Author: admin

Crafty Ideas January 2010

admin

Happy New Year!

Getting back into school and daycare routines after the holidays usually leaves little ones exhausted at the end of the day.  Give your tired kids some extra time to relax by sitting around the table for craft time.  They can get crafty by getting organized for the new year!   Give these crafts a try:

Decorated Art Folder:

Supplies: presentation folder, collage supplies such as photos, magazine clippings, crayons or markers, stickers, feathers, sparkles, glitter glue etc.

Directions: transform a simple folder into a personalized art folder by decorating with your name, a photo of yourself, and other items.  Keep your folder in a handy place and add the new artwork that comes home from school or daycare!

 2009 Calendar Story Book:

Transform your old calendar into a story book with the kids!

Supplies: 2009 Calendar, 12 pieces of paper large enough to cover dates portion/chart of calendar, glue, something to write with

Directions: replace the dates area of the calendar with a blank writing area by gluing paper on top of dates chart.  Do this for all 12 pages.  Using the theme of the calendar (animals, landscapes, princesses, cars, etc), ask your child to dictate a story for you to record.  The calendar themes can be transformed into personal stories such as ‘Joe’s trip Across the Country’, or ‘Sue’s  Animal Adventure’.  You can also add word bubbles to the calendar photos if your child wants one of the pictures to talk.  A great way to pass the afternoon!

Did you try these crafts?  Send us your comments and photos!

 

Kitchen with Kids – Candied Walnuts

Some nuts, such as walnuts and pecans, are a good source of Omega-3s, which may be linked to brain development and emotional well being.  Here’s an easy snack the kids can help make:

2 ½ cup walnuts

1/3 cup corn syrup

2 tbsp sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

Coat walnuts with corn syrup, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 325 for ~15 minutes or until nuts are golden brown.  Let cool before serving.

Simple Science – Gravity and Resistance 

A classic experiment that’s a fun guessing game for kids too!  Choose several (non-breakable) objects from the house, such as a stuffed toy, a ball, a building block, and a couple identical pieces of paper.  Hold two of the items out in front of you.  Which one will fall fastest?  Why?  What happens when you drop the pieces of paper at the same time?  What happens when you crumple one up and drop it?

Five Minute Fun – Mark Up Your Calendar

Enlist the kids to help mark up your calendar with special events such as birthdays, anniversaries, etc.  They can practice their printing by writing the names of friends and family who are celebrating birthdays on a certain date, or they can draw a picture of the person in the calendar date box. 

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Crafty Ideas December 2009

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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

December is spent planning family festivities, baking, decorating, and carefully selecting thoughtful gifts for friends and family.  The kids can get involved with lots of the tasks on your seasonal ‘to do’ list – decorating cookies is always a crowd pleaser, and we’ve got lots of great craft ideas for the family to try!

Five Crafty Ways to get the Kids Involved in the Holiday ‘Bustle’

1. Family Picture Christmas Cards – your child’s artwork can take centre stage in all of your Christmas cards.  Ask them to draw your faimly and then scan or colour-photocopy the picture to include in the cards you send out.  If you want to get really fancy, use the scanned image as the cover of your printed cards!

2. Paint some pinecones – use brightly coloured paints, and sprinkle some glitter while the paint is still we.  Let paint dry and arrange in a bowl or vase to display

3. Make a wreath – cut a wreath form from an old piece of cardboard, and then trace and cut out lots of green hand prints.  Glue handprints around the wreath form.  Add other decorations – find some holly or small pinecones to bring the outside in, or use pompoms, bows, stickers, and ribbons to accessorize.

4. Make a garland – popcorn on string is a classic, but you can also do a beaded garland, paper chains, or even cheerios looped through a piece of yarn or string

5. Make gift tags and bows – repurpose images from old Christmas cards by gluing them onto cardstock gift tags, and make gift bows by cutting newsprint into strips, laying the strips in a star formation, and folding (& gluing) the ends of each strip into the centre of your star

 

Did you try any of these craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

Recommended Reading For Christmas

We have two Christmas favourites that get the kids giggling every time we read them, and we pull them out year after year. These are fun stories right from the time they’re toddlers: 

Are You Grumpy, Santa? by Gregg Spiridellis & Evan Spiridellis

Santa’s Suit by Kate Lee & Edward Eaves

More Christmas Craft Ideas

We’re sharing a multitude of Christmas craft ideas on other web sites this month.  Check out the links below for more great ways to get crafty for the holidays!

Christmas Crafty Fun

Tree Ornament – Baby Footprints

Dangling Christmas Bell Craft

Felt Tree Card Holder Craft

Did you try any of these crafts?  Send us your comments and photos!

 

Kitchen with Kids – Grandma’s Shortbread

This has always been my favourite shortbread recipe – maybe because it’s the one my mom always makes! 

3 c all purpose flour
1/2 c cornstarch
1 c icing sugar
1 lb butter or part margarine

Cream butter and add sugar, mixing until creamy.  Add flour and cornstarch and whip together until fluffy.  Drop from a spoon, roll, or use a cookie press.  Bake at 325 for about 8 minutes

Tip:  have cake/cookie sprinkles or coloured sugar ready for the kids to decorate cookies before they go into the oven!

Five Minute Fun – Reindeer Food

Santa’s flying force might get a little hungry on their trip around the world on Christmas Eve, so make sure you sprinkle some reindeer food in the snow or lawn for them to munch on while Santa fills your stockings!  Simply add some sparkles to oatmeal, or use cake sprinkles if you don’t have sparkles.  Mix in a bowl or zip lock bag, ready for Christmas Eve!

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Crafty Ideas November 2009

admin

 Snuggle Up And Hibernate

With the arrival of colder days, it’s just about time to pull out the winter gear – snuggly blankets, soft warm sweaters, and winter boots.  On those really ‘crisp’ days, you might even wish you could just curl up and hibernate!  Turn frosty days and winter warmth into themes for craft projects with the kids.  Try these ones to get started:

Frosty Tinfoil Etching:

Supplies: 8 ½” x 11” flat piece of cardboard (such as from a cereal box), tin foil, glue, cotton balls, icing sugar or flour, pencil or crayon, tape

Directions:  Cover cardboard with tinfoil, using glue or tape to secure foil edges on the backside of cardboard.  Use a cotton ball to carefully cover tinfoil with a layer of glue (dip the cotton, and dab onto foil, repeating until covered).  Sprinkle icing sugar or flour over glue, covering completely.  Tip cardboard to remove excess.  Let dry for a few minutes.  Using a dull pencil or crayon, ‘etch’ away through the icing sugar, to reveal a shiny frosty looking drawing.    

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

Reader’s Paper Chain Book Log:

How long is winter?  Measure it by keeping track of all the books you’re reading together!

Supplies: coloured construction paper or paper, crayons, glue, 2 paper plates, stapler

Directions:  Make a bear’s den that doubles as storage for your paper chain links:  draw a bear on the face of first plate, or use construction paper circles to make bear face and ears, gluing bear to first plate.  Cut second plate in half, and glue it to first plate, facing inward and matching edges of both plates.  Now the bear is resting in his den.  Make chain links: cut paper into equal size strips that are long enough to glue end to end to become a ‘link’ in the chain.  Make first link by folding one piece of paper in half and stapling or gluing it to bottom of den.  Store remaining link papers inside bear den.  Every time you read a book, write the title on a piece of paper and make a link in the chain, adding it to the end of your chain.

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

 

Kitchen with Kids – Collecting Seeds

Squash soup is a yummy cold weather meal, and the kids can help in the kitchen by gathering and cleaning the seeds for planting in the spring.  Buy a sugar pumpkin or other squash and cut it in half, scooping out the seeds to ready the squash for roasting.  The kids can sort the ‘muck’ from the seeds, and then wash the seeds, letting them dry on a paper towel.  Once the seeds are completely dry, they can be stored for the winter, ready to sprout in the spring!

Simple Science – Measuring Volume

It seems that November brings either lots of rain or lots of snow, so turn the wintery weather into a little science experiment.  Find three containers of similar size, but with different shapes.  You could use a bowl, a cup, and a jar or storage container.  Place the containers outside where they will get rained or snowed on, and make some guesses as to which one will fill up first.  Was it the tallest?  The widest?  Which one holds the most and which one the least?

Five Minute Fun – Connect The Dots

Draw a dotted outline of a picture for your child so that they can connect the dots.  They’ll get some practice holding a pencil, and they’ll be excited to see what you drew together!  Take turns, letting your child place some dots for you to connect.  For older kid, you can even number the dots if you like, but we found it was fun just to splash dots on the page randomly, and watch to see which way they got connected!

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Crafty Ideas October 2009

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Fall Festivities

To many Canadians, October means two big events – Thanksgiving, and Halloween.  Both events are loaded with craft themes; from harvest and thankfulness to turkeys, pumpkins, goblins and witches.  Here are a couple of craft ideas to get started:

Turkey Place Card Holders:

A great way for the kids to contribute to Thanksgiving Dinner!

Supplies: Egg carton cups, scissors, brown paint, small googly eyes, red, yellow, and orange construction paper, feathers or a dried leaf (optional)

Directions:  To make one place card holder, cut one egg cup from the carton.  Flip cup open-side-down, and use scissors to slit a line across top of cup.  Paint the outside brown to make turkey body.  Make turkey face on one side of cup by adding googly eyes, red tear-drop wattle, and orange beak.  Glue dried leaf or feathers to opposite side to make a tail. (if feathers or leaf are not available, use construction paper to make tail.)  Once your craft is dry, insert place card into top slit and place on table.

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

Halloween Mobile:

The kids are already starting to chant rhymes and songs about witches overhead, so Halloween crafts are a simple theme extension!

Supplies: coloured construction paper or card stock (black, orange, white), markers, crayons, and decorating supplies (sparkles, glitter glue, etc), string or yarn, tape, old coat hanger or drinking straw.

Directions:  Make Halloween figures from construction paper: trace a closed hand on white paper to make a handprint ghost, make a triangle witch hat from black paper, and a round pumpkin from orange paper.  Decorate your figures using markers, crayons, and decorating supplies.  To make mobile, tape a piece of string to each figure, and then tape other end of string to coat hanger or straw (alternately use hole punch to tie string to figure, and tie other end to coat hanger or straw).  If using drinking straw: string another piece of string through straw, tie ends together, and hang straw from ceiling.  If using coat hanger, loop string around top of hanger and hang from ceiling

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

Is It That Time Already??

Christmas Card Making Kits:

You asked, so here they are!  Our Christmas Card Making Kits are now available on our website.  To get an early start on making cards with the kids, order yours today.

Kids Craft Club – Gift Subscriptions:  

For those who like to plan ahead, now is the time to buy gift Craft Club subscriptions for Christmas.  It’s the perfect stocking stuffer or gift for pint sized friends and relatives.  Simply note “Christmas Gift” in the comments section of your order form, and you will be sent a gift card to place under the tree or in their stocking.  First craft delivery for Christmas subscribers will be the January Kids Craft Club project.

 

Kitchen with Kids – Frozen BlueBerry Finger Prints

Kids seem to love eating blueberries right out of the freezer, and eating a bowl full leaves their fingers all gooey and purple.  Turn the mess into some fun – before wiping them clean, let them stamp their fingers onto a piece of paper to make blueberry finger prints!   Keep the prints simple, or turn it into something fun like an imaginary purple fingerprint Halloween monster!  A nutritious snack that just might taste even better when they get to play with their food!

Simple Science – Spider Web

In the fall it seems like there are spider webs being built everywhere you walk.  Spend a few minutes observing a spider building it’s web.  What is the web used for?  Why doesn’t the spider get stuck but other creatures do?  Spiders have bristles on their legs and special oils on their bodies so that they don’t get stuck in their own webs.  The bristles slot over the web threads or silk, and act almost like skates for the spider, helping them glide along their own web!

Five Minute Fun – Tissue Ghosts

Make a string of Halloween ghosts by placing a cotton ball in the center of a piece of facial tissue.  Gather the tissue around the cotton, creating a head for your ghost.  Secure head with a twist tie or piece of string.  Add eyes to the head, completing your ghost.  Make several ghosts and string together for a Halloween garland.

Your Ideas

 

Thanks to Lara for this fun craft idea: “We have made coffee filter butterflies first by drawing abstract patterns on the filters using markers, and then using a spray bottle filled with water, spritz the marker and it will spread much like a tie-die effect.  This craft is fun to do outside when the weather is warmer.”

Craft Caravan tip:  use orange and black markers to make Halloween themed butterflies!

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Crafty Ideas September 2009

admin

Back to School

With the kids getting back into the fall routine, now is a perfect opportunity to add craft time into your schedule.  Doing crafts provides creative and cognitive challenges that help ready young kids for future learning.  Start with some back to school crafts such as the ones below:

Artist’s Display Ribbon: 

A simple way to display the drawings and art projects the kids will be bringing home from school!

Supplies: 1.5 m of wide (~5cm) ribbon, 8 self-adhesive Velcro dots, fabric and/or ribbon scraps, felt pieces etc, stickers, craft glue, glitter glue, fabric scissors

Directions:  Evenly space one side of 7 Velcro dots along the length of your ribbon.  Decorate ribbon by gluing on pieces of fabric, ribbon, or felt, and drawing designs with glitter glue.  Clip a ‘V’ at bottom end of the ribbon to finish it off.  Let dry.  To hang your ribbon, place 8th Velcro dot at the top of the ribbon on the underside, and secure it to matching Velcro dot positioned at the top of your wall.  The ribbon will hang down, ready for art work display

To display art: attach a Velcro dot to your artwork, and then secure the artwork to the matching Velcro dot on the display ribbon

 

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

Decorative Back Pack Tags:

An easy way to identify your child’s book bag or snack pack!

Supplies: construction paper or card stock, markers, crayons, or alphabet stickers, clear self-adhesive laminating paper, hole punch, beading string, pony beads

Directions: Cut a small circle or square out of cardstock – similar in size to a luggage tag.  Draw or decal child’s name onto the tag.  Decorate the tag with other stickers and colouring, and then place between two pieces of clear laminating paper.  Cut laminating paper so it is just wider than the tag inside.  Puch a hole into the laminated tag, and string onto beading string.  Add decorative beads to the string, and then tie it to backpack.

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

 

Kitchen with Kids – Bean Dip with Corn Chips

A great after school snack, this is a simple dip that needs a dollop of this and a pinch of that, so it’s easy for the kids to be in charge!

  • 1 can refried beans
  • 2-3 heaping tablespoons plain yogurt
  • Pinch of salt
  • corn chips or vegetables for dipping

 

Scoop refried beans into mixing bowl.  Add plain yogurt and a pinch of salt.  Mix thoroughly.  Serve with corn chips, carrot sticks, or celery for dipping.  Tip: if your kids are feeling adventurous, add some chili powder, chopped green onions or cilantro for extra flavour!

Simple Science – Bent Pencil

Fill a jar or clear container half way with water. Hold a pencil in the water so that half of it is submerged.  When you look at the pencil through the water, does it look straight or bent?  Light travels slower through water than it does through air.  When the light enters the water it slows down, changing direction slightly, and it speeds up again as it leaves the glass, making the pencil look bent.

Getting Organized – Craft Supply Box

Preschoolers and primary school kids will often find themselves exhausted at the end of a school day.  Help them make it through the long afternoon by setting up an easy-to-access craft box for quiet time activities.  Decorate a shoe box with your child, and stock it with craft staples such as crayons, scissors, stickers, and glue stick.  Keep the box, together with some coloured paper and drawing paper, within reaching distance so that they can grab their crafts whenever they need to relax and create.

Five Minute Fun – Label It

Practice  your printing by making labels for school supplies and snack containers.  Place a strip of fun coloured masking tape on a non-adhesive surface, such as a vinyl placemat or stone countertop.  Place tick marks at even intervals so that your child knows how much space they have to write each name, and then let them repeat their name over and over again to label all their stuff!

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Crafty Ideas June 2009

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School’s Out for Summer!

It’s hard to believe, but by the end of this month another school year will be over and the kids will be looking for things to do over the summer!   Help them tap into their creative side with these ‘gearing up for summer’ crafts     

Looking Back PlaceMat: 

A fun project to showcase the highlights of the school year

Supplies: 2 pieces clear self-adhesive book covering (cut to ~ 8.5×11 or 9×12), items from the school year such as drawings, special projects and photos that can be cut for a keepsake collage.  Other decorating supplies such as magazine clippings, glitter, or stickers.

Directions:  Remove backing from first piece of book covering.  Place your items on the sticky surface, being sure to spread them around so that they will be easy to see.  Add other decorations such as sparkles or magazine clippings.  Remember to include the year, a handprint, and child’s name (written by them if they can!)  Once you have a collage that you are happy with, cover with second piece of self-adhesive book covering.

Tip: expand this reflective project idea by making an ‘About Me’ Scrapbook.  Get the supplies here!       

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

Sidewalk Chalk Drawings:

A simple changing of the canvas (from concrete to construction paper) to keep sidewalk chalk interesting!

Supplies: black construction paper, coloured sidewalk chalk, sprayer bottle or squirt gun filled with water

Directions: Decorate the construction paper with sidewalk chalk drawings.   Once your drawing is complete, lay flat and spray or squirt with water.  Watch the colours blend together!  Leave your picture to air dry.  Tip:  Work outside so you don’t need to worry about the mess.

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!


Kitchen with Kids – Super Smoothy Popsicles

Head the ice cream truck off at the pass by having these tasty treats ready in the freezer!  

  • 1 ½ cups apple juice or other fruit juice
  • 1 cup strawberries, washed and hulled
  • 2 bananas

Combine all ingredients in blender.  Blend until smooth.  Pour into popsicle mold and freeze until solid.  To remove, run hot water over the popsicle you are removing, and gently pull out of mold.

Simple Science- Be a Bee

In your yard, use a feather duster to gently ‘dust’ from one plant to another.  You will be helping spread pollen to make seeds and fruit!  Pick a flower, such as a lily, rhododendron bloom, or iris, and carefully pull the flower apart to look at the reproductive system.

Five Minute Fun – Salad Container Bug Box

Plastic salad or tomato containers gain another purpose before hitting the recycling bin.  Your child can add a few green leaves or grass clippings to the bin and then collect a few bugs to observe!   

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May 2009 Crafty Ideas

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Signs of Spring

May is the time of year when the outdoors starts buzzing with activity.  Birds are chirping, bees are starting their collection ritual, and caterpillars are making big plans to become butterflies!  Get inspired by nature this month!     

Signs of Spring Collage: 

Go on a walk with your little one and collect some signs of spring, then turn them into a collage.  Some signs of spring to look for include puddles, rain clouds, spring flowers, blossoms, buds on trees, baby birds, caterpillars, and sprouts of new plants through the dirt.  

Supplies: camera, doodle pad and pencil, magazine clippings, found objects from nature (nothing moving or living!), construction paper, glue, crayons or pencil crayons

Directions:  On your nature walk, take photos of the signs of spring, or your child can draw what he or she sees as you walk.  Collect small items that might work in your collage.  At home, create a collage that includes your spring photos and drawings, magazine clippings of spring, and found objects.      

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

Coffee Filter Butterflies:

A simple craft that’s well worth being reminded about.  Our kitchen window is currently home to a few of these little critters!

Supplies: Paper coffee fliters (basket style), colouring supplies such as crayons, pencil crayons, markers, chenille stems (pipe cleaners).  Optional: decorating supplies such as glitter, pompoms, or paper scraps, glue

Directions: Spread the coffee filter out so it lays flat.  Colour the filter using crayons, markers, or pencil crayons.  Add decorations if desired.  When filter is dry, carefully ‘scrunch’ filter at centre, pinching top to bottom.  Filter should now look like two wings, with centre pinched in where a body will be.  To make body, fold chenille stem in half.  Twist the loop end together until half way up the length of folded stem.  Twist tie around centre of coffee filter, and shape top ends of chenille stem into antennae.

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

It’s All In The Details

The great outdoors has been the inspiration for many artists over the years, and proves to be quite complex when studied from up close.  Georgia O’Keeffe, an American artist born in 1887, made many large-scale paintings of natural forms at close range, as if seen through a magnifying lens.  On the next walk with the kids, find a new flower, a slow moving snail, or a bee who’s busy at work, and spend some time just watching, and talking about the little details that sometimes go unseen as we hurry by.

 

Kitchen with Kids – Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp

If you have your own rhubarb plant, the kids can help harvest a few stalks for this yummy treat.  Otherwise, find rhubarb at local farmers markets and produce stores. 

Filling:

  • 4 cups rhubarb, chopped
  • 2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • ½ cup sugar

Topping:

  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1 cup oats
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup soft butter

Mix filling in a greased 9×9 baking dish.  In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients for topping, cutting in the butter until crumbly.  Spread on top of filling.  Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.  Serve warm, with ice cream.

Simple Science- What do Plants Need to Grow?

Plant one bean in planting medium or soil.  Water, and keep it in a bright place (but not direct sunlight).  Plant another bean in exactly the same manner, but keep it in a cool dark location (Like a cold storage room or a closet).  Which one grows faster?  What do plants need to grow?

Five Minute Fun – Dipping Dandelions

Do double duty by ridding the garden of dandelions, and using them for art!  The fluffy yellow flowers might not be wanted in the yard, but they make great abstract art paint brushes.  Pick a few and set out the paints so your kids can get busy with these unique tools

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Crafty Ideas April 2009

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Greening Our Planet

Think twice about your recycling materials before you toss them in the bin this month.  April 22nd is earth day, and it’s the perfect time to integrate your cast offs and waste into kid’s craft projects.  It’s also a great time to get outdoors and let the kids help with early season planting in containers or on the ground!  

Recycling Stamp Art:

Turn your recycling into stamps for a unique painting.  Bubble wrap (bubble side down), milk jug or jar lids, cans (no sharp edges) toilet paper rolls, and egg cups are just a few examples.

Supplies: recycling stampers – we like milk jug lids and bubble wrap (cut into manageable pieces), tempura paints, paper, cookie sheet or plate.  Collage materials such as magazine clippings, sparkles, candy wrappers, etc.

Directions:  Spread some paint into cookie sheet or plate. Lay bubble wrap in cookie sheet, bubble side down.  Carefully pick bubble wrap up and place on your paper.  Gently press down and remove.  Repeat with other stamps – use the end of a can or toilet roll to make different sized circles.  Add shiny candy wrappers or magazine clippings with a small dab of glue.  Let dry.   

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

Eggshell Mosaics:

Supplies: Egg shells (rinsed and dried), cardboard or construction paper, food colouring, glue

Directions: If your egg shells are coloured from Easter, separate them into piles according to colour.  If the shells are not vibrant enough, add food colouring and water to a bowl and submerge shells for approximately 5 minutes.  Dry and crush shells.  Draw a design on your paper.  Working in sections, fill the design in with glue and cover with eggshells.  Continue filling picture in with coloured egg shells.  Let dry.

Did you try this craft?  Send us your comments and photos!

In Hops the Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny tradition hopped all the way to North America from Germany.  18th century German settlers to North America brought the Easter Bunny with them.  The Easter Bunny, in turn, brought gifts of chocolate, candy, and Easter eggs – a tradition that continues today.  Make the Easter bunny tradition uniquely yours by surprising the kids with the same unique item each year – our bunny brings a packet of vegetable seeds to each child, for planting in the spring.  

 

Kitchen with Kids – Cheese Omelette

  • Eggs (1 to 2 per person)
    •  Milk
    •  Salt and pepper
    •  Grated cheddar cheese

Crack eggs into a container that can be closed with an airtight lid.  Tip:  Hold your child’s hands and crack the eggs together.  Wash hands thoroughly.  Add 1 tablespoon of milk for each egg.  Shake a couple of sprinkles of salt into the bowl, and grind some pepper – count the turns of the grind as you go.  Seal container and shake it shake it shake it!  Heat an oiled pan on medium low, and carefully pour egg mixture into pan, stirring gently with a wooden spoon.  As eggs begin to solidify, sprinkle grated cheese on top.  Let cheese melt, remove from heat, and serve.

Simple Science- Musical Glasses

Using several glass containers or cups, fill each with a different amount of water.  Let the kids tap the edges of the containers with the end of a wooden spoon or pencil.  Which container makes the lowest sound?  Which is the highest?  Vibrations are made when the glass is hit; this creates sound waves which travel through the water.  The more water, the slower the vibration, the deeper (lower) the tone.

Tip:  for young children, help them control the strength of their ‘tap’ by gently guiding their arm.

Five Minute Fun – Start some Seeds

Fill the cups of an egg carton with dirt or planting medium.  Push 1 large seed or sprinkle several small seeds into soil.  Moisten with a few drops of water.   Cover with a clear plastic bag or casserole.  Place in a bright location, but not in direct sunlight.  Seeds should sprout in 7 to 10 days.  Try beans, basil, or even grass seed

Planning a Party This Month?  – Get Crafty and Go Green!

View our “Green Birthdays” video for tips and suggestions on how to make your child’s birthday party more environmentally responsible!

Win a Three Month Kids Craft Club subscription!

Tell us what you think about the Kids Craft Club and you’ll be entered in a draw for a three month Kids Craft Club subscription (or 3 month extension to your current subscription)!  If you subscribe now or in the past, click here.  If you’ve never tried the club, click here.  Tell us what you think about the Kids Craft Club!

What are You Doing This Weekend?

If you’re in Vancouver this weekend and have young kids, then you’ll want to check out the Baby and Toddler Fair at the Roundhouse Community Centre!  It’s this Saturday from 10am – 4pm.  Be sure to stop by our table at the show!

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Craft Ideas for kids – February 2009

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Hearty Heros!

Cupid isn’t the only one who flies around making people fall in love!  How about a Valentine’s fairy?  Or perhaps a Valentine’s superhero?  February is heart month, so help the kids spring into action with some Valentine’s inspired playtime props:   

Superhero Wrist Bands:

Supplies: toilet paper roll, aluminum foil, scraps of coloured paper, fabric or ribbon, glue

Directions:  Cut toilet paper roll in half cross wise, creating two small cuffs.  Snip each cuff vertically, so that child will be able to slip cuff onto wrist.  Cover each cuff in tin foil.  Cut paper or fabric into stars, hearts, lightning bolts, or other superhero symbols (such as child’s initials) and glue onto cuffs.  Let dry, and then let the games begin!

Heart Tipped Fairy Wand:

Supplies: wooden dowel or old wooden spoon, cardboard (e.g. from cereal box), red or pink paper, ribbons, packing tape, glue

Directions: Cut heart shape from cardboard. Lay dowel on heart so that one end is at the centre of the heart, making a handle coming down from tip of heart.  Secure in place with packing tape.  Glue ribbons to bottom of heart shape to create a ribbon fringe.  Cut two identical hearts out of  red or pink paper, making hearts slightly larger than cardboard heart.  Cover both sides of cardboard heart with the red or pink hearts, pinching edges together to secure around cardboard heart.  Let dry.

Made with Love for Valentine’s Day

Help your child create one-of-a kind unique Valentine’s Day Cards with our exclusive Valentine Card making kits .  Choose a class pack of 24 mini cards for your child to give to classmates, or standard size cards (packages of 8) to send to close friends and relatives.  A crafty way to make Valentine’s Day just a little more special!  Check our card selection here .

 

Have A Laugh!

 

Not only is laughing a lot of fun to do, but it’s proven to be good for your heart.  Your heart rate increases with laughter, and then dips below normal when you stop, giving your heart a workout.  And did you know that kids laugh about twenty times as much as adults?  That’s 20 giggles for every one of our chuckles.  So, get a little crazy with the kids this month, and get laughing! .

 

Kitchen with Kids – Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

A little bit of (dark) chocolate is good for the heart, as is the fibre provided by delicious red strawberries.  Try this simple Valentine’s treat with the kids! .

  • Strawberries, washed, but not hulled
    •   2 oz semi-sweet bakers chocolate, chopped up, or chocolate chips
    •    2 tablespoons milk

Melt chocolate in microwave; add chopped chocolate and milk to microwave safe bowl, and heat for 30 seconds.  Let stand for 30 seconds.  Stir.  Microwave slightly longer if necessary.  When chocolate is melted, cool slightly, and dip strawberries, letting the kids hold them by the hull.  Tip: if you prefer to remove the hulls before serving, use corn picks to hold the strawberries for dipping.

Simple Science- Geometry Lesson

Cut several pieces of paper into squares and circles.  Can you use the pieces you have cut to make a heart?  Note:  Pieces can overlap.  Use a heart template to make it a little easier for little ones to see what they’re striving for!

Five Minute Fun – Folding Heart Card

Make a quick Valentine card with your child by folding a piece of paper in half and cutting a heart along fold line.  Open your heart and decorate with crayons, markers, stickers, and other embellishments.  Let dry and then close the heart card, pop it into an envelope, and send it to someone special.  

Stick to My Heart

Planning a party this month?  Try playing pin the heart on the human!  Draw an outline of your child, and draw a heart in the location of the real heart.  Give each child a heart stick to the human.  Blind fold the child, spin them once or twice, and lead them to the picture, giving them a chance to stick their heart to the picture.  Get as close to the real heart as you can!  If you need party crafts, check out our supply here

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Craft Ideas by Craft Caravan – January 2009

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Let it Snow…

The great outdoors may be covered in a blanket of snow, but it’s not likely that the kids will follow suit and curl up under a blanket at home.  They’re busy as ever, so pull out the craft supplies and start creating!
If you’re looking for snowy day activities, or if you’re still in Christmas clean-up mode, here are a couple craft ideas to fit the bill:   

Cotton Ball Snowman:

Supplies: Construction paper, cotton balls, glue, pencil, googly eyes, red yarn, wide ribbon, buttons, black paper

Directions:  Draw snowman shape on construction paper.  Make snowman hat out of black paper, and glue to top of snowman head.  Spread glue into each snowman circle, and cover circles with cotton balls.  Dab glue onto googly eyes and add to snowman.  Make snowman smile from red yarn, and glue on other accessories:  ribbon scarf, buttons on belly.  Let dry.

Wrapping Paper Name Plate:

Supplies: leftover Christmas wrap or other scraps of paper, cardboard, construction paper or other coloured paper, pencil, glue

Directions: cut cardboard into large rectangle – approximately 15 cm tall, and wide enough to fit child’s name in block letters.  Cover cardboard with construction paper or other coloured paper, making nameplate.  Write child’s name in block letters across nameplate.  Rip wrapping paper or other paper into small pieces.  Spread glue around the inside of first block letter.  “Scrunch” ripped papers onto block letter by placing onto the glue and then pushing paper towards itself.   Fill entire letter with scrunched paper.  Repeat with all letters of the child’s name.  Let dry and hang on bedroom door or other display area.

Fun Facts About Arts and Crafts – Snowy Scenes

 

Many pieces from the Canadian ‘Group of Seven’ artists depict snowy Canadian scenes.  The group of Seven held their first art exhibition in 1920.  Before this, many artists believed the Canadian landscape was either not paintable, or not worthy of being painted.

 

Kitchen with Kids – Microwave Rice Pudding

Soft and fluffy like a snow bank, but warm and creamy for a cozy winter treat!  The kids can help with stirring and measuring.  Serve this pudding warm or cold.

  • 1 cup water
    •    ½ cup raw rice
    •    dash salt
    •    3 tbsp butter
    •    2/3 c sugar
    •    3 c milk
    •    2 large eggs
    •    1 tsp vanilla
    •    cinnamon to taste


In microwave safe bowl, mix rice with salt and water, and cook on high until tender.  Stir in butter, milk, and sugar.  Cover and microwave on high for 8-10 minutes, or until mixture boils.  Beat the eggs and whisk a couple of tablespoons of the hot mixture into eggs (to prevent eggs from curdling).  Add a little more of the mixture to eggs while whisking, and then add eggs back into pudding bowl.  Microwave uncovered for 1-2 minutes, or until pudding bubbles on the sides.  Add vanilla and cinnamon, if desired.  Cool before serving.

Simple Science- Melting Snow

There’s plenty of it outside, so use some snow for this simple science experiment.  Collect two bowls of snow.  Make sure that there’s roughly the same amount of snow in each bowl.  Leave one bowl standing, and stir the snow around in the second bowl.  Which bowl of snow melts first? Tip: instead of bowls, collect snow in jars.  Shake one jar while leaving the other standing.  Which jar of snow melts first?

Five Minute Fun – Paper Snowflakes

Scissors and paper are all you need to create beautiful snowflakes for your window!  Simply fold a piece of paper over several times, and then cut random shapes into the paper.  Open paper to reveal a unique wintry snowflake!  Tape your snowflakes to the window panes, or hang them using pieces of dental floss or thread. 

Made with Love for Valentine’s Day

Help your child create one-of-a kind unique Valentine’s Day Cards with our exclusive Valentine Card making kits .  Choose a class pack of 24 mini cards for your child to give to classmates, or standard size cards (packages of 8) to send to close friends and relatives.  A crafty way to make Valentine’s Day just a little more special!  Check our card selection here.

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