Kids Space Alien Crafts

Space Themes was never one of my strongest areas for teaching young children. The kids I work with are so hands on and well....the stars are not something we can explore with the five senses. We use lots of real images of planets as well as adding a bit of fun and science in the mix.
The whole excitement about space is the mystery of it all.
We gather as many materials as possible and then have tons of fun with space aliens.
Without further ado, this an Honorable Mention Shout out to all the kid crafty aliens out there! If you have any to share as well please do with a back link to the site! Thanks again!

Silly Soap Box Space Aliens by Craft Jr. Good clean fun!

Water Bottle Top Space Creatures! Make them in a snap by: se7ven!

"Sprouts" The Space Alien by Free Kids Crafts! He'll grow on you!

"Space Blob Bob" by Make and Takes. Add some space juice and make him glow!

Peace.

If there is light in the soul,
There will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person,
There will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house,
There will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.

~ Unknown

Teachers of the Past and Present

One Hundred Years from Now
(excerpt from "Within My Power" by Forest Witcraft)

One Hundred Years from now
It will not matter
what kind of car I drove,

What kind of house I lived in,

how much money was in my bank account 

nor what my clothes looked like. 

But the world may be a better place because 

I was important in the life of a child.

If this poem was read 100 before, I believe it would still stand true. 

Some things in our heart simply don't change, only grow...

Like the love we have for our children.

Teachers Make a Difference

Yes.
Just in case you haven't been reminded lately, you do make a difference.
Thanks for being a teacher.



Kids and Rainy Days

Make no mistake.
Never simply ask your children what they would like to do on a rainy day.
We can almost guarantee that what they feel like doing,
you won't feel like managing.

Unless........
You really aren't in it for the money.

Super Easy Luminaries for Preschoolers

Winter Luminaries make great gifts and are so versatile. This open ended craft can be done in so many adorable ways it is almost unfair to post it only in November. But since we will be doing it this month with the preschoolers we'll be sure to let you know all the different way you can use them.

Materials for your Super Easy Luminaries:

• Tissue Paper
• 1 part glue and water solution in cups
• Paint brushes
• Baby food jars
• Tea lights
• Scissors (optional)
• Glitter (optional)

Procedure: After cutting or tearing the selected colors of tissue paper chosen, have the children carefully brush the glue solution on the jars. While the solution is still tacky, position papers on the jars. Brush over once more with glue solution and sprinkle with glitter. When the jar is completely dry place the tea light inside.

Some great extensions and options for the holidays are:
Floral Luminaries  

Paint with diluted white paint and glue. Use assorted dries flowers and leaves for spring time and Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Wrapping Paper Luminaries
Paint with glitter glue and scraps of wrapping paper or pictures from magazines any time of year. Create themed projects for birthday or holiday quick gift ideas everyone will love!

Whatever the holiday, make it your own by being creative! We would love to hear about your ideas and crafts!

Got five minutes, and some fabulous fabrics? Well you're ready to made some really adorable tea light luminaries!

Quotes About Our Childhood

Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons.

 There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in. 
~Graham Greene, The Power and the Glory

The greatest poem ever known
Is one all poets have outgrown:
The poetry, innate, untold,
Of being only four years old.
~Christopher Morley, To a Child

When you finally go back to your old hometown, you find it wasn't the old home you missed but your childhood.
~Sam Ewing

Old age lives minutes slowly, hours quickly; childhood chews hours and swallows minutes. 
~Malcolm de Chazal

In childhood, we press our nose to the pane, looking out.  In memories of childhood, we press our nose to the pane, looking in.
~Robert Brault

 If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.
~Tom Stoppard

For more quotes we love, join the click!

About Children

About Education

Success Comes In Cans, Not Can'ts

Success is a mindset that can turn into a lifestyle. Often times we have to have the wondrous belief of a child to get things done, solve problems, and work together. I believe these thoughts are contagious. If I didn't..... I wouldn't have lasted very long as a teacher.
And if I did last long without that belief, I couldn't possibly be a very good one.
Have a great day everyone! Let's keep working and have a successful day!

It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes. ~Sally Field

It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.

We have to learn to be our own best friends because we fall too easily into the trap of being our own worst enemies. ~Roderick Thorp, Rainbow Drive

It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to. ~W.C. Fields

Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right. ~Henry Ford

Success comes in cans, not cant's.

I'm not old enough to play baseball or football. I'm not eight yet. My mom told me when you start baseball, you aren't going to be able to run that fast because you had an operation. I told Mom I wouldn't need to run that fast. When I play baseball, I'll just hit them out of the park. Then I'll be able to walk. ~Edward J. McGrath, Jr., "An Exceptional View of Life," quoted in Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, 1993

So....what do you teach besides curriculum?

Ice and Preschool Curriculum

I love using ice with kids! Kids naturally gravitate toward water play so why not introduce some of its other forms! Here are some different areas of the curriculum we have used ice!

Ice and Preschool Curriculum:
Animal Habitats: What animals live in cold climates? Filling large bins or a table with ice and providing small plastic animals that live in these icy climates will immediately engage preschoolers. Why do animals look the way they do? How do these animals keep warm? Kids can get really creative with answers! We also like to provide real pictures of the polar animals nearby as well a great books they tell kids the real story!
Science Experiments: Did you know simple experiments with salt and ice get kids thinking? Not always understanding exactly how and why through experimentation we motivate out kids by creating a sense of wonder!
Materials: Ice cube, paper plate, table salt, a small length of string

Procedure: Set ice cube on the plate and pour table salt on top. Now lay a string across the ice and wait. Gently lift off the string with both hands and you will be lifting the ice cube as well! What kind of questions would you ask to get kids thinking?
What Can Water Do?: Fill two latex gloves, one with ice cubes and another with water. Ask the kids to feel them. How does each one look? Why does it look that way? Which one is water? Allow the ice to melt on the glove during the day and see what happens.
Making ice pops with kids really helps them to to use all their senses and how the properties of water change.
Art Activity: Color water with different shades of food coloring or Bio Color. Then freeze them in trays. After they are frozen let the kids slide them around on paper to make gorgeous watery art!

What activities do you like with ice?

Just Do It

When I was a little girl I really wanted to be a ballerina. I was about 4 years old and I only had to see the Nut Cracker one time before I know that was it. My foundation was sent and I had wrapped re-bar around that notion.
My parents didn't have much money but made a way for me to go to ballet lessons. I was very small for my age and my sister joked that my tutu was more or less a one-one. I worked really hard but my teacher finally confided that I would be too small to ever really dance.
I was heartbroken.
My parents sat down with me and told me that whatever I had a mind to do. Just do it. Don't listen to what anyone has to say. That conversation really changed my life. I decided later that I wasn't going to pursue ballet about a year later. The Olympics came on and I saw the gymnasts. That was it again!
I am glad my family really supported me through my hundreds of career ideas. I never would have known what to do unless I gave it my all.

What dreams did you have as a kid?

Homemade Ribbon Dance for Kids

What is it about ribbons, anyway? Well, not just ribbons....anything kids can wave around in the air and dance and jump with. When I was a kid my grandmother gave us a bunch of old scarves to play with. You couldn't convince me what I had wasn't pure gold!
Turns out they are used in many cultures as well! Native American Dances, and it's even an featured in the Olympics!
I found some great ribbons to buy but making our own economical ribbons can be just as fun!

Making Homemade Ribbons for Kids:

Materials Needed: Assorted colored lengths of ribbons (optional),Colored curling ribbons (the kind we use for gift wrapping). Remember, the longer the lengths the better, Plastic six pack soda can holders, scissors, inspirational kids dancing CD.
Process: Cut soda can holders loose into small round circles (these will be your handles), Tie fabric ribbons and curling ribbon with curled and some ribbons left straight ribbons to your soda can holder circles. Make as  many as you need! Kids like one for each hand!
The Procedure: Put on a music CD and get moving with them! Don't forget to make a pair for yourself!

What kind of vaariations would you add? Let us know your favorite kids music CD is!

How Much Time Does It Take To Create a Masterpiece?

Given the right set up and environment kids can create learn to focus on just about anything. What would happen if we gave them a bit more time...a few more minutes out of a busy day.
As an artist myself, I just wanted to say to the kids....
Hey, I understand....

25 Things to Do With Kids This Summer!

 Nothing to do this summer? Don't let it happen to you....use your summer wisely with 25 tips to kick off your creative thinking! Let's see where it takes you!

25 Things to Do With Kids to Kick Start the Summer:
1. Catch fireflies or bugs in a jar, study them and then let them go.
2. Take pictures of the kids having fun and make a scrapbook!
3. Eat watermelon outside, and let the juice run all over the place!
4. Walk in the grass barefoot with the kids.

5. Use lotion, soap, or shampoo that smells like coconuts.

6. Make homemade popsicles in paper cups and eat them on a hot day.
7. Get out the kids' watercolor paints and paint a picture of summer means to you.
8. Collect seashells and save them with some sand in a decorative bowl.
9. Make strawberry shortcake.
10. Make thank you cards for everyone who has helped you out.
11. Eat your favorite summer fruits and berries.
12. Go swimming as a family.
13. Have a water balloon fight.
15. Go for a nature walk along the beach or a wooded path.
16. See the sunrise.
17. Have a picnic.

18. Watch the sunset.
19. Make playdoh.
20. Read a chapter book aloud to your kids.
21. Make homemade ice cream in a Ziploc bag.
22. Sit outside and sip iced tea.
23. Make fresh lemonade.
24 Camp out in a tent in the yard.
25.Make a commitment to learn something new!

Make Matching and Math Games with Buttons

Be sure to check out more button games at Recycled Crafts

I have always had various sizes and shapes of buttons laying around long after the blouses have disappeared. The kids absolutely love playing with left over buttons. Here is a great way to make special tailored matching and math games for kids!

How to Make Games With Buttons For Kids
Materials Needed: Xerox machine, lots of various buttons, Ziploc baggies, paper, markers, small cups or bowl.

Procedure: Arrange 10-12 buttons randomly or in a pattern on the Xerox machine and copy. Number your copy and collect all the buttons in a Ziploc. Be sure to put the matching number on the bag. This way you will know which button bag goes with which paper copy. Keep repeating until you have a desired amount of matching games. You may wish to laminate them!
The Process: Some paper copies you may choose to number with a colorful marker and others you may not. Kids match by shape, texture and size while using fine motor skills! Simply place paper copies in the table with a bowel or the matching buttons and let them go to work! Enjoy and have fun!
Extension: You can also color copy some papers so kids can also match by color. Kids also love tracing buttons to make interesting art! You can challenge them to see how many buttons they can use for a masterpiece!

We are always cautious of the ages and sizes of the buttons we allow the children to play with. Even kids long past the oral stage will put things in their little mouths. Please be sure to keep a watchful eye.

What Teachers Like

Teachers like

peace and cleanliness

and lots of pictures and volunteers

and hatching eggs

and curiosity and democracy

and sorting and stacking

and shapes and colors

and organizing and classifying and reading aloud

and questioning and answers

and recycling

and inspiring

and Fridays

and the sound of children

and progress

and contributing

and a child with a book

and quiet

and laughter

and doing seven things at once (doing them well)

and being allowed to say, "I don't know"

and smiles and unexpected hugs

and sitting in a circle

and learning from children

and listening

and pizza occasions

and glue bottles at work

and teamwork

and being surprised

and seeing former students

and the sanctity of children's wonder

and kids to like them

What Kids Like

Kids like

mud and noise

and democracy and experinemtation

and wheelbarrows and shovels

and hammocks and wagons

and drums and gongs

and magnets and mirrors

and sticks and timers

and clocks and stopwatches

and spontinaity and unafraid teachers

and visitors and singing

and animals and sand and water

and making things and coconuts and hammers

and cooking and weighing

and measuring and balancing

and feeling a hundred of something

and climbing trees

and walking in the rain

and play spaces they make for themselves

and umbrellas

and baking their own birthday cakes

and digging holes and being outdoors (without coats)

and soft things for quiet moments

and wondering

and teachers who like them.

Going Fast

I was thinking....
Being in early childhood education is a big responsibility. Children tend to learn what they live. In a world of fast food, instant mashed potatoes and canned curriculum...
For goodness, sake we have lemonade made from artificial lemons and furniture polish made from real lemons. Well, I said all that to say it is not only important for us grown folks to take time and smell the roses but our kids, too.
Going fast and getting everything instantly isn't always such a good thing.
My mom always said it's good for the soul when you sit and wait for something that's coming slow...

more than one way

"You don't understand anything until
you learn it more than one way."

~Marvin Minsky

So...technically I did say we were doing body painting art. I just didn't mean on each other.
This is a great project, by the way. Be sure to be specific as to what you would like for the children paint.
Ahem.
Next time we will start with hand prints.

Exploring Nature With Preschoolers

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."

~Lao Tzu

Kids love the outdoors. But even the great outdoors can get boring if we don't plan ahead with our little ones. I remember my mother telling me to go outside and play but what did that truly mean? Sometimes providing a bit of guidance will get our preschoolers on the right track and stay out of trouble. Some things my parents encouraged me to do outside really sparked my interest in nature.
The nice thing about nature is that it has a way of slowing us down. I have yet to see anyone smell a flower or observe a butterfly in a hurry....

Exploring Nature With Preschoolers
(Here's what kids can do):
*Learn the names of their favorite plants and animals.

*Learn about environmental diversity.
*Understand what ecosystems are.
*Grasp the elements of a habitat.
*Understand changes in the environment.
*Learn mapping techniques.
*Name different sources of energy and energy transformation.
*Identify basic survival needs.
*Learn how the human community is dependent on the natural environment.
*Identify environmental changes that occur over a period of time.

Once I am familiar with what preschoolers can do with nature it is fairly easy to plan preschool curriculum around it!
What are some great activities you do with nature?

Changing a Child's Life

Children are one third of our population and all of our future. 
~Select Panel for the Promotion of Child Health, 1981

Every so often we get to see what the majority of children go though in their own lives. Working in various environments and socioeconomic settings has really opened our eyes to the importance of paying attention to our families as well as young children. Getting the right support and skills needed for a family as well as a child is a forefront for success skills for later in life.