Blog

Posted on

Building Skills – Paper Mache

Paper Mache

Paper MachePaper mache is yet another excellent activity you can do with your child. Paper Mache can teach your child a number of skills.

Large Motor Skills

  • Tearing paper
  • Stirring glue
  • Applying paper to base

Social Skills
Children talk about the progress of the sculpture, taking pride in their work through conversations

Emotional Skills
The labors that such a project take will connect child with finished project

Cooperative Skills
Children share materials. This is a group effort where children construct together.

Language Skills
Books and illustrations about final outcome promote language.

Sensory Skills
The texture of the glue, cold, wet, sticky. The roughness of the dry paper.

Cognitive Skills
The process of paper mache: The glue changes from a liquid to a solid state.

Paper Mache is a great way to work with your child on completing an interesting project.

Posted on

Recipes for Kids – Finger Paint

Finger Paint

Finger PaintFinger painting is a great activity to do with kids. And, with this easy recipe, you can make it whenever the muses call.

Ingredients
1/2 cup cornstarch
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups cold water
food coloring

Recipe
1. In a medium pan, mix all the ingredients together.
2. Cook over low heat 10 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly.
Note: The mixture will turn from thin to thick in an instant.
3. After the finger paint has thickened take the pan off the stove immediately, and let the mixture cool.
4. Split the mixture into different bowls and add several drops of food coloring to each bowl.

Finger paint will keep in airtight container for about 3 days.

Posted on

Building Skills – Tempura Ice Cube Paints

Paint Ice

Paint IceThere are loads of great activities to do with kids. Today, we’re looking at tempura ice cube paints. They help your toddler develop a number of skills.

Fine Motor Skills
Using finger to pick up and control ice cube

Social Skills
Expressive language used while interacting with you and other children

Cognitive Skills
Matching colors to cubes builds sorting skills

Sensory Skills
Things that are frozen feel cold to the touch

Language SKills
Gives children a chance to verbalize cause and effect of what is happening to the tempura paint cubes

If you’re looking for a fun activity to do with your kids, give tempura paint ice cubes a try.

Posted on

Building Skills – Dauber Painting

Dauber Painting

Dauber PaintingContinuing in our series of great activities for kids, we have dauber painting. Dauber painting is a great activity to do with your toddler because it encourages a number of skills.

Large Motor Skills
Using upper arm muscles to lift paints up and control movements down

Fine Motor Skills
Uses palmer grasp

Emotional/Language Skills
Children can talk about the colors and share the excitement of the activity.

Cognitive Skills

  • Learning about shapes as each circle appears
  • Counting
  • Connecting
Posted on

Building Skills – Box House

Cardboard Box

Cardboard BoxIf you’re looking for a great activity to do with your child, consider building a box house. There are a number of skills your child can learn from creative play with a cardboard box.

Fine Motor Skills

  • Building small pieces of furniture
  • Ripping small pieces of paper

Cognitive Skills

  • Develops abstract thinking
  • Using an imaginative family to represent a real family

Social and Emotional Skills

  • Acting out who is living in the box and what they are doing in the house
  • Provides release of emotions for children
  • Connects real family and imaginative family

Language Skills

  • Building a structure with others
  • Using cooperative language

Sensory Skills
Creating a space for living too small for a real person opens imaginative play.

If you’re looking for a good use for those old cardboard boxes and a way to entertain and delight your child, consider building box houses with them.

Posted on

Building Skills – Scarecrows

Scarecrows

ScarecrowsCreating scarecrows is a great activity for kids for a number of reasons.

Large Motor Skills

  • Stuffing straw into leg and arm holes
  • Lifting body parts
  • Reaching and stretching

Fine Motor Skills

  • Picking up small pieces of straw
  • Buttoning shirts and pants

Language Skills
Labeling child’s actions, such as:

  • Describing the scarecrow
  • Creating stories about the scarecrow

Emotional Skills
Creating something that will be part of their garden or outdoor space for an entire season builds an attachment to this project.

Social Skills
In a group, children will be sharing materials and common space. You can lead in conversation what each child is doing.

Cooperative Skills

  • Lifting together
  • Sharing materials
  • Building near each other

Cognitive Skills
Children decide what final outcome of scarecrow will be. This develops abstract thinking.

Imaginative Skills
Children build the scarecrow based on visual perceptions they remember or have seen in stories.

If you’re looking for a great activity to do with your child, try building a scarecrow.