Archive for the ‘Activities’ Category

A quick Thanksgiving craft for the kids

Posted by Amy on November 26, 2008

On a weekly basis, our little three year old comes home from the babysitter’s house with a special drawing or seasonal craft.  I am so thankful that our sitter takes the time to sit down with the kids and work on projects with them.  Hailey just loves arts and crafts.

So, yesterday, she came home with this adorable little construction paper turkey, made from her feet and hands.  Such a sweet, memorable little craft!  This is surely a quick little activity that you should have time to do before tomorrow’s festivities - or - even make it a special Thanksgiving Day activity for the family to do.  You could surprise your kiddo’s grandparents or siblings with this special gift.

Thanksgiving craft Here is Hailey, proudly displaying her turkey.  What you will need for this project is:

-Colorful construction paper
-Elmer’s glue
-A pencil
-Scissors
-Little “eyes” found at virtually every major retailer in their craft section or your local craft store.

Choose different colors of construction paper and trace your child’s hands.  You can see about 8 tracings of Hailey’s hands in the picture.  Trace your child’s feet, rounding off around their toes.

Cut out the traced hands and feet.  Glue the two feet tracings together to make the body of the turkey (see picture) and then flip it over and glue the hands on for the feathers.

Cut out feet for the turkey, a beak and the beard thing.  I can’t remember what that thing is called.  Glue on the turkey’s feet, beard thing, beak and eyes.

Voila!  There you have an adorable little Thanksgiving Day craft that your little one can show off to all of the relatives.

If you make this craft and take a picture of it for your blog, make sure to leave us a comment with the link so we can come over and check it out!

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Category: Activities, Family Fun

Making family traditions

Posted by Amy on November 14, 2008

hailey_pumpkins Making family traditions

I love making memories and traditions, especially when it has to do with my family.

Each year, for the past three years, we have taken a picture of Hailey on Halloween sitting with a pumpkin. Each year, on the pumpkin, we paint one of the letters of her name. For example, since Hailey’s birthday is the week before Halloween, we paint the next letter of her name on a pumpkin. We’ve been doing this since she was born. She came home from the hospital on the night before Halloween in 2005. It’s a fun way to document the years and watch your children grow. I got this idea from a friend of mine, who does this with her children.

You could do this any time of year, really. Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, you name it. The most important thing is that you’re capturing an image of your child and creating a tradition.

babyhailey_pumpkin Making family traditions

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Category: Activities

Why is making a mess so much fun?

Posted by Eric on June 10, 2008

hailey-facepaint Why is making a mess so much fun?

Even though the cleanup is often no fun at all, making messes is great fun for parents and kids of all ages. Who doesn’t love finger painting or turning a pile of sand into mud with some water?

Not only is making a mess fun for kids, it can be good (and fun) for parents too. As parents and tidy housekeepers it seems like we spend countless hours cleaning, organizing, and put everything in its place. Occasionally making a mess can help you loosen up bit and be a little more apt to simply “go with the flow.”

The truth is that messy play is actually very good for children. Kids get to use their imaginations and play and explore their surroundings without worrying about staying inside the lines. They can freely engage their senses and develop their creativity. Besides, the smile on a child’s face as muck oozes between their fingers is priceless.

Some fun things to make a mess with include:

• Paint - Both finger paints and brushes can easily turn the the cleanest child into a colorful mess and their canvas into a priceless work of art.
• Mud - The king of all mess making materials. A little mud and dirt never hurt anyone.
• Food - I’ve watched our 2 year old daughter try to eat spaghetti on numerous occasions and we usually both end up laughing. Cooking (especially mixing cookie dough) also seems to be a fun and purposeful way to make a mess with a great reward for cleaning up.
• Sand - Our daughter could play in her sandbox for hours. Sand will be everywhere, but she will be happy. Try Moon Sand for an interesting indoor alternative.
• Play Doh - We’ve got swirled and mud-colored crumbs all over our our child’s play area, but (again) she loves creating with it.
• Water - Splashing in the bathtub bubbles, playing in the sink, or even jumping in the puddles on the sidewalk, it doesn’t matter. Kids love getting wet and making messes.
• Arts & Crafts - Yeah, I’ve been questioned at work about stray glitter on my face, but kids love crafts. A little glue, tape, colored paper, glitter, cotton balls, Popsicle sticks, etc… and you’re there.

Once the mess has been made, make sure you get your child to assist with the clean up. Sing a song about picking up or make a game of it. Preparation (however) can go a long way to making cleanup easier. Use a plastic table cloth when you are painting or just keeping the really messy stuff outside and a quick change of clothes, a few broom sweeps, or a spray with the hose may be all you need to make quick work of the cleanup.

Just remember that messes are fun and fun is good.

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