Up! eBook Launch: Creative Kids' Building Activities

Everything is looking Up! Yeah, I know – that was super cheesy. But seriously, I’m super-excited to be part of a brand new eBook. And yes, it’s called Up!

(This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure statement for more information).

So, what is this eBook and why do you need it? Up! has 30+ projects that include math, literacy, science art and play – with hands-on activities that help your child to make connections, get creative and ask questions. These activities have been carefully chosen to give you a wide range of explorations, across a variety of content areas, while incorporating play, imagination, math, literacy, sensory experiences and art!

 

Up! Includes activities from some of my favorite bloggers (and myself too!), and comes with 100 printables. The projects included are intended for children ages 4 to 10 years. This isn’t just a resource for moms and dads, it’s also a fantastic lesson planning reference book for early childhood educators. Each activity includes a materials list, step-by-step instructions and fill color photos (for some extra guidance).

What kinds of activities will you find in Up!? Well, there are plenty. You’ll find ideas to set up and develop block play, using blocks for math lessons, shape-building challenges, construction play invitations, art projects (Calder-inspired kinetic models and even upright weaving) and science projects (rockets, airplanes, parachutes, pulleys and more).

Up! launches September 16^th, and is available worldwide for instant download. You pay via PayPal – which means that you can use any currency (and they’ll do the conversion). The price is $14.99. We have a special launch price for you. You’ll receive a 25% discount, that’s $11.25, for the first two weeks (until September 30). This is an eBook, meaning you’ll be sent a link that allows you to download a PDF file containing all of the resources. You can save the file to your computer or iPad. Read it from your device or print out the pages.

 

While you can buy the eBook and download it onto some mobile devices, you may need special apps to do so (and to read it). If you have any doubts as to if your mobile device can handle the PDF, download the file to your computer first and then share it with your smart phone.

The Up! eBook is published and sold by Cathy James at NurtureStore.co.uk. Please direct any customer service queries regarding purchases of the eBook to support@nurturestore.co.uk or refer to the NurtureStore FAQ.


The Up! eBook is protected under
copyright © 2016. All rights reserved.

 

Bat Mobile Halloween Kids' Craft

It’s a bat mobile! No, not the kind that Batman cruises around in. It’s a mobile – with bats. This easy-to-make Halloween craft for kids is super-simple and even teaches a lesson or two about science.

 

How? When the mobile’s complete, use it to discuss physics (yep, physics!) with your child. I’m not talking about the type of science content that was in your senior year physics class. Instead, help your child to explore basic concepts such as gravity and motion.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        Black card stock paper

·        A light-colored crayon

·        Scissors

·        A hole punch

·        Yarn

·        Two straws

Here’s What to Do:

1.     Fold the card stock in half, book style.

2.     Draw the bat. Have your child start at the center and draw half of a bat.

 

3.     Cut the bat out – keeping the paper folded.

4.     Unfold the paper. Like magic, your child has a symmetrical bat.

 

5.     Punch a hole at the top of each bat.

 

6.     Cut pieces of yarn in different lengths.

7.     Tie one piece of yarn through the hole in each bat.

 

8.     Cross two plastic straws, making a plus sign. Weave a piece of yarn around the center (where the two straws cross) and tie the ends.

 

9.     Add another piece of yarn to the center of the straw plus sign. Leave the other end free to tie up the mobile.

10.   Attach the bats to the ends of the straws.

 

11.    Tie the loose end of the center string to a tree limb outside or a post indoors.

 

Physics Lessons for Kids

 

After your child makes the bat mobile, take it outside and tie it to a tree or post. Let the wind work its magic or give the mobile a push. Ask your child, “What happened when the wind or your hand moves the mobile?” or “Does it just swing one way? Why do you think it swings back too?”

Play with weight and move the bats around. Untie a few of the paper flying creatures and move them all to one side. Investigate what happens when the balance changes on the mobile.

Are you looking for more fall art projects? Follow my Pinterest board for ideas!

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Autumn Art: Fall Leaf Mobile

Fall is in the air and it’s time for more autumn art! Earlier in the week I posted a color change leaf activity. I also promised to add on to the paint splatter project. If you didn’t read how to turn green leaves into red, orange and yellow Jackson Pollock style mini masterpieces, go back and check it out right now. Seriously, now. This how-to starts off where that one leaves (no pun intended – well, maybe it is) off.

After your little artist splatters, splishes and spots her way to a few artful autumn leaves, she’s ready to turn them into a marvelous mobile. Before you get into the art-making, take a beat to stop and talk about the science of mobiles. Explore how gravity and motion come into play when your child makes a piece of kinetic art. Ask her a few open-ended questions such as:

·        What do you think will happen to the mobile when the wind blows?

·        If you gently push the mobile, what will happen?

·        Why do you think the mobile moves?

·        Do you think that each side of the mobile will move the same? Why or why not?

·        How can we get the mobile to stay in the air?

After your science talk, it’s time or the art part.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        Your child’s color change paint splatter leaves – make at least four.

·        Two sticks or wooden dowels

·        Yarn

·        Scissors

·        A hole punch

Here’s What to Do:

1.     Punch a hole at one end of each leaf.

2.     Cut a piece if yarn per leaf. Vary the lengths.

3.     Thread a piece of yarn through each leaf. Help your child to tie the ends.

4.     Make a plus sign with the sticks or dowels.

5.     Wrap another piece of yarn around the center of the plus sign. Have your child weave it around the place where the sticks cross in an over-under pattern. Tie the end of the yarn.

6.     Tie each leaf to an end of the plus sign.

7.     Create a hanger. Tie another piece of yarn to the center of the plus sign, leaving the other end loose.

Hang the mobile! Take it outside and hang it from a tree branch to watch it sway in the wind. If the weather gets wet, bring the movable art inside. The tempera on the leaves will run in the rain. Your child can explore and experiment with movement indoors by blowing the fall leaf mobile with her breath or pushing it around with her hands.

Are you looking for more science and art activities? Follow my Pinterest board for ideas!

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Recycled and Reused: Cardboard Tube Mobile

Earth Day is coming up, and it's time for some recycling and reuse kids' art activities! Americans use roughly 69 million tons of paperboard and paper products each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. When I think about my own trash, I bet that a large percentage of that figure contains empty cardboard tubes. When the toilet paper or paper towels are all used up, that cardboard roll’s job is over. Instead of tossing it, breathe new life into the cardboard and repurpose it as an art material.

Cardboard tubes are open-ended enough (and, literally too!) to make multitudes of crafty creations and kids' art activities. One of my favorites is the cardboard tube (that sounds better than empty toilet paper roll) mobile. Not only does this activity get the kids’ creativity flowing, but it adds in a bonus lesson in science (you can explore how the weather affects the mobile if you hang it outside or look at the role that gravity plays on the rolls).

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·         Two to four or more cardboard tubes

·         Scissors

·         Tempera paints

·         Paintbrush

·         Two sticks, wooden dowels or plastic straws

·         Yarn or thin ribbon

·         Hole punch

Here’s What to Do:

1.      Pour golf ball-sized pools of tempera paints onto a paper plate or art palette.

2.      Give your little one a paintbrush (or let her use her fingers) to paint the tubes. Go with solid colors or add stripes, polka dots or a swirly mixed-up pattern. Let the tubes dry completely.

3.      Help your child to make new shapes out of the old cardboard tubes using kids’ safety scissors. Cut slits in the sides and fold the tube accordion style or start at the bottom and create a spiral cut all of the way to the top.

4.      Punch a hole at the top of each tube shape.

5.      Tie a piece of yarn or thin ribbon through each hole. Our child can thread it through on her own, but you may need to help her make the knot. If she’s an older preschooler, use this opportunity to teach her how to tie a bow (just like on her shoe laces).

6.      Ask your child to make a plus sign or an X with the sticks/dowels/straws. Help her to tie them together in the center with yarn or ribbon. She’ll need to weave the yarn around the center of the sticks to hold them in place (going over, under, over, under).

7.      Using the free end of the yarn/ribbon, help your child to tie each cardboard tube to one end of the plus sign.

 

8.      Wrap another piece of yarn or string around the center of the plus sign. Leave the other end free, using it to hang the mobile up.

Are you looking for more creative kids' crafts? Follow my Pinterest board for art ideas!

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