grade school

When is a Child Ready for Kindergarten?

by Marie March 30, 2010

As a former Kindergarten teacher, I get asked a lot of questions from family and friends about their young school aged children. One of the most common questions is regarding if/when a child is ready to start Kindergarten. Is she ready? Is she big enough? Should he be the youngest in the class or the [...]

Read the full article →

Fun with Chalk Pastels

by Heather November 2, 2009

When I was a kid, one of my favorite activities at Grandma’s house was playing with her chalk pastels. They were like chalk, but more intense in color, a more serious art supply than we were accustomed to. She taught us a technique that amused us for hours every time we visited. Kids of any [...]

Read the full article →

Roar!! Dinosaur Pipe Cleaner Toys

by Heather September 14, 2009

I love pipe cleaners–there are a million things you can do with them! They come in tons of colors, are cheap and readily available at your local craft or dollar store. My three year-old son is just starting to discover dinosaurs (his favorite: the T-Rex. How do boys learn this stuff? Is it just part [...]

Read the full article →

Recycle Your Chip Bag Into a Book Cover

by Heather August 25, 2009

Along with school shopping and choosing a new lunch box, one back-to-school tradition is covering your school books. Some schools require it, some don’t, but your kids are sure to get a kick out of customizing their books with covers made from recycled materials. You can use a variety of destined-for-the-dumpster materials to make unique [...]

Read the full article →

Star Wars Felt Finger Puppets

by Heather August 10, 2009

Felt is one of the cheapest crafting materials around, and one of the easiest to work with. It’s also a great crafting material for kids of nearly any age. With a little help, even pre-schoolers (or even toddlers) can make finger puppets that will delight them for hours. I made simple Star Wars inspired puppets, [...]

Read the full article →

Dollar Store Tie Dyeing

by Heather July 13, 2009

Tie dyeing is a fun summer craft, but I have been trying to cut back on crafts that cost a lot to do so I can focus on using up the huge stash of supplies I already have. I had some colored tissue paper on hand and learned that you can use it to dye [...]

Read the full article →

Kid Art: Textured Paintings

by Heather June 29, 2009

I have always liked the look of chunky paint applied to canvas in swirls (a la Vincent Van Gogh), but most kiddie paints aren’t capable of making that kind of texture. Enter a secret household ingredient that you mix into your paint that takes it from runny to chunky in ten seconds! What is this [...]

Read the full article →

When Art Collides With Toast

by Heather June 22, 2009

Did you know you can paint bread and then toast it into a colorful, edible piece of art? Yep, it’s true. I learned it here. Combine bread cut out with cookie cutters with a bit of edible paint, and art time collides with snack time in a really fun way. Kids of all ages will [...]

Read the full article →

Outdoor Art Fun: Painting Rocks

by Heather June 15, 2009

Mix up art and outdoor play time by bringing the art outside with you (and leaving it there when you’re done!). Kids will get a kick out of applying paint to surfaces they don’t normally see as canvases. Painting out in the great wide world might inspire some young artists more than sitting at the [...]

Read the full article →

Kid-Safe Stamp Carving

by Heather June 8, 2009

Looking for a great inside summer activity to do with your grade-schoolers, tweens and teens? Stamp-carving is a great activity for kids of all ages and stages, and a good one to have in mind in case of a rainy summer day (or on days when it’s too hot to go outside!) Older kids can [...]

Read the full article →