Chilly Autumn Indoor Holiday Fun (Part 3)

Once upon a time, in a castle on a hill . . . hmm, but we don't have a castle . . . so best we make one!

First, we took a walk along the beach . . . 

. . . and came home with a bag of sea-sand.

We waited patiently for a rainy day, then rummaged around the house and set down to have some fun!

This is what we used:

• Many kitchen paper, toilet paper and wrapping paper rolls (cut along one end to form turrets 
• A cut in half cereal box (with an arch cut out of one side)
• A flat box (beer tray)
• An egg carton
• Craft glue (watered down slightly)
• Paint (optional)

 

Icky-sticky, ooey-gooey! 

With glee the rolls and boxes and cartons were painted with glue . . . as were hands and legs! There's something fascinating about peeling dried glue off your skin, especially when you're 5 (okay, when you're a grown-up too).

Even more pleasing is mixing sand and glue . . . seriously, until you've tried it you don't know what you're missing out on! 

The sticky bits were rolled, buried and sprinkled with sea-sand and then . . .   

. . . b-o-r-i-n-g-l-y left to dry.

We painted the outside and inside of the flat boxes and b-o-r-i-n-g-l-y left them to dry.

Tick-tock, tick-tock. 

Many finger smudges and "are they dry yet's" later we got to work arranging the pieces into our very own "once upon a time" castles (we chose to use non-permanent sticky-tack in case we want to keep re-planning the castles).

Once upon a time, in a castle on a hill, there lived a family of dinosaurs . . . 

Chilly Autumn Indoor Holiday Fun (Part 2)

You have it all at home for quick-'n-easy Spider Webs

The boys just love rolling these webs, and what's great is that they can get on with it themselves. "The joy is in the process" applies well to these webs! What they do with the result is inconsequential (although in my home they are stuck onto bedroom ceilings), the fun truly is in the making.

Even better, is that everything you need, you have at home:

• Flat box (beer tray)
• A4 paper (black sugar paper is great)
• White paint (if you have no paint, a little corn-flour mixed with water works well too)
• A marble (if your kids are marble collectors, make sure it's a "junkie")
• Small piece of coloured paper (Or white paper coloured-in)
• Paper glue

Dip marble is gooey paint . . .  

Shake, rattle 'n roll the box . . . 

Draw a spider, stick/draw eyes, cut it out and stick it on the web . . . 

Fun in a box!

Chilly Autumn Indoor Holiday Fun (Part I)

First day back at school today, so I thought I would share some of the fun we had over the holidays. With Daddy working, it was a stay-at-home holiday, and with mostly chilly weather it was also a stay-indoors holiday!


The boys value art that is "useful" (I use the word rather loosely) and can be played with afterwards. Hanging it on the fridge or the wall is so last season!


Keeping that in mind, and practicing restraint from taking over, here's what we got up to.

Flying Aliens

What we used: 

• Styrofoam balls
• Ear-buds (cut into halves)
• Skewer sticks (to hold balls while painting)
• String
• Acrylic Paint
• Glitter
• Craft eyes

After snipping the ear-buds to various lengths (with safety scissors of course) chubby little fingers jammed, poked and prodded them into the Styrofoam balls - note: cutting is FUN, and we ended the day with enough halved ear-buds to warrant coming up with another arty use for them, any ideas?

Then the messy fun begins!

I only put out the primary colours, plus black and white to add learning and uniqueness to their choices of paint, and what fun they had "inventing" their colours!

My ears soaked up their voices as they created fantastical stories about these little monster creations, ranging from fallen stars to spiders hidden in space rockets!

Once painted and before they dried we sprinkled them with glitter, just for fun.

Next we, pulled out the skewer stick, threaded in the string, stuck on the eyes and spooks-your-uncle!

These guys now hang in the doorways of their bedrooms . . . the gift that keeps giving giggles, because of course its still hilarious when our heads are pounced on by monsters as we enter their rooms!

Easter Egg hunt with meaning . . .

So the Easter Bunny has left his chocolate warren and is bouncing from East to West delivering treats for sleeping children.


Every year, this Easter Bunny, leaves talc-powder footprints all over the front door and a half-eaten carrot in the drive-way. "Hidden" in plain sight are maps of the garden pointing out buried chocolate treasures.


The excitement of the hunt, the frantic searching and the squeals of "I found one", are what I look forward to on Easter Sunday, and I can't bear to think of the time (that will come) when the kids will grow out of this excitement. So, for as long as I get, I will keep making it as special as I can.


This year with the boys a little older, yet still believing in the Easter Bunny, I want to bring the meaning of Easter into the hunt! I have to take a couple of things into account:

• the weather is not playing nicely, which means, unless I make both indoor and outdoor maps and and do the egg hiding 4am (no thanks), maps are out!
• only one of the boys can read fluently, so it'll have to be a team hunt
• the Easter story turns through sad moments, which I would love to capture, but in away that reminds them of the happiness of Easter

With all this in mind, and awfully last minute, this is what this Easter Bunny will be laying out in the morning:

• 10 cut-out egg-shaped clue cards on the kitchen table
• each card has an Easter fact linked (in some cases very loosely so) to a hiding place (which are so generic that the hunt may last a while)
• each time they find an egg/treat, they return for another clue card

Do you think it will work?

If it's not too late, and you like the idea, use it! (If you do, hop me an email and let me know how it went,to: inspiredfamilies@nurture.org.za )

Happy hunting and a blessed Easter!