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Nature Crafts – Craft Ideas with Rhubarb

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I have two rhubarb plants in my back yard – one of them was a resident before we moved in, and the other was given to me by a friend.  I’ve ignored the plants for the past couple of years, but this year we have rhubarb in abundance.  Here’s one of our two plants:

Rhubarb For Kids Crafts

I love to eat rhubarb (especially in pies or crumbles!), but the problem is that my family doesn’t share the same sentiment.  Actually I created a little poll on a handy iphone app called Pollate*, and apparently 50% of people don’t like rhubarb – whether its’ baked into something or eaten by itself.  So that got me thinking about creative uses for rhubarb.  Here are a few crafty ideas:

Rhubarb Leaves

This part of the plant can’t be eaten anyway so why not put it to good use.  Rhubarb leaves have beautiful veins throughout, making them a great option for stenciling or stamping.  Try:

1.     Play Dough Patterns – your child can roll or press a piece of play dough or modeling clay so that it is flat.  Press the rhubarb leaf (vein side down) into the playdough.  Gently pull the rhubarb up to reveal your pattern

2.     Rhubarb Paint Stamping – get out your paintbrushes or sponges, and paint your rhubarb leaf (on the veiny side)  Press the painted rhubarb leaf onto your piece of paper.  Repeat with multiple colours to achieve a multi-coloured effect. Tip: use naturally dyed paints, so that you can throw your leaf into the compost bin when you’re done.

Paint Stamping with Rhubarb    Nature Craft - Make a Rhubarb Stamp Art Painting

3.     Rhubarb Leaf Stamped Pottery – if you’re looking for a more involved project and have access to pottery equipment, use a rhubarb leaf as a stamp for a unique plate.  My daughter made the one pictured below when she was 6.  Roll a piece of clay out, press the leaf into the clay, and then cut away excess from the edges.  Shape a handle and dry/fire/glaze

Pottery Idea for Kids - Rhubarb Stamped Plate

4.     Rhubarb Stepping Stones can be made using the directions found here.  We’ve made stepping stones before, with a mix of 1/3 cement, 1/3 peat, 1/3 sand.  We didn’t add chicken wire to our stones and they’ve lasted for quite some time

Rhubarb Stems

This is the part that can be used in baking or for eating, but the stems can also be used to make red dyes for t-shirts, play dough, wool, or colouring eggs.  Simply stew a rhubarb stem with ~4 cups of water and then strain, using the liquid as your dye.  You could also use it for watercolour painting of sorts.

If you do happen to like rhubarb in baking,try this rhubarb chocolate chip loaf recipe.  I’ve tested many rhubarb recipies with my family, and this is the only one that gets an enthusiastic nod from everyone.

*Full Disclosure – the Pollate app for iphone was created by my husband, so I’ve become a bit of a ‘power user’.  Users can make, take, and view polls.  If you want to try it, it’s free to download on itunes or visit the website

 

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Five Easy Mother’s Day Craft Ideas

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1.     Handprint Flower Photo Frame
Trace and cut several handprints from bright construction paper.  Glue in a circle around a clean yogurt or other plastic lid.  Glue a photo of your child in the centre.  Affix magnet strip to the back for hanging

2.     Building Block Model of Mommy & Me
If you have a Lego or other brick building lover, ask them to build models of mommy with them.  Take a picture of the models, print it, and glue to a piece of construction paper or card stock.  Writers can include a note describing their pictures, while non-writers can describe their picture to caregiver, who can write down their words

3.     Painted Flower Pot
You can never go wrong giving flowers, so make it extra special by painting a pot and planting mom’s favourites for her

4.     Make A list, Check it Twice
Make a simple list using pictures or written words, describing the five or ten things you love most about mommy.  You can do this in a list format, or make one drawing & sentence per page and put it into booklet format

5.     Tissue Trinket/Jewelery Holder
Rinse and clean an old tuna can/salmon can thoroughly and remove label.  Cover can with tissue squares using a diluted glue mixture (1:1 glue:water).  Let the decorated can dry.  You can decorate the inside of the can in the same way, or cut a circle of felt that can be glued to the bottom inside. 

 

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Coloured Eggs for Easter

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I grew up colouring eggs every Easter, but what I didn’t know (until last year) is that some eggs come “pre-dyed” in nature.  It used to be that you could only find white eggs in grocery stores – brown eggs have now made a huge resurgence and they’re easy to find in stores as well.  But what about blue eggs?  I didn’t know that chicken’s eggs – yes, the kind we all know and love, can come in shades of blue or green!  Inside, they taste exactly the same and are nutritionally equivalent to ‘regular’ brown or white shelled eggs, and can be scrambled, boiled, or frittata’d exactly the same as you would use other eggs.

Blue Eggs Dyed by Nature

Last year I started getting eggs from a local farmer instead of from the grocery store.  I’ve learned a lot about eggs since then, as my farmer is simply awesome and loves to share information – she’s relatively new into farming, and is doing a very impressive job educating herself and her customers.  Did you know that eggs can sometimes break and then fuse back together as the chicken is laying them, creating elongated eggs?  Have you ever seen an egg with an extremely bumpy shell?  Have you ever seen blue chicken’s eggs?

What I’ve learned since buying direct from the farm is this:

1.  The colour of the egg depends on the colour and type of chicken.  Brown eggs come from brown chickens, redish-brown eggs come from chickens of the same colour, and blue eggs come from a certain breed of chicken…..no, not blue chickens, but chickens that are expected to lay blue eggs.

2. We consumers have been ‘conditioned’ to receive a carton of 12 exactly identical eggs every time we buy, but in nature, this almost NEVER happens.  It seems that the type of egg being layed is up to the “artistic preference” of each chicken!  Makes me wonder what is happening with the chickens who are laying the ‘prefab’ identical eggs we all buy in grocery stores.

3. If we truly want to reduce our environmental footprint, sometimes we need to accept imperfections in the items we buy.  We all like buying handmade crafts, or original art, because we love the unique ‘one of a kind’ appeal that these handmade items offer.  In the same way, if a chicken lays an egg that is a bit larger or smaller than ‘perfect’, that’s because it was made naturally.  Every system put in place to get that ‘perfect’ egg consumes more resources.

4.  Blue eggs…wow that’s so cool!  (our neighbours get eggs from the same farmer, and the kids in their family fight over the blue ones!)
So why all this talk about eggs, and how does it tie into kids and crafts?  Well, I love that by getting eggs from the farmer instead of from the grocery store, I’m educating my kids on their food chain.  I think it’s cool that they already know more about eggs as kids than I did last year as an adult.  Similarly, I like to think that doing crafts with the kids helps them understand everything that goes into the process of making something, and that the results will always be unique, just like those ‘natural’ eggs.

Check out the picture of the blue eggs I got this week.  I asked for extra blue ones because Easter is around the corner (usually it’s mostly brown eggs).  And if you haven’t stumbled upon blue eggs and you don’t want to colour them with a kit or make your own dyes, here’s a simple way to make sparkly Easter Eggs:

 
Sparkly Easter Egg 1. Make flour/water paste by mixing 1.5 parts flour to 1 part water.  You may need to add a bit more water, but remember that the more runny the mixture, the more likely it is to ‘melt’ the sugar topping you apply.

2. Colour some sugar with food colouring – we used 1 drop of dye to ~1/4c of sugar.  Mix dye around with a spoon.

3.  Roll eggs in liquid flour mixture, then roll in coloured sugar.  Put eggs into a carton or egg cup to dry.

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Kids Craft Ideas: Five Easy Homemade Christmas Ornament Crafts for Kids

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If you’re putting up a Christmas tree this year, put the kids in charge of decorating by crafting handmade ornaments and hanging them on the tree.  Handmade ornaments also make great gifts for Grandparents and other family, especially if they involve a picture of your kids in the centre!  Here are a few handmade ornament ideas:

1.     Salt dough ornaments – we looked forward to making ornaments every year when I was a kid.  If you’re not quite ready to put the tree up yet, this is a great way to channel the kids’ excitement into a Christmas project! Roll out the dough and cut shapes with cookie cutters.  Place shapes on baking sheet and make a hanging hole in each, using toothpick.  Bake and cool.  Decorate ornaments with paints, decorating supplies, clippings of old Christmas cards, family photos.  Let dry.  Hang with wire or ribbon.  Here’s the recipe:

  • 1 cup salt, 4 cups flour, 1 ½ c warm water, 4 tbsp salad oil
  • Mix dry ingredients and then wet ingredients; combine all and knead for 10 minutes
  • Roll to ¼” thick and cut shapes.  Prick bottoms, bake on greased pan at 350 for ½ hour to 3 hours, depending on thickness

2.     Edible ornaments – no one likes ‘undecorating’ the tree at the end of the season, so make yours a tree that naturally becomes more sparse as the days of Christmas-ing go on!  Before baking your gingerbread men and sugar cookies, use a toothpick to make a hole at the top for hanging.  Popcorn garlands can be strung, and of course candy canes can be added to your tree as well.

3.     Pinecones!  A great natural addition to your Christmas tree.  Go outside to collect pinecones, remove any dirt, debris, or snow, and let them dry if necessary (you can dry them in the oven at low temp ~200 degrees).  Add small dots of glue and sprinkle with icing sugar, sugar, or sparkles if you have them.  You can also roll them in glue and then put them in a brown bag or resealable bag full of sugar/sparkles and shake shake shake to decorate.  Glue or tie a ribbon to the top for hanging.

4.     Ribbon ornaments: if your child is ready to learn how to tie bows, use wide ribbon to tie several bows for the tree.  You can also fold ribbon back and forth in a zig zag (about 1” per zig…or zag), and then pull a needle and thread through all thicknesses to make a small stack of ‘ribbon candy’

5.     Bead ornaments:  Candy canes are a simple beading project – all you need are some wooden beads and a pipe cleaner (chenille stem).  Bend the pipe cleaner into a cane shape and slip on the beads!   Icicles are just as easy – simply string 6 or 7 beads and buttons, and loop onto a tree branch.

If you have any special handmade ornament ideas that you use year after year, let us know about it!

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What to do with Finished Crafts

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We love all of the craft projects that our kids do, and we find it hard to part with most of their work.  It seems like every little drawing or craft tells a story of a milestone that has been reached, a current interest, or their world-view at the time.  However, as their finished crafts continue to pile up, there’s no denying that a little ‘filtering’ needs to be done.  We asked our facebook group what they do with their kids’ finished masterpieces, and here’s what they said: 

  • Take pictures of the finished work and make a year by year photo album
  • Take photos of them holding their finished work, so you can remember how big they were when they did it
  • Put the most special pieces into an art portfolio that can be accessed by you or your child to look at
  • Store them in a big bin
  • Clip them to an art display clothes-line
  • Take pictures and write about them in a blog
  • Hang them on the wall, by themselves or in frames

As for which ones to keep and which ones to toss? It’s fun to get the kids involved in this little sorting task.  Here’s what we do to find our favourites with the kids: 

  • Hold up two of their pieces and ask them which one they want to recycle
  • Toss (recycle) the one they’ve chosen, and grab another piece, comparing it to the first
  • If they can’t make a decision about which one to recycle, talk about why each piece is special to them.  You may decide to keep both
  • If they’re saying ‘keep’ to most of the artwork or crafts, go through the pile with them again and ask them to find ‘X’ number of pieces to recycle, or ask them to keep their top 5 or top 10……
  • If one or both of you really want to keep an item that the other is willing to toss, keep it – you can always part with it later
  • Remember to remove bits of ribbon, googly eyes, pom poms, and other small pieces that can be re-used for other crafts.  Keep them in a craft supply bin that the kids can easily access

Do you have more ideas on what to keep or toss, or how to store finished crafts?  Let us know!

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Keeping it Simple

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I’ve always made halloween costumes for the kids, labouring at my sewing machine into the wee hours of the night long after they have fallen asleep.  It’s usually a rush job to get everything done for the big day, but to me Halloween has always been about coming up with a unique costume idea and then making it come true to life.  Last year the kids were ‘Queen of the Eagles’ and ‘Superhero Baby Puppy’ (their ideas).  This year, however, we’ll be buying costumes for the first time.

Turns out that the year-of-buying-halloween-costumes was timed perfectly, because both kids decided they wanted to be vampires.  I’ve never shopped for costumes before but I assumed vampire costumes are a dime a dozen.  I heard that a particular store had some great costumes, so I went to investigate.  Of course, there were no vampires to be had.  I ended up finding an elaborate queen costume with velvet, satin, and lace, and a giant hoop at the bottom, topped with a velvet and jewel crown.  I found a costume that would work for my son too – a skeleton with a ripped up shirt, pants, and boots.  I’m guessing this one was meant to be some sort of zombie pirate.

I spent way too much money on the costumes, deciding i could probably convince the kids that they really wanted to be a queen and a zombie pirate.  Then I moved on to my next errand.  What should I find?  Right at the front of the store, two perfectly black, decent quality vampire capes.  So, I retraced my steps, returned the elaborate costumes, and went home with the capes.

I wasn’t quite sure what sort of reaction to expect out of the kids.  After all, these were just plain capes – no embelishments, nothing fancy, nothing that really screams vampire, and certainly low-end compared to the costumes I had just returned.  But the kids were immediately excited and put the capes on and suddenly, without me having to explain what to do, how to act, or what to say, they just fell into role play and immediately BECAME vampires.  I quickly remembered that when you’re small, all you need is just a small spark of an idea, and you’ll transform that idea into exactly what you want it to be….without anyone telling you what to do.

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Father’s Day Craft Ideas

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Five ‘Tried and True’ Father’s Day Ideas from the kids

Father’s day is quickly approaching, so it’s time to put plans in place for the big day. Here are five crafts and activities for the kids to do as a way of saying “Love You Dad!”

  1. Bake Father’s Day Cookies – your favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe can be transformed into a gift for dad.  Divide the cookie dough into several large pieces and shape each piece into a letter to spell “#1 Dad”, “We Love Daddy”, or another special phrase that describes dad.  Tip: this also works well with pancake batter.  Pour the batter into the shape of each letter on hot griddle, and let the kids serve breakfast
  2. ‘Little steps’ foot tracings – trace dad’s foot (or use dad’s shoe to make tracing) and then trace child’s foot.  Position child’s footprint inside dad’s footprint ‘frame’, and decorate.  Make this an annual ritual to track how quickly the kids grow into dad’s shoes!
  3. Draw a picture of dad and finish the sentence “I love my daddy because…”
  4. Get in the game picture – if the dad in your house is a world cup fanatic, get him into the game!  The web has new game photos with every match.  Print a picture of your favourite team in action, and replace a player’s head with a headshot of dad.  Frame the picture with construction paper and a caption such as “2010 World Champion” or “Champion in our Hearts”
  5. Yard Wide Message to Dad – if your lawn care falls under dad’s domain, get the kids outside with some washable paints and let them paint pictures and a Father’s Day message to dad, right onto the grass.  He’ll smile when he sees it, and again when it’s time to cut the grass!

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How to Get Ready for Craft Time

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Kids come with different ages, interests, and aptitudes, so it’s no surprise that some kids would choose to spend all day working on crafts while others would prefer playing soccer or climbing on a jungle gym.  But whether your child is ultra-crafty or mildly uninterested, there’s no disputing the contribution craft time makes to early childhood development – fine motor skills, creativity, and logical thinking (to name a few) are all challenged in different ways through craft projects. Knowing your child’s preferences and aptitudes will help ensure a successful craft time for everyone.  Here are a few things to think about when you’re planning to get crafty:

1. Who will be doing the craft project(s)?  Does your child like to work solo or do they prefer to work together with you?

Some kids like to work independently and will need minimal help getting started, while others may look to mom or dad for their contribution, as they’re using the time to socialize with their adults.  If your child works independently, you can check in with them periodically, while the social child will need more of your focused attention.

2. How much structure does your child like?  Do they prefer a lot of guidance before they jump into crafts, or do they just want to dive in?

If your child likes structure, you could make some suggestions for craft projects, or show them how they can use craft materials.  If they prefer to dive in, it’s probably enough just to have the craft supplies available to them so they can get started

3. What is your child’s attention span?  Which craft supplies should be used?

Keep craft projects simple and open ended if your child is quick to move on to new activities.  If you child likes to focus for longer periods of time, more elaborate projects can be planned.  Choose supplies that are easily managed by the kids – if they can’t control the amount of glue or paint they pour out, put dollops of these items onto an old plastic lid and use popsicle sticks or paint brushes for spreading.  Put sparkles and decorating accessories in small bowls or plates to avoid dumping everything at once. Ensure that the supplies or ideas you provide are not overly complex for the level of attention they have – this can lead to frustration

4. What time of day works best for your child to concentrate on focused activity/fine motor skills?

If your child has the soccer ball in hand and is ready to run outside and do some dribbling, sitting down to the craft table will be a hard sell.  However, if they are easing into the day, winding down from a long day, or just need some quiet time, doing crafts might be just what they’re looking for.

5. Where is the best place for your child to work?

Ask yourself this question keeping in mind your child’s needs, and your own as well.  Do they prefer to stand, crouch, or sit?  How messy will they get, and do they need an apron or old t-shirt?  Is it better to take the craft project outside?  Find a location that will work for them and for you.  A little mess is unavoidable – minimize frustration and restrictions by choosing a workspace that can be messed up and easily cleaned up.

For preschool and early elementary kids, the goal of crafts is simple exposure to new activities and skills.  A few minutes of preparation from a parent or caregiver will go a long way towards holding your kids’ interest in their craft projects. Choosing the right place, time, and materials is the first step in making craft time fun for your kids.

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The Beauty of the Twoonie Party

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My crafty boy had two back-to-back birthday parties on Saturday, starting at 10am.  At 9:00 am we still hadn’t bought gifts for either of the parties, and he was in his pyjamas happily making birthday cards.  Normally that sort of situation would send me into panic mode – no gift, kid in pyjamas, mommy still groggy, clock ticking……   BUT, this time, instead of the whirlwind of panic, I simply sipped my tea, grabbed a couple of coins, and taped them to the cards – the Beauty of The Twoonie Party.

A couple years ago, a brilliant mom in my neighbourhood hosted a Twoonie party for her child, and the idea has been passed from family to family around here, much like a favourite recipe or a clever email that begs to be shared.  The concept is simple: along with all the party details, your child’s party invitations read “In lieu of gifts, please bring two twoonies – one for the birthday child and one for his/her favourite charity (name charity)”

Yep, that means the birthday child gets coins instead of gifts, and I love this idea for so many reasons, including:

  1. Party planning is simplified – you don’t need to rush through birthday activities so that you have time to open gifts.  You don’t need to worry about your child melting down when surrounded by lots of other kids who are eager to see what they got.  You don’t have to worry about returning duplicate gifts or about finding more room in your overflowing toy bin.
  2. It’s an opportunity to teach about charity and giving – talk to your child about a few charities they might be interested in, and let them choose one to support.  Take your child with you if you’re making the donation in person
  3. It’s an opportunity to talk about money and choosing– older kids can learn the value of money as they plan what they’d like to buy with their coins, and younger kids can understand that if they buy one toy with their money, they won’t be able to have the other
  4. Your guests will thank you – they probably don’t know what toys and games your child already has, so choosing a gift could be difficult.  Plus, before they even get to the choosing part, they first have to find time to get to the store with their own child in tow.  Instead of looking for stuff, they can just look forward to the party
  5. The environment will thank you – think of all the wrappings, bows, boxes, and plastic packaging that you can minimize, not to mention the actual toys themselves.
  6. Your child can take pleasure in playing host or hostess at their party – instead of focusing on gift time, they can throw themselves into birthday activities, enjoy the spotlight during cake time, and hand out goodie bags at the end of the party, thanking their guests as they leave (instead of being distracted by new toys)

But won’t the kids be disappointed?

It’s funny, but they’re really not!  The kids get excited at the prospect of collecting coins to buy that favourite item they’ve been eying up, and they feel proud that they’re donating to charity too.

Plus, having a twoonie party removes the question about when and how to open any gifts – opening gifts in front of a crowd is overwhelming for kids, but it’s disappointing for guests if the present they bought isn’t opened….so just don’t do it at all!

We’ve been to at least a dozen twoonie parties now (and hosted several ourselves), and we’ve never met a birthday child who has been pouty about receiving coins instead of gifts. In fact, the gift opening part of the party hasn’t even been missed!  We’ve also seen some really creative birthday cards, with coins taped to them as part of the artwork. I highly recommend making your next birthday party a Twoonie party!

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Crafts on the Brain

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I met with Madeleine Shaw of Lunapads yesterday, for lunch and some inspiration.  While we were chatting, I mentioned something about my sense of logic, tying it to my right-brain functioning.  Madeleine, a very creative person, told me that right brain is actually tied to creativity, not logic, so of course when I got home, I had to look it up.

It turns out that Madeleine was right about being right, leaving me ‘left’ a little confused.  Some of the most logical people I know are also some of the most creative, so now I thought perhaps the right brain was tied to both logic and creativity??….definitely worthy of an investigation.  What I learned is that:

Right Brain functioning includes creative tasks such as art & music, holistic (big picture) thoughts, imagination, and intuition, while Left Brain functioning is detail oriented and includes language, science and math, logic, and analysis.  Also, your right brain controls the left side of your body while your left brain controls your right body.

Of course there are two sides to every brain, and we all use both, but generally we tend more towards one than the other.  Education systems certainly favour left-brain activities such as math and science, and are placing less and less emphasis on creativity (example: band and other music programs in the Vancouver School Board are currently at risk).  But research has shown that we need to exercise both parts of our brain, and increase the communication path between these two parts.

To be well rounded, we need to strive toward whole brain functioning, which means emphasis on activities that are both right and left brain oriented.  So how can we help our kids exercise both sides of their brain muscles?

  • Exposure to a variety of physical activities, such as swimming, walking running, or gymnastics
  • Listen to or create music with drums or other instruments.  Take turns being the leader in a drumming session and have others imitate your drumming pattern
  • Do Crafts!  Crafts help develop imagination and creativity, while exercising logic at the same time.
    • Expose your kids to a variety of materials, colours, textures, and ideas.
    • Write or draw with the hand that is not your dominant hand…I’ve always encouraged my son to “switch hands” when he starts doing something with the right (he’s a lefty) but this tells me to LET HIM BE!!
    • Let kids tinker.  Instead of leading them down a path (“let’s do it this way”), let them figure out their crafts/toys/sports on their own.  If they don’t want to follow the instructions during play time, don’t make them.

    By the way, I took this cool test at http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/right-brain-v-left-brain/story-e6frf7jo-1111114603615, and the dancer is spinning clockwise, no matter what you say.  I could NOT get her to go counter clockwise!  Hmm, guess I’m ‘right-brain’ after all.  (Note – my husband had her going counter clockwise, then clockwise – I’ll ask the kids what they see when they come home from school – what do you see?)

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