Materials

• Thick paper such as cardstock
• White glue (in a bottle- a thin nozzle is best!)
• Craft sand *
• Craft tray
• Large piece of paper
• Pencil/ eraser
• Broom/dustpan

* Tip:  We used Crayola Play Sand which you can purchase quite inexpensively at mid-late summer at large toy stores.  However, wouldn’t it be a lovely keepsake if you used sand from a beach that you went to on holiday and framed the piece…

Directions

• Cover your craft tray with a large piece of paper.  This will catch the sand that doesn’t adhere to the glue.

• Decide what you want to write or draw on your cardstock.  Sketch this out lightly with your pencil.

• Trace your sketch or writing with your glue.

• Sprinkle your sand on top of your glue.  Gently tap the excess sand off.  Allow to dry overnight.

• Take your excess sand and roll your paper into a funnel shape, allowing you to put it back into your container for re-use.

• Be sure to sweep up the floor under your work surface or do this outside at some place like a picnic table.

• Display your creation.

Purpose

• Using different materials to create sensory experiences.

Materials

• Fabric, felt or construction paper
• Scissors/ Fabric scissors
• Blanket

Directions

• Using felt and fabric scissors or construction paper, cut out things for your picnic (sandwiches, fruit and veggies, tea cups etc.)

•  Spread out a blanket for your picnic.

• Have a fun afternoon with your stuffies!

Purpose

• Re-creating familiar events.
• Imaginative play.

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with supervision.

Materials

• Craft foam
• Scissors
• Single hole punch
• Laces (you can purchase these at a craft store or educational store, or use an extra one meant for shoes) OR yarn with a bit of clear tape wrapped around the end to create a stiff end to aid in threading through the holes)
• Pencil

Directions

• Draw a  shape that you like out of craft foam.  Cut it out.

• Flip your shape over (so you can’t see the pencil lines and punch holes around the perimeter of the shape.  For smaller children use a larger hole size and punch fewer holes, wider apart.  For older children, a smaller hole size, closer together and more.

• Secure the lace at one end to the foam with a knot.

• Sew around the edges, trying different stitches (up and down, around etc.)

Purpose

• Hand/eye coordination, fine motor skill development, personalization

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with adult supervision.

“I find it SO interesting that it was likely the iPad games and puzzles he plays that influenced/inspired this idea. And that he is applying the “digital” ideas/rules/consequences to an “analog” game. Didn’t it used to be the other way around back in the day?”

As parents we are always hopeful that there is a transfer of knowledge from the screen into a real life application and this was a good example of such.  

Our children quite liked this concept and built their own maze right away.  We were very grateful for O. in sharing his idea and sent him a “maze like” game that we are learning and that my former students used to love.  Have an idea?  We would love for you to share it with us.  

Materials

• Building Blocks (LEGO, Duplo)
• Building Plate (for your base)
• Marble

Directions

• On your building plate, create a maze.  Depending on the age of your child, you can vary the complexity.  This might include several routes to the end, dead ends etc.

• Put your marble in at your starting point and tip your plate to move it around the maze, trying to get it to the end point.

• O.’s mom told us that he included all sorts of details such as adding his little LEGO people and various accompanying rules (if your marble hits a person, back to the start…).  Thus, you can see that this activity has amazing potential for personalization and inventiveness.

Extensions:

• Why not create a maze for a friend?  Or work on a maze collaboratively?

• Could you map out an idea on grid paper and then transfer it into building?

• How do your designs improve with each maze?  What did you learn with each iteration?

Purpose

• Developing spatial sense.

Safety Notes

• Marbles and small building blocks can be a choking hazard and should not be accessible to children 0-3 or who tend to put things in their mouths.
• No one likes to step on LEGO or vacuum it up…be sure to clear your floor space (or use a table) when done!
• When our neighbourhood friends realized that our son had chipped his tooth (well maybe teeth…) on LEGO they brought by a handy separator tool made by LEGO.  Such a great idea!

Materials

• Large tile (you can often get a single one in clearance areas of hardware stores inexpensively)
• Brayer
• Printing ink (we used Speedball Copper)
• Piece of wood
• White paper
• Paper towel roll
• Scissors
• Glue
• Red permanent marker
• Smock
• Craft Tray
• Child’s drawing

Branch Topper (optional)

• Stick
• Crepe Paper (you could use construction paper, felt or fabric)
• Floral Wire
• Floral tape
• Wire cutter
• Ribbon

Directions

• Don a smock.

• Place your paper in your craft tray (so it is easy to access when the ink is wet).

• Put a blob of ink on your tile and move your brayer through the ink to distribute a thin layer onto the brayer.

• Roll it over your piece of wood, getting an even coat.

• Place your paper on the wood and rub your hand over the top of it (see the photograph).

• Carefully peel it off.  Depending on the size of your wood, you may need to repeat this process (we did this twice) and allow it to dry overnight in your craft tray.

• Explore different things to do with it- we took it and glued it to a paper towel roll to create a tree trunk gift tube. You could make cards etc.

Branch Topper

• Collect a fallen branch on a nature walk with an adult.

• Have a adult cut small (approximately 10 cm/ 2 inch pieces) of floral wire.

• Fold your piece of crepe paper over to double it and cut out leaf shapes.

• Put a piece of wire between the two leaves in the centre and glue them together.

• Attach your wire to the branch using floral tape.

• Bend your leaves into the position you would like them.

• Attach your branch to your “tree” with a piece of ribbon.

• Gently roll up and slide your drawing or letter inside and send it to a friend!

Purpose

• Exploring different methods of printmaking using various materials.
• Re-creating things in nature.
• Thinking of a design to protect something.

Safety Notes

• When using wood with young children, be careful regarding slivers.
• Be sure to follow the directions on products.
• Have an adult cut wire and be cautious of the ends.

This post was featured on the Crafty Crow: http://www.thecraftycrow.net/2014/07/twig-frame.html

Looking for some more nature inspired activities?  Check them out!

Materials

• Small twigs
• Glue gun/glue
• Wooden picture frame (you can purchase these inexpensively at craft or dollar stores or re-use one you already have)
• Cupcake liners
• Small plastic container
• Food colouring
• Scissors
• Tacky glue
• Brown floral tape (optional)
• Cooling rack (generally used for baking)
• Craft tray
• Smock
• A photograph of your child(ren) outside or yourself!

Directions

• Go for a nature walk (or many!) and collect fallen twigs.

• Have an adult glue the twigs to the frame.  (This might include having the child pass the twigs or directing where they would like them to go.)

• Leave out some of your twigs to make your blooms.

• Put some food colouring in the bottom of a plastic container.

• Dip your cupcake liners in the food colouring (we used white, that is why we decided to dye the edges, but you could use coloured ones and skip this step).

• Place them to dry on the cooling rack.  (You might want to put a craft tray underneath depending on how saturated the cupcake liners are!)

• Once the cupcake liners are dry, cut off the ruffle portion and then cut this into segments (about 4-6 per liner depending on the thickness of your twigs and the desired fullness of your blooms.)

• Put a thin line of tacky glue on the bottom of the ruffle and wrap it around the top end of your twig.

• To firmly secure this, we finished the bottom of the bloom by wrapping some brown floral tape around the edge where the bloom meets the twig.  Remember to activate the glue in floral tape, pull it taut (as we call it “stretching the glue”) before wrapping it around.

• Have an adult weave in the twig blooms into the frame and glue gun them in place.

• Insert a picture of you enjoying the outdoors!

Purpose

• Hand/eye coordination, fine motor skills, experimenting with using materials in different ways.
• Enjoying nature (collecting twigs often makes an enjoyable walk for both children and parents/ caregivers!)

Safety Notes

• A glue gun should be used by an adult.
• Be respectful of the environment and collect only fallen twigs, rather than those attached to the trees.
• When using dye (food colouring in this case), be sure to protect surfaces and your clothing.
• Use scissors with adult supervision.
• Follow the directions on glue products.

This post was featured on the Owl Kids website.  Looking for a engaging, educational way to get your child reading each month?  Check out this great publication- our kids love it! (And so do we!)

 http://www.owlkids.com/make-a-nature-wand/

Materials

• A stick
• Ribbon (we also included sequin strings and rick rack)
• Scraps of “fancy paper” (we used crepe and origami paper, but use whatever you may have/like)
• Craft jewels
• Scissors
• Craft glue

Directions

• Go on a nature walk and select a stick for your wand.

• Tie your pieces of various ribbon around your stick and knot them.

• Cut out some larger pieces of paper to form your base.

• Layer it with pieces of paper, gluing them together.

• Add embellishments such as craft jewels.

• Glue your base to your stick and let it dry overnight.

• Have fun with your wand!

Purpose

• Re-using & re-purposing materials, developing fine motor skills, enjoying the outdoors, imaginary play

Safety Notes

• When using your wand to play, be aware of other people.
• Use scissors with adult supervision.
• Craft jewels are choking hazards and should not be used by children 0-3 and/or those that tend to put things in their mouths.

Materials

• Tissue paper (you can purchase this inexpensively at the dollar store)
• Scissors and/or fringing scissors (optional)
• Tacky glue
• Brown floral tape (optional- you can purchase this at florists, dollar stores, craft stores or online)
• Branches

Directions

• Collect fallen branches.  We selected ones that were more delicate in nature.

• We bought a tissue paper “fold” which assisted in the ease of the next step.  Unfold a few sheets, but leave them together.  (E.g., 3 layers depending on the sharpness of your scissors).

• Cut out a strip that is about 10 centimetres (approximately 2 inches) tall and 25 centimetres long (approximately 5 inches).

• Fold it on half longwise (see photograph).  A few teachers I used to work with referred to this as a “hot dog fold” which was really easy for the kids to understand.

• Cut down from the fold to about the half way point with each incision being an equal distance apart (we did approximately 1/2 a centimetre apart).

• Depending on the thickness of your branch cut your tissue paper into 2-3 sections along 2 or 3 of cuts.

• Put a thin line of glue along the bottom of your tissue paper (where there are no cuts). Wrap it around the end of your branch gently.  If you want a more full bloom, wrap it around several times.

• We wrapped the bottom of the bloom with a little bit of floral tape just to firmly secure it and give it a polished finished.  When using floral tape, be sure to pull it taut to activate the glue.

• Use your blooms to brighten up your table, a room or tie them with a ribbon to the top of a present.

Purpose

• Hand/eye coordination, fine motor skill development, scissors handling skills.

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with adult supervision.
• Be aware of other people when handling sticks.
• Follow the directions on glue products.