Grass Heads aka Homemade Chia Pets

We made grass heads! A boy and girl with no names, as of yet. Here's how we did it:

1. Eat applesauce, yogurt, or pudding and wash out the containers.

2. Find an old pair of nylons, cut off feet

3. Add about 1 tsp of grass seed to nylon foot

4. Add about 1 cup soil

5. Tie a knot

6. Keep about an inch of the tail and cut off the rest.

7. Work the seeds into the soil a bit (you can see them a little on the top)

8. Fill container half way with water

9. Place grass head on top with tail submerged in the water

10. Decorate, place in a sunny location, and watch them grow!

11. They will need a hair cut from time to time.

Camp Wild Things

Here is my list of fun things to do this week:

1. Go to the zoo
2. Go to nature park, bird watch and make nature bracelets
3. Outdoor scavenger hunt
4. Bug catching
5. Make grass seed heads
6. Make plant cuttings

Art Camp Wrap-up

So much for posting every day. Turns out my art camp aspirations were a little high, but we did get two more projects in:

Sock Beanies

Materials:
Small Socks
Glue
Sharpee Marker
Beans or Lentils
Googly Eyes

1. Fill a small sock with beans or lentils (used a funnel from a magazine).
2. Tie a knot in the end
3. Glue on eyes and color in face
4. Done!

Rock Pets

1. Paint rock
2. Dry
3. Decorate! We used pom poms, googly eyes, rick rack, flower lace, & cross stitch floss (made excellent hair and a mustache).

A House of Cardboard

I'm a big fan of cardboard, and the creativity involved with it. The possibilities are endless! I have made a castle from scratch before (inspired by this, but in a much more simple form). This time around, I took the lazy approach and bought a pre-made cardboard house. The house had white walls, so we took the opportunity to add a few decorative touches, namely a flower and vegetable garden.

Want to make your own? Try this: Makebabystuff.com.

Better than Paper Boats

Play Equipment

1. Wax paper
2. Aluminum foil
3. Paper boat instructions
4. Sticks to push the boats along

My 5 year old adores origami transportation. Many, many times I have crafted a piece of copy paper into an airplane or boat. The airplanes seemed worth my time, providing at least a half hour of entertainment. But the paper boats always left a bit to be desired, sinking much too soon. Their untimely demise made Chad wonder what we could use instead of paper, and our alternative paper boat experiment began.

Using these instructions, I folded one boat with wax paper and another with aluminum foil. Chad chose the foil, asking me first which one was the hardest to fold (it was the foil). He thought the resistance would make it stronger - and he was right.

The wax paper boat immediately fell apart, but the foil boat lasted for at least an hour! Even when it sank, we just picked it up, drained it, reformed it, and set sail! The foil boat was very popular, Chad even gained a few spectators. After rolling down a grassy hill and poking sticks into the pond, we considered the afternoon well spent.

Need more ideas? Head on over to Ramblings of a Crazy Woman.

Pop-up Cards

I may be showing my inexperience in craftiness, but before today, I had never made a pop-up card. We found it quite enjoyable. Here's a quick tutorial:

1. Draw an object on cardstock. We used the 1-2-3 Draw Cartoon Aircraft for a little help. Then cut out the object.

2. Cut out a rectangle, keeping in mind the size of card you would like.

3. Fold rectangle in half.

4. Make two parallel cuts on the fold.

5. Pull out the area in between the two cuts so the area pops.

6. Glue object to pop-out area.

7. Done!

Father's Day Craft

Play Equipment:

Tie template
Party streamers (in various colors)
Scissors
Glue stick
Ribbon or yarn










Every dad needs a new tie for Father's Day. Why buy when you can make your own? My 3 year old had lots of fun making this one (fun, easy, and helps with pattern recognition). I'm thinking she may have a future in clothes design. Snazzy tie, right?

1. Print out tie template.

2. Cut streamers in half width wise and into 3-4" strips.

3. Use a glue stick to paste strips to the template.


4. Cut out tie.

5. Punch holes and tie on ribbon or yarn.

6. Find one lucky dad to wear it!

Bubble Fish

Play Equipment:

Paint
Bubble Wrap
Paper
Scissors
Mini Pom Poms
Glue

1. Paint ocean on one piece of paper.

2. Draw outline of fish on another piece of paper.
3. Cut out pieces of bubble wrap, dip in paint, and use to paint scales on fish.

4. Let dry.
5. Cut out fish and glue to ocean. Glue on pom poms for eyes. Done!

Head on over to Ramblings of a Crazy Woman for more crafty ideas.

Indoor Bean Garden

Play Equipment:

Dried Beans
Bowl with Water
Paper towel (or Kleenex if you are out like I was)
Ziplock baggy
Straw (optional)
Tape

The kiddies have been very excited about gardening this year, and often remind me when it's time to tend to our modest little garden. This is the first year we started everything by seed, and we have enjoyed it so much more! So satisfying to see something sprout from the dirt (other than weeds). So when I found this activity on Learning Activities for Children (look for other great gardening activities), I knew we had to try it!

1. Dip paper towel in bowl of water and place in baggy (do not wring the water out).

2. Grab a few beans and place on top of wet paper towel.

3. Trap air inside. We used a straw to blow air in, just more fun, not necessary.

4. Close baggy.

5. Tape bag to sunny window and watch your garden grow!

Head on over to Ramblings of a Crazy Woman for more fun ideas.

Butterfly Craft

Play Equipment:

Lightweight Paper (like xerox printer paper)

Scissors

Crayons

Hole Puncher

Pipe Cleaner






My kindergartner just came home with this butterfly craft, such a great idea!

1. Print out a butterfly (found a good one here)

2. Color

3. Cut out

4. Hole punch two holes

5. Thread pipe cleaner through holes (with both ends on the back side of the butterfly)

6. Place on child's finger and twist pipe cleaner.

7. Move hand up and down to make butterfly fly!

Mother's Day Cards

Still looking for a homemade Mother's day card? Let's Explore has a fun idea (for the inside of the card as well). My mom and mother-in-law will be getting these beauties!

Paper Airplanes

Play Equipment:

Paper
Tape
Markers
Gift wrap ribbon


I can't tell you how many paper airplanes I have folded, and yet I have only mastered a few variations. If you are in need of a good airplane tutorial, try this website: www.amazingpaperairplanes.com (if you are not skilled in origami, like my unskilled self, I highly recommend the simple designs). After the airplane has been folded, add a design with markers and tape the ribbon to the back side of the wings. If they fly the airplanes down the stairs, they will get lots of exercise and not even know it!

Hand Animals

Play Equipment:

Construction Paper
Scissors
Glue Stick
Googly Eyes
Markers



1. Trace the child's hand, using various hand poses.

2. Cut and paste.

3. Look at each shape, and have the kiddies decide which animal the shape resembles.

4. Glue on the googly eyes.

5. Decorate!

Art Gallery

Play Equipment: canvas, paint, q-tips, plastic forks, paint brushes, cotton balls, popsicle sticks.

I love my kids artwork, but there is just so much of it. It all gives me a bit of anxiety. What do I keep and where do I put it? My eldest loves to display his artwork all over the house, using mostly computer paper and masking tape. So I thought perhaps we could display the artwork on something a bit more substantial. They were so excited to paint on canvas! I grabbed whatever I could find to apply the paint (q-tips, plastic forks, paint brushes, cotton balls, popsicle sticks), and experimented with different techniques and textures. We also talked about naming the works of art: the top one is "The Chicken Coop", and the next (influenced by the first artist) is "The Chicken Monster." I think we will classify these as part of the abstract movement.

I saw another great idea on Mom Spark. They took pictures of the artwork and then ordered an 11 x 14 collage poster on Snapfish. All less then $10! Brilliant.

Transparent Eggs

Play Equipment: clear contact paper, ribbon, hole punch, paper egg template, scissors, & scrapbook scraps.

You know all those scraps of scrapbook paper you keep around, thinking you may just find a use for them (or is that just me that does that)? Well whip them out! The kiddies had lots of fun making transparent eggs. The full tutorial can be found on 4 Crazy Kings (and featured on One Pretty Thing).