Fathers Day Foot Print with Poem Craft - Easy for Toddlers and Babies!

I wanted to find a fun Fathers Day craft I could do with my playgroup of kids 5 years old and under.  This one is super easy to make and a keepsake your husband will want to frame.

Supplies Needed:

• 8 1/2 x 11 colored paper - card stock if possible not necessary  *This will be your background to the foot prints, green was chosen for this mom
• A traced foot print from the father that you will cut out
• Print out of your favorite Fathers Day Poem
• 8 1/2 x 11 colored paper to use as background for the poem
• Sticky back foam embellishments
• Washable tempura paint

Paint your child's foot with the washable tempura paint and carefully let your child step down directly onto the fathers foot print.  Allow to dry before cutting out the traced foot.  If your nervous about the perfect foot print then follow the directions below for more then one child.

*If you have more then one child then cut out the fathers foot print first and glue onto the background paper.  Then have your kids put their foot prints onto it so their print won't get cut off during the trimming of the fathers foot print.  I love colors so each of my 3 kids will have a different color foot print.

While the foot print is drying cut out your poem and glue to its own background paper - we used pinking shears with fun edges to make it look for fun. Mundial P1852B CushionSoft Special Edition 8-1/2-Inch and 5-1/2-Inch Ambidextrous Scissors, 2-Piece Set, Pink

Once everything is dry, begin placing them on your background sheet. 

Embellish as needed! *Our Dollar Tree has tons of fun foam stickers but Amazon has some too:
3D FOAM STICKER BOX NATURE THEME

Fathers Day Hand Print Craft on Tiles!

This one we'll be doing yearly so dad can see how they've grown over the years!

We bought our white tiles at Lowes, we love Lowes!  It's amazing how many craft projects for our playgroup start at Lowes.

Supplies:

White Tile

Washable Tempura Paint

Permanent Glass Marker

This is super easy to do:

Wipe your tile clean before starting

Paint your kiddo's hands and make a print on each tile per child

Place the tile with fingers pointing down and write: Hands Down Best Dad

Write your childs name and the year on it as well, if you'd prefer you can write it on the back - just try to stay consistant each year.

Done!

Mothers Day gift idea

I like to give the grandparents keepsakes for Mothers/Fathers Day from the kids.  I personally LOVE them, so this year I treated myself and made one for me as well.  I wanted to make something they could actually use and may be even be a positive effect on the environment.  We slowly switching over to canvas bags when we go grocery shopping so I thought this would be great to give as a gift.

I bought ours at Walmart, 3 bags for $6 which I'm sure aren't environmentally friendly made.  Amazon has some great ecobags:

They also have a pack of 5 100% cotton bags for $19.96 100% Cotton Canvas Grocery/Multipurpose Tote Bag 5 Pack, Shoulder Length Handles  which is great if your doing this with a playgroup like we did!  Since we were making 3 bags for just us, the Walmart 3 pack worked out fine.

We used regular fabric paint and fabric paint pens for this craft -  You can buy puffy paint if you'd like more dimension for almost the same cost.

The supplies you see here are: Wipes to get the paint of ASAP - it dried very quickly onto your hands so wash off quickly!  Fabric markers, Fabric paints, Paint brushes, T-shirt, and Canvas Bag

 I painted the kids hands with the fabric paint and arranged them like a garden on the bag.

I did the same with the t-shirt.  I lined the bags and t-shirts up in a sort of assembly line and kept refreshing the paint on their hands after each mark.

I was surprised my 1year old did as well as she did with putting down her hands 4 times!  It may have helped that she was working on a Ritz cracker but I still think she did great.  These were super easy to make and I've already used my mother's day gift twice!

Earth Day Grass Caterpillars

Celebrate Earth Day

and the Letter C

I found these adorable caterpillars all over the Internet while searching for crafts my playgroup could do for Earth Day. It looks easy enough for a bunch of 2-4 year olds to accomplish mostly on their own! So I gathered up my troop of princesses and headed off to Lowes to pick up some grass seed, potting soil, and some cute shovels for the kids. After much searching I found a small bag of grass seed, and several other seeds I wanted to try out with the kids as well.

Our playdate began with the moms prepping our breakfast counter. We poured soil into 2 containers figuring more then one kiddo would want to participate in the craft at one time. In a large bowl we mixed the grass seed with the soil then cut up our pantyhose. I never knew how much fun it would be to destroy my pantyhose! 

We set up the kids with a bowl of soil and grass seed mix, handed them shovels, and opened the pantyhose for them to pour it all in. It was a mess, but fun none the less!

FamilyFun Magazine says to use ponytail holders and we tried that on one of the caterpillars. That worked well as long as you use the thin holders, the thick ones were too hard to wrap around the worm. But it did work well. Another mom brought regular rubber bands, hers turned out great as well. 

I refused to part with any of my pony tail holders and honestly didn't want the girls to think they could use their small ones for anything other then their hair. So I wrapped the pipe cleaners tightly around the worm making segments then used what was left over as legs. These pictures also show the placement of the tie off and I personally prefer making it the nose as seen in the first photo!

Earth Day Grass Caterpillars
Caterpillar with rubber bands and legs pushed into the side:

Caterpillar with pipe cleaners wrapped around then used as legs:

*Tip - You may want to wait on putting the eyes on. We didn't, as you can see and were worried they'd come off during the soaking. So far neither of mine have lost their eyes but that may just be luck!

After the legs are done its time to work on the antenna. There are a couple ways to affix the pipe cleaner to the caterpillar. You can cut the pipe cleaner in half and push it through the pantyhose 0r you can cut 2 slits in the hose and feed the pipe cleaner through. Bend in the middle and curl the tops.

Now its time to soak! Soak for 10 minutes.

After your caterpillar is done soaking its time to put it in the sun. Since the girls garden is barren in the middle I thought it'd be a nice home for ours till we can plant the seeds we bought at Lowes.

Once your caterpillar has dried out a bit, you can affix the googlie eyes on without much worry. Water your caterpillar every other day. Have your kiddos go out with you to observe how the grass is growing, the texture, color, and length. I measure out the water for each girl and let them water their own, otherwise they'd be mud by now!


*Additional note: Once the grass begins to grow the eyes you glued on will disappear. The FamilyFun site says to use a bobby pin and glue the eyes on that way. I tried that but had an impossible time keeping the bobby pins upright. I also didn't find the need for a yogurt container or pom poms.

Mothers Day Hand print Foot print Flowers

Hand and Foot Print Flowers for Spring!

Finished Project

Mothers Day is on its way and the girls have been excited about growing their gardens.  We have been working on colours this week as well so I thought this would be a fun craft the girls would enjoy and the grandmothers would love! 

We did the above prints on paper to see if we liked them enough to really make them as gifts, they had me hang them in our playroom they like them so much.  Tomorrow we'll be doing this print onto canvas bags to give as gifts.  It also ties in with our playgroups Green Team theme of giving eco friendly gifts.  We'll make one for this mommy as well so I can show off my kids prints at the grocery store too!

These are super easy to do, I was even able to get both of my 3 year olds hands and feet onto the SAME piece of paper! Granted it was a large piece of construction paper, but they fit none the less. I had to settle for a new piece of paper to get my 11month olds flowers done but that eased my fears of her turning her flowers into a finger painting project which would "ruin" the twins prints.

8-Oz. Color Splash! Washable Tempera Paint (Pack of 12) Using Washable Tempura Paints make this project an easy one to clean up after.

Supplies:

Washable Tempura Paints

Paint brushes

Wipes or a wet hand towel

Paper to apply prints onto

Step 1: Choose your colors for the flowers, my girls actually chose different colors! I thought we'd have our usual purple and pink but they surprised me and I think they turned out great! Place your hand and foot prints as shown. I use regular baby wipes to clean off the paint but a wash rag would be far more economical.

Step 2: Draw in your stems. I used a regular foam paint brush. I buy mine at Michaels but have seen them at Target and Walmart. Make sure to wash these out ASAP, even just soaking them will make them last longer. They may be cheap to buy but having to run to the store just to buy paint brushes is rarely in my plans for the day!

11month old's project

Step 3: Paint on leaves and add the name and date to either a stem or on an empty part of the paper.

Since we are doing colours this week we discussed the Spanish words for each colour as well as the ASL sign for them as well:

Yellow - amarillo
ASL The sign for "yellow" is made by forming the letter "y" with your right hand.  Shake your hand from the wrist, and move it to the right. 

Green - verde
The sign for "green" is made by forming the letter "g" with your right hand.  Shake your hand from the wrist, and move it to the right. 


Blue - azul
The sign for "blue" is made by forming the letter "b" with your right hand.  Twist/shake your hand from the elbow (the wrist doesn't bend on this sign).  

Purple - morado
Shake a "P" twice. Use a movement that pivots from the elbow. 

Red - rojo
The sign for "red" is made by stroking your lips one time with the tip of your index finger. 

Flowers - morado
Touch a "squished O-hand" to your cheek on one side of your nose and then the other. 
 
Mom - mamá
Make the sign for "Mother" by placing the thumb of your right hand against your chin. Your hand should be open. 
 
Grandma - la abuela
The sign for "grandmother" is made by touching your chin with the thumb of your dominant hand, as when signing "mother." The dominant hand should be open. Move your hand forward in two small arches.

Note: Many people just move the hand forward without the arches.

Family - la familia
FAMILY: The hands trace the shape of a circle. As if representing a family sitting around a dinner table.

Love - el amor
The sign for "love" is made by crossing both hands over your heart. (Middle of your chest.) Your hands may be closed or open, but the palm side should face toward you.

Remember to sign the colours as your talking to your kids as you point them out on scavenger hunts, walks, field trips, or while playing.  The more you use the Spanish words and/or signs, the quicker they'll catch on and remember them!  My twins are 3 now and are trying to teach their little sisters signs all day long, its so fun to see them teaching.

Cothespin Butterfly Crafts

Clothespin Butterfly Craft

This is a fun, easy, and educational craft for your little one! We did this craft as we learned about the Letter B. As we put it all together we talked about how pretty butterflies are, the stages they go threw to become butterflies, and of course the sound B makes! Somehow both girls already knew the Spanish word for butterfly, mariposa! We also learned how to sign butterfly in ASL.

Supplies:

• Wooden Clothespins - I used regular non-painted clothespins then painted them with regular Washable Tempura Paint the night before. I bought mine from Amazon: Clothes Pins Old-Fashioned Wood w/ Spring Action Pack of 50 Wooden Clothespins by Whitney Design
• Tissue paper 12 x 18 Art Tissue Paper (50 sheets) $1.98
• Pipe Cleaners Chenille Stems, 12"L, 6mm x 12", 100 CT, Assorted Colors (LEO65600) Category: Paints and Brushes 100cnt for $1.98
• Children's Safety Scissors Sargent Art 22-0903 5-Inch Childs Safety Scissors, Blunt Tip Stainless Steel Blades, Yellow Handle $1.99
• Googly eyes

*You can also decorate with glitter glue, crayons, markers, etc...

Pre-cut the wing squares - Cut a strip 6 inches long and 4 inches tall then fold in half. Draw a B on one side for your child to cut out. *Always supervise your child around scissors.

Cut the pipe cleaner to 6 inches.

After your clothespin is dry from decorating, take the B that has been cut out and place into the clothespins mouth as seen in the picture.

Take the pipe cleaner and bend in half then place where the wings are, curl the ends to become antenna.

Apply googly eyes and draw on a smile - Done!

Lil' Chef's Pizza Playdate

Calling all Little Chefs! Its time to make it the way YOU want it...and eat some toppings along the way.
These are easy to prepair for your kids and fun for them to make. We used english muffins for this playdate but you can also buy biscuits in the frigeration section of the grocery store (Pilsbury Dough in the container kind) and let the kids roll them out. I washed our Playdough rolling pins and let the kids use those to roll out the dough!

Have enough containers for each kiddo and come to the realization that double dipping is not only allowed but accepted between toddlers.

Lil Chef's baking Rainbow & Tie Dye Cupcakes!

These cupcakes take some time to put together, but they are Well Worth the effort! The more you have set up to go, the easier it is to have fun with your kids while baking.

Step 1:
Get all your ingredients and cookware together
Step 2:
Pre-measure your liquids for easy pouring by your child. I have my girls crack the eggs for me too. A girlfriend of mine has boy twins who is far more brave then I ever planned on being...she had me showing the girls how to crack eggs at 18months. Always have a wet rag nearby to clean up raw eggs on your childs hands or take them directly to the sink for washing.
Step 3:
Although not healthy, I do let my girls lick the beaters. You can squash any fears of salmonella by just using egg whites if you so choose.
Step 4:
Die your cake mix. Although I used White Cake mix, the batter is more of an off white. This does effect how you create vibrant colors. I followed the directions on the box of food coloring and it worked great. I was fearful the cupcakes would have that food dye flavor, but they didn't!

Step 5:
Line your muffin tins with the paper inserts. I decided against it for this batch and I didn't get the rainbow effect on the outside of the cupcake. With the paper inserts you can see the color layers, even the paper you peel off looks cool!

Step 6:
Begin layering your colors in reverse: purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red. Keeping in mind you'll have 6 layers, try to keep them as thin as possible. I used a plastic spoon to help spread it out.

Step 7:
Cook as directed on the box. Let fully cool.

Step 8:
Using white cake frosting in separate bowls create as many colors as you'd like to offer your child to decorate with. Or you can use all white to signify a fluffy cloud.

Of course colors is what this is all about so I offered the twins 5 colors!
I cut one in half to show the effect.

For the left over batter I mixed them in the muffin tins to see if I could get a tie dye effect, I think they turned out great!

This is a time consuming baking craft, but I think it was well worth it and we had fun the entire time. Plus if you get bored layering it all, just mix them together and have tie dye cupcakes instead!

We made these before St. Patricks Day to cook rainbows. We learned the ASL sign for each color and how to sign rainbow itself. The girls also learned what happens when you combine colors as they slathered on the colored frostings - at the end they were eating brown/black cupcakes!

I have to admit, I go a bit crazy for Spring. The weather here in Vegas is Perfect! We bought these plain white lanterns at Michael's, they have little battery operated lights inside with an extra light bulb. Target sells them as well.

I was able to get all 3 girls hand prints onto this but was unable to get a photo showing it. I really can't do every one's hand prints on regular paper anymore so I find other things to put them on!

I used regular washable tempura paint by Crayola and painted on the stem and leave myself. Since I'm hanging this in the playhouse outside I also dabbed glow in the dark paint all around so it looks like stars once turned off. The girls LOVE it on and off!

None of this is water proof so I do take it in every night for fear rain will ruin this keepsake.

Letter H Playdate and Valentines Day Craft

We actually made this craft during a Letter of the Week playdate but I hung them up during February as well. We made different heart hand print crafts to give to the grandparents, I'll post those next.

Using red washable tempura paint, paint the palms of your childs hands. I do one at a time to cut down on the mess.

Place their hands as seen in the photo. Outline the prints with a red marker or a glitter pen.

Please visit my blog Playdates and Playgroups for more ideas to present this to your playgroup!