paper houses

I like when my days are full of crafting.  Sometimes this directly involves the children at my day care and sometimes it doesn't but it is usually "for" them either visually or to play with.  I do love my job.

 

I recently purchased a copy of Taproot magazine, Issue 16 Shelter, and was very pleased the second I opened it.  Not only is there good reading throughout the magazine along with recipes and such, there was also a template to make two different tiny paper houses.  I knew I would want more than two and possibly more and more for the kids to make too.  So I took my scanner to the day care (where it should have been for a long time) and scanned the two pages housing houses.  I printed copies onto white cardstock and the kids here today and I colored away using markers and crayons... depending on age.  While they were working I cut out the houses, folded and glued them together one by one.  They were all tickled to see their little houses take shape.

 

Well... somehow this exercise wasn't enough for me.  I made the houses a bit bigger on my computer and printed them out.  During naptime I colored, cut and pasted again but you know me... I didn't stop there.  I broke out the Mod Podge and fine glitter and painted roofs, windows and sides of the houses.  That felt better.  Then I decided, since I have been craving a centerpiece for our table ever since I put the fall leaves up, that I would make a tray of some sort and glue the houses to it.  I cut out an oval from cardboard, painted it white, hot glues some small silver tinsel around the edge and painted a dusting or white glitter glue over the surface.  It is a very colorful and quaint little village that can be moved all at once when need be.  I may even leave it out through winter since it is not necessarily Christmas.  I did punch a hole and ran a piece of yarn through the ones the kids made so they can hang theirs. 

 

 

I love volunteers to help clean up.

 

 

I don't feel like I can share the house template from Taproot.  I don't feel like it's mine to give.  But I did do a search on Pinterest for paper house villages that showed some good templates too.  Then you can make them how ever you wish.  So easy and fun to do.  I just never know what craftiness I will break into each day.

 

 

Now... you didn't think I'd leave the Barbies out did ya??

Barbie girl that I am once again.

This is also the Barbie that I gave a perm to... later post... when I find my other camera.

 

I obviously used my glitter gel pens.  Fantastico!!

 

 



Paper Snowflakes

Since it's about to be frigid outside and since it's January and since I haven't finished decorating for winter at the day care I thought I would make up a batch of paper snowflakes to hang from the ceiling.  I've truthfully never been good at it.  I know you're supposed to fold paper somehow and cut out shapes.  But mine have always come out square with no points at all.  So I looked up an easy folding and cutting template and now... look out!  I can't stop making them!  I've made eight today and have the paper cut out to make three more.  You would think I would let the kids in on the fun, and I might.  Honestly, most of them are pretty good with scissors.  But with all the folding and thickness of the paper I am having to use my good kitchen scissors with these.  Maybe we'll come up with an easier fold for them to be able to use their own preschool scissors.  They are pretty excited and impressed with Mrs. Laurie's snowflakes so far.  So they should be pretty pumped when it's their turn.  

Here is the folding template that I am using.

Photo credit: kinderart.com                          

And you do need to begin with a square piece of paper.  I simply cut two and a half inches off of a regular sheet of copy paper.  We will always use the scrap around here.

Next I just looked up templates on yahoo images and found the rest.  This is so much fun!!

I honestly don't know what I would do without nap time!  It is normally when I get the most done!

days of our play care

So, when we were out at the dirt pile the other day, I noticed that there wasn't much mud leading up to the water and thought "we could actually get close enough to set some a-sail".  I almost couldn't wait for nap time to drag out my computer to see if I could find an easy origami boat tutorial.  I wound up finding a really good DIY and after nap time it was on.  The kids colored sheets of white copy paper and as they finished I neatly folded each one while I explained the rules of the pond.  

As we were lining up at the gate to head out the thought hit me.... "are you nuts woman?  You are taking these kids to water!  They could wind up wet.... muddy... wait and build something that can hold water in the yard or get a pool."  But if I listened to the sensible angel on my shoulder we wouldn't have had a ton of fun setting our paper boats in the water, with the wind blowing them just right, and having a terrific time.  We had to get our the black pipe we found at the dirt pile to help when one of them started to sink and all boats were retrieved with success except for the toppled one.  It was promptly crushed by it's owner.    

I wish the boats would have sailed all the way across the longer way of the pond but they chose to stay closer to the edge.  I did think ahead to warn the children that we may have to leave them in the water if we weren't able to get to them but luckily this wasn't the case.  When we got back to the DC we pinned them to the clothesline to dry.  I have a feeling this will not be the last boat race we will have!

HERE is the wonderful tutorial that I used to learn how to easily make paper boats that float!  Too cool!

Autumn Trees

not sure why i called this post "autumn"... i never call it autumn.  around here.. it's fall.  that's all. 

at the day care yesterday we celebrated a bit of fall colors by making our own trees.  i drew the tree frames on white construction paper with a brown magic marker.   then tore one red, one orange, and one yellow piece of construction paper in to small pieces and divided them, putting a bit of each color in separate bowls and included a glue stick in each. 

first, the kids and i, talked about what was going on outside.  about all the trees changing and the colors and the season.  then they got to dab the glue sticks and paste the colored bits of paper on to their trees.  they much enjoyed it and they turned out very pretty!

simple. easy. effective.