Use Those Felt Scraps: Totally Not Scary Monster Puppets for Kids

Halloween monsters! Spooky! Um, now your 4-year-old is in tears. She’s not exactly ready for the fill-on ghoulishly scary experience that comes along with this holiday. That’s okay. This kids’ craft felt art activity is far from the walking dead, vampires and chainsaw-wielding maniacs that spook their ways through horror flicks.

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So, this started with scraps. We’ve got crazy amounts of craft felt. I’m a fan of DIY felt boards, so the leftovers tend to pile up. Actually, I stash them away in a baggie, tuck them into the craft bin and usually forget all about them. What happens? I end up with a ridiculous number of felt-filled baggies.

The problem with using the scraps is that they tend to be oddly shaped. There were no circles to add on as faces or roof-shaped triangles to make houses. What to do with these bits and pieces?

Well, instead of tossing them (awfully wasteful, right?) they became sweet—not scary—monsters. Yep, your child can turn a bag, handful or a few felt scraps into perfectly adorable Halloween monster puppets. Oh yeah, you might need a few other things too.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        Felt scraps

·        Scissors

·        Clear-drying school glue

·        Googley eyes (I prefer a variety of sizes)

·        Thick craft sticks

Here’s What to Do:

1. Trim the scraps. Or not. It depends on what your child wants to do. She can use the scissors to create any sizes and shapes she wants.

 

2. Glue the scraps onto the tops of the craft sticks. Layer and overlap them to create hairy-looking Halloween monsters!

 

 

3. Glue the eyes onto the felt. Your child can use one giant eye or glue a group of differently sized eyes on.

 

That’s it. Well, of course, your child needs to let the glue dry. After it’s completely dry, she can play with the monster puppets. She can create her own stories or act out a monstrous tale. Don’t stop at one puppet, make a few too!

This is also an easy option for a Halloween or birthday party. Simply set out the scraps on a table and let the kiddos glue away. Use a permanent marker to write each child’s name on their puppet’s craft stick (a washable marker will run when your child holds the puppet by the handle).

You can also pack up the very few materials (felt, eyes and sticks), and put them into baggies to use later on. Easily stash the kids’ craft in your bag and bring it to grandma’s, on vacation or anywhere else!

Halloween Monster Kids' Peg Doll Art Activity

Your kids are all about crafting for Halloween. But, those super scary monsters aren’t exactly a great match for your preschooler. Neither are spooky spiders or ghoulish ghosts. That’s okay. These peg doll monsters are cutely creative—without any of the “Boo!” factor.

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Honestly, this kids’ art activity came from the fact that we had an awful lot of pegs sitting around. After making a batch of peg dolls with removable modeling clay hair (and simple pipe cleaner clothes), I just put the unused materials (pegs) away.

Now that it’s almost Halloween, those plain ‘ol pegs are getting some use. This art activity lets your child learn about colors (and color mixing!), explore the artistic process, get creative and create a totally usable toy.

 

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        Wooden pegs (peg dolls)

·        Tempera paint

·        Clear-drying school glue

·        Googley eyes

Here’s What to Do:

1. Pour the paint into pools on a palette. You can also use thick cardboard or do what I do and use wax paper. The wax paper is inexpensive (and you probably already have it in your kitchen) and provides a barrier in between the paint and your table. Use as many colors as your child wants. You can choose a rainbow of hues or just go with the primaries (red, blue and yellow) for a lesson in color-mixing.

 

2. Roll the pegs through the paint. That’s right—your child is just going to roll them! As she rolls them from color to color the peg dolls will get coated. What’s the result? A rainbow-like swirl. Let your little artist keep going until she wants to stop. It’s okay if the colors mix so much that they turn into a muddy brown or tan. The important part of this is that your child gets to have fun exploring the color-mixing process. And bonus, she’s also building fine motor skills too!

3. Let the paint dry completely.

 

4. Glue the googley eyes on. Your child can glue one pig eye on each doll’s head or glue a monstrous number of eyes all over the doll. Let the glue dry before your child plays with the dolls.

This also makes an easy (and creatively fun) addition to a kids’ Halloween party. Set up paint stations, hand out the pegs and let the kids roll away! If you don’t have to time during the party, make a few beforehand to hand out as favors or use as decorations.

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!

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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
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DIY Rainbow Building Blocks

Building blocks don’t always have to be wooden or plastic. This STEAM activity proves just that! Last week we made geometric shape stampers out of kitchen sponges for paint printing (and color-mixing!). Instead of tossing the sponges out after the art activity was done, we’ll show you how your child can keep on using them.

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Okay, so the obvious continued use for the stampers is to reuse them. Stash them in a container and take them out to use next time your child wants to make some art. But, we’ll show you another way that your kiddo can play with them.

How? This is where the building blocks come in. After the painting is done (and completely dry), your child can turn the sponges into rainbow-colored blocks. This activity isn’t just artsy, it helps your child to build fine motor and math skills. She’ll also have to use her critical thinking skills to balance the shapes and stack them – without everything falling down.

Even though I just said that you should wait for the paint to dry, you can turn this activity into (very) messy play. Instead, start building with the paint still wet! Not only is this messy play, but it's a completely creative STEAM activity too.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        Kitchen sponges

·        Tempera paint

·        Wax paper

·        Scissors

Here’s What to Do:

1. Create geometric shape stampers. Read this how-to for more information. If you haven’t made the stampers already, you’ll need to cut the sponges into shapes, and then…

2. Pour the paint into pools on the wax paper. The wax paper protects your work surface and acts as a palette (just less expensive). Try the primary colors (red, yellow and blue) and white. Your little artist can mix them into a rainbow of hues with the sponges. Coat the sponges completely. Your child can press the sponges down to make a few prints now too!

 

3. Let the paint dry. Or, don’t – if you want a messy art play activity!

 

4. Start stacking. Your child can build a tower, a wall or anything else she can think up. Add more sponge shapes to the mix to create an entire pretend play world.

5. Take the sponges down and repeat – but, with different designs (in other words, encourage your child to build something different).

Keep in mind, your child doesn’t necessary have to build upwards. She can keep the design flat, and put the sponges together in patterns or puzzle-style on a piece of cardboard too!

How To Make Underwater Ocean Slime

You’re wondering how to make slime. Well, there are loads and loads of recipes out there. My favorite is a simple glue, water and liquid starch mix up. With that in mind, we’re making underwater ocean exploration goo!

I’m a fan of slime-making. Why? It’s science, it’s artsy (or, at least it can be – depending on what you add in) and even my 14-year-old thinks it’s cool. If you don’t have a teen yet, believe me when I say that anything a ninth grader still thinks is cool – IS COOL.

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Maybe it’s that summer is about to begin or maybe it’s the constant blasting of Finding Dory ads. But, in any case, we’re going into the sea with this how to make slime recipe. We’ve made the ooey gooey science-y stuff with red, white and blue glitter, planets, feathers, disco ball-colored glitter and even with an alien theme.

 This version uses glitter (again) as the base color. Why? Well, you can color your slime with lots of stuff, such as food coloring or powdered paints. Even though I don’t mind walking around with robin egg blue hands after a session of food coloring an art project, not everyone is so keen on using a paint-like additive. Glitter, on the other hand (pun intended), won’t stain your hands like food coloring does. And, if you’re super-worried about the sparkly stuff getting everywhere, keep this in mind – the recipe calls for a heavy amount of glue. That means the sparkles get caught more in the slimy mix than they do on your table, chair, rug, hands, hair or anything else.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        1/3 cup of clear Elmer’s glue (not the white school glue, but the clear school glue)

·        1/3 cup of water

·        1/3 cup liquid starch

·        Fine blue glitter (you can also add in a pinch of very light green to get an aqua hue)

·        Modeling clay (in a few different colors)

Here’s What to Do:

1. Measure the glue and water. Pout into a plastic bowl and mix together.

2. Measure and add the liquid starch.

3. Stir the mixture together. Put it on a sheet of wax paper, so that it doesn't stick to the surface underneath (and it will help to collect the extra glitter in the next step). It kind of looks like a jellyfish!

4. Coat the outside of your slime ball with the glitter.

5. Knead the glitter in. Add some more sparkles until the mix becomes sea blue all the way through.

6. Sculpt small underwater sea creatures. Use the modeling clay to make fish, an octopus, a whale, sharks or any other ocean animals. If your child isn’t sure what to make, grab a book about the ocean. Some titles to try are:

·        National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of the Ocean

·        Simon & Schuster Children’s Guide to Sea Creatures

·        Weird Sea Creatures

·        Amazing Giant Sea Creatures

·        Oceans: Dolphins, sharks, penguins, and more!

7. Add the sea creatures to the slime and play away!

 

Honeycomb Chore Chart Kids' Craft

That sad little chore chart hanging on your kitchen cork board has spaghetti sauce stains down the side and is looking more than weathered. The kids ignore it, and you feel like it’s become a random sticker repository. That said, you can’t give up on it.

It’s the 53^rd time that you’ve asked at least one of your kids to please pick up the abandoned tower of puzzles that have taken over the family room corner, you’ve got a stack of socks that could really use sorting and no one wants to help dad weed the garden. Nix the notion to nag, and get artsy instead! How? Gather the gang around the glue and craft up a honeycomb chore ‘chart’. Even though it’s technically not a chart, this sculptural storage stasher lets the kids get creative and experience a chore list through a very different lens.

Here’s What You’ll need:

·        Reused cardboard tubes (you know you’ve got bushels of them leftover from spills, splashes and your toddler’s try at ‘cooking’)

·        Scissors

·        Tempera paint

·        A paintbrush

·        Clear-drying glue (or a hot glue gun that you – not your child – use)

·        Foam core board (every craft store stocks this thick, spongy-middled board)

·        Paper

·        Markers

Here’s What to Do:

1. Press the first paper towel tube flat. The more tubes that you use, the bigger the chore honeycomb becomes.

2. Cut the paper towel tubes into four or five pieces each.

3. Fluff the tube pieces, making oval shapes.

4. Paint the outside, inside and edges of the tube pieces. Use a brush or let your little artist finger paint them. Give the cardboard one to two hours to dry completely.

5. Draw a shape onto the foam core board, sizing it to fit your needs. If you have one child or not many chores, make a smaller board. If you’ve got a bigger brood or chores galore, cut a larger one. Make a geometric shape, go with a free form or devise a theme (for example, make a cloud shape for a spring rainbow theme or a honey pot for a summer bee focus). Cut the shape out.

6. Start arranging your honeycomb on the board. Glue the bottoms of the tube pieces to the cut foam core. Attach each piece of cardboard to the one next to it with more glue – making a honeycomb. Snuggle each piece in next to the other, creating a tight pattern. If the regular glue doesn’t stick, use a few dabs of hot glue (adults only).

Hang the board up. Use self-adhesive velcro or punch a hole at the top of the board, thread yarn through it and tie it to a wall hook.  Write down your chores on pieces of paper. Roll the paper up and put it in the honeycomb holes. Voila! Now you’ve got a cool chore chart that the kids can pick from as the week goes along. The crafty creativeness of this activity beats a plain old paper list, a chalk board check-off or the sound of your pleas.

Are you looking for more creative and crafty kids’ ideas? Check out my Pinterest board!

 

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Tu B'Shevat Tree Kids' Clay Craft

Tu B’Shevat marks the ‘new year’ for trees. This might not be the best-known of the Jewish holidays, but it’s one that I always remember.

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Every year we got to ‘plant’ trees in Israel. By plant, I mean we filled out a form, made a donation and a tree was planted in our names. I remember daydreaming about visiting my mini field of trees – that never happened. But, in celebration of Tu B’Shevat your child can grow her own forest.

Ok, not really. But, she can make her own trees out of modeling clay and ‘plant’ them in some more clay. Your child can sculpt a grove of flowering trees, fruit trees or imaginative make-believe trees that have wild colors, bold patterns and swirls of hues. This also provides you with an opportunity to talk to your child about plant science and the growing cycle. Ask her where trees come from and what they need to grow.

We have somewhat of a stockpile of broken boards at our house (a side effect of seven years of karate). Instead of letting them pile up in the basement, I like to use them for art activities. For this one, we reused a board as the forest floor base. If you don’t have a board, don’t worry. You can use thick cardboard instead (e.g., the side of an old moving box).

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        A piece of wood or cardboard (it must be flat, but can be any size you want)

·        Modeling clay

·        Thin wooden pegs (you can find these online or at most craft stores)

·        Tempera paint

·        A paintbrush

Here’s What to Do:

1. Paint the pegs. Your child can paint a realistic-looking brown trunk or opt for something colorful and out-of-the-ordinary. Let the paint dry completely.

2. Finger paint the board with clay. Tear apart dime-sized pieces of clay and spread it (like finger painting) across the surface. It will stick. Make hills or mounds with the clay to push the peg trees through. Your child can create a topographical type of ‘map’ on the wood or make an imaginary area in a rainbow of colors.

3. Sculpt tree tops. Ball up green clay (or a mix of colors). Press it onto the top of the peg. Your child needs to experiment with the weight of the clay in order to find out how much she can put on top of the peg. Add too much and it won’t be easy to anchor the peg into the clay base. Add too little and the tree may look somewhat sparse. Your child can also add on flowers or fruit using smaller pieces of clay.

4. Press the bottom of the peg tree trunk into the clay base. Repeat for other Tu B’Shevat trees.

Let’s recap: What did your child just learn/develop?

·        Culture: The Jewish holiday Tu B’Shevat (the new year for trees).

·        Science: Biology (the growing cycle) and physics (the effect that gravity has on a weighty peg). If you’re reusing wood or cardboard, your child is also learning about the environment.

·        Fine motor: Painting and playing with clay build dexterity and eye-hand coordination.

·        Art: Colors, shapes and exploring materials.

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

 

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Blue Raspberry Scented Playdough Recipe

DIY playdough is fun enough as is, but add a scent to it and it’s even more of a sensory experience. Making your own sculpt dough isn’t exactly Earth-shattering, ground-breaking art. I’m still pretty much using the same recipe that I started using years ago in my pre-mom days when I used to teach preschoolers.

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There are two things that I can’t stand about this playdough recipe: 1. The smell (it’s from the flour and cream of tartar), and 2. The color (again, from the flour). I’ve added berries, glitter and more to make the dough more likeable (at least, to me). My son truly enjoyed the berry version. That was in part due to the fact that it came out looking like a Halloween brain mush.

This time we’re adding blue raspberry Kool-Aid. It’s my favorite flavor. Why? Because no raspberry was ever electric blue in nature. Also, I adore that ‘blue’ in itself is a flavor. The scent truly covers up the playdoughy smell and makes the color much more – well, colorful!

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        2 ½ cups water

·        2 ½ cups flour

·        3-5 tablespoons vegetable oil

·        1 ½ tablespoons cream of tartar

·        1 cup salt

·        1 package ‘blue’ drink mix powder

Here’s What to Do:

1.     Mix all of the ingredients in a big bowl. Mix the powdered drink with the water first.

 

2.     Cook the mix on the stove over a medium heat. Stir it often. If the watery part of the dough starts to boil, turn the heat down and stir it a bit more.
 

3.     Continue heating and stirring until you only have dough left (i.e., no water).

4.     Spoon the dough into a bowl and let it cool.
 

Now it’s ready for mashing, smashing, rolling, tossing and of course – smelling!

Are you looking for more playdough recipes? Follow my Pinterest board for ideas!

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