Posts Tagged ‘activities’
Ten toys you don’t have to buy
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. Glue down the flaps to 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 the mess, place 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 Pokemon coloring book while at Princess Coloring Pages you can print and color many princess 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. 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.
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 / engineering 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.
Children’s drawing and coloring – the cultural differences
Culture plays a large role in many things – from what we eat to how we dress – and it even has an effect on the minutae of life – like whether or not drawing will enter into a child’s repertoire of behavior.
For example, studies have shown that Taiwanese-American and Chinese-American parents tend to plan more drawing time for their children than they European-American counterpart parents do. As a result of more time spent drawing, Taiwanese-American and Chinese-American children’s drawings have been deemed more advanced than those of their counterparts.
According to research carried out in 1983, when children are provided with drawing materials and encouragement they tend to create works that reflect their particular culture – and each culture has its own ‘style’. For instance, French children are prone to spending a good deal of time on drawing, filling the entire page with large, colorful designs, drawings by Japanese children meanwhile tend to be more complex, harmonious and complete than drawings by North-. Children from the island of Bali on the other hand, typically use many small marks to draw intricate, colorful designs which fill the page.
While many cultures use and value drawing as art, there are a few cultures that do not foster coloring of drawing at all.
The children from the island of Ponape usually have no prior drawing experience. Yet when a recent study was carried out, those Ponape children that were given drawing materials tended to draw by starting in the center of the page making shapes that connected outward like groups of linked bubbles – they also tended not to fill the page and used only one color per drawing.
When children from cultures that do not include drawing are first introduced to the tools, they tend to experiment, scribble, or attempt realistic drawings right from the start. There appears to be great variation in first attempts. However, in general, it has been found that children tend to draw from a cultural perspective, imitating the designs reflected in fabrics, architecture or other aspects of the adult culture including symbol systems such as written letters or characters and numerals.
Culture therefore confines and defines the art of children.
Children from ‘First World’ countries like the USA have many opportunities to draw and color and are encouraged to do so by their parents, teachers and other caregivers. Material is plentiful too with crayons, paper, coloring books and even online resources in plentiful supply. Little boys tend to enjoy coloring pictures that represent what they sees every day such as cars, trucks and machinery while little girls enjoy coloring images of fairytale scenes – however you can seldome go wrong with Disney characters as most children have a favourite and at sites like Disney Coloring Pages you’ll find many disney colouring
With both encouragement and resources a-plenty, our children are very lucky to have both the means and the support to express themselves creatively through drawing and colouring.
Eight inexpensive ideas to keep kids occupied during the summer holidays
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 they come home on that last day of term – 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 an 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. 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, glue, buttons, stickers and any other odds and ends you might find.Once completed these make cute little holders for hair accessories, 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 little. If you have access to the internet 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 Mickey Mouse colouring book pages
Coffee Can Stilts – Using two 1-pound coffee cans, turn each can upside down so that the plastic lid is on the bottom. As a parent – and using a screwdriver - poke two holes, one on 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 – Keep aside the stubs of candles. When you have several saved, melt them together in a double boiler. Color the wax by adding bits of wax crayon to the mixture. Pour the wax into glass jelly or mason jars or metal cans. Use cotton yarn for wicks and decorate the outside of the candle holder with acrylic paints. Once the sun sets – light your candle…but always surpervise your children around flames!
Paper Towel Rain Makers – Young kids love noise makers such as maracas. Paint, color and decorate the paper towel rolls. Cover one end of a paper towel roll with waxed paper (for extra noise!) 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 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 adding yarn for hair, googly eyes, glitter and any other bits and pieces you like. I always add freckles on my Pet Rocks!
Enjoy yourself these summer holidays!
Use Of Inhaler
Keyword: asthma inhaler
Word Count: 429
Keyword Density: 6/1.4%
If you have asthma, nearly anything can trigger it. For example, some people’s asthma is brought on simply by smells or shifts in altitude or temperature. Thus, if you want to stay in control of your health, it is important to invest and use an asthma inhaler. The following are just some accessories you can invest in to make sure that your inhaler is always around you.
The Asthma Inhaler Holder
If you are looking for a fun way to keep your inhaler on you at all times, then consider investing in an asthma inhaler holder. These models come in all shapes in sizes. This accessory helps you remember to have your inhaler with you at all times but is not intrusive or overly obvious. Thus, it makes an asthma inhaler look as natural to carry as lip balm.
One can see an asthma inhaler holder in various designs and colors. These holders are found in basic black to camouflage to rainbow and other kinds of fun prints. Thus, the fun part about finding a holder for your asthma inhaler is choosing which holder best suits the person. There is bound to be a design out there that suits each and every person’s needs.
The asthma inhaler can be attached to a key chain in a few methods. It can be metal or plastic attachment. Often, the kind of attachment depends on the look the person wants or the holder itself. One could have a traditional key ring or could opt for a larger attachment with a claw-like opening.
The Carrier
If you want to be prepared for everything that comes with asthma, consider investing in a tote that holds not only your asthma inhaler but any materials that might make an attack easier to cope with. Totes are generally water-resistant and are particularly great for long trips.
Sports Cases
Having asthma does not mean that leading an active life is over. On the contrary, many folks with this medical condition continue to play sports and go on adventures. However, the key for active folks with asthma is to have their asthma inhaler on them at all times. A hard sports case or cover ensures that the inhaler is not only on a person at all times but will not break in the middle of all the action. When playing a sport, it’s common for people to run into one another or for things to get jostled. A sports case or over protects the asthma inhaler, and thus, protects the individual.