Archive for December 2009
DIY Puffy Paint Projects !
All three puffy paint projects we did this year were huge hits. The combination of a sensory experience making the paint and a creative one by transforming it into a moon, cookie or ghost! Many of you wrote in that it took your child some coaxing to get their hands dirty, this is so normal many young kids need reassurance with something new. Another tip, use whatever scent of shaving cream you like the most because your house will smell like it for hours. Click on the pictures for the full how to!
Puffy Moon
Puffy Chocolate Chip Cookie
Puffy Ghost
Letter Of The Week
I can’t list all the people and emails I get about my letter of the week crafts, from teachers, homeschooling parents and every day moms like me these are a huge hit. For my perspective on letter of the week concept read this. In the last year these posts have gotten so popular I started a lowercase series in addition to the uppercase collection and a tab on the main menu bar just for them. Here are a few of our favorites!
Owl O !
Spider S !
Bee B !
Mountain M !
For a full list of the letter of the week crafts, click on the main menu tab, check out our exhaustive categories list on the right side bar, or click here!
The countdown is getting closer to #1 , I had no clue this post was so popular until I tweeted that I was looking for reader submitted favorites. Many of you said how much your kids loved making this monster craft. Another popular one was our toilet roll Frankenstein, so I added it too !
I could not have asked for an activity to go better! He loved making this fun and easy monster and has played with it a bunch already. For craft like this that are going to be played with I try to make them before nap so that the drying time is less painful for the ever so patient two year old.
- Gather your materials . You will need a paper lunch bag, some paint, some scrap construction paper, 2 large googly eyes, glue,tape,scissors and newspaper.
- Start by handing your child the paper bag, with the flap side down ( that will be the back) and have them paint it.
- While they do that, cut out a fun mouth, some big eyes and some silly hair. Older kids can do this themselves!
- Glue the eyes on
- Glue the googly eyes on top
- Glue the mouth and hair on!
- Set the bag aside , rip the newspaper into strips and hand them to your child to crumple.
- When the bag is dry enough stuff the crumpled paper in!
- Fold and tape the bottom. I like to use tape because it’s flexible .
- Read your Monster !
Don’t Miss out on our very popular Frankenstien Craft either !
The countdown continues and #5 is perfect for our youngest readers. Many readers said their favorites were the sensory tubs , here are a few of the more popular ones! I love sensory tubs and so do kids, they are easy, cheap to make and encourage development of mathematical concepts among other things!
I have used a lot of things in sensory tables and tubs before but I had never used coffee grinds until today. To say it was a big hit is a big understatement. At first he did the standard scooping but soon our patio turned a coffee shop , and sensory play turned into dramatic play! Also the grinds are great for your garden so don’t forget to add them to your dirt after you are done.
- Gather your materials. I saved up 3 days worth of used coffee grinds from my trusty and much used coffee maker. You will also need a tub, some coffee scoops ( any thing will do) and some mugs. I believe the cups were the trick to connect the coffee grinds to the dramatic play that came about 10 minutes into the exploration. I am so glad I grabbed them.
- Explore! There is no wrong way to do this. My son did a lot of filling and dumping to start with.
- Explore how the grinds feel , my son exclaimed ” cold and softy Mama!”
- Next we played coffee shop, this was completely directed by my son, and here he is handing me my “banana coffee” not my usual soy cappuccino, but I happily took it!
- After our exploration we fed our garden with the coffee grinds.
Pretend play is a great way to teach and learn about all sorts of things. This started out as an activity to keep him busy while I answered emails and needed a few minutes , water always keeps him busy and happy. I was so pleased when he started asking questions about what the animals ate. I got a few emails answered but I ended up googling all the specifics about what each of the animals ate and on the floor playing in no time. It was more fun than answering emails anyway!
- Gather your materials. You will need a large shallow plastic container, some sea animals, some decorative pebbles, a few towels for your floor, a pitcher and some water.
- Start by laying out our towels and putting your container on top.
- Put some water in your pitcher and pour it in.
- Add some pebbles, you can use sand too but if you want easy clean up stick to glass pebbles.
- Add your animals.
- Let the learning happen! Have some scoops on hand if they just want to scoop and pour the water.
We Dig Halloween!
I bought these black beans and orange lentils for another Halloween craft but when we made it the real hit was scooping and pouring… and spilling! So we ran out to the dollar store got some fun plastic creatures to add to it to complete this easy DIY sensory tub that is small enough for even the tiniest apartment.
- Gather your materials. You will need a plastic container, some dried black beans, some dried orange lentils, we added macaroni for bones, a spoon/scoop, some plastic spiders, snakes and other spooky creatures!
- Have your child help pour the beans and lentils into the tub.
- Grab the creatures and hide them under the beans.
- Explore!
The seasons are changing and here at No Time For Flash Cards we are celebrating longer days, warmer weather and the pretty colors spring brings all week long. I hope you join us , we have some awesome activities coming including a giveaway so stay tuned! This nest is not a kiddie project but older children will love it .
- Gather your materials. You will need a balloon, barely inflated, some brown yarn, scissors, a dish, white glue and some blue malt ball candies.
- Cut our yarn into 4 inch strands. In all I had about 25 strands.
- Dip into the glue
- Place it on the balloon. I like doing it on the tied end because when you are done you can clip it to a hanger by the tie to let it dry. You want it to be random and only part way up the balloon.
- Keep going. Criss cross all over, layer it, zig zag etc… Oh and yes this is very messy, but worth it.
- Let dry for at least 24 hours. You can hang it to dry by clipping it to a wire hanger, or you can also place it in a bowl or glass just be careful not to let the yarn touch the dish , it may stick to it.
- Pop the balloon and throw the balloon away- please please be careful with latex balloons and little kids , it’s terrifying what can happen when the two mix.
- Add your “eggs” and enjoy.
* What I love so much about this isn’t just the aesthetics but many people don’t celebrate Easter and this is a way of making a fun springtime treat using the candies that are EVERYWHERE this time of year.
