Our youngest just LOVES rocks and our daughter is getting into collage, so she combined a resource that we had quite a pile of with her interest to celebrate the kids’ amazing dad!  Find all the details for the project here:  https://www.redtedart.com/fathers-day-rock-portrait/

FRONT

BACK

Order the Book:

Find all the details here: https://www.firefliesandmudpies.com/outdoor-activity-book/

Canadians:

• Chapter/ Indigo:  https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/sticks-and-stones-a-kids/9780760362563-item.html?ikwid=sticks+and+stones&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=1
• Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Sticks-Stones-Building-Exploring-Outdoors/dp/0760362564/

Americans 

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sticks-Stones-Building-Exploring-Outdoors/dp/0760362564/

* We requested a copy of this book for review, this is not a sponsored post and nor do we use affiliate links.*

Sample Project:

• Using the clear directions by the author, Melissa Lenning, my youngest collected loads of sticks, observing different lengths, types etc.

• We then trimmed them with the snipping portion of pliers (while wearing safety glasses) and secured the twigs together to create this fairy small world with a nature home (the roof is removable).

• Not only did the project get our children enjoying the outdoors, it got them carefully observing nature in our surroundings and using those collections to create with.  As you can see, it stimulated their imaginations and once they tried one project it piqued their interest in others.  This beautiful woven tent is their next choice!

Materials

Scenes

• Trays
• Felt (you could use paper too)
• Items to embellish (rocks, cotton balls etc.)
• Glue gun, glue sticks
• Permanent marker
• Fabric scissors

Peg Dolls

• Wooden peg dolls
• Paint pens (we like the Posca brand)
• Fine permanent markers for details (we used the Micron brand)
• Pom poms
• Pencil/ eraser

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

Watch the full story here, beautifully read by the author:

Scenes

• Line up your tray with a corner of your felt sheets. (This will allow you to have one edge already straight without cutting it.) Trace around your tray with your marker and cut out your felt rectangle.  We found cutting on the inside of the line made it slightly smaller than the tray bottom for the perfect fit and it also eliminated the marker line.  We then glued the felt into our tray bottom to make a base for each of the scenes.

• Here are some additional items that we added:

1. Grass:  We started with a green base and then took strips of green felt and made snips about half way down them  on both sides to form grass, gluing them on two sides of the tray to make a pathway for the characters to walk through in the middle.  We added a few green pebbles that we had that were fish tank gravel.
2. River: On top of our green base, we made a blue felt river for the characters to cross over and added a piece of drift wood as well.
3. Mud: We made the bottom of the tray brown and added more driftwood to the edges. 
4. Forest: We traced around a lid to make green felt circles and then snipped a radial line (from the circumference to the centre point) and pulled one side over the other to form a cone-line shape.  After gluing it in place, we stacked a few on top of each other and then glued it to some wooden spools to form the trees of the forest.  This was added to the brown base for the forest floor.
5. Snow Storm: We used stuffing to create the snow on top of our white felt base and added a few pieces of while gravel.  You could use pom poms, cotton balls etc.
6. Cave: We covered a tin can with felt (both the interior and exterior) to form the cave.  Watch out for sharp edges and place your tin can on the edge of your felt sheet to help you figure out how tall the make the sheet to wrap around it, drawing the line with a ruler.

Peg Dolls

• We made a peg doll for each member of our family.  Each student in your class could make themselves as well.

• Sketch out your ideas in pencil first.

• Colour in your clothes etc. with paint pens, working in layers, starting with the base first. Allow drying time in between.

• Outline any details with a thin pen.

• For the bear, we added a few small pom pom ears.

Extension 

• Can you make new scenes for your peg dolls to go through?
• Write out the prepositions and use them to now create your own story.

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Purpose

• Setting up opportunities for children to retell a narrative.
• Learning about different types of settings and creating characters to move within them.
• Learning about prepositions.

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 pom poms, rocks etc. 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.
• Enlist adult help in covering the can, watching out for sharp edges.

Materials

• Honeycomb decorations (ours came from Ikea, but they are often found at party stores)
• Paper
• Pencil/ eraser
• Creating supplies (we used liquid watercolours, sand/glue, paint sticks, paint pens, permanent markers- use what you have)
• Glue gun/glue

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Sketch out your ideas, thinking about what you will make your honeycomb into.  What are you interested in?  What part of your creation do you want to “pop” out.  Trace around the base of the honeycomb so you know what will be taken up by that space.  We painted slightly inside of the circle to have a clean edge when the honeycomb was glued on.

• Start painting your background in layers.  Think about starting with what would be furtherest away if your creation were real.

• Wait for each layer to dry.  Another practice that our daughter likes is outlining the perimeter and then painting in the inside area, as this contains the paint of sorts.

• Once your project is completed, create accents with your paint pens and permanent markers.

• Glue your honeycomb on, starting with one side and then the other.

• Back your work with a corresponding colour and hang your piece up to display!

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Purpose

• Repurposing different items in different ways.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use a glue gun with care and direct, adult supervision.

Materials

1) Dragons in Lava

• Goop (2 parts cornstarch to 1 part water, food colouring- measuring cup, spoon)
• Dragon figurines
• Gems/ stones
• Container (a bin for underneath one’s bed is perfect for this!)
• Clean-up supplies (table cloth/ water basin/ rags etc.)

2) Party Picks in Play Dough

• Party Picks (You can buy these at party stores, Etsy etc.)
• Play Dough
• Toys, figurines, loose parts

3) Build a Shelter

• Play Dough
• Wooden Planks
• Figurines

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

1) Dragons in Lava

• Make your goop in a shallow container. The basic recipe is 2 parts cornstarch to 1 part water.  However, if you find it too runny add more corn starch, too dry a little bit of water at a time.  Stir it with a sturdy spoon!  This is a perfect activity for outside which is easy to clean up.  When children are playing with messy, sensory ideas, be sure to protect your surface and have some clean-up options prepared in advance and accessible!

• Once your goop is mixed, add your figurines and any other items that you might like.  (Remember to think about the material of the items- for example wood is a bit porous and might absorb the food colouring and stain.)

• This is activity that often sustains play- enjoy!

2) Party Picks in Play Dough

• Make or purchase your play dough.  Our favourite recipe is here: http://make-it-your-own.com/fall-fun-pumpkin-pie-playdough-gift-jar/.

• Add your party picks, giving some height to your play scape.  We had a variety of stars from Justine Ma and Meri Meri, so my son wanted to create a space scene.  The figurines that he used are available from Wild Republic.  We added loose parts- marbles, bells etc. for him to manipulate.

• A shallow tray kept it all contained!

3) Build a Shelter

• Make or purchase your play dough.  Our favourite recipe is here: http://make-it-your-own.com/fall-fun-pumpkin-pie-playdough-gift-jar/.

• We then used wooden planks for the kids to create a structure for their creatures.  My youngest loves spiders, snakes etc. and my daughter bunnies- chose something that your child would connect to.

• Older children could do this activity with modelling clay/ plasticine!

Purpose

• Having various sensory experiences.
• Strengthening one’s hand muscles- this is a great precursor to developing writing skills.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Small items 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.
• Homemade play dough has a large salt content and is not intended for consumption so it is not recommended for children 0-3 years in age or those who tend to put items in their mouths/ consume items.

Materials

• Divided container (We bought this one at Ikea)
• Label: Building Kit
• Ribbon
• Scissors
• Tape

Here are some suggestions, but you could really put in any ideas that children might be interested in building with! We got the majority of our supplies at Michaels, but we have seen some at dollar stores too!  

• Wooden planks
• Dowels
• Popsicle sticks of various sizes
• Wooden cubes
• Plasticine/ Play Dough
• LEGO tape/ figurines
• Building books (The kids included Iggy Peck Architect and Rosie Revere Engineer and both of these books have accompanying project versions that we included in some of the kits that we made)

Directions

• Collect your supplies, including your container.  Put each supply into a section or combine them.

• Print out the label, cut it out and attach it to your container with a few tape donuts (tape looped onto itself with the sticky side out.  You could also use double sided tape!

• Chose a building book to go along with your kit.

• Tie it all together with some ribbon and give it to a special friend!

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Purpose

• STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) development.
• Enhancing one’s fine motor skills, creativity, design abilities etc.

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Cord, yarn, ribbon etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.
• Small items such blocks 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

TEMPLATES: Happy_Mothers_Day

*We printed them on white card stock

Card #1:  Tissue Paper Flowers 

• Tissue paper squares (You can purchase pre-cut squares at craft or dollar stores or cut them yourself in the shades that you like: We used two shades of pink, yellow and green for leaves)
• White craft glue
• Pencil with a new eraser
• Shallow tray/ lid
• Scissors

Card #2:  Artwork Hearts  

• Scraps of artwork or old pieces (You could also make painted papers)
• Heart punch
• Glue stick
• Pencil/eraser

Card #3:  Collage Flowers 

• Scraps of artworks (You could also paint the paper in a technique that you like)
• Scissors
• Pencil/eraser
• White, craft glue or we used a glue gun
• Beads, pom poms, buttons etc.

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

Card #1:  Tissue Paper Flowers 

• Print out your template on thick paper such as card stock.

• Cut your tissue paper into squares.  (You can also purchase pre-cut squares to save time).

• Gently wrap the square around the eraser of your pencil as shown.  We chose a yellow for the interior of the flower.  We then dipped it in a tiny bit of glue and wrapped a pink square on, followed by another bit of glue and a darker pink shade.  Once this was done, we dipped the darker pink shade in glue and attached it to our card, forming a flower on the circle.  We then repeated the process with green to form some leaves and added them on both sides of the flower.  You can make your wreath as full as you like with as many flowers and shades as you like.  Once the flowers are dry, you can kind of “fluff” them up.

• Write a personal note inside the card, stating what qualities that you like and appreciate about the special recipient!

Card #2:  Artwork Hearts  

• Print out your template on thick paper such as card stock.

• We used some paper that we already leftover from other artwork projects.  You could also create your own painted paper- so for example we had a piece that was dotted and another that we had used by scraping an old gift card across the paper.  The contrast of the different pieces made the hearts stand out.

• We used a heart punch which you can buy at dollar stores, scrap booking and craft stores (along with online) to punch hearts out of our artworks.

• We then glued them around the circle to create a wreath.  (It is a good idea to place all your hearts on to see if you like the pattern, prior to gluing them)

• Write a personal note inside the card, stating what qualities that you like and appreciate about the special recipient!

Card #3:  Collage Flowers 

• Print out your template on thick paper such as card stock.

• This is an opportunity to use up painted paper or scraps of old artworks in a different way.  Ours were made by using paint sticks (we like the Kwik Sitx brand) with splattered liquid watercolours on top.  Go with whatever painting or colouring technique that your child might be into!

• We then flipped over the paper and drew out simple flowers shapes lightly in pencil, cutting them out.  You could be quite elaborate or if you have a flower punch, you could use that too!  Repeat this process with the leaves.

• We took all of our cut-out florals and foliage and placed them around the circle to create a wreath that we were happy with prior to gluing them on.  Beads made the centre of our flowers stand out and you could use buttons, pom poms etc. as well- whatever you have on hand!

• Write a personal note inside the card, stating what qualities that you like and appreciate about the special recipient!

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Purpose

• Recognizing and celebrating the special women in our lives.

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.
• Beads, pom poms, buttons etc. 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.