My Letter

The kids are going back to school next week. And the oldest are going into kindergarten. Although they know the letters in their name, it always makes a fun craft. The younger ones are going to go into a preschool type program at the rec centre, so we are working on their letters, numbers and name.

Today, we are having our end of summer holidays party. We made a cake- which didn't quite turn out- so we are doing "cake sundaes" where they will get some broken up cake, icing and sprinkles and can make their own in a bowl! We are also going out for lunch- McDonalds of course, so we can play too! And for our craft, what a nice addition to a party- FINGER PAINT!

This craft really didn't take any time at all to set up. And, if you don't have finger paint, then you can just paint! I would NOT recommend using construction paper though, because it might rip.

First, I taped out each child's letter (that begins their name). Don't squish it down to the paper, just lightly put it on- but make sure it is on- does that make sense!?

Then, get them their finger paint!

 

Once they have painted all over the whole paper, you can slowly peel off the tape. (I have done this before, a long time ago- and found the sooner you take the tape off, the better.)

Then let it dry!

Travelling

I can't believe I completely forgot to post about this! This summer, we have done a few road trips. With a couple more to come. For the first one- which wasn't too far, but far enough to need stuff in the car for the kids, I was packing things and putting things near the door to throw into the van, when I was wishing I had something to make it all easier!

Then it hit me- use a bin! We have fabric bins from IKEA that we put toys in- and we have a few extra's lying around the house. So, I grabbed the bin and put the stuff in- YAY!

It gets better. This bin fits right in between their car seats. And, they can reach their own stuff. So, for the trip- I am not constantly reaching in the back to get things to them! It also doubles as a tv stand for the portable DVD player! (which we only take on long trips!)

In the bin, I have everything they might need. Colour wonder colouring stuff- we have the "desk" type things, that hold the markers and pages! (stow and go). We also have some books- they each get to pick their own- usually 2-4 each depending on how long the trip is! We have head phones, and their ipods (they only have these because family members got new ones and these were lying around- but they make trips WAY easier!). Then the movies and portable DVD player. We also bought pirate telescopes when we were in Disneyland this year- so they are in there so they can look out the windows with them!

That stuff keeps them busy! They also have their water bottles in there (I keep a thing of juice and a big bottle of water in the cooler to refill!), and some snacks that they can have whenever- fruit snacks, granola bars- healthy stuff- I keep the junk with me to hand out when I feel like it!

The kids love this bin. Now, it has become a permanent fixture by our front door- just incase we have impromptu trips anywhere, it stays sort of packed- the colour wonder, headphones, and some books and toys are always in there- so we can just grab and go!

This bin has saved us many times since I started using it. I wish I had one in the front for us!

Liquid sidewalk chalk

Today was a beautiful day. We all just returned from holidays, so we have been organizing, and getting back in the swing of things. With that, comes fights and a feeling of confinement with the kids- so we had to get out! I had some of the kids bugging me for a craft, and some bugging me to go outside- SO...we combined them!

How much fun is sidewalk chalk? TONS! And how much fun is painting? TONS! So, why not mix them! I pulled out the painting supplies, a bowl, measuring cup, corn starch, and food colouring! Mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup of corn starch. You can make more- just make the amount you want with equal amounts of water and corn starch. This amount made enough to keep the 4 kids busy for over an hour. That was with 4 colours too, so if you want/need more you might need to make more.

After you mix the water and corn starch, pour into separate containers or paint pots- one for each colour. Then add FOOD COLOURING. I used the neon type and it was GREAT. Then we headed outside!

The kids each got one "canvas"- which was a sidewalk block! This was their paper. (Note- the paint did all of our blocks- 6 and a bit, plus some of the path, on a tree, drain spout, and part of our wagon! Just to give you an idea of how much it makes.)

 (they had to stop to check on the neighbours cat who was "stuck" in the tree)

They had a great time painting the sidewalk! They stayed for a long time, then played, and came back, and then even took the paint to other area's in front of the house!