Parenting

Excellent Easter & Spring Crafts!

 

Easter and Spring

Spring has sprung!

It’s official, spring is here! While Mother Nature may be singing a different tune, (hello New England snow), yesterday officially marked the first day of a new season and with it, of course, comes new crafting, learning and decorating opportunities-YAY! I absolutely LOVE decorating for a new season or holiday…and the BEST part is…so do the kiddos! I use every opportunity imaginable to let our kids change over the décor in the house in celebration for the newest season. They love making crafts, looking through bins to find crafts from the year prior, and finding new ideas to create items for the house! Honestly, kids are so super creative, that I’ve learned to let go of my “gotta control the perfection” bit in lieu of adorable kid décor. IT’s amazing! Our kids get so excited to see their art work or crafts adorned all over our house; it’s super fun!

In preparation for this season of “newness”, we’ve located some amazing crafting/learning opportunities (that double as awesome decorating ideas) to share with all of you (double YAY!)

Whether you celebrate Easter, Passover or the entering of a new season, we have you covered with five of the most adorable ways to teach, celebrate and decorate the start of this awesome, new season.

Easy-Peasy Foam Eggs

Easter and Spring Crafts!

Easter and Spring Crafts! Foam Eggs-created by your littles!

Want an adorable way to celebrate Easter and spring? Try creating eggs using foam pieces or find a kit with all of the goodies already created for you! Here are some fun ways to create AND decorate:

What you will need: (affiliate links below)

        • Foam pieces to cut out the egg shapes
        • Glue sticks
        • Cute Foam Shapes such as these:

IF you’re super short on time or just excited to dive in and leave some of the cutting to someone else–here’s another option for you (this is exactly the one I purchased last year–it lasted me until this year!)

Here are two other kits that come with everything you want to create and decorate:

 

From there we just got down to decorating our eggs! We made a wreath and used extra eggs to make a decorative banner above our plain cabinets! So fun!

Excellent Easter/Spring Crafts!

Decorate for Easter and Sprig

Spring-up those boring spaces with kid art!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why We LOVE this

Why We Love This: A Plethora of Teachable Moments

 

  • Builds fine motor development for littles learning how to use scissors or apply intricate, decorative pieces.
  • Offers the chance to for children to express creativity (check out the “flying egg featured above left).
  • If teaching colors, it provides a great sounding board to discuss the different colored eggs.
  • If teaching counting, how may eggs do you see? How many green eggs? Yellow eggs?
  • Teaching patterns-use different designs to create patterns such as: polka dots, lines, polka dots, lines.
  • Discuss/show animals that hatch from eggs (chickens, snakes, other birds, turtles).

More adorable crafts: for Easter or Spring–Whatever your Thing!

 

Peek-a-boo Clothespin Eggs from One Little Project at a Time:

How cute are these? One Little Project gives an easy tutorial for creating these adorable eggs!

Want to check out this tutorial? Here’s the link! http://onelittleproject.com/peekaboo-clothespin-eggs/

Peek-a-boo Clothespin Eggs

These peekaboo clothespin eggs are so easy to make and they look SO CUTE! Each one takes less than 5 minutes to make and they look adorable! They're an awesome low mess craft idea and are such an adorable Easter craft idea!! My kids loved seeing the surprise chick inside the egg!

peekaboo eggs from:http://onelittleproject.com/peekaboo-clothespin-eggs/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Science and art fun with coffee filter flowers

 

Science meets Art and Spring:

Coffee-Filter Flower Water Color Craft!

Awesome idea found on fun-a-day: https://fun-a-day.com/colorful-science-and-art-experiment-for-spring/#comment-179649

Two years ago, I explored the concept of chromatography with our, then, four year old budding scientist. Flash-forward two years later and she ABSOLUTELY can’t get enough of science or chemistry! You can bet this project from fun-a-day is on our list this week!

This great project combines art and science all within an AWESOME spring theme! Exploring color and how they combine to create other colors is just one awesome learning tool that you can go over with even your littlest of learners!

Why We LOVE this

Why We Love This:

The combined learning, hands-on fun! Fun-A-Day breaks down other learning possibilities with this such as:

  • Color absorption (rates of absorption)
  • Saturation
  • Fine Motor Skill Practice-using eye droppers

Other awesome reasons to love this crafty learning experience:

  • Accessible to younger learners–I’m not afraid to try this with our three-year old!
  • Can be easily modified for older budding scientists.
  • Simple to access supplies! I’m actually trying food coloring with this first, then the watercolors!

 

 Catch that Caterpillar Craft!

15 Very Hungry Caterpillar Crafts for Kids

Adorable clothes pin caterpillar found on teachingmama.org can be created after reading the Very Hungry Caterpillar, (affiliate link below) by Eric Carle, or you can create your own multi-colored caterpillar using a clothespin! (more to come here!)

 

Colorful Coffee Filter Butterflies!

Find this fun idea on Honey & Lime: http://www.honeyandlime.co/2012/03/spring-crafts-for-kids-coffee-filter-butterfly-craft.html

Yes…I’m one of those peop that if I have already bought coffee filters for one fun project, why not keep it going? What’s spring without a mini-lesson on metamorphosis? Well-stay-tuned! Aside from this adorable craft from Honey & Lime below, we have a book recommendations and a way to take this spring learning experience to the next level!

This adorable craft can be created on a separate day as your caterpillar craft or on the same day!

All you really need to transform a caterpillar into a butterfly can be found on Honey and Lime! White coffee filters, paint and pipe cleaners!

Wrapping it Up:

For these spring-inspired ideas, our kiddos took center stage! Most of these ideas are Pinterest inspired but instead of searching, you can always stop by here to grab some quick go-to ideas (rather than searching yourself!). All of these crafts are great to use for learning, crafting, and decorating–a win, win, WIN in my book any day! Stay tuned for some add on ideas to the caterpillar theme!

 

Saint Patrick’s Day Learning Fun!

St. Patrick's Day Felt Board Fun

St. Patrick’s Day Learning Fun! From The Teaching Mamas:https://www.etsy.com/listing/586480850/st-patricks-day-felt-board-fun?ref=shop_home_active_1

With the month of March living up to it’s “in like a lion, out like a lamb” motto, I was quickly searching for some additional Saint Patrick’s Day learning fun to eat up time after snow-day activities wrap up. I found it took me a little bit of time to go through all of those awesome pins and posts for the next, (and arguably -by my husband’s criteria-most fun), holiday in the line up leading to Easter.

While celebrating the luck of the Irish, (Irish or not), we’ve nailed down some adorable crafts combined with learning that surely aim to please!

Hands on Learning Age Preschool and Up! 

http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2016/02/kids-science-for-st-patricks-day.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/VvbGJ+(Growing+A+Jeweled+Rose)

Handprint Rainbow

Handprint Rainbow Keepsake by The Logans

Hand Print Rainbow:

Have littles learning their colors? What better way to talk about the legends associated with Saint Patrick’s Day than to incorporate making their own rainbow and “pot of gold”? Not only is it fun, you can put it in a sheet protector or laminate it and have it for years to come !

BONUS Activity: Do you want a way for your kiddos to reflect on how lucky or blessed they are this St. Patrick’s Day? Put gold coins out for them to add what they feel “lucky” for. You can ask your little ones what is so special in their lives that they love! Then write it down on a gold coin like this:

Awesome learning~ OUTSIDE THE BOX!

Saint Patrick's Day Learning Fun!

St. Patrick’s Day Learning Felt Activity from The Teaching Mamas:https://www.etsy.com/listing/586480850/st-patricks-day-felt-board-fun?ref=shop_home_active_1

Want to pull off some awesome hands-on learning activities but find that your day just seems to slip away from you? NO WORRIES! The Teaching Mamas, a new and upcoming store filled with AMAZING hands-on learning opportunities, has the perfect solution!

This awesome Saint Patrick’s Day themed box can be used throughout this month leading into spring!

Teach Colors with Felt!

Teach Colors with Fun Felt!

Teaching Numbers

Teach numbers using felt coins!

 

Counting Fun with Clovers!

Counting Fun with Clovers

Counting Fun!

Counting Fun with Gold Coins!

 

Why We LOVE this

Why We Love This:

  • Multiple teaching opportunities: colors, numbers, and fine-motor skills
  • Inexpensive: Only $15.00 on Etsy!
  • Learning board can be used over and over again.
  • Kiddos LOVE felt–the soft feel, bright colors, interchangeability, AND the fact that you could apply other felt activities to this one!

Link to purchase: https://www.etsy.com/listing/586480850/st-patricks-day-felt-board-fun?ref=shop_home_active_1

Religious Focus for Saint Patrick’s Day: I found this AWESOME packet on TeacherspayTeachers:

St. Patrick's Day Bible Activity Pack

Grab it here:https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/St-Patricks-Day-Bible-Activity-Pack-3026510

St. Patrick's Day Bible Activity Pack

Why We LOVE this

Why We Love This:

Cost: SUPER INEXPENSIVE! ONLY $5.00!

*Extremely easy download–after purchase it took me about 2 minutes to complete

*Great for littles (age 2+) all the way through Grade 1

*Multiple Activities! This pack includes coloring pages, mazes, a shamrock craft to create highlighting the Trinity and much more!

 

I've read that everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day, so we show show our lucky side with awesome homemade slime. Our last name is Irish, so of course we had to make a St Patricks Day slime recipe this year. Our St Patricks Day slime is a fun activity for science and sensory play all in one!

Saint Patrick’s Day Slime!  

What’s more fun than creating slime? It’s an activity EVERYONE LOVES!  FOUR SIMPLE recipes to do so!  This awesome website: Little bits for Little Hands gives you the run down: https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/st-patricks-day-slime-recipe-holiday-sensory-play/

This awesome site gives you four different ways to create that “can’t get enough of” slime!

  1. Fluffy Slime with shaving cream
  2. Borax Slime!
  3. Liquid Starch Slime!
  4. Saline Solution Slime!

Below are the recipes provided on Little Bins for Little Hands:

 

Oh My-O-Organizing! Organizing on a Budget–and it’s awesome.

 

 

 
Most Popular Toys

REAL organizing on a budget!


Holidays have well been over and all of your festive decorations, may or may not  be fully put away (I STILL have some lights on a random bush outside). However, your organizing train has come to a full on hault due to one realization-your toy collection has grown and, unfortunately, your home has not. Tired of stepping on trains, legos, cars, dolls, and, well, everything BUT your kitchen floor? Think you need a good amount of moo-lah to organize your kids stuff? Think again! Below, we outline one of the easiest, budget friendly, kid friendly ways to organize all of those little toys that puncture your feet, eat up space and, otherwise, MIGHT make you slightly insane on a daily basis.

Organize it ALL-BUT FIRST A QUICK SIDE NOTE:

As you may or may not know, I started a “organize, don’t fear the New Year”  post right on New Year’s Day. If you’ve also been following me, you’ve also noticed  that almost two months have past and that subject has seem to gone to the crickets. No worries, unlike most gym memberships,I haven’t forgotten that resolution (I recently read that 80-90% of resolutions are lost in February…hmmm). Either way, in this organizing endeavor, I managed to leak my organizing ambitions down the stairs in an effort to straighten out the great toy catastrophe throughout my home.

Organization Inspiration-FOUND!

We visit our local library anywhere between two to three times a week and  I’m always so impressed with the colorful layout, carefully marked bins and the overall organized “feel” of the environment inside of their children’t room. I was so inspired by this organization (and why shouldn’t it be…they have like 12 staff members to manage it and label it everyday) that I decided to duplicate it in our very own home!  In thinking about how this might look in our home, I took a step back at what made this children’s room space so successful and I determine that the space had:

  1. The toys were categorized-Legos, Cars, Maker Space etc, were kept together.
  2. Labels were on EVERYTHING.
  3. The categorized toys had a space to be placed after play.

From there, I came up with three “must-haves”  to reclaim our own home-space:

  • Must be visible for the kids to access.
  • Must have labels for our kids to recognize and organize.
  • Needs to have it’s own space away from our living area.

After assessing what I liked about this space and figured out what we needed so that a small portion of my sanity could return.. I moved on.

Oh-but there was STILL one issue…my wallet was a little light. EEEK.

On a Budget? You Can STILL Organize!

So being the determined mama/parent that I’m certain most of you are, I wasn’t going to let a “little” thing like money get in the way of regaining my home after the holiday toy rush. So, I started looking around my home for ideas-ways to get around spending more than, let’s say 30 bucks. Low and behold, I found baskets and from there, I developed our very own labeling and categorizing system so amazing, that our kids wanted in on the fun! Get this…I was so low on cash that I couldn’t even grab ink for our printer. No ink? NO PROBLEM? Does everything “Martha Stewart” or Pinterest worthy have to be printed? Well, I say thee “nay”!

What you need: (FYI–it’s NOT mind blowing-you have all or most of these!) (affiliate links below)

 

  • Markers–really–you know you have at LEAST three colors laying around somewhere midst the mess.
  • Baskets, old shoe boxes, anything to store the STUFF in. Remember-it’s not about  of Parents Magazine…it should be neat. FOR YOU.
  • Tape or Velcro
  • Sheet Protectors….ok…this is one you MAY NOT have laying around your house–BUT to be fair–you could go online here or to any local big box store and spend…MAYBE 10 BUCKS to grab them. Worth it so you won’t have to relabel.

 

Organizing is so fun with everyone!

We started by organizing each category of toy into large piles: Matchbox cars here, Legos there, trains over there. Then we started creating labels for each basket. I WILL tell you, I need to get MORE of those baskets! I DO love them and, with a coupon, they are about $5.00-6.00 each. You can find them at Michael’s Craft store or really any craft store. I recommend checking locally so you can avoid any possible additional cost.

Below is the end result!

BONUS: We made the labels a learning tool as well for our littlest reader in-training…adding the uppercase and lowercase letters to each label).

 

 

Pin-worthy Budget Friendly Organizing!

Overall, super excited and they are adorable. These baskets fit nicely in a larger cubby or right under a table (we slide ours right under the train table after the kiddos are done playing!)