The Write Start

Artful Wreath

Okay, this is so simple that I'm almost embarrassed to post about it. Almost. But it's making me so darn happy, I just can't help myself. You see, there's been such fantastically festive work coming home from school these days. What's a Mom to do with her very favorite bits? Apparently they need to be clipped to a wreath with clothespins. At least that's what they were calling out to me. And the result? The easiest thing by far that I've done this whole holiday season. And, quite possibly, the most gratifying.

The tiny hand-laced stocking makes me grin. Jack actually keeps taking it apart so he can make it all over again. He says it's fun.

This sequin-studded tree has understated elegance written all over it.

And this work was created by tracing around a stencil, and then piercing the paper with a push pin to "cut" it out. The positive image is on this side, and the negative is on the other. Every time I look at it I admire the care and precision it took to accomplish this task. Now that's handiwork!

This wreath took less than a minute to put together. But in its prominent location above the fireplace I think it makes a big statement. I'm envisioning that it would be great to show up at the grandparents with a wreath like this, featuring cheerful little art work from the grandkids. I'm sure it would get big smiles.

Now on to more labor-intensive holiday projects. If only everything could be as simple as this...

Holiday Workshop

 

A couple if weeks ago we morphed our little writer's workshop into a "Santa's Workshop" for Jack (which he promptly re-named "Jack's Workshop"). I stocked it with all the supplies he needs to make a couple of gift items: bookmarks and bracelets. I chose these two projects because he knows how to make them all by himself. And since he can be self-sufficient, he delights in all sorts of behind-closed-doors-hustle-and-bustle while he goes about his merry-making.

Of course, we made a list (for checking twice), hung a calendar for counting down the days, added a Santa hat, and placed a red felt drawstring bag nearby for filling with the loot.

Jack is a master at making bracelets. I stocked him up with some beads and elastic thread. I help tie the occasional knot (with my eyes closed *wink,wink*) and then he whisks his creations into little gift boxes.

I made simple bookmark stencils by cutting out cereal boxes. Jack traces around a stencil onto a piece of card stock, cuts out the shape with scissors, colors it in, punches a hole on top, and strings a ribbon through the hole.

He let me take a rare peek at his top-secret process as he was making a bookmark for his teacher the other day:

 
   

 

 

He "wraps" the bookmarks by slipping them into brown paper lunch bags secured with string. And then he makes his own gift tags by cutting card stock and punching a hole. On one side he stamps a greeting (I made him some DIY holiday stamps by pulling apart tiny alphabet stamps I got in the Target dollar bins a while back, rearranging the letters, and rubber-cementing them onto a little block). 
 

On the other side he signs his name, with love.

The other cubbies are stocked with other essential supplies, including blank greeting cards, envelopes, and a holiday-related word ring (more about word rings here).

To get him even more in the spirit, a couple of cubbies are stuffed with elf-related paraphernalia (or par-elf-ernalia, as the case may be) including a bunch of stuff we made from Prep and Landing printables (did you see Prep and Landing? Too, too cute!) and a little sleigh with my favorite elf ornaments from childhood.

Whew! That sounds like a load of stuff, but can I tell you, once we had the idea, it all came together in a flash. And if I say there has been hours of cheerful busy-ness in this festive area, I assure you I'm not exaggerating. So. Much. Fun. Especially with some holiday music playing in the background.

I love the writing involved, as you might have guessed. But I'm even more excited to see my boy learning about the reason for the season, so to speak. He is joyfully preparing for some serious giving. And that's a gift in and of itself.

How are your kids getting into the holiday spirit?

Letter*press* Stationery

I wanted to share a simple holiday project we did last year that resulted in some very successful gifts. This was truly a hands-on project for Jack, with impressive results. It's often hard to strike that perfect balance between a kid-friendly process and a gift-worthy product, but this little project definitely fit the bill (and was a great learning and fine motor activity to boot!).  

It started with a little planning and some basic set-up on my part. I bought a bunch of blank note cards (with envelopes) in bulk from the craft store. Then I looked for a stamp that was frilly but not too fussy (I found this stamp) and chose a sparkly gold ink to make it fancy. The stamp was one of those clear ones that you're supposed to attach to an acrylic block, I think, but instead of buying one of those, I just attached it to one of our little wood blocks with some rubber cement. (Oh, and I use the rubber cement away from the kiddos -- it stinks!)

We used the same technique to make a personalized initial stamp for each person on our list, using clear alphabet stamps. This was the learning part. Jack was at the stage last year where identifying starting letter sounds was the just-right challenge for him. So figuring out that Anne starts with "A," Fran starts with "F," Maria starts with "M," or Susan starts with "S," was an activity that fit him to a "T."

 

Then, on to the fine motor part.

He pressed the design on to each note card, and then, when it dried, pressed each person's monogram on to their cards using black ink.

The great part about the design is that it left plenty of room for error. If the design was off-center, it still seemed to work fine. So we didn't have to worry at all about perfection (because that is VERY frustrating where kids are concerned) and, frankly, being too picky spoils all of the fun. So we just let the design fall where it may, and surprisingly, it all just seemed to come together.

This monogrammed stationery made perfect teacher gifts last year, as well as being thoughtful little gifts for people we wanted to acknowledge in a special way. I wrapped them simply in clear cellophane, and got Jack involved in helping me tie the bows. He enjoyed putting his finger on the knot as I tied the bow, and then snipping the ends of the ribbon with a scissors to even them out.

 

The best part? I felt like we weren't just giving a handmade gift, but we were also passing along our love of writing. One of those gifts that keep on giving, you know? We've even gotten some of them back in the mail as thank you notes, or notes just to say "Hello!" Jack gets a kick out of opening a card from someone and realizing, "Hey, I made that!" And I'm happy to see that people are putting our presents to good use. What fun!

Going Batty

I'm not so big on the spooky side of Halloween. That being said, when I saw these clothespin bats, I was all over them. I'm a sucker for anything having to do with clothespins (one of my favorite fine motor activities).

And besides, I got to spray paint clothespins black. Aren't they too too cool?

So basically, I printed out a template, we traced it, and cut out bunches of bats. Then Jack glued one bat to each side of every clothespin. That's it. (The instructions said to punch out eyes and glue the tips of the bat wings together. We skipped both of those steps. I thought the wings looked better unattached -- it gives the illusion of flying, in my opinion.)

Once Jack got the drift of the project he really got into the zone. It was interesting to watch him organize his materials assembly-line style. He said he was a bat processor. And, from the look on his face, I'm sure you can tell that bat processing is serious business. We do not take our bats lightly around here. 

When they dried, we strung some fishing line over the fireplace and Jack clipped the bats up. They make a spooky-cool garland and a super-cool fine motor activity. Happy boy. Happy mama.

At night the bats have been "flying away" (ie. mom takes them down and puts them in a basket) and in the morning Jack pins them back up again so they can sleep (being nocturnal creatures and all).

We've also found some other clever places to clip them, including on the light over the kitchen table (which casts a creepy shadow on the wall). I'm thinking they would also be great with letters on them, as in a garland spelling out H-A-P-P-Y   H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N). Or maybe clipped onto treat bags. 

Right now I'm trying to keep things simple so I don't drive myself batty. I keep repeating: simple is good... simple is good....

Here's wishing you a nice, not-so-spooky, simple Halloween of your own.

Chalk O' Lanterns

I've had this idea on my brain for a while, it was a relief to get it accomplished this past weekend. Does everyone dream of chalkboard-paint-covered-pumpkins, or is it just me?

It started out with a couple of (fake) pumpkins from the craft store that my sister Megan picked up for me (thanks Mega).

If nothing else, it was a perfect excuse to try my hand at making homemade chalkboard paint using this recipe. The secret ingredient is sanded tile grout, which I'm sure you will want to know where to find in small quantities. Truth be told it was as easy as calling my husband and saying, "Could you bring me home approximately two tablespoons of sanded tile grout?" and there it was. The guy knows better by now than to ask questions. He's memorized my answer: "It's for a project...." 

 

I grabbed a couple of pumpkin-colored paint samples from the hardware store (I'm trying to imagine a room the color of pumpkin pie. Can't quite visualize it.) I mixed up the paint and we got to work.

 

Pumpkins are surprisingly satisfying to paint. Who knew?

 

I admire Jack's technique and steady hand.
 

Especially since he's always working with a spunky little monkey on his back. Always.

And here are our write-on, wipe-off pumpkins on their way to dry. Making Jack-O-Lantern faces is fun, but with all of the parent-assisted carving, I feel that kids don't get enough of the face-making time. You know what I mean? So here's a perpetual pumpkin, ready for as many different faces as kids can dream up.

Tomorrow, bats.

Sew Write

Don't you just love this? Kathleen from the oh-so-inspiring Twig and Thistle sewed this love letter to her husband, complete with the ruled paper. When I saw it, I thought about how amazing it would be to take a piece of your child's writing and turn it into a keepsake like this.

What do you think?

Not-so-lazy Susan

What do you get when you take an old IKEA lazy susan, add some recycled jars, and toss in a bunch of art supplies and writing utensils?

 

a colorful buffet for kids with bright ideas...

                                        a carousel of creativity!

 

I've been putting this dizzying array of art and writing supplies (along with a big pile of paper) in the middle of the kitchen table most evenings lately, usually when I'm cooking dinner. It seems to draw Jack to the table (excuse the pun) and inspire some end-of-the-day self-expression.

 

He likes that he has a big selection of self-serve materials, and I like that everything's tidy and not at all overwhelming.

 

I also love that I can easily slip it into a kitchen cabinet when we're done using it. The lazy susan makes it super-simple to retrieve specific things as needed ("I need a red crayon to color a fire truck!"). And tucking it out of sight when it's not in use is a surefire way to peak a child's attention once it re-emerges. When you keep stuff out in the open all of the time, it becomes like wallpaper, fading into the background. But pull this out of the cupboard and just watch as your kid gives drawing and writing a whirl!

Who could resist?

Tickle Their Fancy

 

So what's a mama to do when she has a few colored feathers left over from a project? Make Quill Pencils, of course!

 

I had this simple little project on my brain for weeks now and I don't know why it took me so long to get around to it. It took all of about ten minutes (actually two sittings of five minutes each; I had to wait for glue to dry). In fact, it seem that all of my crafty projects lately are of the ten-minute variety. I'm big on instant gratification crafting lately. And dreaming up bright ideas that are the perfect combination of form, function, and fun. This one definitely fits that description. Plus, it makes me smile!

Here's the basic how-to:

 

First, I glued feathers to the tops of small colored pencils. Then I went and did something else while the glue dried.

 

When I came back, I put some more glue around the top of the pencil and wrapped some embroidery floss around the spot where I had attached the feather. Done. Easy-Peasy.

And why, you ask, do we need colorful Quill Pencils? Let's just say, change is good. Novelty is very exciting for kids. It spices things up. I put these in the Writer's Workshop and sparked Jack's interest by saying, "Hey, check out the new pencils in your Writer's Workshop!"

And guess who was still writing an hour later?

(I was tickled pink!)

Name Slate

 

Jack loves writing capital letters. Why shouldn't he? They are made up of such simple shapes, many of them have similar movement patterns, and they all line up neatly next to each other instead of dipping down low or reaching up high like those pesky lowercase letters do. What's not to love?

But, when it comes to writing his name, I want him to learn to do it right, right from the start.

Once they're writing, kids write their names ALL the time, everywhere they can. With all of that repetition going on, you want to make sure they aren't getting into any bad habits. Because, as we all know, bad habits are hard to break. Not to mention that it's a real bummer to get to school and be told that you have to re-learn how to write your name. Kind of hard on an emerging writer's ego, if you know what I mean.

Enter the name slate -- an easy way to set kids up for name-writing success.

 

The name slate is a simple-yet-smart way to encourage children to practice writing their names. On the top of the slate is a permanent example of the child's name written with the first letter capitalized and the rest of the letters lowercase. Below is blank space to practice. It's that easy!

Materials:

8 x 10 chalkboard (found at most craft stores for a few dollars)

white acrylic paint

piece of chalk (small, to encourage a strong, steady tripod grasp)

little scrap of cloth (for erasing)

The basic how-to:

Write your child's name (with proper capitalization and spacing) in chalk at the top of the slate. Paint over you chalk letters with white acrylic paint. Let dry thoroughly. When dry, show your child how they can write their name, wipe it away, and write it again as often as they like. Ask for an autograph (kids like that!).

 

I know it may seem as if I'm kind of wacky for little chalkboards but truly I am. They are just so forgiving. A sweep of the hand or a wipe with a cloth can make any mistake disappear as if by magic. And knowing that your marks are so easily erased seems to make all the pressure and perfectionism that comes along with learning to write disappear as well.

And, hey, when kids become name-writing pros, they can just chalk it up to experience!

Try it... (and let me know if you do!)

Precious Jewels

We spent one day last week organizing colorful widgets for a craft workshop:

 

{about a million teeny-tiny beads}

  

{super-cute animal beads from here}

  

{and a rainbow assortmant of cut up straws}

 

Apparently, Jack was inspired by this beadazzling bounty. He set to work for hours (no understatement) making baubles and bangles for his lucky mama. Good fine-motor fun.

Look at how serious he is about pushing those little widgets on to pipe cleaners.

And check out his toe-curling concentration.

 

Sweet, sweet stuff.

Have you gotten any sweet somethings from your little ones lately? Please share!