mother's day brooches part 3

diy kiddo blended {herbal} tea

Oh! I think this was my most favorite activity of the year!The children were tickled to spend a day investigating all things tea. We set up our tea set in the play kitchen, painted with tea, sampled tea and then made our own blends complete with hand drawn labels. The tea enthusiasm carried out to the ned of the school year and that little tin tea set got a BIG work out!

I gathered an assortment of dried kid-friendly herbs used for tisanes at our local natural market. If you have a Whole Foods or other natural market or co-op in your town, check out their bulk bins. A small scoop goes a long way and the cost is well under a dollar. We did this activity after we sampled our teas. I set out the dried herbs on our table using jar lids as holders. I wrote on the table with a dry erase marker labeling each herb so that I could remember which was which and add an element of print to the activity (one of my kiddos is a reader).

I held up each lid and anounced the name of the herb. From there we talked about what we saw. The children described the herbs with a lot of enthusiasm and loved leaning over the herbs to take in the scent. They use their pinching fingers (at first) to add bits to their tea jars (empty spice jars from World Market) and soon ended up scooping and pouring large portions into their jars. Make sure you clean the table before you begin. Some of the children grasped and scooped whichever herb was closest while others purposefully chose what they wanted, how much, and when. It was all sorts of cool!

After they filled their jars, we put the lids on and brought the markers and labels out. I used these Martha Stewart labels which I found at Michaels. They have a lot of heft and are pretty with a bit less tack then mailing labels (so that the jars can be reused for some other purpose). After the kiddos decorated their labels they named their teas and I wrote the names over their art. We had Daddy Tea, Spring Tea and E's Tea to name a few.

The Nitty Gritty:
*dried edibles and herbs such as spearmint, rose, and chamomile
*clean empty spice jars like these
*shallow dishes or lids for sorting
*blank labels like these
*markers

diy toddler gift {for around $10}

 

There is a crazy cute young lady in my life that celebrated a birthday back in February. Due to crazy schedules (both mine and mama's) it took a few months to get together and this little gift I cobbled up waited ever so patiently for its new home.

It's like a super pretty busy basket...wait it is a super pretty busy basket. Most of the items inside can be found at your local dollar or discount store. The most costly items in the basket were the bowls and that is only because at a $1.99 each I purchased three of them (how could I not?) at my local World Market.

 

Now here is the thing you may or may not believe...two of these items are cat toys. Cat toys! Who knew? 

*The little rattan (heehee...that one is for you Za!) balls were in the pet section at my Dollar Tree. They come 4 to a pack and I bought a few packs because I really liked the colors and I may have made a garland out of them (I really need to photograph the August and soon-to-be September bed). They are perfectly sized for little hands and too big for little mouths. I thought the balls would be fun to pair up with the bowls as they are a perfect match. They also roll nicely...so there.  

*The clothespins I had in my stash so I am not including their cost in this diy. I included six and tied them with a length of velvet ribbon for texture. Loose ribbon is not safe for wee ones so make sure it is retied  and quadruple knotted to some other object so that kiddo can touch and feel but not chew and swallow or get tangled in it.

*The pom-poms are also cat toys and not a recommended size for wee ones unless you know the wee one really well. They were another happy collection of color and they sparkled.

 

*The wee wooden bowls are from World Market and cost $1.99 a piece. I use these in my classroom all the time and they are just so great for sorting, stacking, and dramatic play. They are also simply beautiful and it doesn't hurt to have beautiful things available for little hands to play with.

*The basket was a thrift store find and cost me fifty cents. Fifty cents! For reals! If you are not a thrifter you can find small baskets of a little less quality at your dollar store. I highly recommend thrifting though. It's good for both your pocketbook and the environment so why not?

*The little soft doll was something I made for a swap years ago. I made a bunch of them for the shop as well but they did not sell so now I gift them. I may have a few left and can list them if you think it is something you are interested in. Just give me a shout! 

*I bought the poms to use with a small container for fine motor play. The container used to house peanuts in it. The nuts were added to our giant jar of trail mix and the canister was thoroughly cleaned. If you are gifting this to a household with a nut allergy, find a different kind of container. Even though this has been cleaned out there is always a possibility for contamination. Better to be safe than sorry. I went for the smallest I could find with a lid so that it would fit in my basket. After washing and drying, the container was covered in happy paper. The lid had a hole cut into it just a smidge smaller than the poms. The plastic of the lid is super soft so the cut edges are smooth and will not bite little fingers. If your lid is testy, use washi tape around the inside edges to soften it up.

*Lastly in the basket is a quartet of washcloths also from the Dollar Tree. The cloths can be used for peek-a-boo and/or stuffed into the basket, etc. Wash them in a gentle organic soap (Dr. Bronner's is a lovely brand) before gifting.

This little bottle of fun did not fit into the basket but I really wanted to include it because it is fun and pretty! I used a Martinelli's blood orange juice bottle because it's what I had on hand. The beverage is super tasty and often on sale at the market and is both small and double walled (another classroom favorite...it crinkles all on its own). All the bits of happy inside came from home...rice, beads, sparkly pipe cleaners, and buttons. Give the inside of the cap a dose of tacky glue before putting on to hold it in place and keep the happy bits safely away from the happy kiddo.

There you go, hopefully a basket full of inspiration for you to make for your own wee one or as a gift for another. Just make sure it is safe, age appropriate and allergen free. Happy almost Fall!

diy patchwork pots {and planting in the classroom)

 I don't know about you but my class really likes to dig in the dirt. They so enjoyed planting out their sunflower sprouts that when the opportunity presented itself for another garden project I jumped right in. We ended our school year with a Shakespeare celebration that involved the entire student body. From my wee threess to our graduation class, our students got up on our outdoor stage and performed  their interpretations of Shakespeare...Julius Ceasar to be exact (also a smidge of Sophocles' Antigone). Wanting our youngsters to be able to take part, we decided to teach the preschool, Jr. K, and Kindergarteners a verse from A Midsummer Night's Dream. To assist the youngsters in understanding the verse, we brought in the plants from our verse for the children to touch and explore. One of our plants was wild thyme and after our program, we planted it out into our own pots to take home but first we had to decorate those pots!

The first thing we did was paint the outside (and for some, the inside) of our pots white.  This was done over the course of two days. The pots sat for awhile on our windowsill while we explored others areas of interest for awhile. When the kiddos were ready, we brushed on precut tissue paper squares using a bit of liquid starch. This too was done over the course of two days. On our last day of school the children each got to plant their wild thyme into their pots. We reviewed the concepts of sequence, order, and steps and the children talked a lot about when they planted out their sunflower sprouts.

I did not get a chance to seal their tissue covered pots so when the tissue gets wet, it gets a little sticky but they sure do look nifty, don't ya think?

paint a wooden ornament {and wrap it up!}

 

Blank wooden ornaments can be found at most craft stores. Usually fairly priced as $2 or $3 they can pack a lot of punch without breaking your piggy bank. If you pick them up now for next year you can get them for under fifty-cents (I need to do this)!

 

 

 

Use acrylic paints for the ornaments and let your kiddos choose two or three colors. I had the children at school pick two similar colors and we added white. We are always talking about the color wheel and complimentary colors. For this project we first talked about warm and cool colors and then the children got to decide of they wanted warm or cool colored paint for their ornaments. Young children love to mix paint together and they will mix any and all colors they can. This is science at its best and the children have ample opportunity to mix away in the classroom For this project however we focused on our colorwheel and went with colors that would not muddy up.

Use wax paper to lay the ornaments down to dry. The ornaments won't stick too much and any drippy paint will be left on the paper and not on your table. If we had any glitter left, I am certain the children would have glittered their ornaments up. Even without, the ornaments are snazzy, don't ya think?

After the ornaments were dry, it was time to wrap them up. We used plain white paper (their painted wrapping paper was a gift to take home) and washi tape. I placed each ornament on its own sqaure of paper and had the children fold and crease their presents. They chose which washi tape they wanted to use and I helped them tear off pieces in the size they indicated.

Next up was yarn. They chose the yarn and I tied it around their presents  (unless they wanted to o it) as they hit up the giftwrap table for a bow. After peeling off the back paper they stuck their bow where they wanted and proudly posed for a photo before running the present to their cubby. So cool!

mother's day make: arted up catch-all

This simple catch-all can be created by even a wee toddler type. As long as she or he can wield a marker, they're good to go. Just make sure to sit with them as they get all artsy on ya. 

Materials:

*one plain or white ceramic dish

*permanent markers 1-3 colors

Place your dish onto a marker friendly surface. This dish here was picked up at Target for $1.99 but you can find similar pieces at your local thrifts, box stores, or maybe even the dollar store. 

 

 

Hand your kiddo a marker and let them scribble or draw away. It's so simple that even the sribblyist marks will pack a punch. If my metallic markers could have been located, I totally would have used those!

 

Add a simple heart and/or the date along the side or bottom and wrap it up in a bit of kiddo arted paper and gift away. This catch-all can hold Mom's or Grandma's favorite bangles or placed on a desk it makes for a great catch-all of paperclips and such. Happy almost Mother's Day! 

new memory games in the shop

need a nifty gift for a wee one or two? why not pick up a memory game from my etsy shop scrumdillydilly. you can of course, make yer own but if yer in a hurry, i think this wee moo set is pretty awesome!

holiday countdown: make a garland to give or to keep

Earlier today I made myself a happy felty garland and wondered, how could I tweak this so that kidlets can make one? After a quick peek at what craft supplies were out in the open, I came up with this nifty piece of garland goodness that can be made for any holiday throughput the year.

The key to this craft is maintaining some control over the supplies. While I am usually all for an open ended art experience, I think something can be said to give parameters. You can call it a challenge if you like or call it a "Same But Different" project. Set out your supplies and delight in what your kidlet comes up with.

You will need:

*2 small paper lunch sacks
*scissors
*tacky or fabric glue
*scrap lace
*old felted sweater
*length of bias tape
*safety pins

scrumdilly-do it:

Gather your supplies and set them up on a large flat surface. A kitchen table is perfect for this. Depending on the age of your child you may wish to cut your lace pieces and wool scraps for them. Cutting all pieces up in an assortment of sizes and setting them out in a muffin tin may get your child rearing to go.Cut your sacks into three pieces. I chose paper bags as they are a little bit more sturdy than plain white paper plus the color is different and just a tiny bit fancy-like. Since you are cutting each bag into three pieces, this will determine how many bags you need for your garland. You may wish to hack up a dozen or so bags and set them out for your kidlet to work with. Some kids get into the zone and will work until all supplies are depleted. Fold the top part of each piece under a little bit and ask that your kidlets go to town just under the crease. This will leave a clear spice for pinning or sewing your bias tape on.Set out you sack pieces in a grid format and challenge your kidlet to decorate each flag the same but different. They will be using the same supplies but how can they make each flag look like an original piece of art. Give them a happy tube of glue and let them go for it. When using wool or felt, I find that Aileen's Tacky glue works best. General use white glue soaks into th felt and does not stick at all. If you do not have a fabric glue, limit your materials to non-felty pieces. Once your child has finished creating their art, set aside to dry.When your pieces are dry, unfurl your length of bias tape and play with the pieces to get the spacing and order how you want it. Your kidlet will probably enjoy this part as well.Once you both are satisfied with the order, use your safety pins to pin each flag to the bias tape.** Once all pieces are pinned you can hang up your garland and do a happy dance! Check out scrumdillydilly for the grown-up version of this project!

**paper bags work well with a sewing machine if you wish to jazz up your bunting a wee bit more. You can also use brads and a hole punch or fun colorful staples. I just liked the way the safety pins looked. Also, these little flags of fun would look nice framed or stapled onto the cover of a blank notebook. There are all sorts of things you and your kidlets can do with them. Have fun and don't forget to add your pictures to the flickr group!