Archive for August 2010
Music is a big part of our family from rocking out to Lady Gaga ( hey don’t judge me it calms my newborn!) to singing in church there is never a day that goes by without some music. Much of this comes from going to music class with my son from infancy where he got to explore singing, dancing and instruments. Here are some of our favorite musical instrument kids crafts .
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I tried to keep characters, TV and movies away from my son for as long as I could. That lasted about a year, now he recognizes most characters even ones he’s never seen anywhere but the store like Spider man . Seeing all the merchandise in the store is tempting for kids and the last thing I need in my house is another plastic toy that offers few learning opportunities, so instead I made this. I spent one dollar on these Toy Story stickers and we have been having fun playing and learning since. It’s a great compromise.
- Gather your materials. You will need some character stickers ( 2 sheets of matching), some card stock, scissors or a paper cutter, and some family members to play.
- Start by cutting your card stock into squares.
- Pop the stickers on
- Make sure the stickers on on the same colors, I made it a little tricky for my 3 year old by having multiple characters , but used different colored card stock to help act as a hint.
- Gather some grandparents to play with your child !
This was one of the games we took with us on our road trip to the beach, it’s small, packs easily and fits into our Travel Craft Box !
I know I have already started getting ready for back to school but I am not ready to give up on the sun quite yet ! I was flirting with the idea of cleaning my art closet out while my son was at summer camp last week, and found a big piece of sand paper and this idea popped in my head. Sand paper make such a perfect cactus and since you are finger painting this is a wonderful craft for multi-age groups too.
- Gather your materials. You will need some paper, sand paper, crayons or markers, scissors, glue and green paint.
- Start by drawing a cactus on your sand paper.
- Using the green paint finger paint your cactus. Talk about textures, how it feels, does your child like the way it feels?
- Let dry. While it’s drying draw a sun with crayons or markers on your paper.
- Cut the cactus out when dry.
- Add glue.
- Glue the cactus on!
Books About 5 Senses
My Five Senses Big Book
Green Start: The Five Senses
Look, Listen, Taste, Touch, and Smell: Learning About Your Five Senses
My son had these in his preschool class. I thought they were really neat and wanted to have one at home. Have you seen the prices of these? I know they are worth it, but if I can make one inexpensively…why not?
All you need are colored rubber bands, black paint (helps the rubber bands show up better), ruler, rounded tip nails, hammer, and a wood plaque. You can use any piece of wood, but the store bought plaques are already have smooth routed edges.
I bought the rubber bands, plaque, and nails at Walmart and spent only $5.50. Your prices may vary, but it should be close. Here are the exact nails I bought. I had a hard time finding adequate ones at the home improvement store.
I had my son paint the plaque black with a small roller. This provides a nice even coat with quick drying time.
While he was painting I marked the nails with a red marker. This way I could keep the height of the nails even. I just lined a bunch up and made one mark across then at once. It was very easy.
Once the paint dried I made a grid on the board of 1 inch squares. [When I make another one I will make 1.5 inch squares, to give a little more space.]
Then I hammered the nails until the red line was in the wood. This is what it looked like all done.
It looks a like a medieval torture device, but it isn’t sharp at all. It could still hurt someone if not properly supervised, though.
This is definitely for preschoolers and not toddlers. I would suggest supervising, at least the first few times it is played with.
My son had a great time with it. He was so excited and recognized this from his classroom. What a great way to practice fine motor skills and experiment with shapes.
We plan on making a few more for friends. They were such a hit.
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Kim is a contributing writer for No Time For Flash Cards, a mom to a toddler, a preschooler, and a foster parent, too. She juggles her day by trying out fun activities and crafts with the kids. After all, she is just a big kid herself. See what she has been up to over at Mom Tried It.15 Comments »
This week is World Breastfeeding Week so it’s perfectly fitting that I spotlight Best For Babes a wonderful resource , support and advocacy for nursing moms and babies. I love their attitude , their focus on “Booby traps” , the barriers to breastfeeding success so many women face and they have an awesome facebook page and community. I’m keeping it short today as I am typing one handed due to very appropriately nursing my daughter. Go check them out!
