x-mas calendar

we started off by creating a A 4 sheet of paper with 2012 dates down the bottom of the page- with a space for a child's drawing at the top. You can download calendar dates from the internet- an example is here: http://www.blankcalendar.org/yearly_calendars/2012_calendar_vertical.jpg

Then on a seperate sheet of paper I asked the children to draw a special drawing (or collage, or both), then we glued it in place and put it through the laminator. 

For hanging, we punched a hole in the top and thread some ribbon through it. 

A simple, personalised gift for friends and family.

Dot Stickers

We visited mum's art class recently and out of all the amazing materials available, Finn chose the dot stickers mum uses to colour-code the children's art work into class groups.  Lots of fun and great for fine motor skills! 

Painting with Feathers

You don't always have to use paintbrushes when working with children and art. Today we experimented using twigs, feathers, sponges and anything else we found around the house and garden that helped make marks.

The effects can be quite interesting. 

collaboration

Sometimes I find children need a little kick start with their drawings, and so helping them start with a little shape, or body part can help them find inspiration.  Here I drew the pink circle with a hat and ears, and Finn finished it off, turning it into 'inspector gadget'.  

Felt Faces

About a year ago I had cut out a variety of felt facial features and face shapes in different sizes, shapes and colours (noses, lips, beards, eyebrows, eyes, hair etc). I put them in a zip-lock sandwich bag and bring them out occasionally for Finn to play with.  He comes up with new, and interesting faces every time. 

A light, quiet and clean activity for when you are out and about and need to keep little hands busy. 

If the child is skilled with scissors they could make their own shapes, and glueing is also an option. 

Drivers Licence

We are buying and selling properties at the moment, and spending a lot of times talking to mortgage brokers which Finn finds incredibly boring. During a recent discussion as an attempt to keep Finn entertained, I came across a photocopied drivers licence which had been enlarged about 300%, and had my face mostly blurred out. I asked Finn to draw me my portrait in the blank spot and this is what he came up with. 

Birthday Card

I woke up last saturday morning to find the best birthday pressie- a gorgeous drawing from Finn titled 'Mummy and The Robot'. 

Ashe had found a watercolour painting that Finn had previously made, and requested Finn to draw with ink over the top.  It created a lovely effect which I will be proud to hang on my wall. 

Scavenger hunt

The kids and I like going on Scavenger Hunts around the neighbourhood.

Finn and I decide what we would like to look for on our walks and we write a list together with drawings along side the words.

I find it helps with awareness of surroundings, making observations, using descriptive words and early writing and reading skills.

Nanny McFee

Finn has been enjoying reading chapters from Nurse Matilda before bed at night so we hired him a copy of the DVD Nanny McFee (the movie which is inspired by the book). 

Yesterday he drew a gorgeous illustration of Nanny McFee from memory.

Bottle Top Collection

"Bottle caps, gingersnaps, buttons, or rings, 

You can make families from all sorts of things!"

We've been reading a book called 'All kinds of Families' by Mary Ann Hoberman about collections, which reminded me of Finn's own collection of beer bottle tops. He loves comparing, matching, sorting, making shapes with them.

An Egg Hunt in September

When I was cleaning out the cupboards the other day I came across a stash of plastic eggs that we used for our egg hunt on Easter this year. I thought it would be fun instead of waiting another year- to have another egg hunt with the kids in the garden. I filled the eggs with Tiny Teddy biscuits so there was some sort of chocolate reward! 

   

When Finn and Evie had found and collected the eggs- it was their turn to fill the eggs and hide them.

 We sometimes play a hide-and-seek game with large plastic animals hidden around the garden which is also great fun for the kids.

Money Bags

I know in most houses there are little cups of coins lying around the house, and our house is no exception. We had about 10 years worth of change sitting in tubs, so as part of my spring cleaning process I sat down with the kids and we sorted the change into separate denominations in small zip lock bags bags. The kids have been sick this week, so it was a nice quiet activity for them (just be careful of small children sucking the money).

We then went to the bank and watched the teller weigh the money to add it up, and deposit into our account.  

It is a good activity for teaching children about the basics of money, counting and categorising.