There was an old lady...

Hi friends,

For the August make I thought we could create a project you could use in your home or under the shade of your favorite tree to give you a break from the summer heat. We will be making “old lady” puppets—but not just any old lady—we will be making old lady who swallowed a fly-old lady-puppets (I don’t know why she swallowed a fly…). I am pretty sure you are all familiar with the song from which this activity has been inspired but if not, or you need a refresher, you can check out a sampling HERE.

If you are able to attend this make, you will help your child assemble a puppet from a pre-cut paper bag, glue, and collage materials like paper, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, yarn, etc. You will also receive two sets of paper animals that the old lady will “swallow”…as the song goes. One set will be a simple line drawing of the animals that your child can color in and the other set will be a pre-colored version of the same animals which you can use instead if your child is not in the coloring mood or for if you’d like to have a back-up set, a set to laminate, whatever. You will also get a copy of the lyrics to the song in case your memory needs a little refreshing...I know mine did.

LET'S MEET: in the church primary room Friday, August 21st at 10 am

RSVP: on or before the night of Wednesday, August 19th. To do this, leave a comment on this post or email me (see sidebar)

FEES-SHMEES: $2 cash per child/per puppet

ALSO: If you recall, one of the phrases from the song says, "perhaps she'll die" and the old lady does indeed die at the end of the story after eating a horse. This is the way I sing it to my kids at home since we make a big deal about how silly, and impossible the story would be in real life. However, if you are uncomfortable with using the original lyrics, for the make, we can replace the old phrase with "perhaps she'll cry" instead. Please let me know your thoughts by email. If I don't hear from anyone regarding this matter then I will stick with the original phrase when the project is presented.

P.S. If you participated in the "beach in a bottle" make last month and would like to have a re-do, bring your old bottle or the materials from your old bottle and I can give you some clean oil, glitter and colored water for a second attempt...perhaps without sand this time! If you no longer have your original bottle I also still have some seashells so you can make a new one from scratch if you want too...keep in mind this offer only stands while supplies last.

Just Beachy

Thank you to those who were able to attend last months “beach in a bottle” activity. It was an eventful one to say the least. If you were not able to attend here is the recipe to make your own personal ocean from a 16 oz clear plastic bottle:

Step 1: Fill bottle with a little less than ¼ cup full of sand *

Step 2: Pick out 8-10 of your favorite mini seashells and add to the sand mixture

Step 3: Fill the bottle half way with pre-tinted water…not to dark as it will prevent you from seeing the shells and not too light because the sand could suck the color right out.

Step 4: (Optional) add a pinch or two of glitter and perhaps some fun fishy confetti

Step 5: Fill the bottle to the top with baby oil and you’re all set. Oh wait! I almost forgot; don’t forget to glue your lid with some high hold glue—we’re not mixing drinks here silly!

* I highly recommend forking out the cash for some high grade sand if you choose this as one of your ingredients for the project. Some of the bottles we created at the make became way too cloudy and mucky by using good old-fashion play sand.

One more thing, if you still have a few plastic bottles lying around the house, here are a few other projects I enjoyed making with my mom as a kid:

QUIET BOTTLE: Throw some light karo syrup in a bottle with a little glitter and sequence to keep the kiddies entertained for hours (or at least 5 minutes) as they watch the sugary syrup drip and droop in slow motion to the other end of the bottle as it’s tipped from side to side.

I SPY BOTTLE: If you have a handful of miniatures lying around, pop them into a bottle with some white rice to create an instant game of “I spy.” We have one we made with colored rice which works fine too. Remember, your miniatures don’t have to be doll house quality, think; penny, paperclip, button, small battery…or anything else you have lying around the house.

TORNADO TUBE: This one is great for kids of all ages. You will need 2 clear plastic bottles (you could go for the 2-liter bottles for this one), water, glitter, sequence, (or something of the sort) and a tornado tube, also called a cyclone tube or vortex tube, which can be found at your nearest teacher supply store or specialty toy store. In Denver try Timbuk Toys. You will fill one of the empty bottles with tinted water and the other ingredients of your choice. You will then connect the two bottle together vertically (openings together) with the tornado tube. Give your connected bottles a little twist and a tornado will form in a matter of seconds, turn it over and start again! You have probobly seen this trick but if not you can check out a video HERE.

Photography by Charissa Spendlove

Beach in a Bottle

(image)

If you have yet to hit the beach this summer, this project is for you. Actually, if you have been to the beach this summer I am going to assume you already miss it, in which case, this project is for you too! As a tribute to summer, we will be making a beach in a bottle.

Just bring your own 16 oz (or less) clear plastic bottle with lid and Hendrix and I will bring the "beach." Please also come dressed for the occasion, wearing your favorite swim attire for this fun-in-the-sun activity.

After creating our mini oceans you are welcome to stay for some outdoor water play. Don't forget your towels and sunscreen, see you there!

WHEN and WHERE: We will meet in the church courtyard, right next to the Primary room at 10 am on Friday, July 24^th (see calendar below).

MOO-LAH: The fee for this project will be $3 per bottle/per child.

RSVP: on or before the night of Wednesday the 22^nd of July so I can have all the supplies ready for you. To do that you can leave a comment in this post, or email Natalia (see sidebar).

DON'T FORGET: to bring a 16 oz (or less) clear plastic bottle with lid and your swim attire. Also, feel free to bring your own water play paraphernalia, ie: water balloons, wet sponges, etc.

TIP: The wide mouth plastic bottles are easiest to fill. We practiced this activity at home with a Nesquik® milk ready-to-drink bottle and it worked great for popping the seashells right inside—no funnel necessary.

Plaque Painting Recap

We had a wonderful time and a great turnout for the Fathers Day plaque painting project. It was fun being able to get a little sun too!

Here are a few pics from the event, (apparently my photography skills don’t hold up very well in the outdoors but...here we go...nonetheless):

I am betting that there were some very happy and lucky Fathers out there this Fathers Day. Thank You Kristen for hosting such a super duper make!

Fathers Day Gifting: Plaque Painting

Hi makers!

This is an update for the June make which will be hosted by the lovely Kristen Horsely!

We will be making “daddy day” art which your child(ren) will be able to gift to their father on the special day. Each child will be given a pretreated wooden plaque, paint supplies and permission to go paint crazy on a lovely little art piece for good ‘ol pops, grandpops, your child’s favorite uncle…really any special person from the male variety.

NOW FOR THE DETAILS:

Where and When: We will meet in the church courtyard, right next to the Primary room at 10 am on Friday, June 19th (see calendar below).

Moo-la: The fee for this project will be a smokin’ deal of only 2 buck-a-roos per child!

RSVP: On or before Wednesday the 17th of June so Kristen can have all the supplies ready for you. To do that you can leave a comment in this post, or email Natalia (see sidebar).

ALSO: If you think your little one would like to practice their collaging skills you are more than welcome to being collage material to add to the piece. For instance: photos, string, sequence, magazine cutouts, you get the idea. See you there!

Milk Money

Recently I was realizing how much milk we go through, when a smart light bulb told me how much all these milk lids sort of looked like giant colorful coins—non choking hazard size coins not to mention the perfect fit for a certain little toy cash register.

This was the birth of “milk money.” I created boy and girl silhouettes from an old profile shot of Hendrix and me which I glued to the milk lid. I also cut out colored numbers to present a number recognition and counting opportunity. Lastly, I covered the top of the lid with clear packaging tape to prevent the image from peeling up. I sort of like the way they came out. What do you think?

Cress heads

Unfortunately I forgot to take any photos at the last make activity but I am submitting proof that the event actually did take place.

I personally found this project to be one of my favorites for making with a 3 year old. It wasn’t one of those drag-on projects that sound really fun at first but end up becoming a time-consuming mess. All we did was wet a little cotton, sprinkle a little seed, paint a little face and voila—all through! Our seeds began sprouting by day 2 for an almost immediately satisfying result plus we learned a little bit about the science of gardening along the way.

(a photoshoot casuality)

After a few weeks of plant care, we decided to play a little barber shop and enjoy an egg salad sandwich with cress!