Archive for November 2010
The snow was everywhere this time last week and we were excited to make a snowman. Unfortunately the snow wasn’t sticky enough so we had to come in warm up and make one with paper plates and glitter. This snowman craft needs adult involvement for preschoolers for sure but working together is one of my favorite things about crafting with my kids. This snowman was inspired by our very popular Snow Globe Snowman we made a few years ago.
- Gather your materials. You will need 1 large and 1 small paper plate, a cupcake liner, glue, scissors, glitter ( ’tis the season), goggly eyes, a hole punch, some ribbon, a stapler or heavy tape, black and orange paper.
- Start by cutting the middle out of your large plate. Make sure that the hole is a little smaller than your cupcake liner.
- Add glue to the plate.
- Add glitter and set aside to dry.
- Fold your cupcake liner in half, then half again.
- Make cuts along the side. Have extras on hand for preschoolers who insist on doing it themselves with no instruction and get frustrated when it’s not “perfect” for us that was 4 liners. Make sure that they don’t cut the outside edge or the snowflake won’t glue to the snowman’s tummy properly. This was tricky with the foil , he did the first cut and I did the second and carefully took the pieces out. Paper would be much easier , though not as shiny!
- Open and glue over the hole in the large plate . Let dry.
- Make a quick hat out of the black paper and a carrot nose out of the orange. Great use of scrap paper if you have it!
- Using the hole punch have your child punch some holes in the black paper for coal for the mouth.
- Add glue to the small plate for the face.
- Add the googly eyes.
- Add the punched out black paper for the mouth – this is a great fine motor exercise, but may be frustrating for really little guys so be prepared to help . Add the hat and nose as well.
- Let dry. My light ( for pictures) was fading fast so I continued but you should wait until things are dry so they don’t shift on the plates.
- Attach the small plate to the bottom one. Glue is not a great option for this, staples are ok but tend to bend the plates. I have found the best option is to use packing tape.
- Add the ribbon as a scarf.
My Favorite Snowman Book Ever !
Snowman in Paradise
In May after splashing with buckets of paint, He threw down his brush, saying, “Gauguin I ain’t.”
Even if some references are more for the adults reading it than the children listening , both parties will close the book smiling and wanting to start all over again. Grab it and see why I love it so much!
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As you may imagine this was a very exciting day for us, the first time my daughter really got into the action. Amazingly unlike her brother who ate the paint for over two years it didn’t even graze her lips. This kids craft can be done with any age with varying levels of adult involvement. I love how it turned out and this one will be packed away and saved for certain.
- Gather your materials. You will need some heavy paper or paper grocery bag, a marker, green paint ( we added some glitter paint to ours too), construction paper, glue, scissors and paint tape.
- Start by cutting the bag open and taping it down to the table. When you are crafting with a baby or toddler it’s going to be messy but you can take a few steps to help minimize it. By taping the paper you are using to the table as well as using a piece much larger than needed you avoid the paper and paint hitting the floor and protect your table. Not to mention you also stop them from being able to grab the whole thing and trying to eat it.
- Trace their hand on a paper with the marker.
- Stack the other papers under and cut out.
- Draw the outline of a tree on the paper. I did ours sideways so she could reach most of it for painting.
- Time to paint! Add the paint to the paper and let the baby spread it . What is this ?
- “Ooh I like it” Remember to narrate what they are doing. ” You are painting the tree, you are painting with green. Do you like it? Is it squishy?” yes you might feel a little foolish but trust me it’s important you are teaching them even when they are too young to respond in ways we recognize.
- I had to take her out of her seat and dangle her over the table to reach the other side. She loved this. Obviously I have no picture …
- Clean baby up and place in the exersaucer. I had 2 baby wipes on hand to wipe her hands. I find they work on paint better than anything, then a wash cloth with warm water cleaned her right up.
- Add glue to the tree.
- Add the hand print cut outs. Let dry.
- Cut out .
Books
Ten on the Sled
SantaKid 
Olive, the Other Reindeer.
It’s Sunday and time to find which post you are most proud of and most eager to share . I know many of us have been running around, cooking, baking, and eating this week so you may not have had time to read all the amazing new posts out this week. Browse this list and be as amazed as I am every time. Enjoy your week.
Also do not forget about our Month of Giving, it’s a great way to teach your children about charity first hand.
Image courtesy of acclaimclipart.com
Teaching your children especially the littlest ones about giving, charity and service is not an easy task . When I try to explain why we give to charity to my son sometimes his questions stump me and I am not used to being stumped by kid questions. After much thought I decided the best way to learn is by example and we can all get into the spirit together. From today until Christmas Day, I want to see how many acts of charity, service and giving we as a blog community can accomplish with our kids. Every Saturday I will showcase these acts of giving in a photo slide show and feature one on the blog. It’s not a contest, it’s not a giveaway, it’s just a way for our kids to make a difference and to be a part of something greater than themselves .
Here is what you need to do :
1.Go do some good ( donate a toy, drop off some food at a food bank, shovel an elderly neighbors driveway, take dog food to the local shelter…)
2. Take a picture of that good deed.
3. Send that picture to us : allie@notimeforflashcards.com with the subject ” Giving” feel free to add a blurb about what your child is doing, their reaction or thoughts.
4. Visit the blog on Saturdays (Starting December 4th) to see how many good deeds were done and your picture in the slide show- and to see what the “Good Deed Of The Week” was .
Together we can show our kids how important taking care of each other is and how even little hands make a big difference!
