Felt Christmas Tree

          Christmas Tree 
 
         Manipulative activities for youngsters is so very important.    I saw a stuffed felt Christmas tree on Pinterest and was intrigued.  It looked like something I could make for my grandchildren and nephews. 
             
           Now is a great time to get started on an activity for you little ones for the Christmas season. 

           I made a form from cardboard which is about two feet tall.  The large triangle shapes were glued together using a hot glue gun.   I used tacky glue to fasten the felt to the cardboard tree.    Then the tree form was filled with styro-foam packing peanuts to keep it light yet firm.       Finally, the felt bottom of the tree shape  was stitched in place to keep the tree together. 
           
          An old Advent calendar with little felt ornaments happened to be in my basement. These felt ornaments hung on to the felt of the tree much like a felt board.  The ornaments were the perfect size for little fingers and my tree.

           My granddaughter is 18 months old.   As you can see, she spend a lot of time arranging and rearranging the ornaments on her little tree. 

               We all need those quiet moments to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas, even the very small child.

  So start working on manipulatives for the young ones in your family.   You will not regret it.

           I have linked up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for the Five for Friday Weekly Linky Party.     Lots of great ideas for the new year and winter months.
  www.doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com 

      Merry Christmas to all 

and to all 

a Good Night!

 

 

Please leave a comment if you have a minute. I'd love to hear from you.

Beti

Felt Nativity with Finger Puppets

Nativity Play Scene
and Finger Puppets

     It is never too early to start planning for Christmas!

      I decided to make felt Nativity scenes for my granddaughters to play with.   They needed something unbreakable and quiet to interact with for a quiet play activity.   The Bible story of Mary and Joseph coming to a simple stable for the birth of Jesus was the perfect setting for this felt play set.    Nothing too fancy, just the basics.

      Making the finger puppets a was  the beginning of the project.   Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus were the first to be made.    Two of each were stitched from small scraps of felt and embroidery floss.     Mary is about 3 1/4 inches tall and Joseph is about 3 3/4 inches. Each is about 1 3/4 inches wide.

       A small brown manger with hay has a pocket for the Baby Jesus to sleep peacefully. The manger is attached to a pocket in the stable.   With this pocket,  Mary and Joseph are able stand in front of or behind the manger to watch over their new born child.

     The Three Kings are different heights in the same range as Mary and Joseph.  They are each carrying a different shiny gift.   As I said before,  nothing fancy but durable for many hours of play by little ones.

        This Nativity scene would not be complete without a donkey.    Mary rode on  the donkey's back on the long journey to Bethlehem.   We all remember the "Little Drummer Boy" song during the Christmas holidays.      A little drummer boy finger puppet was added so the girls could sing a song when they play.

          A smiling angel is always around to protect and watch over the Christ Child.   You can see the angel standing behind the manger.    The angel is able to watch over the Holy Family in a small pocket near the star on the top of the stable.    The star will guide the Three Kings or Wise men to see the New Born King.



        The play scene has plastic canvas in between the inside and outside.   This plastic sheet gives the felt strength and helps the Nativity play scene to stand up on its own.   Felt pockets are secured to the insides of each panel.    The pockets are designed to hold the finger puppets in place when the scene is closed after play. 

          As you can see, the " tan colored ground" folds up into the play scene.    The two sides fold in and are secured with velcro.    A handle made of green grow grain ribbon was stitched on so that this play set can be easily carried by a young child.

           I hope this Nativity Play Scene will give you the incentive to make something like this for a young child that you know and love. 

    

Happy Sewing!

Beti

North Pole Finger Puppets

Finger Puppets

       My latest finger puppet collection centers around the Arctic regions of our world.  Brrr!    These are made of small pieces of felt stitched with embroidery floss so they are warm and cozy little friends.

            A cute white seal pup and polar bear are found in the cold arctic.    The seal pup has a worried look on his face sitting next to the polar bear,  though I don't think the bear will bother him.   The polar bear is very friendly.

        I added a snowman just for some added fun.  We know how Frosty likes to dance and play in the snowy and cold weather.   Of course Frosty has to have a bright red scarf around his neck to keep away those cold winter winds. 

         Lastly, a penguin was added to the group of felt friends.    I know penguins don't live at the North Pole,  but this one begged me to include him with the other cold weather friends.    So, please explain to your little ones that penguins live at the South Pole not the North Pole.

         I find these finger puppets great for dramatic play or a quiet time activity for preschoolers.    Songs  can be incorporated with finger puppets easily.   They can be taken in the car or on an airplane trip to keep a child occupied for a period of time.    Hide and seek is easily adapted with finger puppets in the confined space of a car seat.    The child can close their eyes and the parent could hide one or all of the finger puppets to find.

      

        The little boxes are made from Altoid tins.     I stitched a small piece of North Pole flannel fabric, that I found at JoAnns, to a piece of felt.     The felt was then glued to the top of the tin  with tacky glue.      All four little chilly friends fit perfectly into the tin for safe keeping.

          I made two sets, one for each of my granddaughters.     They are slightly different so there is no confusion when clean up time comes around.  

       You can view other finger puppets ( Halloween collection,  Baby Sharks,  Moose finger puppets,  and Animal Bed Tins) in previous posts if you are interested. 

       Enjoy the wonderful day! 

Beti 

Hello Mr. Gecko

Hello, Mr. Gecko!

        Spending time in Arizona means you will see a different variety of animals from the assortment we have in Michigan.    One of my granddaughter's favorite pass times is looking for geckos.      Baby geckos, Dada geckos, Mamma geckos, large and small, are so much fun to look for in the yard.     I should say, on the outside walls of the house.     These little guys are so very fast, and they blend into their environment so well.   So looking for them is a challenge.    But they like to hang out there in the hot Arizona sun and sun themselves.

      I have to say that I'm not sure that "gecko" is the correct term for this little reptile, but that is what my granddaughter calls them.    If you know the correct name for this little guy, please feel free to leave me a comment.
   

      Well, one afternoon while cleaning up after lunch, Mr. Gecko decided to come into the house and walk around on the kitchen window sill.     He startled me to say the least.  Then I had to figure out how to catch the little guy and get him back outside where he belonged.       He was hanging out on the windowsill between the blinds and the window behind the kitchen sink.
  
     First,  I had to clear all the dishes, cups, etc. from in and around the sink.    I needed to have easy access when trying to catch a very, very fast gecko.   Then what am I to use to trap him?    I had a good size plastic bag from grapes.   You know the kind with the little holes in the sides.  

    Mr. Gecko needed to be cornered so I could carefully get him to run into the bag.   As you can see in the picture, he was near the side of the window.    Lucky, he did run into the bag without me making a lot of noise.    By the way, I was doing this while my granddaughter was taking an afternoon nap in her crib.   Her bedroom is adjacent to the kitchen.

    So now what do you do with a trapped gecko?     Of course I could not just let him go.  My granddaughter would have been terribly disappointed not to see the gecko close up.

      You put the gecko into a bucket for safe keeping, of course!

       Now he was only in the bucket for about an hour before my granddaughter woke up from he nap.    Needless to say, she was very excited to see Mr. Gecko.
We had a good time pointing and talking  to him.
    
         A few weeks earlier by accident another gecko fell off the side of the house and into this same bucket.    He tried to jump out.       As you can imagine, this scared my daughter and granddaughter.     When she sees a gecko, she shakes her finger and says, "No, No, Mr. Gecko, don't scare us!"

     We placed the bucket on its side so Mr. Gecko could  leave when he was ready.     I didn't want him jumping up at us this time.     Eventually, Mr. Gecko went on his merry way. 
  
         This is one of Mr. Gecko's friends.      He is much darker in color than the other gecko.      This one is climbing down the outside of the house.

       We are visiting our family in Florida now.   What do you know?  There are geckos here, too!   Well that's all for today.    No geckos in Michigan.      Enjoy the  weather where ever you live no matter what time of the year.

Please leave a comment if you find the time.  I'd love to hear from you.

Beti

Cloth Dinosaur Book

Dinosaurs

            I was shopping at JoAnn Fabrics the other day an found a flannel fabric with colorful dinosaurs.  This would be perfect for soft cloth  dinosaur books for my wonderful young grandsons.  3/4 of a yard was all that I purchased.

             Please excuse the picture of the fabric being oriented vertically instead of horizontally.  But  I'm sure you can see how cute and colorful these dinosaurs are.

         Bright orange stegasaurus, lime green triserratops,  sky blue brontosaurus, along with grey and tan T-rex are all there roaming around cactus plants.  You can almost hear these dinosaurs ROAR!

           The different dinosaurs were cute apart and laid out on the base navy blue material. I just did a rough cutting to begin with. The two blue dinos will eventually be on the last page of the book.  The orange dino will be on the cover of the book.

     As for the three dinos in the following picture , these will be located in the inside of the finished book.  This picture shows the continuation of the blue fabric.  It is one long piece of blue material.

        Next, the dinos were sewn with a zig zag stitch to the blue base fabric.  The excess is trimmed close to the stitches. If you look closely, you can see a fold next to the blue dinosaur on the right. There is also a fold in the blue fabric to the right of the Orange dino.  This is where the book will be folded when finished.

       I love the way these three are following each other.
No fierce, fighting  in this book!  Only friendly reptiles on parade.

       This is what the completed cover looks like.  The oval at the top is a flap with Velcro.  The flap closes the book securely.

         Look who is hiding in a secret pocket!  There is a set of dinosaurs that match all the dinos in the book.   Each dinosaur is backed with a matching colored felt.  The flap helps all these friends stay safe.

       Can your little one match the colorful dinosaurs?

      All the dinosaurs can roam around or get together with their new friends.  Children can use the soft cloth dinosaurs  in their imaginative and creative play.

       Make a cloth book for a young child in your life. It is very easy and fun. Just take a walk down the fabric aisles at JoAnn Fabrics.  I' m sure you will find some design that you like.

 Happy Sewing!

Beti

Halloween Finger Puppets

Halloween  

Finger Puppets
Boo!

       

         Everyone enjoys the Fall season and the anticipation of Halloween.
Finger puppets are a good activity for little ones to begin to interact with some Halloween characters. It's never too early the start thinking about Halloween especially if you are making something for your little ones.

     I like to use Altiod tins as a finger puppet to keep my finger puppets safe and sound in their "little houses" after playtime has ended.  The young child can always find their finger puppets when they are placed into their little house.
These have a simple pumpkin on the top to identify the correct container.

        A little orange jack-o-lantern with a big smile is always around during Halloween.  Black bats are a favorite at this time of year, but with a friendly little face.  Ghosts that say "Boo!" can't be left out of this group. Finally a cute little brown owl that says, "Whoo! " rounds out this little group. 

       Finger Puppets are a great activity to take on an airplane, in the car on a long trip or just at home.  They are wonderful for language development and communication skills.  Fine motor skills are developed when each finger puppet is being placed on different fingers of each hand. Color recognition is developed with the variety of bright colors.  Story telling can be incorporated with these Halloween friends in everyday play. 

        Today I linked up with Forever in 5th Grade for Show and Tell Tuesday Fall is Here.

       Stephanie has some great pictures of her cute puppies. Check them out.

 www.foreverinfifthgrade.blogspot.com
      
 Enjoy the fall season with family and friends!

Beti 

Felt Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Old MacDonald Had 
a Farm  
                 A felt Old MacDonald Barn sounded like a good idea when my 18 month old granddaughter wanted to watch a "Old MacDonald" video over and over, and OVER again.  I wanted her to be able to have a more hands on experience with Old Mac Donald Had a Farm than just screen time.

            So,   I found a little candy box, about  4 by 4 inches.  Covering with felt to resemble a small barn was done with Tacky glue  to adhere the felt to the box. I know this is a Very basic barn.

  
       Then I worked on  some small felt animals to fit into the barn. You will have to excuse my hand sewing because it is really not very good, but I think they are kind of cute. 

       This  barn is made from a tin  Altoids box. It has a different shape with a hinged top. All the animals fit quite well.

          
           A duck is always a popular animal on the farm, with a quack, quack here, and a quack, quack there.

        
            A chick, chicken, or hen makes a good sound in the barnyard," Peep, Peep"!

                 This quiet little lamb makes a nice Baa- Baa sound on the farm.

          You can't sing "Old MacDonald had a Farm" without a pig.  The Oink- Oink here is very special to little ones.

      Last but not least is a cute brown cow that says Moo.

         Singing the Old MacDonald song is  a staple in every child's young learning life.  The tactile experience of opening the barn to pick up the next animal is enriching. As we sing the song, and make the animal sounds, each animal moves around the farm.  Then the barn is opened for the next animal in the song. This animal can be the next on the pile or the choice of the child.

         I feel this type of experience is more beneficial to the young child than watching the videos.  Watching videos for our children is so much fun, but screen time should be limited and not over done.

        Please, interact, sing, dance, and read with your young children. These are so very important event in their lives. They are young for such a short time.  They will grow up so very fast and this experience will be gone forever.

        I remember my mother and grandmother singing a song to me.  "When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother what would what would I be? Would I be pretty , would I be rich? Here's what she said to me. Que sera, sera, what ever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see, Que sera, sera."  This song is from 1956 written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. Doris Day sang it so beautifully.

       Please leave a message if you have a minute to spare in your busy day. I'd love to hear from any readers.

Beti  

Ideas for a busy toddler

          The
Busy Toddler
    Toddlers are wonderful and full of energy.  They need many new manipulatives to keep them busy, stimulated, learning, and interested.  Many every day objects can be new and stimulating to a toddler.

      Plastic or paper cups are in everyone's cupboards. They can be stacked and sorted by size, shape, and color. No one will be upset if one gets broken or lost. The cups are quiet when knocked down and bounce in a delightful way.

         
      These little paper cups are a new surface to be colored on. The inside, outside surfaces and the bottom are available for new colors. 

           Sidewalk chalk is another easy way to keep a toddler busy. The colors are a wonderful addition to a plain driveway or sidewalk.  The best part is that your space is almost limitless in the eyes of a child. They are not constrained by the size of the paper or chalkboard.  Their lines can go on and on and on. 
         Many gardens have smooth stones.  These make a wonderful canvas for sidewalk chalk or water color paint for that matter. Colorful stones are quite eye catching for toddlers.

       Pom poms  are another simple yet delightful manipulative.  They come in assorted sizes and colors, some even have sparkles.  Pom poms can be sorted by using muffin tins, small boxes, egg cartons, ice cube trays, or anything you may have around the house.  A plastic toothbrush holder from the dollar store has good size holes, big enough for a pom pom to fit through. This is great for working on eye hand coordination and fine motor skills. Best of all, they are quiet and will keep your toddler busy for quite a while.

        Bubbles whipped into a foam is an enjoyable tactile experience. Your little one can wash their plastic toys. Cars, boats, animals, people, etc. Always get dirty during outdoor play. So why not let your child was their own toys? Car wash is an experience that is always fun!

       Getting dressed again and again is a favorite activity for children.  You have all you need in your closet or chest of drawers. It doesn't matter what size or color. Kids love to wear or try on clothes.  You don't have to go out and purchase expensive dress up clothing or princess dresses. The young child will experiment with boots, shoes, socks,  leggings, pants, shirts, hats, gloves, not to mention purses, a scarf,  and jewelry.

        Tooth brushing is a wonderful and healthy activity for the young child.  This will not only be a good activity but will help with good dental hygiene habits.

            Felt pieces of different sizes, colors, and shapes are a interesting manipulative for the young child.  They can be arranged in different patterns to make abstract pictures.  A youngster could make a stack starting with the largest, smallest,  or random order. These pieces could be used as blankets for toy people or animals.

         Keep your toddlers busy with manipulatives and off of screen time. A busy toddler is a learning toddler.  It will pay off in the long run.

      Please leave a  comment if you have a minute to spare.

Beti