Peppa Pig cardboard figures

My son is currently obsessed with Peppa Pig. He loves little George and his dinosaur so much that he's running around making dinosaur noises just like George. So while doing the Easter cardboard pictures, I thought we could also hang George and the dinosaur on the balcony for his friends to see. (Nope, not sharing, they had to go up in his room, lol!)

(btw, this is quite messy!)

             

Easter outdoor decorations

This is actually an idea a friend of mine had: for her son's 4th birthday she had painted a giant ninja turtle onto a piece of cardboard and hung it on the fence. It stayed there for almost 9 months before she took it down. So when she told me that she wanted to have her kids paint Easter bunnies and eggs on cardboard and decorate her fence with them, I thought that was a fantastic idea and I should copy it. Our garage currently looks like a giant cardboard storage facility. Thanks to Amazon we have lots of boxes in different shapes and sizes, especially since I've recently ordered some large picture frames. So I pulled out some large pieces and started drawing and cutting.
My son had a lot of fun painting the eggs. We did them together, since some shapes turned out to be too hard for a 4yo, and he tried really hard to follow the patterns. But that's ok. I find painting incredibly relaxing, so I was happy I got to do some painting, too!
We haven't done the bunnies yet, but the eggs are already up on the fence. Our yard is right along a popular walking path, so hopefully the people walking by will be cheered up and smile when they see them.

There is also currently a trend going around of kids painting rainbows in windows, symbolizing hope that all will be well and reminding other kids that they are not the only ones having to stay at home. We painted a rainbow on cardboard and hung it on the fence, too.

                 

 

Toucan Box

Some time last year I came across the Toucan box. It's a crafting box for kids ages 3-8. For a monthly fee, they'll send your kid a box with 2 craft projects: it includes instructions, all the materials, a little magazine with more ideas and games, sometimes they include stickers, or erasers and such. They always send more stuff than you actually need in case something goes wrong. The projects are always matched with the age of your child. Some projects require drying time, help from a parent, or are especially messy, but those things you're told in the instructions. It's usually one project that takes a little longer, and one that is done quite quickly.

My 4yo really enjoys getting mail and is always looking forward to getting his "blue box"!
The materials are of a really good quality. The ghost pinata we made for Halloween is still hanging in our living room. I was really looking forward to the Easter box, since it included either a bunny race car, or a wooden greenhouse to grow herbs in. Both would have been great for my son, but I was secretly rooting for the greenhouse, since I wanted to do some gardening with him anyway, and we were lucky!

The second project is a paper Easter egg chain to colour with watercolours and decorate with feathers. And since it includes paint, my little artist wanted to start with those.

The box is shipped from England, but I am not sure in which countries they ship. But if you use my discount link, you'll get 50% off of your first box. There is no minimum amount of boxes you have to order, you can just give the first one a try and then see if it is something you'd like to get more regularly: https://www.toucanbox.com/friends/mareike-fwy5

Slime

It's been over a week again! I wanted to write several posts with crafting ideas and I was flooded in various groups with free things to do, to download, to watch, etc. that I haven't been able to go through, yet, and update my list in one of my previous posts. We also had some isolation drama. Not being able to see his friends, nor be able to do all the fun outdoor activities we're usually doing, is starting to take a toll on my 4yo. He had quite some down days this week that we've been working through. And on top of that, my phone dropped one time too many and the screen fell of. The case is the only thing that keeps it attached to the rest of the phone so that I was able to keep using it for a few more days, save all the pictures I had not yet transferred to my computer, and, after almost five years, order a new phone. It's supposed to get here in a day or two, so yay!

Anyway, since my 4yo wasn't really in the mood for lots of crafting, I brought out the slime kit I had bought a few weeks ago and which we had tested with one of his playmates. (I still have painting posts to write from when he was in a better mood, so I'll try to get those uploaded soon.)
Slime always makes him happy, even though I'm not that happy when he sticks his Hot Wheels cars into it to play mud or car wash and I have to get the slime out from inside the tires afterwards.

What I like about this kit, though, is that it's not as messy as other slimes we've had before, it comes with a HUGE selection of differently coloured slime, and it has lots of beads and pearls and glitter and even glow in the dark powder to add into your slime.

    

I was sent a recipe today to make slime at home. I'll post the ingredient in German for now (trying to get the kids into bed early today after daylight savings time) and will add the translation later.

Guarkernmehl-Slime:
* 200-300ml warmes Wasser
* 1 TL Guarkernmehl
* Lebensmittelfarbe
* 5gr Natron
* Kontaktlinsenlösung

You'll find instructions on www. slime-diy.de and there is also a youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Wp4eXtynw minute 18:50). That video has 12 different recipes for slime. I was intriqued by the nutella-marshmellow one!

Grocery shopping during times of the corona virus - not a crafting post

I wanted to use this blog for crafting only, but I can’t shake of the thoughts and feelings I had during today’s weekend grocery tour that I have to write it down somewhere.

Today was a very strange day. It’s been only a week since it was announced that schools and kindergartens would close in order to prevent the spread of covid-19. Last Wednesday I was still celebrating my birthday with my son’s friends and their moms. This week we’ve been shutting ourselves away, avoiding everyone on our walks, spending lots of time either inside or in our yard.

My son has cried several times because he misses meeting his friends and going to the playground. I keep explaining to him why we have to stay at home so much. The video Vienna put out really helps reminding him of what Corona does and how to prevent getting sick. But I understand him, I totally do. I miss hanging out with the other moms, socializing while our kids play together. I am also already starting to suffer from cabin fever. Being stuck at home, worrying about what’s going on outside, I’m glued to my phone, checking news websites and social media, checking in on friends and family to see how they’re doing. Being able to walk the dog and let my 4yo ride his bike helps both of us a little bit. Craft time does, too.

Today, I went out to do grocery shopping, not unusual on a Saturday, but I left with a knot in my stomach. I hoped that by being out and about, running errands, I would get a little bit of my normal life back, shake of the feelings of doom and gloom. We normally shop enough for the weekend and then pick up little things several times during the week. Today my plan was to get as much shopping and as much meal planning done so we wouldn’t have to go out as much during the week. Especially not with two kids in tow. The stores had signs up on most shelves to be considerate and not to buy more than the usual amounts for a household. But what is the usual amount for a household?

Before we bought the house and had children, we lived in a tiny apartment with a tiny fridge that didn’t hold more food than for 3-4 days and we didn’t have a freezer or the opportunity to store canned food anywhere. Now we have an American sized fridge with one door being for frozen food and we have the possibility to store. My 4yo loves canned lentil soup. If he could, he would eat it cold for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So buying 3 cans is not unusual, but when I loaded them into my cart this time, I was wondering if it would be considered hoarding, or a normal amount for a family that goes shopping only once a week. Is it hoarding if I buy another package of toilet paper, even though we still have enough at home until next weekend?

I also usually buy 3 cans of baby formula – that’s the normal amount they let you buy, so no shortage will arouse during non-corona times – now I was wondering if that was still ok to do, after there had been rumors on facebook last week that there was a formula shortage… Our shelves were stacked in double rows, though, and no sign about limitations up, so I still went ahead and bought my 3 cans. But besides that I picked up a lot of things that I normally would have gotten in a week or two, like diapers, laundry detergent, dishwasher tabs, or toothpaste. I basically bought anything that we will run out of eventually so that we wouldn’t have to go out to get them. I probably did a month worth of shopping today. And I have meals planned out for at least a week, as I am pretty sure the lockdown will come sooner or later if people won’t follow orders. I also picked up more canned vegetables than I normally would have, and I was wondering again if people would judge me as a hoarder, or did I grab what would be considered normal for a family of 4? I didn’t even go for the large tins, instead I was going to for the small 1-2 portions cans to mix into salads, or make veggie rice, or wraps… I felt really insecure and was questioning most of my shopping choices, because it’s not how I’m used to doing my shopping.

It took me almost 4 hours to get to all the stores and get the shopping done. Not just because I bought more than on a usual weekend run, but because I was navigating people. I tried to keep my distance to everyone, but navigating one person often resulted in stepping in somebody else’s way. I felt like the paths between shelves were so narrow, that it was impossible to keep 1.5m away from someone who was walking towards you. When someone was blocking a shelf I needed to get to, I didn’t step closer to reach for what I needed, but waited instead until they were done. When a cart was blocking my way and the owner was nowhere to be seen, I used my elbow to push it aside instead of touching it with my hand, wondering if anyone had disinfected the handles that morning (would it even matter? That card had probably been touched by a dozen people since then…) and whether I should have brought gloves. And the whole time I had this tight feeling in my chest, making me unable to breathe normally. I was sweating, not from the pullover I was wearing, but from the anxiety of being surrounded by so many people, not knowing who may unknowingly carry the virus. You could tell that many felt uneasy being out, too. Crossing paths, they stopped, not talking, just gesturing who would get to go first, some keeping even more than the required distance to other shoppers in line at the register. An elderly couple tried to figure out if the cans of beans in their hands was what they were looking for. They had trouble reading the label. I offered my help, but especially the old lady looked at me with unease/fear, said “no, thank you” and turned back to her husband…. And then there were others, consumed with the thought of what they had to get, they ran into people, reached over their shoulders to get their items out of the shelves, they skipped the line because they didn’t pay attention to the safety distance…

Getting into my car didn’t bring much relief, knowing that in a moment I would have to go out again and into the next store. Only after my last stop when I was on my way home, I felt relief wash over me. Home, back to the safe space, back to where no danger is lurking. I skipped the hardware store… 3 out of the 4 lightbulbs in our living room ceiling lamp are broken and need to be replaced, but I didn’t want to walk into another store, exposing myself to the outside world again. I’m probably going to order them on Amazon…

So instead of making me feel better being outside, it made me feel worse. I hope the weather will be better and warmer soon, so we can spend a lot of time in the yard, work the flower beds to fight cabin fever without being exposed to other people. I got some seeds for kitchen herbs, tomatoes, and salad that I’m planning on planting on the balcony with my son, so he can do his own bit of gardening. And hopefully a medication or vaccine is found soon, that is effective against the virus so we can return to our normal lives…

But today makes me wonder, if I’m the only one feeling like that. Am I overreacting? Or are others just not taking the situation serious? Or is everyone feeling just like me and is just not talking about it?...

Calling all sewers - face masks

While lying awake and browsing Facebook, I came across a discussion in a babywearing group about whether baby wraps are a good fabric to use for homemade face masks (they’re not as the fabric is meant to be somewhat stretchy so it can mold around the child; you need a tight multi-layer fabric).

But that discussion brought up a Forbes article about homemade facial masks which included a link to a facemask pattern. I can’t sew, I can’t read patterns, but if you can, consider making as many as you can to protect yourself, your family, and to donate some to your local hospital. With supply shortages we will need them sooner than later...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2020/03/20/calling-all-people-who-sew-and-make-you-can-help-solve-2020-n95-type-mask-shortage/#4cddba924e41

https://freesewing.org/blog/facemask-frenzy/

Wash your hands!

Stay home!

Stay safe!

Buchempfehlung 2

                                                      

Zu Weihnachten haben mein Sohn und ich abends immer im Feuerwehrmann Sam Adventskalender-Buch gelesen. Jeden Tag gab es entweder eine Geschichte, ein Spiel, oder eine Bastelanleitung. Eines der ersten Spiele war ein Labyrinth. Das hat ihm so viel Spaß gemacht, dass wir es jeden Abend wieder machen mussten. Daher habe ich ihm jetzt 2 Blöcke mit vielen verschiedenen Labyrinthen besorgt. Eigentlich sind sie ab 5 und teilweise sind sie ganz schön schwer, um sie mit einem Stift zu verfolgen. Als Vorübung lasse ich ihn die Wege einfach mit dem Finger abfahren, das klappt super und er ist ganz schön schnell.

Fürs Alter angemessener ist dagegen der Kindergartenblock. Hier wird die Feinmotorik, Geduld und Konzentration geübt, aber auch das genaue Hinsehen, Farben, Zahlen, etc. in immer wieder anderen und doch ähnlichen Übungen. Auch die machen total Spaß und bereiten schon mal auf die Vorschulzeit vor. Ich kann die Bücher nur empfehlen, wenn man zwischen dem Spielen, Toben und Basteln auch noch ein bisschen was fürs Köpfchen tun möchte.

Wer nicht auf dem Bildungs- und Erziehungsbereich kommt, wird sicherlich langsam merken, welche Leistungen ErzieherInnen und LehrerInnen täglich leisten, wenn sie sich nicht nur um ein oder zwei, sondern um ca. 20 Kinder kümmern müssen. 😉