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Simple Science: Botany for Kids – Dissect a Flower

June 19, 2016 admin

We’re having some Fun with Flowers this month in the Kids Craft Club, and studying a real flower is a great extension to our craft time fun! We found a beautiful bearded iris in our yard, and took it apart to understand the complex system that makes a flower grow. This is a good tactile experiment for the kids – they can feel the flower parts as they learn. It’s also handy to have a sketch pad nearby so that the kids can draw what they see. A microscope or magnifying glass will give the kids a closer look.

Bearded Iris in the Garden Our Iris in the Garden

Tip: If you can, find one flower per little person in addition to your flower, so that each child can spend time feeling the flower and participating without worry about damage.

We started by counting the petals on our flower – Flowers with petals in multiples of three are called monocots. Flowers with petals in multiples of four or five are dicots. What kind of flower do you have? Things you can do: Draw a flower with the same number of petals as yours. Draw flowers with petals in groups of three, and with petals that are in multiples of four or five.
We gently removed the petals to take a closer look at the rest of the flower. Things you can do: Feel the petals – what do they feel like? Are all the petals the same? Our flower had 3 dark purple petals with ‘beards’ and three light purple petals. The bearded petals look fancy, which might attract insects to help pollinate the flower. If your flower has two kinds of petals, do the different petals feel different from each other?

Once you’ve studied the flower petals, have a look at the rest of your flower. You can learn about the reproductive parts of the flower. These are the parts that help the flower make seeds which can become new flowers:


The Stamen is the part that looks like a miniature scrubber brush! It has a long handle or filament and a brush tip or anther that holds the pollen.	The Pistil is at the base of the flower – the top of the pistil is the Stigma. It’s the clearish-white part at the flower base, and it carries the pollen down through the stem.

We gently removed the last remaining petals to count the Stamen on our flower. How many are on your flower? Things you can do: gently touch the top of the stamen. What does it feel like? When you take your fingers away, is there any powdery pollen on your fingers? What colour is it? If you have a magnifying glass, use it to look at the pollen. What does it look like when it’s magnified?
An adult can carefully slice down the centre of the stem and open up the flower. What can you see? Now you can see the rest of the pistil – pollen get carried down the hollow body or style to the ovary, where the pollen fertilizes the flower’s eggs. Can you see any tiny eggs? These would be the seeds of the flower after they’re fertilized by the pollen!

Craft Time Tips: How to Make Craft Time Successful for your kids

June 19, 2016 admin

We’re honoured to share our perspective about craft time and why it’s important on Tim Elmore’s Growing Leaders Blog. Visit his sight to see how to facilitate open-ended craft time at home, and be sure to check his blog often, as shares great information on how we can foster positive growth in our kids.

Five Things to Ask For on Mother’s Day

June 19, 2016 admin

We love it when kids get crafty to make something special for Mom on Mother’s Day, and you can find some great Mother’s Day craft ideas here.

BUT, we also realize that unless a teacher or caregiver has a Mother’s Day craft plan for the kids, they might have difficulty getting started without a lot of help from Mom, which can be tricky when the whole point is to make something for Mom!

If you’re pretty sure the Mother’s Day crafts just aren’t going to happen unless you do them yourself, here are Five Things To Ask For on Mother’s Day:

A Letter from Each of Your Children:

Everyone loves getting letters, so imagine how wonderful it would be to amass a whole collection from your kids as the years go by. Turn this into an annual tradition and not only will you have a yearly record of their growth and your Mother-child relationship, but you’ll also be training them to write a letter at least once a year when they’re grown and out of the house!

Prewriting kids can draw a picture, trace their hand, or make a comic strip (with a little help captioning). You can also ask them to write a letter, give them pencil and paper, and see what they come up with. There are always stories behind early scribbles, so make sure you ask what the letter says or shows, and write it down as a caption at the bottom of the page.

Mom or other caregiver can encourage the kids with story starter phrases that can be drawn or written. Examples might include: I love my mommy because…., This is mommy and me when….., my favourite day with mommy, etc

High Tea at Home

The kids will need to enlist the help of Dad or other caregiver for this one, but the good news is that it qualifies for last minute Mother’s Day fun even if you don’t have a reservation! Make High Tea an event at your house and get dressed up, preferably with an awesome hat, to make it extra fancy.

Set out a tiered tray so that kids can make little sandwiches or wraps for the bottom tier (peanut butter and jam, ham and cheese, or cucumber are a few easy ones!), an assortment of fruit, veggies, and cheese for the middle tier, and a few treats for the top tier (such as scones, cookies or mini cupcakes). The kids can also put a teabag into a pot for Dad or caregiver to fill, and they can use another container for a fun kid-friendly drink like chocolate milk, spritzer, or juice.

If you don’t have a tiered tray, a big platter or dainty plates would work just as well. If it’s a beautiful day, find a picnic blanket and a spot of sun and take your tea outside!

A Picture of Mom with the Kids

This is another idea that we think should be an annual tradition, especially because Mommy is usually the one behind the camera! Ask your partner to take a picture of you with the ones who turned you into a Mother! Get serious or silly and strike a pose with the kids so that you have an annual photo with your little sweethearts. When you get around to downloading your photos, send your Mother’s Day photo to a printer and make copies for you and your kids. Put the photos into a scrapbook or picture frame – an easy way to smile every time you walk by.

Reading Time for Mommy

It’s likely that you spend a lot of time reading stories out loud to your child, so Mother’s Day is the perfect time to change up story time! Choose a book, newspaper or magazine article, or other reading material for your child to read aloud to you (ensuring that the content is rated ‘G’ of course!). If your child can’t read yet and is into picture books, pick one of their books for them to narrate in their own words or ask them to tell you a story about a subject that interests both of you.

Mommy’s Choice Craft Time

We know that little ones get a lot out of the experience of making or doing something, and it’s important for adults to remember to play too, so Mother’s Day is the perfect day to make or do something with your child. Mother’s Day means mommy’s choice, so choose your favourite activity and get the kids involved. Have your child work along side you on their own projects, or deem them your special helpers. Scrapbooking, knitting, going on a bike ride, or gardening are just a few examples.

Mommy's choice craft time - knitting bowl

Every Day is Earth Day

June 19, 2016 admin

Earth Day has come and gone but we can make every day earth day! Here are some things we can do every day to help keep our Earth Healthy. Brought to you by the Craft Caravan Kids Craft Club:

Keep our earth beautiful by making less garbage!! Reduce the number of things we buy and use, Re-Use the things we have, Recycle the things that can’t be re-used.
Keep our Air Clean – Walk, run, bike, scooter, or skate instead of riding in the car – cars use gas, which makes smelly fumes that go into our air (yuck!) So go out and get some exercise for your body!
Save Energy – Turn off the lights when you leave a room! If we use less energy, we will have to make less energy, which is good for the earth.
Save Water – Turn the water off when you’re brushing your teeth to make sure we have enough water all the time.
Plant a tree (or any plant) – plants help clean the air, and they give insects and animals food or shelter

Knitting: Make a Minecraft Creeper toque / hat

June 18, 2016 admin

I’m relatively new to knitting and have been looking for something to make for my son – something that he might actually appreciate. He’s a big fan of the game Minecraft, and he doesn’t like the toque he’s been wearing to school on cold days, so I made him this Minecraft creeper toque. I got him to try the toque on when it was just a green hat, and of course he wasn’t interested in it at all…..he didn’t know what I was up to. I started and finished the creeper while he was sleeping, put the toque on his head the next day, and told him to go look in the mirror. His expression as he realized what he had on his head was absolutely priceless! I got hugs and kisses and he’s been wearing the toque both indoors and out. Even if he never wears it again, I’m already glad I made it, and it was super easy to knit!

Knitted minecraft creeper hat

Here’s what I did:
Yarn: Cascade 220 100% Peruvian Highland Wool – colours 7814 chartreuse, and 8555 black. I got the yarn from Three Bags Full here in Vancouver.

knitted minecraft creeper toque

Needles: 16″ 4.5mm (US 7) circular needles, 4.5mm (US 7) double pointed needles (dpns)

Using circular needles, cast on 80 stitches. Join in the round, placing marker for start of round.

Knit 2×2 ribbing (K2, P2) until toque is ~1.5″ tall

Knit stockinette (K all) until toque measures ~ 7″ tall. Note: I originally knit until the toque (including ribbing) was 5″ but it ended up making my son look like an elf (too short!), so I had to rip it out and make it bigger.

At the beginning of the next round, start decreasing:

Round 1: K6, K2tog until end of round (70 stitches left on needles)
Round 2: K all
Round 3: K5, K2tog until end of round (60 stitches left on needles)
Round 4: K all
Round 5: K4, K2tog until end of round (50 stitches left on needles)
Round 6: K all
Round 7: K3, K2tog until end of round (40 stitches left on needles)
Round 8: K all
Round 9: K2, K2tog until end of round (30 stitches left on needles). Switch to dpns
Round 10: K1, K2tog until end of round (20 stitches left)
Round 11: K2tog until end of round (10 stitches left)
Round 12: K2tog (5 stitches). Run needle/ yarn through remaining stitches and pull together to secure, breaking yarn on inside of toque. Weave in the ends.

To make the creeper image, I duplicated the stitches on the toque using black yarn. I found a tutorial for this method because I have never done it before. The graphic I used is here: knitting pattern for minecraft creeper toque Here’s the finished toque on my son’s 8 year old head:

knitted minecraft creeper beenie

Craft Idea: Make a three-dimensional paper snowflake

June 18, 2016 admin

Make this beautiful three dimensional snowflake to hang in the classroom or at home! This is a good activity for kids to do with their caregivers. Caregiver or teacher will need to assist with stapling. You will need:

Six equal sized pieces of square paper
Scissors
Ruler
Glue stick or tape
Stapler

What to do:

Fold all six pieces of paper into triangles. Starting at the folded edge, draw parallel cutting lines that extend from folded edge to centre of triangle. Make sure your cuts stop just before reaching the centre of triangle so that the paper remains a single piece
Cut along the cutting lines and then unfold the paper. Find the loose corners of the smallest square on your paper, and bring them in together, taping to secure
Flip your paper over, and bring the next set of corners together, again taping to secure
Continue flipping paper and bringing corners together until you have completed the square. Repeat for other 5 squares
Hold ends of 3 snowflake pieces together, and staple through ends. Staple through sides of snowflake pieces where each piece touches the next one. This will keep your finished snowflake from flopping over
Staple together all six ends to complete your snowflake. Use a piece of string to hang from the ceiling, or tack or tape to the wall.

Craft Idea: Super Simple Snowman Paper Chain

June 18, 2016 admin

Make this super simple snowman chain and then decorate it with an assortment of craft supplies! Make lots of these chains with a group of kids and then string them together around the room for a winter wonderland!

You will need:

thin white paper (we used an 8.5 x 11 piece of printer paper)
pen or pencil
small circular object and larger circular object to trace
scissors
decorating supplies

What to do:

Cut 8.5 x 11 paper in half length wise, and tape together end-to-end, making a 4.25 x 22 ” piece
Trace large cicle and then small circle at one end, to make a snowman shape. The edge of the large bottom circle should be right at the very edge of your paper
Fold paper zig-zag style to the end, with edges of paper lining up with edges of large bottom circle
Cut through all thicknesses, making sure to leave the edge of your large circles uncut where the snowman bodies will meet each other.
Unfold to reveal your snowman paper chain. Decorate with various craft supplies

Craft Idea: Popsicle stick (craft stick) snowflake

June 18, 2016 admin

Make a snowflake by winding yarn around craft sticks! Fuzzy yarn, or yarn with some sparkle or shimmer will make your snowflake twinkle as it hangs on display!

You will need:

3 craft sticks (popsicle sticks)
white or ‘snowflake’ coloured yarn

What to do:

Lay craft sticks across each other so that they intersect at the middle and fan out in a star shape at the ends. Consider gluing craft sticks in place so that it’s easier for little people to get started with the yarn winding
Holding craft sticks in place, loop yarn around first craft stick where all sticks intersect, and then move yarn to second stick. Loop around second stick and move to third stick, looping and continuing around the middle of the snowflake.
Continue looping yarn, working around in a cirlce and moving towards the outside edge of craft sticks.
When you reach the outside edge of your snowflake, loop and tie yarn to end of one of the craft sticks. Snip end, leaving enough yarn to make a hanging string for your snowflake

Simple Science: Make a Crystal Snowflake

June 18, 2016 admin

Here’s a simple science experiment to do at home or with the whole class. Grow crystal snowflakes! Learn about crystals and keep the finished products to decorate your room or classroom.

Supplies:

pipecleaner, cut into 3 equal length pieces
string or yarn
500 ml yogurt container or mason jar
hot or boiling water
borax
pencil or dowel

What to do:

Twist the pipecleaners together in the centre of each piece, and move ends around to make a star shape.
Wrap one end of string around a point of your ‘snowflake’. Then carry string to next point and wrap & continue to next point etc. Wrap string around all points until back to the first point. Then make a loop of string and secure the other end to pencil or dowel.
Pour boiling water into yogurt container or mason jar. Add 3 tablespoons of borax for every cup of water. Stir to dissolve mixture.
Hang snowflake in water overnight. The dowel or pencil can sit across the jar or container opening to keep the snowflake suspended.
Check on your snowflake the next day – it should be a crystally snowflake!

How this works:

When water is heated up, the water molecules move more quickly and spread apart, so the Borax (sodium borate) can easily dissolve. When the water cools down, the water molecules start to move back together again, and the Borax starts to settle out. Crystals start to form on top of each other and will cling to the pipecleaners in the water, creating a beautiful snowflake!

5 Hibernation Themed Activities for Kids (okay, 6)

June 18, 2016 admin

The November Kids Craft Club theme is hibernation, and we’ve got some great ideas to share with the kids!

Build a blanket fort or den – classic rainy (or snowy!) day activity, when we often do feel like hibernating. Sometimes these forts entertain for the entire day at our house! Add a comfy duvet or blanket floor, along with a fort door and a ‘Hibernating’ sign. The kids always get a kick out of this easy activity and all you need is chairs, blankets, and a little space. Tip: before they get started, remind the kids that whoever builds it must help take it apart too!
Make some animal masks and role play hibernation – use your Kids Craft Club package to get started. Extend your fort/den play by becoming a hibernating animal! Use craft supplies to become a tired bear, raccoon, hedgehog, or even a bat. The kids can collect food for the winter, hibernate, and wake up when someone declares that spring has arrived!
Sensory Box: make a hibernation nest – small animals that hibernate, such as hedgehogs, will build themselves nests to snuggle into for the winter. They use leaves, dried grass, and other available vegetation to build their nests. Go on a nature hunt to look for small items that might be comfortable in a nest. Add them to a shoe box or basket to make a comfy nest. This could be a bed for a small stuffed animal, or you could also search for pinecones or large seeds that could be transformed into a small hibernating animal with the help of some stick-on eyes! We found some chestnuts and turned them into little critters. Tip: extend this activity by talking about animals that hibernate in nests, and deciding what kind of animal your critters most look like. Another idea: cover your little critters with more leaves and ‘bedding’ and when it’s time for them to wake up, the kids can dig through the leaves to find them.
Do a hibernation experiment:
1. before hibernating, animals spend a lot of time eating to create excess stores of fat for insulation. Here’s a simple experiment to see how that extra layer keeps them warm: have your child wear a glove or mitten on one hand, giving that hand an ‘extra layer’. Place ice cubes in both their gloved hand, and their bare hand. Which one stays warm? Which one gets cold? Why?
2. Animals Hibernate to survive through harsh winter conditions. One of the ways they get ready for hibernation is by building a shelter or nest. Have the kids lay down and pretend they’re hibernating, without going into any extra shelter. Plug an electric fan in and point the air flow at the children. Now have the kids go into their fort or den to hibernate. Again point the fan air flow at the kids, who are now protected by the walls of the den. Do they stay warmer in the den than they did without the den? Why?
Plant a winter bulb – use winter dormancy in plants to help explain winter hibernation in animals. Bulbs, tubers, perennials and trees sit quietly over winter, and then ‘wake up’ again in the spring. Demonstrate this sleeping-waking similarity by planting bulbs. Plant your bulb in it’s ‘nest’ of dirt, keep it in a cool place over the winter, and watch for signs of it ‘waking up’ in the spring. Here’s a ‘how to’
Read some hibernation books – our top 3 picks:

Bear Snores On

By Karma Wilson

Illustrated by Jane Chapman
Time to Sleep

Written and Illustrated by Denise Fleming
Animals in Winter

By Henrietta Bancroft