Creative Crafts for Easter

Easter/Passover is on its way and the perfect time to craft with the kids. Do you need some ideas? I'm posting a culmination of some articles I wrote the past couple years. They are easy and mostly use materials found in the home. Enjoy your holiday and spring!

Happy Parenting,
Tania

Hatching Baby Chicks

Spring is the season for renewal of life and we often hear about baby chicks hatching from eggs. I would suggest getting a book from the library on hatching baby chicks so the children can understand the process.

You will need:

• Egg halves (washed and dried)
• 2 yellow pom-poms (one larger than the other)
• Googly eyes
• Orange construction paper
• Safety scissors
• Heavy-duty glue

Directions:

1. Give each child one eggshell and two yellow pom-poms. Have them carefully glue their pom-poms inside the eggshell, one on top of the other. Make sure to have extra eggshells available as these are fragile and could crumble.
2. Finish this craft by gluing on two eyes and an orange beak cut from construction paper.
3. You can display these baby chicks inside an egg carton or staple a circular ring from heavy-duty paper to make an egg stand.

• Crafting With Matzoh for Passover
  For Passover, let the children use broken pieces of matzoh and invite them to glue these pieces onto construction paper. Lots of very creative pictures emerge from this activity. Have them tell you about their design.
• 
  What’s more fun than painting matzoh? Eating it! Melt white chocolate chips in a bowl (a microwave can be used). Separate the melted chocolate into several bowls. Add drops of food coloring to make a variety of edible paints. Using a clean paintbrush or cotton swabs, invite your child to paint designs and pictures on a square of matzoh. Note: you may have to keep reheating the chocolate to keep it liquid for painting. Chocolate hardens very quickly. Another variation is to use pre-made frosting in tubes that can be purchased in grocery stores. When finished, share the artwork and then enjoy the snack.
  
  
  
  
• The Hunts of the Season
  Celebrate Passover with a treasure hunt for the “Afikomen." The matzoh is placed in a holder and here is a simple one to make:
  You will need:
• Two sheets royal blue felt (9" x 12")
• Silver glitter glue, decorating decors
• Tacky glue
•  
• Simply glue the two sheets of felt together around the edges, leaving one side open for a piece of matzoh. You could also sew them together if you wish. Draw six-sided stars with glitter glue. You can also add decors like lace, sequins, or faux jewels with the tacky glue. Let dry completely and you are ready to place this work of art on the Seder table.
  To hunt for the Afikomen, hide this piece of matzoh in the holder somewhere in the home. Present a few clues to lead the kids from the dining area to where the Afikomen is hidden. Whoever finds the matzoh wins a prize. 
  
  For Easter, create this cute bunny basket for your youngster to collect his “finds of the hunt." Take a half-gallon milk carton and remove one panel using safety scissors or a craft knife (adult use only). Save this panel to make a handle. Cover all sides of this carton with construction paper using glue or tape. Cut a strip from the saved panel and staple it on both sides to make a handle. Create a cute bunny face by gluing on googly eyes, stapling on bunny ears made from heavy paper, and lastly whiskers. If you punch a hole in the center of the top ridge; pipe cleaners can be inserted equal distance and bent slightly for bunny whiskers.
• 
  
• Making homemade Easter crafts and Passover crafts for kids are milestones and memories that you and your children will never forget. Enjoy this creative time together and the fun holiday festivities to follow!
  Note: Use parental supervision and age appropriate art materials when making crafts with kids.

• 
  Some crafts were part of articles first published on Bright Hub Education by Tania K Cowling
• Photos courtesy of Tania Cowling, all rights reserved
  
  

Getting Ready for 2023 With the Kids: Games to Play

New Year’s Eve has all the fixings for a true children’s celebration—the chance to stay up way past bedtime, toss confetti in the air, sport silly hats, and raise a toast. Whether you want to ring in 2023 with your child at a family party or throw a sleepover bash for all his/her friends, the following games are here for you to consider.

CELEBRATE WITH BUBBLE WRAP—

Tape sheets of bubble wrap (small bubbles and large ones) to a hard floor or driveway.  When the New Year’s countdown concludes have the kids stomp on the bubble wrap to make loud popping sounds.  Sure safer than fireworks!

NEW YEAR FREEZE DANCING—

Give each child a noisemaker horn. Play some peppy music and while the music is playing the kids can blow their horns. When the music stops, the children freeze and yell “Happy New Year.”  This is a fun game—but beware—it can get very LOUD!

THE MOUSE RAN UP THE CLOCK—

This game is based on the “Red Light, Green Light” activity.  One child is the “Grandfather Clock” and stands with his back to the players (mice). He calls out hours at random, and the mice race to take that number of steps before “Grandfather” turns around. Those who fail must return to start. The first mouse to “run up the clock” wins.

HIDE THE CLOCK—

An adult hides a ticking clock. Gather the kids and have them find it.  Another fun way is to set the alarm for 5-7 minutes, if the kids don’t find the clock—the alarm will surely give a loud clue.

FESTIVE BUBBLES—

Set out a pie plate with homemade soap solution. Mix 3 parts water to 1 part “Joy” or “Dawn” dishwashing liquid.  For lots of miniature bubbles, tape together a bunch of plastic drinking straws.  Dip one end in the bubble solution, hold the other end about one inch from your mouth (do not put your lips on the straws) and blow. For the big dipper, twist one end of a pipe cleaner into a large loop, dip it in the soap solution then slowly wave it in the air to create a giant bubble.

PLAY VOLLEY BALLOON—

Batting a balloon back and forth may sound easy, but in this challenge, there’s a catch:  Each contestant must link an arm with his/her partner, leaving just one hand free for the task. Whichever pair is able to volley their balloon the longest wins.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY READERS,

TANIA  :)

Photo courtesy of geralt, CCO Public Domain on Pixabay.com

Sources for games:

Channels to Children by Carol Beckman, Roberta Simmons, and Nancy Thomas, copyright 1982

Family Fun Parties, culminated by Deanna F. Cook, copyright 1999

C is for Celebration Logs

When I think of the letter C, I think of celebrations. It could be a December holiday, patriotic event, or just a simple family celebration that you want to emphasize. Your children will love making these yummy logs in the colors that represent your theme. They're simple to make, great for a treat, or even a take-home favor. Here's how to make them.

Celebration Logs (edible treat)

Celebrate your event with pretzel logs adorned with sprinkles in colors of the season, holiday or your child's choice.

You will need:

·      Pretzel logs

·      Chips (either chocolate or white chocolate)

·      Colored baking sprinkles

·      Waxed paper

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in the microwave inside a glass bowl.  Dunk the pretzels halfway into the chocolate;  then roll them in a dish of sprinkles.  Dry the decorated logs on waxed paper.

Display them in a large glass to set on the table or enclose them into cellophane bags to be given as favors. Enjoy!

Taking kids in the kitchen is a great bonding experience between parent and child. Enjoy your holiday time together.

Happy Parenting,
Tania :) 

This activity was used in one of my A to Z Challenge years. Photo by Tania Cowling, all rights reserved.

Holiday Gift Guide 2016: Crafting With Kids and More

Indoor craft projects are never more welcome than during the winter – those times when it gets too dark for outdoor play, or too cold to even be outdoors. Making crafts together is a wonderful bonding experience and today there are craft kits that make creative time fun and easy. Everything you need is inside a packaged kit.

For the holidays, I suggest getting your children art and craft sets to foster their inner creative abilities. Here are a few ideas from Alex Brands. This company makes really exciting and engaging kits for kids of all ages. And, I love that most of their products are under $25 – so helpful for parents during the holidays.

Who remembers Shrinky Dinks? You know how you colored plastic pieces and then baked them in the oven to shrink and get hard. Well, Alex Brands has brought this concept back in an array of art kits.

Shrinky Dinks 3D Flower Jewelry – Color and shrink your flowers to make bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. This kit includes 38 precut and preprinted Shrinky Dinks, the chains, seed beads, elastic thread, beading needles, earring studs, colored pencils, and easy instructions.  This kit is recommended for kids ages 8 and up. Retails at $22.50.

Shrinky Dinks 3D Butterfly Lights – Here you color and bake the Shrinky Dinks and then thread them onto a battery-operated strand of lights. This kit contains 12 precut and printed Skrinky Dinks, a 10 LED light string, 8 colored pencils, and instructions. Also recommended for kids ages 8 and up. Retails for $24.00.

Shrinky Dinks Statement Jewelry – Here you color, bake and shrink plastic jewels to create your own unique jewelry. Make a necklace and matching earrings along with a ring. This kit includes 12 preprinted and cut Shrinky Dinks, 6 colored pencils, earring hooks, jump rings, chain bracelets and lots of gems. Instructions are included for this kit costing $10.50. Age appropriate for 6 and up.

Along with the Shrinky Dink kits, the children can engage in beauty with colorful fingernail kits.

The Alex Toys Fab Foil Nail Roller allows the girls to put sparkly color on their nails without a brush. Roll on the color; add pretty stickers and then brush on a clear topcoat. For $20.00 you will receive 30 foil strips, two sheets of stickers and a bottle of clear nail polish. This beauty kit is recommended for ages 8 and up.

Alex Toys Color Shift Ombre Nails allows your nail polish to change color as your body temperature changes. How cool is that? This kit includes four bottles of nail polish, 50 mini stickers and easy instructions for an awesome manicure. Also, for kids ages 8 and up and retails for $10.00 a kit.

Other than glamour, Alex Brands has other craft kits. Why not color and create your own umbrella? How about making small toys come to life wearing 3D glasses? Kids will also love to play with Air Warriors darts and blasters. Some that even launch and can be seen in the dark.

And, let’s not forget about the Original Slinky – a toy made in America 70 years ago.  I remember playing with a Slinky, letting it slither down my house steps. What fun for $5.50. Any child aged 5 and up will love to play with this classic toy.  

So check out toys from Alex Brands next time you visit your local toy store or shop online:

Alex Brands

Amazon

Until my next review.
Happy Parenting,
Tania :)

Note: – Information and samples are from the manufacturer. I was not compensated for this review.