• Piece of dowel
• Chenille sticks (pipe cleaners)
• Craft jewels
• Craft foam
• White glue or glue gun (to be used by an adult)
• Sharp scissors or wire cutters (used by an adult)

Directions

Who doesn’t love wands?!  We know they are a favourite at our home.  Thus, this project is a collaboration with our children’s idea.

Wrap your chenille sticks around the dowel as shown in the photos.

Have an adult trim the ends with wire cutters or scissors.

Twist together a few of the chenille stems at the top end  (as seen in the photos)  to create the feather shape.

Glue the foam (cut in a tear drop shape) to the end of your wand and glue on the craft jewels (be sure to let the white glue dry overnight or have an adult use a glue gun.

Enjoy!

Purpose

• Imaginary play, fine motor skill development, hand-eye coordination, using a real object to insight a creative replication

Safety Notes

• Glue guns are for adult use only
• Chenille sticks (pipe cleaners) have metal in them and therefore should be cut by an adult.  Be aware of other people when using a wand.

• Neutral coloured fabric (You could use a pillow case, napkin etc.)
• Embroidery floss (various shades of brown)
• Thicker needle (with a hole big enough for the embroidery floss)
• Scissors
• Felt or fabric
• Fabric paint
• Shallow dish
• Cloth (to wipe your hands or up any potential spills)
• Fabric glue
• Smock, apron or old clothes
• Sewing machine & thread (optional & with adult help)

Directions

Take a piece of plain, neutral coloured fabric.  You could make napkins, a pillow case etc.  We decided to make a spring table runner.  The edges were folded, ironed and sewn over with a sewing machine.  You can often find items that are prepared for adding your own details in craft stores.

Take nest coloured embroidery floss and sew it into a nest pattern (see photograph for a starting idea) using simple stitching and leaving the centre empty for eggs.  We had an adult  add some machine sewing as well to create more of a textured look.  This is a good beginner hand sewing project as it lends itself to more of an “organic” look.

Select a fabric paint that you might use for eggs such as light blue.  Place a small amount in a shallow dish.  Use thumb or finger prints to make eggs for your nest.  Or if you would like, cut egg shapes out of felt or fabric and trace the edges with fabric paint like we did.  Let dry overnight or according to the directions. Glue onto your table runner or project using fabric glue.

Want to give this as a gift? We will soon have some card ideas posted to accompany it.

Purpose

Fine motor skill development, hand/eye coordination (sewing), creating a visual representation of a real life object

Safety Notes

Use scissors and a needle with adult supervision

A sewing machine should be used by an adult or with adult supervision, based on your age and skill level.

Materials

Cookies

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Icing

• butter
• icing sugar
• milk or water
• vanilla
• food colouring (optional)

Additional Materials

• Rolling pin
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cups

Directions

Cookies

• Pre-heat the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Put on your apron.

• Beat together the eggs and sugar in a mixer.  Add butter and vanilla.  Beat well.

• Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl and add to the liquid mixture.

• Roll the dough out on a floured surface and cut out shapes with a cookie cutter.

• Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes.  Please note: Be sure to watch carefully- these cookies burn easily.

• Put the cookies on cooling racks and once cool, decorate!

Icing

• Beat butter (approximately 1/2 a cup) with approximately 1 tablespoon of vanilla and then add approximately 2 cups of icing sugar slowly.  Add milk or water to thin.  Increase the liquids if you want to make a glaze style icing for dipping and decreasing the liquids if you want to make a more spreadable one.  You could also transfer the icing into a squeeze bottle (we usually use a sealable bag first, snip the corner and then squeeze it into the bottle) and/or add decorations should you like.  If you added milk to the recipe, be sure to refrigerate the cookies.

Purpose

• Developing one’s math skills (measuring items)
• Learning how to read procedural types of writing
• Learning real-life applications for reading

Safety Notes

• This is an activity that is meant to be done WITH an adult as it requires the use of a an oven and a mixer.
• Be sure to use oven mitts when removing a hot tray from the oven and allow the cookies to cool before handling them.
• This recipe includes items that may be allergens.  Please read it carefully.
• It is suggested that you wear a smock to protect your clothes.