It's Snowing!

All these crafts have been turning our house into a winter wonderland and the boys have been loving it. Even though we live somewhere that gets a decent amount of snow and there is even some on the ground, we have the worst air quality in the nation. It is not advisable to go outside. It has been this way for awhile, and will probably stay this way for anotherwhile (I just made that word up).

So, to make winter more wonderlandish (instead of smoggish) we made it snow inside the house. We used cotton balls again and it was really simple. You can either just do white, but I had this idea to make pretty light blue and purple snowflakes mixed with the white. It didn't work out exactly like I imagined, but it was still fun to do.

In a small container place some water and food coloring and mix it up.
Maybe if I had put some vinegar in there as well the colors would have stayed better. Anyway. Dip the cotton balls into the colored water, gently squeeze, and place on a paper towel covered plate. It will look like this:
I put the plate on a heater vent overnight and this is what they looked like the next morning:
Again, not exactly like I had imagine, but no one around here minded. Using a long sewing needle and some thread we strung them up and taped them to the ceiling. String some up in groups of 3, 4, or 5 to vary the hanging length. Try to ignore the really ugly chandelier hanging in the middle.

Day 2 - Painting Snowmen

These wooden snowmen were one of my craft store clearance finds (I think around .60 a piece). They're normally not that expensive and craft stores carry a variety of shapes/styles all year round. It's not a very crafty craft on my part, but my boys love it and it keeps them entertained for about an hour. A whole hour. Of quiet painting. Did I mention the quiet?
Have you ever given your child a palette full of paint? If not, you must. Tape down some paper towels and let them have at it. Most of the fun in painting these things usually ends up in mixing the paint and creating new colors. These plastic palettes are usually around $1.
This guy could mix colors for hours. Some of the colors, according to him, that he made this time around were 'swamp green' and 'caramel brown.' He isn't just topless for painting. If you read my blog on a regular basis you'll notice he is shirtless in most pictures. He prefers it that way.
Here is Schooler's finished product:
After they dried I glued magnets to the back and we hung them on the fridge. Anyone else out there doing winter crafts with their kids? Come back tomorrow, I will have day 3 of winter crafts.

WinterWonderland, Day 1

For the next week or so the weather forecast is 30 degrees with smog/haze. Fantastic. Horrible for playing outside, but great for the winter unit we are doing in school right now. My boys love doing crafts and it is a great way to break up the day when both you and your kids are starting to go a little crazy being cooped up in the house.

If you are a sucker for sales then do not go to Joann or Michael's right now. You will go home will way too much stuff. I know this from personal experience. In my opinion Michael's had a way better selection of Christmas items on sale (80% off). But Christmas items were not what I was after. It works in my favor that even though winter has just begun really, all winter/snow related crafts go on sale after Christmas as well. Now is the time to stock up if you too are cooped up.

So today begins a flurry of winter related crafts for you and your tots. The first is a classic, and despite all my ramblings about craft store sales, it requires no purchases. That's right, it is the cotton ball snowman.
I did this last year too and my boys love it. All you need is a piece of paper, glue, and a bag of cotton balls. What I do is lightly draw the outline of a snowman so you will have a guide to follow as you glue. Also, jumbo cotton balls may be too big (like mine) so you can easily tear them in half and roll gently in your hand to reform into ball form.
Once all the cotton balls are glued on, let your tot draw on the stick arms, and cut the nose and hat out of construction paper. Simple and classic. This is a great craft, even for toddlers. Mom just needs to pipe the glue onto the snowman and then let your little one stick on the cotton balls.
Please ignore the messy hair and shirtlessness. I'm sure I was still wearing my pajamas. You would get lazy too if you homeschooled :)