Happy Pizza Party Day!

Tomorrow is National Pizza Party Day so why not kick it off with some cooking fun! Make some wee english muffin pizzas!

What you need:
*english muffins split
*shredded cheese of your choice
*tomato paste
*olive oil
*fresh veggies
*salt, pepper & other seasonings like oregano and garlic

scrumdilly-do it:

Set out all the ingredients in a fun and nifty manner because we all know that cute sells and what better way to get yer wee ones to expirement with flavors than to prettify the veggies and such? You can prechop for yer wee ones or pick veggies that are easy to chop. Plastic knives will slice mushrooms just dandy and cherry tomatoes only need to be halved!

Drizzle a little bit of oilive oil onto each muffin half and spread, add a dollop of tomato paste and let your kidlets spread it around with a plastic knife or back of a spoon. Now it is time to go to town! Add some cheese and then heap up as many veggies as possible...add a dash o' salt and maybe some other goodness like fresh garlic (using a press may entice your wee ones to try it!) and oregano (awesome if they grew it themselves!). Or, rather than heaping it all up, have a blast making happy faces out of the ingredients:


Pop the pizzas onto a cookie sheet or some tinfoil and broil them until bubbly about eight minutes and viola! Happy Pizza Faces!


While you're all feasting on the yummy goodness have a pizza inspired storytime with one of these books:
*Hi, Pizza Man!
*Curious George and the Pizza
*The Princess and the Pizza
*Pete's a Pizza

Ready, Sit, Read Revisited

Ready, Sit, Read: backpack, originally uploaded by jek in the box.

Howdy folks! A short while back I posted about this nifty backpack full of fun that I received from Target's Ready! Sit! Read! bookclub. Ooodle of you flocked to the site to sign up but found no information on how to receive such n iftiness...never fear, the mystery may have been solved!

Gena from Monkeyporkbun signed up for a club not long after my post and then forgot to get all hopefull about the kit. Lo and behold it arrived on her doorstep earlier this month! Thank you Gena for the heads up, I hope everyone has a nifty book filled year!

Last Minute Mother's Day Craft!

 Goodness! Mother's Day is tomorrow and you forgot to help yer wee ones make a gift for mom and/or grandma! What are ya gonna do? No worries, scrumdilly-do to the rescue! Make a nifty old -school style necklace from household items! Check it out:

What you need:

*string, heavy thread or yarn (I used colored thread)

*empty cereal box or cardboard

*paint, crayons or pretty paper

*white glue and/or glue stick

*scissors

*cereal with holes like ohs or fruit loops

*uncooked noodles like rigatoni instead of cereal

scrumdilly-do it!

 

 

Cut out your pendant shape from the cardboard and cover with paper using a gluestick or paint it using your paint. Once dry, glue on your pasta or cereal, punch a hole near the top and set aside to dry. Cut thread to desired length and thread a piece of cereal or pasta onto it about three inched from the end. Tie a knot so that the piece is anchored. This keeps the other pieces from falling off. Have your we one thread to their hearts content about half way in any pattern they like. Add your pendant piece looping a knot on the top after threading. This will keep it from flipping backwards and sideways. Have your wee one continue thread until about three inches from the end, tie ends together and viola! A beautimous necklace made just for Mom!

Don't let my list limit you! You can mix it up and use pasta AND cereal AND beads if you have them. Looping the thread through each piece twice will keep it anchored in one spot creating a gap between other pieces. You can even paint the pieces once you're done!

May 12 is a busy busy day!

This Saturday, postal carriers across the U.S., District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands will be collecting non-parishable food items from your doorstep for the >NALC food drive which is the largest one day food drive in the world! AMAZING! To help, all you have to do is Place your food items in bag on your doorstep before your mail carrier arrives and she or he will do the rest you can also bring the food directly to the Post Office where Postal Clerks will be sorting all the goods to donate to your local food banks. For more information check out the Stamp Out Hunger site. The book shown above is a delightful story of how one act of kindness can grow and grow and grow. Ordinary Mary's Extraodrinary Deed was written by Emily Pearson and Illustrated by Fumi Kosaka. It was published by Gibbs-Smith. Read more about Ordinary Mary here.


Read your wee ones this lovely book before heading out to your local firehouse!
Tomorrow is also Fire Service Recognition Day in Los Angeles and all of our firehouses will be open for you to drop on by and visit between 10am and 4pm. This would be a perfect time for you to bring thanks and cupcakes for all their hard work. Just this week more than 500 firefighters battled the Griffith Park Fire that burned over 800 acres and threatenned numerous homes. There will bea free pancake breakfast starting at 8:30 at Old Station 17 which is also home to the LAFD Museum. Old Station 17 also houses a fire service research library and a learning center for kids and adults. Check out the LAFD blog for more info. The Little Fire Engine was written & illustrated by Lois Lenski. It is published by Random House.



Other observances for May 12:
*International Nurses Day
*Limerick Day
*Birth Mother's Day
*Mother's Day in Mozambique

Fun with Felt Club!

fcwf, originally uploaded by Sew Darn Jenny.

If you're in the L.A. area and want to get some shopping done while yer wee ones create beautifous macaroni creations for you, come on by! You'll get to meet me and the fabulous ladfy behind Felt Club, Jenny! So....swing on by, it will be fun!

Whole Foods Market
6350 W. 3rd Street
Los Angeles 90036
12-3pm
craft fun with Felt CLub reps Jenny & Jessica

Nifty Book News

I was bit by the book shopping buzz ealrier today and decided that I couldn;t afford all the chicken books on my list so I hopped on over to Book closeouts and found a few of my all time faves priced ever so niftily! I ordered multiples!

First Up...The Rocko & Spanky books. I adore the LaReau sisters and want to be their best friend. Lookie the fabulous illustrations AND these books include crafty how to projects in the back! Get them both! Hurry!


Rocko and Spanky go to a Party
written & illustrated by: Kara & Jenna LaReau
published by: Harcourt Brace



Rocko and Spanky Have Company
written & illustrated by: Kara & Jenna LaReau
published by: Harcourt Brace

Next up is Goldilocks Has Chicken Pox illustrated by one of my all time faves Hanako Wakiyama..you must check out this super sweet take on a few of our favorite caracters. The illustrations just scream vintage.


Goldielocks Has Chicken Pox
written by: Erin Dealey
illustrated by: Hanako Wakiyama
published by: Atheneum Books
So what are ya wating for? Pick up these and maybe a few more! Hurry!

Foolish birds!

Do you all know the story of Chicken Little? Do you remember it from your childhood? How did it end? Have you told it to your kids yet? How does that version end?

Yesterday I did a presentation for my Children's Literature class on folktales and fables about chickens. I went to my library and checked out over twenty books, four of which were Chicken Little. I was surprised to find that they have changed the ending and I sort of understand the logic but really what I think is they are ruining the message of the story. What message can be found if all the animals laugh off their idiocy? One person told me that having the animals get eaten was too violent. Too violent? Wait a minute, are those spiderman toys peeking out of your bag? Is that your four year old playing Star Wars? Yes, the animals get eaten but they are eaten as a result of their foolishness. They blindly follow a frantic chick who thinks the sky is falling. Did any of them look up to see for themselves?

Of course we want to protect our children and shield them from violence but look around folks. Billboards, commercials, conversations overheard in public...mainstream music even is full of violence, bad attitudes, neglect, hatred and sexuality. Fables of old served a purpose to bring forth a message or question of morals. Young children do know how to seperate some fantasy from reaity and they are intelligent enough to get the message. Just ask them some time. Only you know when your child is ready for such tales and only you know if they are capable of processing the fantasy of our more mainstream modern day stories. Take them to see Star Wars if you must but wouldn;t you rather read them a classic? Wouldn't you rather discuss with your kidlets their feelings on the story and wouldn't it be fun to create because of the story? When given the opportunity, our children can be quite creative.

This flannel board set I made for my presentation doesn't have to be used only for Chicken Little and it doesn't have to be used only by you. It is super easy to make and you can add other characters as you go. My board was made by covering apart of a recycled box with flannet that is pulled and stretched over the front and tacked to the back with thumbtacks. You can made a stand for the back or simply lean it against the wall or even mount it ot the wall in a place where your wee ones can reach it easily. My animals were made from felt which sticks easily to the flannel. The features were ironed on using fusible webbing but you can get fancier of course! If yer not so crafty, Find images from coloring books and such and trace or copy them onto cardstock. Back the paper with felt or flannel or add a small dot of scratchy velcro and they too will stick to the flannel. A flannel board can be used to tell favorite stories or your wee ones can use it to make up and act out their own stories and games. Dramatic play is a crucial element to any young child's development and using this device is a perfect way to have dramatic play everyday.

If your wee ones are quite wee, cut out a bunch of shapes for him or her to play with. The lesson of cause and effect will gently be absorbed as she feels her way through the materials. For even younger wee ones, a plastic mirror can be backed with velcro and placed at the bottom. This is perfect for your wee one to delight in his or her image and keep them entertained for a short while. Flannel is fun and there are so many ways you can utilize this tool, how are you going to do it?

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

fiesta2, originally uploaded by khushdude.

Here's a list of nifty links for you to peruse:

*The history of Cinco de Mayo

*A nifty book list to you from me

*kaboodle gets festive

*macaras fun

*Sombrero cookies

*kiddie approved sangria

*Fiesta part done Martha's way

*Mexican fried ice-cream

Check out khushdude's flickr page for more amazing photos!

How's about some fiesta fun?

Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow and me being in Los Angeles there will be oodles of fiestas to attend. We however are bucking tradition and are going to enjoy our Cinco de Mayo at the Harley Davidson in Glendale but I am sure if you are local you should check out Olvera Street. For scrumdilly-do I'm gonna show ya how to make individual piñatas for your kidlets. These are great party favors since each wee one gets to keep what's inside and also, this way, each wee one gets the same amount of stuff. No head injuries involved!


What you need:
*brown paper lunch bags (though any color will do)
*oodles of tissue paper
*scissors
*glue or glue stick
*other collage bits if ya like
*pipe cleaners
*markers
*string

scrumdilly-do it:

Have your wee ones decorate one side of a lunch sack using all the tissue they could want. Orientate the bag so that the opening is at the top and make sure to kidlets leave about three inches of empty space so that you can tie the bag off. You may want to draw a line for them to stay below.



They can also glue on other collage items and/or draw with markers, etc. Once they are done, write their name on the bottom if you have a large group because these puppies will need to dry. This is a great activity to do at the beginning of a party. Once they're dry, add the goodies for take home and pass them out as the kids leave. Items to put inside could include fruit snacks, candy neckalces, crayons, stickers, finger puppets, superballs, small rubber toys and whatever you would like to add.



Once the items are inside the bag, gather up the open end and blow into it so that it puffs up. Secure with a pipe cleaner and you're done!



You can tie them outside to hang in the breeze or have your wee ones decorate all sides and make pretty paper wind socks out of them. Aren't they nifty?

A new day, a new Kaboodle!

bots! bots! bo bots!

www.kaboodle.com

Robots! Go-bots!

May 3 is Space Day. Since I have a thing for Robots I thought I would get y'all amped up to throw a robot party like this amazing mom did!
Birthday parties can easily get out of hand, especially if you live in a neighborhood where bigger is better. All you have to do is take a deep breath and let your wee one help in the planning. Bouncey house or not, you will have an excellent day full of fun and a wee bit o' chaos!

For a space or robot themed event there isn't much you can't do. All you really need is an awesome art activity, a couple of games, cake and a take home item. If you serve up cupcakes with a sprinkles bar that is even better! The birthday boy pictured above had a blast. There was robot making from recyclables, pin the nose on the robot and much running around. Plus, there was cake. For the giveaway/goodie bag, Mom Stacey ordered up a couple of custom t-shirts at a great deal from custom t-shirts. You could do this with an image drawn by your kidlet. You don't have to go all out, just pick a theme and run with it. Keeping the festivities outdoors is best. Kids need a lot of space as their energy levels grow in leaps and bounds as the group grows.

Check out these links for more space and robot themed fun:
Family Fun Space Themed Party Fun
Straight from the mouths of Moms, parties they planned
Kid's Party Fun
Amazing Moms
Build a Robot
Robot Rummy
Space themed party supplies

I'll try to get a kaboolde list togethre for you later today. Have fun!

scrumdilly-do in action!

There is nothing I like more than seeing a scrumdilly-do project as done by someone other than myself! Thank you to Jennifer for taking on a couple of kidlets and for attempting a bunch of projects. This bracelet is hers as the wee ones probably destroyed their own. You can do this anytime, anywhere as long as you have some masking tape handy. Keep a roll in your car and occupy your kidlets on quick errands and the like.

Coming up wee piñatas for one!

The last bit o' penguin fun!

Here's the last bit of penguin fun that I have up my sleeve. What could it be? I like to call this "Funky Penguins" art!



What you need:
*black paper
*white and yellow paint in small amounts in a cucpake liner or squeeze bottle
*splat mats and cover ups
*white and/or yellow glitter
*cupcake liners or construction paper in yellow & white
*glue or glue stick
*scissors
*chalk (optional)

scrumdilly-do it!



Gather yer supplies. Each kidlet will use one piece of black paper. Have your wee ones (or you, if they are a bit small) fold paper in half creating a crease down the center. You can do this in either direction but width wise will leave you with a bit more room for the paint to ooze. Next up, your kidlets will drip or squeeze bits of paint on one side of the paper near the crease. Kind of like that old fashioned butterfly art we used to do as kids only we're using white and yellow paint. Once they've dripped to their hearts' content have them fold the paper back in half and rub a little to spread the paint. This part can get messy so have fun!



Open the paper to reveal their masterpieces and add bits of glitter to the wet paint.



Set aside to dry. Once dry your wee one's can cut out a penguin shape, add eyes, beak and feet using scraps from the black paper and a cupcake liner or construction paper for the beak and feet. Use a glue stick or glue to stick everything on and VIOLA, funky penguins for everyone!

Penguin inspired collage

So, have ya hunted through yer casa for penguin colored supplies? The easiest project to do is to make a penguin inspired colalge. This is one all kidlets can make. It is pure creativity. Check it out!



What you need:
*black or white paper or white paper plates
*glue
*black, white & yellow crayons, chalk, paint, and/or markers
*odds and ends in the penguin colors like felt, fabric scraps, tissue, pipe cleaners, glitter, etc.

scrumdilly-do it!

Set out yer splat mats, cover up any must cover clothing, roll up sleeves and have a go!


If your wee ones lile a lot of paint nd glue, go for some sturdier paper. Paper plates are awesome for this. Set their collages somewhere safe fro drying. Once they are dry you can transfrom them into many things! Refrigerator art isn't the only thing. Frame them, hang them, cut them up for more fun. Let your kidlets guide you and have fun!

Chalky Birds

Okay, so, Penguin Day was yesterday and I am late with some penguin inspired projects. I am so sorry for that and I have some projects about to be done but for now I leave you with Chalky Penguins! The nifty thing about penguin inspired art is that you don't need too many colors and in looking for what you have on hand you just may come up with something completely original and super duper fun! To start all you have to do is go on an art supply scavenger hunt and search your household for black, white and yellow. The possibilities are endless! You could even send your kidelts on the hunt with guidelines, of course! Fabric scraps, paper, newspaper, paint, crayons, dried pasta, rice, black beans, pip cleaners, tissue...see what I mean. Today's project utilizes those fun and chunky bits of sidewalk chalk that are laying about. I don't know aboutany of you but when we have a new box of sidewalk chalk in this place, the blues and pinks and greens get snatched up right quick but the whites and yellows usually sadly linger in the bottom of the tub. Pull them out, shake them off and have a go at some Penguin drawing.

What you need:
*chalk (any color will do but white & yellow are perfect for penguins)
*black paper

scrumdilly-do it!

lay out black paper
lay out chalk

Have a field Day!

If you are super industrious you can make your own sidewalk chalk. If you're feeling click happy you can check out my newest kaboodle list!

April 25 is World Penguin Day!

Pips in Paris..., originally uploaded by aldine.

Sooooo, tux it up peoples! I'll try and get some nifty art/craft fun up for ya but for now here's a book list and a link or two...

Penguin Dreams
Pingu
Draw a Penguin Ed Emberley style
Tiki the PenguinPenguin in Japan
Your Personal Penguin sung by Davy Jones
live Penguin Cam
Wonderpets

Loose change

It's raining outside this morning and I think perhaps a nice indoor, quiet, no mess art activity would be great for today. Still have a pile of nice shiny coins from earlier this week? Do they still smell like ketchup? Well, dump out your coin purse, jar or whathaveyou and have your wee ones make some coin rubbings! You could do this on regular printer paper and cut for cards or you can try this using large sweeps of paper to make custom gift wrap or you may even want to do this with tracing paper and turn their art into suncatchers of a sort. The thinner the paper the better the rub!

what you need:
*crayons from the bottom of the box sans paper
*thin paper like printer or notebook in light colors
*coins of all kinds
*splat mat, plastic tray, cookie sheet or cardboard
*masking tape or your favorite sticky stuff
*play-doh (optional)

scrumdilly-do it!

The easy way would be to toss a handful of coins onto the tray or cookiesheet, place paper over and rub. This is great for kidlets 7 and up. Wee-er ones (say 4-7)may get frustrated with the coins moving all over the place. For them I would add a small ball of play-doh to one side of each coin and have your kidlet pres the mdown onto theur work surface.

The dough should stick just enough to act as an anchor. Place sheet over the coins and tape down the top edge.

Place crayon lenghtwise onto paper and rub, rub, rub away!

Coins, colors and paper can all be shifted and moved about to produce a super nifty picture!

When that gets old, your kidlets may enjoy pressing their coins into the dough to see the imprints they leave. Play the compare and contrast game, sort the coins by likeness, make charts, have fun!

Don't forget to check out my book list and my fun list, they;re all about fun with coins! Happy Friday folks!

Science fun with Ketchup!

What? This is a messy fun activity to do with your wee ones who know not to put pennies in their mouths! You can read all about the science of it here. What could be more fun than being allowed to play with ketchup? If you're lucky, your wee ones will be entertained for maybe thirty minutes. It depends on how many pennies you have, your kidlet and their tolerance for mess and/or ketchup. You can also use taco sauce, lemon juice or vinegar but I think ketchup has the most mess factor which usually equals fun in any wee one's book.

What you need:
*old grungy pennies
*paper towels
*ketchup
*a clean space or splat mat
*cover ups for the kidlets
*a plastic tray, placemat or cookie sheet
*old toohbrush
*soap and water

scrumdilly-do it!


Wash your pennies first so you won't freak out when your kidlets start snacking on their fingers. I like to put all the pennies in a container with a lid, add warm soapy water, seal and shake. Rinse until all soap is gone and viola, clean coins. Kidlets may even like doing this part.

Squirt a bunch of ketchup onto your work surface, add pennies and let them sit for at least 2 minutes to get the vinegar in the ketchup to start working on the copper oxide. Hand yer wee ones a toothbrush and let them scrub scrub scrub away. Toss the pennies back into the washing container, rinse and you're done!



Viola! Clean pennies! If you can get your wee ones into it, and they can read dates, have them sort the pennies by year and make a chart or graph. I've entertained other kidlets by having them use the coins as "blocks". They built some pretty interesting structures with pennies and other found objects. Ooh, don't forget this puzzle for your whole family! Have fun and happy washing!

National Coin Week is coming up

Nickels!, originally uploaded by "Mr. W".

Here's a list I put together just for you. It is chock full of tips for teaching your kidlet's the value of a dollar. It is also oozing with rich illustrated texts! Have a looksie and start saving!

Book lists recap!

So sorry to not have anything new up folks1 I've got midterms and a camping trip coming up so things are extra busy here at the A-go-go household! So, for now I bring to you a list of all my book lists so far. Have fun click click clicking away when you have the time and see if your libraries have any of these super nifty picture books!

Hat Day
Popcorn
Pie one on
Happy Flapjacks
Toothy Reads
Piggeriffic Stories
Puppy Reads
Garden stories
Egg-cellent

Have Fun!