Category: Fun For Kids

I got on a kick before Christmas about painting little people for my niece. She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Curious George. So after searching the web for inspiration for painting these little little dolls, I decided to just paint what she already loves. I also made some to resemble her family.

On Christmas I was so excited to give them to her. I forgot that I didn’t take any pictures of them before wrapping them up, so I put them on the floor to take some pictures. She kept trying to pick them up and play with them during the photo shoot. I’m glad she loves them so much.

I found the wooden dolls at Michael’s and used acrylic paint on them. I then coated them with a clear coat of non toxic stuff to make them shiny.

The wooden pegs start off life looking like this. They have different shapes available with more of a flared bottom for the female. They are all just under 2 inches in size, so be careful about making them for little ones who may try to put them in their mouth.

Here’s the finished product. Melissa was kind enough to send me a picture of them all together since I was having difficulty on Christmas! I first made my BIL too light and then too dark. Maybe one day I’ll try again. They are expanding their family in the next few weeks, so I’ll have to add a new baby to the peg family anyway. I was also going to add something like a pompom to give Mickey and Minnie ears that stand up, but I didn’t want them to accidentally come off and become choking hazards.

Here are the ones I tried to get…complete with little hands playing with them.

Now I need to get busy painting some more for the little girls in our house.

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This year for her birthday, Emily picked a Strawberry Shortcake theme. At the party the kids had fun coloring pictures, playing games and eating cake. I can’t believe Emily is 5! I still need to edit pictures from the party, but here’s the cake. I was pleased with the way it turned out especially since I had no idea what I was doing for a theme when I started decorating it at 10pm the night before the party! I was smart enough to purchase the Strawberry Shortcake and cat figure for it. That allowed me to get a bit of sleep that night.

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Today we read many library books. One of those books was

Once you have been attacked by a monkey, you tend to shy away from them…even the sock monkey types. I picked up this library book anyway. The girls were fascinated when I told them that the monkeys were made out of socks.

We decided to make our own sock animal. They were not interested in making a monkey. Good thing since I was not making one.

They first considered an elephant, but ended up settling on a dog. Since Madison is such a doggie lover, I was not surprised.

So we all went upstairs and looked in my sock drawer.

We found these.

I also realized that I have more socks with penguins on them than I should admit. I wear flip flops 99% of the year, so I did not mind giving up a pair of socks for this project.

I found some instructions online and used them as a general guideline, but winged my way through most of it.

I got out some yellow thread and we got busy making him. Or her. That is still a debate. Katelyn says it is a girl. Emily swears it is a boy and Madison is just happy to have another puppy around. I guess we will have to come up with a gender neutral name tomorrow for it.

Here is our puppy.

The girls went to bed before he was finished, so I can’t wait to show them in the morning. He/she didn’t have a face or a tail when they last saw him.

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“You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back.” -William D. Tammeus

Last Friday K was out of school and we were invited by friends to join them to paint pottery. It was so much fun. We went to one of those places that has lots of choices to pick from for your painting creations. If you haven’t been to one I highly suggest going. Mom and I took the girls a year or so ago to a different studio in town. K and E painted little snack bowls that time. I thought it would be fun to have M paint this time also. She was really looking forward to the painting too.

I dressed everyone in clothes that could get ruined. If I came home with three little paint wearing Picassos, I wouldn’t mind a bit. Turns out they didn’t have any paint on them at all. If I had dressed them in nice clothes they would have been trashed. That’s just the way it works when you are raising kids!

The girls each painted their own plate. These are going to be their new dinner plates. They are really salad size plates, but they are perfect kid size plates. I’m anxious to see how they turn out. I took them one at a time over to the paints so they could pick their own palettes. It was fun to see how they picked their color combinations.

K painted a black moon and a sun on the top of the plate along with lots of additional colors. E has her colors all over with no certain pattern and M pretty much has a brown plate! I think they will love having their own creations to eat each night.

We go back Friday to get their little masterpiece plates and I can’t wait to see them on the dinner table!

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Bringing a child into the house is the greatest act of hope there is.”

-Louise Hart

In an effort to make life feel normal after surgery, I went shopping at Walmart today. Mom and I took the girls and a very short list. We ended up spending 2 hours in the store. I’m not sure how we do that.

I picked up supplies for a Valentine’s Day decoration. I’ll make that tomorrow and post pictures and instructions. I hope it comes out cute!

I also picked up ingredients for some Valentine’s Day cookies. It’s my small group’s turn to bring food to our MOPS meeting on Friday. I’m taking cookies and some yummy little cheesecakes. I’ll share pictures and recipes of those later this week.

Finally, I got this cute cookie jar. I saw a blog this weekend that had a piece of furniture-about dresser size-with no drawers, just shelves. She had a basket for each of her kids on the shelves with their name on their basket. On top of the unit was a jar of crayons. In an effort to continue to get this house more organized, our crayons are now nestled in a cookie I have no idea who’s blog it was, so if you have a clue about this photo, please let me know and I’ll give credit for the idea.

Now the crayons are all together and cute sitting on the kitchen counter. I love the bright colors. Crayons make me happy.

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“Before we can leave our parents, they stuff our heads like the suitcases which they jam-pack with homemade underwear.”

-Maxine Hong Kingston

While I was sitting at the doctor’s office yesterday, I picked up a Family Fun magazine and flipped through it.

That’s when I found this idea.

Button Bookmarks!

I now have another use for my neverending supply of ribbon and a new reason to love buttons.

If you would like to make a button bookmark:

• Simply cut lengths of ribbon-12 to 14 inches long, to fit a standard-size hardcover book is a great length
• Attach buttons to the ends using tacky glue or a glue gun. Shown in the photo are just a few of the decorating options: sandwiching the ribbon’s ends between two buttons; stacking smaller atop larger buttons; and grouping several small buttons in a pattern.

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“It will be gone before you know it. The fingerprints on the wall appear higher and higher. Then suddenly they disappear.”

-Dorothy Evslin

The girls and I have been having a blast with Pop Beads. We make bracelets, rings and necklaces. The combinations are endless. I picked up this set at Target.

They store easliy in the container and are easy enough for little hands to handle. The girls love to make jewelry for everyone they know. It’s cute to see the different styles they come up with and who they think will love the look. The pieces are small, so I make sure they only play with them while they have supervision, which isn’t hard because the set is so fun.

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With our oldest starting Kindergarten this week, I’ve been pretty behind in my blogging! I hope to be back in the swing of things next week and my blog should get more regular again.

So for now, here’s a quick idea…slime! (courtesy of Anne Helmenstine and about.com)

You will need:

• water
• white glue (like Elmer’s™)
• borax
• food coloring (unless you want uncolored white slime)

Directions:

There are two components to slime. There is a borax and water solution and a glue, water, and food coloring solution. Prepare them separately.

1. Mix 1 teaspoon borax in 1 cup of water. Stir until the borax is dissolved.
2. In a separate container, mix 1/2 cup (4 oz) white glue with 1/2 cup water. Add food coloring, if desired.
3. After you have dissolved the borax and diluted the glue, you are ready to combine the two solutions. Stir one slime solution into the other. Your slime will begin to polymerize immediately.
4. The slime will become hard to stir after you mix the borax and glue solutions. Try to mix it up as much as you can, then remove it from the bowl and finish mixing it by hand. It’s okay if there is some colored water remaining in the bowl.
5. The slime will start out as a highly flexible polymer. You can stretch it and watch it flow. As you work it more, the slime will become stiffer and more like putty. Then you can shape it and mold it, though it will lose its shape over time. Don’t eat your slime and don’t leave it on surfaces that could be stained by the food coloring.
6. Store your slime in a sealed ziplock bag, preferably in the refrigerator. Insect pests will leave slime alone because borax is a natural pesticide, but you’ll want to chill the slime to prevent mold growth if you live in an area with high mold count. The main danger to your slime is evaporation, so keep it sealed when you’re not using it.

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Begin your child’s kitchen adventure with…wooden spoons, plastic or metal mixing bowls, wire whisk, kid’s cookbook, step stool, hot pads, plastic nesting measuring cups, and a child sized apron.

Safety first. Keep young children away from a hot stove, oven, sharp knives and cheese graters.

Allow even the youngest chef to pour the ingredients into a bowl; flour, sugar, eggs etc. Remember to turn the mixer off first.

Cracking eggs can be a challenge for little chefs. Allow them to practice a bit by cracking the eggs into a separate bowl at first. then you can remove any shells before adding the eggs to remaining ingredients.

Keep the recipes simple at first. No bake cookie recipes, fresh fruit salad, smoothies, dips and sandwiches are a great start.

Start with a cookbook that has illustrations to coincide with the instructions. This will develop your child’s to ability to follow sequential instructions.

Purchase, or make an apron that is solely for your little cook to wear.

Here are the cute aprons our girls have, complete with their monogram on the front.

Consider switching from glass measuring cups, mixing bowls and baking dishes, to plastic. They are easier/safer for kids to manage and you may feel more comfortable.

Pour on the praise, if the outcome isn’t exactly as expected.

Expect a mess…spills will happen. Take it in stride and simply use the opportunity to teach that clean-up is one aspect of cooking.

Now get in the kitchen with your kids and make some magic!

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Awhile back a friend of mine shared a wonderful site with me. Thanks, Stacie! It is a place you can go read books online. What a great way to sample books before you buy them. Our girls also love to play on Mommy’s computer so this is a fun way to read to them.

Click here to go read some great books!

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