Busy During the Holidays

Need some ideas for activities to do during the Thanksgiving and Winter Holiday breaks? I have selected  nine activities that will keep your children busy for hours! Most of these items you will easily find in the house without ever heading to the store. Enjoy and happy holidays! :)

Fabric Garden-

Materials:

Scraps of plain and floral fabric

Colored markers

Plain paper

White glue

Poster board

Directions:

First cut out the flowers, leaves, stems, and buds from floral fabric. Plan fabric can be used to cut out additional petals, leaves, and stems. Use colored markers to outline the shapes. Glue all the shapes onto the paper to make them firmer. Let the glue dry completely. Reassemble the shapes on the poster board to make flowers, plants, and imaginary flora so that the finished effect is like a flower garden or field of flowers designed by your child.

*Taken from the book “365 Days of Creative Play” by Sheila Ellison and Judith Gray

Paper Chain People-

Materials:

Pencil

Paper

Scissors

Crayons

Directions:

Fold paper accordion- fashion so that all sections are equal. On the top section, draw a person whose hands extend the folds of the paper. Carefully cut around your person. Open out the paper and your child will have a chain of several people holding hands. Color them in with crayons and take them to the refrigerator.

*Take from the book “365 Days of Creative Play” by Sheila Ellison and Judith Gray

Bear Hospital-

Materials:

Old Sheeting

Masking Tape

Band-Aids

Scissors

Directions:

Tear narrow strips of old sheeting to make bandages. Cut out triangular shapes too. Show your child how to make an arm sling and how to tape down bandages. Using his or her bears, dolls, and stuffed toys as patients, have your child pretend that he or she is in the hospital or clinic where the toys must be treated and repaired. Be careful to handle the toys gently.

*Taken from the book “365 Days of Creative Play” by Sheila Ellison and Judith Gray

Paper Bag Puppets-

Materials:

Markers

Small brown paper bag

White glue

Yarn

Scissors

Construction paper

Directions:

Draw the puppet’s eyes, nose, and mouth on to the bottom flaps of paper bag. Glue on yarn for the puppet’s hair. Use scissors to cute things out such as bow ties and buttons from the construction paper. Glue them onto the bag for puppet’s costume. Put a hand inside the bag to move the puppet’s mouth.

*Taken from the book “The little Hands Art Book” by Judy Press

Paper Plate Spider-

Materials:

Scissors

Black construction paper

Small white paper plate

Long piece of string

White glue

Black marker

Directions:

Use scissors to cute the black construction paper into eight long strips. Accordion fold the paper strips back and forth onto themselves for spider legs. Poke two holes in the center of the paper plate, then thread string through. Glue spider legs around the edges of the paper plate. Glue two pop-up eyes on top of the plate, if you want. Use black marker to color the paper plate for body of spider. Dangle spider from string.

*Taken from the book “The Little Hands Art Book” by Judy Press

Dancing Fingers-

Materials:

Newspaper

Container of Water

Glossy White Paper

Popsicle Stick or Spoon

Finger Paint

Radio or CD player

Directions:

Cover table with newspaper. Sprinkle a few drops of water to dampen glossy paper. Use Popsicle stick to scoop a glob of paint on paper. Listen to music while using fingers to spread finger paint around paper.

*Taken from the book “The Little Hands Art Book” by Judy Press

Gak-

Recipe:

1 cup liquid starch

1 cup glue

Food coloring

Directions:

Pour glue and food coloring into bowl. Mix thoroughly. Add starch slowly, and mix in. Knead. (Feels like rubber and can be reused if stored in an airtight container)

*Taken from the book “The Cooking Book” by Laura J. Colker

Fabulous Finger Paint I-

Recipe:

½ cup cornstarch

2 cups cold water

2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin

1 cup powdered laundry detergent

Food coloring

Materials:

Medium mixing bowl

Measuring cups

Wooden spoon

Small bowl

Medium Saucepan

Jar with lid

Directions:

Place cornstarch in mixing bowl. Add 1 ½ cups cold water. Mix with spoon. Pour gelatin into small bowl. Add ½ cup cold water, mix, and let sit for 1-2 minutes. Add gelatin to saucepan. Cook on medium heat until thick and glossy. Stir in detergent. Add food coloring and mix. Store in an airtight container.

*Taken from the book “The Cooking Book” by Laura J. Colker 

Wake-Up-and-Smell-the-Coffee Clay-

Recipe:

¼ cup instant coffee

1 ½ cups warm water

4 cups flour

1 cup salt

Materials:

2 mixing boals

Measuring cups

Wooden spoon

Fork

Directions: Place coffee in a bowl. Add water, and stir to dissolve. In second bowl, mix flour and salt. Use spoon to make a hollow in center of flour mixture. Pour coffee into hole. Mix dough. Knead until shiny. (after molding, clay can either be stored in a plastic bag for reuse or be hardened by baking in 300-degree oven for 1hr.)

*Taken from the book “The Cooking Book”

Fun Fall Activities

The fall season is full of fun activities to do as a family. Many visit pumpkin patches, apple orchards, and corn mazes. But there are plenty of interesting things you can do as a family without ever leaving your house. Here is a list of a few things you can do to celebrate fall without having a break the bank:

1.       Raking leaves and then collecting leaves for an art activity- you and your family could spend the morning raking leaves and creating piles to jump in, have contests to see whose is the largest, or pick which pile has the most colorful leaves. Once the majority of your leaves are bagged and ready to be picked up, collect a small pile to create leaf art. You could use them to paint with, glue them onto paper and make your own collage of colors and shapes, or even create pressed leaves to add as decoration to make your own fall place mats or name tags. (cost for supplies: free)

2.       Pumpkin carving- purchase several smaller pumpkins or one/two larger pumpkins and use cookie cutter shapes and a mallet to create designs in your pumpkin. Instead of using a candle, use glow bracelets/sticks or the artificial battery operated candles you can purchase from the dollar store to light up the inside of your masterpiece. If you are looking to make your own design or a pumpkin face, you can purchase a simple carving kit for about $1.00 at the dollar store or your local Walmart. (Cost for supplies: Between $5-15.00)

3.       Homemade edibles out of apples- collect a few baby food jars from the child care center and use them to make homemade apple butter or apple sauce from apples collected at an orchard or your local grocery store. You could also make homemade apple cider or apple juice. (cost for supplies: $5-15) Here are a couple of easy recipes to follow for these activities: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/apple_butter/ and http://www.campbellskitchen.com/recipes/spiced-hot-apple-cider-26711

4.       Fall table centerpiece- have your family go outside and collect various fall items such as pine cones, large acorns, pine needles in bundles, and sticks. Lay the items on paper or wax paper and use glitter spray or regular glitter and paint to decorate your items. Once they dry, place them in a clear bowl to use as décor for your dining room table or coffee table. (cost for supplies: $2-5)

5.       Pumpkin play dough- Have a fun time pretending making pies and let the kids get into the actual pie pans and pie servers or mold them into small pumpkins and add a stem to make the project complete. Here is an easy recipe that requires items you probably already have in your kitchen! ( Cost for supplies: Free- $5) http://spoonful.com/crafts/pumpkin-pie-play-dough

Summer Eating

When it comes to being outside in the summer time, no one ever feels like going in to a kitchen and cooking a hot meal. Sometimes, we want to just stay outside and enjoy the nice weather and focus on another hour of sunlight. During the summer months, it’s nice to come up with creative alternatives for meal times such as a picnic in the park, sack lunch dinner, a cookout, or even a snack meal instead of a heavy meal. The most important thing when eating outside is to make sure the food that should be refrigerated is kept cool and that there are plenty of opportunities to rehydrate with water and other healthy beverages.

                Another way to shorten time on meal prepping is to plan ahead. Have your main dish cooked ahead of time or frozen so that all you have to do is throw it in the oven or crock pot and serve when outside time is over. Meal planning saves time and can save money when buying in bulk and freezing.

                I have included a list of websites that offer fast and healthy meals to prepare for outdoor adventures or extended nights outside and a couple of fun ways to drink water that even your kiddos will want to drink.

Sample recipes:

Fruit Infused Water:

Slice 1 orange (leave peel on) (You may also do this with lime and lemon or add all three- a few slices of each)

Slice 1/2 cucumber (leave peel on)

Add mint leaves (optional)

Fill 1 pitcher ¾^’s full of cold water and place sliced fruit and cucumber to infuse overnight. Serve beverage over ice.

For those wanting a sweeter taste to their water, simply substitute the fruits above with kiwi, strawberry slices, and grapes sliced in half.

Picnic in the backyard:

Turkey and cheese roll ups

Apple slices

Veggie chips

Fruit and grain trail mix for evening snacking

Infused water

The following Websites offer fun alternatives to the classic tuna salad or PB-J sandwich for outdoor meals.

http://www.albertsons.com/2013/05/kid-friendly-picnic-ideas/

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/family-friendly-recipes-00000000023901/index.html

http://family.go.com/food/pkg-summer-recipes/

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!

After all of the rain we’ve had, I have noticed we are dealing with a lot of bugs. What do you do to guard yourself from the hungry mosquitoes outside? I have been doing some research on how to protect our bodies from the bugs and debating on what methods work best.

Some people are all about their home remedies for pesky insects while others trust the name brands to keep them from getting bitten. I think it is important to guard yourself from overexposure to bug bites because you never know what insect could be caring a virus that could make you sick. Here is a list of some of the diseases bugs can spread: 

•    West Nile Virus- Mosquito
•      Lyme Disease- Ticks
•     Malaria- Mosquito
•     Myiasis- Fly Larvae
•     Typhus- Fleas, Mites, Ticks, Lice

Though most of these illnesses are rare in the United States, we must always be cautious about overexposure to insects during the summer months, especially around bodies of water and wooded areas. 

I have created a list of products you can purchase over-the-counter and a couple of home remedies you may also want to try when venturing outdoors. If you have any remedies you would like to share with us, please leave a comment below. 

Insect Repellants:

•      OFF! Insect repellant- several varieties to suite your needs
•       AVON Skin So Soft/Insect repellant
•       CUTTER Skinsations
•       Burt’s Bees Insect Repellant

Home Remedies:

•       Lavender Oil- Mix 30 drops in water and place in spray bottle. Spray and repeat when needed
•       Citronella Oil- Mix 30 drops in water and place in spray bottle. Spray and repeat when needed
•      Parsley or Basil leaves- boil into a tea and either rub on skin once cooled or add to spray bottle and  spray as often as needed
•      ½ teaspoon of vegetable glycerin, distilled water and witch hazel, and eucalyptus oil- mix in a water bottle and spray as often as needed. The stronger the oil the better it works. 

What is up with Illinois weather?

Illinois is notorious for unpredictable weather and I think Memorial Day topped all of the weather conditions so far for 2013. Our campus, and mainly our center, experienced power outage and major damage to some of the beautiful nature surrounding our campus. We were fortunate enough to have been closed at the time of the storm, but the loss of trees and power resulted in a closing and a lot of cleanup. Check out some of the pictures of the destruction from the storm:

                Have you created a plan of action for situations like this one and other storms that could cross our path? Do you have a basement or safe place to go to in case of a tornado? Our children participated in their annual tornado drill just this morning and this afternoon we received word that there is a tornado watch until 8pm.  In the event that the watch turns into a warning, know that your children are in good hands and know exactly what to do if this ever happens. If we need to evacuate, our plan of action is to head immediately to the PAC tunnel, the safest place on campus.

                Here are a few measures you could take with your family if a tornado warning occurred while you were at home:

http://www.disaster-survival-guide.com/tornado-safety.html

http://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m4340177_Tornado.pdf