So rarely do I find blogs to share just when they are starting. Luckily I know the cooking mama behind Frosted Fingers . The blog is new but you wouldn’t know it by looking at it, so polished and she already has regular features like Menu Monday and Thirsty Thursday where she puts down the sauce pan to get everyone a little sauced up!  The food she makes is realistic for families with young kids, because she has 3 little taste testers and we all know kids don’t lie to protect our feelings!

Check it out!

I know this isn’t going to be the most popular post we have ever posted, but my son is into music. He is also into music stands and every where we go he finds one. At restaurants the “Please wait to be seated” sign is one, at parks the little signs that tell you about the plants become ones and on the airplane his tray table became one too. So it shouldn’t have been such a shock when he said he wanted to make one for a project. Well I never say no to a challenge!

1. Gather your materials. You will need a wrapping paper roll , a shoe box , decorations ( we used stickers) , scissors and a lot of packing tape.
2. Start by having your wee one add stickers to the roll for decoration, you can also paint or color it too! Can you tell he just got up from a nap?
3. Cut the top off the shoe box. Keep both pieces.
4. Make a slit on either side of one end of the roll about 2-3 inches long.
5. Bend one side down to make a lip. Tape the top of the shoe box on . Use a lot of tape!
6. Cut 4 slits on the other end about the same length to make an X shape.
7. Have your helper hold the tube to the bottom of the  box. This picture took almost as long to take as the stand took to make.
8. Tape it down.
9. It’s done and leaning only a little to the right.

Books

Mole Music by David McPhail is a beautiful book about the power of music, trying hard and not giving up on your dreams.  The story is about a mole who sees a violin on TV one day and decides to get his own and play. He is terrible at first but sticks with it. His music becomes beautiful, and over the years he thinks only he can hear and enjoy it. In reality his music is nourishing a grand tree above the ground that serves roles in great things including as a mediator in a battle where both sides end up coming to a peaceful agreement instead of warfare. Now yes I think that one little mole’s music ending a war is a rather large statement but if you break it down, music and the arts are vital and do transform people’s lives the way they transformed Mole’s.  My favorite part is in one illustration Mole is playing anf in another tunnel you can see his old TV discarded and tipped over, I like that message.

Sunny by Robin Mitchell and Judith Steedman  is a great book about finding sounds all around and making music with anything and everything you find. Sunny hears music from the animals around town, the vehicles and of course his friends playing at the playground.  My son loved when they had a “Hootenanny” and everyone together makes music in their own way. This book reminded me of the broadway show “Stomp” from the 90s, and is a great lesson for kids about how accessible making music really is.

Moose Music by Sue Porter is a goofy book about how what might sound like a racket to you, may indeed be music to other ears. Moose finds a violin in the mid and picks it up, and plays it. The sound is not music to the animals and people in the forrest. They get angry, they threaten to chase him, and he doesn’t stick around. He doesn’t stop playing thoughm he plays with all his heart and finally someone appreciates it. A lady moose , as you may have guessed it they fall in love and live happily ever after. My son thought this book was hilarious . It’s a cute lesson about following your heart even in the face of adversity.

Every Year I Get Bigger!

My son is just 3 and as people started wishing us a happy new year after Christmas he has been asking me questions about it. He has a good sense of time but the whole concept of a new year was still a little beyond him. I wracked my brain and decided using a 3 year olds narcissistic tendencies to teach about passing time could be the trick we needed. I was right!  We made this Sunday and all day yesterday he would grab it and tell me ” It’s 2010 now and I am big, I was tiny when it was 2006″ it’s a start! Older children could add memories about past years on the pages as well!

1. Gather your materials. You will need some card stock, pictures of your child from the year of their birth until the present year, some double stick tape, a marker , small write on labels, hole punch and ribbon.
2. Start by writing the numbers for each year on the labels. For older children able to write the numbers skip this and have them write it on the card stock. One of the reasons I wrote out all the numbers was so that my son could see the progression.
3. Add the stickers to a page of card stock.
4. While your child adds the stickers or writes the numbers add double stick tape to the back of the first picture.
5. Add it to the card stock, I told him to press hard… so he did.
6. Repeat! I was surprised my son was as eager to put on the last sticker as he was the first, I was expecting to do some, he did it all with very little help.
7. Punch holes.
8. Add ribbon ( make it loose to flip easily) and a title.
9. Enjoy!

Wishing Tree

This post was sent in by Cathy at NurtureStore, she originally sent it to me before Christmas but when I got so many guest posts sent in I ear marked it for the new year. Making wishes is a great way to introduce children to resolutions and goals for the new year in a gentle and generous way. I love this craft and know you all will too!

Here’s my idea for a wishing tree I made today with my children aged 3 and 6. It’s a simple craft activity which creates a beautiful centerpiece and also encourages children to think of others by making wishes for them – perfect for this time of year. As the tree uses star symbols it’s suitable for Christian or Jewish celebrations.

You’ll need: paint, card, glitter, a star shaped cookie cutter, scissors, hole punch, glue – and a tree!

1. Pour some glue into a shallow dish and dip in the cookie cutter.

2. Press the cookie cutter, paint side down, on to some card. (You can give the cutter a little wiggle if you want a thicker outline)

3. Carefully lift off the cookie cutter to leave a star-shaped outline.

4. While the paint is still wet, sprinkle the star with glitter. My daughter says the more sparkles you use, the more the wish comes true. Leave the star to dry and then gently shake off any excess glitter.

5. Cut around the star with some scissors.

6. Punch a hole in the star and thread on a ribbon. Write ‘I wish…’ on the glitter side.
Then for the magical part -  ask each child to think of a wish they could make to bring someone else some joy. It’s easy for children to see this time of year as all about them getting presents so this is a way for them to do some giving too. They might like to wish something for a special person – perhaps for a sick relative to get better – or something more general. You might be surprised how thoughtful or creative your children are. My daughter wished for angels to appear in the sky for everyone to see.

7. Once you’ve helped them to write their wish on their star you can hang the wishes on your special wishing tree. We use some twisted branches in vase for our tree, but a Christmas tree or one growing in your garden (or even your community) would work just as well. You might like to make some extra stars so family and friends can add their wishes over the season too.

Then wait and see which ones come true.

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!