Everything...Family Guide

Friday, 21 March 2014

Interactive Calendar Wheel

This week I introduced an interactive component to our Daily Calendar. I wanted to make my preschooler more involved in the Calendar activity. Hence the Interactive Calendar Wheel was introduced!

Interactive Calendar Wheel © Everything Family Guide

We used two (8 1/2 by 11 inches sized) thick cardboard papers to make the Interactive Calendar. For the top layer, we drew pictures that are specific to each box/topic. In the Interactive Calendar, we added titles and pictures to help our child find the items easily. There are two ways to make this calendar:

For individual use, make a calendar that is easy to hold and sized right (around 8 1/2 by 11 OR 8 1/2 by 14 inches).
For group use (in a classroom), make a calendar on a large chart paper (27 by 34 inches) and laminate it for future use/reuse.

We use the interactive calendar wheel to practise what we are learning in calendar time. For example, when we place the date cards on our wall calendar, then I have my preschooler spin the wheel on the interactive calendar's date section so that he can demonstrate the date as well. This way he is learning by doing in more than one way. And that is the best way to learn; learn by doing.

We are finding the interactive learning wheel to be very beneficial for Calendar Math. We suggest that you try it with your little one...

Annie

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Recycled Magazine Envelopes

We love to reuse and recycle things at our home! Here is an awesome project that is super cute and crafty for your little one.

Materials Needed

White paper for tracing envelope template
Marker
Paper from Magazines
Scissors
Glue stick
Address Label stickers (Optional)

Here is what we did...

Prep: First, I traced a shape/template of an envelope on paper (inspired by the Country Living Magazine). Then I cut it out for the project.

Envelope Template © Everything Family Guide

I traced the pattern on the magazine paper using a marker, to help my preschooler see the shape for cutting.

Tracing the Template on Magazine Paper © Everything Family Guide

Then we cut the shape/template using child-safe scissors.

Cutting the Envelope template © Everything Family Guide

The Magazine Cut-out © Everything Family Guide

Now the fun begins, we folded the two side flaps inwards. Next, we applied glue on the two side small flaps using a glue stick. Then we folded only the bottom half towards the flaps to secure the bottom of the envelope in place. We allowed the envelopes to dry before folding the top flap to close the envelope.

For finishing touches, we stuck address label stickers to the front of the envelope! Now you are all done! The envelopes can used to deliver secret messages between siblings/friends or for slipping in a love note to momma or papa dear! My kids loved these so much that we ended up making some more!

This was an awesome recycling project and my preschooler loved turning magazine pages into envelopes! Are there any other ways that you use to fold envelopes? Please share your ideas and suggestions with us!

Annie

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Collage

We love the "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle!! We are always reading it and looking for new ways of exploring this AMAZING book! Here is an amazing paint collage art project inspired by the book...

Materials that you will need:

Sheets of white paper
Watercolor paints
A Paint brush
A Painting tray
A Glass of water
A Glue stick
Scissors
Markers (for decorations) and,
A Large sheet of paper

Here is how we created our collage...

We painted a variety of colors (inspired by Eric Carle's book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar) on white sheets of paper. We didn't use any particular painting technique but we made sure that the whole surface of the paper was covered in paint. So this way, we painted five sheets of paper using a variety of paint colors. We left the paper to dry.

When the painted paper was dried, we traced shapes of butterfly wings, circles and strips, using a pencil crayon. We also used the last two pages of the book for inspiration on what shapes to trace for our collage.

Then our budding artist cut out the shapes from the painted paper with a pair of scissors.

We laid our cut-outs and planned where we would place our painted paper cut-outs on the large sheet of paper using the book as a reference (the very last page with the butterfly on it). It is very important to go over the details as it can be confusing for the little ones. I always demonstrate a few steps before I allow my preschooler to go ahead independently. We placed them on the paper without gluing first to understand how to use our cut-out shapes.

We glued on the shapes like a collage (one-by-one) to help form a butterfly. We started off with the head in the top center of the page. Then we added the wings on each side, one by one. Finally, we added the body of the butterfly and small cut-outs for the details on the butterfly's wings. At the end, we drew two antennas with a marker. You can also add the butterfly's hands/feet for additional details.

This project turned out to be very beautiful and it's definitely going in our little guy's art portfolio (where I save all his treasured artwork). Thanks for reading our post and I hope you will try this project with your kids/students! We would love to hear how it turned out!

Annie

4 Spring Art and Craft Activities

So we are doing some early Spring activities and hoping that the cold winter season will pass soon in our city! Fingers crossed! Here are some Spring inspiring crafts that are easy to do for little hands and very colorful! We promise you that your little one will have a blast doing our craft activities! Here we go...

Confetti Art

Materials: glue stick, pre-drawn/printed shape on white or light colored paper, 2 inch long green construction paper strips, 2 googly eyes and Spring confetti

This activity is super simple! You will need a pre drawn or printed picture(s) of something related to Spring. We chose a rabbit because that's what our little guy wanted. You also need a packet of Spring confetti (we got ours for a $1 from the dollar store!). Then, you need to apply glue to the inner part of the blank shape using a glue stick. Now the fun begins, let your little one use his/her tiny fingers to press the confetti to the inside of the shape (great for fine motor development). Upon completion, press the confetti with your hands to ensure that it sticks to the paper and doesn't fall off. We then cut green construction paper in 2 inch strips and cut little slits halfway (looked like a comb) on the top of the paper. Then we glued the strips to the bottom of the page. We used our hands to curl the paper forward to give it the appearance of grass. To make it fun, we added some googly eyes to make our Spring-inspired Confetti Rabbit!

Spring Blooms

Materials: liquid glue, confetti or glitter, colorful pipe cleaners, toilet paper tube, recycled paper (for decoration), a piece of tape and stickers

We do this activity every year for Spring! It is super easy and lots of fun! First, we cut the little egg holders/bulbs from the egg carton. Then we cut out tiny triangles (around 3/4 for each bulb) on the top of the bulb. We poke a hole in the center of the bulb to slide in the pipe cleaners. I always fold the top of the pipe cleaner on the inside of the bulb to keep it from slipping out. Finally, we add decorations to the flower bulbs using liquid glue to tack on confetti or sprinkle on some glitter. To make it into a bouquet, we twisted the pipe cleaners together. For a vase, we used a toilet paper tube and wrapped it with leftover wrapping paper. We taped the wrapping to secure it in place and decorated the top of the vase with foam stickers (we used animals or insects that you would see out in Spring). We slid the bouquet inside to make a Spring-inspired flower bouquet in a recycled vase.

Recycled Spring Bouquet © Everything Family Guide

Pipe Cleaner Butterflies

(Materials: different colored pipe cleaners)

This craft was inspired by a blog post at the Gummy Lump Toys Blog. It took a little trial and error by our preschooler to master the butterfly twisting process, but it was a fun learning activity. Just a word of CAUTION: the ends of the pipe cleaner can be very sharp/pokey, so please proceed carefully. First, we twisted both the ends of the pipe cleaner to form an "O" shape. Next, we twisted them in the center (a few times) to make a "Bow-tie" shape. Then we folded the pipe cleaner in half and strung a different colored pipe cleaner around the folded bow-shaped pipe cleaner. We twisted the new pipe cleaner on and worked our way vertically. When we were done, we opened the bow shape to reveal a beautiful butterfly!

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" Paint Collage

Materials: Sheets of white paper, watercolor paints, paint brush, water, glue stick, scissors, markers, and a Large sheet of paper.

We painted a variety of colors (inspired by Eric Carle's book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar) on white sheets of paper. We didn't use any particular painting technique but we made sure that the whole surface of the paper was covered in paint. So this way, we painted five sheets of paper using a variety of paint colors. We left the paper to dry.
When the painted paper was dried, we traced shapes of butterfly wings, circles and strips, using a pencil crayon.
Then our budding artist cut out the shapes from the painted paper with a pair of scissors.
We laid our cut-outs and planned where we would place our painted paper cut-outs on the large sheet of paper using the book as a reference (the very last page with the butterfly on it).
Then we glued on the shapes like a collage (one-by-one) to help form a butterfly in the end. This project turned out so good and it's definitely going our little guys art portfolio where I save all his treasured artwork. I plan on using a technique by artist Jan Eleni to collage my son's mounting art projects in his portfolio. Then we will present that to him as a graduation gift.

Spring is my favorite season of the year..how about you?
Annie

Sunday, 2 March 2014

Recycle Art: Window Collage

Here at Everything Family Guide, we are busy recycling and re-purposing everyday junk items and turning them into colorful, fun art projects. Today, we did an activity that is very simple and takes only a half hour block to complete.

Materials List:

2 pieces of paper (from the recycling bin)
Glossy magazines or flyers (from the recycling bin)
Glue stick
Crayons

Project Instructions:

To make the top page of the project, you need to fold the second paper in half and then fold it into another half to form a four paged book. Now, draw any shape like an Oval or diamond on the folded part of the paper. Cut the shape on the inside fold of the paper to form a paper cut-out pattern. When done cutting, open the paper and glue on top of the magazine strips paper. Look at the example below.

Tear flyers or magazine paper into long vertical strips. Apply glue on paper and glue the magazine strips in any position (vertical or horizontal). Place it under a heavy object to keep it from curling; this helps to dry the paper flat/straight.

You are all done after you have added some funky designs using pencil crayons! The paper cut-outs will make for an amazing window display.

This project can be done in many ways and with different design cut-outs. Here are some recycling tips to share with your little learners:

Reduce (Avoid buying excessive things and throw out less in the garbage.)
Reuse (Turn your junk into funky art and craft projects or use old cans/jars for storing things. Food garbage can be composted for reuse in the garden.)
Recycle (Remember to recycle paper, plastics, cans, electronics and other items in the proper way and take them to the right recycling outlets).

Have fun recycling!