No-Rules-Allowed Coffee Filter Butterflies

This is a craft preschoolers have been making for yearsandyearsandyears. Some teachers seem to be addicted to that old-fashioned, stepsy, cookie-cutter crafts format...

AH! Rules and art reallyREALLY just don't go together!

Instead of simply encouraging "direction following"...(robotkids, anyone?), I like to emphasize as much open-endedness & creativity as possible without inciting absolute chaos (let's help nurture some future inventors, scientists, artists, and leaders, maybe?)... It's so much more fun that way, less-rushed, and the kids always make the most superpretty, 100% unique, truly personalized stuff. Give it a try and see for yourself how brilliant & imaginative little minds really are...

Here's What You Need:

* Coffee Filter

* Markers

* Clothespin

* Decorative Goodies (pipe cleaners, pompoms, buttons, beads, paint, rhinestones, glitter, beans, pasta, etc. Just dump handfuls of materials out on a table...)

* Craft Glue

* Water Spray Bottle

Here's What You Do:

1. Decorate your clothespin however you like, and let dry, if needed.

2. Color your coffee filter (however you'd like!) with markers.

3. Gather the filter in the center, creating a set of wings (grownups can help.)

4. Cinch the center with your clothespin.

5. Spray the filter wings til they're wet, and the colors run together.

6. Allow to dry.

7. Take your butterfly out for a nectar-sipping walk.

8. Float, flutter, fly...

Cutesy Tips: These look pretty on the fridge... just press a sticky magnet on the back. You can also string several butterflies together and create a garland, mobile or door hanging... lovely, lovely, lovely...

Butterfly FunFact: Did you know that butterflies taste with their feet? For even more truly incredible butterfly facts, visit the San Diego Zoo's wonderful Animal Bytes Site :)

Furry Friends (A Pictorial)

Visit the ASPCA Adoption Success Story Site for these (and oodles more!) photos of cute interspecies friendships :) SOSOSOOO CUTE!

Yummy Puppet Food

...Because an animal puppet's gotta eat!

This is a supersimple project that sparks creativity, imagination, and leads to all sorts of sciencey talk. Hosting a pretend brunch buffet for animal puppets is an ideal opportunity for:

Sorting: "Which animals like to eat nuts?"

Dramatic play: "Yum, my butterfly likes flower nectar!"

Introducing new vocabulary: (carnivore, herbivore, etc.)

Problem-solving: "How do you think the otter gets those hard shells open?"

Here's What You Need:

* Sturdy-Style Paper/Plastic/Bamboo Plates

* Glue (Craft or Hot Glue)

* Various Critter Food: Which kind depends on your stash of puppets. I used: a silk flower, little creepy rubber toy bugs, dried nuts & seeds, a couple of fabric leaves (that fell off my fall door wreath), pretty shells, and a small squeaky steak dog toy.

Here's What You do:

1. Glue one food item per plate, and let dry.

2. Invite your kidlet's puppets for feasting!

3. Play, sort, giggle, chat... and learn!

(Semihandmade) SSSnake Sock Puppets

When it comes to kidcrafts, Semihandmade is always my favorite way to go, and these shortcut snake sock puppets are sssuper easypeasy to make.

While this craft is best for older kids (or for grownups whipping up a fast gifty), itsybitsy ones can help out with selection duty (choosing the perfectly colored sock, size of eyes, "how many eyes do we need for a snake?"...)

Here's What You'll Need:
* One Sock (Argyles= snaketastic diamond patterned scales)
* Glue (Fabric or Hot Glue)
* Two Googly Eyes (or buttons, etc.)
* Red Felt Scraps (for your snake's tongue)
* Scissors
* Marker/Pen

Here's What You Do:
1. Push your hand inside the sock (sock puppet style) to find & smush out your snake's mouth.

2. Mark out where you'd like the eyes and tongue to go.

3. Cut a longish, forked tongue shape.

4. Glue your tongue and eyes where they belong.

5. Give your snakey time to dry (um, I mean, nap), and...

6. TADA! It's that quick & easy.

There are tons of obvious sciencey tie-ins: how do snakes sound? how do they move? what sort of body covering do they have? what do snakes eat? how do snakes eat?... with a puppet, it's not all talk, it's action, baby! Lot & lots of "show me!" moments, which are wonderful for kinesthetic learners :)

Silly Sensory Snake Stuff: Stick out your tongue. Do you smell with your tongue?... No, we humans smell with our noses, but snakes use their tongues to help them smell! Sound silly? Maybe, but that's not even the coolest part...look closely, and you'll notice the snake has a split (or forked) tongue. The tongue is forked so the snake can smell what's going on to the left ("predator! AH!") and the right ("prey! YUM!") at the same time, and then decide which direction is safest/yummiest/best to go :)

Metamorphosis Hand Play

Kidlets love using music and movement to tell a story... and what could be more fascinating than the life cycle of the butterfly? Here's a song my preschoolers want to sing (and act out) over and over (and oooooover...)

Ten little eggs, all in a mound

(Hold up ten fingers, and then place one hand over the other to form a covered fist/mound)

Out come the caterpillars, crawling all around

(Move your fingers in a crawling motion)

Next they will sleep, and we know why

(Tilt and lay your head on your hands like a pillow)

Soon they will be... butterflies

(Wave your hands around with your thumbs overlapping... sign language for "butterfly.")

Books, Barks, & Bestest Buddies

Are you a SoCal puppyparent with a well-mannered, calm, supersocialized dog who loveloveloves kiddos? Are you a teacher who's looking for a fun, innovative way to encourage your students to read?...Then there's a wonderful volunteer community group called BARK (Beach Animals Reading with Kids) you might be interested in.

Sometimes children who are learning to read have a tough time reading aloud in class... BARK links local schools and libraries with supersweet therapy dogs who know how to just relax & listen without judgement...

It might sound silly, but this program really works wonders! It's great on so many levels: for the kids, the dogs, the teachers, (& even the proud dog parents.) Similar programs can be found nationwide, like this one, in Ohio...

Consider getting involved in your local chapter... :)

A Very Merry Unbirthday!

Unbirthdays are the best! Lori @ Pretty Little Things is having an unbirthday sale through the weekend, so be sure to take a peek at her etsy shop... it's the perfect time to stock up on her adorable, colorful, cheerful, heartfelt felts :) Personally, I love the embellished snail tote... but there's lots of cuteness: cozy plush friends, flowery clutches, and even clever pincushions. Girly Girl Heaven :)

Looking for other fun ways to celebrate an unbirthday? Have an unbirthday party! Put out some happily mismatched china, decorate with roses and colorful paper lanterns (as photographed by Jessica Claire, below), share all sorts of different kinds of tea, label your snacks & beverages with tiny "eat me/ drink me" signs, decorate cupcakes & cookies, play croquet & chess, follow mysterious (rubber stamp) rabbit tracks (maybe to a rabbit hole filled with small, silly gifts), make & wear some crazy hats... (as shown @ Fun In The Making.)

"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "otherwise you wouldn't have come here..."

Friendly Fortune Cookies

Looking for a supercute, personalized, and YUMMY little gift idea you can make together as a family? Try creating your own fortune cookies, shortcut style: Wondertime has step-by-step instructions, but you pretty much just microwave a fortune cookie for about 20 seconds (this softens it up a bit), switch out the old fortune with a handmade fortune (written on a piece of 3" x 1" paper), and let the cookie harden back to normal. Sweet, magical... and brilliantly easypeasy, too :)

* Quick Reminder for Pet Parents: Please remember that sweets (and most other human foods) are made for humans only, and should never be shared with furry friends, most especially dogs. This is a good thing... it means... MORE FOR YOU!

Easy Chunky Rainbow Crayons

Oh! These are so fun to make, easy for little hands to grip (and they're eco-friendly, too!)

1. Gather together all your old, broken crayons, remove the wrappers, and break the crayons into smallish pieces (kidlets can help.)

2. Coat a muffin tin with vegetable spray, and then plop the crayon pieces inside. Or, use cookie cutters on a baking sheet, instead (for cutesy shapes like hearts, stars, or flowers.)

3. Bake at 275 for about 7 minutes or so til everything's melty.

4. Fancify: Carefully swirl the colors a little with a toothpick, or add some glitter.

5. Let cool, and then pop out and... color.

There are tons of preschooly/sciencey tie-ins for this activity: colors (name them, which colors are cool? which are warm?), sorting (maybe match all blues together, all greens, etc. In fall, try making leaf shaped crayons using lovely swirled oranges, yellows, & reds), shapes, sizes, reusing/recycling, what are rainbows...? what is melting...? funfunfun.

Preschool Predator Curriculum

Naturalist: "Today we'll be talking about predators...Raise your hand if you can explain what a predator is..."

Little Girl: "A predator wants to harm children and belongs in jail. Sometimes they are strangers, but sometimes they are people you know. If one talks to you, run and get your mom or dad, a teacher, or the police..."

True story :)

Koala Heroes, Book Heaven, Sssnakes

These are THREE THINGS I LOVE RIGHT NOW:

1. PERSON: David Tree, Koala-rescuing, volunteer firefighter hero. Did you hear about this? Ohmygosh. I love this man. love Sam the Koala. Love the story.

2. PLACE: Teacher's Supply of Long Beach. I popped in early last week to buy a gift and was sad to hear that they were preparing for a final going out of business sale :( SO SAD! Not only is this a great shop for teachers, parents, and kids, it's the perfect shop for ME (it's superclose to home!) I went back in this weekend for the huge 50% off book sale, and walked away with armfuls. They won't tell the public how much longer they'll be open, but I'm guessing they'll probably still be open through the Chocolate Festival this weekend. So if you're coming down for that, you'll want to swing by. Though most of the store is already picked clean of toys & games, there's still lots of teacher stuff (bulletin board cutouts, borders, posters, etc.) These items are 75% off (!), so... I'm taking this as a sad economic commentary. In fact, the owners say part of the reason they're closing is that teachers just can't afford to buy those little special extra things for their classrooms anymore...

AH! SO SAD! Now that I've depressed you... here's the goodish-for-you news:

The children's book section was still pretty plentiful as of yesterday (don't get me started on what kind of commentary that is... that moms in the neighborhood bought out all the toys & games but the book department was left nearly untouched... oh... let's just not even start down that commentary road...)

Anyways, I was lucky enough to find some of my favorite childhood books, tons of sciencey/naturey classics, and also some titles that I'd never heard of before. My three favorite finds:


What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You? by Steve Jenkins. What a great title! This is another wonderful, yucky-type book, about all the fascinating adaptations specifically designed to outwit predatory animals. Kids love hearing about predators, so I can't wait to make use of this one...

Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, by Judi Barrett. We already have this book in the Nature Center classroom, and it's one of my all-time favorites to read to the kids. It's a great, simple way to introduce the general concept of adaptation, and it's also great for discussing animal "body coverings" (skin, scales, feathers, etc.) Each page of this book has an illustration of a different animal wearing clothes, looking fantastically ridiculous. Besides being silly, it also highlights the important uniqueness of each creature (for instance, a porcupine wears a shirt all torn up with holes due to her quills, a giraffe wears seven neckties because he has such a long neck, and a snake slithers pointlessly out of a pair of pants.)

The Stupids Die, by Harry Allard & James Marshall. I won't be using this in class, but I had to buy it anyway! My Dad and I must have read this book a gazillion times when I was little. A family experiences a power outage... and when everything goes dark... they think they've all... died. Call me morbid, but...that's funny.




3. THING: SSSSSnake Scarves! Bundling up has never been more fun! These handmade, etsy toddler-sized scarves (designed by Frogdancer), are a multipurpose genius invention... play with your scarf first... then wear it... then maybe lend it to your pesky brother and imagine he's being constricted (neeheehee...)

Fun snake discussion topics: how do snakes move without legs? how do snakes sound? eat? hide?...why do they stick their tongues out all the time?...

Funnest-Ever Snake Exploration Activity: Observe Snake Sheds. Obtain some old snake skin (call your local reptile society for contacts. Not to creep you out, but most reptile enthusiasts have bags & bags of it... don't ask me why, they just do...) Investigate one in-tact shed closely with a magnifying glass.

Notice the patterns, colors. How do these things help the snake? Can you tell where the head was, and where the tail was? How does the snake skin feel?

I follow up with some snakey art, letting the kids squish out modelmagic clay snakes, and then decorate them with markers, paper scraps, buttons, seeds, beans, rice, and (best part!) little snake shed bits.

*Reminder: Always be sure to wash your hands after handling animal-oriented objects, most especially reptile-related stuff.

Another Sunday Funny

My very favorite Ziggy cartoon of all time. I've been meaning to post this for awhile... (hehe...)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love often comes when you least expect it :)

Looking for a sillyspecialsecret way to say "I love you" ?...

Try Morse Code:

Dash-dash-dash-dot-dot. Dash-dash-dash-dot-dot

Happy Hearts Mini Makeovers

This is maybe the cutest idea ever (and it's simple, too!) Organic kids clothing designer Sarah Waldo came up with a five-minute secret for transforming everyday button-up shirts into celebratory, Valentinesish duds! You simply cut out little felt hearts, put a tiny slit down the middle, and slide them over the shirt buttons. Visit Sarah's wonderful Going Starfishing blog for easy, step-by-step instructions, and even more great, planet-friendly ideas, too :)

Speaking of Valentinesy festive fashions... I taught a kinder class today and one of the little girls had her hair braided... into a heart. I didn't have my camera, but a photo of the exact same hairstyle is on The Story of A Princess And Her Hair (along with do-it-yourself, copycat instructions.) I wish I was coordinated enough to do it to my own head! SO adorable... be sure to take a peek :)

Easy Kinder Heart Craft

This Valentine's Day craft from 4 Crazy Kings is great for building fine motor skills. Some superlittleones will prolly find it tricky, but most older preschoolers, kinders, & up will likely lovelovelove the creation process. Detailed instructions are on the site, but in a nutshell, you pretty much just thread beads onto fuzzy pipe cleaners and twist into a heart shape (warning: make sure your bead holes are big enough for the pipe cleaners to fit!... And remember to supervise oral-curious smaller children so you won't end up with a creepy choking situation...)

You can make a pretty garland, door hanging, or mobile by linking them. Mix it up by using just Valentinesy color beads, favorite colors only, or make it officially rainbowish by stringing rainbow colors in correct succession. Possible sciencey learning links: colors, rainbows, shapes, sorting, matter, patterns, textures :)

*** DIY Make Your Own Choose Your Own ***

My husband and I agreed to make each other our Valentine gifts this year, so, after filtering through the zillion crafty ideas in my head (99.9% of which were girly), I decided to make him his own, personalized, non-girly Choose Your Own Adventure Book (please note the very non-girly karate pose, ninja eyes, spooky mask and weaponry...)

CYOA books were really a big huge deal when we were growing up in the 80s. For those of you who are too young to remember them (grr...) here's how they work: at the end of the first page of the story, the reader is given choices (ex: "if you open the door, turn to pg. 14" ... "if you choose to ignore the door, turn to pg. 52.") The story continues on different adventures based on the choices you make. You can reread the book multiple times and by making different choices, wind up with different endings. Sometimes you end up a millionaire, discover pirate treasure, or get run over by a rhino.

For my husband's book, I scanned an old CYOA book and switched out a couple of things (adding his name, and a photo of his head.) Please note how goofy it looks. Go for the goofy...that's part of the charm! Then I printed out and glued the altered cover onto a little cheap notebook with blank pages. Next came the time consuming part: actually writing the book. I used real-life main characters (his childhood friends, family, pets, ME, etc.) and of course included the requisite boy fantasy stuff (superheroes, cowboys, aliens, martial arts, and so on.) With CYOA books, cheesy is good, and since I'm naturally corny, coming up with the storylines was really pretty easy.

Besides Valentine's day, you could whip up a custom CYOA for a birthday, Christmas, or Father's Day... (you could even get your kids involved with the storylines...children are the best resource for imaginative ideas...)

Although this is a fun, silly gift for grownup 80s babies, I can also see this being a really sweet gift for children...

It could also be a creative school project for older kids. Teachers can easily tie-in whatever topics they need (4th grade example: write a CYOA about CA mission life.) In the process, kids will not only be learning about the given topic, but also writing, reading, using their imaginations, organizational abilities, & focusing on the importance of making wise choices :)

Tips:

1. Start the project way in advance. If you procrastinate, your head & hands will hurt. Ahem.
2. Add illustrations. The old books used simple line drawings. The goofier, the better.
3. Remember to be ridiculous (think yetis, Russian spies, time travel...)
4. Store your in-progress work in a big Ziploc bag (to avoid possible spill catastrophes.)
5. Have fun! This project is a great excuse be silly... embrace your inner kidlet :)

Lovebird Beach Bums

Just in time for Valentine's Day... adorable African penguins in love (as photographed by Stuart Westmorland.) Two too cute cuties!

Handsome Handprint Valentines

These darling handprint valentines from My Little Gems are so cute, really easy to make, and absolute sentimental-savers (superperfect for grammies!) Plus, most kids (especially preschoolers!) will love making them... enjoying the smushy sensory experience of gloopy paint.

Crafty Bonus: instead of immediate clean-up, this could be a fun transition into open-ended art (move those messy hands directly to a large piece of construction paper, and offer up various collage materials like tissue paper scraps, feathers, sponge shapes for stamping, etc.) Woohoo for messy masterpieces!

Possible sciencey connection topics: colors (what happens when you mix red and white paint? What if you add more red? More white?...), animal body parts (compare human hands to paws, fins, etc... how are they different? How are they the same?), prints (what else can we make prints of?... leaves, bark, etc.),and tracks (create shoe tracks with mud or paint using different shoes from different family members...can you guess who the tracks belong to? Some tracks are small, some tracks are big. See if you can find some animal tracks outside...)

FunFunFun :)

Submarines, Chocolate, Crusty Stuff

These are THREE THINGS I LOVE RIGHT NOW:


1. PERSON: The Submarines. Well, actually, technically, it's persons this time. My latest musical obsession is listening to The Submarines on my ipod overandoverandover... this band's songs are popish, folksy, & beautifully ethereal sounding all at once. Plus, they're supercatchy (you may have heard some of their songs in commericals.)

2. PLACE: Make And Takes. This site is so much fun. All the supercool creative ideas are truly inspiring, and the tutorials usually include detailed step-by-step photos for us visual learners. I'm making some of their delicious (and easypeasy!) Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Hearts for V-day. My tummy loves that salty-sweet combo...YUM!

3. THING: Heart Sandwich Shaper. Perfect for crustaphobic kids (and anitcrust grownups, like me...) This cookie-cutteresque tool removes icky bread crusts and makes things pretty & festive all at once. Don't you love it when aesthetics and practicality collide?

Snail Valentine Lollies

Ohmygoodness... Zakka Life has the cutest snail valentine card tutorial, complete with free clip art. I love bloggers who share! All you need to do is pretty much poke a tasty lollipop through the card (to make the shell part, as shown here.) Bug-obsessed little ones will lovelovelove this, plus, it's a great starting off point for tons of nature topics (snails, slime, movement, protection methods, shells, and on & on...)

This craft is ideal for olderish little kids (as always, you'll want to use caution and your best judgement when giving superteenytots smaller, choke-scary food items.)

Silly Snail Facts:

* Snails love moist, damp environments
* Most land snails are nocturnal
* Snails are believed to be deaf, and seem to rely on vibrations as a sensory substitute
* Some snails can live for up to 15 years
* Snail slime protects snails from sharp stuff like thorns, vines, and poky pine needles... snails can even move safely across the blade of a knife or razor (though please do not evereverever try this at home!)

Planning a snail exploration with your little ones? Try reading Are You A Snail, by Judy Allen, and The Biggest House in the World, by the ever-imaginative Leo Lionni... and be sure to visit Mrs. Seagraves' snail site for wonderful teachery snail activities, lesson plan ideas, worksheets (for older kids), snail pixs, and more!

Rolypolyology

Did you know that rolie polies live in family groups? So if you ever pick one up, be sure to put him right back where you found him... or it's sort of like kidnapping!

Other Funny Facts:
Rolie Polies are related to shrimp.
Rolie Polies have their babies in a cozy tummy pouch, kangaroo-style :)

For more reallycute rolie polie facts, read my favorite children's isopod book (what?...Don't YOU have a favorite children's isopod book?) A Pill Bug's Life, by John Himmelman.

Chocolate on the Brain

ATTENTION LOCAL CHOCOHOLICS: The Annual Community Chocolate Festival is Saturday, February 21st, 2009, from 1-4 pm (it's been moved up due to rain.) Procrastinators (like me!) can purchase tickets the day-of in front of WaMu. Last year it was crazy-bananas, and there were lines allllll the way down 2nd Street (if you can, grab your snack map and start your exploring more around 1ish than 4ish.) Besides being yummy, the chocolate festival is a great way to support our retail neighbors :) For more info call (562)434-3066.

If you aren't a Belmont Shoreian, try whipping up something chocolately at home. These darling, heart-shaped, oh-so-delicious ice cream sandwiches are adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe from a few year's back, and they're really surprisingly simple to make. Kidlets can even help with measuring-cup scoop duty.

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon milk
2 1/2 pints strawberry ice cream, slightly softened

Easy-Peasy Directions:
Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; then set aside (most kidlet helpers love to sift...)

In an electric mixer bowl, cream your butter, vanilla, & sugar. Add eggs & milk.

Add flour mixture to the mixer mixture, and mix on low.

Say the previous sentence five times fast :)

Divide your dough in half, and smush each half into a flat, pancakey disk (Many kidlet helpers also enjoy smushing.) Wrap each disk in plastic wrap, and chill til firm (about 1 hour.)

Preheat your oven to 350. Roll out your dough (on a lightly floured surface.) Roll to an 1/8-inch thickness. Cut dough using heart-shaped cookie cutters. Try to use cookies that are around 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter (Have older kidlets get science-inspectory with a ruler.) Make sure there is a matching top and bottom cookie for each sandwich! Place your hearts on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill til firm (about 30 minutes.)

Remove from fridge and prick holes all over the surface of the cookies with a fork (to give it that classic ice cream sami look.) Bake until firmish, between 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Spoon softened strawberry ice cream about 1/2 inch thick on the underside of half the cookies. Place matching cookie on top of ice cream, fancy top-side facing out. Immediately place in freezer to harden.

Gobble.


These are perfect for Valentine's Day, but you could use different cookie cutters and make them for all sorts of occasions, and you could also use different ice creams, too (I love me the mint chip!)

If you're feeling something more warmish, you might try the easy & indulgent hot chocolate recipe my best friend whips up (actually, whisks up!) It's pretty much pure melted chocolate. I've read that this is how Catherine the Great liked to start her morning (paired with fresh fruit.) Who am I to question the wisdom of a Zsarina? YUM!

* Reminder for Pet Parents: Please remember that chocolate (and most other) human foods are made for humans only, and should never be shared with our furry friends, most especially dogs. This is a good thing... it means... MORE FOR YOU!

Belmont Shore Bulldog Beauty Contest

It's almost here!...The annual Bulldog Beauty Contest will be held the afternoon of Sunday, February 15, 2009. This is a superfun, yearly Long Beach event that draws in competing dogs from around the country (no, I'm not kidding.) Be sure to stop by and ogle the adorable, wrinkle-faced pups! For more information on starting times, registration, and fun stuff like vendors & things, visit the official Haute Dog site.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Celebratory To-Do List:
1. Stay Home.
2. Watch the Movie.
3. Drink to World Peace.
4. Amuse yourself with Shadow Puppets.