Now that Ellie is at the age where she enjoys crafting, coloring and really, anything she can make a mess with, I’ve been trying to dig deep into my ex-childcare teacher bag of tricks for more things for her to do. Thankfully we have the internet these days and finding ideas is a million times easier than it was back when I was working as a toddler and preschool teacher.
With Halloween right around the corner, I thought we would focus on some toddler friendly crafts that Ellie and I can do together as well as a few that allow Joey to join in the fun too!
Here are 13 Toddler Friendly Halloween Crafts from around the web that we are hoping to find the time to create between now and October 31st!
Christmas is upon us and I am itching to put up our Christmas tree. One thing I have always enjoyed about Christmas is decorating our tree with homemade ornaments that the kids have crafted over the years as well as some I made when I was a kid. We have a few ornaments that we received as gifts as well, along with the ones that are personalized.
Every year, we spend time making ornaments and paper chains for our tree as well as ornaments and some cards to give to family members, friends, and other members of our community.
One of the new ornaments we made last year are popsicle stick snowmen and they might just be my new favorite ornaments.
Making these ornaments is really easy to do. To make yours, you will need:
To get started, lay our 8 popsicle sticks and line them up like a fence.
Next, using your hot glue gun, put some glue on the back of another popsicle stick starting about 1/2 an inch from one end and leaving half an inch on the other end.
Once you have the glue on your popsicle stick, lay it across your fence of popsicle sticks to form the brim of your snowman’s hat and to secure the ‘fence’ as seen below.
Repeat the previous step and add the popsicle stick to the back side so it lines up with the front to add extra support to your snow man.
After your snowman is glued together and try, it is time to paint.
First you paint the area below the hat white for his face and then the rest black for his hat.
When you are done painting, set aside and let the paint try. After the paint has dried, it is time to glue on your eyes, pipe cleaner nose and a pipe cleaner on the brim of the hat. After everything is glued on you can draw your snowman’s face on with your black marker.
Once your craft is all dry, flip it over, add a dot of glue and and stick some fishing line into it to add a hanger for your ornament. When it is all done, add it to your tree and you have a beautiful new ornmanent.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Every child becomes infatuated with some sort of craze or fad at one point or another while growing up. In the 80’s there were Garbage Pail Kids and jelly shoes while the 90’s had Pokemon cards and razor scooters. Some of these childhood favorites pass with time, but others inspire talents and creativity that parents can encourage.
The art of dance has been around since humans began to record history, and it remains one of the largest talents in the entertainment industry today with hip-hop holding the most popularity. It comes as no surprise that kids love to dance to music, we all do, and it can be as adorable as it is a great talent that they possess. If you’ve got one or several little ones, who have had their interests peaked by dancing, then you can encourage this talent withhiphop dance pants for their wardrobe.
Quality Clothes
One of the best parts about buying these pants for your children is that they aren’t novelty costume items, but actual clothes made from high quality materials. Plus, they’re amazingly stylish. Giving your child a pair as gift will not only make their little eyes light up, but doubles as another pair of pants for their wardrobe.
It isn’t often that kids get excited about receiving clothes, but these ones are sure to give them something they’ll want to wear for going back to school to show off to their friends. They’re also incredibly durable being made to endure rigorous dance routines, which means they can handle the abuse that children often put their clothes through. While their quality makes them great clothing, there are other benefits the whole family can enjoy as well.
Encouragement and Inspiration
Looking for a chance to bond with your child? Dig that old video camera out of the closet and help themmake a music video showcasing their latest dance moves. Guaranteed to be a ton of fun for the both of you, it will also give you a great memory to look back on and smile.
If you’re looking to go the extra mile, pick up an LED light strip or use some Christmas lighting to help give the room a more stage like feel. It’s a great way to encourage their talents, and show them that you are supportive of what they choose to do.
Dance Troupes
If your child becomes serious about pursuing their talent, there are plenty ofdance studios that tailor to children and help them grow their abilities. Most offer one on one and group lessons to help your children develop and hone their dancing skills, as well as put on recitals to help them shine. Seeing your children’s smile as they perform with their dancing crew is priceless, having it on video is even better.
Not every child will pursue dancing into his of her teenage and adult years, some simply find other passions and talents that better suit them. However, those who do stick with it can find great career opportunities and success. Either way, encouraging their talents early on with dancing lessons builds character, self-esteem, and discipline.
Hip-hop Dance Pants
Having a little dancer in the house opens the door for a parent-child bonding, self development, and a whole lot of fun for the both of you. If your child has set his or her sights on being the next big sensation on Dancing With the Stars with their hip-hop moves, getting them a pair of pants to suit their interests is the perfect way to encourage their dreams. You’ll be buying quality clothing, helping them to develop, and making some great memories in the process.
There are a lot of adults who don’t currently have a meaningful hobby, but if you have dropped out of what used to be a regular pursuit or haven’t found a pursuit that you are passionate about, it’s time to get creative.
There are plenty of benefits attached to having a hobby and it doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money either.
Here is a look at some creative hobbies that could easily become a new found passion. There is a budget-conscious art option to consider, plus a couple of creative paper-based activities, and a hobby suggestion that could even win you some new friends.
Get into art
It can be very therapeutic to take some time out to complete an art project and it doesn’t have to cost hardly anything at all to get started.
If you are worried about spending money on art materials a good alternative to get you started would be to download an adult coloring book available on the Google App store. You can pick a design that you like and turn your smartphone into a virtual portable art studio with the coloring tools available with the app.
Either computer or pen
All you need is a creative spark and a pen in your hand or a computer. Once you have those tools you are ready to start writing and seeing where it takes you as a hobby
There are various options to consider with your new writing hobby. It might be that you have an idea for a book or like the idea of writing your opinions for others to read and comment on.
Whatever ideas you have in mind, writing is a cheap and easy hobby to take up that can be very rewarding.
Ancient art offers a modern solution
If you haven’t give origami much thought as a hobby it is worth a rethink.
There are loads of great projects to try and all you need is some paper and the time and commitment you need to learn all the right folds to create a work of art.
This is a hobby that can take you by surprise as it can be seriously addictive in a fun way as you challenge yourself to learn even more complicated designs. It can be very rewarding to see the end result of your efforts and that makes origami a no brainer cheap hobby solution.
Something’s brewing
If you haven’t tried it before, home brewing could become a hobby that is rewarding in more ways than one.
It is not that difficult or expensive to brew your own beer and if it turns out that you happen to be good at it, you may well find that you acquire a few new friends when they discover your untapped talent for creating a tasty beverage!
There will inevitably be a learning curve as you perfect your brewing skills, but that is what makes it a great hobby, as you will want to spend time getting it right and then enjoy the chance to appreciate your beer-making talents.
Even if you don’t have a lot of spare cash, there are still plenty of hobbies that you can discover and enjoy.
Ruby Cameron has been expanding her hobbies recently. With her twin daughters now in school, she finds herself with a little bit of extra free time on her hands which she can use just for herself.
