Look what I found! Play-doh’s website has loads of ideas for what to make with their product. Personally, I’m normally stuck on balls and snakes, so this will serve as a welcome cheat’s guide to do cool things for my kids.
Successful Playdates December 22, 2006
I know I’m not very consistent at updating this site, but you try and manage with 2 children under the age of 2, it’s just not going to happen. I do however have a truckload of “Web Snippets” in Flock that I intend posting. This varies from interesting crafts to parenting tips to great websites and to issues that I find important enough to blog about. And one day I’ll actually share them with everybody.
My son and I have been hanging out with the same group of moms and kids for the last 18 months and we meet normally once a week at least. Recently one of the moms had the great idea of starting a more structured weekly playdate for the little ones who are not yet going to playschool. This got me thinking about what exactly would be a good way of structuring it so that the 2-year olds (and their mothers) get the best out of a playdate.
What I’ve noticed is that on the occassions when the mommies were distracted, the little ones would act like a bunch of soccer hooligans in the making, but when the activities were centered around them, peace would reign for most of the time.
So, doing some reading on the subject, I discovered Parents magazine had some very nice tips for making a playdate successful:
- TIME IT RIGHT. Choose (or at least try) to schedule playdates around naps and mealtimes. Mid-morning or early afternoon seems to work best.
- THINK SMALL. Groups of 2 or 4 are optimum. Even numbers also make it easy to make sure everybody is included in play
- MAKE SOME SPACE. Kids need lots of space to move around in and dare I say moms too?
- CONSIDER YOUR CHILD’S PERSONALITY. Shy toddlers might benefit more from one-on-one play, or if your little one is reluctant to share toys, meet in a neutral location.
- LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS. Don’t expect your child or any of the others to be little angels – if yours hasn’t had a public meltdown yet, that’s not to say he never will. Have your strategy ready for removing or distracting your child when he gets too upset. There’s a reason it’s called the “terrible twos”.
I would like to add two more:
Plan a set time of no longer than 2 hours and make sure you have snacks and drinks available. A lot of the time crankiness can be avoided by making sure the little grazers are well-fed and watered.
Ensure that activities are age-appropriate and well-organised. With some of our attempts at crafts, the mommies ended up having a whale of a time while the toddlers looked on enviously from the sidelines. Not a good situation…
I know we don’t get snow, but you can dream… December 7, 2006
It’s been 30 degrees (celsius) +, the last couple of weeks, and I can almost feel the snow crunching under my feet in some (blissfully) cool Alpine country. In the absence of the real thing I found a couple of sites that offer ideas for making your own…The nicest looking one of course has to be this one from Martha Stewart.
Then of course there’s an entire site dedicated to those A-type personalities who wouldn’t be content with just the average snowflake:
http://snowflakes.lookandfeel.com/
This site lets you do some online cutting, for those of us who couldn’t deal with the mess, or had nothing better to do at the office in the run-up to the annual Christmas party.
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Fingerpaint recipe December 7, 2006
These recipes and craft ideas come from The Best of Children’s Art & Crafts, reviewed on Australian Women’s Weekly
CORNFLOUR PASTE
Add to ordinary paint or add food colouring to use as fingerpaint; use as an economical extender for paint; use as a paper glue or use in papier-mâché.
You will need:
3 parts water (3 cups)
1 part cornflour (1 cup)
food colouring
saucepan
Step 1
Adult: bring the water to boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat.
Step 2
Adult: dissolve cornflour in a little cold water and add to hot water, stirring constantly. Boil until clear and thick (about one minute).
To make fingerpaint, add desired food colouring. This mixture will be very smooth. Offer it to the children while it is still warm to touch. A tablespoon of glycerine may be added to make it glossy.
Store in refrigerator as it spoils in hot weather.
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Simple Origami for Kids and Adults December 7, 2006
In case you have forgotten how to fold a paper plane or boat, this is an excellent site for you to entertain your kids endlessly.
http://www.origami-instructions.com/
The animals are sure to be a hit, and who knows, maybe one day my 2-year old will actually do this HIMSELF.
technorati tags:crafts
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