's Treasury for Children!
Be sure to stop by Growing Book by Book to find this month's conversation starters & service project ideas and Daisy at Home for a delicious themed menu.
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