The air is still chilly here, and the forecast is calling for snow, but the birds have been chirping a lot lately, which is making me think of spring and opening the house up to catch warm breezes. Here’s an easy craft for kids that will help you enjoy those spring breezes when they come (and maybe give you something indoors to do with the kids if it snows again.)  Read the rest of the story...

1. Start with paper plates, the cheapest white paper ones you can find. Color both sides with markers or crayons, in any way you like. I would recommend patterns or small pictures (little hearts, maybe) instead of one large picture, as you’ll be cutting it up.

Every year, I have the urge to be crafty and decorate the gifts I give with beautiful, homemade accents. Every year, I put it off until the last minute and end up writing “To Junior, From Mom” on the packages with a Sharpie. This year will be different! Joy Williams- knitter (check out her stuff on etsy here), author of Nature Crafts, and former art teacher- sent me this quick craft idea to make gifts shine this Christmas. It’s so easy, even I can do it! And as a bonus, it uses some items that might otherwise end up in the landfill.  Read the rest of the story...

If you’re looking to add a new annual tradition to your holiday season, or just want to help your kids express what they’re thankful for this year, here’s are two quick and easy craft projects that you can do with your kids this Thanksgiving.

The Thankful Tree

Table Top Tree

Materials
Flower pot
Fine sand
Thin, bare tree branch
Sheets of craft foam (orange, yellow, red)
Safety scissors
Thin Sharpie marker
Hole punch
String or fishing line  Read the rest of the story...

1. Fill the flower pot with sand
2. Set the tree branch firmly in the sand.
3. Cut leaf shapes out of craft sheets.

This week, November 15-21, is Geography Awareness Week. In one way or another, geography touches all of our lives on just about a daily basis. Thanks to incredible technical advances, we now have live maps and GPS on our phones, in our cars…even in some of our video games. But even with all of the geography surrounding us, sometimes it’s tough to think of a simple, easy way to introduce our children to maps and geography. I am a geographer at heart (I work in the Geographic Information Systems industry) and I thought for a while about an easy, non-digital, hands on way to get kids interested in maps and geography. The idea: Mapping Your Mail.

 Read the rest of the story...