Make a Drawing Journal

We have been on a homemade birthday present kick, and we continued with the do it yourself fun by making a present for a sweet five year old girl's birthday.  We made a drawing journal and included fine tip markers with it.

Materials Needed
-drawing paper
-thick paper for cover (watercolor paper, thin cardboard, or cardstock)
-string or yarn
-hole puncher

Steps 
-Decide on size of journal and cut drawing paper and two cover pages to match.  Make the cover pages slightly larger than drawing paper.
-Decorate the cover.  Miss E and I used bleeding tissue paper to decorate the cover. We covered the covers in pieces of bleeding tissue paper.  Paint water over the tissue paper.  Let sit for a few minutes.  Remove the tissue paper and let it dry.



-Laminate or use clear contact paper on the covers.
-Create three holes at end of all paper and cover.
-Attach the papers together with string.  Tie loosely to allow room to move pages.



Enjoy giving a truly unique present to the special child in your life!

A Very Goaty Birthday

If you know our daughter or follow along with this blog, you likely know that Miss E loves goats . She just celebrated her 4th birthday, and, of course, it was all about goats. I knew a goat birthday party would be a challenging theme especially considering we weren't going to include a goat petting zoo.
So if your children or students love goats, you found your one stop shop for goat ideas.

Her birthday morning included a goat pancake.








We created birthday invitations. I made a head shape with a plain notecard. I cut out the pieces to the goat, and set out cotton balls for fur, and googly eyes. Miss E assembled the card.














I made goat horns and ears. Older children could probably assemble themselves. I used cardboard leftover from a painting project and felt for the ears glued onto a piece of construction paper.






We decorated salt dough goat ornaments with tempera paints. Miss E and I made the dough ornaments ahead of time using a goat cookie cutter. It takes several hours to cook the ornaments, so definitely a good idea to make ahead of time.















We had a storytelling of The Three Billy Goats Gruff using our story sensory box. Since we were pretending to be goats, I suggested that we may need to bring food to the troll since he is hungry. I gave the girls goat stickers to attach to plastic lids to make a plate of food for the troll.

Before the party, Miss E and I made a large troll out of butcher paper and paint, so the girls could have fun tossing food into the trolls mouth. That brown area in the center is the hole for his mouth. We attached the troll to large, waffle blocks, but it could have worked with a large box, as well.  The spots on his body are the food stickers some girls attached to him.







It looks like the troll may have taken a bite out of one of our goats!!






I made an ice cream cake for my daughter. I had intended to order one, but ran late explaining the very "simple" cake design. I used the goat cookie cutters to help make the shape with sprinkles. The goats look more like dogs, and I fear that this picture may end up on Cake Wrecks.







Since I was busy with the party, I missed some pictures. The little goats had fun with ramming their horns into balloons. The gift bags included oatmeal cookies because goats eat oats, a mini goat found at a gift shop, and goat milk soap.

To ease my stress and ensure my daughter truly enjoyed her birthday celebration, I let certain aspects of the party slide. For this party, I didn't worry about decorating. I put out a pretty tablecloth and flowers, but that's it. I kept the guest list very small since my daughter doesn't usually enjoy large groups of people. I kept food simpler than I usually do with a pasta bar rather than making labor intensive food.

After all the party games, gift opening, and cake eating were over, my favorite part was when the girls played for two hours.  It made me happy that my daughter has matured to the point of enjoying the company of other children and plays creatively.

Happy Birthday, Miss E!!!


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Location:At Home

Favorite Things Collage

Last week we ended up with a large painting from our Pitch 'n Paint activity, and I began thinking of how I could make use of this grand scale painting. I realized it would be the perfect backdrop to a collage. Since Miss E's birthday is in less than a week, I decided we could work on a collage to document her favorite things.

First, we wrote her name using 3 dimensional objects, beads, popsicle sticks, twisty ties, and a cardboard ribbon holder, found around the house. I hot glue gunned the letters to the paper. We painted some of the items.

Then, we brainstormed creating a list of her favorite things. We needed more than one board to write her list.




We drew pictures using the list. At times, Miss E took out a favorite thing to help her draw. I labeled the pictures.




She pasted the pictures onto the paper.













I posted the collage in our living room.



It makes a beautiful birthday banner to celebrate Miss E's 4th birthday!  This activity support literacy skills through brainstorming, labeling, and making letters.  It fosters art and fine motor skills through drawing. 


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Location:At Home

Outdoor Kitchen in a Box

This past year, I have started making gifts for my daughter's friends, and I was inspired by Childhood 101's sewing basket. It's the perfect gift for a four year old's birthday. This past weekend we attended a three year old's birthday, and I wasn't sure she was ready for a sewing kit.

So, I came up with the idea to make her an outdoor kitchen in a box. Miss E loves her outdoor kitchen, and it was influenced by the mud pie kitchens featured in Let the Children Play and Child Central Station and I couldn't create it on the large scale that we have at home or I've seen at preschools since the birthday girl's because grandiose presents sometimes miss the mark, and I like to try to keep birthday presents simple. I admit that making birthday presents isn't as simple as buying them, but making gifts is more personal and can be less wasteful.

First, I found a basket on discount from Michael's. It was important that the basket could be easily carried by the child, and had a lid. A box should work fine too, but mud pie kitchens are usually wet which would create more wear on a cardboard box.

I made stovetop burners using yogurt top lids and Sharpie markers. My husband drilled small holes on the lids, so I could tie the lids onto the basket.




I filled the box with kitchen items from my home, Goodwill, and World Market. World Market is one of my favorite stores for home goods, and items are generally priced well.




I filled the condiment bottles with red, yellow, and white paint. Paint is one of my daughter's favorite ingredients in her outdoor kitchen.

I poured colored sand in the spice bottles, and the large container has sand.

The cheese shaker would be a great place to put water since water is an essential element in our outdoor kitchen.




Miss E and I created the sign for the kitchen. We used watercolor paper and colored it with bleeding tissue paper. I covered it in contact paper to hopefully make it waterproof. I attached it to the box using hot glue.

A kitchen in a box is an easy and simple toy to create for a special child in your life. It's perfect if you want something that can be transported easily to places, such as a park or playdate. It works well for families who are short on outdoor space because this could be played with on a small porch.

I hope the birthday girl enjoys playing with her outdoor kitchen in a box.





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Location:At Home