Archive for April 2011
Over the years we have reviewed many books about moms . Here are a few that we’ve reviewed that didn’t make it into our previous Mother’s Day Books Lists , which you should totally check out too!
Her Mother’s Face
The Duchess Bakes a Cake 
Mommy, Mama, and Me
Back into Mommy’s Tummy
Arbor Day is Friday and what better way to celebrate trees than by making one with recycled paper products? When I got a coffee a few weeks ago and I got one of these great sleeves I knew I’d have to use it for a craft. I love all the textures that are present in this project and how simple it is so kids can make their own tree with little if any adult guidance.
- Gather your materials. You will need 2-4 coffee sleeves ( or other recycled cardboard), scissors ( we also used pinking shears), glue and a large piece of paper. We also used a pencil crayon to write our name on the back.
- Start by writing your name on the back – this is just a practical way of working writing into art time in a natural way. No need to sit kids down and practice just get them to label things as they make them.
- Cut the sleeves open and cut pieces to make a trunk.
- Cut leaves. We did this together it was the first time he’s used the big scissors… mine aren’t super sharp.
- Add glue.
- Add your cut pieces. His attention was lacking and I almost gave up, then I suggested he treat it like a puzzle and boom that was the magic word, all of a sudden he was into it. The funniest part was when he put the “leaf” with Starbucks printed on it , he said ” We need to put Starbucks in the middle so everyone can get their latte.” Yeah that’s what Arbor Day is all about, 4 dollar lattes.
- Let dry. Didn’t it turn out to be gorgeous? I didn’t expect it to be half this awesome, it’s easily my favorite tree craft we’ve ever made and I kinda have a thing for trees.
Flowers are almost a requirement for Mother’s Day. With this fun craft you won’t have to worry about them not lasting.
You will need rubbing alcohol, food coloring, chenille stems, styrofoam ball (or floral arranging piece), paint, zipper sandwich bags, and Fiori style pasta – they look like little flowers.
Dye the pasta by adding 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol, 15 drops of food coloring, and pasta into a zipper bag. You can have your kids massage the bag and make sure the pasta gets coated really well.
I let the pasta sit in the food coloring for a few hours. Then I lined a cookie sheet with paper towels and placed the pasta on it to dry. I let the pasta dry overnight. It was the easiest way to make sure the kids didn’t mess with it and I could put it in a well ventilated area.
I while the kids kneaded the pasta, I cut the styrofoam balls in half and got some paint. I had them paint their half whatever color they wanted. They had a lot of fun. I let the paint dry overnight along with the pasta.
I cut the chenille stems in varying lengths. I had the kids thread the stem through the flower-shaped pasta piece. Only have the stem go through it by about an inch. Bend that end over and twist it to the longer part.
I gave each of the kids a bundle of stems and had them put the stems into the ball halves. The result was as individual as each of the children. It was BEAUTIFUL!
Now you have a gorgeous floral arrangement, centerpiece, desk decoration, or dresser ornament. And it will never wilt.
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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.
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This was not a planned activity, I went to the dollar store to grab some Easter Candy for a hunt my son’s school organizes and as I left the car he asked for a treat ( don’t worry I don’t leave him in there alone , his dad and sleeping sister were there too!) He’d been asking for a batman belt since we’d gotten him some PJs with a cape so I figured I’d gather some things to make a utility belt. The mask… well that was an after thought. It’s not my finest craft but it is the most used. He takes it off for baths and bed as well as church and school. That’s it. Not bad for a pair of undies!
The Belt
- Gather your materials. You will need a belt , some cell phone belt clips from the dollar store, flashing reflectors ( Bat-Signal) and a pedometer( Bat-Communicator) , both from the dollar store as well. Everything I bought had belt clips so it was easy on and off.
- Attach everything.
- Fill the belt with useful bat-tools.
- Try it on to make sure it fits.
Mask
I really didn’t think that I’d post this but seriously it’s on him all.the.time ( see the collection of pictures below).
- Gather your materials. You will need a pair of spandex undies , 3 hair ties, and scissors.
- Gather some of the bum fabric on either side of the leg holes in the elastics to make bat-ears.
- Cut eye holes just above the waist band. I did nothing special , they aren’t reinforced and so far not an issue.
- Gather the extra fabric in the back with the third elastic.
- Wear it daily for weeks.
Batman Books
Batman: The Story of the Dark Knight
Batman Classic: Meet the Super Heroes: With Superman and Wonder Woman 
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Monday morning used to be our Letter of the Week day but as you may have noticed it’s been missing lately. There is a great reason for that, my son is done , like DONE with these projects. He’s known all his letters for ages and as I preach I also practice following my child’s interests to support his learning. Now we are working on putting letters together, sounding out words as we read and rhyming. Playing with letters and words in addition to reading is a great way to make learning an experience. Lessons that are fun are more likely to be remembered , connections are stronger and learning is less frustrating. Sometimes the easiest way to make those fun connections is to use a character, game, book or in our case a WordWorld ebook as your inspiration. It’s also why most of our crafts are linked to books.
If you aren’t familiar with WordWorld it’s a TV show on PBS that really IS educational. It promotes literacy in a very real way, and for kids like my son who are just starting to make the leap from simple letter recognition to decoding (which is most easily explained as the process of “sounding out” the word using the letter sounds) it’s super fun to watch because so many of the animations on the show are shaped using their word, so be prepared to hear ” I just read sheep all by myself!”
Did I mention how important confidence is for reading? It’s big.
Ok so here is what we did. Inspired by this ebook we decided to make family word puppets which also uses my son’s absolute love of pretend play. Instead of using the process of decoding explained above we used encoding ( breaking down the sounds in a word verbally and putting them into print ) to make familiar words we use every day , perfect for his level of mastery.
- Gather your materials. You will need some family photos, construction paper or card stock, crayons, scissors, tape , sticky back foam letters and popsicle sticks ( tongue depressors would be even better).
- Start by deciding which family members you want to create, make sure the words won’t be too frustrating for your child. Cut those out.
- Now decorate the paper however you want with the crayons. We are using crayons and tape with this project so that we are free to play as soon as they are done, if waiting isn’t an issue paint and glue works great too.
- Add the letters and photo.
I made sure we had all the letters we needed in the pile . Having the letters easy to find ( but not done for him) as soon as he connected the sound to a letter was important to keep his confidence up, fun going and frustration at bay. If your child is struggling, help by all means this isn’t a test. 
- Tape on the sticks and pictures.
- Make your whole family!
- Time for a puppet show.
I had a blast watching my son’s puppet show, his impressions of our family interactions was eye opening but ultimately heartwarming.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by WordWorld, I also received a DVD free of charge. The craft concept, educational information, opinions and kids are my own. You can try WordWorld’s free eBooks and games, and find more information about their iPhone and iPad apps on their website.
