If you aren’t fortunate enough to live in the north where snow falls freely, here is a fun way to play in the snow without the cold.  Using a basic shaving cream, spray cream directly onto table, window, mirror or bath surface.  Kids can use fingers to make pictures in the “snow”.  I use a sensitive based cream for my kids because they have dry skin in the winter, but any cream will work nicely.  My kids LOVE to play with shaving cream in the bathtub. They could stay in there for hours if I let them. When teaching, I spray the cream on tables and let the children play with cars, cookie cutters and other toys in the “snow”. This is such a fantastic activity for pennies. We get our shaving cream from the dollar store and it lasts for several play times.  (This picture of my daughter playing with shaving cream was taken right before her bottom tooth fell out! )

What could be more fun on a cold winter day than to create a painting of a polar bear!

The process is fun and the outcome is frame worthy.  To make the prints, simply trace a bear shape onto a piece of cardboard and cut out. The outer layer of the shape is what we used for the stencil.  Using white paint, fill in the shape. When the painting is dry you can add details, glitter and snowflakes. This method of stencil painting can be used for many other shapes and seasons. Use your imagination and have fun!

Every new year welcomes many new year’s resolutions and for this year, mine was to start a blog!  For several years I have been asked to share some of my creative ideas for lessons and crafts geared towards young children but for one reason or the other I could never find the time to sit down and do this. Okay, the real reason is that I am severely technology challenged and in order to figure out how to actually create a blog, I had to wait until my kids reached the teen years so that they could show me how. This is somewhat of an embarrassment to me as I do hold a Master’s degree in education! Well, now that I have come clean, on with the good stuff!

January is a great time to connect with your children. Christmas is over and life’s basic routines start up again. Begin the new year by making a goal journal with your children.  Have them write down goals that they would like to accomplish during the year. Make sure that they are realistic so that the child will not get discouraged.  Some of the goals my kids have chosen included ; learning how to jump rope,  reaching the next level in a video game, writing in cursive, and so on. Whenever they reach the goal, write the date and any information pertaining to the goal achievement in the journal along with a photo or drawing of the event.  Keeping these journals fosters self esteem and pride at a young age as well as develops life long skills that carry way into adult hood!  This is also a great activity for a classroom and even for those of us who are already grown up! There are always new things to accomplish and learn no matter how old we are are.