Monday, April 20, 2009

APRIL SHOWERS

In the magazine Parenting Early Years April 2009 on pg. 59 it had these fun ideas.

Rainy-day Fun

* puddle jump Go ahead- get wet. Se who can make the biggest splash, jump across the widest puddle, and be the first to fill up her boots.
* create a "tie-dye" craft Do the first part indoors: Grab some coffee filters and have the kids color them with markers (not washable ones), and lay them on a cookie sheet. Then put them outside in the rain and watch the colors run. Bring them inside, and after they dry, the kids can make flowers: Pinch each filter in the middle and twist, then wrap a green pipe cleaner around to make a stem.
* take your kids on a "rescue the worms" walk (You don't have to touch 'em!) Stroll around the neighborhood and let your kids pick them up off the sidewalk and toss them back into the grass. When you're home got Yucky.discovery.com and search for cool info on earthworms.
* do a rainy-day Monet Head outside with some sidewalk chalk. When it's wet, it works almost like paint.
* have a splash Take a bunch of bath toys outdoors- boats, buckets, cups- and play in a puddle, or find a "stream" at the edge of the street (if you live on a safe one) and race a boat against a lightweight ball.
* make a rain chatcher If you just want to stay inside, have your child decorate a two-liter bottle, and measure and mark half-inches with a Sharpie. Then you cut off the top and put it outside a window where you can see it from inside. Set some fun goals: "When it gets to half an inch, we'll play a board game. When it gets to an inch, we'll make cookies...." etc.!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Coloring Easter Eggs

I found these fun ideas for coloring easter eggs on the Better Homes and Garden website, http://www.bhg.com/, hopefully you can try one and it will inspire you to decorate eggs in a whole new way.

Pysanky Eggs:
Pysanky is the Ukranian folk art of waxing and dying easter eggs. To do it just put a pin in the easer of a pencil then use it to dip in the wax and then put on the eggs, then you put it in the dye.
Wax from a crayon works well to if you don't want to work with hot wax.

Candy Eggs:
Take small candy dots and apply them to the egg using a paste made of water and powdered sugar or you can purchase frosting in a can. This gives the dots a 3D effect.

Dots, Dots, Dots:
You can use an easer, a q tip, or a toothpick to put dots on your eggs. Also the toothpick will make flowers. Dip the toothpick in paint 1/4 of the way up the toothpick. Then lay the toothpick on the egg and each time making a petal for the flower.

Stickers:
Put stickers of any shape or letter on your egg before putting it into the dye. When you put it out of the dye take the stickers off, leaving the design behind.

Rubber Bands:
Stretch rubber bands on your eggs before placing it in the dye. When done dying remove rubber bands and drop it in another color to dye.

Bubble Wrap:
Coat the piece of bubble wrap with acrylic paint, then roll the egg over the paint, holding the egg by the ends. Let the paint dry and then repeat with another color.

Aluminum Foil:
First crumple a piece of foil and then uncrumple it. Then coat the foil with acrylic paint. Then gently fold around the egg. Let the paint dry and then repeat the process with another color.

String:
Dip the ends of string in acrylic paint and then sweep the string across the egg. Try different colors of paint and different sizes of string to make different a variety of markings.