Making Snow Mandalas, AKA Snow Painting

Making Snow Mandalas, AKA Snow Painting

Yesterday it snowed all day, and we ended up with almost a foot of snow. Today it’s in the mid-50s, and the snow in our yard is rapidly melting. The bright sun shining makes today a perfect day for painting snow mandalas.

To make snow paint, I simply mixed food coloring with water, and then sent my boys outside with containers of paints and paint brushes.… Continue reading

How to Make a Piñata

My 5-year-old is turning 6 this next week, and one of his requests was for a birthday piñata. I have never been a huge fan of whacking apart animal-shaped things; even as I child, I found this extremely disturbing. So, we decided to make a piñata of our own.

How to Make a Pinata

The process is actually rather simple, though it does take an investment of time.… Continue reading

Handmade Fizzy Bath Bombs

Our local markets all have a section where they sell fancy soaps. Frequently, sitting with these soaps, are a bin of bath bombs. My 5-year-old has become obsessed with them. The idea of having something that smells good and fizzes in his bath is really appealing to him. The biggest problem: they’re $5 each.

The high cost, in addition to some questionable ingredients, led me to decide that we were going to make our own bath bombs.… Continue reading

Catching Nightmares in a Dreamcatcher

Catching Nightmares in a Dream CatcherLast week I took my 5-year-old to go and see a production of Fiddler on the Roof. He loves theater performances, especially musicals, and when there was a one-song preview during the last performance we watched, he begged me to take him. He’s listened to the soundtrack at least once a day for the last several months. He now knows all of the songs, and we discussed the plot extensively before attending.… Continue reading

Gingerbread House Learning

Today my 5-year-old declared that he wants to expand his gingerbread village. (Yes, we both know that the big winter holidays have already come and gone).

Gingerbread House Learning

Some people may look at this as a simple craft project, but a child will learn a lot by being engaged in such an activity. Besides the obvious art of decorating such a house, there are many other important skills that can be learned and refined by making a gingerbread house.… Continue reading