|
|
Welcome to Creative Mama, where mamas can connect with their innate creativity and find meaning in their mamahood journey. |
|
Dinosaurs, digging and tools are a few of my boys' favourite things. So, when they discovered how to create mini ice excavations to free frozen dinosaurs, it was NEXT LEVEL! This STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Maths) and sensory play has since become the kids' favourite activity not only because it's fun and easy to do but it also helps them to focus on something engaging, quickly. There is nothing quite like hammering away at blocks of ice to unwind and release energy! In fact, we always keep an ice tray full of frozen creatures - preferably near the ice packs for injuries - in our freezer. What is the method behind the madness? When the kids get a small bump or bruise, they like to excavate ice to distract themselves from the stinging pain of cold-ice-pack-on-owie! Why? Because experts advise the art of distraction is often effective to help calm kids down, especially when they are hurting or need to let go of tension. Now, the kids' play-dates request this activity when they come over; win-win for everyone :) Learn how we do it, below. WHAT WE USE:
LET'S CREATE! Invite the kids to place a creature figure in each open space of the ice tray. Then, help them to pour water into each space and put the ice tray in the freezer. When the water has frozen, remove the ice tray from the freezer and extract the ice blocks onto a large surface (preferably on the ground, outside). Then, let the kids excavate away at the ice blocks with their toy tools to free the fossilized bugs or dinosaurs! Another option is to use water sprays to slowly melt the ice blocks. My kids also like to find different things to freeze to keep it interesting, such as tiny trinkets and water beads. CONNECT & INSPIRE... Not only does is this activity super fun, helps to distract and release energy, it also engages the kids in:
To learn more about STEAM activities, refer to Fun Marble Runs! To learn more about letting go of tension, refer to Creatively Connecting to Control Emotions. Drop any questions, suggestions and experiences in the comments section and if it resonates, please share with your parent friends! As always, I look forward to connecting with you via the Creative Mama community on Facebook.
0 Comments
Painting with Marbles is an art activity for your kids that is super simple to set-up and do - again and again! So it can get a little messy...but the end result - a colourful and abstract piece of art - is totally worth it! It's also a fun indoor play idea that combines art with movement, for kids who like to be active! This activity even encourage kids to apply basic creative skills as part of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths (STEAM) concepts into their play - what's not to love about it?! To learn more about STEAM, go to Fun Marble Runs. WHAT WE USE:
LET'S CREATE! Drop a marble into each section of the muffin tray. Using a spoon, coat the marble with paint and then transfer it to the paper in the shallow dish. Lift the dish and tilt it from side to side so that the paint covered marbles roll around and leave trails of paint, creating interesting and colourful patterns on the paper. CONNECT & INSPIRE... Depending on how much the kids are enjoying the marble painting process, more marbles can be added and can be rolled around the paper to blend colours, creating new colours and designs. Or, you can replace the painted paper with a fresh one and create multiple marble paintings for framing, along side each other. A little messy play is sometimes worth all the effort! I would love for you to share your experiences in the comments section below and any photos you might have taken of your kids cool creations! For some more creative STEAM activities, go to Amazing Mazes and Sensory Play with Light. Giving a gift that is wrapped in paper that the kids made themselves has always made them feel great. There is also an additional sense of pride in creating something that is useful and meaningful. Over the years, it has become a tradition leading up to Christmas to make our own Christmas wrapping paper but this activity is fun to do for Easter and birthday presents as well. WHAT WE USE:
LET'S CREATE! Pour a small amount of different coloured paint onto some trays and place the stamps, sponge shapes or cookie cutters on top of the paint. Stamp these shapes all over the white paper and repeat until the paper is covered with cheerful Christmas colours and shapes. After the paper has dried, it is ready for wrapping Christmas gifts with ribbon. Optional - For some extra bling, squeeze some glitter glue or sprinkle glitter on some clag and onto the wrapping paper. CONNECT & INSPIRE... My kids enjoy getting actively messy with the paints and stamps, whilst creating their personalised pieces of wrapping paper. This is also an opportune time for the kids to learn to share the stamps and paint trays amongst themselves. Mamas can enjoy hanging the kids' home-made wrapping paper up to dry and then help the kids wrap the pressies. |
Categories
All
© 2019 Creative Mama
All photos, images and text are copyright protected. Not to be used without permission. |
RSS Feed