Archive for December 2009
Holiday Style

I love doing spin art and my $5 salad spinner is perfect for it. To give it a Holiday twist we drew holiday shapes on our paper first then did the spinning. My son begged to turn these into ornaments but they would be just perfect as is. Smaller bits of paint would make a a cool effect but when a 3 year old is the artist you go with the flow.
- Gather your materials. You will need a salad spinner, some paint( thin it a little if you want), glitter glue if you wish, a marker and card stock or my favorite recplacement for cardstock plain paper plates. They are already round so it’s easy to trim for the spinner.

- Start by drawing some holiday shapes, whatever you wish!

- Trim the paper and place in your spinner.

- Add paint.

- Pop on the top and spin!

- Keep going until all the shapes have had a turn.
- Let dry.
- Cut out

- Punch a hole in the top and add ribbon if you are making it into an ornament.

My original idea for this was to have it closed and have jingle bells inside , but I was concerned that if it broke the jingle bells could be a safety hazard. So I went back to the chalk board and decided to cut one side open and make a home for one of my favorite little bird ornaments that is getting old and needs a comfy place to rest. This is not nearly as hard as it looks but it’s finiky and would frustrate young kids, which is why it’s a naptime creation for older kids or adults to do while preschoolers snooze!
- Gather your materials. You will need yarn, glue, a dish, water, a balloon, some cotton balls , scissors , ribbon and your ornament of choice.

- Start by blowing up your balloon a little, and tie it.

- Mix your glue in a dish with some water. It’s about 4/5th glue 1/5th water.

- Cut your yarn into manageable pieces.

- Drench your yarn in the glue and wrap it around your balloon.


- Let dry- I clip it to a wire hanger and hang it over my utility sink. I dried mine for a few days.
- Pop the balloon and pull it from the yarn .

- Cut an opening in the yarn.

- Add cotton balls.

- Glue your ornament on.

- Add ribbon.

- Hang on your tree.

Books
One Little Chicken: A Counting Book by David Elliot was a great library find. You count chickens as they dance all different styles, my favorite being the chickens who dance the hula ! The rhyming text is really fun and the pictures will make you giggle, I mean there are chickens in leotards doing ballet! Totally tickled my funny bone. The best part though is that it gets the reader involved after counting to ten, the chickens turn the tables stare at the reader and implore them to dance! One of my new favorite counting books.
Birds by Kevin Henkes , illustrated by Laura Dronzek is stunning. I love this author but this book is absolutely about the pictures. The cover is beautiful but there are pages that I just wanted to look at the way I look at paintings at a museum. The book is perfect for toddlers and young preschooler, it’s non fiction , simple and has a great flow. The colors are so vibrant I would bet that infants would dig it too! Awesome awesome awesome!
![]()
I had the great pleasure of being interviewed for Raising Playful Tots a podcast and my whole interview was posted today ! We were chatting about keeping kids busy while we are so busy during the holidays. Check it out!
Also like in 2008 this year we are going to feature the top 7 posts of 2009 in our Best of 2009 series that will go live December 26th- January 1st! So if you have a fave you can leave a comment here or on our Facebook Fan Page ! Get your vote in !

My son loves “sprinkles” also known as glitter, and I love them when they are being used correctly. The other day it was “snowing” in our kitchen aka my son was dumping large quantities of glitter on the floor while running away from me. I haven’t been able to completely de-glitter my kitchen since so I thought what the heck it’s already a mess let’s make these snowflakes. I love using cupcake liners for snowflake crafts because for the life of me I can’t make pretty circle snowflakes any other way. This is a great winter craft but you can also use clothes pins between the snowflakes to clip holiday card on!
- Gather your materials. You will need some cupcake liners, scissors, blue ribbon, glue, glitter and a good dustbuster.

- Start by folding your liners into triangles.

- Make cuts into them to make snowflakes. My son got the hang of this after a few tries, one liner he simply demolished but he made 3 really cool ones, I made the rest.

- Lay your snowflakes out and add glue.

- Add your glitter. I love the flexible plastic place mats I have for this because I can bed them and pour the extra glitter back into the jar easy peasy.

- Let dry .
- Thread your ribbon through the cuts. The paper is so light that they will stay in place on your ribbon without slipping.

- Thread the rest of the snowflakes on and hang up!

Books
.
Un-Brella by Scott Franson is such a cool book. There is not a single line of text in the book , and it’s not missing a thing! The illustrations are so vivid, so layered and tell the story perfectly. A little girl has a magical umbrella that brings sun on a snowy day and snow when her yard is green and sunny. My 2 year old was beside himself laughing and saying “No no” to the little girl wearing her swim suit in the snow. Grab this book and enjoy!
Stella, Queen of the Snow by Marie-Louise Gay is my kind of book. If I were to quote all my favorite bits of this book I would write out most of it. I just love the writing, it’s simple but doesn’t talk down to the reader. The characters are sweet but not saccharine and I love how inquisitive Sam is . Stella is a know it all but not bratty about it at all! Sam has never seen snow before and Stella tells him all about it as they explore the first snow fall of the year.

When I asked my son what he wanted to make he said “Something big! ” so I grabbed some paper plates left over from his birthday party , painters tape and we were in business! By using a spoge roller paintbrush the paint dried quickly and the tape didn’t have to stay on too long, and came off easily with no ripping. Have fun!
- Gather your materials. You will need 2 paper plates, some painters tape, paint, glitter glue , ribbon and double stick tape.

- Start by taping your plates. You can make all sorts of designs, don’t be limited just because we chose stripes.

- Start painting!

- Add glitter glue, it’s the holidays you want it to sparkle!

- Let dry. Pull off the tape!

- Tape the plates together , with ribbon looped at the top.

- Hang wherever you need some holiday cheer.

Books

Happy Christmas, Gemma by Sarah Hayes is a hidden gem. The book is narrated by a preschooler, the older brother to little baby Gemma. Throughout this family’s preperations for and celebration of Christmas he notes how he does what he is supposed to and his baby sister does not. She makes messes, pulls the ornaments off the tree, has terrible table manners during Christmas dinner and so much more! What makes this a gem in my mind is that no one ever corrects her, these are all age appropriate behaviors and the family is loving and accepting. Perfect for families like mine who are expecting a baby, or those with older siblings who like to boss their younger ones around and may need a reminder that babies are still learning, just like they are!

Who Is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate is a sweet look at the animals in the manger preparing for Baby Jesus’s arrival. The animals aren’t sure who is coming but at the insistance of the mouse, they clean and prepare the manger until finally a very pregnant Mary on a donkey with Joseph by her side. The next page is probably my favorite image of the Baby Jesus image in any children’s book. Mary’s hair is down, feet bare and Jospeh is protective by, the animals are watchng and alert. Illustrator Ashley Wolff does a perfect job with this simple but fantastic book!














