New Year Fireworks

It is very hot here today not a great day for being outside so in an attempt to fight off the kids cabin fever we tried some fireworks painting.

You will need:
Black Paper
Paint
Paper Plate or similar
Stainless Steel Scourer

To Make
1. Put some paint on a paper plate

2. Using the scourer make firework prints on the black paper - we found the best way to get firework like prints was by using minimal paint if you over load the scourer with paint you get something a little more planet or space looking

Neevah's first attempts at getting a firework print

3. Keep going until your child has had enough you may need 2 or more sheets of paper handy
3. Let Dry

Neevah's Top 10 Activities from 2010

I can not believe in a few weeks time we will have been blogging for One Year! and what a year it has been. So with a little bit of help Neevah has put together her own Top 10 list of activities she loved from 2010.

Number 10 ..... Spice Pictures
This activity was lots of fun and ever so simple to setup. It incorporates many of the senses and is a great way to clean out your spice rack of any out of date spices.

Number 9 ..... Magic Colour Drinks
This idea would be great for a party, playdate or just for fun and of course it is a great to learn about colours and colour mixing.

Number 8 ..... Tractor Painting

I originally tried this idea with Liam but after Neevah saw the photos she had to try it as well ..... lots of messy messy fun!

Number 7 ..... Colour Fishing

Neevah loved fishing for colourful fish in her washing basket boat it was such a fun way to learn different colours.

Number 6 ...... Making Gifts
Neevah is always so proud of the things she makes and she enjoys creating special gifts for her family and friends. Here are two of her favourite gifts she gave this year ....

Handprint Keepsake .... which was a gift for Daddy

Framed Elephant Picture .... a Christmas gift for Nanna

Number 5 ..... Humpty Dumpty

Neevah enjoyed acting out the Humpty Dumpty Nursery Rhyme using a finger puppet and toys but she absolutely loved pushing an egg (Humpty Dumpty) off the wall she still talks about it 6 months later and asks for eggs so she can play Humpty Dumpty outside.

Number 4 ..... Spider Hat

We had so much fun with the spider hat although it did not last that long it was well loved. Neevah enjoyed putting it on and creeping through the garden and hiding behind plants she thought it was a great joke to be a scary spider.

Number 3 ..... We're Going on a Bear Hunt
If you are looking for a fun activity to do with preschoolers make sure this is near the top of the list. Bringing the book to life was so much fun for both Neevah and I that we went on at least 5 bear hunts that day.

Number 2 ..... Playdough
Both my kids adore playdough so it wasn't to much of a surprise when Neevah wanted to include a few playdough ideas in her list ..... after much discussion we narrowed it down to her favourite two .....

Playdough Garden .... this was such a hit with Neevah that she has recreated this idea at least 3 times since the original blog post

Playdough Dinosaur Eggs ..... both Neevah and Liam loved finding the dinosaur toys inside the playdough eggs and almost a year later they still recreate this idea with various small animal toys
Coming in at Number 1 .... Doing the Dinosaur Stomp

These Dinosaur feet were loved to bits literally they wore them so many times that they fell apart and I had to sneak them into the recycling bin. This is a must try activity for any little Dino lover I promise they will love doing the Dino Stomp.

And there you have it Neevah's Top 10 Activities from 2010! I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our wonderful readers for visiting our blog over the past year and we hope to see you back again in 2011 for more fun and crafty activities

What is a Year?

I love this idea for teaching children about a year unfortunately Neevah wasn't into it ... maybe because it is late afternoon or because it is hot outside or maybe she is still a bit to young .

You will need
Cardboard
Scissors
Blue, Green & Yellow Paper
Marker Pen
Chalk
Glue

To Make
1. Cut out 2 circles from the cardboard
2. Colour one circle yellow for the sun and the other blue /green for the earth - we did this with coloured paper but you could also use paint or coloured markers
3. Outside draw a large circle on the ground using chalk (the earths orbit) and mark a spot on the circle as the start/finish
4. Place the Sun in the middle of the earths orbit or have a child stand in the middle holding the sun
5. Holding the earth stand on the starting spot
6. Follow the earths orbit around the sun
7. Explain it takes 365 days for the earth to make its way around the earth and when you get back to the marked spot the year is over

For older children you they could also spin around as the follow earths orbit to represent each day. I think we will try this again next year and see if the kids enjoy it more.

Inspiration for this activity was found at The Activity Idea Place

New Year Banner

Is your recycling bin over flowing with cardboard and other bits from Christmas Day? don't be to quick to throw it all away save some for crafting with the kids. With the New Year fast approaching today we made a 2011 Banner to hang up and it was great activity for working on number recognition.

You will need:
Cardboard
Wrapping Paper or Newspaper
Pegs
Paint
Marker Pen
Scissors
String or Wool

To Make
1 .Draw a large 2011 on the cardboard and cut it out
2 .Make paintbrushes by scrunching up some wrapping paper and pinch it together with a peg (which also makes a great handle for your child to hold)
3 .Paint the numbers - before we started painting we identified each number and the whole number
4 .Let Dry
5 .Make holes in the top of each number
6 .String them together - again we talked about each number
7 .Hang

Inspiration for this craft was found at Frugal Family Fun Blog

Merry Christmas

Wishing all our readers a very Merry Christmas full of fun and laughter

A Little Bit of Cuteness

Liam hiding between the chairs as he madly waves Good Bye to Santa at a recent Christmas Party

Christmas Crafts: Handmade Gift

Only 4 more sleeps until Christmas and we have just finished making a Handmade Gift for Nanna (nothing like leaving things till the last minute). This idea is really easy to make and can easily be completed in one day so you still have time before Christmas.

You will need:
Frame
2 Pieces of white paper (that fit in the frame)
Thin Card or Paper
Paint
Scissors
Glue
Pen/Pencil

To Make:
1. Give your child one piece of white paper and ask them to paint covering as much white as they can
2. Let Dry
3. Find an outline of something the recipent will like (Nanna loves Elephants) and make a template on the thin card/paper
4. On the back of your childs artwork trace around the template
5. Cut out around the line
6. Glue it onto the remaining piece of white paper
7. Place into the frame and your gift is ready to give - On the back of the frame I also put a sticker with Art by Neevah Dec '10

Finger Crossed Nanna loves it ..... I'm sure she will

Christmas Crafts: Festive Playdough Recipes

We love playdough it is a stable in our house and I bring it out when I need 10 minutes peace to get something done or when the kids need to calm down. Christmas is a great excuse to get a little bit creative with your playdough

Chocolate Scented Playdough

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup salt
1/2 Tablespoon cream of Tartar
1/2 Tablespoon oil
1 1/2 cups water

Mix ingredients in a medium size saucepan and stir together over low heat until a ball of dough forms. Remove playdough from the saucepan and knead by hand until dough is smooth and evenly coloured

This recipe was found at Just for Fun

Candy Cane Playdough

1 cups of plain flour
1 tbs Cream of Tartar
1 tbs Cooking Oil
1/2 cup Salt
1 cups of Water
Red Food Colouring
2 teaspoons of peppermint extract/essence
Silver Glitter

Mix Flour,Cream of Tartar, Salt, Cooking Oil, Peppermint Extract & Water in a saucepan stir over medium heat for 3 - 5 mins or until the mixture congeals. Once cool add red food colouring and glitter. Knead by hand until smooth and evenly coloured.

Inspiration for this playdough was found at Superheroes & Princesses

Gingerbread Scented Playdough

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 Teaspoon All Spice
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1 Teaspoon Ginger
1/2 cup salt
1/2 Tablespoon cream of Tartar
1/2 Tablespoon oil
1 1/2 cups water

Mix ingredients in a medium size saucepan and stir together over low heat until a ball of dough forms. Remove playdough from the saucepan and knead by hand until dough is smooth

This recipe was found at Playdough Recipe.org

Vanilla Scented Playdough

1 cup of plain flour
1 tbs Cream of Tartar
1 tbs Cooking Oil
1/2 cup Salt
1 cups of Water
2 teaspoon of vanilla extract/essence
Glitter

Mix Flour,Cream of Tartar, Salt, Cooking Oil, Vanilla & Water in a saucepan stir over medium heat for 3 - 5 mins or until the mixture congeals. Once cool add glitter and knead by hand until smooth and glitter is evenly dispersed.

Christmas Crafts: Glitter Snowflakes

Making Christmas Ornaments using craft sticks is a pretty popular craft to do with little ones. We picked Snowflakes but there are plenty of super cute alternatives including Christmas Trees, Stars & Snowmen.

You will need
4 Craft Sticks
Glue
Paint Brush
Glitter
Christmas Embellishment/ Button
Ribbon
Hot Glue

To Make
1. Glue the craft sticks in a crisscross fashion to form a snowflake - in the photos we only used 3 craft sticks but added a fourth as they looked more snowflake like
2. Let dry
3. Put glue all over the craft sticks - we found applying the glue with a paintbrush worked well as they dried quickly
4. Sprinkle with glitter
5. Shake off the excess glitter
6. Glue on a Christmas Embellishment - Neevah picked some Teddy Bears dressed up for the snow to put on her snowflakes but I think a simple button in the center would be just as cute
7. Let dry
8. With a spot of hot glue attach a ribbon loop to the back of the snowflake for hanging
9. Hang your decorations

Christmas Crafts: Puff Paint Snowman

Neevah and Liam love playing with Shaving Cream smoshing it around with their hands is always a fun playtime activity. Back in October we used Shaving Cream to make a Puff Paint Sheep this was a huge hit so when we mixed it up puff paint again today Neevah was pretty excited.

You will need:
Shaving Cream
White Glue
Thin Cardboard
Black Paper
Coloured Paper /Wrapping Paper Scraps
Scissors

To Make:
1. Cut out a snowman shape from thin cardboard
2. From the black paper cut out eyes, mouth & buttons
3. From the coloured paper cut out a scarf & nose - we used some scraps of wrapping paper for ours
4. Make the puff paint by mixing 1/2 cup of shaving cream with 1/4 cup of white glue
5. Slop the puff paint onto the snowman and mix it around with your hands
6. Place the eyes, nose and mouth on the snowman
7. Place the scarf and buttons on the snowman
8. Leave to dry flat - how long it takes to dry will depend on how thick the paint is applied ours took roughly 3 hours to dry and it dried nice and puffy :)

Neevah thinks this Snowman could do with some stick arms ... I am not sure how the sticks would go in the puff paint but you could cut some stick like arms from the black paper and add them to the Snowman.

Christmas Fun: Jingle Bell Shoes

This cute idea is so easy to do and lots of fun for a Christmas party or any festive occasion. Now the method to my madness is these shoes are not to wear around home only out and about for a limited amount of time so the shoes remain fun and not annoying.

All you need to do is attach one bell to each shoe with ribbon or tinsel .... attach them somewhere that is not going to get in the way when walking so to the back or outside of each shoe would be perfect

I can't wait for Neevah to try her Jingle Bell shoes on fingers crossed she loves them

Don't forget to stop by Childhood 101 We Play where you can find lots of other great play ideas....

Christmas Crafts: Angel Christmas Cards

We have made few special Christmas Cards to hand out this year for Grandparents and the like. I have left it rather late this year to make Christmas Cards but these Angels are quick and easy for kids to make.

You will need:
Paper Doily
Pink Paper
Marker Pen Black & Red
Glue
Coloured Card
Scissors
Tinsel pipe cleaner

To Make:
1 .Fold the coloured card in half to make a greeting card
2 .Cut the paper doily into quarters one quarter will be the angel dress then cut another quarter in half these will be the angel wings
3 .Cut a circle from the pink paper for the angels face
4 .Draw hair and eyes on the angels face using the black marker
5 .Draw a smile on the angels face using the red marker
6 .Glue the angels dress onto the card
7 .Glue the wings onto the card
8 .Glue the face onto the card
9 .Glue a small piece of tinsel pipe cleaner in the angels hair for a halo
10 .Write in the card

Christmas Crafts: Mini Wreaths

These Mini Wreaths are cute and easy to make although not suitable for young children I think older children could easily make them with some adult supervision or make them yourself.

You will need:
Plastic Ring off a milk bottle / water bottle or similar
Tinsel Pipe Cleaners in 2 different colours
Hot Glue
Thin Ribbon
Scissors
Christmas Embellishment

To Make:
1 .Tie a loop of ribbon onto the plastic ring make sure it is knotted tightly and trim the excess ribbon so only leaving a short tail
2 .With a spot of hot glue glue the ribbon knot and tail to the inside of the plastic ring
3 .Wrap the first pipe cleaner tightly around the ring next to the ribbon loop
4 .Wrap the pipe cleaner round and round the ring leaving a small gap between each turn
5 .Wrap the other colour pipe cleaner around the ring filling in the gaps
6 .Hot glue a Christmas embellishment to the bottom of the wreath
7 .Hang them on the tree or give them to friends

Tip :make sure all the wire ends of the pipe cleaner are nicely tucked away on the inside of the wreath

Thanks Kym for sending us one of these cute Mini Christmas Wreaths a few years ago I really like it and had to make some more.