Posts Tagged ‘crafts’

Sammi and I spent the last year going round and round about preschool. She wanted to go so desperately but the only programs I could find in our very rural area were run through the school district which meant five days a week 5-6 hours a day. I didn’t want her gone so long. The final straw was when she started telling people I wouldn’t let her go to preschool because I didn’t like school. That took several days and a LOT of conversations with Sammi to straighten out! We finally compromised by calling everything we did at home (crafts, cooking, music and movement, dress up) preschool activities.

The other part of the compromise is that I would let her go to an all day/five days a week program when she was four. I picked a school a little farther from our house because it has a smaller class size and the teachers came highly recommended. We went in May to register Sammi for her class and meet her teacher. She was in love! She was so upset she had to wait all summer to go back to school. I didn’t know when school started exactly (they said they’d send me a letter sometime in July or the beginning of August!) so all I could tell her was “in the fall.”

Once we knew the official date, we made a countdown chain. She was so excited and got to stay up late one night to make it with me. The next morning she helped me make one for Elli for her birthday which was just a few weeks after school started (in fact, it’s tomorrow!) The girls loved their chains. And yes, Elli is wearing one of Sammi’s skirts like a strapless gown.

We had a lot of fun doing some back-to-school shopping. I wanted to make sure we had enough of everything that she would need so before we went shopping, I wanted to go through all her clothes to see what fit and what she had outgrown. I knew she wouldn’t have the attention span for all of it so we turned it into a fashion show. I put all the shirts in one pile and all the pants/shorts/skirts in another pile and let her pick the combinations. I made her bend over, sit down and stand back up in all the pants to make sure they weren’t too tight on her tummy or too low in the back. Amazingly, we went through all the clothes in just over an hour! I had an empty box ready and tossed in all the “rejects” as we went along. Then we folded up the rest and put them back in her drawers. We were done in time to make dinner!

Sammi wanted so much to take her backpack to school even though she didn’t need to take anything. So we put her extra change of clothes in the backpack and she was off for her first day. We went into her room and she was off to explore. And so was Elli. Elli was most unhappy when it was time for us to go and she didn’t get to stay and play. It’s gotten better but it still takes me at least 10 minutes to leave when we pick Sammi up. They both just want to play as much as they can. It’s a fun room so I just go with the flow.

So far she loves school and is excited to get up every morning and go. She’s starting to talk about her classmates by name and tell me all the fun things they do every day. So far, she has come home with paint on her shirt every day, so I’m guessing she loves that station! She also loves playing outside for recess and being the line leader.

My Birthday Bouquet

Sammi’s Mother’s Day Flower Craft from the library

Elli’s Mother’s Day Flower Craft from the library

A closer look at the poem on the flower craft

Today we’re linked up with 5 Minutes for Mom and Seven Clown Circus and Marvelous Mommy.

And we’ll be adding this post to Buried With Children’s Kids Make the Darndest Things this Friday.

Check out this week’s giveaway. You get to pick your own prize pack from Baby Cribs Plus.

Check out the giveaway from Hanes to win your own Earth Day tee. Ends Monday.

We took Make and Takes’ Recycled Art Challenge. We made this earth from old newspapers lying around. We crumpled them up and then somehow managed to form it into a lopsided ball. Then we paper-mached it to give it a good painting surface.

After it dried, we painted it blue. Then we painted a cereal box green and cut out the shapes of the continents. We taped them on and there’s our finished Earth.

Today we’re linked up with 5 Minutes for Mom and Seven Clown Circus.

Let’s Celebrate Earth Day!

Sharing the fundamentals, fun and future of Earth Day and the environment
with our little ones. Oh, and a giveaway, too!

1) Earth Day crafts: Last year we made bugs from egg cartons. This year we’re making the world from old newspapers and cereal boxes. We’re finishing them today so I’ll post the picture tomorrow.

2) Earth Day books: At the library yesterday we read Clifford’s Puppy Days-Earth Day Puppy. I think it was the combination of this book and making the earth on the same day that helped it all click for Sammi.

3) Earth Day events: There were a ton of events last Saturday in the Knoxville area to help kids and families celebrate Earth Day. Unfortunately Sammi’s soccer game was in the middle of the day so we didn’t get to go to any. But we are going to the Botanical Gardens this week as part of their Tapestry of Flowers.

4) Another Earth Day craft: Speaking of flowers, we made these cute flowers and I even wrote an action poem to go with them. I’d love some feedback on the 5 Little Flowers poem, if you have a minute!

5) Earth Day outdoors: Get outside and enjoy the sunshine. Ride a bike. Play at the park. Or our newest favorite: put on your swimsuit and run through the sprinklers in the backyard! Sammi even got me in my bathing suit yesterday. It was so much fun!

6) Earth Day inside: Teach your little ones the importance of turning off lights; conserving water; recycling cardboard, plastic or glass; using energy efficient light bulbs or appliances; using green cleaning supplies.

7) More Earth Day books: Check out these great recommendations for Earth Day themed books from Mom Tried It: It’s Earth Day! from the Little Critters series. And Annie’s Home recommended two: The Berenstain Bears Don’t Pollute (anymore) and Clifford’s Spring Clean-up.

Earth Day volunteering: It’s also National Volunteer Week. What a great way to combine caring for the environment with serving in our communities. We need both to survive to have a bright future for our little ones. Find volunteer opportunities here: www.scholastic.com/cliffordbebig or here: www.handsonnetwork.org/bebig.

9) Earth Day garden: Sammi asked and prodded and finally convinced us to plant a garden. We got some shady plants to plant in our front planter box. She and Elli has so much fun turning the dirt, digging holes and planting the seeds. I hope they grow because it’s a really shady spot!

Earth Day Giveaway

10) Earth Day trees: Plant a tree with the help of Hanes. Hanes has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant to help consumers plant trees in north Michigan’s Hiawatha National Forest.

How you can get involved: Purchase any three Hanes products. Just complete the claim form here, attach the original UPC codes, original cash register receipt and/or original packing slip from your purchases, and mail them in.

In your honor, Hanes and the Arbor Day Foundation will plant one tree. Hanes will also send you the cool T-shirt shown above as a thank you and reminder of your involvement in Earth Day 2010. This promotion goes from April 1-May 15, 201 so there’s still plenty of time to stock up on socks and under shirts and help save the environment.

Hanes has offered to give one Because Babies Grow Up reader an Earth Day tee!

To enter, leave a comment below telling me how you are sharing Earth Day with your family.

If you’re interested in an additional entry, you can tweet “@ajpassey and @Hanescomfort are teaming up to #giveaway an Earth Day tee: http://bit.ly/d3KPQO ” (Leave a comment with a link to your status)

Giveaway open until April 26 at 11:59 pm. Winner will be announced and contacted Tuesday, April 27. Good luck!

This list is linked to Oh Amanda’s Top Ten {Tuesday} carnival.

The other day I picked up a Highlights High Five magazine to see how Sammi would like it. She loved it! We read it through twice and then we cut out the little book at the end and folded it together. Then we had to run to the store to buy cheap paper plates to do the flower garden craft.

I made a template and cut it out. Then we folded a bunch of plates and traced the template. Sammi had fun cutting out the centers, but decided the petals were not for her.

Then we cut strips of paper. She even identified them as rectangles, totally unprompted! She helped me pick out the papers and then we worked together to cut them with the paper cutter.

She loves tape and had so much fun taping the beginning and end of each strip. She also loved threading the paper through the middle hole as we wrapped each strip around the flower.

One is for Sammi and one is for Daddy. Not only are they flowers, but they also act as crowns and bracelets. Such creativity!

I wanted a flower poem to go along with our craft, but I couldn’t think of one. So I made one up and the girls loved it. We did it ten times and they both got the actions down.

Five Little Flowers
by Amber Passey *

Five little flowers, sitting in the yard,
The first one says, Growing tall is very hard.
The second one says, I just want to see some rain.
The third one says, I want the sun again.
The fourth one says, I am ready to bloom!
The fifth one says, I just need some wiggle room.

So clap went the thunder and down came the drops.
Then the sun comes out and all the rain stops.

Line 1: Show five fingers
Line 2: stretch up tall on tiptoes
Line 3: have fingers rain down
Line 4: circle arms overhead for sun
Line 5: put fists by face and then pop open fingers on “bloom”
Line 6: wiggle like crazy
Line 7: clap hands then rain fingers down
Line 8: circle arms overhead for sun then on “stops” hold both hands in front like you’re stopping traffic

*Poem is original. You’re more than welcome to share it, but please give credit to Because Babies Grow Up. Thanks!

Sammi started going through “craft project withdrawals” while at my dad’s house. I had my suspicions that this was the case, but I knew for sure when she brought me two empty toilet paper rolls and said, “Let’s make something with these!” There was an almost pleading sound in her voice and I knew we need a great project and fast!

I remembered No Time For Flash Cards‘ post on toilet paper flowers and decided we could do that with the resources we had at Grandpa’s. I cut one toilet paper roll in half then snipped about halfway down several times around to make petals. Then I folded them out and gave them to Sammi. She colored and added stickers for a minute. I was thinking about the best way to make them into a garden when Sammi held the two flowers up to her eyes.

I just knew we had to make glasses.

We taped two petals together while I tried to think of a way to make the sides to fit around her ears. I asked my dad if he had any bendy straws. He said no. I said, “So that probably means pipe cleaners are out of the question?” He replied, “Amber, our days of kids crafts are so far past I don’t think we have anything hanging around anymore.” Just then I remembered the big container of Q-tips in the closet upstairs. I ran up and got several. It took two and a half for each side to be long enough to reach Sammi’s ears.

Another impromptu craft we did used paper and some Easter stickers I picked up for $2 at Target. I found yellow scrap paper {again, we were at my dad’s and I had to search to find some paper to use!} and used a pen to draw baskets filled with eggs. Then I set out crayons and gave them each some stickers. This was a fun, easy craft because it was relevant to an upcoming holiday, didn’t take very much prep work or time and kept them entertained while I jumped in the shower. I think if I had sat with them while they did it, the activity would have lasted longer and they probably would have decorated all the eggs and the basket. But for an independent project, I think it turned out great!

Creative Crafting

It doesn’t take a lot of resources. It doesn’t take a lot of time or money. But with a little bit of creativity, you and your little ones can make some pretty creative crafts. If it weren’t for the forced need for creativity, I never would have drawn an Easter basket or used Q-tips to make flower glasses. I loved the challenge, though, and the outcome was fabulous!

I’d love to hear about your resourceful craft projects! Have you been creative in the materials you used in a craft project with your little ones?

We had our Music Makers playgroup yesterday. At the last minute, I had the brilliant idea to make egg shakers to go along with our book and craft.

Supplies for Egg Shakers:

• Easter eggs
• Beans
• Super glue
• (Duct tape)

I filled an egg with beans, spread the super glue around the bottom piece’s edge, then snapped the top on. I let them dry for about an hour and did a test run with the girls. When dropped, a few of the eggs opened. So we pulled out the duct tape and taped them up. I checked the super glue I chose and it said the liquid kind is the best for plastics and I had the no drip gel, which was okay. I’m guessing it had a long set up time. 10 kids played with them and none of them opened up so the gel super glue/duct tape combo worked for us! I’d recommend using an epoxy or liquid super glue to secure the egg pieces together.

We practiced shaking them high and low, fast and slow, loud and soft. We also practiced starting and stopping. Then we rocked out to Mahna Mahna by Cake from For the Kids. The shakers were  a big hit and a super easy, fast instrument to make. So, after Easter when all your plastic eggs are hanging around, you can turn them into a musical instrument to enjoy the rest of the year!

Book:

I showcased this book last Friday, but I’ll mention it again since it inspired the craft and instrument. We read Clifford’s Happy Easter. It’s a fun book about dying eggs and an egg hunt. It doesn’t go into any reasons for celebrating Easter which is okay with me because I’m kind of picky about the religious books we read. It had silly illustrations that got a laugh out of the kids. It would be a great companion to any egg activities you may do.

Craft:

We decorated our own eggs. I set out a bunch of supplies and let the little ones choose how they wanted to decorate their eggs. We had leftover cut paper from Valentine’s cards, zigzag ribbon, jewel stickers, tissue paper squares, crayons, markers, and buttons (Sammi’s favorite!) The kids had a great time gluing everything on. The older ones enjoyed cutting their eggs out after they were finished. I downloaded the egg image here, but they also have larger versions (1 or 2 to a page. I did 4)

What alternative uses for Easter eggs have you found?

Looking for something new to do with snow?
Try painting it!

We had more snow when we woke up yesterday morning. So much snow, in fact, that Brent’s test was canceled and postponed two days! It actually wasn’t that much snow if your from, say, Utah like we are, but it IS a lot of snow for Tennessee. Especially since it’s snowed so many times recently. Maybe we brought it with us. Hmmm….

So, I sent the girls outside to play while Brent shoveled the driveway. They were excited to get dressed up but then hesitated at the last moment. I was in no frame of mind to bundle up and play in the snow so my mom graciously stepped up to the challenge. But they were only outside a few minutes. The next thing I know they are back inside with a bucket of snow cookies. Then they decided to paint them for decorations.

I diluted the poster paint down with a lot of water and doled out brushes, bowls and snow cookies. And the girls got to painting. Aren’t they darling. You can tell they were still a little cold from being outside.

Sammi painting snow

Elli painting snow

After the cookies, they wanted more snow so my mom filled the bucket with snow from outside and the girls got to form it into different shapes. I love the eyeballs.

This was a great activity for me because we were able to enjoy the snow without spending time in the freezing cold.

What have you done to enjoy the snow?

We’ve been making Valentine’s Cards all week. We made one for a Valentine Day Card exchange (and I took ZERO pictures!) Then we made some for family members (14 in all) and then we made some for local friends that we saw yesterday at a Valentine’s Day Party. The last are my favorite and I wanted to share them with you.

The idea for the card came from Big Sounds by Bari Koral. One of the versus is about acting like a dinosaur. The girls’ favorite part is when she says “Can I get a roar?” They go wild roaring as loudly as they can. On the outside of this card is a dinosaur and the words “Walk Tall.” Inside it says, “and know you are loved. (Can I get a roar?)” We cut out the dinosaur and glued it on with a glue stick. Then we drew a line around it with white glue and added glitter. Shook off the extra glitter and waited, impatiently, for the card to dry.

To get yourself inspired, here’s a clip from Big Sounds:

Big Sounds by Bari Koral

Can I get a Roar?

You can download the card if you want. Just print one file, turn over the paper and print the other file. It should work to make two cards. Just make sure you cut it the right way or you’ll end up with a top flipping card instead of a side flipping card. (Uh, no, that didn’t happen to me.)

Dinosaur Valentine Card outside
Dinosaur Valentine Card inside

Have you posted pics of Valentine cards you’ve made? Please leave a link; I’d love to see them!

I am amazed by how well little ones understand numbers. I have been fascinated as I’ve watched Sammi develop an understanding of numbers and counting. Her spontaneous learning of numbers and counting is one of the reasons why I consider homeschooling on an almost daily basis. We talk about numbers at the most random times, like the breakfast table, a public restroom or the car. Wonderful opportunities for learning that can’t be planned or shoved into a classroom setting. [end soapbox]

This post is inspired by my mom’s visit. She has been here a week already and has another week left. Sammi, who adores her grandma, has fretted since the second day of her visit that she would be leaving any day. Sammi asks every morning if this is Grandma’s last day. Since it’s hard still for her to grasp the concept of a week, my mom thought of making a countdown chain for her so she could see how many days are left. It was also a way to prepare Sammi for Grandma’s departure so that it wasn’t a shock to her on the day that Grandma actually leaves. I was skeptical at first because I didn’t think it was very upbeat to count down the days till Grandma leaves, especially not right in front of her! But it has worked out well for Sammi. She has stopped asking and now runs to count the links on the chain to see how many days are left.

Learning Numbers

Little ones as young as 19 months are beginning to use numbers. They start by understanding the concept of more and then move to saying actual numbers in fingerplays and such. As they have more experience with numbers and counting, they begin to imitate counting at around 2 years. They also show an understanding of “one” and “one more” about this time. Then, around 2 1/2 to 3 years they start counting numbers in order. I remember Sammi got really good at the number one. She always acknowledged objects around her that were in the quantity of one. Then she moved on the the number two. She spotted two of a kind every where we went. It was about this time that she also started to understand the question “How old are you?” and could respond with her age, and favorite number, two. As she turned three, she fell in love with that number and could quickly find groups of three all around her.

I find it interesting that her progression through numbers has matched her age. Though now, at 3 1/2 she’s also got a handle on the numbers four and five. Elli is just starting to get the number one. I love to help her show 1 finger when people ask her how old she is. She doesn’t get it quite yet, but it certainly is cute to see her hold one finger up.

In addition to counting up, children (eventually) need to be able to count down in order to do simple math functions like subtracting. One easy way to introduce counting up and down is with songs. Music is a great way to help turn skills or knowledge into a game. Information can also be easier to remember when it’s set to the rhythm and melody of a song. Here are some great songs and variations for introducing numbers to little ones.

Number Songs and Variations

• 1 Little, 2 Little, 3 Little “Indians”—we sings “girls-dancing,” “books-in the library,” “toddlers-jumping,” “babies-sleeping,” “trucks-vrooming” (Count up and then count from 10 back down to 1)
• Wheels on the Bus—”1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Begin again. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10″ (Shows counting up)
• 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (Shows counting down)
• 5 Little Ducks (Shows counting down)
• 5 Little Speckled Frogs (Shows counting down)

While we don’t want to expect our little ones to fully grasp the concept of numbers and counting up or down just because we sing these songs, it is a fun way to expose them to these concepts. It’s also one of those magical parenting moments when you see the light bulb go off when the concept of 5 clicks with the 5 Little Speckled Frogs one random day.

What’s your little one’s favorite number?