Crafty-E

Busy BEE......

2009-05-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

Ethan is fascinated with bees at the moment. On Tuesday, we bought him a plastic bee from the Target dollar spot. He buzzes around from room to room with this dollar toy. I thought I would make a lesson from this new toy.
So, I decided to focus on bees for our circle time story. I've been teaching Ethan phonics this week. It was nice to have a break from letters. ;) We started the day with this book:

I love the buzzing sound at the end of the story. We had a quick discussion about "honey" which prompted our science/art project. HONEY! Well, not real honey, "pretend kind".
Because money is very tight around here (saving for our first home). We always find/buy the cheapest supplies. Walmart and Dollar Tree are the best places for said supplies.
SUPPLIES NEEDED:

Warm water
Borax
Glue (Elmer's)
Food Coloring-yellow

I always allow Ethan to help pour, scoop or mix ingredients. "Hands on" is key around here!

DIRECTIONS:

Mixture 1

3/4 warm water
1 cup glue
yellow food coloring

Mixture 2

2 tsp Borax
1/2 warm water

Mix separately. Then, mix- mixture 1 into 2. Allow your child to play:Have fun!! Have a great weekend friends!

xoxo,

Veronica & Ethan

Spring Cleaning!

2009-04-30T15:50:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've had a crazy burst of energy to organize and clean everything. Spring makes me want to get rid of the old and clean like a mad woman. I hate clutter. Just ask my hubby, he will tell you, I de-clutter all the time. My motto: You don't use it- YOU LOSE it! I will throw away anything old, or broken or I donate the re-usable. I must have things organized. So, I attacked Ethan's room.
Everything has a place in his room. I was tired of him saying he couldn't find (fill in the blank). So, I placed all his favorite books in a basket & filled his book shelf. I also placed his favorite toys at eye level out of bins.

Then I labeled EVERYTHING! Ha! I grabbed my camera and took pics of all his toys. I labeled each clear bin with a picture and title.

I have his room set up like a pre-school. He has his bed in a corner. I have Circle time with him daily. We go over the calendar, colors, shapes, we read a story and then we play. I usually let him free play and then we make art. Most educational toys are out of the closet.
I attacked every bin! His closet is jam packed with toys. Plenty of pretend wooded food, blocks and cars. I keep these out of sight, because these are his "free play" toys. :) On to the next room......

Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

~Veronica

I'm back!

2009-04-15T02:37:00.001-07:00

Wow. How many days have I been MIA?

Please hold me accountable. :)

I take Ethan to this wonderful store here in Clovis called Professor Toy. Lately I have been buying him flashcards. I have always studied with flashcards and Ethan seems to love them as well. I use this as one of the many teaching tools. This last time we bought some sight word. Just teaching him phonics at the time. He has most sounds down, but occasionally he confuses "s" for "c". Totally normal. I absolutely love that this store has a huge Thomas the train table set up in the back. Ethan can play for hours. Unfortunately I get bored and allow 30-40 min. :) He has a pretty good imagination. I think a huge part of it comes from being an only child.
Either way, if you live in town, this store is a MUST. It carries every single subject, for all ages. It also has a wide selection of wooden toys. I LOVE wooden toys.

xoxo, veronica & ethan

Going Marbles!

2009-02-03T16:44:00.000-08:00

Ethan and I had loads of fun with this project. At one point, he got paint on his hands and instinct told him to lick it off like frosting. hahah It was funny! You had to be here. I wiped his mouth and he was good to go.
Supplies Needed:
White card stock
Red & white paint
Marbles (different sizes)
Box or cookie sheet
I cut a heart from card stock, squeezed some paint in a bowl, added the marbles and Ethan picked one up at a time. He thought that was too messy so he decided to dump the marbles into the box.
He kept pretending the marbles were racing! Fun!!

Cute, fast and fun!!

Have fun creating!

xoxo,

Veronica & Ethan

Happy February!

2009-02-01T18:24:00.000-08:00

Wow, another month gone. I have the prefect project for Valentine's day. I thought this was easy and fun. Ethan loves paint so, this was perfect.
Supplies Needed:
Red & white paint
White card stock
Brush

First, I painted Ethan's hand with red paint and stamped it on a white piece of paper. I made sure to clean his hand before I painted his other hand, to avoid mess. Then I

drew a heart..haha if you can call it that!

Next, I gave Ethan another piece of paper and allowed him to paint hearts. I talked about the science of mixing two colors. Red + White = Pink! He was so fascinated by this concept!

Have fun!

xoxo,

Veronica & Ethan

:)

2009-01-24T00:44:00.000-08:00

Hello

So sorry to neglect this blog...ugh. Sometimes life gets in the way. We spent our week at a book boutique, reading books, playing games, and hanging out with friends.

So, next week I'm in L.A for CHA. I told you I was a crafty nerd. heheh I am attending the Craft & Hobby Association convention in Anaheim. I'm super excited!! I will be back on THURSDAY with more crafts...in fact there will be a countdown to Valentines! 12 fun (kid) crafts for Valentines. If you (the mama) need some Valentine inspiration now, no worries.... please visit my blog here. That should help out! *wink*

Thanks so much for stopping by! Mark those calendars...Jan 29th!

See you soon!

Maracas!! Cha-cha-cha!

2009-01-20T19:44:00.000-08:00

I found this cute project for maracas. It was perfect for today: Read 'Em and Leap.
Here is our version:
Supplies needed:
Red paint
Red glitter
White paper stars
Empty container (we used a play dough container)
Tape
Rice
Glue
Pictures of President Obama
After it dries, you tape the container all around....
Allow your child to play and dance with their new Baracka-maraca!!

A quick activity

2009-01-16T14:39:00.000-08:00

Hello!
I forgot to take a picture of the page before Ethan cut into it. I hope you get the point. I made 3 snowmen and drew a line on the first, a curvy line on the second and a zig zag line on the third. You can have your child color the snowmen before they practice cutting!

This just helps your child practice cutting skills. :) You can make any drawing to fit your theme! We will be back with books we read and one last project before we wrap up snow week. Tune in next week for music week! ;)

Snowflakes are falling.

2009-01-15T16:57:00.000-08:00

I believe I picked the warmest week in January for "snow" themed crafts. HA!
Supplies Used:
Card stock:blue
Paint: white
Glitter (I used Martha Stewart)

Ethan loved this project. We painted one hand and stamped it around in a circle.
See? Scary excited face! It's suppose to look like a snowflake. :) hahah I glued a pentagon shape in the center to make it look more like a snowflake...did it work? hahah

Interview with Ethan

2009-01-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

I saw this idea on this blog, and thought I would interview Ethan too. I think I'll do this monthly. It was a cute activity and because I'm a crafty dork-I think I will scrapbook a page about it. He made me laugh out loud a few times. ;)
What's your name? E-T-H-A-N
How old are you? twee years old-3
What's your favorite color? Bwuu-blue *looks down at shirt*
What is your favorite book? The Clifford one.

What is your favorite Tv show? Dragon tales
Favorite smell? flowers
What is your favorite taste? cantaloupe
What is your favorite candy? I don't see it...Me: That's not the question. I asked what kind? long pause....."yummy kind."
What is your favorite sound? LOUDER
What is your favorite food? watermelon
What is your favorite drink? *raises eyebrows* um..sota! Yes, occasionally he gets sips of soda.
Favorite animal? Giraffe
Favorite thing to do? playing with McQueen. Where is your favorite place to go? The playground (aka park) What makes you happy? mumble, mumble...slide...mumble
What do you want to be when you grow up? A giant.
Favorite quote? "Wanna play me?"

Frosty the BIG eyed snowman....

2009-01-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

Today Ethan and I tackled a snowman. Well, because we live in central California and it's a sunny 68 degrees! We made one out of paper. lol
First, I pre-cut all the shapes. Make sure you go over those shapes and colors while your child glues them down. It's the educational part. ;) Then I allowed Ethan to choose all the buttons (any color) he wanted. Surprisingly, he only choose 3.

Then, because Ethan is in fact obsessed with all things McQueen he choose this fabric for the scarf. I had pretty felt but nope- McQueen wins! Then he glued big blobs of glue for each shape and buttons.

We also used white paint for snow, but it didn't show up as well.The finished masterpiece!!Super simple. Super cute. Well, I think so. haha!

Supplies used:

card stock (blue, black, white and orange)

google eyes

fabric/felt (your own choice)

buttons

white paint

glue

Have fun making your own frosty!!

xoxo

Ethan and Veronica

Happy January!

2009-01-12T16:37:00.000-08:00

I'm finally feeling better. We came back from L.A with colds. Lovely. :) Aside from the colds, it was a nice 2 week vacation. We went to Disneyland, a train museum and La Brea Tar Pits (we called it the "Ice Age museum"). It was very nice to get away from the valley.
Albert went back to work today. Ethan cried this morning asking for daddy. Broke my heart. He kept saying he couldn't find him. I had to lay it down gently, "daddy had to go back to work, vacation is over." Then he cried big crocodile tears. Ay. That boy!

We are back to the old routine. Back to the piles of laundry, cooking, cleaning, crafting and teaching. :)
Ethan has become infatuated with all things snow. I have no idea when this happened. So, this week my focus is snow, winter, and snowmen.
I decided on a simple activity. Shaving cream-snowmen. I'm trying to ease into the routine myself. I have projects due as well. So I thought this was the perfect activity. Ethan was a bit confused. At first he said, "oh, yum..." I had to explain it was not whipped cream. lol Once he got over the fact that shaving cream is messy, he let loose and had a blast. He immediately asked if his cars could play in the snow too.
It entertained him for about an hour. Cars in a snow blizzard!! Fun!Supplies:
$1 can of shaving cream
cardboard carton (from water bottles) or on a craft table.
toys, measuring spoons, cups.

This is ooodles of fun!
Veronica & Ethan

2009-01-03T13:29:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack in post. Albert has 2 weeks of vacation and we are heading out to L.A. We will be back end of the week. I will post pics and definitely keep up with crafts when we return!

:)

Inspo

2008-12-30T16:53:00.001-08:00

I was browsing through the internet (Albert is on Vacation) So I've had a lot of FREE time. :) I'm in search of cool ideas and inspo, and stumbled across many new site.
One of my bookmarked favorites, this flickr group: Go to your room.

I love this chair.I love the idea of a tent in Ethan's room.Also a cool looking banner would be nice. Perhaps a hand crafted one...?
And...I'm totally snagging this wall art idea! I love it!

So many ideas running through my head now! *sigh* I need to make a trip to IkEA!!

Chocolate+Play dough=FUN!

2008-12-27T15:30:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick and simple recipe I found on Foothill Home Companion awhile back. I've made play dough in the past but never thought of adding cocoa to the recipe. mmmmm smells so good I want to eat it.

Chocolate Play Dough

1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup salt
1/2 tablespoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 tablespoon oil
1 cup water

Mix dry ingredients in a pot. Add wet ingredients and stir together over low heat until a ball of dough forms. Remove play dough from pot and knead by hand until dough is smooth and evenly colored. If it looks too sticky just add some more flour until it reaches that "play dough" texture. ;)

After an hour it started to dry out a bit...No worries! If it dries out...just add a tad more water and oil. That did the trick for ours. Ethan played with this for an hour! P.S. If you are on a diet, stay away from this recipe--It makes your house smell like chocolate. *sigh* Mmmm

Have fun!

Christmas Eve Ornament

2008-12-24T14:57:00.001-08:00

Need a quick project while waiting for Santa? Ethan and I made a wreath ornament.
I traced and cut a circle (I used my mug). Then I cut the circle & cut a smaller one in the middle. Doesn't need to be perfectly centered.

I cut "leaves" out of the felt. I let Ethan practice cutting on paper while I cut the leaves. Felt was too tough for him. I showed him once where to glue and let him go at it!

I gave him a small bottle of glue and let him glue the leaves and buttons. *No worries, expect a blobby mess* :)

Supplies used:
green felt
scissors
glue
buttons
cardboard (save your cereal boxes)
ribbon
crop-a-dile
Later, I punched a hole and tied a ribbon. *If you plan on saving it, don't forget to write your child's name and year! :) Perfection!

Merry Christmas!!

A cookie party!

2008-12-23T12:24:00.000-08:00

A mommy from our playgroup hosted a cookie party. What a fantastic idea!! There were so many sugar cookies. Oh boy! Yes, I ate some! grrr. :D

Just pile plain sugar cookies on a plate, give each child a few. Provide them with icing, sprinkles, crushed hard candies, M&Ms....what ever you please. It's a recipe for fun!

Santa Spying Binoculars

2008-12-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

Lately, Ethan has been obsessed with binoculars & telescopes. We collect paper towel tubes because he loves to pretend that they're telescopes. So, we decided to make Santa spying binoculars today. He is really excited about Santa coming to visit, this craft was perfect.

Supplies used:
2 toilet paper tubes
markers
clear packaging tape
ribbon
Crop-a-dile (hole punch)
Christmas foam stickers (dollar tree bag)

Ethan LOVED this project so much. He colored the tubes after I taped them together. Then he carefully applied stickers where ever he pleased. I punched 2 holes on each side & tied the ribbon. Viola! He is ready to spy on Santa. :)

New year, new blog...

2008-12-22T13:15:00.000-08:00

Just sharing "Ethan" crafts with you! Ethan and I will make several art projects per week. I try to stick with themes and sometimes, that just doesn't happen. That's when free art takes over. I'll let him use scissors on paper or give him some water colors, crayons...whatever it takes to let him create. For the most part we create fun stuff. ;) I hope you can join me!