Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

We have A LOT of plastic lids. We have been collecting them for all kinds of projects. (One of the biggest ones is the gigantic murals project we have under construction for our outdoor fence!)   Unlike our murals, this project utilizes clear lids.  We used 2 types this time around, the ones from baby food containers (rectangular)  and some from Crystal Light containers (oval) , but any plastic lid will do! The whole purpose in this activity is to work on strengthening the muscles in the hand. - So in preparation I filled our glue bottles up and added some liquid watercolor to them.  The children helped to decide what colors to make.  (After you add a bit of the liquid watercolor to the bottle, shake it up good! You can add a marble to the bottle to help if you need.) This project is very much process based. Our ornaments are made by filling the lid with glue and then adding gems and sequins. You don't need to add the gems and sequins- the dried colored glue is sufficient-but the c...

Some of the children have been super excited about decorating for Christmas. I have been hearing all about the time they have been spending with their families, especially about their Christmas trees! Earlier this week, I introduced the children to the idea that they can make their very own Christmas Ornaments -- and that has been the top response I have received from the children when asking them to help plan our day.  The first ornaments we made this year used our special "Christmas Clay Dough" - and are a great keepsake for the parents as the children created Fingerprint Ornaments . Today, our focus switched to working on our fine motor skills while creating for the tree with our spiral beaded ornaments.  We used an assortment of beads (most of them are pony beads and have a larger hole than regular beads) and pipe cleaners/chenille stems. If you are looking to purchase the supplies for this project- you can purchase them through our affiliate links: Amazon.com Widgets I ...

If you have been a long time reader of our blog, you know that we spend a lot of time with process based art activities. This project allowed the children to assist in making clay dough, and in addition to creating our ornaments the children spent quite a bit of time playing with the clay. I don't do a lot of product orientated projects with the children, but sometimes I like to help them create a keepsake or a product for their parents. As much as I value the process, I also know that there is also significant value in giving children the opportunity to witness and participate in creating a product. You can read more about our philosophy of art by clicking here , and you can read about why Sometimes We Craft by clicking here. Our ornaments started out with a simple clay recipe.  When the children knew that our clay was going to be made into Christmas ornaments, the clay was officially named "Christmas Clay Dough". (You can find the recipe for this dough in yesterday'...

We are having a great time in Denmark, although Dane has a bit of a cold. We have been relaxing and visiting! Of course, our time has been filled with eating, visiting, playing games... and a little bit of crafting! To help decorate our tree this year, we have been making some string ornaments. The process is quite simple. You need some string. (We used odds and ends of some yarn and embroidery floss). You will also need some balloons (we used small water balloons inflated with air) and some glue. (We diluted ours with some water). Cut the string into various lengths. We didn't measure ours, but you want them long enough to fit around your balloons a few times, but not so long that they will knot up on you when you wrap them. You will want to prepare all of your supplies before you get started, as your hands will get quite sticky in the process. So, cut a pile of string and blow up a bunch of balloons. Then, when you are ready to get started, dip your string into the glue. (We...