Crafts

I just put up some info about an arts and craft class I will be teaching at the Taylor Ranch Community Center. This is a great opportunity to get out of the house and for her to make some new friends. It is on Monday Mornings for preschoolers only. I will send you a flyer if you like, so email me at ____@____.com or go to www.myspace.com/craftcorner_abq

at three they like hands on tactile things. when i have my neice for the summer (she's 3 too ), we make things. i take a couple of slices of white bread and take the edges off and cut into crumbs, add white glue and knead until it is like play dough, we make christmas ornaments and tea sets and animals. you can add food collring but it is more fun to paint them after they are dry. it takes about 2 or 3 ays to get hard so you have 2 projects in one. we have also tried making homeade play dough with cornstarch. i got the recipe online just google it. this summer we made matching t shirts and wore them shopping and to the pool. we used white t shirts and fabric paints form wal mart they are about 6 dollars for a set of multiple colors. they have glossy and pugff paint. marisa liked the puff paint because after it dries you steam it or put it in the drier and it puffs up. we also have a lot of fun having tea parties. i collect procelain and china tea cups and she knows she cant play with them unless we have a grwon up tea party. we make cucumber shandwiches and pb and j sandwiches and cut them up in 4ths then we make herbal tea. i bought a box of several types like fruit flavored and we get dressed up in nice dresses and set the table and have a tea party. it is also a good way to teach manners. we also planted beans and watched them grow. she was here 2 weeks then went home for 2 and when she came back for 2 weeks they were up. i just took pictures of the plants and sent them to her email and last week i took a bunch of harvested beans to her house and we cooked them and ate them. we also went to a peach orchard and picked peaches. this way she knows where food comes from. we came back and made a peach pie and peach ice cream in an old fashioned ice cream maker. we went to a local cheese factory and took a free tour, we bought some cheese and came home and made quesadillas for dinner. she ahs started preschool so i dont get her until thanksgiving again but i miss her so much already. she talks constantly and the house seems so quiet now. she goes to my house for two weeks at a time and then goes to her house and my other sisiter watches her the next to weeks. we have been doing this since she was born. she is the only girl neice and the youngest of all . cant wait to have her again in november. her parents both work alot and dont have much time to devote to her but i think she gets more attention and does more fun stuff than any other little girl i know. have fun

Subscribe to familyfun magazine and you will find lots of crafts that you will love. I am currently starting a FamilyFun subscription drive where for every $10 FamilyFun subscription my group sells, my daughter's school will get to keep $5. So if I sell 200, her school will make $1,000!!

Cornstarch goo is fun. Mix one part cornstarch with approximately one part water and a couple drops of food coloring. When tapped it acts like a solid; when gentle pressure is applied it acts like a liquid. And don't forget that kids this age love repetition. Repeating some old crafts with different colors or added elements will make it seem new to her.

Try Familyfun.com - they usually have cute ideas. If not for crafts, then fun snacks and recipes.

Purchase a teacher's resource book for preschool aged children...they have activities for an entire school year and usually have really good ideas. You can tone down the difficulty level to fit your needs and they have fun thematic and holiday ideas as well. Hope that helps.

M.

Check out the websit www.enchantedlearning.com. Tons of craft ideas and printable ones too! Have fun.

Hi T., check out the web page for the family fun magazine, they have a lot of great ideas by age level. good luck,

I have 2 little boys - ages 2 & 4 - and we also do a lot of crafts. I usually just try to keep a good supply of materials here at home & then spontaniously come up with stuff. There are also a lot of good ideas on line. If you do a search on crafts for kids or toddlers you can probably come up with a lot of stuff. There are also some good ideas on kid websites, such as Disney and Sprouts. Good luck!

there are some web pages for making your own playdoh- lots of different recipes-- ones that sparkle and ones you can make into beads.. its fun and doesn't break the bank!

Well, here's something. Christmas will be here before you know it. When my Mom watched my oldest, she made an apron. She got some paint and an apron and used my daughter's hands to make handprints all over the apron and then she wrote "Mom" on the top. So, that might be an idea for gifts for grandparents! BTW - my daughter was just about a year old at the time.