Crab Felt Finger Puppets

Just clawin' over to wish you a 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Aaaarrgghh! Spider!

Going to add Aaaarrgghh!  Spider!, by Lydia Monks,  to the spider puppets page but am drawing it to your  attention here first.  What a fun story!  A spider wants to become a family pet but despite her best attempts to show them how cool she is, it is soon apparent that no one in the family appreciates her.  So, the spider finally stays outside.  And that's when she captivates them! Her beautiful webs make everyone think twice about her!  You will think twice, two, because the page is sparkly with silver glitter webs... I am a sucker for touchy-feely books!  The display leads the family to decide she'd make a great pet afterall... until one day when she invites in some of her friends.... Aaaarrgghh, Spider!

Just maybe though, this story is especially dear to my heart because it reminds me of something similar!  When we were in the process of moving to Virginia, a certain little boy fell in love with "crack spider"... a little spider that lived in the crack in the carpet by the wall edge.  Dear boy did not want to move because he was afraid for crack spider and what might become of him.  Luckily for me, crack spider disappeared before we had to capture him and take him with us. :)

Spotty Silly Spring Smiley Slimey Snails

These little cuties deliver a lot of cuteness and charm from a simple and easy design. Only three pieces mean you can whip out a class size group of these in no time.  With the range of printed felt out there, you can make quite a statement in shell design!  

Have your kids add a bow, bonnet, or bling for a fancier design, perhaps to go with Ordinary Oscar, an entertaining snail story by Laura Adkins and Sam Hearn.  Oscar Slimeglider is tired of being like all the other snails: dull, drab, and BORING!  On his quest to go beyond the ordinary, he learns that there are good reasons for snails to look ordinary on the outside... but that doesn't mean he can't be EXTRAordinary on the inside...

Our family snail story favorite, with artwork sure to appeal to Olive the Other Reindeer fans, is Gluey, a Small Snail Tale, by Vivan Walsh and J. Otto Seibold. This is one of those feel-good stories that sticks with you long after you read it, one that you can use to start many different "character" conversations with kids.  Celerina, a rabbit, moves into a house that is already occupied, but she doesn't realize it. Gluey the snail lives there, and keeps the place in shape like all good carpenter snails do. When things she breaks start to "fix themselves", she starts to think her house is magic... She doesn't realize it is Gluey, who is so small and has such a small voice she doesn't even hear him.  You are sure to enjoy this wonderful tale of mistaking someone's character, making a mess, then making it right again...

Free Snail Felt Finger Puppet Pattern

Ladybug Ribbon Topiary

Ribbony goodness! 


I blame Courtney over at  A Diamond in the Stuff for getting me hooked on these ribbon topiaries.  I made one for Independence day and now I can't stop... Here's a summer ladybug version that has to be removed because Halloween is next!  I will store this with summer things and begin on a new foam ball soon.  I have the ribbon ready to go, and even some extra to make one for Mom!

The best part of this project is that it is so simple, yet satisfying. The feel and look of different ribbon types is addictive.  I can sit with my boys while they are snacking and not join in because my fingers are busy!  I can bring a roll of ribbon to soccer practice in my purse and snip while I'm watching!

For this easy project you need a foam ball (mine was 5", from the floral section of the craft store), a pot (mine was from Goodwill), a styrofoam block to stick inside the pot (stabilize dowel), decorative moss to cover the styrofoam, a wooden dowel (mine was 3/8"), straight pins, and bunches of ribbon in various sizes and textures cut up in 4" (10cm) pieces (5 or 6 rolls). The different textures really add to the project. Thicker ones stick up better and help support the satiny ones.   Watch the color on the INSIDE of your ribbon though. The ladybug one I used was white on the inside, which made the topiary look less full, like you could still see the white ball underneath.

All you do is pin loops of ribbon into the ball, one at a time, until the ball is covered. Twist the loops so they overlap in different directions.  A colorful burst of fun! 

Ode to Magicada: A Cicada Craft

We had so much fun observing the periodical cicadas that emerged in our area this spring that we just had to do something crafty about it to keep our memories alive.  So, we decorated a rectangular canvas to look like a tree trunk and glued on some cicada shapes carved from corks! It took us a month to make this... divided into many little bitty projects... finally on our wall.  It was worth it though. Just looking at it reminds us of the wonder these little enchanting creatures inspired.

Here's what we saw LOTS of: Cicadas!  Climbing up trees!  We partied while they molted then enjoyed hearing them sing for a month. 

I cut some wine corks in half and crudely carved them into cicada shapes.  I had painting helpers waiting, so I couldn't spend much time on perfection!  My painters mixed up a blackish brown body color, then I added dots of red fabric paint to make the 3D eyes.



The wings were cut from a clear plastic strawberry container. (If anyone wants a template, let me know).  I bent the wings a bit to give them a rounded look.  We then used gold paint pens to add wing veins. 

My boys protested at first that we were only making 2 wings (Mom, they have FOUR) but then they tired of wing decorating and thought two were fine...

I hot-glued the wings to the bodies.  Cute, but now what would we do with them?

We did some crayon rubbings of tree bark one morning.  At this point, the kids didn't know what I was up to.  ("We did this at preschool, Mom." But we still went through half a dozen sheets of paper!)  I brought the rubbings out when it came for the next step to help them visualize the project.

The canvas came from a craft store.  After looking at our crayon rubbings, the kids cut thin, wavy strips of black fabric and helped me arrange them on the canvas.  I glued them on as fast as they cut, until we had a zebra-looking tree trunk and the kids lost interest in cutting... falling on the floor in a wrestling match.   Boys!

The kids painted over the whole canvas in shades of black, brown and gray.  They enjoyed blending the colors and remembering who cut which stripe in the process...

Here is the final painted tree trunk.  The fabric gives a 3D bark-like texture.

Then, a little hot glue to add the crawling cicadas.... Ta da!  Our masterpiece!



I've crawled over here to link up:

Brood X1X Cicadas

On May 4, 2011, we had the fortune of encountering a natural phenomenon like nothing we'd seen in the West... periodical (Magicada) cicadas, and lots of them! 

I was walking the dog when I first saw them.  Actually, I saw a squirrel eating something and I couldn't figure out what.  I shooed him away, and he dropped his prize.  A half eaten bug?  When I looked around, I found DOZENS of half eaten bugs in a pile, and dozens and dozens and dozens more whole ones when I really started looking. Especially on sunny tree trunks and posts. 

That's all it took!  I grabbed my kids straight off the school bus to show them my discovery.  Being curious nature nuts at heart, we just couldn't get enough!  We spent the next month observing, playing with, rescuing, and rooting for brood X1X, our local periodical cicadas!   

So for our friends out west, here's what you might see if you come visit in 2024 (13 year cycle)...

The ground is pierced with hundreds of soda-straw width holes where the cicada nymphs emerge. 

They've spent the past 11 years under ground sucking on sap from tree roots, coming out just the last 4- 6 weeks to mate. The best time to see them emerge is at night. 

Watching for emerging nymphs is not an activity for the weak of heart though, as the nymphs will climb up anything or any one.

Once a secure place is found, they molt into adult form (white at first, then quickly darken as their exoskeletons harden, like first photo above).

Their baby skin, or sheds (nymph exoskeletons) are left behind on shrubs, posts, tree trunks, etc.

We decided we might as well have a little party.  Got the neighbor kids, a bucket, some flashlights and some treats.  Whoo-hoo, only once every 11 years!

 Let's make some memories!

Of course the real cicada party was high up in the trees. Check out the highway going up!

Down by us humans, the empty  "sheds" left behind by the nymphs piled up, history being formed right while we watched...  Totally amazing!

We thoroughly enjoyed hearing the adults call from their trees.  The boys "played" with them both before and after school, teaching everyone about their life cycle and how to tell males from females, having catching and flying contests, you name it. 

Eventually, we caught some of the adults in "the act."  But only for a moment.  We gave them back their space and wished them luck for the next 13 years!

Now their dead bodies are strewn among the leaf litter.  We see the next generation in the trees.  See the brown patches of leaves? that's called "flagging."  Most of the trees around us don't show that much flagging, the one in the photo was exceptional.  It sounds like Magicada can be a real nuisance in other parts of the country, however.

Females deposit their eggs in small diameter, peripheral branches, which eventually drop to the ground, allowing the newly hatched nymphs to escape into the ground.

Of course we now have the regular, annual cicadas around, but they just aren't the same. Being a part of the Magicada emergence was truly a magical phenomenon...



Links to Great cicada information


Magicada.org for info on cicada broods and emergence
This one includes info, great photos (male vs. female) and RECIPES, University of Cincinatti -Clermont College cicada page
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology cicada page
Massachusetts Cicada page, with info on mapping Williamsburg's cicadas!
Cicada Mania has it all, info, video clips, and merchandize!

Links to Cicada Craft ideas:

Clever singing Cicada nature craft from a paper tube at 5 Orange Potatoes
http://www.5orangepotatoes.com/blog/2009/09/03/singing-cicadas-craft/
Cicada origami printable from Lake County Forest Preserves, Illinois

Ants! Ants!

These little pests may actually be welcome guests at the summer picnic!

Fun to make for party favors or just because!  Great with insect, garden, or Earth Day themes, too!

Tips:

Use fabric paint to add eyes and smile. 

Use metallic, sparkly cordage for legs and antennae.

Cut 3 lengths of cord that extend through body to other side to get 6 legs when sewn together.  Adhere cordage to back of ant's body with a bit of glue prior to sewing to help hold legs in place.

Ant Felt Finger Puppet Pattern

Our favorite ant story stars leaf cutter ants and a grouchy cockroach.  It takes a master story teller for us to develop empathy for such creatures, and Janell Cannon (Stellaluna) is just the one in her tale of Crickwing.  After being picked on by other animals, Crickwing (so named because an injury twisted his wing) turns to pass the injustice on to creatures smaller than himself.  However, the leaf cutter ants turn out to be tougher than he counted on as they tie him up as an offering to army ants!  In the end, the leaf cutters release him at great risk to themselves, thinking that even bullies don't deserve that sort of treatment.  Crickwing returns their kindness and helps the ants defend themselves in a grand way.  A gorgeously illustrated tale that reminds us of the power of compassion!   

Germs! Biohazard!

These friendly guys are too cute to cause trouble... They were GERMS for our Mad Science party, but could be monsters for halloween or other party where tiny mischeivious beings are required (police? super hero?).  Have fun and let me know how you use them! 

 

Free Germ Finger Puppet Pattern



I spread the GERMS here:

Make a Flying Falcon- Paper Tube Craft and Game

Here's how to make the falcons we used in the falcon game at our knight party.

1)  Paint a paper tube gray (4.25 inches).
2)  Print out template and trace wings, head and tail onto gray paper
3)  Glue on tail and head using tacky glue. Use a rubberband to hold it in place while it dries.
4)  Glue wings on back and let dry.
5)  Trace feet template onto heavy tagboard, cut out, and paint yellow.
6)  Cut slit in bottom of tube that is slightly narrower than top of feet (about 1.25 inches).  Notch both sides of feet piece where indicated and bend in to insert into tube.  Unfold when feet are in the right place/tube is inside the notch. 
7) Reinforce feet/tube connection with tacky glue or hot glue.
8)  Hot glue magnets onto bottom of falcon feet.
9)  Paint additional features on falcon (beak, eyes, tail stripe, etc.)
10)  Bend/curl beak a little to give it a predator's curve.

Falcon Template For Paper Tube Craft and Activity

Valentine Love Bug Flyer Game or Craft

Craft cute love bugs as decorations for your Valentine's Day celebration!  All you need is a paper tube (toilet paper or sections of paper towel tube), colored paper, glue, paint, paper, scissors, and/or marking pens to decorate. 

I've posted a template below for easy use, so creating these with your little ones will be a snap.

Valentine Celebration Hint:  Put a small prize inside the tube and hang the love bug where he/she is sure to see it on Valentine's Day.  Or, insert a bamboo stick into the bug, hide a prize (love note, or clues leading to a prize) inside, and place inside a vase. 

Creation Hints:  Use a Q-tip to paint small dots. Works especially well for eyes... add black pupils with Sharpie after paint dries.

Valentine's Game:  Love Bug Delivery!

You'll need one love bug flyer and a 12 foot (or so) length of string per two players. 

1)  Thread the string through the tube on the love bug and have each player hold one end of the string. 

2)  Have the players stand far apart so the rope is taut. 

3)  Have one player raise their string holding hand high and the other player hold their string holding hand near the floor.

4)  Slide the love bug to the upper end of the string and let go!  Gravity will "fly" it down the string towards the other player.

5)  Players take turns raising/lowering their string ends to fly the bugs between players (bug will fly backwards in one direction)

6)  Once players get the hang of flying, add a small treat to the cardboard tube and see if they can deliver it to the other player without dropping it. 

Valentine Love Bug Flyer

Knight Party Game: Clean the Castle!

Over the fall, our castle became dirty... we'd take care of the spider webs later with our bow and arrows... But meanwhile, there were large centipedes taking over the walls...

Knights to the rescue!

It was their job to remove the centipedes, which they were happy to do, because they were gummy candy.

The creatures were hung by string from the ceiling.  The knights had to keep their hands behind their backs and use just their mouths to remove the centipedes. 

Much laughter and joy ensued from this simple party game!  It was a silly way to start the party!

Setting the stage for the next game... I asked, "would their be another way for knights to clear insects from the kingdom?"  The next game would be flying the falcons...