Arts & Crafts for Boys (link)

Thank goodness for some of the world's ultra creative moms who make arts & crafts simple as cut & paste.  Again, linking for future source of ideas.

Boy Get Crafty by Red Ted Art

Calming bottles

The calming bottle is a favorite among preschool homeschoolers, and so I decided to have it as our first arts & crafts project for the year. It's very simple and easy to do, especially for a creativity-challenged mom like me.  Besides, who wouldn't love glitters?

All we used for this project were:

• (2) 300 ml plastic bottles 
• a glitter glue in the preferred color of the child (we used Disney's Art Attack)
• more glitters in the same color as the glitter glue
• small metallic stars (optional)
• warm water
• long stick to stir it with

We first filled the bottle to around 2/3 of its capacity.  Then the kids did the squeezing of the glitter glue into the bottles.  They also helped with stirring & dissolving it.  A little more than 1/3 of the glitter glue gave a good consistency.  Then we added the extra glitters and the small stars.  We filled the bottle with water to the brim before closing it tightly.  Et voila!

Get kids cooking

Just a few links to recipes to get kids involved in the kitchen:

Inner Child Food
http://food.innerchildfun.com/category/kids-in-the-kitchen-2

No cook recipes for kids
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/tag-5515/kids-no-cook-recipes.aspx

Read it and cook it!
http://www.teachpreschool.org/2012/03/read-it-and-cook-it/

Kindergarten Recipes Activities
http://www.education.com/activity/kindergarten/recipes/

Recipes for kids aged 6 years and under
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/yourkids/kidsinthekitchen/kidscancookrecipes/recipesaged6andunder.aspx

Recipes to Make with Kids
http://www.schoolfamily.com/recipes/category/recipes-to-make-with-kids

KidsHealth Recipes & Cooking
http://kidshealth.org/kid/recipes/#cat20229

Kidspot Kitchen:  Kids cooking
http://www.kidspot.com.au/best-recipes/Kids-cooking+5.htm

BBC GoodFood:  Kids cooking recipes
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/kids-cooking

Channel 4:  Cooking with kids
http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/cooking-with-kids

Healhy Kids:  Kid-friendly recipes
http://www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au/recipes.aspx?category=kidfriendlyrecipes

Martha Stewart:  Easy recipes kids can help make
http://www.marthastewart.com/275624/easy-recipes-kids-can-help-make

Spoonful:  Cooking with kids
http://spoonful.com/recipes/cooking-with-kids-recipes

Fun Recipes for Kids @ Pinterest
http://pinterest.com/snrmag/fun-recipes-for-kids/

Classroom Cooking @ Pinterest
http://pinterest.com/stephsrenee/classroom-cooking/

No bake fun recipes for kids @ Pinterest
http://pinterest.com/mexprencss/no-bake-fun-recipes-for-kids/

Trying out new things: Behind the Shutter

Last weekend we attended a wedding, and my hubby left the camera with me.  Good thing I remembered to grab an opportunity... to let M1 try out photography.  Let's see if he has the eye for it.  

For a 4-year old 1st-timer with a DSLR camera, I should say his shots were great!  And I can count it as part of homeschooling!  So proud of your work, my boy!

The Purple Submarine

Purple submarine

This wasn't Marek's first time he held a watercolor and a paintbrush, but it was his first non-abstract work (with a little help from mommy... yes, sheer talent runs in the blood).  The artwork was inspired by his little brother, Markus' singing of the Yellow Submarine (by the Beatles) chorus.  But he decided to make the underwater vessel purple since it was among his favorite colors, (next to yellow, and before brown).  After placing the finished product on the wall, he was staring at it for quite a while.  It was very nice to see him full of pride.