Get Organized !
My Art Closet
Let me start by saying this is NOT what my art closet looks like right now the holiday craft bonanza has not been kind to it, come January I am cleaning it up again! I have been flooded with questions lately about how I keep my supplies organized so here it is!
**Reposting this while we migrate back to notimeforflashcards.com - we will be returning soon! **
Let me start by saying this is NOT what my art closet looks like right now the holiday craft bonanza has not been kind to it, come January I am cleaning it up again! I have been flooded with questions lately about how I keep my supplies organized so here it is!
**Reposting this while we migrate back to notimeforflashcards.com - we will be returning soon! **
- Gather your materials. I use a shoe hanger from Ikea , and I slide in it baby wipes and Gladwear containers they fit perfectly! Inside those I keep markers, crayons, cotton balls, pencil crayons, paint, glue etc...
- Then on the bottom few slots I keep newspaper ( just a few sections at a time) toilet paper rolls, and other recyclables that I can use for projects.
- Also the top section has foam sheets, they fit perfectly, and pipe cleaners in it.
- Now onto my cheap shelves that in June broke and I used some pipe cleaners to hold them together, call me McGuyver ! Anyway on those shelves I have white paper construction paper and card stock on top. As well as scrap printed paper in the silver box.
- On the shelves I have one with tissue paper and paper bags, the one bellow it has my son's Easter basket with all the fun big sponges, bath poofs etc.. for free painting.Under the basket are a few brown paper grocery bags.
- The square closest to the door has a large box for scrap paper. It also holds my magazines I use for crafts.
- The square above it has all the specialized things- like googly eyes, pinking shears, buttons, sequins, sparkles etc... in a container so I can grab all the non kid friendly things fast if need be. It also keeps my paper plates close at hand.
Football Craft!
Paint and Stuff
Football
Since we are hanging out on blogspot right now( which means many links are broken- but only temporarily) I am saving Carrie Anne's book suggestions until we are back up on our .com and more people can enjoy them. Visit her blog here to see why I chose her to be a contributing writing, mostly because she can write and her posts make me laugh. So today I thought I'd repost this football activity since I know my boys are going nuts about it while I am glued to the computer, enjoy!
- Gather your materials. You will need 1 brown paper grocery bag, some newspaper, a stapler, some white paper, glue , scissors and brown paint or markers.
- Draw two footballs on the grocery bag, do not cut out.
- Have your child color or paint the foot ball brown. Let dry.
- While they do that , cut out 2 thick stripes , one think line and 6 short rectangles out of the white paper . These will be the laces and bands on the ball. I have a bunch in the photo because I had two little men making footballs!
- Hand your child some newspaper and start crumpling it into balls. Both boys were not into crumpling the paper, which surprised me, maybe they are still young, older kids love it, just watch out a few newspaper balls normally end up in the air!
- Time to glue, I usually put the glue on so my son knows where to put
the laces and bands.
- Cut the football out and start stapling, don't staple it all the way though.
- Stuff the newspaper in
- Now staple it all the way!
Books!
" Touchdown : My Football Book" by David Diehl is a short, to the point and completely entertaining little book. It explains so much about football in the absolute easiest ways. My son has started to show a love of football, helmets and tackling and this book is a great injury free way to harness that love!
" T is for Touchdown : A Football Alphabet" by Brad Herzog is a beautiful book that will delight even those of us who are never happy to see football season start. I admit even being an anti fan this book was fun and really full of information that even a football scrooge like myself can appreciate. Also it's easy to read simply the letters and look at the pictures for little ones and has genuinely interesting blurbs for each page for older children.
" T is for Touchdown : A Football Alphabet" by Brad Herzog is a beautiful book that will delight even those of us who are never happy to see football season start. I admit even being an anti fan this book was fun and really full of information that even a football scrooge like myself can appreciate. Also it's easy to read simply the letters and look at the pictures for little ones and has genuinely interesting blurbs for each page for older children.
We are Upgrading
Fine Art Friday - Field Trip
Inspired By The Real Thing
I packed up my monster yesterday and we went into the city and to the Seattle Art Museum. I've taken him to galleries and to kids museums before but this was his first time checking out a museum with diverse and masterful works . I was giddy with the thought of him seeing a real Warhol, I was in my 20s before I got to. After our art project I have tips below on how to make field trips like this work for toddlers. Of all the awesome art we saw yesterday the one that he enjoyed and was the easiest to adapt to our needs was Sea Change by Jackson Pollock .
- Gather your materials. You will need some paper, canvas or cardboard. We used cardboard because you need to have a fairly large piece and it's all we had. You will need paint( I thinned ours just a tiny bit with a few drops of water) , a plate and some paint brushes.
- Start by laying your canvas down with some extra paper or cardboard , this is messy.
- Pour your paint onto a plate - we just used one plate but you can do different ones for each color.
- Dip your brush in and fling it on. To get my son to use the right flinging action I told him to put a spell on the canvas, and it was perfect. We both flung the paint on.
- He took my brush and put a double spell on it too!
- Then we reached for the paint jars.
- Let Dry.
Tips for Successful Museum Field Trips
Like I said this was our first museum visit , although we have gone into many many art galleries in recent months as his interest in paintings has blossomed.
Take Advantage of free days. This make it less frustrating if you need to leave because they have melted down or are done before you are. Also these days are busier which for an adult can be a negative but when you have a young child a noisier ( still not noisy) museum is a plus. We were able to talk in normal voices without distracting anyone. I didn't have to shush him more than once and because of that I was able to positively reinforce how well behaved he was being and that encouraged even better behavior .
Feed them right before you go , hungry = cranky.
Have realistic expectations. We lasted almost an hour.
Don't linger , accept that you may not have time to read the info for the works, at least I didn't. After getting home and my son was napping I went on the museum's website and caught up on what I missed.
If they really like a specific work of art go back to it, many times if need be. For me today was a chance to teach my son that art isn't just in books . That people can experience it collectively, and it's not static. That sounds lofty but it's absolutely attainable if you break it down. By returning to a painting he liked ( Target by Jasper Johns) three times I was trying to foster a desire and love of seeing art in person. I want him to like art and museums and so following his lead was helping attain that.
When they say loudly that they are done, head for the elevators. This was the only time I shushed him today but it was clear to me and the 4 others looking at the alter pieces it was time to pack it in.
Have fun !
Feed them right before you go , hungry = cranky.
Have realistic expectations. We lasted almost an hour.
Don't linger , accept that you may not have time to read the info for the works, at least I didn't. After getting home and my son was napping I went on the museum's website and caught up on what I missed.
If they really like a specific work of art go back to it, many times if need be. For me today was a chance to teach my son that art isn't just in books . That people can experience it collectively, and it's not static. That sounds lofty but it's absolutely attainable if you break it down. By returning to a painting he liked ( Target by Jasper Johns) three times I was trying to foster a desire and love of seeing art in person. I want him to like art and museums and so following his lead was helping attain that.
When they say loudly that they are done, head for the elevators. This was the only time I shushed him today but it was clear to me and the 4 others looking at the alter pieces it was time to pack it in.
Have fun !
Save The Trees : Craft and Book!
Colorful Forrest
This craft uses scrap paper to make a wonderfully colorful tree. Whether you punch all the holes now or save them up over time the results are awesome .
- Gather your materials. You will need a piece of white paper, one full piece of construction paper of your choice, a whole bunch of scrap coloured paper, a brown marker, glue and a hole punch.
- Start by punching out tons of holes, keep them all. You can do this over a week , allowing your child to work out their little hands with the hole punch or having them choose the color of the paper and you can punch the holes if they can't. You need a lot !
- Draw a tree trunk with your brown marker.
- Add a lot of glue at the top of the trunk.
- Add your punched out holes.
- Let dry and glue onto the full size piece of paper for a frame. You can use a piece of paper that has something on the back already for the frame. No one will know and you will save paper.
Book
"Gaia Girls : Enter the Earth" by Lee Wells was sent to me by the publisher along with the next installment which I will review in an upcoming post. I couldn't be more excited to share a book with my older readers. The story follows Elizabeth as she spends her summer on her parents small organic farm, learning that not all farming is as responsible as her family's. But that's not all Elizabeth meets someone magical and discovers she has a special power that can help her fight against the factory farms moving into her area. I love the magical aspect of this book, the author manages to make it work in a very down to earth way and it sucks the reader in. The strong environmental call to action in the book is wonderful, not only are the issues like factory farming explained but solutions and alternatives are as well. The girl power undertones are well done too, Elizabeth's power isn't exerted irresponsibly and she is conscientious about how to use it. I wish more books were this good.
Messy Monster Craft
Fuzzy Monster
This craft did not start well. Easter grass is messy on good days but answering an email, after I got the grass out ( oops) I found my son trying to clean it up in the family room. The grass was everywhere and all I could do was laugh. Here's a pic of the carnage. 
That said, we had so much fun doing this monster craft which was inspired by the books below and my son's newest pjs - which will debut once the weather cools.- Gather your materials. If you are brave( and crazy like me ) use Easter grass you have laying around. If you are smart, grab some green tissue paper. You will also need some colored scrap paper , green construction paper and another full piece of construction paper in a contrasting color, scissors and glue.
- Start by cutting the green paper into a monster body and 4 limbs.
- Next hand your child the glue and have them glue the body onto the plain full size piece of construction paper.
- Add the limbs, I made 4 but my son only wanted his monster to have 2. That's cool.
- Time to add a lot of glue - if you are using tissue paper add a few layers, adding glue as you need it.
- Add the grass. A cool trick is to make balls with the grass and glue those on. This minimizes the mess and random stray pieces falling all over your floor. After he added a ball of grass I would squish it hard to the glue to make sure it stuck.
- While they are adding grass cut out your features. I made horns, a big happy mouth, some claws and one eye with an iris.
- Glue the iris to the eye.
- Add glue for the facial features to the grass.
- Add on your mouth and your eye.
- Add the horns.
- Add the claws/toenails, or in our case, knee pads.
- Let dry!
Books
"My Friend The Monster" by Elanor Taylor is a sweet and not at all scary look at a friendship between a little fox and the monster who lives under his bed. The monster was left behind by a previous owner of the house that the little fox moves into. This is a sad monster but with a little time and patience the monster and the little fox make new friends and all is well. The monster even gets his own bed in the little fox's bedroom so he doesn't have to live under the bed anymore.
"When A Monster is Born" by Sean Taylor is funny, my son didn't find it as funny as I did but he still laughed and didn't seem scared any of it. The story is about a monster and all the life changing choices he faces every day like whether to eat a principal or run through a wall of a school. This book feels like a choose your own adventure book, it's fun , repetitive and silly. There is quite a bit of talk about monsters eating people , though nothing too gory.
"Go To Bed Monster" by Natasha Wing is a book anyone who's ever struggled with bedtime will instantly relate to. The little girl in the book Lucy isn't sleepy so she draws a monster but soon his refusal to go to bed even after she is sleepy backfires. I like this book, and despite his refusal to believe the monster was a monster not a dinosaur my son really likes this book and it got read 5 times today! * ( See comments for one from the author, I am so sorry I referred to Lucy as Sarah- you'd think the many times we read it itwould have stuck- no more late night blogging for me! )
"When A Monster is Born" by Sean Taylor is funny, my son didn't find it as funny as I did but he still laughed and didn't seem scared any of it. The story is about a monster and all the life changing choices he faces every day like whether to eat a principal or run through a wall of a school. This book feels like a choose your own adventure book, it's fun , repetitive and silly. There is quite a bit of talk about monsters eating people , though nothing too gory.
"Go To Bed Monster" by Natasha Wing is a book anyone who's ever struggled with bedtime will instantly relate to. The little girl in the book Lucy isn't sleepy so she draws a monster but soon his refusal to go to bed even after she is sleepy backfires. I like this book, and despite his refusal to believe the monster was a monster not a dinosaur my son really likes this book and it got read 5 times today! * ( See comments for one from the author, I am so sorry I referred to Lucy as Sarah- you'd think the many times we read it itwould have stuck- no more late night blogging for me! )
DIY Framed Chalkboard !
Playroom Addition !
Writing on a vertical surface is very important for fine motor development. It works out the developing muscles in the arm and wrist that are used for writing. Your child's hands/wrists naturally go into the proper position when writing vertically so easels , white boards and chalkboards like this one are invaluable! I have been wanting to make my son one for ages, and I finally bit the bullet. It was insanely easy and inexpensive too!
* Updated to add this super cool link to another chalkboard at infarrantly creative that blows ours away! don't miss it! *
Cereal Box Mosaic
- Gather your materials. I used Benjamin Moore chalkboard paint, a roller, paint tray, painters tape, an old picture frame, an old sheet, 4 nails and a hammer.
- Start by deciding where you want the chalkboard. Have your child show you how high they can reach so that it's all usable space. I'm no good with measuring tape so I just eyeballed it and thumb tacked it to the wall to decide. You may want to measure where on the wall you put it.
- Tape off the area to paint.
- Apply your first coat. Wait 4 hours or more and add a 2nd. Let dry.
- Take off the tape.
- Place your frame on the wall so the painted area is centered, and secure it to the wall. I nailed mine but depending on your walls you'll want to use the appropriate fashion. I particularly liked using a frame because it creates a ledge for the chalk as well.
- Add chalk and child!
Lowercase Letter of The Week : a
apple a !
Welcome to the new letter of the week- it's all lower case from now on! Don't worry though I will link the uppercase letter at the bottom of each post . I know we just did an apple but I have to practice what I preach and let my child's interests lead - and the little dude wanted to make an apple a, which I was happy to since it's a cinch to turn a lowercase a into an apple. I am not starting with a to go in alphabetical order, and in many teaching circles you keep the vowels for last. I am doing them as he shows interests but encourage you to do them however works best for your child.- Gather your materials. You will need a paper plate, some scrap green paper, a red and brown marker, glue and scissors. If you want to make it easier to display you can also use another piece of paper for a backing. Also I am only using the paper plate because my husband bought a pack large enough to use for 10 years , plain paper would work just fine.
- Start by writing a large lowercase a on the plate.
- Have your child color the straight side brown to make a stem. As we were coloring we talked about how the a is shaped and also the parts of an apple.
- Color the rest red ! A cool perk of the paper plate was that it kept the marker contained even with very very enthusiastic coloring.
- While they color, cut out a leaf from the green paper. If your child is able to do this step have them do it after coloring.
- Cut the a out.
- Glue onto the paper.
- Add the leaf. Let dry.
Books
"One Green Apple" by Even Bunting is a treat. The book is not about apples really at all, instead it's about Farrah a little Muslim girl who has come to the United States from an unnamed country and her first day at school. The day is spent on a field trip to an orchard , where the children pick apples and make apple cider. I immediately related to this as my first day of work at a school in my new country was trying, although I could speak the language unlike Farrah it was still daunting to be new in unfamiliar territory. The melting pot analogy is turned into a apple cider one as all the children throw their apples in and work together to press it into cider, even Farrah helps. They all drink the collectively made cider. My son was too young for this book but I think it would be realistic for a PreK - 2nd grade.
"The Apple Pie the Papa Baked" by Lauren Thompson had me tricked into thinking that it was a new edition of an old book. The retro look to the illustrations hooked me and I was shocked to see it was only published 2 years ago. The reader is taken through all the elements that go into making a pie, not the recipe though. The story works backwards from pie to the apples, the tree, the roots and more . The message is one of interconnectedness and makes me feel equally important and small all at the same time. I think it's useful to teach how everything in nature is dependent on other elements and can't work alone. My son enjoyed the illustrations of the sun with a face and the little girl helping her father at every step.
"Apple Farmer Annie" by Monica Wellington is another instant favorite in our house. My son loves this author and I like how simple but informative this book is. Your little reader will learn about the basics of what happens at an apple orchard , but you can take it further if you want. On many of the pages there are chances to learn more, like the page about sorting and classifying, where there are apples ready to count 1-10, and sorted by colors. I love the last page that says that Annie is so happy to have her own apple farm. I loved that message and think it's a lot more powerful than some may think, women on farms in most books are "farmer's wives" and I love that there is no one but Annie doing her own thing.
"The Apple Pie the Papa Baked" by Lauren Thompson had me tricked into thinking that it was a new edition of an old book. The retro look to the illustrations hooked me and I was shocked to see it was only published 2 years ago. The reader is taken through all the elements that go into making a pie, not the recipe though. The story works backwards from pie to the apples, the tree, the roots and more . The message is one of interconnectedness and makes me feel equally important and small all at the same time. I think it's useful to teach how everything in nature is dependent on other elements and can't work alone. My son enjoyed the illustrations of the sun with a face and the little girl helping her father at every step.
"Apple Farmer Annie" by Monica Wellington is another instant favorite in our house. My son loves this author and I like how simple but informative this book is. Your little reader will learn about the basics of what happens at an apple orchard , but you can take it further if you want. On many of the pages there are chances to learn more, like the page about sorting and classifying, where there are apples ready to count 1-10, and sorted by colors. I love the last page that says that Annie is so happy to have her own apple farm. I loved that message and think it's a lot more powerful than some may think, women on farms in most books are "farmer's wives" and I love that there is no one but Annie doing her own thing.
Sunday Spotlight
The Spotlight is on ...
Do you ever find a blog and think - more people need to know about this! That blog for me it the domestic NOTEBOOK . Especially wonderful for moms ( she has a great baby puree and hooded towel tutorials) , and others who aren't quite up to the unrealistic expectations of Martha Stewart. I need to read it before I cook because when I read it after I've already eaten I just get hungry all over again. If you want to know why, just look at her post from Friday! This blog is on my "one to watch" list because it's full of potential and down to earth stylish advice .
Before you run off and drool over the food on the domestic NOTEBOOK, pop over to Project Mommywood and cast your vote for Mommy Blogger Of The Year. I am thrilled to be nominated and the race has been tight between a few of us. I need your vote!
Voting ends August 31st .
Do you ever find a blog and think - more people need to know about this! That blog for me it the domestic NOTEBOOK . Especially wonderful for moms ( she has a great baby puree and hooded towel tutorials) , and others who aren't quite up to the unrealistic expectations of Martha Stewart. I need to read it before I cook because when I read it after I've already eaten I just get hungry all over again. If you want to know why, just look at her post from Friday! This blog is on my "one to watch" list because it's full of potential and down to earth stylish advice .
Before you run off and drool over the food on the domestic NOTEBOOK, pop over to Project Mommywood and cast your vote for Mommy Blogger Of The Year. I am thrilled to be nominated and the race has been tight between a few of us. I need your vote!
Voting ends August 31st .
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