Here is where you can purchase the book:

Canadians

•  Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/How-Survive-Shark-Kristen-Foote/dp/1943147337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516155476&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+survive+as+a+shark

• Chapters/Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/how-to-survive-as-a/9781943147335-item.html?ikwid=how+to+survive+as+a+shark&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0

Americans:

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Survive-Shark-Kristen-Foote/dp/1943147337

*Disclaimer:  We received a copy of the book for review as we love so many books from The Innovation Press.  This is not a sponsored post and nor do we use affiliate links.*

Materials

• Styrofoam sheets (your could use the bottom of a clean tray or a sheet of craft foam)
• Scissors
• Pencil/eraser
• Printing ink (We use Speedball- a little goes a long way)
• Brayer
• Tile (you can get a single one inexpensively at the hardware store)
• Paper (we used watercolour paper)
• Glue

We always find these items helpful too:

• Smock
• Craft tray

Directions

• Read a book or dive into your imagination for a picture for your collagraph.  When I taught a specific technique, I would show the kids it and then let them decide on the theme for it or we would have a very general theme so that each of the pieces turned out unique!  Think about what you might see in your sea scene and the placement of your creatures and vegetation.  We used the featured book for inspiration for our sketches.

• Design your scene on paper.

• Tape your paper onto your styro/craft foam and trace over your lines.

•  Cut your shapes carefully out of the foam and glue them to your cardboard to make your plate.  We used a glue gun for quick drying, but you could use craft glue.   Use a pencil or pen to create some interest on your shapes, by creating lines.

• Once your plate is ready,  put a blob of printing ink on a large tile and run your brayer through it, assuring that you get an even coverage on your brayer.  The ink should get a sticky consistency.

• Apply your ink to your printing plate.

• Put your paper over top and rub it to each edge and corner to assure contact.

• If you find that you are getting ink in areas that you don’t want it- temporarily tape some blank styrofoam there (as shown) for a clean print.

• Carefully remove your paper and mount it for display.  Our son decided to colour in his patterns and add them to his print.

Purpose

• Using various methods for printing.
• Taking non-fiction information and translating that into a creative project.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray or table cloth to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors and a glue with care and direct, adult supervision.

Materials

• Plastic lid *
• Craft/ X-acto knife & cutting mat/ board (to be used by an ADULT)
• White, craft glue
• Paintbrushes
• Craft Sand
• Acrylic paint
• Cardstock/thicker paper
• Pencil/ eraser
• Colouring materials
• Paper scraps
• Shells, beach glass etc.
• Permanent markers

*If you don’t have a plastic lid, our friend Rachel from I Heart Craft Things has paper plate idea we show you below.

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Wash and dry a plastic lid.   Have an adult cut a slit in your lid using a craft knife and a cutting mat/board.

• Using white craft glue, paint where you would like sand for the bottom of your ocean.  Put a sheet of paper on a tray and place your lid in your tray.  The paper will catch your sand and is then easy to bed into a funnel shape to put your excess sand back into your container to use for another project.  Sprinkle your sand while your glue is still wet, moving your lid around to assure that the sand makes contact with the glue.  Allow to dry overnight.

• Draw a wave and paint it in with acrylic paint.  We used inexpensive craft grade, so you might need a few layers if you go with this type as well.  Other types of paint like tempera may flake off of plastic.  Fill in the other portion of your sky after the wave has completely dried.  Of course these are only what we did.  If your child has other ideas, it is always best to encourage that energy and individuality!

• Draw your sea creature on thicker paper and cut it out.  Our daughter went with a mermaid, but you could go with a whale, fish- whatever you like!  Perhaps something that exists in your imagination!

• Colour it in, outline the features and if you like decorate it with items that you might have at home- scraps of paper, bits of fabric, re-use gift wrap etc.  Let it dry.

• Glue a popsicle stick or tongue depressor on the back near the upper portion.

• Decorate your sea scene however you may like- so for example create sea weed from tissue paper or crepe paper, add some shells or sea glass. You could draw these items too!

• To finish the edge of the theatre we glued on beach glass, making sure to use small, light weight pieces so as not to make your theatre too heavy!

• Once dry, enjoy creating narratives for play!

* Don’t have a plastic lid?  This paper plate idea from our friend Rachel at I Heart Crafty Things works like a charm!

https://iheartcraftythings.com/paper-plate-swimming-jellyfish-craft.html

Pin this idea:

Purpose

• Creating narratives to accompany play.
• Getting out into nature.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors and a glue gun with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Small items such as shells can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

STEAM: PLAY & LEARN is written by Ana Dziengel who you may know from the popular Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math site https://babbledabbledo.com/.  I quite like Ana as she is friendly, approachable, has great, colour-filled videos and does amazing projects both with her own three children and in the camps that she runs.  Whether it be giant marble runs, potions of all sorts, how to make a dancer that rotates from a battery or that idea that will rock the Science Fair, Ana has all sorts of projects that will get your kids into STEM in creative ways!  We were going to try out one of the ideas in her book, but my pre-schooler was hooked and got into three and can’t wait to dig into the book again once school ends- so when a four year old can’t put it down, you know you have a winner!  

*Disclaimer:  I was THRILLED to receive a copy of the book for review as I have read Ana’s site for years.  This is not a sponsored post and nor do we use affiliate links.*

Where to get the book:

Canadians

Chapters/ Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/steam-play-learn-20-fun/9781633225268-item.html

Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/STEAM-Play-Learn-step-step/dp/1633225267/

Americans 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/STEAM-Play-Learn-step-step/dp/1633225267/

Activities That We Tried

1) Frozen Goop 

This was a HUGE hit!  I can’t wait to try this again in the summer holidays with a large group of kids!  I already went to Costco and bought 2 containers of corn starch.  This clever frozen twist on the classic corn starch water combination makes a non-newtonian goo that is absolutely fascinating for both adults and children alike to play with, particularly in the summer!  We popped the 3 primary colours in with a bit of food colouring as suggested in the book in muffin tins to explore colour mixing and the shape was great for stacking!  Add a few figurines (such a dragons) to extend the play (bulldozers, mermaids etc. would be great too) and this was a fabulous sensory experience!

2)  Pattern Projectors 

My youngest saw Ana’s live video of this and immediately wanted to make it!  My niece who lives 4 hours away in the mountains was watching the video simultaneously by chance and saw us comment and her mind was blown by the technology and coincidence!  This project combines both colour mixing and projection when you use it in a dark room with a flashlight or iPhone light.  Great beginner science project exploring light!  (P.S. She’s going to make one when she comes to visit!)

3)  Marble Race 

Our preschooler loves marble races of various types and there are two of them in the book.  We created this one and have already bought the supplies for the second one once school is done- I kid you not, he is so jazzed about this book!  This one takes a box lid and modelling clay to create an obstacle course of sorts for you maneuver your marble around in!

Where to get the book:

Canadians 

Chapters/Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/epic-cardboard-adventures/9781623709310-item.html  

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.ca/Epic-Cardboard-Adventures-Leslie-Manlapig/dp/1623709318/

Americans

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Cardboard-Adventures-Capstone-Young-Readers/dp/1623709318/

*Disclaimer:  I was excited to receive a copy of the book for review as I have read Leslie’s site for years.  This is not a sponsored post and nor do we use affiliate links.*

Materials

Invitations

• FREE printable watermelon
• Standard envelope
• Pencil
• Scissors

Garland

• Coffee filters
• Watercolour paints or food colouring
• Paint brush
• Cord
• Beads/ Buttons
• Glue

Play Dough

• FREE printable TAGS

1) Thank you: water melon thanks 2) Happy Summer: water melon summer 3) Happy Summer with line to write your name water melon summer2

• Circle punch or scissors
• Tape
• Containers/ Mason Jars (Glass or plastic)
• Spoon or Item to push down play dough
• Black buttons/ beads
• Pink/Green/White play dough (you can purchase this or we provide our favourite recipe below)

Watermelon Tic Tac Toe 

• Canvas or wooden plaque
• Lid (smaller than the plaque)
• Acrylic paint (rind and inside colours)
• Sponges/paint brushes
• Ruler
• Pencil/eraser
• Sharpie
• Buttons/Beads/Glass Gems etc. (10 total: 5 of 2 colours)

Watermelon Bowling

• Juice containers
• Acrylic paint
• Sponges
• Water
• Ball

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

Invitations

• Print your invitations, fill them in, cut them out and pop them into your envelopes and address them to your friends.

Garland

• We used industrial sized coffee filters so the process would be really clear to see, but you can purchase regular ones inexpensively at grocery or dollar stores.  You can dip your filters into the paint, but for more accurate lines we painted the different colours onto the filters.  *Remember that the filters are really absorbent, so underestimate the lines to which you paint to.  We drew the lines lightly with pencil prior to painting.  Allow to dry overnight.

• We then glued on buttons and beads for watermelon seeds.  We used a glue gun, but you could use white, craft glue.

Play Dough

•  Purchase or make green, white and pink/red play dough.  Here is our favourite homemade recipe below.  Make a batch of green, white and 2 of the red/pink.  Please note this is a recipe to made by an ADULT.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 salt
• 3 tbsp cream of tarter
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• Food colouring

Directions:

• Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium pan.
• Add water and oil.
• Cook on medium heat, adding the food colouring.
• Stir continuously.
• When the dough mix pulls away from the sides and forms into a large ball, the dough is ready to be placed in a small bowl to cool.
• Store in a plastic container or re-sealable bag.

Source: Japer Place Child and Family Resource Centre

• Put a small amount of green into your jar to form the thick part of your rind.   Add a thin layer for the white portion of the rind and then fill the rest of the jar with your pink play dough for the flesh of the watermelon.  If you like and you are giving it to children who are older than 3 and are unlikely to put it into their mouths, then you could pop in some buttons or beads for watermelon seeds.

• Print your tags and punch them out with a 2 inch punch or cut them out with scissors.

• Make a tape donut (or you could use a sticky dot) and pop on your labels.  Give them to your pals!

Watermelon Tic Tac Toe 

• Use your lid smaller than your surface (plaque or canvas) to create the interior/ flesh portion of your watermelon.  Paint the colour you would like your watermelon flesh.   Allow to dry overnight.  We recommend that you do the two painting pieces separately, so as not to smudge them.

• Paint the edge of your canvas with greens to create your rind, leaving a bit blank to create the white portion of the rind.  All to dry overnight.

• With a ruler, measure out 3 lines (creating 9 cells) for your tic tac toe board (depending on your age and abilities, you may need some adult help with this portion).  Trace over this carefully, using your ruler again and a permanent marker.  Allow to dry.

• We then put 5 black buttons and 5 white buttons in a small containers for the board markers in a small container to play with.  Play with this at the party (it is always good to have a few quiet games too) or pop it in a gift bag (See below)  for your pals to take home!

Watermelon Bowling

• Wash out each container with soap and water and allow to dry.
• Using a sponge paint the outside of the container.  We created the seeds, by using the corner of more of a square sponge.  (Once the pink was dry)  If you are concerned about smudging, be sure to let each colour dry before applying the next.
• Fill the bottom with approximately 1-2 inches of water.
• Paint several containers like this.  Line them up on a flat surface at a distance and try to knock them over.

Pin this idea

Purpose

• Getting active, creating for the purpose of celebration, learning strategy games, strengthening hand muscles.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.
• Beads can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Find the full tutorial here:

https://www.hellowonderful.co/post/recycled-paper-flower-bouquet/

The kids watched a documentary about Monarch butterflies on Netflix called “Flight of the Butterflies” which coincides with their southern migration.  They were fascinated with this process and the intricate wing patterns of this species and butterflies in general after finding a deceased butterfly.  Extending their interest, we decided to create our own wing designs using loose parts and thought you might like it too!

For the full tutorial (and TEMPLATES ), please check out the link below:

http://www.hellowonderful.co/post/DESIGN-BUTTERFLY-WINGS-WITH-LOOSE-PARTS—CRAFT-FOR-KIDS

Purpose

• Manipulating objects.
• Discovering mathematical properties such symmetry, patterning etc.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and adult supervision.
• Beads and small parts can be a choking hazard therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Materials

• Styrofoam sheets (You could also cut the bottom off of a clean styrofoam tray)
• Ink (We use the Speedball brand)
• Brayer (We have the Speedball brand one)
• Large tile (you can get these at hardware stores.  Often single, discontinued ones can be quite inexpensive)
• Blank card sets (you can make these out of cardstock)
• Spoon
• Pencil
• Smock
• Craft tray and/or plastic craft tablecloth
• Ruler

Directions

• Trim your styrofoam to the shape of your cards but about 1-2.5 centimetres or 1/2 inch-1 inch smaller on each of the edges to create a border.

• Draw out a design or picture on your styrofoam with your pencil.  Remember that if you include any print it will appear backwards (so you will need to write backwards!) as the print is a mirror image.

• Don your smock.

• Put a small blob of ink on your tile and roll your brayer through the ink in many directions until the brayer is evenly coated and the ink has sticky/tacky consistency.

• Roll the paint over your styrofoam design evenly, going to all the edges.

• Lay your styrofoam plate on your your tray.  Carefully place your card onto the styrofoam and rub it with your hand to assure contact.  Be carefully not to shift it.  Carefully pull it off of the styrofoam.  (You could also do the reverse method where you place the styrofoam onto the card.)

• Depending on the amount of ink left on the styrofoam, you can make another print with the same method or you could re-apply the ink and make several more cards until you have reached the desired amount.

• Allow to dry overnight.

• One year we also cut a small styrofoam square and wrote backwards “Love, ______ (child’s name)” and made a small print on the back of the cards.  You could add the child’s name, the year and their age underneath the print if you like.

• Once the cards are dry, tie a ribbon around them and give them to someone special.

Purpose

• Learning how to make prints with various materials.
• Exploring positive and negative space.

Safety Notes

• Be sure to wear a smock and use a craft tray and table cloth to prevent damaging surfaces or clothing.
• Follow product directions/ cautions.
• Use scissors with care and direct adult supervision.