This morning I decided that we should do a project as we haven't done a single Valentine's Day craft yet. Of course once I came up with an idea of how I wanted to do said project, I realized I didn't have any pink or red paint. I only have blue, green, orange, and purple in my closet, which definitely don't scream "Valentine's Day."
I think The Imagination Tree read my mind this morning because up pops a recipe for easy homemade paint on their Facebook page.
This recipe truly is easy to make and there is a great chance that you already have everything you need for it right in your house. To me, those are the best recipes, because I normally do things on the fly.
Easy Homemade Paint Recipe
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup water
1 cup dish soap
food coloring of your choice.
All you have to do is mix the flour and water in a bowl until it is no longer lumpy, mix in the dish soap, and then add as much food coloring as you want/need to achieve the colors you want.
How simple is that?
I used Ajax dish soap which made our paint bubbly (and pink without the food coloring even), especially with the cookie cutters that we used. It made it more fun for my son though, he loved making the big bubbles and popping them.
My daughter decided that this should be a finger paint instead of using her dauber I gave her. Her little fingers are still pink, but that's the price I pay for cheap entertainment.
Don't be afraid to use different materials to make your pictures interesting. I bought these cookie cutters in a pack of four for $1 in the dollar section at Target. They were intended for play dough, but they worked well for this project also. Can't go wrong with multi-purpose items!
*Recipe from www.theimaginationtree.com*
In our house, reading is the "it" thing. My 3 year old has so many books, it isn't even funny. His lovely grandma has been giving him books since he was born, so he has an extensive collection.
We love books that are rhythmic and Finklehopper Frog by Irene Livingston sure hits that one on the head. It flows so nicely, it's hard to miss a beat.
Sometimes I joke with my son about it by saying,"Finklehopperr, Finklehopper, Finklehopper Frog, that's a silly jogging suit and you don't know how to jog!" It always makes him smile!
The book is about a frog who decides one day to take up jogging as that is the hot thing to do in his town. He gets himself a snazzy jogging suit and gets out there to attempt this jogging thing. The only problem is, he can't get the hang of it and his peers are not so kind about his attempts or his appearance. One compassionate animal reminds Finklehopper that everyone is not the same and therefore cannot do the same thing but that is ok.
Finklehopper Frog carries a wonderful theme for today's world. The use of bright colors and various animals makes it appealing as well.
I highly recommend adding this story to your own personal library, you won't be sorry!
I decided to do this project on the fly today and it is seriously cool! (Or maybe I spend too much time around my kids and am impressed easily, don't judge me.)
This is not only a fun craft project, but also a neat little project that shows reactions. It's also incredibly easy. All you need is:
-1 Tablespoon self-rising flour
-1 Tablespoon salt
-a few drops of food coloring
-enough water to make a smooth paste (be careful with this part, I accidentally added too much water on the first one and then had to play the guessing game with how much of the other stuff to add to make it smooth)
Mix your ingredients in a bowl and then you are ready to paint. We used paint brushes but the website I found this recipe on suggested cotton swabs as well.
Paint your pictures on pieces of cardboard (I used the backing of a pack of construction paper and a torn up Panko box. I may be a hoarder at the beginning level.)
Microwave your painted picture(s) for 10-30 seconds, basically until the paint is puffy and hard. I did 20 seconds for my bigger pictures and 15 seconds for the smaller ones.
*Original recipe from: http://melissagoodsell.typepad.com/day_to_day/2008/01/holiday-activit.html
I just saw this on my Facebook and thought that I would share it. It hit home for me. I know that when I say I need some "me time" it sounds like pure selfishness, but what I really mean is I need time to breath and think my own thoughts. Being a stay at home parent is very rewarding, that is true, but it also means that you give up a good part of yourself to be everything for your kids. So please read and pass on to the partners of any stay at home parents you know.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amanda-king/stay-at-home-parent_b_2558642.html
I haven't posted in a while because I've just been busy with life and trying to figure out how I want my blog to continue. Although it's great to have a place to put lots of personal things about me and my life, I think I'm going to gear it more towards parenting and my kids. That is what my life consists of right now and these type of blogs are where I find my inspiration at the moment.
I've discovered a new blog that contains many great ideas for kids called Growing a Jeweled Rose. One of the recent ideas I've found is for a scratch and sniff paint. Since I went grocery shopping on Friday, I decided I'd pick up the items needed to make this simple but fun paint.
All you need are three ingredients:
-Kool-Aid
-Cornstarch
-Water
You might not even need to go shopping if you already have these items in your home which is definitely a plus in my book!
My son and I picked out 4 different colors for our paint, Mixed Berry for blue, Cherry for red, Grape for purple, and Peach Mango for a yellowish orange color.
This is a super easy recipe to make. All you need to do is mix about half of the packet of Kool-Aid (depending on how strong you'd like the scent), a tablespoon (I used a heaping tablespoon so it'd be a little thicker) of cornstarch, and a quarter cup of water in a container that is acceptable for paint. The directions given on the website say you can use just the water and Kool-Aid and it will come out more like a water color paint. I was leery of the messiness of that possibility, hence the heaping tablespoon of corn starch.
Just a heads up that the more corn starch you use, the more often you will need to mix the paint up. I noticed that it settled quickly at the bottom of our containers.
My son had lots of fun with this paint, I'm pretty sure he painted for about an hour.
Enjoy!
So I feel I must confess something. I am very guilty of letting my kids play by themselves while I clean. I would say ignore them, but it's not like I don't talk to them or pay attention to where they are, I just don't sit and play with them.
This whole playing with my kids thing is hard for me. When I stayed home with my son, I was able to give my attention to him often and teach him so much. Now that I have two kids and a bigger house, I haven't quite found that balance yet. Also I lack a lot more sleep this time so if I sit and just play, I start yawning and dreaming of sleeping, which I feel is just as bad as not playing with them.
Recently my mom sent me a link to a blog that I absolutely love now. This woman has so many great ideas to help you play with your kids and help them learn many different things.
It has inspired me to really put the effort into both of my kids. To play with both of them and try to teach them as much as possible. I feel that play brings so many opportunities for learning, it's something I can't skimp on. I wrote earlier in the week about how I had pulled my son from preschool so I am now his sole teacher again. I need to take that job seriously and get back on track.
Today we made apple pie play dough and I played with my son for a long time with it. Then I tried to play with my daughter, but she was exhausted and crabby so that didn't really work out for us.
Tomorrow is another day though and I will try again!
I just have to share a funny coming from my 3 year old this morning.
He was sitting in his chair at the table working on eating some carrots as his little is crawling underneath him. He says,"I'm God and she is Moses." I asked what God tells Moses and he goes on telling me about how his teacher in preschool read them the story about Moses.
A little later he moved his chair away from the table, right in front of his sister, and looks down at her. He says in a deep voice,"Moses. Moooses. Moooooses. Moses."
I love this age when they re-enact things they've learned!
