Archive for November 2009
Paper Poppy
I am Canadian and today in both Canada and the United States it’s a holiday celebrating those who fight for our respective countries. In Canada it’s Remembrance Day and In the US Veteran’s Day. In Canada the Royal Canadian Legion sells little poppy pins for people to wear and show support for our defenders past and present ( this is also done in the UK). In the United States we often see yellow ribbons. So today I am dedicating this craft to my country but if you are looking for a patriotic American craft do not fear I have a list ready for you too.
- Gather your materials. You will need a paper grocery bag, a marker, scissors, some red paint, dried black beans and glue.
- Start by cutting open your bag and drawing a poppy.
- My son informed me he was going to make his own poppy just with scissors… he worked on it the whole time I did the poppy. Never force a child to do art , I wanted to post this today so I had to get it done but I can re do it with him if he asks. He was creating too, and we chatted the whole time about veterans and why I am making a poppy.
- Paint with red paint.
- Add glue to the center.
- Add your black beans. Let dry.
- When dry cut out.
Patriotic American Crafts
For even more click on the Crafts tab on the menu bar , then on By Theme on the dropdown menu! You’ll find all sorts of crafts for every holiday!
10 Comments »
Crayola Crayon Maker
Tonight I am on Mom It Forward’s Girls’ Night Out ( #gno) panel on Twitter sponsored by Crayola to discuss creative gift giving and decorating. As a panelist I was also lucky enough to receive a cool new Crayola product , and although not required, I wanted to review it. I was not paid for the review but like I said I was given the product free of charge.
I have made crayons numerous times here on No Time For Flash Cards, once during a heat wave on my patio. This time though I was able to keep my oven off, and could do it rain or shine. When my son and I opened the box at first I was a little disappointed that the product was something that was suggested for 8+ since my only child is not quite 3, but then I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to see how friendly this would be for families with multiple ages. I am sure there are many households out there that shy away from products like this thinking that since they have younger children it wouldn’t be safe with a toddler or preschooler around.
I was impressed.
First and foremost this product gets hot ( on the inside) and there needs to be parental supervision – that said I was very impressed with all the built in safey features. Before I get to those let me show you with the help of my trusty assistant how easy it is to use.
1. Break your crayons into small peices. 8 crayons are provided for you but you can use any crayola crayons.
2. Next place them in the tray.This is where my little one stopped acting as helper and just watched from then on. Remember it is suggested for 8+. 
3. Close the lid, plug it in , turn the dial and go.
Now while we are waiting for the crayons to melt let me get back to the safety features. The lid you see locks. When you turn the dial to start the melting process it locks and stays locked until it’s safe to touch. I purposefully tried to open it many times, I tried to “speed” up the ticking dial and it was all to no avail. Nothing opened that lid until the time was up. This would have frustrated me as a curious destructive 8 year old but I am awed as a safety conscious mom. I also like that the heating comes from a light bulb, which is easy to remove if you are planning on storing this and don’t want unauthorized use! 
4. Oooh look they are melting. Now melting does take a while and it’s unlikely that your kids will be watching the whole time- but once they are melted the light goes off and it’s time to … 
5. Tip the wax into the molds ( all still protected by the see through lid) and be amazed. 
6. When the ticking stops- open the lid .
7. Clean up. Well we all hate clean up right? Unfortunately it was harder to clean than I was hoping. I even retested it and grabbed the tray as soon as the lid was unlocked , then it was HOT ( not hot enough to burn but too hot to comfortably handle) and still the wax didn’t all wipe off . So I hacked at it with a plastic pampered chef tool, and made a bigger mess. 
8. When the crayons are cool, pop them from the mold, put them into the holders and voila! 
9. Get creating with cool swirly colors. I have to say these end up as nice as real crayons. Often when you make your own they don’t write as smooth, and these are awesome. 
So overall – the product was fantastic even if clean up wasn’t. I would happily suggest this to families this holiday season. Oh wait the last thing that I think is really wonderful, the price. I totally expected a SRP of $50 for this, nope 29.99 ! I was shocked. So if you have a little artist this is a great option, and a safe one even if they have some younger curious siblings!
Underground u
The letter u is always a challenge to find a word that your child could understand and recognize the connection to the craft , as well as figuring out how to make the craft. Today’s craft was fun to make , my son is so eager to cut things that he loved making the grass, he asked me to add some earth worms to the dirt . I think if your child is older and not too overwhelmed by a longer craft making some shoes and legs to go on the grass would be very cool!
- Gather your materials. You will need 3 pieces of construction paper ( 1 should be brown and one green the other is optional) , glue, scissors and markers.
- Start by writing a lower case u on the 3rd piece of construction paper.
- Have your child color it if they want. It’s been interesting to watch my son trace the inside first then go nuts scribbling over it.
- Cut the green paper so that it covers the top 1/5th of the brown paper.
- Hand it to your child and have then cut one side to make grass.
As you can see this was the highlight for my son. 
- While they do that cut the u out.
- If they want to color the brown dirt they can my son added worms and asked me to as well.
- Add glue to the top for the grass.
- Add the grass.
- Add the u to the dirt , under the grass so it’s underground!
Book!
by Sue Redding is about 30 years too late,because this would have been my favorite book as a preschooler! I love this book, I have been reading and re reading it just awwing at the pictures and how cool it is to see what goes on above ground vs below, on the deck of a ship vs below and my favorite one the golf course! My son and I poured over the pictures,finding different things every time we looked at a page. Great book and I hope to see so many more from this author! This book is the perfect fit for this craft !8 Comments »
Scott Traylor is the CEO of 360Kid a kid focused technology company that makes educational and entertaining products for kids. In his blog Scott addresses issues about technology and learning often, as well as how the two affect things like the toy market, advertising to kids, education and more. I find his blog facinating, love reading it and thinking of the future that technology and learning have together. His most recent post breaking down a collection of holiday toy lists and finding trends in them was such an interesting read I had to spotlight his blog this week. Check it out and see why it’s one of my faves!
Book Reviews by Carrie Anne
When school started up again we all knew that summer was behind us, but sometimes it’s hard to let go. It takes great effort to convince my kids that they need to wear socks and undershirts again, that a hoodie isn’t the same as a jacket when they go outside and that hats and mittens are now a dressing staple. Now that November is here and the cold is setting-in I think my kids are starting to understand the importance of dressing for the weather. In case you have stubborn summer kids, here are a few books about cold weather clothes that might get them in the mood.
written and illustrated by Kit Allen
published by Houghton Mifflin Books
board book
This is a wonderful book consisting of simple single word vocabulary (hat, mittens, longjohns) on one side of the page and wonderful stick illustrations opposite. Even as a board book consisting on single words, it manages to tell a delightful story. A child gets dressed to go outside to play in the cold weather then comes back inside to enjoy a warm cocoa before bed. I love that the book shows the child layering clothes on before going out and is dressed so you only see eyes peeking out. The illustrations cross the center of the page keeping them nice and big but without cluttering up the words. There are three other books in this wonderful series: Galoshes, Swimsuit, Sweater.
written by Karla Kuskin, illustrated by Fumi Kosaka
published by Harper Collins
picture book (age 4-8)
Based on Karla Kuskin’s original poem ‘Winter Clothes’ published in 1964, Fumi Kosaka’s pastel illustrations have turned this into a wonderful book for kids to enjoy. The child comes in from outside and takes off layers of outdoor clothes. After enjoying a hot drink and cookies the layers go back on for another outside adventure. The story consists of simple sentences and the page structure encourages kids to guess what comes next. Kosaka’s illustrations focus on just the child and avoid cluttering up this easy-to-read story with extra background images. This and the repetitive text makes it an ideal story for beginner readers.
written by Shirley Neitzel, illustrated by Nancy Winslow Parker
published by Greenwillow Books
rebus picture book (baby to preschool)
Similar to the story structure and rhyme of ‘The House that Jack Built’, this story builds with each layer of clothes. As a new article is added, it’s given extra emphasis on it’s own page, then beside it lists the other clothing elements already included. The repetitive text and the rebus images make for a consistent and predictable story, great for beginning readers. Children will be able to read parts of the story and enjoy predicting the clothing that comes on next. This is a great way to introduce winter clothing vocabulary too. Be warned, you kids may take to repeating all or parts of the rhyme when getting dressed to go out.
written by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko
published by Annick Press
picture book (age 4-8)
This is the most copy heavy of this month’s book picks, but you can’t go wrong with a Robert Munsch book. He writes with kids in mind, repeating text and adding sound effects. Thomas refuses to wear his new brown snowsuit. When his mother insists he puts it on they have a big struggle. The snowsuit is on but Thomas’ mom looks frazzled after the ordeal. Thomas’ behaviour is repeated at school when his teacher and principal ask him to put his snowsuit on. A struggle ensues and the teacher and principal end up in their underwear. In the end Thomas wants to go out and play with his friends so he puts his snowsuit on without any trouble. I’m sure kids and parents alike will relate to this woes of winter dressing, but in the end, in order to enjoy the outside and friends, the winter gear needs to go on, and Thomas realizes that.
________________________________________________________________________________
Carrie Anne is a regular contributor to No Time For Flash Cards, she is a mom of 3 who knows a thing or two about bundling up, and writing! You can find her every day at her blog Another day. Another thought…or two.
