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photo credit: L. Marie

Want to have a Halloween accessory that would surely add color and fun in this Trick or Treat season?  Let the kids go from neighbor to neighbor getting their candy treats or doing their creepy tricks while carrying an umbrella jazzed up for the Halloween occasion.

All you will need is an old umbrella but also make sure that it is still in good condition. Once this activity is done, that umbrella you kept in the store room to gather dust will be transformed into a creepy Halloween accessory that you can use for your child’s trick or treat activities.

Supplies:

• Old umbrella
• Black and white t-shirt paint (or any paint)
• White yarn
• Plastic spiders (you can buy these in toy section of groceries or department stores)
• Glue

Steps:

1. Open your old umbrella. Apply black paint all over it to hide the prints or jolly faded colors. The kids can enjoy helping a lot in this painting activity.  Then apply white paint on the umbrella handle.
2. Let the paint dry for a while. This may take 2 to three hours, depending on the thickness of the coating and the type of paint that you bought.  It is advisable to use a water-based paint and non-lead type of paint.
3. After the paint has dried, draw two big ovals using the white paint on the umbrella. Just coat it thinly and let it dry for about an hour or so.
4. Draw a circle using the black paint inside the white ovals to form the eyes of the umbrella.
5. Get the yarn and cut it into the same length, about 6 inches.
6. Glue the plastic spiders on one end of the yarn. Let it dry,
7. After the spiders are now firmly attached on the yarns, get one yarn and tie one end to the umbrella’s pointed edges. Do this on every pointed edge of the umbrella.

Now, you are ready to use your spooky Halloween umbrella.  With big eyes and dangling spiders, this will surely be the umbrella that will do the trick and treat this Halloween season.

photo credit: mitsukuni

You don’t have to wait for your kids to grow up before you can teach them how to cook, or even bake. It will be fun to do this with your kids. You can start with simple recipes that the kids will surely enjoy not only baking, but especially eating.

Doing things together with your kids at home, such as baking, will be an opportunity for you to strengthen your parent-child relationship, teach them simple household skills that they can use later in life, and develop in them important values like responsibility, industry, cooperation and obedience, among others.

Here’s one simple menu for you to experiment with your kids: Homemade Animal Crackers. Ask your kids to assist you in this baking activity.

What you will need:

• ½ cup oatmeal
• 2 tsp. salt
• ¾ cup flour
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ¼ cup softened butter or margarine
• 4 tbsp. buttermilk
• Animal cookie cutters
• Blender, bowl, and rolling pin

How to do it:

1. Use a blender to grind ½ cup oatmeal until becomes fine.
2. Mix the oatmeal with a bowl with honey, salt, flour, and baking soda.
3. Cut in butter or margarine
4. Add buttermilk.
5. Roll your mixture with the rolling pin until it is very thin.
6. With the cookie cutter in several animal-shaped template, cut into shapes of different animals.
7. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit on non-greased cookie sheet for about 10-12 minutes until they become golden brown.

Enjoy your time; develop teambuilding and rapport with your kids.  Perhaps you might want to organize a tea party and just have fun storytelling about the animal crackers you made while relishing great cracker and tea taste.

photo credit: tomeppy

Have you ever wondered how teachers can come up with preschool education games – those simple games that teach some basic skill like listening or color recognition or whatever?  It’s really just a matter of breaking down daily tasks into their simplest elements and then making a fun way to learn them.

Say for example you want your child to learn to listen quietly (a very important skill).  Create a game that makes it fun to listen closely.  Like – “I am going to make an animal sound and you tell me what the animal is?”  Or, “Can you tell me what kind of thing makes this sound?” and make a car or truck sound.

If you want your little one to learn their colors or shapes, then take the time to point out various colors and shapes until you think they have them down and then ask them to find a red truck or play I Spy a green rectangle and have them point it out to you.

Children love to interact and puppets can be a different way to get them to interact if they seem disinterested in you.  So take a paper lunch sack and draw a face of a person or animal or robot or whatever and then teach them using your puppet.

You can make a different puppet for each letter in the alphabet as you introduce the ABCs.  You can introduce colors by making one puppet a brown bear or a yellow flower.  Let your imagination run wild. And have fun playing preschool education games with your child.

What games do you play with your child?

Create a story with your kids!! This is so much fun!!  Print out the template and let your child create a picture and tell you a story, then help your child write the story.  This is a great Preschool learning activity.  It uses their imagination and drawing skills.  Depending on the level and age of your child you can write the story for them, as they tell you it or if they are a little older and learning to write, you can have them tell you the story and help them spell each word.  It’s excellent practice for their writing skills and they love it!  They are writing about what interests them and will therefore be more motivated.  After writing the stories you can have them read it to you!  This is a great way to give them success in their reading.  Since they wrote it-it is familiar to them and easier for them to start reading it.  My son loves reading his stories to me!!

The one pictured today is by my 3 year old daughter who wanted to “write” most of it herself!!

Don’t forget about We Heart Art sponsored by Three Bay B Chicks, Domestically Challenged and I’m Living proof God has a Sense of humor their Mr. Linky is up!!

Need some inspiration? Try these fun ideas:

• Make a Planter
• Collage
• Make HomeMade Play Dough – Create your own colors and creations.