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I love arts and crafts. Each day I try to fit in something creative whether it be a little knitting, sewing, quilting, embroidery, painting, drawing, building, making, cutting, or gluing. Creating makes me feel good. It also feels good to share my ‘skills’ and my arts and crafts. I’m also always on the lookout for inspiration.
Here are some cool crafts for kids that I’ve found this week!
- Chalkboards & Outdoor Art Fun over at Angry Chicken
- Craft Camp - 30 days, 30 Bloggers, 30 Crafts at Skip to my Lou
- Make Your Own Modern Dollhouse at Four Bad Apples
- This is awesome – a Tree Activity Book download at Matzo Ball Soup
Where do you find inspiration for your arts and crafts?
Nadine Reeves
Administrative Assistant
Here are some ideas for making your own toys just in time for the holidays!
Feel and Tell Box
Cut two identical 2” squares of different textured materials such as velvet, corduroy, rug samples, sandpaper. Glue one square to the top of a shoe box. Glue the other square to a piece of cardboard and place inside the box. At the end of the she shoe box, cut a circle large enough for a child’s hand to reach in. The child then reaches in to feel a square and tries to match it to the lid without looking. The square can be removed from the box to see if the correct match is made or to make the game easier for small children.
Box Camera
Decorate a small box to look like a camera. A button can be used for the lens, yarn for the camera strap, and a red circle for the ‘on’ button. Cut a slit in the top of the box so that your ‘photos’ can be placed inside. ‘Photos’ can be magazine cut-outs, child’s drawings, or even real photos of your child. The child then takes the picture, counts to ten, and pulls out the ‘photo’.
Scoop Catch
Wash fabric softener bottle thoroughly and cut off the bottom on an angle. Decorate the scoop. Child grasps the scoop using bottle handle and tries to catch a ball. Younger children can roll the ball back and forth to each other with the scoops.
As the weather changes, outdoor activities change. The cooler days of fall are ideal for long walks of discovery. Pack a snack of cut fruit, cheese curds, crackers or finger sandwiches and some water to drink. Walking in familiar places makes changes more noticeable.
Watch for:
- Flowers turning brown
- Leaves changing colour and drying
- Birds and animals gathering food
- Pets growing heavier coats
Encourage children to:
- Look, smell, feel and think
- Collect pebbles, twigs, leaves, pine cones, wild flowers
- Hug some trees and decide which is largest, smoothest, friendliest
Use nature collections for crafts and to decorate at home:
- Make a branch mobile with leaves and nuts.
- Dip leaves, feathers, evergreen sprigs, etc. in paint and then press onto paper.
- Adopt an abandoned spider web by sprinkling it gently with talcum powder – lift it by placing a sheet of black construction paper underneath.
- Create a table centrepiece of acorns, pine cones, pebbles in a glass jar, or flowers dried by hanging upside-down.
- Preserve leaves by pressing between wax paper (cereal and cracker boxes have super wax bag liners) or use a placemat-size piece. Place gathered “treasures” on one piece of wax paper. You could shave crayon pieces with a grater, cut out magazine letters to create a name or add magazine pictures for added interest. Place another piece of wax paper on top and iron gently (no steam) to melt together.
- Press leaves between sheets of wax paper placed under a heavy book. Preserve leaves permanently by covering with clear MacTac. Cut around leaves leaving 1/16” MacTac around edges. Hang these in a window to twirl and sparkle in the sunlight.
- Place a leaf or two under paper, rub the top of the paper with a crayon to see the leaves appear magically.
- Create an apple face with miniature marshmallows or raisins.
- Use apple chunks to add to muffins or pancakes. Share a cooking experience!
- Use apple pieces dipped in paint or pudding to make apple prints.
The colder weather of early winter brings out mittens and scarves. The changing textures of clothes and dropping temperatures can be discovered.
- The ground is hard.
- We see our breath.
- We hope for snow.
- Watch the grey sky, and move quickly when outdoors to stay warm. Play FREEZE! – then HOP – FREEZE, JUMP-FREEZE and so on. Let the children take turns calling freeze.
Family Literacy Day is Tuesday, January 27, and it’s not too late to make plans!
Whether you are putting together plans for your Family Literacy Day celebration, or you are looking for ideas on how to encourage family literacy everyday, ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation has resources for you.
Join us at Childreach on January 27 as we discover literacy in play and learn activities all day. From 6 to 7 p.m., our Early Years Literacy Specialists will provide special literacy activities for the family.
