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.

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!