Butterfly Collage - A Simple DIY Paper Collage Project for kids

Are you looking for fun and creative collage ideas for kids? I've been thinking about making a paper collage with my Little One (LO) for ages! This week, the right time finally clicked, and we started working on one of the most enjoyable collage projects: a butterfly art collage✂📃🎀. Let's hop into this exciting collage work and explore the collage process together!😍

Supplies for Making Collages:

To get started with this magazine paper collage, you'll need:

• White paper
• Black Marker Pen
• Color Papers or Construction Paper (This time I have used paper pieces from Magazines)
• Scissors
• Glue Stick

As this is LO's first hands-on experience with collage techniques, I didn't want to prepare anything too serious. So, I decided to cut the paper bits from glossy magazines and newspapers instead of using (or wasting 😆) construction paper or color paper. This approach to magazine collage is perfect for beginners and adds an interesting texture to your mixed media art.

How do we make it:

Draw a picture of your choice on the white paper with the black maker pen. I drew a butterfly, to make the first experience more colorful. Never mind if the picture doesn't look great, our kids will transform it into a wonderful masterpiece!

Then cut out pieces of paper from construction sheets. I was able to collect only few colors like blue and green from magazines I had. Place them in separate cups, so that it will be easy for the kids to use.

Initially LO applied glue on to the butterfly, and started to stick the blue color pieces.

Then LO did the dark blue pieces. In between I guided him, so that the shape of the butterfly wing was retained!

This activity demands lot of patience, nevertheless LO got completely involved in the collage work.

A quick touch up!

Finally we lost all patience, so decided to color the body of butterfly with a yellow marker!😆

Its All Done!!😁

Tips for Making Collages

When starting out with types of collages, try making a collage with simple pictures which demand a single color, like a duck or an apple. This approach is great for beginners learning various collage techniques.

I'll keep you posted with different collage ideas that can be easily done with available supplies at home. These simple collage projects are a great way to introduce kids to the world of mixed media art and help them develop their creativity.

Happy Parenting and enjoy your collage-making adventures!😊

Father's Day gift

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day... What a great chance to celebrate Daddy for all the wonderful and lovable things he does!

This is my husband's third Father's Day and I want to surprise him with something special. So me and Little One did a small coloring work.

I just helped LO by tracing out the picture and he changed the black and white paper into a colorful treat with his little hands. Both my husband and LO are fond of vehicles, especially cars, so I decided to go with this.

I helped him in choosing the colors.

And finally we together wrote "Happy Father's Day" for our lovable Daddy😄

 And at last we are done!

Surprise your Daddy with these kinda simple gifts.

Happy Parenting!

This time... we got moving!

This activity is too simple to justify a post! But it was super fun and LO kept moving "aaaall day long.....". 😉
We did this when LO was in his second year, trying to figure out to move more actively. And now I thought we should do it again just to take snaps for the blog! Oops...😉Anyways LO enjoyed it even though it seemed too simple for him.😄

Ok, Let's get moving...

Assemble all the pillows you have. Then line them up as you wish, just imagine your child is gonna walk on some obstacles.

And that's it....The fun begins! 😀

At first I asked him to walk on the pillow from one end to the another. Obviously it was easy for his age! Later LO wanted his teddy to walk on the pillow and he helped the teddy to get to the other end.

Then I removed few pillows and placed the rest with some gap between them. LO enjoyed crossing this arrangement than the former one.

He tried crawling on them with his fours.

 And hopping on them, like bunnies.

 LO helped the little cheetah and alligator to cross the pillow obstacle.

Ah... super simple and yet you can make your kids move indoors, especially on a rainy day.

Happy parenting!

Yummy Ice Creams!

Well, I know you guys will mock at me, if I tell you "Stop eating ice creams". I'm not gonna say that. But the one food item which has been excellently tasty, very close to heart, treat for the taste buds and a comforter for the stomach linings for ages is no more "safe to eat". Trust me no company is gonna shut down their units and no TV or media is gonna reveal this known fact.

The dirty little secret is that propylene glycol (PEG), a cosmetic form of "antifreeze" is added to commercial ice creams. Have you ever wondered how the ice cream remains soft and easy to scoop when taken out of the freezer? Well, Anti freeze is added to prevent the ice crystals that inevitably form in your ice creams. And the manufactures add it to preserve the texture and softness of the ice cream as it gets shipped long distances and moved between different freezers before it reaches your super markets. And for your information antifreeze is typically used in automobile radiators!

I know it would be hard for you folks to believe because its no were listed in the ingredients! And this dirty fact is true for the organic ice creams too. I'm sure when something is regarded as "slow poison", you folks would have the understanding that there could be no discrimination as organic or non-organic.

PEG is a chemical that is known to cause heart, kidney, liver and central nervous system damage if sufficient quantity is absorbed by body.

When everyone knew about this and still continue to eat, and also the FDA grants GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) to anti freeze (shocking uh!) why do I need to worry about feeding my children with ice cream?

Let me put in simple terms, people eat 5 times the ice cream they did only 50 years ago, and you could guess the long term ill-effects of consuming small amounts of propylene glycol in your ice creams.

Not only in ice creams, the anti freeze is added to soft drinks, iced teas, artificial sweeteners, some medications and in lot more items than you think.

Its time to pause and think on what we eat and the need to buy packed food.

"Prevention is better than cure"

Coloring with Crayons on the wall

We recently did a markers and crayons coloring activity. This time we did it on a larger scale and so decided to put it on the wall. I mention it as 'We', because it was an activity for me too. Lol!😁

What we used:

• Paper (I've kept some Kraft paper Amazon puts in their boxes and used few sheets for this activity)
• Markers
• Crayons
• Sticky Tape

I helped LO to stick the paper to the wall using the sticky tape and my activity actually began!

Part 1:

I drew biggy biggy ABCs on the paper... Of course, none of our activities are without Alphas! LO couldn't restrain from disturbing me, and some how I kept him diverted before I completed the Z.

Then I thought I would draw a picture relating each Alpha, and so I drew the very easy "A for Apple"! But LO stopped me and said "Amma, Vehicles", and continued "B for Bus". I said ok and drew the bus. It was bit easy till I finished the car and dump truck. He said "E for Excavator" and I wasn't comfortable with it, so from then on sought the help of internet and somehow completed till "P for Pumpkin". I took a break wherein he started to do his coloring. For many I skipped the vehicles and I'm sure he wasn't disappointed. 

Then I gave him the Crayons and he started to color the Alphas and completed in a jiffy!

He couldn't reach to the top so he tried changing hands! he he...😊

He became so excited as that was his first coloring activity on wall!

Again, after a break, from 'Q', I drew pictures till 'Z' and most pictures were LO's choice.
LO's Crayons coloring!

Apple, Bus, Car, Dump truck, Excavator, Fork-lift, Garbage Truck, Helicopter, Igloo, Jeep, Kite, Lamp, Motor Bike, Net, Owl, Pumpkin, Question Mark, Rocket, Sun, Turtle, Umbrella, Van, Wagon, X-mas tree, Yacht, Zeppelin.

                     

We reserved the rest of the space for another day.

Part 2:

After a week LO wanted to color on the 'wall paper', so my sketching started again!

I drew random pictures with simple words, so that LO would get some in-sight into sight words.

Check out the pictures for the words.

This is a great activity for kids. Mess free and I would say cheap activity with limited supplies available at home.

You can draw some of your kids favorite pictures or give them the paint and brush, let them do a free style art work!

Happy Parenting!😊

Hands on with Play Dough : Part 1

There are so many ways to play with Play Dough and the possibilities are endless!

When LO was in his second year he didn't show much interest in handling the play dough. Rather he would remove the dough from the containers and play with the colorful lids or stack up the containers. When LO was close to three, I gave him the play dough again and then he got hold of it. 

Let me share with you what we did as a beginner. As this is the first activity with the play dough, we started from basics like making impressions with different textures, different shapes and of course impressions with Alphabets!

LO enjoyed it lot more than I expected. LO is bit obsessed with being clean! Initially he was bit hesitant to touch the dough but after sometime he started enjoying it!

I used plastic plates for each color for no-mess play and for easy clean up. We first started with doing Impressions of shapes. I helped LO in spreading the dough on the plates. Then I gave him the shapes and he started to explore!

Then I gave him a pen and LO made holes in dough which I didn't expect. The final look was awesome like the craters on the moon!

Then we used the Bristle Blocks. This is a good way to explore the textures of the Bristle Blocks and the impressions made by them in play dough.

We also tried etching the dough with the spoon.

And here comes the Alphas!!

Of all these I know LO's favorite is making holes on the play dough with the pen!!

There are infinite activities you can do with play dough which I will keep sharing as we experiment it.

Happy Parenting!😊

A - Z....

As I have already mentioned LO is truly enamored of alphabets. So whatever new word I introduce him I say it like 'F is for Fog' and 'W is for Worm' kinda. Now playing alphabets is his/our favorite bedtime game.    

We play alphabet animals, alphabet fruits, alphabet vegetables, alphabet vehicles, alphabet body parts and alphabet country. So just wanted to share you all with our favorite entries in each category. Hope your kids will also enjoy playing this game.

This activity introduces lot of new words for kids, hence enhancing their vocabulary. For many alphas I have listed more than one word, so that you can pick your kids favorite.

Alphabet Body parts

A - arms, ankles
B- bones, brain, bellybutton
C - chin, cheek chest
D- duodenum, 
E - eye, ear, eyebrow, elbow
F - forehead, face, finger, foot
G - gums, 
H - hands, hip, head, hair, heart
I - index finger
J - jaws, 
K - knees, 
L - legs, lips
M - mouth, middle finger
N - nose, neck, nails, 
O- ovary
P - palm
Q - quadriceps
R - ring finger, ribs
S - stomach, shoulders,skin
T - toes, tongue, tummy, teeth, trunck, throat, thigs
U - umbilical cord
V - veins
W - wrist, waist
X - xanthom
Y - yoke
Z- zygote

Please excuse me if your kids ask what is Ovary, Xanthom, Yoke and Zygote!!!! If you could replace with a better word please update in the comments.

Alphabet Fruits

A - Apple, avocado, apricot
B - Banana, blueberries, blackberry
C - Cherry, custard apple, carambola/star fruit, cranberry
D - Dates, Dragon fruit
E - Egg fruit, elderberry
F - Fig
G - Grapes, guavas, gooseberry
H - Honey dew fruit, honey berry,
I - NA
J - Jack, 
K - Kiwi,
L - Lemon, litchi, lime
M - Mango,Melon, mulberry
N - Nectarine,
O - Orange, olive
P - Papaya, pineapple, plum, passion fruit, peach, pear, pomegranate
Q- Quince, 
R - Raspberry
S - Strawberry, sapota, starfruit
T - Tamarind, Tomato,Thimble berry
U - Ugli fruit, 
V - Victoria Plum
W - Watermelon
X - Xigua (Melon)
Y - Yellow squash
Z - Zucchini

For "NA"s we simply replace with "Don't know" ;) Please update/replace with better fruit names, if any.

Alphabet Vehicles

A - Airplane, AutoRikshaw, Ambulance, ATV (All Terrain Vehicle)
B - Bus, bicycle, Boat, Bulldozer, Bullock cart,
C - Car, Crane, 
D - Dump truck, Delivery Truck
E - Excavator, Engine
F - Fire Engine, 
G - Garbage Truck,
H - Helicopter,
I - Ice-cream truck,
J - Jeep, Jet plane, Jam truck,
K - Kayak
L - Lorry, Limousine
M - MotorBike, Monster Car
N - Navy ship
O - Ocean Ship, Oil Tanker
P - Police car, 
Q - Quadbike
R - Rocket, Rikshaw
S - Ship, SUV, Scooter, School bus, Steam Engine
T - Train, Tow Truck, Taxi, 
U - Unicycle
V - Van,
W - Wagon
X - Xebec
Y - Yatch
Z - Zeppelin

LO is crazy about vehicles, and this is his most favorite set of Alphas!

Alphabet Country

This set, my sister thought LO, so he learnt in a jiffy :)

A - America
B - Bhutan
C - Canada
D - Denmark
E - England
F - France
G - Germany
H - Hong Kong
I - India
J - Japan
K - Kenya
L - Libya
M - Malaysia
N - Nepal
O - Oman
P - Pakistan
Q - Qatar
R - Russia
S - Singapore
T - Turkey
U - Uganda
V - Vietnam
W - West Indies
X - NA
Y - Yugoslavia 
Z - Zimbabwe 

Alphabet Animals

A - Ant, Ant Eater, Alligator, 
B - Bumble bee, Bison, Buffalo, Butterfly
C - Cat, Cow, Crickets, Chimpanzee, Camel, Caterpillar
D - Dog, Duck, Dinosaur, Dolphin, Donkey, Dragonfly
E - Elephant, Earwig, Earthworm
F - Fish, Frog, Fox, Firefly, Falcon
G - Goat, Gorilla, Grasshopper, Giraffe,
H - Horse, Hippopotamus, Horsefly, Hummingbird, Hamster, Hyena
I - Iguana, Ice Bear, Io Moth
J - Jackal, Jaguar, Japanese Beetle
K - Kangaroo, Kite, Kingfisher, 
L - Lion, Lamb, Leopard
M - Monkey, Mouse, Monarch Butterfly,
N - Newt, Nightingale
O - Owl, Octopus
P - Peacock, Penguin, Pig, Pony, Pigeon
Q - Quail,
R - Rat, Rhino, Rabbit,
S - Squirrel, Snake, Sparrow, Sea lion,
T - Tiger, Turtle, 
U - Unicorn Beetle,
V - Vulture,
W - Whale, Walrus, 
X - X ray fish,
Y - Yak,
Z - Zebra

OmG!... Animals are innumerable... You can make your own customized list, like one animal name for a letter, with your kids favorite animals... Let kids pick their favorite one when making the list. I have just given more than one for each letter, so that you have handful of options to choose from.

Alphabet Vegetables

A - Ash gaurd, Asparagus
B - Broccoli, Beans, Beetroot
C - Capsicum, Carrot, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Cucumber
D - Drumstick
E - Eggplant
F - Fenugreek Leaves, Fennel
G - Garlic
H - Horseraddish, Horsegram
I - Iceberg Lettuce
J - Jalapeno
K - Kale
L - Lettuce, Ladysfinger
M - Mushroom
N - Neep (a turnip),
O - Onions. Okra
P - Potato, Peas, Pumpkin
Q - Quinoa seed
R - Radish
S - Spinach
T - Tomato
U - Urad bean
V - Velvet bean
W - White gourd, Water chestnut
X - Xerophyte
Y - Yams
Z - Zucchini

I will update the post with downloadable format of these lists so that you can print it and have it on your kids wall.

Happy Parenting!

Learning Alphabet with Mega Blocks

Here is one more super activity with Mega Blocks to teach toddlers alphabets and learn sight words for preschoolers.

I have never met a child who wouldn't love to play with Blocks. So why not teach the alphabets by leveraging this interest?

This wonderful quote says it all "What we learn with pleasure we never forget".

We bought these Blocks for LO when he was 18 months old and nowadays he doesn't turn up to them. He hadn't played with these for ages! So I thought to give these Blocks a new look so that he would fell in love with them again. Obviously Alphas can give the best look I thought.

What you will need for this activity,

• Permanent Marker
• Mega Blocks

How do we start?

First, write the alphas on Blocks using your permanent marker. You can also use dry-erase maker if you are really concerned using the permanent one. I wrote uppercase letters on 26 blocks and did the same for lowercase. We had 55 count of the square block type, so I did in this way. You can alter the pattern of writing according to the number of blocks you have.

The Activity Begins!

Now the real fun starts. I handed over the blocks to LO and he got really thrilled at the first sight!

He started to look for the A,B,Cs to put them in order. 

And I suggested LO to pair the Uppercase and Lowercase letters and he did a marvelous job.

I also combined the Blocks to form his favorite sight words like Mat, Cat, Dog, etc. This is a great way to learn sight words for the beginners.

On Lowercase Blocks I wrote the alphas on one more side in a different pattern so LO can build the other way too!

We also did uppercase and lowercase matching.

LO strived hard to build big tower of Uppercase and Lowercase Alphas and I loved the effort he took to complete it. 

You can teach your kid to build his name and they are gonna love it. Once you are done with the Alphas written on Blocks there are ample activities you can do in. I will share you with more activities with these Alpha-Blocks as we do it. You can also teach numbers, shapes, etc with these Blocks. 

Please share your suggestions and comments, it means a lot to me!

Happy Parenting!😊