Sarah & the Boys

I've had a fun activity in the works, but Samuel got impatient for me to be finished and gathered up supplies this morning to make his own 'independent' craft.  I was one proud mama when he showed me his finished product - he says it's for waving at the 4th of July Parade.  (I had no part in this - he came up with it & did it all by himself!)  I guess he's got the creative gene!

 

 

Here's what I'm working on - a Flag building activity made out of felt:

 

I cut out the various pieces and laid them out, then just took a thin black sharpie and marked dotted lines along the edges of each piece.  I plan to give it to the boys in pieces and let them "build" their own flag, using the dotted lines as guides.  You can guess what's holding me up though, right?  It's the whole 50 stars thing....So that good old colonial, 13-star flag is sounding better and better!

 

Sam & I are also excited to try these confetti popper rockets, but whether or not we actually get to it is up in the air!

I originally found the idea for this activity last summer here at Julie's great 'Havin' Fun Yet?" blog.  We enjoyed it a few times last summer, and Samuel remembered and requested we do it again a few days ago.  Ethan was old enough to get in on the fun this time, too.  Here's the rundown:

 

Gather several cheap toys, paperclips, bottle caps from the recycle bin, etc. in a tupperware dish of your choice (just beware these items will be hit with a hammer, so only choose things you don't mind getting broken; and, word to the wise, I would *not* recommend the hot sauce packet - yah, big mess!)  Let child pour in water to fill the container and place in the freezer.  Freeze for several hours, or overnight.

 

Now for the fun!  Dump out your frozen block o' treasures and give child a small hammer.  Let them go at it and try to chip out all the goodies.  

 

(If you're doing this with two or more kiddos, make sure they spread out so as not to hit eachother with hammers or flying ice!)

Just when you think you're a pretty good mom, you go and drop a fork on the top of your infant's head, leaving a big 'ol poke mark.  O wait, you've never done that?  Hmmm....guess it's just me.

 

 

(He looks happy, though, huh?  Guess he's forgiven me!)

I've been wanting to do this project with the boys ever since I saw it featured on one of my favorite blogs, Muses of Megret.  They turned out every bit as beautiful as I hoped, and I want to frame them for the boys' room.

 

You simply cut out your child's initial from contact paper (we printed out a large letter from the computer, and traced it BACKWARDS onto the paper-side of the contact paper).  Then press the contact paper letter onto a sheet of watercolor paper, smoothing it firmly down, so paint won't get underneath (I found by trial & error that it was easier to pull off just a little of the sticky part at a time, and press it onto the paper as I went).  Let the kiddos go with the water color paints, encouraging them to cover the page as much as possible, especially around the edges of the letter. 

 

When the paintings are dry, gently peel off the contact paper to reveal their beautiful white letter in the midst of the painting!