Make Your Mark With This Awesome New Kids' Activity eBook!

I’m so excited to be part of an amazing new book, Make Your Mark! Seriously, I’m not just saying it’s amazing because I’m in it. It really, truly is. Make Your Mark is a book about creative writing, confidence, compassion and caring – and all for kids! Okay, so it’s you (the adult) who is going to read it. But, it’s your little one who will totally benefit from the activities inside.

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

What kinds of kids’ activities will you find? Make Your Mark is filled with 30+ projects. These will help your child to develop a love of writing early on. From creative storytelling to building self-confidence and compassion, this book goes deep and helps your child to learn on many different levels.

 

The activities are an array of ideas, featuring play, art, language, writing and more. Whether it’s making a first mark through art, using pens and brushes to make more complex marks or igniting inspiration through storytelling, you’ll find plenty of ideas and activities for your young child to try out. These include:

·        Art

·        Writing trays

·        Finger gyms (and other fine motor play ideas)

·        Interview activities

·        Kindness activities

·        Collaborative projects

·        Printables

 

This is a perfect way to help your young child develop early literacy skills, build social abilities and improve her emotional awareness. One of the things that I enjoy most about this book is that there’s an awesome array of ideas included. There isn’t just one “right way” to help your kiddo to develop early literacy abilities. Some kids learn by keeping their hands busy, while others like to look at pictures and print (and these are only two examples of the many ways in which people learn). Giving your child choices and having a variety of activities on hand makes it easier to match your little learner’s individual development with educational options.

 

Make Your Mark is for sale starting Friday December 9^th. There is a special launch price for the month of December – in other words, buy it this month to save your hard-earned money! The launch special price is $11.25. That’s a 25% savings, no discount code needed (all you have to do is buy the book before December 31, 2016). After December, the ebook will available for the regular price of $14.99. So, why wait? Get your copy right now!

 

 

 

 

Buy it worldwide for instant download

This is an ebook, which means you will be sent a link that allows you to download a PDF containing the ebook and all the resources. You can save it to your computer or iPad* and then either read it on screen or print some/all of the pages, as you prefer.

You can buy the ebook wherever you are in the world. You pay via PayPal, which will take care of any currency conversion for you. The ebook costs US$ 14.99.

*You can buy the ebook now, on any device, and then download it when you are ready. Depending on the apps you have installed and your operating system, you might be able to download the ebook on your mobile device. However if you have any doubts or problems, I recommend you use a computer to download the book and then share it to your mobile devices. You will be sent download instructions when your purchase the ebook.

The Make Your Mark 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 Make Your Mark ebook is protected under copyright © 2016. All rights reserved.

 

Kids' Painting Art Activities: Without a Brush!

Kids’ painting art activities require a brush, right? Not always! Sometimes it’s entirely possible to help your child get as crafty as she wants, without a store-bought ‘painting tool’.

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

Okay, so you went out and bought a crazy-big pack of paintbrushes. You’re set! Or not. In something like 30 seconds your preschooler turned those brand new brushes into much-covered, crusty, sticky things that barely resemble anything that could be used for art-making. The bristles are bent and matted together, making it awesomely difficult to actually use them for anything at all.

It happens. A lot. When I taught children’s art classes, I was constantly helping the kids to keep their brushes in working order (obviously the museum where I worked frowned upon buying a constant stream of new ones). But, younger children always seem to have the desire to mash, smash and generally smush brushes onto paper. And, sometimes you’d rather let your little artist explore and experiment with painting art activities than sit next to him and say, “Please don’t break the brush.”

So, if you don’t have a brush left (and your child really wants to paint) or you’re just looking for something different to do – try this easy recycled option! Seriously. It’s low-cost and helps your child to get even more creative. He’ll have to figure out how to use the items that you’re giving him to create his artsy masterpiece! Your child will also get a fine motor workout (using the different materials to paint requires him to move his fingers and hands in different ways). If you do have one of those super-sticky brushes, you can also toss that into the mix. Why? Your child can use the other end (the handle end) to create paint-covered point prints or even roll the entire length of the brush (the handle and all) through the paint to make lines.

Now, on to the art activity…

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        Paper (we used card stock, but you could also use construction paper or poster board)

·        Scraps (really, any left-over art item—such as fabric, felt, tissue, cut pipe cleaners, cardboard, paper)

·        Tempera paint

·        Scissors

Here’s What to Do:

1. Gather the scraps together. Your child can cut some of them into smaller sizes (if needed). He can also crumble pieces of paper or bend pipe cleaners, making new shapes to paint with!

2. Pour the paint onto a palette. If you don’t have an actual palette, use a piece of thick cardboard or wax paper as an easy (and totally affordable) alternative. Use a rainbow of colors or create a color-mixing kids’ art activity by choosing only the primaries (red, blue and yellow).

3. Give your child a piece of paper to paint on. He can dab the scraps into the tempera, and then press them down onto the paper. He makes ‘brushstrokes’ with fabric, prints with pipe cleaners or anything else he can think up!

Don’t worry if your child isn’t painting ‘something’. Encourage him to explore the process of painting. Doing so lets him make his own discoveries, while getting creative!

 

Kids' Goal Setting Art Activity: Christmas Tree Ornament Craft

Do you need a class Christmas or holiday activity for your students? This goal-setting holiday tree is super-simple to create, lets kids get crafty and helps them to take ownership of themselves while looking towards the future.

I teach a children’s martial arts class, and setting goals is par for the course. Whether it’s something immediate or something more long term (such as passing a belt test), creating a goal is a step that every child needs to know. It helps the child to focus and, when the child meets the goal, gives him a true sense of pride in accomplishment.

But, simply saying, “Let’s set a goal!” doesn’t always work for every child. Some kids, especially younger ones (in kindergarten and younger), may have difficulty understanding the concept. With the holidays coming up I decided to take the goal-setting concept and make it a bit more concrete. I asked each child to make a paper Christmas ornament for the ‘Goal Tree’. You can easily adapt this project for any kind of class (preschool, elementary school or an extracurricular or arts class). This activity also works for sports teams or for parents at home.

What’s a ‘Goal Tree’? Easy – it’s a Christmas tree that is entirely decorated with the children’s goals. I started with paper ornaments. Simple circles with “My goal is…” on one side. You can download and print them here:

 

Print the ornaments to whatever size you need. I used different colors of paper that corresponded to my students' belt colors, but you can go with traditional Christmas red and green, a wintery snow white or any other hue that you'd like. After talking about what a goal is, the kids wrote their picks under, “My goal is…” They drew a picture of the goal on the other side. Next, we threaded yarn through a hold punched at the top and hung the artwork on the tree (we got a mini Charlie Brown-looking tree).

 

The plan is for the children to take home their ornaments before the holiday break. They can also use them for New Year’s, turning their ornament goals into next year’s objectives.

 

Even though our goals seemed to focus on karate (I told the children that they could pick any goal), your students’ can revolve around anything that you chose. Some ideas include goals for at home (such as be a better brother or listen to mom and dad more), school (e.g., get better grades, pass every spelling test or pay attention to the teacher) or other areas (be a better friend or help others more often). Encourage the children to get creative with their goals. Keep in mind, social and behavioral goals are equally as important as the academic ones.

 If you want to keep the 'Christmas' theme out, you can simply call this a goal tree or holiday tree. You can swap in a large potted plant or your own sculptural tree for a pine.

Are you looking to add some creativity to your classroom? Want a few art activities for the kids to try out? Follow my Pinterest board for ideas galore!

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Thanksgiving Table Toppers Kids' Art Activity, With Turkeys!

Thanksgiving table toppers range from perfectly pricey little pieces to handmade (or rather, kid-made) creations. When my son was younger we used to make crafty little place cards, napkin rings and other holiday accessories every year. These turkey-themed notecards are a favorite.



Not only does this Thanksgiving art activity result in a cute little craft that helps you set the holiday table, but it also gives the kiddos something to do while you prep for a mega meal. Gather the family in the kitchen and start the crafting as you prep for Thanksgiving dinner. This gives you the chance to supervise the kids and join in on the art-making too! Assign each child a family member or guest to create for. Even if there are only three of you having a family meal, your little artist can still craft up a card for you or your spouse.

And now, on to the art…

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        8x10-inch card stock paper – choose any color that you and your child want

·        Craft felt sheets – in a few different colors

·        A marker

·        Scissors

·        Googley eyes

·        Clear-drying school glue

Here’s What to Do:

1. Position the card stock paper vertically. Fold the paper from the top to the bottom.

2. Cut the paper at the fold. Now you have two cards for two different family members or guests.

3. Fold one of the card stock pieces in half (from top to bottom), making a tent shape.

4. Cut two circles from one of the felt sheets. Make one bigger than the other (both need to fit on the front of the folded card). The smaller circle is the turkey’s head, and the bigger one is its body.

5. Cut ‘feathers’ from other colors of felt. Have your child draw and cut oval shapes.

6. Glue the feathers to the front of the card, making a fan. Overlap the edges a bit.

7. Glue the turkey’s body onto the center of the feathers. Add the smaller circle (with glue) to the top.

8. Draw and cut a small triangle from another piece of card stock paper to make a beak. Glue the beak to the turkey’s face.

9. Add two googley eyes with glue.

10. Write the guest’s name onto another piece of card stock with a marker. Cut the name out, making a circle shape.

11. Glue the name to the center of the turkey.

Hey wait! Your child didn’t just make a cutesy craft, she also got in a bit of learning. She explored geometry (the turkey’s shapes), puzzled together pieces while learning about the part-to-whole relationship (when she put together the turkey) and even got in a mini writing lesson.

Are you looking for another Thanksgiving art activities for the kids? Follow my holiday Pinterest board for ideas!

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How-To Craft a 3D Boat Model for Kids

When my son came home from school telling me that he had to build a 3D boat model for social studies class I have to admit I was a bit giddy. Why? Because he’s 14-years-old now and anything having to do with art or crafting is apparently majorly uncool in his teenage brain.

After spending the last decade or so teaching children’s art programs it sometimes pains me that my son is so uninterested in anything having to do with art. I miss those days when he’d come to work with me, look at artwork on view at the museum and actually enjoy all of the painting, gluing and clay play that we did. But, not every child enjoys art – and so I let it go. As you can imagine, getting to spend a Sunday afternoon with my Xbox-playing teen doing anything that involved art was super-fun for me. Even though he’d never admit it, I know he had fun too!

So, here’s the art-making. His goal: To make a ship. Our materials: Reused paper products (mostly). You don’t have to have a teen to make this kids’ ship craft. It’s not difficult, and you can easily adapt it to other ages.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        Two cardboard juice pouch boxes – We chose these boxes because they are the perfect shape and have ready-made folds and perforations that are just-right.

·        Markers

·        Card stock paper

·        Popsicle sticks

·        A plastic bendy straw

·        Scissors

·        Thick packing tape

·        Clear-drying school glue

Here’s What to Do:

1.     Open one of the boxes and flatten it on your work surface.

2.     Draw the ship shape onto the top panel. Make the bottom of the boat the fold.

3.     Flip the cardboard around (not over) and draw the ship shape again on what is now the new top panel.

4.     Cut out the drawing. You’ll need to leave the top and bottom ship shapes connected by what was the bottom of the box. When your child gets to the sides he can cut tabs in the cardboard.

5.     Fold the ship. Basically, your child is just reassembling the box (but, inside out).

6.     Tape the tabs together on the sides.

7.     Make a second layer to use as the ship’s deck. Cut the bottom of the other box out. Because the boxes are the same size, if your child cuts the cardboard slightly thinner it will fit perfectly. Leave the sides attached to make tabs.

8.     Push the deck into the boat. Wrap the tabs around the sides of the boat (the first tabs that your child taped). Tape them together.

9.     Cut sails from the card stock paper. Tape them to craft sticks (we made two).

10. Push the craft sticks through the deck’s cardboard. The boxes that we used had perfectly sized perforations. If yours doesn’t, use the scissors to make slits. Your child can also glue a few left over craft sticks to the sides of the boat.

11.   Tape the straw to the front of the boat (you can also add one at the back too). Cut the straw a few inches down. Bend it and tape the bendy part under the ship’s deck.

12.   Add flags and sails to the straw to complete the 3D boat model!

Are you looking for more kids’ crafts? Follow my Pinterest board for ideas!

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Yom Kippur Shofar Kids' Craft

The Jewish High Holidays are coming up. Recently I posted a Rosh Hashanah Tzedakah Box kids’ craft on Multicultural Kid Blogs. Today I’m bring you a Yom Kippur kids’ craft.

The Day of Atonement is a reflective time, when you take stock of the last year and ‘atone’ for you sins. The shofar, or ram’s horn, is part of the Yom Kippur temple/synagogue service (as it is for Rosh Hashanah as well). The shofar is blown at the conclusion of the service.

Your child can craft his own version of a shofar -- minus the real ram’s horn. Reuse an old cardboard paper towel tube (or cut a gift wrap tube down to size) as the base for this holiday project.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        1 cardboard tube – paper towel size

·        Scissors

·        Clear packing tape or masking tape

·        Tempera paint

·        A paintbrush

Here’s What to Do:

1.     Cut the tube all the way from the bottom to the top. This will be lengthwise.
 

2.     Wrap the tube into a thin cone shape. Your child should start at the bottom, folding on end of the cut cardboard over the other. The tube will naturally start forming a cone.
 

3.     Tape the bottom of the cardboard shofar. Your child can hold the tube together and you can tape or vice versa.
 

4.     Tape the top of the cone. Also add a strip of tape up the seam if needed.

5.     Paint the outside of the cone. As your child paints he’ll need to hold the cone upright. If not the paint will rub off on the table or whatever surface he is using. You can help out and hold the cardboard as he paints away. Another option is to paint one side/part and then weight the cardboard with a rock inside of the tube. When that part dries, turn the tube and repeat on the other side.
 

6.     Let the paint dry completely.
 

Use the Yom Kippur shofar for pretend play. Be careful and make sure that your child doesn’t accidentally eat the paint on the end of the shofar. Discuss not actually touching the cardboard to his mouth, and pretending to do so instead.

This post is part of Multicultural Kid Blogs' series on the Jewish High Holidays. Click on the picture below to see some of the other super-creative posts by the other bloggers who are participating!

Alphabet Book-Making Kids' Craft

Who wants to make a fine motor skill-building alphabet book? Here’s the inspiration behind this kids’ craft: When my son was in kindergarten his teacher made him (and the other students) sit and write letter after letter as a way of building fine motor skills and learning the alphabet. When he got home from his brief half-day of school he had homework. To sit and write more letters – over and over and over and over again. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t anywhere near fun. It wasn’t even in the same zip code as fun.

I’m not saying that all learning has to be fun. But, why go only with rote work at such a young age? Yes, I get the educational rationale behind what my son’s teacher was doing. That said, the end result wasn’t that he learned his letters (he had actually mastered the alphabet in preschool) or that his penmanship grew to become perfect. What was the result? He began to hate school. At 5-years-old he hated school. That just shouldn’t happen. If your child isn’t into the rote work, you can always add a bit of creativity into his home learning. This doesn’t mean that you have to home school. Just add a few extra lessons during the course of your day, week or month.

Book-making is a favorite kids’ art activity of mine. This one helps your child to build fine motor skills and learn letters – all without writing them over and over again. It’s also reusable, so it’s not a onetime deal. It’s built out of other school supplies. If you happen to have some extra folders (or other school supplies) left over, you can use these for this project.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        A plain manila folder – It can be any color of paper folder.

·        Clear/clear colored folder dividers

·        Construction paper

·        Pipe cleaners

·        Scissors

·        A hole punch

·        A marker

·        Felt/fabric scraps

·        Modeling clay

·        Optional: Other ‘building’ materials such as twigs, pebbles, beads or anything else that can shape a letter.

Here’s What to Do:

1.     Line the clear dividers up with the folder – making the left edges even.

2.     Punch three holes in the folder where the holes are in the dividers (if your dividers don’t already have pre-made holes, punch them out now).
 

3.     Repeat with the construction paper. You need one clear divider and one piece of paper for each letter.

4.     Stack the alphabet book together with a clear divider on top of each piece of paper.

5.     Cut the pipe cleaner in half. Your child needs three halves.

6.     Thread a pipe cleaner through each set of holes, twisting it together at the ends to bind the book.
 

7.     Starting with the first piece of construction paper, write the letter A. Either you or your child can write the letters, depending where he is with his writing. Make the letters large size and legible.
 

8.     Use the book! Start with the A. Flip the clear sheet over the letter. Your child can build the letter on top of the drawing, with the divider separating it. Use clay, put pieces of felt/fabric together or use another building material. Clear the letter off and repeat for the other ones.

 

Are you looking for more kids’ crafts? Follow my Pinterest board for ideas!

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