Have some squirrely kids at home these days? Mine are all climbing the walls and going to school full-day and having physical activities afterwards isn’t denting their energy! I’ve realized this time of year it’s extra important to get that dose of fresh air! We tend to go into hibernation mode this time of year but kids need to get outside even more. Many schools keep kids indoors if it’s raining so they get very little outside time in wet North American climates. I get a lot of inspiration from the websites I’ve listed below – they have amazing ideas for keeping kids engaged with unique activities for encouraging the outdoors! I’ve also teamed up with a new sponsor this season and it’s very exciting. A local mountain, Cypress Mountain has offered my family some excursions on their Mountain to experience this ski season. This is my favorite mountain to ski and I’m so excited to enjoy some bonding time with my children up the mountain. Can I be honest? I went up Cypress Mountain with my boys last winter and it was one of the best days of my parenting journey. I don’t know what happened… could it have been all that fresh air, the memories of skiing when I was a child? I don’t know but some magic clicked that day and the one-on-one bonding time a had with the boys was intense. You want maximized quality time with your children? Take them into the wilderness or up a mountain. Talking while riding up a chair lift, the comradely checking on each other while going down the slope, the exhilaration you experience while enjoying a truly beautiful sport is wonderful and it’s one I hope all parents can enjoy once with their children. If you don’t ski – I would suggest an equally great time is snow shoeing, tobogganing or tubing on a ski slope. It is carefree fun and your kids need to see this side of you, completely relaxed and loving the outdoors.
This is a picture of my sons and I on New Year’s Eve. Our first time night skiing and the city lights in the backdrop were stunning!
Two sites that offer wonderful tips on enjoying outdoor winter activities are:
Let The Kids Play – an blog that is probably aimed at more preschool aged children but their articles are so incredible, order children would benefit for the activities too!
The Grass Stain Guru – helping parents make a resolution to impact physical and mental health for their children – PLAY MORE!
Related Articles:
Resources to Get Parents and Children Outside Enjoying Nature
Summer Fairy Garden and Fairy House
Geocaching – Eco Activity For Entire Family
I spent last weekend surrounded by handmade goodies at an artisan show so I was already a pretty happy camper… but then I met this magical sister team called Pip and Pin and I need to share their store. When you meet incredibly talented upcoming artisans I already feel lucky, but Megan and Katie have personalities that can only be compared to beans of sunshine. They even laugh at the same time and you feel good in their company. I’m so happy to share the wonderful store & faces behind Pip and Pin! The sisters came up with their company name after their two grandma’s that taught them how how to knit. Their funky fashion and fresh concepts using a classic art medium such a knitting produces an amazing combination. I purchased a knit headband and cowl scarf with buttons for myself and sister for Christmas – I cannot take off the scarf because it’s so stylish and cozy! With the reactions of everyone complimenting me every where I go – I’d say it’s a great idea for holiday gifts. Handmade is always the perfect gift for the person who has everything and could buy themselves anything. Check out some of the Pip and Pin magic (pictures taken for their site):
An interesting little side note from this weekend. My friend Rosie taught me how to knit. I must have done basic knitting when I was younger because it felt very comfortable right away. I literally went from iphone girl to knitting girl within a few hours. When I came home from the show, I put three of my kids on my lap and let them hold the needles while I showed them the steps and they all loved it. I had comments like “I like seeing you knit rather than working on your phone” or “What are you going to make me mom?” or “When can the scarf be finished..tomorrow?” The questions that came from my children was amazing to hear and I especially liked them all commenting on the fact they like watching me knit. I think it’s good for our kids to see us practice what we’re always preaching with trying to reduce electronics and actually making something handmade. I’m sure one day I could knit a cowl scarf, but once you learn the story and see the design style of a store like Pip and Pin – it feels good to shop and support these local girls and their unique craft.
This article has been tough to write because the crafting world is gigantic…it’s impossible to try and cover the thousands of products that crafty people have in their cupboard. I walk into a Michaels store and I’m overwhelmed by two things: the varied depth of their craft materials and how much of it is imported & very cheaply produced. So much of that stores reminds me of the dollar store and it makes me nervous. I’m an average person on the scale of crafty – my children have always loved painting and making little projects, but with the inevitable smell that comes from opening specific paints, glues, and inks, I’m admittedly a little skeptical of how healthy these supplies actually are.
The inspiration for this article comes from a woman in the US, named Julia Andrus, who created a line of crafting materials after surviving a self described ‘mean’ cancer. Julia realized her exposure to even low levels of toxic materials in craft supplies could have contributed to her chemical exposure. On a mission to change her lifestyle and environment, Julia created EcoGreen Crafts and I guess it’s because an avid crafter created this line of products, the quality is as effective and amazing as traditional supplies. I’ve found in the past that sometimes using plant-based crafting products you loose some of the texture in paint and glue. This isn’t the case with the acrylic paint and Green Glue and is the reason I’ve stocked Green Planet Parties with these products. Just like my claim with the O’Bon pencil crayons (best I’ve every used) I can say the same about the EcoGreen Crafts Acrylic Paint. They are amazing! I asked some seriously crafty people to test the acrylic paint and everyone reports back loving it! It’s creamy, comes in a great sized tube, and there is no scent because the non-metallic shades of these paints are no-VOC. The metallic paints in this line are anchored to a No-VOC base, but end up being low-VOC after the metal pigment has been added. The popular 6 colors I’ve chosen to carry are popular with children and contain no volatile organic compounds. These paints are not manufactured in North America and that is reflected in the price point. These non-toxic paints are priced equally to traditional acrylic paints which is wonderful…parents love switching to same priced greener products, but while the price would increase, I hope they are one day manufactured in the US. If you’ve been searching for plant based white glue? This all-purpose green glue is great for back-to-school shopping.
For parents that enjoy painting with powdered paint, setup your environment with plant based so that powder cannot be inhaled that may contain lead. There are several paints on the market that use plant based pigments..the only brand I’ve tried is GLOB and these paints are manufactured in the US. As far as paint brushes go – I’m actively researching a ‘greener’ paintbrush. It’s actually a very difficult product because you are dealing with two issues: the handle and brush materials. If you go for a non-synthetic brush you might have anxiety about the methods used to obtain real animal hair for the brush…and these brushes are super expensive. ‘Greening’ up the handle of paint brushes is relatively easy because there are bamboo brushes on the market, but I’ve yet to find a brush I’m happy with at an affordable price.
Hands down – this point is the most important for providing healthier sculpture based craft material for your child! Don’t ever waste your money again on store bought play dough. From the amount of traffic and comments on this article “The Perfect Home Made Play Dough Recipe!” I know how many parents have discovered how easy, affordable and fun making your own play dough can be. Kids love to sculpt and it unleashes free-play at it’s best for young children and since you’ve made the dough yourself, you don’t need to worry if a small piece ends up in a child’s mouth. I’ve also experienced headaches from the synthetic scent from store bought play dough. Another sculpting product that shouldn’t be sold or wind up in your home is polymer clay that is used for sculpting small figurines…it’s made from PVC! Invest in clay that is packaged and marked ‘non-toxic’ and PVC-free. The dollar stores are not where you should be purchasing materials like this…there are no sort of guidelines it seems for this material. The amount of incorrect information on the internet about polymer clay is disturbing. Many crafting sites list polymer clay as a safe material even though it contains PVC and phthalates…it’s disturbing. I don’t have a source/brand for an alternative to PVC based polymer clay but I will post in the comments when I find one.
I was spoiled years ago when trying Clementine Art crayons – they were like applying butter to paper. I think all children would miss the variety of colors that you can achieve with a box of Crayola crayons, but traditional crayons are manufactured with paraffin wax which is petroleum. There are many brands of soy or beeswax based crayons if you are looking to ‘green’ your art supplies. I think the soy brands offer more color options, but I have only had the pleasure of using beeswax based.
Pencil crayons and pencils can easily be ‘greened’ with O’Bon. I’ve written about this brand before and love that these pencils are not produced by trees, but made from recycled newspapers. Not only is the story behind O’Bon cool, but I’ve never been happier with the pencil crayons. The quality is amazing and children love the fruit or wild-animal designs.
You can tell from the length of this article the crafting world is a vast area to try and write about in one article. For those searching for North American made craft sets which are convenient and make a great gift – check out the new brand Artterro I found at My Little Green Shop. Just one look at the packaging and you know this brand is different. I can’t wait to try these kits with my kids – not only are the supplies made of higher quality (glass beads vs. plastic, felt wool, handmade paper) but many of the components are made in the US. The craft world has seemed slow to manufacture locally – the concern of course that crafting will no longer be an affordable pass-time. It’s nice to see companies like Artterro putting an emphasis on this and side stepping the norm of producing craft kits that are filled with questionable ingredients – both for human health and the environment. Differences that impress me are the wool felt dresses in the Art Dolls Kit, copper wire & wooden handles (!!) in the amazing Bubble Wand Kits (eeep I love these!!), and for the older crowd the Paint with Wool Kits are very unique. Imagine encouraging a child to felt? It’s incredible that the boxes that Artterro supplies are packaged in can be transformed into frames to later showcase art work. Pictured below are the finished kits from Artterro with bubble wands and felt painting.
I hope this gives you a starting point to help green your craft supplies. It’s a huge undertaking, but like greening your bathroom or kitchen, I recommend starting with baby steps and incorporating these changes when you’re looking to replenish art supplies. Look for crafts with No-VOCs (Volatile Organic Compound) which are the chemicals that produce off-gassing vapors. Packaging is a great way to improve your craft supplies and look for supplies marked ‘non-toxic’, made with soy or beeswax, PVC-free and phthalate-free. I’ll have more recommendations coming in August because once again I’ll be putting together my own school supply boxes for my children with an effort to create kits that are more sustainable and chemical free. Stay tuned and please share your experiences with sourcing better quality craft supplies.
Related Posts:
Wildlife Pencils Produced from Recycled Newspapers
Clementine Art – Naturally Artistic
I’ve often said that if I spent everyday at my childrens’ preschool, I’d be writing daily for Mommy Footprint. The inspiration and wonderful ideas that come from this play-based, magical school have been a wonderful experience for my family over the last 6 years. Two of my favorite ideas that come from preschool have been around forever, but since I setup both in my house last week, I’m reminded just what great ideas they are from the amount of time all of my kids spend playing with them. And both are very low cost to setup!
Wooden Stump & Nails
Ever drive by a house that has cut down a tree and is offering the stumps/logs for free? Well next time, stop and pick one up because your children will love to hammer nails into the stump. Both my boys and daughters have loved this activity at preschool and we’ve recently picked up a stump and ball pein hammer that I picked up at my local hardware store. The ball pein hammer is normally smaller, lighter and has a ball and opposite flat face..much easier for small children. And by small children I mean 3 years olds and up. They are more than able at that age to hammer nails into wood and the stumps help the nails slide in so easily! It will keep them busy for hours and teach them great motor skills. You can teach children to hammer thin pieces of wood to attach to the stump or even cardboard once they get bored of just hammering nails. Also, pickup nails of all sizes to further encourage fine motor skill development.
If you are nervous and think your toddler or child is too young to use real nails, find golf tees and left over Styrofoam packing from large appliances. Using the ball pein hammer, kids can hammer golf tees into the packing material and you don’t have to worry about them using real nails.
Sand Table
It’s a standard in any preschool and there’s a good reason why – sand tables are wonderful. When I received my package of safe sand from Santastik, I knew what I was going to use it for….creating an indoor sand table. The sand is amazing and kids love to play with it. We added some animals, scoops, cups, and the sand into a long flat plastic container and all my kids have enjoyed playing with it. I just put the container on top of their play table and voila…they are all very happy. And unlike the bean table I set up years ago (my husband still curses that idea), the sand table is very easy to clean up. Yes, kids get excited and throw the sand around, but the Sandtastik sand is super easy to vacuum so the mess is a non-issue. To find out why I’m recommending the Sandtastik brand of play sand – check out this article. This sand is made without carcinogens or asbestos which might be found in other brands of sand.
I love my kid’s preschool. We’ve been there 6 consecutive years because of the close ages of our 4 children and although I’m very sad this time is coming to an end this Spring, I’m grateful for the many lessons the teachers have taught me. A parent participation/play based preschool will not only bring your children great memories – but you’ll be surprised how much as parents you will learn.
Related Articles:
Finding Non-Toxic Sand For Kid’s Sandbox
The Perfect Home Made Play Dough Recipe!
Walnut Boats Made By Joel – Great Craft!
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I’m always in awe of talented people that create incredible hand-made items, but then to blog, design, photograph their creations and share their talents is very special. When visiting the Made By Joel blog, hours will pass and feel like minutes because you just keep clicking to read through his posts and you’ll feel very inspired to try Joel’s creations… even the ‘crafty challenged’. I’m always so motivated to buy power tools after visiting Joel’s blog but back in April when I read his post about Walnut boats I thought “finally, something very attainable for myself! Whoot!” It’s a classic craft perfect for keeping the kids entertained (it does involve flame after all) and the end product is a safe bath toy (harder and more expensive to find that you think). So after 9 months keeping my eyes to the ground trying to find discarded Walnut shells, we tried making walnut boats last weekend and it’s an awesome craft for kids. Even the older crowd that are tougher to entice with crafting enjoy it because mention lighting a candle and zoom – both my boys were in like a flash!
Any nut shell would work with this craft (the deeper the shell the better) even little acorns. But sticking with the tutorial we used walnut shells the squirrels at the park were nice enough to leave us, melted an old candle for wax, stuck in the toothpick and the kids drew really cute pirate skullies for the paper sail. After we had finished, they all immediately went flying off to sinks and the bathtub to try them out and I loved the result. Finally something that could go into the bath and I didn’t have to worry what they were bathing with. I wonder if beeswax candles would work this craft? I’ll have to try that next. One of my all time favorite crafts..quick and easy and keeps the kids attention. And the boats are a great little toy – even after the paper sails became wet and my girls pulled out their toothpicks, I saw my girls using the walnut shell (still filled with wax) and dropping them into their teapot and calling the boats their sugar cubes for tea. I loved listening to their dialogue as they clinked their tea cups, played in the bath tub, and sipped away.
I’ve attached a picture of Joel’s boats because his photography is stunning. These pictures are from the Made By Joel blog – I can’t wait to buy his book that is coming out Fall 2011 and will be keeping up with his work via his Facebook Fan page. Thanks for recording all the precious moments enjoying your talent with your kids Joel – awesome!
Related posts by Joel that I will try because he makes it look possible (haha we’ll see) are Branch Trees and Zip Line Toy. You know…we just might have a few Harry Potter figures kicking around here somewhere <wink> …and the zip line is just cool!
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