Arts & Crafts

Snowman Crafts and Activities

December 1, 2014 by ajpassey

Today I’m over at ALLterNATIVE Learning sharing some snowman crafts and activities. There’s even a free printable for snowman finger puppets to use with a cute snowman poem. Read about all the snowman fun here.

Welcome ALLterNATIVE Learning readers!

I’m so excited to have you stop by today and check out Because Babies Grow Up. My babies have been growing up on this blog for about 5 years so the archives are a treasure of fun activities, crafts, play ideas that have been a big hit with our crew.

If you love to craft with your little one, this Twinkle Twinkle Little Star craft for preschoolers has been a big with with our kids when they were preschoolers. Another favorite with our kids was when we tried to guess what babies were thinking with this fun craft inspired by the song Mama Dada Blues.

If you’re after ways to make reading fun, check out our Three Little Pigs Store or our I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly activity. For more information on early literacy skills and how to help your little one develop them, check out this series on Emergent Literacy. (It starts at skill #1 and links to all of them within the post.)

I’d be remiss if I didn’t invite you to enjoy some awesome music that is perfect for kids with a sound you’ll love as well. This genre of music, called Kindie, is growing quickly as more musicians are making quality music for the whole family to enjoy together that draws on experiences and topics of interest to children. Some of our favorites are Bari Koral, Recess Monkey, and the Okee Dokee Brothers.

Thanks for visiting! Hope you enjoy your stay. You can keep up with Because Babies Grow Up on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.

I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment letting me know what you loved about your visit today.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star-y Night Craft for Preschoolers

April 28, 2014 by ajpassey

Scott’s a preschooler! What? Twinkle Twinkle Little Star has been one of Scott’s favorite songs for a while. It’s fitting since his bedroom is decorated in an outer space theme with lots of glow in the dark stars. However, crafts have not held Scott’s interest much. But I’m holding out hope that we will have some craft making memories. This was one successful Twinkle Twinkle Little Star crafts for preschoolers

Make this Twinkle Twinkle Little Star craft for preschoolers today via BecauseBabiesGrowUp.com

Elli loved this craft, too!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star-y Night Craft for Preschoolers

We’ve been working on colors and chose this craft to work more on the color yellow. I drew a cityscape on a piece of blue construction paper. The Eiffel Tower just sort of happened. My favorite though was when Scott added a star to the top and showed me, calling it the Eiffel Tower. I didn’t know my heart would be so happy about him recognizing and loving this structure.

I cut strips of yellow paper then had Scott cut the yellow strips into little bits. While he was cutting the bits I drew the cityscape and tore small pieces of Duck Tape (that we got from our awesome Family Forward trip to Universal Studios Orlando last summer)

Scott enjoyed gluing the star bits in the sky and then adding in the Duck tape stars. We had fun talking about the color yellow, gluing, and his strategies for where he placed the stars. He stuck with this Twinkle Twinkle Little Star craft for preschoolers longer than I had expected. He was also very excited to show it off to his dad when Brent got home.

Looking for more Twinkle Twinkle Little Star crafts for preschoolers? Check out these Twinkle Twinkle Little Star crafts.

Rock Garden

September 11, 2013 by ajpassey

flowers-painted-on-rock

We received a text from my mom one day that had this gorgeous painted rock. We were totally inspired! I ran out and bought a gold paint pen so we could get to work.

Then came the treasure hunt for our rocks. We searched in our yard and came up empty. We went for a walk in the woods behind our house and didn’t find a single rock.

On Labor Day we went to Natural Tunnel State Park in southwestern Virginia. After taking the chair lift down to see the tunnel, we hit the jackpot! There were so many fantastic rocks to choose from. We each chose a favorite, or two, to take home.

We had a lovely crafting session on the front porch after school one day. We chatted about school, plans, and dreams while we painted our rocks. Then we arranged them in a lovely garden to see as we come and go from our home.

Sammi love entertaining Ben and helping him discover the world around him.

Spring Garden Party

March 25, 2013 by ajpassey

It’s hard to believe on this snowy day that 2 weeks ago we had a Spring Garden Party for the girls and their friends. And, let’s be honest, for me and my best girlfriends here in Tennessee! I had been curating a board with Fancy Girl Party ideas for quite sometime and loved making so many of the ideas I pinned.

Garden Arbor

Brent built this rustic arbor for the party. I ran out of time to add the lace, but we compensated with the shabby chic banner. We placed a bench under it for some great photos of party guests.

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Shabby Chic Banner

Here are the party guests sitting on the bench under the garden arbor. You can see the shabby chic banner hanging behind them.

party-guests

Tutu Table

I mod podged the table in scrapbook paper that matched the fabric of the banner and the tulle I used for the skirt.

Boutonnieres

I made a variety of fabric flowers and glued safety pins on the back to make them attachable to the girls’ clothes. I stored them in this cute blue vintage-style box I found at Michaels.

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Yarn Pom Poms

The pom poms were added to this hat box with other party favors for guests to take home. Each girl got a notebook, squinkie, and pom pom.

party-favors

Puzzle Necklace

I made these puzzle necklaces. I already had silver spray paint from our New Year’s party a couple years ago. I bought a dollar store puzzle and assembled it with the kids. Then I pulled out a chunk of 9 pieces, one for each guest, including our girls. Then I spray painted them silver and finished it with a finishing spray. I found necklaces at Michaels that came three in a package. It was the least expensive I could find. I also bough jump rings to connect the puzzle piece to the necklace. The girls all loved their necklaces.

Mini Cupcakes

For snacks we had mini cupcakes inspired by those baked in ketchup cups. We also served cheese cubes, tuna fish on crackers, fruit and nuts with butter mint candies.

food

We had a blast playing outside the whole time. I had flower fairy coloring pages for the girls while they waited for everyone to arrive. Some enjoyed them, but mostly they ran around the yard looking adorable in the sunny spring weather. This party was only elaborate because I was in a creative mood brought on by the end of winter. I thoroughly enjoyed all the projects and sharing the prep with the girls.

How do you celebrate spring?

Watercolor Therapy

October 8, 2012 by ajpassey

We had an atypical weekend as we watched General Conference for our church. (It’s a broadcast from the leaders of the LDS church that comes in 4 2-hour sessions over two days.) By Sunday afternoon the kids were restless. We’d done puzzles and workbook pages, snuggles and snacks. We’d been spending our time downstairs watching it on TV. But for the final stretch, we took the iPad upstairs and sat at the kitchen table.

The kitchen table is a gathering place in our house. It’s where we craft, snack, do homework, eat, read, listen to music, and produce art. Sammi commented one day to me, “Isn’t it funny that we eat dinner at the craft table?” Creative expression is a huge element of our kids’ days. They are happier and more at peace when they’ve had time to create something. So on this Sunday afternoon we brought out the big guns: the watercolor supplies.

We had watercolor paper. I love the texture of watercolor paper.
We had Crayola watercolor paints. They have the brightest colors and wash up the easiest of all the brands we’ve tried.
Then we have a collection of brushes. The kids love big brushes. Sammi is starting to understand using different brush sizes for different details in her paintings.
Finally a cup of water. And a medicine dropper. We use it to drop a little water in each color.

Here’s the final products. But like always, the process was where they unwind and get back into their good moods. The end result is proof of happy memories and brings a smile to our faces!

Scott’s Watercolor

Elli’s Watercolor

Sammi’s Watercolor

What do yo do to get your kids out of a funk?

Musical Monday: Rhythm Ribbons

March 9, 2009 by ajpassey

Rhythm ribbons: doesn’t that just sound fun? They are! My daughter loves to jump/run/dance around the room with her ribbon in hand to just about any kind of music. The concept is quite simple: move the ribbon to the music. This is great because it doesn’t take any kind of musical genius or even rhythm to have success with rhythm ribbons. It’s a chance to connect body movement with the music.

Watch for the crawler at the end who makes a dash for an abandoned ribbon. So cute! Music in the video is At the Bottom of the Sea on For the Kids Too!

I know you’re just jumping at the chance to put rhythm ribbons to work in your playtime so here are some resources to get you going. First, you need the ribbons. This project was so incredibly easy to make. In fact, I was able to make them while my toddler crawled all over me trying to get a better look and help any way she could. Second, you need to choose some magical music to get the party started!

Making Rhythm Ribbons
Materials: craft sticks, ribbon, Tacky glue

Directions: Cut ribbon into 3 1/2 foot (42 inches) lengths; Apply glue to one craft stick; Smear glue from first stick onto another craft stick; Place one end of the ribbon on the stick about 1 – 1 1/2 inches. Place the other craft stick (glue side down) on top of the craft stick with the ribbon; Press sticks firmly together; Place on wax paper, cover with wax paper and place a heavy book on top while glue dries.

Once the glue dries, your rhythm ribbons are ready to use! Sammi danced around the table asking if they were dry yet for about 10 minutes. (I was very impressed with her attention span for waiting for the ribbons!) Finally I gave in and checked and they were dry! We turned on some music and started spinning, zigzagging and waving our ribbons around the room.

Choosing Music for Rhythm Ribbons
Since using rhythm ribbons is about moving the ribbons, it’s a great way to introduce children to classical music. What would otherwise be boring to just sit and listen to now provides a dynamic, engaging background for exploring rhythm ribbon movements. Once caution on classical music: The songs can get pretty long. If the song is too long children may lose interest in the rhythm ribbons and you may run out of ideas for different ways for them to move the ribbons around. Look for songs that are two to three minutes long to start with and then increase the length of song from there. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Baby Einstein: Traveling Melodies Available on
The Bumble-Bee (from ‘The Legend of Tsar Saltan’) Available on iTunes
William Tell Overture (Finale) Available on iTunes

Musical Monday: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

January 19, 2009 by ajpassey

**UPDATED With Actions Below**
Check out more Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Crafts in this post!

Songs with actions are great! But what do you do with a great song that doesn’t really have any actions? For Twinkle Twinkle Little Star it’s fun to open and close your hands like a blinking star, but it’s almost too repetitive, even for the most pattern-loving children. Sammi went through a period of time where she didn’t want to sing this song, even though it was her very most favorite, because she didn’t get to do anything during the song.

One day we cut out stars, colored them and glued them to a craft stick. Instant success. She loves to hold her star and move it around while we sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. We’ve since discovered several objects in our home that have a star. Sammi bursts into song pretty much any time she finds one such object. It’s good to have her back!

To make it easy, here’s a star you can print, color and glue to your craft stick and start singing today:

Elaine shares these actions to use with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:
Twinkle Twinkle little star (fingers twinkling)
How I wonder what you are (hands out with palms up)
Up above the world so high (pointing / stretching up)
Like a diamond in the sky (making a diamond shape with thumbs to forefingers on opposite hands)
Twinkle Twinkle little star (fingers twinkling)
How I wonder what you are (hands out with palms up)