HRM Parent Blog

Here's a super easy activity idea from Carolyn Clegg. Balloons are definitely heaps of fun, but can also be choking hazards so remember to watch your child closely and pick up any pieces of broken balloons. Have fun!

Seriously, this is the easiest activity ever. In a desperate attempt to cook supper in peace just once, I tied a piece of string to a balloon and taped the end of that string to the ceiling so the balloon was around chest height to my daughter. That’s it.

Supplies for the easiest fun ever

The irony of this one is I got so distracted listening to my daughter laugh in delight while hitting and chasing this balloon around that I had to stop what I was doing and just watch!

Our second guest blog post this week is from Carolyn Clegg, bringing us more fun activity ideas for kids! She makes it look so easy, doesn't she?

Thank you, Behr Paints!

Next time you’re in Canadian Tire pick up four or five brightly coloured paint swatches – then pick up a second set of the same four or five brightly coloured paint swatches so you have a duplicate set.

Take one set of your swatches and cut and glue one of the colour blocks from each swatch in a row onto a piece of cardboard. Take the second set of swatches and cut and glue the matching colour blocks onto a set of clothes pins.



Then have your little one match the colours on the clothes pins to the colours in the row on the cardboard. This is a fun way to learn colours and practice the fine motor skills it takes to pinch the clothes pins onto the cardboard.

Thank you, Abnormally Large Nail Polish Collection!

I’m not much of a girlie girl... until you get down to my toes. I have an abnormally large nail polish collection – in every shade of the rainbow. So, when I took a look at the swatches I had collected for the project above I realized that I had a handful of nail polish colours to match. And, so, that became a whole other colour activity. My little one had fun matching the nail polish colour to the right colour swatch.



And, yes, then I have to admit that I took it a step further and actually painted my two-year olds toes. We painted one colour for each toe. I think this helped her learn her colours faster than any other activity! She walked around for days talking about her painted toes. To the point that I could no longer get shoes or socks on her feet because they would cover them up! Ah, a girlie girl in the making...

I received this guest post from Carolyn Clegg a few weeks ago during those long days of rain. I didn't get a chance to publish it before we started having beautiful weather, but now with Hurricane Bill today, it seems like a good time! If your power is on and you have a printer, you can print out the images Carolyn used here to make your own game. Stay safe!

After climbing the walls with my daughter for the fourth consecutive rainy day, I decided it was time to slow things down a bit and work on her language and concentration skills.



I decided a matching game would do the trick. I chose nine images that she can identify and set them out in a grid using my computer. I printed off two copies of the grid and laminated the front and back of each sheet of paper using a transparent contact paper I purchased from the hardware store.

The next step was to cut one of the grids down to individual images. From there my daughter could place each individual image on top of the corresponding image on the full grid.

This can be done with colours, shapes or photos of loved ones as well.

For an older child, cut down the second grid into individual images as well and play a memory game .



A few other matching and sorting activities we’ve done in the past include:

• Matching fabric swatches  (cut a fabric swatch into matching squares)
• Placing coloured popsicle sticks on corresponding coloured construction paper. (Bonus: it's fun to watch a toddler colour popsicle sticks - they get more marker on themselves than on the sticks!)
• Sorting and matching various pots with their lids
• Sorting and matching socks when folding the laundry

Father's Day is only a week away! If you are still looking for ways to make the day special, here are some easy Father's Day craft ideas:

• Go to a photo booth and let your child go silly posing for photos, then decorate the back of the strip and laminate for a special bookmark for daddy.
• Daddies like flowers too! With your child paint a terracotta flower pot using water-based acrylic paint, then seal it with a clear acrylic indoor/outdoor sealant, and plant a favourite flower. Make sure to let the pot dry between painting and planting.
• Finger knit a bracelet or bookmark - see my previous post on finger knitting with kids!
• Make a photo collage. Get your favourite photos (or take some especially for this collage) of daddy/your child/family and daddy's favourite things. Then your child can paste the photos onto a piece of cardboard, which you can then frame if desired. Or try this neat idea from Kodak.
• You can never go wrong with a rock paperweight! Get a rock and paint it. Need more inspiration than that? Try Kaboose for ideas.
• Decorate a glass jar with glass paints and fill with daddy's favourite candy! - Paint a white t-shirt with fabric paint - here's a fun idea from about.com.
• For a simple card, have your child dip their hand into a tray of washable paint and then make a hand print on card/construction paper. Be sure to write the date and name of the child on the card. You could also include the following poem inside the card, or do this as a picture on a large piece of paper and frame it.
  

Handprints

Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always leave my handprint
On furniture and wall

But everyday I'm growing
(I'll be all grown someday)
And all those tiny hand prints
Will surely fade away.

So here's a final handprint
Just so you can recall
Exactly how my fingers looked
When they were very small.

© T. Lambert, Jr.  May 1978

On Monday my little guy said he wanted to learn how to knit. He has mentioned this a few times before, but, uh, I've always kind of brushed him off before (you actually need to know how to knit yourself before you can show a 5-year-old, right?). But I guess on Monday the stars were aligned or something, because this time when he asked I decided to google finger knitting and see what we could do.

Luckily, we did have wool in the house - wool that my mom had brought over about a year ago when I must have been having a crafty moment (wool that is probably almost as old as me - we aren't exactly a crafty family!). I found this video on how to finger knit and Alex and I sat down and had a go.

There was a surprising lack of swearing involved (from me - my 5yo does not swear, thank you very much!) and I managed to get the hang of it pretty easily. And yes, I'm pretty proud of myself, and yes, I realize finger knitting is a kids' craft. (You gotta start somewhere, right?) Once I had it figured out we set Alex up with it and within minutes he was finger knitting like a pro! He is now officially obsessed - and so am I. I've lost count of how many bracelets and necklaces we've made. We've finger knitted on the bus. We even made a special trip to The Loop for more wool and are now finger knitting in style, with beautiful organic cotton.

Problem is, I'm running out of ideas for what to finger knit. How many wool bracelets, belts and necklaces does one family really need? Thankfully they make great little gifts, so if you know us in 'real' life, expect to be receiving one soon! One of the first bracelets that Alex made is for his daddy for Father's Day - we've kept the whole finger knitting experiment a secret from him so the surprise will be even better on the day. (Now just my luck he'll actually read this blog!)

If you haven't tried finger knitting before, I really do recommend it - it's easy, it's fun and it's addictive! It's generally recommended for kids 4 and up. I'm not sure what age kids can start knitting with needles, but if Alex's interest in this continues I'll be looking into it - I now have dreams of us curling up on the sofa together knitting through the winter, making all sorts of wonderful woolly creations! Wish us luck!