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Main Page Site Index Getting Pregnant Pregnancy Parenting Pregnancy and Parenting Journals Fertility Nutrition Pregnant Moms Morning Sickness Women's Health Child Health	Crafts and Projects for the Lil' Ones with Angie Things to do when you're at a loss, and the kids are bored. Volume 1 August 1997 Hi! My name is Angie and I am a SAHM with a three year old daughter, Meghen. I have always been into crafts, and I introduced Meg when she was just a little tyke. She's is always asking me, "What shall we make today, Mommy?", and I love to hear her say that. I think if you get your children involved in some fun activities, you too will love this question! I know a couple of my girlfriends cringe everytime their kids even mention the words "play dough", but I think with a lot of patience and a little effort every Mom can come to love craft time with their children. Ever since I can remember I've liked to "dig in" and get messy! I know that crafts with children can be a little trying on the nerves (when there is shaving cream in their hair and glitter all over the floor), but just remember . . . kids are washable and so are your floors. For those of you with children under the age of two it is a little harder to find things to make. They have a short attention span, and directions are not easily followed. When my little girl was in this age group, I used to whip up a batch of chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies and let her put handfuls on the cookie sheet. Yes, half of it went into her mouth, but the cookies that actually made it to the oven came out with the most interesting shapes! While they were baking, I'd dunk her in the tub and when we were all done we would sit around and eat cookies together. She still loves to make cookies with me, although now, the interesting shapes are all gone. Another idea, that can be a cheap and easy project for this age, is finger painting with shaving cream. Buy a can of the cheap stuff and spray it all over your clean kitchen table. Then sit your child at the table and show them how to spread it around and make silly designs. The big kids love this too! Once again, clean up involves a warm bath, but I'm sure you'll enjoy this as much as the shaving cream. If you have preschool aged kids (and older) try making a glitter bottle. Fill a clean plastic soda bottle with the label removed with corn syrup about 2/3 full. Add a few drops of food coloring and confetti or glitter. Hot glue the lid on and paint the top. Swirl and shake for hours of fun. While my daughter and I worked on this project last week, I got to explain all about funnels and how they work to her. She found it amazing that I could pour something in the top and it would come out in the bottle! We had a great time with this, and her glitter bottle has already seen hours of shakes and swirls. My daughter's facination with mail sparked my imagination this week. I sat down and called the local post office and asked if I could bring in a couple of 3-4 year olds for a quick tour. They were happy to help (I'm guessing anything to get out of the hum-drum, especially when it involves entertaining a couple of preschooler's!). Meghen, Haley (her best buddie) and I sat down and colored some pictures. We put them into envelopes and addressed them to ourselves. Then we set out for the post office where they showed the girls "behind the scenes". We then dropped our stamped, addressed envelopes in the mail slot on the way out. My daughter was estatic the day her letter came. She now has a better understanding of how mail works, and what a fun afternoon we had in the process. The Rainy Day Resource Page http://www.cp.duluth.mn.us/~sarah/index.html "A great collection of basic craft mediums; bubbles, playdough, and fingerpaints to name a few. You'll never have to buy these items at the store again! Also offers some kids recipes and lots of other fun activities." Kid Crafts-No graphics, but stuffed full of great craft ideas. Enchanted Learning Software Home Page- Too many fun things to do to list, but I promise you'll find at least one thing to do! Apple Corps- One of Meghen's favorite on line activities, this is like the childrens game Mr Potato Head with internet help. Meghen still needs a lot of help (those little circles are hard to click on!!), but she loves to create her own silly faces. © 1997 angie@thelaboroflove.com