Get Crafty

*Egg Carton Bingo
This wonderful craft from Noodle & Doodle is perfect for a holiday road trip
What You Will Need:
1 cardboard 12-egg carton
Old magazines
Pictures printed of various things you might see on your road trip
Small tasty treats
Glue stick

How To:
Tear up lots of colored pieces from magazines.
Using a glue stick, decorate the front of your egg box with the colored pieces. You can make a picture, or just make it colorful.
Cut out different small pictures of items you might see from your seat in the car while on a road trip. You should have 12 pictures, one for each section of the egg carton.
Using a glue stick, adhere each picture onto one of the sections in your egg carton.
With the egg carton open, place your treats into the top portion of the carton.
You are now ready to play Egg Box Bingo. All you need now is to go on a road trip!
To play Egg Box Bingo: When you spot something outside the car window that is on one of the pictures, put a tasty treat in the corresponding egg holder. When you have spotted everything in one row – either a short line up or a long line across -shout “Bingo!” Then you get to eat the tasty treats in those rows. Or you can play full house bingo: Only when you have spotted every picture in your egg box can you shout “Bingo!” and then you get to eat all the tasty treats.

*Paper Plate Dream Catcher
What You Will Need:
2 sturdy paper plates, with identical large circles cut out of the middle of each plate
1 piece of orange net, cut large enough to cover the hole in the plate
Items for weaving (string, yarn, straws, ribbon, etc.)
Feathers
Stapler
Tape

How To:
Place the orange net over the large hole in one paper plate. Staple the net in place. (You can use tape instead, but it may not be as strong a hold.)
Weave the string, yarn, straws, ribbon and orange through the orange net. Adhere the ends of each item to the rim of the plate with tape. Repeat with as much stuff as you wish to weave.
Using tape, secure 3 feathers to hang down from the bottom of the plate.
Place the other paper plate over the first one and secure with tape. (This gives the catcher a nice finish.)
Hang above your bed to catch your dreams!

*Strumming on a Banjo

*Cotton Kitty

Your little ones are sure to “Gobble” these juice boxes right up!

We Love Music

What a find! While scrolling on my timeline I was blessed with a Africanized version of Taylor Swifts Shake it off….while that song will be in heavy dance party rotation, it’s not the only jewel by Alex Boye! I encourage you to subscribe to his YouTube channel for a good cover! This heavy dose of African infused sound is making me so happy! Happy Listening!
Check out this Lumineer cover of ” Hey Ho”
So Good! http://youtu.be/cbvWWzjPM2A

Without Thinking Twice

Get Crafty!

*Thanksgiving Bingo
Click Here for Printable

*Fall Wreath
You will need…
Fall Colored Tissue Paper: Orange, Red, Yellow
Paper Plate
Glue
How To…
Cut out the interior of your paper plate. Be sure to leave a thick enough
border for the tissue paper to attach too.
Cut the three colors of tissue paper into strips
Cover the brim of your plate in glue
Allow your child to crumple up each strip into their hand and hold them in the glue until the entire plate is covered
Voila! Attach ribbon if you like or use tape on the back and there you have a inexpensive wreathe made with love

*T is for Turkey
This is a wonderful opportunity for little ones who are mastering their letters and sounds to really connect with the letter T

You will need…
Construction Paper: Brown, Yellow, Orange, Red, White
Scissors
Glue
Black Marker
How To…
Cut the brown paper in the shape of the letter T
Use the colored paper to make an assortment of feathers
Orange paper can be used to make feet and a beak
White paper will be used to make two eyes. Use the marker to darken the eyes
Glue on all of your pieces and have fun reviewing the sounds of the letter T and asking your child what other words begin with the same sound

* Letter Tree

This project requires a little creativity from the parents and brain power from your little!
I plan to up cycle a paper bag to create my tree and free hand the leaves on various colored construction paper. Laminating the tree and leaves would be wonderful for extended use.

* Pinecone Painting

You will need…
As many pinecones as you like
White, Brown, Red & Orange paper
Glue
Siccors
A Box
How to…
Place white paper and paint in your box
Add pinecones and shake around
Let your art dry
Then cut out a turkey body, waddle and beak
Use your white sheet to make eyes
Assemble your turkey on the painted sheet and glue it together

Get Crafty!

The temperature is dropping ,and the holidays are upon us! Looking for ways to occupy your little one indoors? Or ways to provide your child some independent playtime? Each week I will post simple fun crafts for the week that are sure to keep little hands busy!

*Gluten Free Play Dough
Here is an easy, no-cook recipe for play dough that is safe for kids with wheat allergies (or gluten issues).

You’ll need…
– 1 cup baby rice cereal
– 1 cup cornstarch
– 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
– 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
– food coloring (any color)
To Make…
Combine rice cereal and cornstarch in large bowl. Mix well.
Add remaining ingredients. Mix well.
Knead until smooth. If play dough is sticky, add more rice cereal. The dough will keep for several days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

*Paintsicles

You’ll need…
-ice cube tray
-craft paint
-water
-popsicle sticks
To Make…
Put a drop of paint in the bottom of each section of the ice cube tray.
Pour water over the paint until it fills each section of the tray.
Stir each section with a popsicle stick to mix the paint in with the water.
Place the ice cube tray in the freezer.
Let the water harden in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
Pull the tray out of the freezer and put one popsicle stick in each section to make a handle.
Put the tray back in the freezer to harden completely.
Remove the frozen paint from the ice cube trays.
Hold the paint by the popsicle stick handle and paint on a piece of paper as the ice cube melts.

*Bottle Cap Pumpkin

You”ll Need…
-orange, brown, green paint
-water bottle
-paint brush
-black paper
To Make…
Allow your child to dip the cap of their water bottle into orange paint, making three circles in a row
Use your paintbrush to make your leaf & stem
Voila!

*Paper Rocket

You”ll Need…
– 2 pieces of craft paper
-sicissors
-tape
-white glue
-tissue paper
-yarn
-hole punch
To Make…
Roll one sheet of paper into a tube. Secure tube with tape.
Punch two holes opposite each other through the top edge of the rocket tube.
Tie string through each hole forming a loop.
Make the topper for the rocket by cutting out a circle from your second sheet of paper.
The topper should be cone shaped with the bottom opening larger than the tube opening so that it can properly sit on top.
Cut a slit at the top of your cone enough to allow the yarn to pass through
Glue the edges of the tube to the rocket topper now that the string has passed through.
The tissue paper can now be cut into strips and glued to the bottom inside of your rocket!
Blast off!

*Thanksgiving Tree
You”ll Need….
-white paper
-brown paint
-green, yellow, orange paper
-sissors
-glue
To Make….
Allow your child to cover their hands in brown paint
Stamp that hand on your white paper ( this will serve as your tree)
While the paint dries, talk with your child about makes them happy and what they are thankful for
Cut leave shapes out of your colored paper
Write your items of thanksgiving on each leaf
Glue each leaf onto your tree

Happy Crafting!

Julius Jr. Playdate! ( Sponsored by Nick Jr.)

We wrapped up our weekend by sharing our FREE Julius Jr Playpack with a group of close friends. Are your kids into Julius Jr. already? Julius Jr. Is a mini Paul Frank inspired series for preschoolers. Little ones use music and friendship to guide their day. It really is a sweet and colorful series.
All mini attendees experienced making Julius Jr. Character face masks, customized placemats, activity sheets, tattoos as well as a private screening of new Julius Jr. episodes. All the little ones had a blast! Running around, dancing to the music and displaying their artwork on the wall. So Fun! Thanks Nick Jr. for allowing us to share the Julius Jr fun with our friends

Spiritual Saturday!

Are you hip to the FREE Saturday Morning performances at the National Theatre? Check out the remaining shows for this year and be sure to treat your little one to some weekend enrichment.
This weekend we enjoyed a performance by Lesole’s Dance Project: Dancing Through South Africa. The interactive, informative dance education we experienced was simply wonderful. Both children and parents alike were on there our feet. Truly this production made a positive impact on my day! Waking up early to receive the amazing energy in the room was such a blessing. While the majority of the dance lessons were instructing the children, or a mix of both…. One demonstration was predominately parents. Mr. Lesole gave a statement that touched on setting an example for our children, letting them know it’s ok to experience movement and embrace African culture. I took that to heart and embraced every moment spent there.
Next we were blessed to have been in attendance for the Children’s Africana Book Festival. A group of young ladies enriched our lives by sharing both movement and song from Africa.
Liv enjoyed getting a cheetah face painting done as well as crafting and munching on the fruit and chocolate provided. As always the African Museum is a wonderful place to wander around and take in culture. Liv literally had me read the description for every piece of artwork on display 🙂 I love seeing her engaged and absorbing positive experiences that assist her in developing into her divine self.
*Excuse the video quality… You should have been there 🙂

Long Live Elon

Let me tell you something *clears throat* I LOVE ELON University!
My Alma Mater was my first choice and best choice for me. Having the opportunity to share Elon moments with my family makes my heart beam! Elon played Towson this past weekend and while it was insanely cold me and my family stayed out there with blankets and hot coco in hand cheering Elon along. Let me add that Elon has always been a class act! To arrive at the tailgate and see the moon bounce, face painting, balloons and photo booth for my toddler to enjoy really made my smile even greater. Sn: Liv had asked “Mommy is it still Halloween? Do they have candy?” To my surprise Yes! Yes Elon had candy at the welcome table 🙂

Children’s Africana Awards & Book Festival

22nd Annual Children’s Africana Awards & Book Festival (CABA)
Saturday, November 8, 2014
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
National Museum of African Art
950 Independence Avenue SW,Washington, DC 20560
FREE and open to the public

Africa Access and the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association give annual awards for the best children’s and young adult books on Africa published in the U.S. The awards celebrate outstanding K-12 books on Africa published in the U.S. The awards are designed to encourage the publication of accurate, balanced children’s materials on Africa, to recognize literary excellence and to acknowledge the research achievements of outstanding authors and illustrators.

Meet the Authors and Illustrators; Books available for purchase in the Gift Shop. Book Signing; Art Activity; Face Painting; Refreshments. Registration Requested.

Here Comes Rudolph!

We are still feasting on Liv’s Halloween Candy….skipping right over Thanksgiving I present to you our first Christmas event of the season LOL
I’m so ready to deck the halls….who is selling live trees already!?

Event Highlights: Rudolph Ringtoss, Christmas Carols & Custom Card Making