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Tuesday, January 24 2012
Supplies: black paper bag, orange, black, and white paper, Penguin puppet template
Step 1: Print Penguin puppet template and trace the pieces onto coloured papers. Use Black for the wings and inner eyes, white for the belly and eyes, and orange for the beak and feet
Step 2: Glue penguin belly to bag on the side where the flap opens. Glue white eyes to flap. Glue black eyeballs onto eyes. Glue wings to either side of belly and glue feet.
Step 4: Make penguin beak: Lift flap of bag and add glue to the underside of flap, on top and bottom. Push folded end of penguin beak into glued area of flap and squeeze flap together so mouth is firmly pressed onto puppet. Let your craft dry.
Thursday, January 19 2012
I got this recipe from my friend Jillian years ago, but never tried it because my husband isn't a big fan of gingerbread. Luckily, the kids enjoy spicy flavoured baking as much as I do, so we made this cake as a quick treat to enjoy after a mid week meal. The kids helped me decorate it with a sprinkling of icing sugar and they made whipped cream to dollop on top too.
Yogurt Gingerbread
Grease a 9x9 square baking dish, and preheat oven to 350
Separate 2 eggs
In a large bowl, combine:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 tsp each baking soda, ginger, cinnamon
1/2 tsp each ground cloves, ground nutmeg
In another bowl, mix together:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 egg yolks
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix.
Beat 2 egg whites until stiff, and fold into mixture.
Pour into pan and bake for 35 - 40 minutes.
Let cake cool. Decorate cake by sprinkling with icing sugar. We placed a snowman cut-out in the centre of our cake, and sprinkled around to suit the day's 'snow' theme. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream. Yum!!
Thursday, January 19 2012
I live in Vancouver, which gets relatively little snow in the winter compared to the rest of Canada (sometimes none!). So, when the great outdoors get a little snowy, the kids get a little crazy with excitement. Our back yard is currently coated in a blanket of snow, but snow is always short-lived here, so it likely won't last much longer. Here's a list of five (actually six!) craft supply ideas for snow-themed crafts, so we can make our snow days last a little longer when the rain decides to wash the real snow away.
1. Cotton Balls
 | The classic craft supplies for winter themed crafts. Cotton balls already look like a snowball, so all the kids need is a little glue and a piece of paper so that they can create snowmen, snow forts, and other snowy day pictures. Ripping the cotton balls up into smaller pieces is a fun tactile activity that creates whisps of snow or snowbanks.
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2. Paper Doilies
 | different sizes can be used for small, medium, and large 'snowballs' on a snowman picture, or sponge on some glue and sprinkle glitter to make a sparkly snowflake |
3. Shredded Paper or paper confetti
 | Put your paper recycling to work by running old bills and statements through the shredder to create long strings of snow. Tear, rip or crumple paper shred into snowy scenes or 3-D forts. Use a sprinkling of white paper confetti to make a blizzard. A blizzard looks especially intriguing if it's created on black paper with white pencil crayon or crayon drawings, and lots of paper confetti. |
4. White Yarn or String
| Use white string or yarn in any number of ways: glue it on to paper to make a pretty design, press it onto a glued pattern on waxed paper, leaving it to dry into a peel-off snowflake, pull it through white paint to create an abstract snowy painting, or integrate science by making a borax icicle
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5. Shaving Cream
 | Play in the snow indoors! Spray a small quantity of shaving cream onto a washable placemat or table surface. Kids can use their index fingers to practice tracing oversized numbers or letters in their 'snow'. Gently wipe the letter away and start all over again |
6. Food Items from your Kitchen
| The kitchen is overflowing with various items that can be used to create a lovely snowy scene. Use flour or icing sugar for a dusting of snow, sugar cubes to create 3-dimensional snow projects such as igloos or snow forts, shredded coconut for larger snowflakes, and whipped cream for a big dump of snow! Most of these ingredients could be integrated into a baking project too - make Gingerbread with a dusting of icing sugar, and serve with whipped cream and a sprinkling of coconut. Wouldn't that be great after a big play outside in the snow? |
Monday, January 9 2012
2012 is the year of the Dragon. Here are three Dragon puppet ideas you can make at home, daycare, or preschool:
1. Paper Bag Dragon Puppet Craft
Supplies: red paper bag, red, orange, black, and white paper, orange tissue. Dragon puppet template
Step 1: Make your paper bag look 'dragony' by cutting the bottom edge into a jagged zig zag.
Step 2: Cut dragon pieces using dragon template. Use red for the dragon mouth and largest circles, orange for ears and medium circles, black for small circles, eyebrows, and nostrils. Cut zig zag strips of white teeth
Step 3: Glue dragon eyes to front of bag flap. Glue ears to the back side of the puppet.
Step 4: Make dragon mouth. Glue nostrils to the ends of mouth shape. Open mouth and glue strips of teeth to top and bottom. Crumple a piece of tissue and glue it to the centre of mouth, to make a fire breathing dragon
Step 5: Lift flap of bag and add glue to the underside of flap, on top and bottom. Push folded end of dragon mouth into glued area of flap and then squeeze the flap together so mouth is firmly pressed onto puppet . Let your craft dry.
2. Dragon Craft with Basic Shapes
This is a good one if you want to practice cutting and basic shape identification. Use small, medium, and large circles for eyes. Use Large triangles for dragon mouth. Use medium triangles for spikes on the back of your dragon's head. Use small triangles for sharp teeth. Rectangles are used for eyebrows. Can you use other shapes to make your dragon even more unique?
3. Toilet Roll Dragon Stick Puppet Craft
 | Supplies: Red poster paper (we used dark pink 11x14 paper) Toilet paper rolls 2 large craft sticks Tissue squares and other decorating pieces Markers, crayons or pencil crayons Scissors |
Step 1: cut long edges of poster paper into scalloped edge, and decorate entire paper with tissue squares and other decorating pieces
Step 2: make a slit in the ends of 2 toilet rolls so the craft sticks can slide in. Secure them with tape
Step 3: Glue the toilet rolls to the underside of decorated poster paper. Leave some space between rolls so your dragon will be able to move. We used 3 toilet rolls in total, but it probably would work even better to cut the rolls in half and use 3 halves instead. This will create more space between each roll so your dragon can twist and turn more easily
Step 4: Cut a dragon head from poster paper. Decorate the head in the same way you decorated the body. Flip your dragon body right-side up and glue head to body. Now you can make your dragon dance by moving the craft sticks back and forth!
Monday, January 9 2012
Turn into a Dragon with this fun Handprint Mask Craft! Chinese New Year is fast approaching, and soon it will be the year of the Dragon. Make this fun craft and do a dragon dance in celebration of the lunar New Year!
 | Supplies: Red mask form from cardstock or other sturdy paper Mask strap, chenille stem, or string to tie mask Red, yellow, white, orange, and black paper Red and yellow tissue shred pencil, scissors, glue black string (optional) for long moustache |
Step 1: Trace little hands, cut them out, and glue them to the top of your mask
Step 2: Cut red oval shapes and large arching eyebrows from black paper. Glue to mask
Step 3: Cut triangles from length of white paper to make white teeth. Glue to mask below nose. You could also glue a black yarn moustache to your dragon mask. Glue tissue shred to sides of mask
Step 4: Secure mask with mask strap, chenille stems, or string. Wear your mask for the Dragon Dance!
Tip: don't want to make your own mask form? Use our Superhero Mask Kit to get started!
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