ABC and 123: A Learning Collaborative: Feature Yourself Friday: Meet Megan (Special Wedneday Edition): Meet Megan

Welcome! New to ABC and 123? Please check out our FAQ in the sidebar.

Today our normal Friday feature is appearing mid-week so that we can make sure you get to meet another of our talented community members and so that both Katies can enjoy a nice long Thanksgiving holiday break! We will return next Tuesday on the 30th with the next Show & Tell. We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We would also like to take this opportunity to say that we are both very thankful for the support and enthusiasm of our readers. This blog would not exist without your willingness to share your talents with one another. We truly appreciate that you take the time to come visit us and would like to encourage you all to send us your activities so we can showcase them!

Speaking of putting the spotlight on YOU, don't forget we are looking for guest posts for December. If you have a handmade gift kids can make, a holiday recipe small hands can help with, or a really great project we'd like to have you share it! Email us abc123learning@gmail.com with what you'd like to share and a link if you've already posted on your own blog.

Hello! My name is Megan Berry and I've been blogging on Fowl Single File for just over a year now. Why "Fowl Single File?" Well, I love being organized. I enjoy categorizing things and sorting things and I'm a chronic list-maker. I love having all my ducks in a row - but "Ducks in a Row" as a blog title was already taken (great minds think alike, I guess). So, Fowl Single File it is!
My blog is the place where I keep track of all my crafty endeavors. Here in Washington state I'm a mother to one daughter, a wife to one husband and a lap to one cat. I must admit that most of my crafting is inspired by and made with my daughter (and kids in general) in mind - sorry, kitty and husband!

I'm not very advanced in my sewing skills, but I LOVE attempting to make stuff for my daughter to wear - and it usually coordinates with an approaching holiday. Like her St. Patrick's Day skirt (which we now refer to as St. Patchwork's Day), or her Peeps shirt for Easter. The whale shirts were for the Fourth of July (they're supposed to be spouting fireworks!) and the birdie skirt was our tribute to summer.

Now that she's clothed I've gotta make her something to play with, right? Something educational and fun. How about some math bean bags? Actually, these weren't made for her but she did get a chance to play with them a bit before we shipped them off to Craft Hope. She went through a sheep phase a couple of months ago, so I made her some sheep number bean bags. Numeral recognition doesn't get much cuter than that!

When she gets tired of playing Hide and Sheep and learning about even and odd numbers, it's nice to have a kid-friendly craft to do, especially if the weather's crummy (there's almost always an 80% chance of crummy weather here in Washington). Many of our activities end up being seasonally-themed. Like the little egg-shaped critters we made last Easter or the nut critters we made this fall. I think I have a "thing" for cute critters. Luckily, my daughter does, too.

After all that playing and crafting, she's bound to be hungry. So many blogs feature creative snack ideas and I'm pretty sure that all the fun snacks I've made were inspired by other crafty moms who were kind enough to share their ideas. Whether it's octopus crescent rolls and spooky bagels to share with the kids at preschool - or - bee hive cupcakes and watermelon cookies for celebrations...snack time can also be crafty!

Doing random crafts and seasonal crafts throughout the year is fun, but my absolute favorite crafty endeavor is party planning. Once a year I get to celebrate the little (not so little any more) person who is my partner in craft and inspires me each day. It seems that each year I get a little more carried away with the theme, but like I said, it's so much fun to plan a child's birthday party! This year's theme was rainbows and both of us had a rollicking time using all the food coloring we could find to make a rainbow layer cake and other rainbow-themed goodies. Last year we did a sea creature theme because she was mesmerized by anything that lives in the ocean....tentacles galore at that party! When she turned three years old, we threw her a banana/monkey party where we served banana splits instead of the traditional birthday cake.

Well, there you have it! A little taste of Fowl Single File. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have shared some of my "stuff" with you today and I hope you've enjoyed these little tidbits and photos. You are all cordially invited to pop over for a visit. Just a warning, though: I love puns and occasionally subject my readers to posts that are riddled with them.