Craftin’ Creations: Beautiful Japanese Hanging Fish!
We’ve been busy studying marine life this month, and one of our favorite ways to learn is through hands-on activities. It’s a definite bonus if the project involves supplies we already have around the house and if all four kids can somehow be involved in the learning process. I found a cute idea for Japanese Hanging Fish on enchantedlearning.com this morning and thought it would be the perfect activity to end our school day. Not only were they super cute, but the activity incorporated our science theme: the ocean!
Busy Workin’!
An hour teaching Ethan to use tape….. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I drew and cut out fish templates from construction paper and got all the tape, glue, and tissue paper squares ready while the kids finished up their bookwork. We needed tape because Ethan is adverse to getting his hands sticky (he hates glue). He has OCD and social anxiety issues, and certain triggers really bother him. As it turned out, teaching him to use a tape dispenser was a real test in patience for both of us. It took an hour before he understood and could do it himself! Fortunately neither of us lost our cool. I’m glad we’re able to homeschool him, because a traditional teacher wouldn’t have the time or resources to spend that much 1-on-1 time teaching him that basic skill.
After the two sides of the fish were sufficiently covered with colorful tissue squares, we added lots of streamers and ribbons to the bottom and stapled both halves together. Derek was done first and was soon running around the house with his fish streaming behind him. Bella used her half-finished fish as a paper airplane before crumpling it up and abandoning it on the floor. Alex worked hard to create just the right color pattern and Ethan diligently tried to figure out the tape dispenser (with lots and lots of pointers and hands on assistance).
Derek was very proud of his fish!
My beautiful and creative 2-year-old
Once all the kids finished, we ran outside to take a picture all together. I give the beautiful Japanese Hanging Fish one day before their tassels are pulled off. They turned out really well and all the kids ran around like crazy people, streamers flying behind them. After pictures, we taped them to the bedroom doors as adorable decorations. I’m anticipating that Derek’s will be the first to be pulled down and played with. Tomorrow morning perhaps? At least they lasted long enough to show Daddy after work. The beauty of pictures is that they live in posterity even after crafts have long since been crumpled and thoroughly played with. After all, it’s the experience and memories that really matter anyway. We had a ton of fun with this project.
Tiny Hands+ Bubbly Science= Amazement and Awe
Two-year-old Bella no longer sleeps the morning away as we do school. Instead, she’s up-and-at-’em and wants to be involved in the learning. This has been fun and challenging. I’m always looking for new and exciting activities for little hands. Monday morning, we tried out two new projects I found on Pinterest. One didn’t interest her at all; the other was a huge hit.
First, I filled a gallon-sized ziplock bag with colorful paint, closed it, and taped it to the table. That way she could mix the paints and “finger paint” without making a mess. Bella gave it a try, then ran off. I got out paintbrushes for her and she still wasn’t interested. Oh bother. Time for activity two!
The second activity was one I’ve done with Derek before. First, fill the bottom of a baking dish with baking soda. Next, mix together a solution of vinegar and food coloring. I made three different solutions so that she had a variety of colors to choose from. Using a medicine dropper, squeeze up some vinegar solution and drop it into the baking soda. It explodes into colorful, fuzzy bubbles! Bella’s eyes lit up the first time. She did it over and over, quickly figuring out how to use the dropper all by herself.
Derek joined her too. I just kept adding more baking soda (it turns into a colorful soup) and let them play to their heart’s content. The two of them were occupied for an hour! That’s a world record in our house. Not only was the project lots of fun, but it required basic household items. Basically it’s free entertainment!
I love watching Bella turn into a curious, articulate, and imaginative little girl. What happened to my infant?
A Little Monet in the Morning Does the Body Good
Alex's Monet Impression
When we visited the Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens earlier this week, I was really impressed with the pond entirely covered in lily pads. I’ve seen one or two on a pond, but hundreds? It was pretty interesting. It reminded me of a beautiful painting by the French artist Monet and I had to look it up online when we got home. Later that evening, as I delved into a new review book about a homeschooling family, I read about the heroine’s sister’s children doing Monet impressions in their ritzy Dallas private school. My four kids won’t be going to a $20,000 per year school (or we won’t be able to afford food, shelter, and clothing and no one wants to see that 
… but we could definitely incorporate a little Monet into our morning! Plus it tied in perfectly to our nature walk. Here are the results!
To begin our lesson, I read to the kids about Monet’s life and we looked through lots of his art on the Ipad. I loaded our lily pad portrait and told the kids we would be recreating it. I didn’t care at all what medium they used and it didn’t have to look exactly like the painting. We would use Monet’s masterpiece for inspiration and add our own personal flair.
This is what we were trying to accomplish
Seven-year-old Alex is quite an artist and got completely absorbed in her project. She used charcoal, paint, crayons, glue, and tissue paper to create her own masterpiece. She worked on it for 1 1/2 hours in the morning, a few hours in the evening, and then finished it today! I was completely blown away with her results. She’s so amazingly creative. She crimped her tissue paper to make lovely lily flowers. How original! She was so proud of her work that we framed it and put it on display in the living room!
During art time yesterday, Alex was so slow and careful with her work that in 1 1/2 hours she had only pasted 8-10 green tissue squares on her page. In other words, 95% of the page was still empty. I told my mom and she said, “You know, you can’t rush art.” Whew, self. Patience. I need to work on that.I know deep down that it doesn’t matter if a project takes 30 minutes or 30 days… but in the mean time can it have a general time frame?
Ethan did really well too. He drew his picture with pencil, then colored it with crayon. He was very proud of himself too.
I love watching my kids express themselves. They are so proud of themselves when they create something interesting and new. Plus, it keeps them occupied for a very long time.
Now we can sound fancy too. Yes, my children created Monet impressions during art time today. Or they drew the lily pads we saw at the Arboretum. Or…. they made green splotches on their construction paper for no apparent reason and had a good time doing so! Art is fun and freeing and can be so beautiful. I hope the kids will learn to appreciate it as they grow and recognize some of the more famous pieces throughout history. I happen to think that a little Monet in the morning does the body good.
Alex's Monet Impression
Adorable Footprint Butterflies to Brighten Your Spring Day!
If you follow my blog, you know that I think baby hand and foot-print art is beyond adorable. I love turning tiny hands and feet into adorable and seasonal keepsakes. I found this idea on Pinterest and knew we had to try it, with our own personal flair of course. Bella wasn’t the most willing participant, but she loved sitting on my lap as I turned her little footprints into adorable Spring butterflies.
To make your own footprint butterflies, all you need is some paint, a brush, construction paper, and little feet. 23-month-old Bella was my artist of the day. She certainly did not like the paint on her feet, but she did like seeing the results. Cause and effect! Paint the bottom of your little artists’ foot and gently press it onto the middle of your paper like this:
Repeat with the other foot, overlapping slightly like this:
Now it’s time to add your own flare! I added a butterfly body and antennae, grass and button flowers, a colorful border, and the words “Happy Spring!” I also added Bella’s name, age, and the date so that I’ll know how old she was when I enjoy the artwork years from now.
Here is the final product:
I loved this project because it is so darn cute and easy too. I think it looks perfectly adorable on my kitchen counter ledge and look forward to displaying it there for the next few months before tucking it away into our scrapbooks for posterity. I love my little Bella feet and know I’ll adore our little Spring keepsake when she’s much to big for her footprints to be adorable. They do grow up too fast.
I hope you enjoy our project and have fun making your own footprint butterflies!
Arg, Matey! Welcome To Pirate Preschool
If there’s one thing three-year-old Derek loves more than anything else, it’s pirates. He talks about them morning, noon, and night. He has pirate clothes, pirate costumes, a pirate ship, and a collection of toy swords. He’s got a treasure chest full of “gold” dubloons and a colorful vocabulary of pirate words. His favorite cartoon of all time is Jake and the Neverland Pirates. I happened upon a free pirate lapbook for preschoolers today and I knew immediately that I’d stumbled across something big. What better way to get Derek to practice his preschool skills than to make it all about pirates. Arg, matey! Welcome to pirate preschool!
We’ve been making lapbooks as part of our unit studies throughout the year, but this was Derek’s very first. I was thrilled to find something so age appropriate! We got to work this afternoon, cutting out pirate words and tracing our ABC’s. He did great! Here’s where I found the pirate lapbook, along with many, many more awesome preschool lapbook ideas and printables: http://homeschoolcreations.com/PrintablePacks.html.
Derek opens and closes his mouth as he cuts! Too funny!
Derek got a lot of cutting practice in and didn’t complain once. Instead, he talked my ears off about pirate adventures as he worked. I don’t think he even realized he was doing school. “Can I keep this in my room?” he asked over and over again. “Please, please?”
Once he cut out all of his letters, we arranged them in alphabetical order on the floor. This was great practice for him! He practiced letter recognition, letter order, and his ABC song to boot. He nestled them into his Pirate ABC’s folder and practiced the Pirate Words, which included things such as pirate ship, treasure chest, and parrot. He also cut out little pirate themed pictures and glued them to his book.
Sorting Letters
The best way to learn is through play. Second best is to make school work fun and enjoyable. Capitalizing upon your child’s interests is an awesome way to connect with them. Had I got out the letter flash cards, I can bet you that we wouldn’t have spent the afternoon practicing alphabetical order. He would have laughed and ran. If it has to do with pirates, it must be good!
We’ll be working on our pirate lapbook for a while. We finished only the cover and page one before his attention span ended. We’ll have more pirate adventures tomorrow! If you need something to occupy your preschooler, definitely check this site out! We’ll be doing lots of their activities. School doesn’t have to be boring. Putting fun into learning makes it a joy for everyone. 
Derek was so proud of his work!
Look what I did!
Cute-as-a-Button Kid Art!
About a month ago, I ordered a big bag of multi-colored buttons from the Oriental Trading Company in hopes of planning a fun preschool project. They’ve been sitting in our craft supply bins ever since and my button inspiration has been lacking. I got them out today for a color sorting project and they turned into four different projects spanning the entire school day. Who knew that one bag of buttons could go so far.
Project 1- Color Sorting
I needed something productive to occupy Derek while I helped Alex with her math and his color recognition can always use some work. I grabbed the bag of buttons from our trusty rubbermaid storage unit and his eyes lit up. “I get to play with those?” he asked. “Can I wack them around in a circle and make them go on the floor?” Well… no. That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. He wasn’t quite as thrilled to sort them by color, but quickly became absorbed in his activity. It’s always a good day when your three-year-old is occupied and not destroying anything!
Sorting by Color
Derek made a good dent in the pile of buttons before his interest began to wane. We moved on to a new button activity.
Project 2- Patterns!
Patterns are important for any preschooler. Ethan struggled with them for a long time, but Derek seems to get the concept. As I explained what I wanted him to do, he said, “I know patterns mom. Bella is a pattern. Sometimes Bella naughty, sometimes kinda nice, naughty, kinda nice, naughty, kinda nice.” Ha ha! It’s the effort that counts, right? We practiced making real patterns with colored buttons too. He chose pink and white for his pattern strip and glued them on construction paper. After that, his attention span was shot and he went off to play. Here’s Derek’s magnificent pattern:
Derek's Pretty Pattern
Project 3- Textile Experimentation!
Bella wanted in on the fun as well. Just shy of two-years-old, she wants to do everything the bigger kids do. She’s a person too, after all! Bella loves feeling different textures, sorting things, and scooping items between containers. She loves to do this with dry pasta and feathers! That’s one of our stand-by Bella activities. Buttons are a whole new thing to play with. I set the bowl of buttons on the floor in front of her and gave her many containers of various sizes as well as some spoons. She was occupied for nearly an hour! By the end, the entire floor was covered with buttons. She had so much fun!
I love this giant baby!
Mama's Bella
Project 4- Button Jewelry
As soon as I picked up Bella’s mess, Alex wanted the buttons for her own crafts. I turned them over to my jewelry-loving second grader and they quickly disappeared. Alex is very creative. First she made a bracelet for herself, then for me. Now half of the neighborhood has bracelets and she’s still going. We have Easter bracelets and patriotic bracelets, Fall bracelets, and colorful pattern bracelets. My little bag of buttons has been used up. I think we got our money’s worth there. That’s a lot of fun and experimentation from one little bag.
Who says kids need expensive toys? Ipads? Video games? Bah. A bag of buttons will suffice for some simple entertainment.
My Jewelry Maker
Et, Voila!
Stepping into Spring With Bright Rainbow Crafts!
I love the bright colors of spring, and rainbows tie in with both St. Patrick’s Day and the beginning of spring next week. We began a fun rainbow craft yesterday and continued it to completion today. What preschooler doesn’t love cutting up paper and using lots and lots of glue? Mine sure does!
Derek practices his cutting skills
Bella draws a "rainbow" with markers. She loves coloring!
Ethan does a St. Patrick's Day Worksheet
Cutting is an important preschool skill to master. It develops and hones fine motor skills and builds confidence. Derek has really gotten the hang of it the past month and loves to cut paper into lots of tiny pieces, making a confetti of sorts all over the table and floor. Silly boy. I thought we could put his cutting skills to a good use and keep him busy too by cutting various colored strips of construction paper into squares and making a pretty spring rainbow. The best part was that it kept him busy for a very long time! I love it when Derek is constructively occupied. The house loves it too… it’s a short reprieve from his other hobby: making messes.
Derek's Bowl of Colors
Rainbow Construction Time!
Hard at Work
I also love the fact that Derek got to practice color sorting. We’re always looking for opportunities to practice colors and it’s always best if he doesn’t realize I’m quizzing him. We mixed the colored squares up in his bowl and he had to choose out one color at a time. For example, he had to choose enough blue squares, one at a time, to span the rainbow. This 3-year-old is a color master. He loves to glue too. He got so much glue on the table that Hubby’s flight suit arms stuck to it when he sat down for lunch. His solution was to stick paper towels to the glue bits…. they stuck too. My poor dining room table. It’s sure seen a lot of love– and projects– in its time!
On the topic of Spring and St. Patrick’s Day, Something funny happened yesterday while Alex was doing a reading comprehension project about St. Patrick’s Day. She was reading quietly and then suddenly sat up straight, “What do you mean there’s no such thing as Leprechauns? They’re not real? Well, that ruins all my plans.”
Hmmmm. I’m not sure what those plans were, but she was really bummed! I had no idea she had pertinent plans involving Leprechauns. The things parents don’t know about their kids these days!
Derek was very proud of his rainbow!
Ethan made one too!
Derek finished his rainbow this morning and hung it proudly on the easel for everyone to admire. Ethan and Alex made their own creations out of his leftover squares. Now our house is all ready for spring, bright and cheery and merry. Just don’t sit down at the dining room table… you just might stick to it.
What sort of projects do your kids love to do in the spring?
Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day With Adorable Hand Print Shamrocks!
It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day, and while the holiday won’t be marked by partying and green beer in our house it does offer inspiration for some craft projects. Today we made hand print shamrocks during preschool time! They turned out so cute, I just had to share.
With some simple supplies (paint, paintbrush, and paper), we made an adorable St. Patrick’s Day keepsake. Here’s how you can make one too:
First, apply paint to your preschooler’s wiggly little hand. Be prepared for lots of giggles!
Place hand on paper, pressing firmly to made a hand print. Lift hand and turn paper clockwise. Repeat until you have a hand print facing each direction.
Now that you have a four-leaf shamrock, paint on a stem and write a St. Patrick’s Day message! This makes an adorable fridge decoration or a gift for grandparents. Derek loved it and is still painting everything with green paint as I type. He’s on his 4th or 5th paper now… and his arms and the table are completely green. It’s the color of the season, right?
At least I got some more stain remover at the store yesterday!
Related articles
- St. Patrick’s Day Children’s Crafts (thecraftycrow.net)
- 5 St. Patrick’s Day Symbols and What They Mean (greetingcarduniverse.com)
- 10 Ways to Do St. Patrick’s Day With Class (bellasugar.com)
- 5 Fun and Eco-Friendly St. Patrick’s Day Projects! (craftingagreenworld.com)
Baby Art! It Doesn’t Get More Adorable Than That :-)
22-month-old Isabella frequently reminds us that she’s “no baby.” She adamantly wants to get involved with school time rather than just play and will force herself upon the other children’s projects if I don’t set her up with something to do. If Alex is playing the piano, Bella must play too. If Ethan is reading, Bella must read that book. And if Derek is trying to do his animal habitat sticker book as he was yesterday, she must push her way in and rearrange his stickers. Needless to say, the other kids aren’t overly thrilled about this. Time for some baby projects!
We read scores of books. We sang and played with instruments. We went through dozens of colorful flashcards. Finally, I got out the foam farm stickers and construction paper and she went to town. I would pull the backing off and she would carefully consider where to put it, then apply it to the paper. Markers and gem stone stickers came out next. Isabella is definitely a creative child! She loves a project to occupy her.
I rather miss the days when she would nap while we did school, but those days are definitely gone. It’s time to look for more and more ways to involve Bella in school time. What should we call it? Baby school? Pre-pre school? Either way, she’s talking up a storm and determined to learn and explore. I don’t mind. I think I’ve got a smart cookie on my hands.
At this moment, Alex is practicing the recorder and Bella is following her around with another recorder, making noises with her mouth and pretending to play. “Bella, stop copying me!” Alex says in exasperation. “Why are you always copying me? You’re ruining my symphony!” Little sisters are pesky like that. At least she’s learning, though, right?
Little Hands + Bright Paint Sets= Colorfully Unique Birdhouses!
Bird houses are adorable symbol of spring, don’t you think? Our flower bed birdfeeder is brimming with activity, hosting a wide variety of wild birds throughout the day. I thought it would be really cute if each of the kids decorated their own birdhouse for the flower bed too. I picked up some adorable, small wooden birdhouses at Michaels over the weekend for only $1 each. Today we got out the paints and brushes and got busy painting!
Each child had their own paint set and a variety of brushes. Alex chose the cottage birdhouse, Derek the plain birdhouse, and Ethan the barn. Bella didn’t get one this year as she’s still quite young and more likely to paint herself than the birdhouse. I had Derek take off his shirt and don a painting apron instead. As expected, his entire work area as well as part of his arms, face, and hair were covered in paint by project’s end.
Each child’s creation was vastly different. Derek mixed brown, yellow, and green together, splashed it onto the wood, and finished his birdhouse quickly. Ethan chose two colors and painted steadily. Alex took a very long time, adding lots of detail. I think that says a lot about each of their personalities!
Here are our birdhouses after hours of drying:
Derek's Birdhouse
Alex's Birdhouse
Ethan's Birdhouse
This was a very fun and inexpensive project that thoroughly occupied my little learners for the better part of an hour. Tomorrow we’ll see if the globs of paint are dry and apply a protective coat. Then we’ll set them up in the flower bed to enjoy. I’m sure they’re much cuter than they are functional, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
I love it when the spring birds come out in force. There will be plenty to look at right outside our little window.
Alex’s Adventures in Art! Today’s Lesson: Shadowing
Every Friday afternoon, the children all gather around our dining room table for an art lesson. Last week we drew geometric animals, turning basic shapes like circles and triangles into birds and caterpillars. Today the boys practiced drawing shapes on their drawing pads and Alex moved on to something more advanced: shadowing.
We’re working through the text Art Basics for Kids- The ABC’s of Art by Sharon Jeffus and really like it. I wasn’t sure how to help the children take their drawing to the next level and this really helps guide the way. Today’s lesson was A is for Apple. We transformed a basic circle into an apple, learning how to shadow with a basic pencil to add shape and depth. Alex drew numerous apples and honed her shadowing skills on her drawing pad. Then, when she was ready, we got out a piece of construction paper for today’s challenge: draw an apple on a table and add shadowing to bring the picture to life.
This is what we got:
Alex's Apple on a Table
I was beyond thrilled with the results and Alex was too. She drew numerous other pictures throughout the evening, experimenting with shadowing in new and exciting ways. Hubby was really impressed with Alex’s drawing when he came home from work. She’s only 7 and can already draw better than him. Now… does that mean she’s good or he’s really bad?
Birds of a Feather Make Messes Together– Preschool Feather Art Fun!
My Oriental Trading Company order came in this week and the kids were excited to rip open the modest cardboard box and discover the treasures inside. If you’ve ever seen their catalogue, they’ve got some weird stuff! The craft supplies are a great price, though, and I stocked us up with buttons, pipe cleaners, stickers, buttons, sequins, stencils, and… feathers. Why feathers? We’re talking about birds this week, and feather art is a fun sensory activity for little hands.
I asked Derek, “What kind of animals have feathers?”
“Giraffes,” he stated, matter-of-factly.
“What? Did you say giraffes?” I was pretty confused. I thought this project would be a bit more straightforward.
“They has feathery tails!” he said.
Good observation… although I did explain to him that a giraffe’s tail is fringed with hair, not feathers. It’s interesting to look at the world through the eyes of a 3-year-old. I suppose a giraffe’s tail does look something like feathers.
We talked about birds a bit and I filled a bowl with colorful feathers. Derek loved grabbing handfuls and feeling them. I also provided him with glue, a paintbrush, and some construction paper and showed him how to smooth some glue onto his paper and stick a feather to it. Today’s project: feather collages.
A bowlful of feathers!
Derek's "Bird-brain" look
And this is what happens when you give a 3-year-old a bowl of feathers...
Derek's feather collage
By project’s end, the feathers were all over the dining room floor. Bella wanted to play with them too, so I scooped them into a large mixing bowl and placed the bowl in the middle of the living room on the rug. I gave Bella and Derek an extra bowl and tongs to pick up the feathers and play with them, scooping them from bowl to bowl.
Bella delicately scooped her feathers and placed them neatly in the smaller bowl. Derek scattered them around the entire living room. Wow. That boy is something else. This would have really gotten on my nerves a year ago, but now it doesn’t even phase me. I guess that’s what happens after having 4 messy, creative little monkeys and homeschooling them. Things like that just aren’t a big deal anymore. I did make him clean up all the feathers when he was done “decorating.” I’m rather thankful the neighbors didn’t come over at that moment!
These things are tricky, mom!
Play is vitally important for preschoolers and it’s amazing how long they’ll play with the simplest things. It just has to be novel and the fun can last for an hour (an eternity in my house!). Play is the foundation for learning, and giving kids a variety of things to play and experiment with stimulates their imaginations.
One of Bella’s favorite things to do is to play with an assortment of dried pasta, sorting them between various bins with spoons, tongs, and her hands. The feathers added a bit of freshness to this activity. The feathers were soft and light, colorful and interesting to touch. The kids liked sorting them and throwing them into the air, watching them fall slowly to the ground. Bella was interested for about 20 minutes and Derek played with the feathers for about an hour. That gave me a lot of time to focus on the other kids’ lessons. I’d say that was a good morning all around!
Now, I wonder if Derek will make a connection between this project and birds? I think we need to take a trip to the library for some age-appropriate bird books. After all, I don’t want him to grow up convinced that giraffes have feathers.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day! No matter where you are in life, single or attached, Valentine’s Day is a great chance to show those around you a little love. The holiday isn’t about over-the-top romance for us. It’s about telling our family and friends that we love them. In our house, this seems to involve lots of construction paper, stickers, glitter, and candy. Nothing wrong with that, right?
The kids were anxious to check out their Valentine’s bags this morning! Derek was up before dawn to retrieve his valentines. They were in for an even bigger surprise than expected! Our amazing XO’s wife, Cindy, made adorable candy bouquets and brought them to last night’s OSC (officer’s spouse club) meeting. I got one for each kid and they love, love, loved them! I need a dose of her creativity!
Aren't these adorable?
Wow! Candy before breakfast!
Valentine's Bags Hung with Care
After breakfast, the kids dug into their cards with gusto. Each had several sweet treats, which is a pretty big deal considering we never have candy in the morning! They really loved the cards their siblings made for them. I loved the adorable little messages them wrote for each other. Bella loved dumping everything on the floor and trying to eat all the candy. So sweet.
What's all this?
Mmmmm! I got the wrapper off!
Now this is what Valentine's Day is about: love!
Awwwww.
My beautiful valentine from Alexandria
We met with our homeschool group for a valentine’s exchange and craft day. It was awesome! There was a massive turnout! Alex handed out gummy gorillas (interesting story there!) and Tinkerbell cards to all of her friends. The kids got so many Valentine’s cards! That made me so happy. I was kind of sad that they would miss out on that since they’re homeschooled and it turns out they didn’t miss it at all!
Each of the kids made some cute Valentine’s crafts. Bella helped “unmake” the crafts.
Alex and her friend Sophia
Bella being a stinker
Look what I made!
Me too!
Ethan and his friend make crafts!
My crafty kid!
Next, we headed outside, past a duck pond and to a new park to play with our friends. The kids ran and ran. I’m so happy that they have so many great friends! They certainly got tired! We made some new friends today as well and are looking forward to getting to know them better. I enjoyed hanging out and talking with the other moms as our kids played together so nicely!
I think this was our best Valentine’s Day yet. It may not be seeping in rose petals and chocolates, but I don’t need those things anyway. My construction paper hearts are so much more meaningful and will last longer too.
Happy Valentines’ Day!
(PS: It's a heart, not a pretzel
Valentine’s Day Preschool Math!
Valentine’s Day is a fun time of year full of sweet cards, cute hearts, and sugar-high children running around like maniacs. Is it crazy that I don’t really associate the holiday with romance anymore? My husband and I exchange cards and small gifts, but it’s really about the kids. Each of the kids made cards for the other children, telling them something they like or admire about them. Not only do their creative juices flow, but it feels so great to hear people tell you what they like about you. Plus, it’s proof that they like each other in some way or another, right?
Valentine’s Day is also a fun opportunity to incorporate cute treats into learning math. How so, you ask? Quite simply, conversation hearts make wonderful counters for preschool hands. I picked up several boxes of conversation hearts at the commissary yesterday. Derek was so excited for his project. He was asking to do it before breakfast. He had no idea what the project was, but he wanted those candies!
I split a piece of paper into 10 sections and asked him to put that number of hearts into each box. For example, one heart went into the 1 box and 8 hearts went into the 8 box. He did awesome up to 5, then got sidetracked after that. With a little bit of urging and several attempts, Derek mastered the concept and had a good time practicing his counting! One-to-one correlations can be hard for preschoolers to grasp and this is an easy activity to strengthen those skills.
Next, we worked on color patterns. I began a pattern for him and he completed it. He wasn’t sure exactly what to do at first. With some practice he got the hang of it. We’ll definitely continue working on patterns.
The conversation hearts mysteriously disappeared throughout the project. Hmmm…. I wonder what happened to them?
Derek also practiced his fine-motor skills today, cutting out heart-shaped valentines (with mom’s help) and decorating them with stickers. I loved it because it kept him actively engaged. He had fun too. My Derek Valentine is covered with lots of bright stickers and crayon pictures. Ethan’s is brown with one sticker. At least he expresses himself right? Derek was thrilled to put his cards into each child’s valentine’s bag.
I love holidays of every shape and size. They provide us with constant inspiration, project ideas, and preschool themes.
Happy Valentine’s Day!!! I hope you get a bug-sticker-covered Valentine from someone you love too.
Symmetrical Cutting Valentine’s Heart Collages!
Preschool time was fun and full of learning yesterday morning. After two lessons in our Horizon’s Preschool Curriculum (which we love!!!!), it was time for some extra scissor practice. Derek’s scissor skills have improved dramatically over the past few months and it’s possible for him to cut for longer periods of time (more than 2 seconds). I let him choose two colorful sheets of construction paper and we folded them, then drew half-hearts along the seams. I taped the edges closed so he wouldn’t get confused and helped him get his scissors in position correctly. Cutting time!
Cutting is definitely a skill that requires patience to learn, on both of our parts. I find myself getting frustrated after telling him for the 50th time, “Don’t cut the heart in half! Cut around the lines!” He gets frustrated having to slow down and cut careful, concerted lines. He did it, though! Derek was so excited to unfold each new heart! Once they were all cut out, it was time for some gluing! Derek made a lovely symmetrical cutting Valentine’s heart collage!
- Gluing is so fun!
Ethan joined in the fun once he finished his penmanship and phonics lessons. He’s a much quicker and more accurate cutter than Derek and loves rubbing that in. Stinker.
When Derek finished cutting, he wanted to paint. That boy loves to paint EVERYTHING. I got him his paint set and a variety of brushes, rolled up his sleeves, and let him at it.
This was a fun and easy project that kept the boys engaged while also honing their fine-motor skills. Who doesn’t love a little Valentine’s Day art?
So proud!
Outside Art Time on a Summer-Like February Morning
Punxutawney Phil may have predicted six more weeks of winter, but we’re certainly not feeling it here in Florida. Did winter even happen? Today was another lovely, sunny day in the upper 70′s to mid 80′s. It was so nice that we couldn’t help but take school outside to the park. That is a definite benefit of homeschooling: our classroom is not confined to one space. The world is our classroom.
While the kids got ready to go outside, I gathered together a bunch of art supplies: construction paper, yarn, scissors, crayons, paint and paintbrushes, newspaper, pipe cleaner, and more. I cut our egg carton into three pieces and stacked everything into a rather precarious heap to be transported outside. We staked out the picnic table and covered it with newspaper to contain painty messes. Today’s first project: Egg carton caterpillars!
The kids had so much fun creating colorful caterpillars. Do you remember making these crafts in elementary school? I do. Bella ticked Derek off trying to paint his caterpillar. “No, Bella!” he exclaimed, “You is not invited! You is ruining it!” Ruining it is an interesting concept considering he likes to paint by flinging.. yes, flinging… the paint at his creation. Wow. We went through many, many baby wipes cleaning up Derek’s paint job.
Derek ran off to play and the bigger kids did a symmetrical cutting project, cutting butterflies from construction paper and making them into a pattern banner. Alex designed a variety of interesting butterflies and merrily cut them out. I drew Ethan’s butterflies and he cut most of them. He has had a lot of trouble listening this week and wouldn’t follow directions at all, frustrating both of us. In the end, we ended up with two pattern banners of colorful butterflies. Ethan ended up with fewer butterflies because he would not listen and kept unfolding the paper and cutting the butterflies in half.
Our mornings aren’t all fun and games and we did accomplish more than fun art in the park. After we finished and cleaned up all the mess, we headed indoors for the serious business of math and reading. Derek got his own profile on IXL.com today! The bigger kids love IXL and practice their math drills using the program daily. Now Derek is a registered preschooler. He had so much fun counting and labeling shapes! What a smart boy. He’s also rocking his phonics. Alex did awesome with her typing tutor today and made some big strides forward in math. We had a very productive day today, the best kind of day.
Now we have some adorable caterpillars sitting on our counter and pattern banners hung around the dining room. We sure know a lot more about butterflies today than we did this time last week! This has been a very fun unit. Who knows what we’ll do next?
Alex’s Amazing Stained Glass Butterflies!
Stained glass has fascinated people for centuries. It’s so beautiful and intricate, and the way it catches the light is awe inspiring. This evening, Alexandria and I made some wax paper stained glass butterflies out of wax paper and color crayon shavings. It was a colorful and entertaining craft that fit in nicely with our unit on Butterflies.
First, I carefully shaved crayons into tiny pieces in a bowl. Alex cut sheets of wax paper and drew butterfly outlines on them. Once the crayons were shaved, she arranged the shavings on the waxed paper, placed another sheet of wax paper on top, and I ironed them to melt the wax.
Crayon Shavings and Wax Paper
Wax-covered butterfly before ironing
Alex was excited to watch the wax melt and spread, transforming our butterflies into colorful masterpieces. I also managed to get wax all over the ironing board… ooops. Once the butterfly shapes cooled, Alex cut out the butterflies and I punched a hole in the top of each one. We fastened some hemp cord and hung them up to enjoy.
Alex is such a little artist. She’s always creating something new and interesting. She has already hung her beautiful butterflies on her bedroom window to catch the first morning’s light.
Now… off to scrub the rest of the wax off of my poor old ironing board…
Tiny Hands+ Construction Paper= Adorable Handprint Butterflies!
This afternoon, the little kids crafted some adorable handprint butterflies! What is more adorable than tiny handprints? Nothing much, really. I began by tracing Derek’s hands while Alex worked on her butterfly book and Bella wanted in on the action too. That kid is growing up too fast! She wants to be involved in everything the bigger kids do!
Tracing Hands!
Tracing Baby Hands!
We traced a total of six handprint per child, two handprints per color. I cut them out and made butterfly bodies. Then the kids helped staple their wings to their butterflies and colored them. They had so much fun!
Derek was very proud of his butterfly!
Busy Coloring!
Bella and her BFF coloring
I love seeing the kids so passionate about their projects. Learning can be such fun! Once the butterflies were merrily colored, we taped them to the window for everyone to enjoy. Derek and Bella couldn’t stop talking about their butterflies!
Sure, Play With Your Food. Promoting Play in a Fun, Pre-School Kinda Way.
Play is vitally important to a young child’s development, yet is something that modern society pushes to the wayside. Did you see the recent study stating that today’s preschoolers spend 97% of their time NOT playing and running around? Since the 1970s, kids have lost an average of nine-twelve hours per week of free playtime and are spending less free time outside than ever before. Sad, isn’t it?
If you’re like me, it isn’t easy to just let the kids play for hours at a time. I’m a go-getter who is on a constant mission to get things done. I have to keep telling myself that free play is important. Also important is creative play time. What’s a mom to do when the ideas run short on fun new playtime activities?
With Bella and Derek shunning naps, I needed some new creative play ideas to occupy our time and I needed them fast. I picked up some fun books about toddler and preschool games at the library and cracked open “365 Games Smart Toddlers Play” by Sheila Ellison. The first thing I found was “Sorting Pasta.”
I gathered several boxes of differently shaped pasta from the garage and mixed a small amount of each together into a bowl. I set it down in front of Bella and gave her three more small bowls, then attempted to teach her to sort them. That… didn’t work so well. She had a blast putting pasta in bowls and pouring them from one bowl to the next. She was occupied for at least 20 minutes! Derek joined in too and had fun making a big, pasta-y mess all over the rug.
I let the little kids play their pasta sorting game in their way for as long as they liked, biting back any urge to push them on to something else. They didn’t play the way I had anticipated, but they had a ton of fun! Who would have thought something so simple could keep them busy for so long!
Once they lost interest, we went outside for some active play and then had lunch and naps. While Bella took a small rest, I prepared rice for our next creative play activity: “Rice Fun.”
I cooked a large pot of rice and allowed it to cool while Bella rested, then set up a picnic mat with lots of pans and utensils. When Bella got up, we headed outside for some fun. I dumped the rice onto the center of the tablecloth, making a hill. The kids used spoons, cups, and other kitchen supplies to mold and play with the rice. Derek and Bella made lots of rice cupcakes!
The project was messy and sticky, but lots of fun! Derek played for about 40 minutes, a record for him! He ate a lot of it as well and wasn’t hungry for dinner. Once he tired of the game, I hosed the ricey mess off the drive. The kids ran up and down the driveway squealing and shreeking in the water.
Play is essential to a child’s development. It contributes to their emotional, cognitive, social, and physical well-being. Many children today are being raised in increasingly hurried and pressured lifestyles that limit the time available for play. As parents, it’s up to us to bring play back. If you’re like me and run out of ideas, there are many resources out there to help you out! You’d be surprised how many cool ideas you can get from a simple trip to the library. Get out there and let your kids play. They’ll be happier and healthier for it.
Finger Painting Preschool Madness!
Derek’s full Horizons Preschool Curriculum arrived in the mail yesterday, and he was so excited to start that he was begging to get out his books before we had even eaten breakfast! His attention span is really improving, and we figured it was time to introduce him to more formal book work (just a bit). He dug right in. Our lesson ended with a cutting, gluing, and painting exercise. He loved spreading the glue with his paintbrush and carefully added colorful paints with another brush… at first. Every time he got a bit of paint on his hands, he would hold the hand out in disgust until I washed it.
Then…. something happened.
“What will happen if I put my hands in the paint?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I replied. “You are supposed to paint with your hands. It’s finger paint.”
He put one finger in the paint, then two. One hand, then two. A grin spread from ear to ear and the mess began. His hands moved at the speed of light, back and forth and round and round, and the paint began splattering far and near. “I made brown!” Derek exclaimed, excited, painting his newspaper like a madman.
One picture turned to two. Two turned to three until eleven colorful Derek creations covered our dining room table. By the time he finished, the entire Derek side of the table was greenish brown, as were his hands, arms, clothes, legs, and part of his hair. I carefully extracted him from his chair and carried him to the kitchen sink for a thorough scrubbing.
It may have been messy, but I haven’t ever seen Derek that creative. I love how much focus he’s developing. He can actually focus on a project for 30 minutes or so now, something we couldn’t have imagined only several months ago. My little boy is growing up. I love him so much, green-paint-splotched arms and all.
My hard working preschooler
Look what happens!
So happy!
My messy boy!
Derek's masterpieces line our table!
Art Class at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens
One of our favorite places to hang out in Jacksonville is the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens. We adore their Tuesday evening art class. We haven’t been for a while and decided that art class would be the perfect way to top off our day.
Alexandria was thrilled to be dropped off for art class and the other children were excited to explore the museum. There were three other homeschooled kids in her class. Crazy, huh? She had an awesome time giggling and gabbing with the girls. We headed out to the gardens to burn off some energy. I chased Bella around the gardens for almost 40 minutes. That kid is tireless! Between mad dashes after the toddler, I also enjoyed playing with the new camera.
Follow us on a little adventure through the Gardens…
Exploring the Garden
I was surprised how many flowers were blooming in the garden, considering it is January. It has been a very warm, spring-like winter here in Florida. I’m dying to plant flowers at home and have to keep reminding myself it’s winter. The gardens were lovely and refreshing and the kids really enjoyed exploring them. I let them search every nook and cranny. There were few people around and it was a glorious way to spend an evening! Which shot do you like best?
Alex had a great time at art class and talked my ears off all the way home. She made a landscape with tissue paper. She talked more than crafted in class and had to finish it at home. Here are some shots of art time!
Alex’s Art Class
Alex's final masterpiece. Why she taped a flower on it only she knows...
I hope the kids have fond memories of our time in Jacksonville when they grow up. I’m so happy for all the fun, cultural experiences we’ve been able to enjoy. If you’re ever in Jacksonville, you simply must check out the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens. It’s a true gem.
Painting a More Colorful Future– Drawing Lessons!
Drawing is a great way to express oneself. It’s a fun way to be creative, hones fine-motor skills, and stimulates the imagination. Teaching your child to draw not only increases what they are capable of creating, but it also does wonders for their self-confidence and self-esteem. I encourage my kids to draw often and love helping them improve their drawing abilities. I love it when they proudly hold up something they created and proclaim, “Look what I did! Look how good I am!”
This afternoon, I got three of them to gather around the dining room table for a drawing lesson. Today’s topic? Flowers. I was really happy that Derek wanted to participate today. He’s really matured in leaps and bounds lately when it comes to school. Not too long ago, I could barely get him to participate in any project for more than 1-2 minutes. Today he lasted through 30 minutes of art! Ethan has also matured a lot. When we started homeschooling, Ethan scribbled. He couldn’t make a person to save his life, even the circle or stick variety. He would cry or throw a tantrum if I tried to help him or asked him to draw a particular object. Now, Ethan loves drawing lessons! Not only has his ability to draw improved, but so has his self confidence! He no longer approaches art with tears. Now he approaches it with determination.
My little artists!
I demonstrated each step piece by piece on the easel and the kids each did their best. We took it slowly and before we knew it, cute little flowers started to appear on each child’s paper!
Once we had created fields of flowers, it was time to break out the art supplies. Ethan chose to use water colors and spent over an hour carefully painting his picture. Derek quickly painted his and ran off to play. Alex combined crayons, markers, oil pastels, and paint to create a lovely picture.
My example
Alex's Masterpiece
Derek's "Flowers"
Ethan's Drawing and Painting
Some people say that teaching children to draw stifles creativity. I don’t agree. I think that helping children learn to draw more realistically empowers them. It makes them want to learn more and gives them confidence in their abilities. Of course, lots of praise helps too! Art is an important part of our curriculum. I love their little masterpieces!
The Twelve Crafting Days of Christmas!
We’ve been celebrating Christmas all month long, and here’s an overview of the fun, wintery crafts and activities we’ve done. I haven’t had a chance to post many projects this month, so here the are all at once. There probably won’t be twelve, but here is how we’ve spent our Crafting Days of Christmas!
3-D Heart Ornaments for the Tree
Our 3-D star ornaments were fun and challenging for little hands. We printed templates from www.enchantedlearning.com and each child colored his or hers, then cut it out. I helped Derek cut his. The gluing and folding as a bit tricky, but when they were done they made adorable ornaments!
Derek's Hand-and-Foot-Print Reindeer
I loved Derek’s hand-and-foot-print reindeer! It’s a cute keepsake. He loves to be covered in paint!
St. Lucia's Crown
Our Beautiful St. Lucia's Rolls
Alex Helps Make the St. Lucia's Rolls
We learned all about Christmas in Sweden, and in celebration crafted our own St. Lucia’s Crown and St. Lucia’s Rolls. They took most of the afternoon to make but were such a great experience!
This is the closest to snow we'll get in Jacksonville!
What would Christmas be without snow? Considering it’s been close to 80 degrees here, paper snowflakes are the closest we’re going to get to snow this season. Alexandria and I had a blast making delicate paper snowflakes for the front window. She was so delighted each time she unfolded a new snowflake and saw how interesting and unique it was. I remember making paper snowflakes as a young girl and love creating these memories with my own lil’ miss.
Ginger bread girl
Our Gingerbread Chain
Another fun cutting and creativity craft was making a gingerbread chain. I cut gingerbread shapes out of a brown paper bag and each kid got 4, two girl shapes and two boy shapes. They colored and decorated them to their hearts content, then we strung them all together to make a garland. They’ve really enjoyed making fun of the other children’s’ creations.
Derek's Hand-Print Wreath
Each of the children made a handprint wreath early this month, and we’ve been enjoying them ever since. Isn’t Derek’s wreath adorable?
Derek's Santa!
This little guy was created out of a paper bag, construction paper, glue, and lots of cotton balls. I cut a large half-circle out of a paper bag and Derek painted it red. It was so painted that it took a day to dry! We finished Santa up today, making him a face, beard, and belt. Now Santa is sitting proudly on our dining room table.
Derek's Sugar Cookie Christmas Tree
Derek was so proud of his masterpiece!
Who doesn’t love a messy, gooey Christmas tree made of cookies and frosting? Derek had an absolute blast making his tree, smearing it with an entire container of green frosting, and decorating it with sprinkles. He was covered with just about as much frosting as his tree and has been trying to eat it ever since. It looks rather like the Leaning Tower of Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.
Alex works hard on some snowman ornaments
Voila!
We got a snowman crafting kid at Target and made lots of adorable snowman ornaments to share with friends and neighbors! They were so easy to make and the kids just loved them.
Our Christingle
Our Yule Log!
While learning about Christmas in England, we made a delicious Yule Log for dessert and a traditional Christingle too. The Yule Log was a huge hit and we’d love to make it again. We’d never heard of Christingles before, but learning about all they symbolize was very meaningful. We also ready lots of British Christmas literature and listened to the Queen’s speeches on You Tube while enjoying a spot of tea.
Alexandria has been creating a Christmas Around the World Lap Book all month and it looks fabulous! We started with American Christmas Traditions and the Nativity Story, then moved on to the history of Santa Clause, Christmas in Sweden, Christmas in England, and Hanukkah. It has been a busy and rewarding project. We’ve all learned so much and had a ton of fun along the way.
So there you have it. Our windows, walls, tables, and counter top are all decorated with kid-crafts. It’s festive and merry in our house and I love it. I hope your Christmas is just as bright and joyful. Construction paper, glue, and a little imagination go a long way toward making Christmas memorable.
Related articles
- God Jul! Celebrating the Holidays Swedish Style! (homeschoolinghelicoptermama.wordpress.com)
- 10 Ornaments Kids Can Make (makingtimeformommy.com)
Festive Thankful Leaves Wreaths to Warm Any Thanksgiving Hearth
Without cute kid art, any holiday hearth is pitifully empty. Utterly lonely. Completely barren. Okay, maybe not barren, but you get the point. We sadly don’t have a hearth in this house, but our kitchen counter-ledge serves as a second-choice. Friday’s school day was all about Thanksgiving and we began our lessons with Thankful Leaves Wreaths. A home seems so much homier when it’s full of carefully crafted kid projects, and I want ours all ready by Thanksgiving to show off to the family. Not only is this project super easy, but it also is fantastic coloring, cutting, and gluing practice. That’s always great for small hands.
Here’s what you need to make your own adorable wreaths this holiday season:
Printer paper or construction paper (print your leaves on white paper and color them, print them on construction paper, or trace leaf shapes on construction paper)
Leaf Templates (I printed ours from www.enchantedlearning.com)
Scissors
Crayons or Markers
To create your fabulous wreath, here’s what you do:
1. Draw a half-circle on the top- center of your paper plate and cut it out. The bottom half is where you’ll write what you’re thankful for and the sides are where you’ll glue your leaves.
2. Color and cut out lots of leaves. Each of my kids colored and cut eight leaves. That was barely enough to cover the sides of the wreath, but it really depends on the size of your paper leaves. Coloring and cutting are both excellent ways to practice fine-motor skills!
3. Glue leaves along the outer-rim of the paper plate.
4. On the lower center area of the paper plate, write “(Child’s name) is thankful for…” and have your child come up with something creative. The boys came up with great ideas quickly and loved it. Alex complained about having to think of another thing to be thankful for since it’s not our first thankful-project. I told her to pick one from our Thankful Tree project that was really meaningful.
Derek had fun decorating his wreath with glitter glue once the leaf-gluing was done and all three outlined their names with glitter-glue. They were occupied for nearly an hour with this project. Happy mom time! Our gleeful little wreaths are hanging in a row on the counter’s edge, celebrating creativity and the spirit of Thanksgiving. I hope our study in thankfulness sticks in their little brains for a while!
Related articles
- Our Thankful Tree: Teaching Kids To Be Thankful for What They Have (homeschoolinghelicoptermama.wordpress.com)
- Thankful Tree Progress Update… Celebrating the Little Things in Life (homeschoolinghelicoptermama.wordpress.com)
