Some of the great cities in the world have some of the great aquariums of the world. These facilities usually draw many visitors because of the fantastic creatures that swim about inside. The visitors are often the local people, but a great aquarium also attracts tourists to the city to see these wonderful creatures. Some of these attractions are better than others, but all aquariums have interesting creatures. A good aquarium will usually have beautiful fish of all shapes and sizes that give the visitors a glimpse of a world that many would not get to see without these facilities. A good aquarium is full of opportunity. Some of the creatures in these facilities could be easily viewed by divers with the proper equipment, but others who do not have the means to dive into the sea would never be able to view these sea creatures up close without the facilities of a great aquarium. Divers are given some opportunities in one of these shows that they could not do without these facilities. In one of these facilities, everyone can view even dangerous creatures such as sharks up close. The people who enter an aquarium can see many different types of sharks swimming about under the water. However for those interested in aquarium stands click through and have a look. Whilst some people love anything on the topic of freshwater aquarium fish is a personal favourite.

An Aquarium Is Built For Spectators An aquarium is designed so the visitors get a great look at the creatures that live naturally under the sea. These facilities often have glass on more than one side of a gigantic tank so people can watch as these creatures swim about and interact with other creatures in the tank. The people who visit get a chance to see the creatures from the sea as they feed as well. The fish are usually housed in environments that resemble their natural habitats so there are also plants from the deep. Whilst its possible to have a fish tank at home, you will never get the full range of fish available at an aquarium. A public aquarium can hold tanks with millions of gallons of water, and many of the public facilities have some extremely large tanks. The sizes of tanks determines what types of fishes that can be seen. A great variety of fishes can be viewed by public visitors at bigger facilities. Clichk here for more information on fish aquariums.

Educational groups are often offered tours and lectures by these facilties. Lots of school children that study about the creatures in their books at school are given the chance to get to visit these facilities to learn more about the creatures. The real fish are usually much more interesting than the ones viewed in pictures in a textbook.

Grandparents can play a key role in encouraging creativity in their grandkids by providing them with the time, resources and the space for simply making art. When the grandchildren visit you, try to set aside interruption-free time for drawing, in a mess-proof zone – so that their creativity can run wild. Cover all surfaces so that any splashed paint or scribbles of crayon are 'caught' - because nothing quells creativity more so than a Nanna or Pop repeating "Don't make a mess" every 2 minutes!

Pick the right drawing materials too as this is very important. Many craft materials can be improvised, think of decorated kitchen roll tubes and potatoes as stamps, but when drawing tools and paper are required, opt for a small selection of good quality age-appropriate products, rather than loads of inferior products. Ensure that you check safety information and always follow instructions. Young children should always be surpervised during ‘art time’ because many necessary materials – such as crayons – pose a choking hazard.

Surroundings: As with writing or working at a computer, good posture and a comfortable position are important for drawing. With young children, a child-size table and chair is actually preferable to an easel. If the chair is a little high, provide a phone book for a footrest. A standard coffee table and an inexpensive plastic chair work wonderfullyl. A small kitchen storage trolley is a perfect solution for containing supplies, or if space does not allow, a portable fishing tackle or tool box is a good option too. Messy toddlers may need a drop-cloth and supervision to avoid ink-stained walls, as even ‘washable’ pens often don’t deliver on that promise!

Art Materials: Avoid cheap markers, too-hard pencils and thin paints – these types of materials are discouraging to the child and therefore a waste of money. Provide many sheets of blank paper to inspire their crativity and occasionally invest in a large canvas so that your child can paint something ‘grand’ and chances are you’ll want to hang it on your wall!Also provide coloring books or coloring pages – of which you’ll find plenty online. Granted – coloring pages are not so great for creativity, however they do provide children with the chance to practice their fine motor skills and sometimes it’s very relaxing and just what they need to simply color in without the ‘pressure’ of thinking about WHAT to draw.

Nothing much has changed since your children (their parents) were small – little boys still  typically enjoy coloring pictures of cars and trucks while little girls may enjoy coloring images of Barbie and at sites like Barbie Coloring Pages you’ll find the best Barbie party printables.

When it comes to drawing and coloring, at each age/stage of a child's life provide….

Toddlers

• Child-safe markers and wipe-off boards
• Chalk boards and safe chalk
• Plain paper and coloring pages

Juniors

• Sketchbook
• Student colored pencils
• Washable Markers
• Oil pastels
• Plain paper and coloring pages

Middle School

• Sketchbook or scrapbook
• Graphite Pencils
• Watercolor sketch paper
• Watercolor pencils
• Marker pens, marker paper
• Plain paper and coloring pages

High School

• Sketchbook or scrapbook
• Quality drawing papers and boards
• Graphite Pencils
• Artists’ quality colored pencils
• Illustration markers, marker paper
• Pastel paper and hard pastels if liked
• Plain paper and canvases to work on

All ages

• Safe sharpeners, erasers, dusters, stencils and rulers
• A folder for storing large pieces
• Storage boxes for smaller pieces
• Consider photographing or scanning pieces for a permanent record.

Here are a dozen play-time ‘recipes’ to help keep your children entertained on school holidays or rainy days.  Learn how to make homespun goop, papier mâché, cinnamon ornaments, soap crayons and much more. Pull out this article and stick it to your fridge – it will be one of your best weapons against the ‘boredom’ gremlins!

Washable window paints
A selection of tempera paints (powdered or premixed)
Clear dishwashing liquid
Mix powdered paints with dishwashing liquid until they resemble house paint. Line the window sashes with masking tape and spread newspaper under the window area to protect flooring. To erase paint or touch up mistakes just wipe paint away with a dry paper towel.

Home-made coloring books

Download a dozen or so coloring sheets from the Net and collate them into a coloring book. Put this aside for rainy days or for long car/train/plane journeys. Little girls love to color pretty images such as those from fairy tales and of Princesses while boys prefer images of cars and trucks and of favorite characters such as Pokemon’s Pikachu. At sites like Pokemon Coloring Pages you’ll find  an array of free Pokemon colouring pages

Cinnamon ornaments
3/4-1 cup applesauce
1 (4.12-oz.) bottle of ground cinnamon
Mix applesauce with cinnamon to form a stiff dough. Roll out to 5mm thickness. Cut out a shape with the cookie cutter and make a hole for the ribbon using the end of a drinking straw. Carefully put this aside to dry for several days – turning occasionally. This recipe makes 12 sweet smelling ornaments/drawer scenters.

Goop

2 packets of cornflour
2 cups of water
Several drops of food colouring

Place newspaper or plastic sheets on your work surface. Mix the ingredients in a large bowl. Children love goop’s squishy consistency. To make different painting with goop – try using black or coloured paper. To remove goop from carpets, allow it to dry, then brush or vacuum. The wonderful thing about goop is that it may be re-used after it has dried out. Crumble it to a powder then restore it to the original consistency by adding water a tablespoonful at a time.

Funny putty
2 tablespoons of white glue
1 tablespoon of liquid starch
Food colouring
Mix glue and desired food colour. Pour starch over top. Swish so that all the glue is covered. Let set 5 minutes. Squeeze off extra starch and knead until mixed.

 

Bubbles
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of glycerine
2 tablespoons of liquid dish soap
Mix together the glycerine with the soap. Pour in sugar. Add food colouring if desired.

Papier mâché

1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
1/2 inch strips of newspaper
Balloon/s

In a large bowl, mix flour and water – add more flour is mixture is too sloppy (dripping). Place newspaper strips into mixture, then smooth onto blown up balloon. Cover the balloon completely twice, letting it dry in between layers. Do not cover the balloon’s knot. Dry in a warm place for 2-3 days then hold the knot and pop the balloon with a pin. Paint, glitter and decorate the balloon as is or cut in half so you have a bowl/hat shape to embellish.

Modelling/play dough
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
water
food colouring

Mix the ingredients and knead to a dough consistency. Place the dough artwork in the oven on a low heat to speed up the drying process.

Soap crayons

1 3/4 cups of soap flakes

50 drops food colouring
1/4 cup water

Mix water and soap flakes together. Add food colouring and put mixture into an ice cube tray. When hardened, pop the ‘ice cubes’ out. These soap crayons are fun to write with on the tub and tiles during bath time. If grouting stains, spray with a weak solution of bleach.

Sand dye

Fine sand

Water

Food colouring

Paper cups

Plastic spoons

Fill paper cups half full with sand. Next, add water to cups to completely cover sand. Add food colouring until you get the desired colour. Stir thoroughly with a plastic spoon and let set for 15 minutes. Pour off water and then spoon sand onto paper towels and spread the sand out to dry. Use sand to make sand – art – pictures (spread glue on paper and sprinkle sand on top) or to fill pretty bottles in layers.

Cornstarch Art/Finger-paint

3 tablespoons of cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

2 drops of dishwashing liquid

1 cup boiling water

Food colouring

Combine cornstarch and cold water – stir until smooth. Add dishwashing liquid. Pour boiling water into the bowl and stir until the mixture thickens. Add food colouring and let cool. Use as you would finger paint.

Puffy Paint

Flour

Salt

Water

Tempera paint

Mix equal parts of flour, salt and water in a bowl. Add a small amount of tempera paint to the mixture and then pour into a small plastic squeezy bottle. Repeat the procedure making as many colours as you wish. Squeeze onto heavy paper or cardboard to make designs. This mixture will harden into puffy shapes.

Colourful Salt

1/2 cup salt

5 to 6 drops of food colouring

Add food colouring to salt. Stir it well. Cook this in a microwave oven for 1-2 minutes or spread on waxed paper and let salt air dry. Store in an airtight container and use whenever you please, just as you would glitter.

When the kids get home from school in the afternoon and say ‘I’m bored’, at least you can point them towards doing their homework – however – when it’s the week-end or school holidays – you know that it won’t be long until you hear ‘I’m bored’ several times a day!

Times are tough economically but entertaining kids has never been an expensive enterprise -  so here are eight ideas to keep your children busy, creative and active during these long summer months.

Milk Jug Bird Feeders – Rinse out the empty plastic gallon milk jug with lid. Cut a window in the front of the jug, and make two small poke holes for the perches. Insert sticks for perches and fill the bottom of the jug with bird seed suitable to the birds in your area. Depending on the ages of the child, let them problem solve and figure out the best way to secure the perch and if they wish they can decorate the birdfeeder before hanging it on the balcony or in the garden.

Aluminum Can Crafts – Paint an empty, rinsed out tuna can with acrylic paint or spray paint. Decorate with glitter and glue – scavange for stickers, buttons or  lace too. Once completed these make cute holders for barrettes, pony tail holders, paper clips, rubber bands, keys, jewelry etc. Apply the same idea to an empty soup can to make a pen or pencil holder. These are great to give to dad to take into the office.

Coloring in – Coloring in was the staple activity of many summer holidays when I was la litle girl. If you have access to the internet, have some paper and a printer, it means you don’t even have to pay for a coloring book. When it comes to coloring pictures, you really can’t go wrong with Disney and at sites like Disney Coloring Pages you’ll find the best free Disney coloring pages

Coffee Can Stilts – Using two 1-pound coffee cans, turn each can upside down so that the plastic lid is on the bottom. Using a scredriver, an adult should poke two holes – one each side of the can. Using several strands of yarn braided or twisted together, or some rope, thread through holes in cans. Tie off inside the can and practice walking on them. Kids cand ecorate the cans if they so wish.

Jar Candles – Save the stubs of candles. When you have several saved, melt them together in a double boiler. Color the wax by adding small pieces of wax crayon to the mixture. Pour the wax into glass jelly or mason jars or metal cans. Use cotton string for wicks and decorate the outside of the candle holder with acrylic paints. After dusk – light your candle…but always make sure that you surpervise your children around flames!

Paper Towel Rain Makers – Young kids love noise makers such as maracas. Color, paint and decorate paper towel rolls. Cover one end of a paper towel roll with waxed paper and close it off with a rubber band or three. Pour a handful or three of dried beans or split peas in the open end and close the open end the same way as the other. Poke toothpicks through the rolls at different intervals to add a ‘rain shaker’ sound – like the ones the aboriginal people of Australia create.

Paper Towel Tube Holders – Decorate a paper towel tube with paint, markers,  stickers and crayons. Once decorated this is  a colorful carrying tube. Roll up drawings and pictures and put them  inside the tube  to take them to  their teacher, grandparents, friends or relatives.

Pet Rocks – Pet rocks have stood the test of time and any rock can be turned into a pet rock with a lick of paint and some googly eyes. First, find smooth, flat or round rocks. Be sure to clean off any mud or sand and dry completely before starting. Paint with acrylic paints. Decorate faces by using googly eyes, yarn for hair,  glitter and any other bits and pieces you like. I always add freckles on my Pet Rocks!

Enjoy the summer holidays!

Are you fed up with paying top-dollar for the latest piece of over-hyped plastic? Answer “What can we do now Mum?” by making and creating activities from items you already have around the house or that cost nothing at all.

1. Shops. Save all your empty grocery cartons for a week or so and you’ll soon have a well stocked shop that any aspiring grocer would be proud of. Gluing down the flaps makes cereal boxes, jelly packets etc. look unopened. Clothes, shoes, and even toys can all be used as “stock”. Paper bags and real or pretend money add to the fun.
2. Paper balls. When the kids keep arguing suggest that they throw something at each other! Paper balls are easily scrunched up from torn out magazine pages to make “ammunition”. When it’s time to pack up and tidy, stand the waste paper basket in the middle of the room and see who can throw the most in. A rolled up magazine can be fashioned into a good “bat” too.
3. Doctors/Nurses. A roll of white toilet tissue paper makes this game much more fun as Dads, Grans, teddies or dolls are mummified before your eyes. Plastic medicine spoons and cardboard box hospital beds for toy dolls are extra props that make the game last longer.
4. Tubes. Cardboard tubes from kitchen roll or foil make instant telescopes for sailors or pirates, or tunnels to roll marbles through. Babies love to watch things disappear then reappear out of the bottom. Don’t leave them alone with the cardboard tube though as they will probably suck it.
5. Cardboard boxes must be about the best free toys you can get hold of. Push in the ends of large ones in order to make tunnels and caves to crawl through. Draw-on windows and doors with felt tip pens to create a house, add a flag and portholes to fashion a boat or paper plates and a steering wheel for a car.
6. Miniature gardens. The foil trays that (meat and dessert) pies and other prepared foods arrive in make lovely containers for miniature gardens. The children can enjoy hunting around the park or garden for twigs to make trees, moss for a lawn, stones to arrange as a rockery or a waterfall. Keep twigs or stones where you want them with a little blue tack or plasticine. Add toy people or animals and maybe a little water if the container is watertight. This can be a very creative and enjoyable exercise if you have children of very different age groups to entertain. A variation is to use play sand (not builder’s sand – it stains everything yellow) to make a beach scene, maybe adding shells, stones and a blue paper sea.
7. Paper puppets. A picture of anything – a colorful bird, clown’s face, cartoon character, carefully cut out by an adult and stuck to the top of a strip of card about five inches long and one and a half inches wide becomes a very easily made puppet. These give such pleasure and are so easy to make that you will probably end up with dozens of them. Magazine pictures can be stuck on to folded card to make theatre set background and wings.
8. Potato prints. After cutting a potato in half, draw on a simple shape. A triangle, circle or star perhaps. Cut away the rest of the potato, leaving a shape to dip into paint and print on to paper.
9. Skittles. Skittles can be improvised from large plastic soda bottles that once contained cola or lemonade. A little sand or water in the bottom makes them more stable. A good game for learning to count.
10. Dens. Building a den must be one of the most memorable parts of childhood as we all seem to recall the bliss of blankets draped over the airing rack in the garden or over the backs of chairs indoors. Even today’s sophisticated kids seem to find the thought much more exciting than just erecting the shop bought plastic play house. I think the secret is to give structural advice about making the thing stay upright, but let the children do as much as possible themselves. Really large boxes of the type that washing machines and fridges come in can be had for the asking from the big electrical goods retailers and are useful for rooms within dens. Indoors, one of the simplest dens can be made by throwing a large sheet or duvet over a table. Cushions, torches, biscuits and comics or books will all be needed at the housewarming.
11. String. Children find a million uses for string, from tying up toy “baddies” to making a washing line for doll’s clothes. It can be tied up to the legs of chairs to make a jump, it can be dipped into paint and twirled on to paper, plaited, knitted with, made into a parachute or mobile, used as a measuring aid or for learning how to tie shoelaces and bows. It need never linger in the kitchen drawer again.
12. Sewing cards. Stick a picture on to a postcard or draw a simple duck, car or teddy shape. With a bodkin needle push holes around the outline of your design about one inch apart. Using brightly colored wool in the bodkin or a long bootlace, thread in and out of the holes.
13. Make a coloring book by printing free coloring pictures from the Internet. Little boys love coloring images of trucks and cars as well as those of favorite TV characters such as Bob the Builder or Pikachu. At sites like Pokemon Coloring Pages  you’ll find  Pokemon coloring while at Princess Coloring Pages you can print and color  many princess coloring page suitable for little girls.
14. Stilts. You need to do a little drilling for this one. Take two strong tins (coffee or clean paint tins are ideal for this) and drill a hole about one inch from the top on opposite sides of the tin. Insert a length of string and knot securely. Check that the handle is at a comfortable length for the child before knotting the other side. These are always very popular, but never leave young children alone with them especially near stairs or steps.
15. Cafes. Children’s tea sets are the best prop for this game, but a picnic set or microwave cookware is just as good. Giving the waiter/waitress a little notebook and pencil to take orders and making a tall white hat from a cylinder of paper for the chef will add realism. Place dolls and teddies around as well as willing Aunts and Grannies for extra customers.
16. Playdough. Mix together two cups of flour, one cup of salt, one cup of water, one tablespoon of oil and a few drops of food coloring for an easy to make dough that will keep for about three weeks if you wrap it in polythene and keep it in the fridge. All you have to do is make sure that you knead the mixture well. Divide the mixture up first if you have more than one color available.
17. Obstacle course. An obstacle course can turn a rainy day into an adventure. Use whatever you have available. A bench to walk the plank, cushion stepping stones across shark infested seas, through a cardboard box tunnel, up a chair mountain or through a duvet cave. The wilder your imagination the more your children will love it.
18. Easy boats. Recycle your empty / discarded margarine cartons. Use them as boats for the bath or paddling pool. These are so easy that even the very young can help to make them. Cut out sail shapes that are triangular from white or colored paper. Make a little hole at the top and bottom of the sail so that you can poke through a straw to create a mast. Let the child fix this to the bottom of a clean margarine tub with a lump of plasticine or perhaps blue tack. They sail extremely well and will even take a couple of toy people on an exciting cruise.
19. Capes. Nurses, kings, queens, Batman, Superman – they all need capes or cloaks. Luckily they are easy to make by attaching ribbon ties to an oblong of fabric in the color of your child’s favorite caped character. Keep an eye on them though as anything tied around the neck could be dangerous.
20. Leaf art. Collect leaves from your back yard or during a nature walk and draw around them. This is fun for young children and an educational tree identification game for older children. Color in the details with crayons or paints. The leaves could then be stuck on to paper collage style or dipped into paint and then pressed firmly on to paper for a lovely leaf print.
21. Make a puzzle. Stick a favorite picture on to card and allow drying with a heavy book on top. Cut into pieces, how many depending on the age of the child, for an almost instant and personal puzzle

 

Here you have a dozen play-time ‘recipes’ to help keep your children entertained during the school holidays. Learn how to make homemade goop, papier mâché, cinnamon ornaments, soap crayons and much more. When the kids say, “I’m bored!”, print this article and stick it on your fridge – it will be one of your best weapons against the ‘boredom’ gremlins!

Washable window paints
A selection of tempera paints (powdered or premixed)
Clear dishwashing liquid
Mix powdered paints with dishwashing liquid until they resemble house paint. Line the window sashes with masking tape and spread newspaper under the window area to protect flooring. To erase paint or touch up mistakes just wipe paint away with a dry paper towel.

Home-made coloring books

Go online and download a dozen or so coloring book pages and collate them into a coloring book. Put this aside for rainy days or for long car/train/plane journeys. Little boys love images of motorbikes, cars and trucks while little girls prefer coloring book pictures of fairytales and princesses. At sites like Pokemon Coloring Pages you’ll find many free Pokemon coloring

Cinnamon ornaments
3/4-1 cup applesauce
1 (4.12-oz.) bottle of ground cinnamon
Mix the apple sauce with the cinnamon to form a firm / stiff dough. Roll out to 5mm thickness. Cut with cookie cutter and make hole for ribbon using the end of a drinking straw. Carefully put aside to dry for several days – turning occasionally. This recipe makes 12 sweet smelling ornaments/drawer scenters.

Goop

2 packets of cornflour
2 cups of water
Several drops of food colouring

Place newspaper or plastic sheets on your work surface. Mix all these ingredients in a large bowl. Children love goop’s squishy consistency. You can also use coloured or black paper to make goop paintings if you wish. To remove goop from carpets, allow it to dry, then brush vigorously or vacuum. The great thing about goop is that it may be re-used after it has dried out. Crumble it to a powder then restore it to the original consistency by adding water a tablespoonful at a time.

Funny putty
2 tablespoons of white glue
1 tablespoon of liquid starch
Food colouring
Mix glue and desired food colour. Pour starch over top. Swish it about so that all the glue is covered. Let set 5 minutes. Squeeze off extra starch and knead until mixed.

Bubbles
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of glycerine
2 tablespoons of liquid dish soap
Mix water, glycerine and soap. Pour in sugar. Add food dye / coloring if desired.

Papier mâché

1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
1/2 inch strips of newspaper
Balloon/s

In a large bowl, mix flour and water – add more flour is mixture is too sloppy (dripping). Place newspaper strips into mixture, then smooth onto blown up balloon. Cover the balloon completely twice, letting it dry in between layers. Do not cover the balloon’s knot. Dry in a warm place for 2-3 days then hold the knot and pop the balloon with a pin. Paint, glitter and decorate the balloon as is or cut in half so you have a bowl/hat shape to embellish.

Modelling/play dough
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
water
food colouring

Mix the ingredients and knead to a dough consistency. To speed up the drying process, place the dough artwork in the oven on a low heat.

Soap crayons

1 3/4 cups of soap flakes

50 drops food colouring
1/4 cup water

Mix water and soap flakes together. Add food colouring and put mixture into an ice cube tray. When hardened, pop the ‘ice cubes’ out. These soap crayons are fun to write with on the tub and tiles when bathing. If grouting stains, spray with a weak solution of bleach.

Sand dye

Fine sand

Water

Food colouring

Paper cups

Plastic spoons

Fill paper cups half full with sand. Next, add water to cups to completely cover sand. Add food colouring to get the desired colour. Stir with plastic spoon and let set for 15 minutes. Pour off the water, spoon sand onto paper towels and spread the sand out to dry. Use sand to make pictures (spread glue on paper and sprinkle sand on top) or to fill pretty bottles in layers.

Cornstarch Art/Finger-paint

3 tablespoons of cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

2 drops of dishwashing liquid

1 cup boiling water

Food colouring

Combine cornstarch and cold water – stir until smooth. Add dishwashing liquid. Pour boiling water into the bowl and stir until the mixture thickens. Add food colouring and let cool. Use this exactly as you would use store-bought finger paint.

Puffy Paint

Flour

Salt

Water

Tempera paint

Mix equal parts of flour, salt and water in a bowl. Add a small amount of tempera paint to the mixture and pour into a small plastic squeezy bottle. Repeat this over and over to make as many colours as you wish. Squeeze onto heavy paper or cardboard to make designs. Mixture will harden into puffy shapes.

Colourful Salt

1/2 cup salt

5 to 6 drops of food colouring

Add food colouring to salt. Stir well. Cook this in a microwave oven for 1-2 minutes or spread on waxed paper and let salt air dry. Store in an airtight container and use as you would glitter.

The benefits of arts and crafts such as drawing and coloring for kids are frequently argued by child development experts, educators and parents alike… especially so for the real impact they have on child development. However, it is difficult to argue with the top three reasons why we should all encourage the children in our care to take part in arts and crafts.

Creativity – Ask anyone what the first personality characteristic arts and crafts develop in a young child and most will answer ‘creativity’. And they are certainly correct. Everyone has natural talents and skills and it is possible to improve and boost them… even if you only have a little natural talent. Creativity enables your child to try out and benefit from new
ideas, options and alternatives in a future career. Kids learn to do things in new and alternate ways and literally profit from thinking “out of the box”.

Perseverance – Perseverance is perhaps the single most important quality for any successful individual – be they a a business person, sportsman or other professional. In fact, most well-known breakthroughs in life have been attributed to perseverance alone. Arts and crafts improve everyone’s level of perseverance. For instance, children learn to keep trying until they complete the task, be it a sculpture or a coloring in sheet.If something unexpected goes wrong… they are encouraged to persist by trying new ways and means and the pay-off is a wonderful piece of art that they have created.

Concentration – Similar to having perseverance, developing concentration is another quality well-worth having as an individual. Drawing, coloring, sculpting, painting and even doodling will definitely teach your child to focus on one specific task at hand… ignoring other distractions. In short they overall concentration will definitely improve.

Even from a young age children can draw and color – so give them blank pieces of paper or coloring in sheets so that they can scribble away to their hearts content whilst also improving their fine motor skills.

For example little girls enjoy coloring images of princesses and fairies and at sites like Fairy Coloring Pages you’ll find the best fairy coloring book

Little boys on the other hand prefer pictures of cars, trucks and machinery – however, favorite characters such as those from Disney movies are also hits with little boys.

Give your child several opportunities to experience being creative, concentrating and perservering through the fun medium of arts and crafts. Provide them with materials and resources and the occasional canvas so that they can be creative and feel pride in what they create.

 

Fed up with forking out for the latest piece of over-hyped plastic? Answer “What can we do now Mum?” by making and creating activities from items you already have around the house or that cost nothing at all.

1.    Shops. Save all your empty grocery cartons for a week or so and you’ll soon have a shop any aspiring grocer would be proud of. Gluing down the flaps makes cereal boxes, jelly packets etc. look unopened. Clothes, shoes, and toys can all be used as “stock”. Paper bags and real or play money add to the fun.

2.    Paper balls. When the kids keep arguing suggest that they throw something at each other! Paper balls are great ‘ammunition’ – and easily scrunched up from torn out magazine pages. When it’s time to tidy up, stand the waste paper basket in the middle of the room and see who can throw the most in. A rolled up magazine makes a good “bat” too.

3.    Doctors/Nurses. A roll of white toilet tissue makes this game much more fun as Dads, Grans, teddies or dolls are mummified before your eyes. Plastic medicine spoons and cardboard box hospital beds for toys are extra props that make the game last longer.

4.    Tubes. Cardboard tubes from kitchen roll or foil make instant telescopes for sailors or pirates, or tunnels to roll marbles through. Babies love to watch things disappear then reappear out of the bottom. Don’t leave them alone with the cardboard tube though as they will probably suck it.

5.    Cardboard boxes must be about the best free toys you can get hold of. Push in the ends of large ones to make tunnels and caves to crawl through. Draw on windows and doors with felt tip pens to make a house, add a flag and portholes for a boat or paper plates and a steering wheel for a car.

6.   Make a coloring book for your child by printing free coloring pictures from the Internet. Little boys love coloring pictures of cars and trucks as well as those of favorite characters such as Bob the Builder or Pikachu. At sites like Pokemon Coloring Pages  you’ll find  printable coloring pages  while at Princess Coloring Pages you can print and color  many coloring pages suitable for little girls.

7.    Miniature gardens. The foil trays that pies and prepared foods arrive in make lovely containers for miniature gardens. The children can enjoy hunting around the park or garden for twigs to make trees, moss for a lawn, stones to arrange as a rockery or a waterfall. Keep twigs or stones where you want them with a little blue tack or plasticine. Add toy people or animals and maybe a little water if the container is watertight. This can be a very creative and enjoyable exercise if you have children of very different age groups to entertain. A variation is to use play sand (not builder’s sand – because it stains everything yellow) to make a beach scene, maybe adding shells, stones and a blue paper sea.

8.    Paper puppets. A picture of anything – colorful bird, clown’s face, animal or cartoon character, carefully cut out by an adult and stuck to the top of a strip of card about five inches long and one and a half inches wide becomes a very easily made puppet. These give such pleasure and are so easy to make that you will probably end up with dozens of them. Magazine pictures can be stuck on to folded card to make theatre set background and wings.

9.    Potato prints. After cutting a potato in half, draw on a simple shape. A triangle, circle or star perhaps. Cut away the rest of the potato, leaving a shape to dip into paint and print on to paper.

10.    Skittles. Skittles can be improvised from large plastic cola or lemonade bottles. A little sand or water in the bottom makes them more stable. A good game for learning to count.

Bouns idea : Dens. Building a den must be one of the most memorable parts of childhood as we all seem to recall the bliss of blankets draped over the airing rack in the garden or over the backs of chairs indoors. Even today’s sophisticated kids seem to find the thought much more exciting than just erecting the shop bought plastic play house. I think the secret is to give structural advice about making the thing stay upright, but let the children do as much as possible themselves. Really large boxes of the type that washing machines and fridges come in can be had for the asking from the big electrical goods retailers and are useful for rooms within dens. Indoors, one of the simplest dens can be made by throwing a large sheet or duvet over a table. Cushions, torches, biscuits and comics or books will all be needed at the housewarming.

Here are a dozen play-time ‘recipes’ to help keep your children entertained this summer.  Learn how to make homespun goop, papier mâché, cinnamon ornaments, soap crayons and much more. Pull out this article and stick it to your fridge – it will be one of your best weapons against the ‘boredom’ gremlins!

Washable window paints
A selection of tempera paints (powdered or premixed)
Clear dishwashing liquid
Mix powdered paints with dishwashing liquid until they resemble house paint. Line the window sashes with masking tape and spread newspaper under the window area to protect flooring. To erase paint or touch up mistakes just wipe paint away with a dry paper towel.

Home-made coloring books

Go online and download a dozen or so coloring book pages and collate them into a coloring book. Put this aside for rainy days or for long car/train/plane journeys. Little boys love images of cars and trucks while little girls prefer coloring book pictures of fairytales and princesses. At sites like Princess Coloring Pages you’ll find many princess coloring book pages

Cinnamon ornaments
3/4-1 cup applesauce
1 (4.12-oz.) bottle of ground cinnamon
Mix applesauce with cinnamon to form a stiff dough. Roll out to 5mm thickness. Cut with cookie cutter and make hole for ribbon using the end of a drinking straw. Carefully put aside to dry for several days – turning occasionally. This recipe makes 12 sweet smelling ornaments/drawer scenters.

Goop

2 packets of cornflour
2 cups of water
Several drops of food colouring

Place newspaper or plastic sheets on your work surface. Mix all these ingredients in a large bowl. Children love goop’s squishy consistency. You can also use coloured or black paper to make goop paintings if you wish. To remove goop from carpets, allow it to dry, then brush vigorously or vacuum. The great thing about goop is that it may be re-used after it has dried out. Crumble it into a powder then restore it to its original consistency by adding water a tablespoonful at a time.

Funny putty
2 tablespoons of white glue
1 tablespoon of liquid starch
Food colouring
Mix glue together with the desired food colour. Pour starch over top. Swish so that all the glue is covered. Let set 5 minutes. Squeeze off extra starch and knead until mixed.

Bubbles
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of glycerine
2 tablespoons of liquid dish soap
Mix water, glycerine and soap. Pour in sugar. Add food colouring if desired.

Papier mâché

1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
1/2 inch strips of newspaper
Balloon/s

In a large bowl, mix flour and water – add more flour is mixture is too sloppy (dripping). Place newspaper strips into mixture, then smooth onto blown up balloon. Cover the balloon completely twice, letting it dry in between layers. Do not cover the balloon’s knot. Dry in a warm place for 2-3 days then hold the knot and pop the balloon with a pin. Paint, glitter and decorate the balloon as is or cut in half so you have a bowl/hat shape to embellish.

Modelling/play dough
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
water
food colouring

Mix the ingredients and knead to a dough consistency. To speed up the drying process, place the dough artwork in the oven on a low heat.

Soap crayons

1 3/4 cups of soap flakes

50 drops food colouring
1/4 cup water

Mix water and soap flakes together. Add food colouring and put mixture into an ice cube tray. When hardened, pop the ‘ice cubes’ out. These soap crayons are fun to write with on the tub and tiles when bathing. If grouting stains, spray with a weak solution of bleach.

Sand dye

Fine sand

Water

Food colouring

Paper cups

Plastic spoons

Fill paper cups half full with sand. Next, add water to cups to completely cover sand. Add food colouring until you get the desired colour. Stir with plastic spoon and let set for 15 minutes. Pour off water, spoon sand onto paper towels and spread the sand out to dry. Use sand to make pictures (spread glue on paper and sprinkle sand on top) or to fill pretty bottles in layers.

Cornstarch Art/Finger-paint

3 tablespoons of cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

2 drops of dishwashing liquid

1 cup boiling water

Food colouring

Combine cornstarch and cold water – stir until smooth. Add dishwashing liquid. Pour boiling water into the bowl and stir until the mixture thickens. Add food colouring and let cool. Use as you would finger paint.

Puffy Paint

Flour

Salt

Water

Tempera paint

Mix equal parts of flour, salt and water in a bowl. Add a small amount of tempera paint to the mixture and pour into a small plastic squeezy bottle. Repeat the procedure making as many colours as you wish. Squeeze onto heavy paper or cardboard to make designs. Mixture will harden into puffy shapes.

Colourful Salt

1/2 cup salt

5 to 6 drops of food colouring

Add food colouring to salt. Stir well. Cook this in a microwave oven for 1-2 minutes or spread on waxed paper and let salt air dry. Store in an airtight container and use as you would glitter.

The merits of arts and crafts such as drawing and coloring  for kids are regularly argued by child development experts, educators and parents alike… especially so for the real impact they have on child development. However, it is difficult to argue with the top three reasons why we should all encourage the children in our care to  take part in arts and crafts.

Creativity – Ask anyone what the first personality characteristic arts and crafts develop in a young child and most will answer ‘creativity’. And they are certainly correct.  Everyone has natural talents and skills and it is possible to improve and boost them… even if you only have a little natural talent. Creativity enables your child to try out and profit from new
ideas, options and alternatives in any future career. Kids learn to do things in new and alternate ways and literally profit from thinking “out of the box”.

Perseverance -  Perseverance is  perhaps the single most important quality for any successful business person, sportsman, professional or  individual.  In fact, most well-known breakthroughs in life have been attributed to perseverance alone. Arts and crafts improve everyone’s level of perseverance.For instance, children learn to keep trying until they accomplish the task, be it a sculpture or a coloring in sheet. If something goes wrong… they are encouraged to perservere by trying different ways and means and the outcome is a wonderful piece of art that they have created.

Concentration – Akin to having perseverance, developing concentration is another quality well-worth having as an individual. Drawing, coloring, sculpting, painting and even doodling will definitely teach your child to focus on one  specific task at hand… ignoring other distractions. In short they overall concentration will definitely improve.

Even from a young age children can draw and color – so give them blank pieces of paper or coloring in sheets so that they can scribble away  to their hearts content whilst also improving their fine motor skills.

For example little girls  enjoy coloring images of princesses and fairies and at sites like Fairy Coloring Pages you’ll find the best Tinkerbell coloring pages

  Little boys on the other hand tend to prefer images of cars, trucks and machinery – however, favorite characters such as those from Disney movies  are also hits with little boys.

Give your child many opportunities to experience being creative, concentrating and perservering through the fun medium of arts and crafts. Provide them with materials and resources and the occasional canvas so that they can  be creative and feel pride in what they create.