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. 😉

                    

Buchempfehlung - book recommendation 1

Disney Ideen Buch - Disney Ideas Book

Yes, you see correctly, I ordered the book twice. Amazon had 2 different delivery dates for them, both roughly in 2-3 weeks, so I ordered both to see which one got here faster. Guess what, they both showed up at the same time 3 days after I had ordered them. The English version is 5€ cheapter, so if you don't care about the language, buy that one, they're both absolutely identical! 😉 I'm either going to return my duplicate, or I'll put on in my private crafting library, and one in my school material library.

I flipped through the book and I have to say, I really like it! It has two table of contents, one is sorted by topic, like "costumes", the other one is sorted by Disney characters. I love that it is not only a craft book but it also offers games, physical activities, and experiments.
Some crafts take a lot of materials or skills, so I'd say the book aim at ages 8-14. For sewing projects you definitely need to have an adult help you. And you need to be able to use scissors well, there is a lot of cutting required in most projects. Only a few ones looked like I can do them with my 4yo without having to do most of the work myself. But I'm excited to give them a try! I love the narrating stones! So we'll spend some time painting stones and tell each other stories. I'll let you know how that goes!

Free things to enjoy during the pandemic

Many companies and websites have risen to the occasion and offer free things to teach and educate, to entertain, or to workout at home. The ones I personally like, I will share here. I'll keep adding to the list when I find new things. Some offers will be limited to certain countries, unfortunately, so most links will be available in Europe and I hope my American readers will have access to them as well.

1) Wash your lyrics
https://washyourlyrics.com/
Tired of singing happy birthday to get your 20 seconds of hand washing done? Enter song title and singer here and get your personal hand washing poster for your favorite song!

2) Schlosspark Theater Berlin - Schmetterlinge sind frei
https://www.facebook.com/SchlosspaarkTheaterBerlin/
The Schlosspark Theater is streaming their performance of Butterflies are free every evening at 8 on their facebook page for free since their theatre had to close

3) Scholastic teaching material from Pre-9k
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html?promo_code=6294&eml=CM/smd/20200312//txtl/sm/ed&linkId=84269747&fbclid=IwAR1Xr6B76nEXeukvjev2EWgDkNam9ruRgFGH9SNvrqLvYXALd-gRJqqRKwA

4) Audible - free audio books
https://stories.audible.com/discovery/enterprise-discovery-21103929011?ref=adbl_ent_anon_ds_ds_dbb_0-0

5) Makerist

Kostenlose online Kurse bis 25.3.

https://www.makerist.de/topics/gratis-online-kurse

6) Bügelperlen
https://www.buegelperlenvorlagen.com/
I don't know if you all know what ironing beads are: they're little plastic beads you place on a board, then cover them with a sheet of aluminum foil, place a dish towel on it, and then use an iron to melt the plastic so they melt together. I used to do those as a kid myself and loved it. This website will give you loads of free patterns to make with your kids.

7) Colouring Books

- Salamanders

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-7h-GsB_Mhdyhrb_U5ebqRiGDI9CmBCM/view

- Kokadi Babywearing 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/kokadi/files/

8) Easter Activities for kindergarten/daycare kids
https://www.kigaportal.com/ng/ng6/de/ideen/eltern

9) Rezeptbuch gegen Langeweile
https://www.gwrs-fichtenberg.de/archiv/schuljahr-2019-2020/rezeptb%C3%BCchlein-gegen-langeweile/
PDF Download - Aktivitäten im Alltag, Experimente, Sachen zum Bauen und mehr

10) Nähen/Sewing
- Kuscheltiere /plushies
https://cholyknight.com/ lots of free patterns for toys

11) Papier schöpfen - how to make your own paper (German)
https://m.geo.de/geolino/basteln/4346-rtkl-bastelanleitung-papier-selber-machen?fbclid=IwAR2kOHhbqmzKNbW8hkTNFD0qxuNAU0E37kaNlkT2NRC3bF1qbe_WuC92DZU

12) Wochenpläne U3 und 3+
https://www.prokita-portal.de/wochenplan/
weekly things to do with kids under 3 and 3+

Trains and canvas

This post is in German, as the stores I get my craft supplies from only exist in Germany (except for Amazon), but I’m sure you have Dollar Stores, Hobby Lobby or Joanne’s, that have great deals on canvases and acrylic paints.

Mein Sohn liiiiiebt es, mit Acrylfarbe zu malen, weil die Farben einfach kräftiger sind als Wasserfarben und man auch bei Mischexperimenten eine Farbveränderung sofort deutlich sieht.

Ein Glück, dass es bei Action flache A4 Leinwände im 3er Pack für rund 1,50€ gibt. Gerade die flachen Leinwände sind super, um ein Kunstwerk auch mal an die Großeltern per Großbrief zu senden. Ansonsten findet man tolle günstige Leinwände auch bei TEDI und KiK. Ansonsten bleibt im Moment, da alle Geschäfte bis auf die für den täglichen Bedarf geschlossen sind, nur das Bestellen bei Amazon. Da zahlt man zwar mehr, aber bei mindestens 5 Wochen Kinderbetreuung zu Hause ist diese Investition Gold wert. Mit Leinwänden lässt sich nämlich noch so viel mehr machen, dazu werde ich dann aber auch einen separaten Post erstellen.

Meine Acrylfarben beziehe ich ebenfalls über diese 4 Kanäle.

Es lohnt sich aber auch bei Aldi die Augen offen zu halten. Besonders vor Weihnachten und zum Jahreszeitenwechsel gibt es saisonales Bastelmaterial und auch Leinwände und Acrylfarbe. Wasserfarben und Fingerfarben  findet man vor allem im Sommer bei den Schulmaterialien für das neue Schuljahr. Wer den Platz hat, kann hier schon mal ein bisschen auf Vorrat kaufen.

Mein Sohnemann ist völlig verrückt nach Autos und Zügen. Neben seinen gefühlt hunderttausend Hot Wheels Autos und seinem Lego Duplo Zug, haben es ihm vor allem Thomas die kleine Lokomotive und Chuggington angetan. Dampflokomotiven haben es ihm angetan. Riesen highlight war letzten Sommer eine Fahrt mit einer echten Dampflok. Sein Kinderzimmer ähnelt oft einem Zentralbahnhof, wenn alle 3 Spielesets aufgebaut sind und über- und untereinander her fahren. 
Wenn ich ihn dann frage, was er malen möchte, kommt immer „Ein Thomas-Zug, Mama!“
Also habe ich mit Edding freihand eine Dampflok für ihn aufgezeichnet. Wenn ihr jetzt denkt "Oh Gott, sowas kann ich nicht", dann keine Sorge! Es gibt genug kostenlose einfache Ausmalbilder, deren Umrisse man abzeichnen kann. Aber ganz ehrlich, kleinen Kindern ist das ganz egal ob die Linien etwas krum sind, Acrylfarbe deckt das ab (und viel ist von dem Zug hinterher eh nicht mehr zu sehen 😂).
Am besten gewöhnt ihr die Kinder jetzt schon daran immer einen Kittel zu tragen, das erleichtert es den Lehrern später in der Grundschule im Kunstunterricht! (Ich weiß wovon ich rede! 😉)

Spring time water colour

It's almost spring! We're spending time outside in the garden when we can to get my 4yo some fresh air and exercise. As art activity, I did a butterfly stamping picture with my students last year.

You need:

- white paper / weißes Papier

- water colours, brushes, water / Wasserfarben, Pinsel, Wasser

- wine cork / Weinkorken

- butterfly image / Schmetterlingsbild 

(- printer/Drucker)

The butterfly image I found for free in google image search. Of course you can choose any other animal or image your kid likes: How about a giraffe on a green background? Or a race car on a grey street?

Stamping takes a long time. I needed about 90 minutes to cover a sheet of A3 paper in colour. Using the cork from a sparkling wine bottle will safe you a little bit of time and is also more suitable for younger children. 

Use a brush to apply paint to the cork. Instead of water colours you can also use acrylic paint, that way your child can press the cork down into the paint to stamp. The younger your child is, the more help it will need. 

For 3yo-5yo I'd recommend a picture made just from stamping. You can make caterpillars, a flower field, or even a butterfly just by stamping the shapes in the colours you like.

Older kids can then fill the printed animal in the colours they like. The smaller the shapes are, the more they'll have to concentrate and train their fine motor skills and patience.

Here are some examples that my second-graders did.

DIY Knetseife - play dough soap

Washing your hands regularly and thoroughly is important, now more than ever.
This 5-minute craft is great for kids any age and only needs 3 ingredients that you probably have at home anyway! It was shared in one of my many WhatsApp Mom groups and came originally from Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/182958803599369397/

You need:
- body wash / Duschgel
- corn starch / Speisestärke
- vegetable oil / Pflanzenöl, z.B. Rapsöl
- bowl, spoon / Schüssel, Löffel
- air tight container for storage / Luftdichtes Gefäß zur Aufbewahrung
If you want to make your soap in different fun colours, you'll also need oil based food colouring / fettlösliche Lebensmittelfarbe.

I don't have any measurements to give to you, this recipe is more of a "keep an eye on it" kind of thing.

You start with a good squirt of your favorite body wash and keep adding corn starch while stirring. We had to add corn starch several times. You should get a crumbly consistency without having any corn starch left in the bowl.

    

Add a dash of oil to make it nice and creamy and you're done! 

                                             

Now your kids can have fun washing their hands or playing with it in the bathtub! You can tear pieces off and seal the rest in a container. But don't worry should your soap get dry. A little bit of warm water will soften it up again.

                                                       

 

                              WASH YOUR HANDS! :)

Fresh start thanks to a new career ... and Covid-19

I haven’t looked at this blog in FOREVER! Anyone who has left sweet comments under my jewelry and steampunk stuff: I’m so sorry I never responded to you!!!

Lots has happened since I last blogged in 2013 (OMG it’s been that long!): we bought a house, renovated and moved, my beloved dog and companion of 11 years died of very aggressive cancer, we had two children and got a new puppy.

For financial and other reasons I left my old job and went back to school to become an elementary school teacher. Awesome side effect other than more money than my old job paid and better work hours? I get to teach ART and MUSIC and DRAMA! Dream come true! So over the last 2-3 years I’ve done lots of crafting with kids for various projects and always took pictures so that I can do them again in other classes.

Now, at the beginning of 2020, Corona happened. Last week I was celebrating my 37th birthday, 2 days later all of Germany’s schools, kindergarten and daycare institutions are shut down, people are hoarding toilet paper, hospitals are running out of face masks and sanitizer, areas in China and all of Italy and Spain are in lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Germany was on lockdown by the end of the week, too. All those measurements are to stop the virus from spreading quickly so that our healthcare system and hospitals can cope treating the serious cases and doctors won’t have to make choices like currently in Italy, which is who are they putting on ventilators to help the sick breathe, and who has to sit in the hospital corridors and eventually die.

Sounds scary? Believe me, it is. It’s giving me sleepless nights and restless days...

BUT, this blog is not supposed to be said and full of fears and worry!

Many people are now stuck at home with their kids. While school children got at least some work to do for school (thanks to awesome teachers who spent their weekend in school whipping up plans, projects, worksheets for the students to be handed out Monday or be mailed out regularly), the younger ones want to be entertained. So I’m going to share things I’m doing with my 4-year-old, things I have done with him when he was younger, and things I’ve done in elementary school with my students.

Some posts will be in German, some in English, but I’ll try to at least do the list of materials in both languages so you can easily follow the pictures.

Ideas I got from Pinterest will be linked. My craft materials I usually get from German stores like Tedi, kik, Action and Aldi as well as Amazon.

I like to upcycle, so I collect things like empty jam jars, tins, toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls, shoe boxes, egg containers and cardboard (thanks Amazon for your generous wrapping skills). Those are perfect to craft with kids, they’re free, you usually have some in the house,  and you can use them for so many different things! Since I have to feed my baby with formula, I currently also have a giant stash of empty metal tins with lids that are fantastic to repurpose!

So, time to revitalize this blog! Watch this space! My kid is home from Kindergarten for at least 5 weeks, there will be LOTS of crafting at our house!

I’m going to start sharing some crafts tomorrow!

(Almost midnight, so good night and happy crafting!)