Garden Stepping Stone (Summer Craft Kits 2013)

Ok, so this has been one of the kids’ favorite Summer Craft kit item (mine was the bee home). We have now made about 10 of these and have them throughout our home and school garden. I think Roly Poly (4 yr old) likes them because he finds great bugs hidden beneath them each morning when he does his morning bug rounds. Anyhow, these are so fun because of the variation! See below for some variation ideas! Another great thing about these is that you can buy a kit at a hobby/craft store for 10-20 bucks or you can just make your own with some simple supplies for a fraction of the cost!

*Safety note - concrete can burn skin if not washed off. This will take a while to happen but coming from a girl that has had several concrete burns while working road construction, please make sure your kiddos hands are thoroughly washed afterwards if they touch the concrete - not to make you worry, but just to be careful.    

*This is in the Summer Craft Kit 2013 - click here to see the other crafts in the kit or
here to purchase a kit on my Rocky Mountain Mommas etsy shop!

Enjoy this single stem idea of Garden Stone for
Seedlings (preschool and elementary age)...

The Stuff

The FUN!

Pie tin (plastic spinach/basil tubs also work great) Cooking oil spray – like Pam 2 ½ cups Concrete 2/3 cup Water Letter tiles for name (we used a garden marker/sharpie to write letters on blank mosaic tiles) Shiny stones Rocks, shells or any other materials kiddo wants to add

1.      Gather all materials as this concrete is quick setting and it will be pretty hard in 30 minutes (if you use quick set concrete)! 2.      Spray the pie tin with a little bit of cooking oil spray (or just rub some oil on the inside of he tin). 3.      Add 2/3 cup of water to the 2 ½ cups concrete in the ziplock bag and close bag taking out any air. Double check that it is sealed well! *We used ziplock bags to mix our concrete for the summer craft kits because I premeasured the concrete into ziplocks already. It makes for easy mixing and cleanup but if you buy a bag of concrete you can save a ziplock and just mix in a bowl with a stick for a stir stick. Just make sure you don’t rinse out the bowl in your sink – do it outside). 4.      Gently squish the ziplock bag to get it mixed. 5.      Pour into pie tin. Push concrete down in tin so it is flat. I used the ziplock bag to do this but my messy boys just liked using their hands! 6.      With two hands pick up the pie tin and gently tap it down on the table a couple times – it helps the settling of the larger rocks. 7.      Now for the fun! Add the materials (letter tiles, shiny stones, etc. to make a beautiful stone)! You just push them in – some may need more push than others. 8.      Pick up the pie tin and tap it down a couple times again for a little bit more settling and give everything a final push (but not too far). Note – sticks need to be pushed in pretty good or they come out easily. 9.      Leave in one place to harden. You can remove from the tin after one day. After removing it from the tin let it dry for 2 more days in one place before putting in the garden. 10.  When you find a great spot it is best if it has some soil surrounding the edges or they may chip off eventually. *You can reuse your pie tin and make more by just picking up some concrete at the hardware store.

Now the PICTURES (for the visual learners)...

Gather Supplies.

Spray oil in pie tin.

Add water to ziplock bag, seal and squish.

Alternatively,
if not using ziplock you can add water to bowl with concrete, and stir (we used a chopstick to stir).

Pour into tin.
Push concrete flat with ziplock bag, spoon or fingers.

Tap pie tin gently a couple times to get larger stones to settle.

Add materials to make a design! Push in good!

Tap a couple times to get items to settle in a bit more - give everything an extra push.

Leave in one place to harden.

After one day, gently loosen the edges and pop out stone.
Let harden without pie tin for a couple more days.

Add to the garden or landscaping! It is best if you dig a little hole and push soil up close to the edges so it doesn't chip!

Some other Ideas:

*Add acrylic paint when you are mixing the concrete and water for a colorful concrete!

*Do a hand print. Pic from School Box

 *Laminate a picture, trim the edges and push into wet concrete.
Pic from About.com Family Crafts

*Add other fun summer mementos!

What else can you think of that would be fun to add?

Please BRAINSTORM your ideas/suggestions in the COMMENTS below for the Garden Stone!
Happy Crafting
~Sara

Stars and Stripes ~ Fourth of July (Bouquet Event)

This was a fun kiddo event that we did last summer but the next day we were evacuated due to a fire in our area so I was not able to post it until a couple weeks after the 4th of July. I wanted to re-post it this year so that you can plan a fun Stars and Stripes event! There is another horrific fire in our town right now so please keep those evacuated and the amazing firefighters and police in your thoughts and prayers.

Here are a few ideas for a
Stars and Stripes (Fourth of July) Event for
Sprouts and Seedlings (toddler/preschool and elementary age)...

We started out learning the song “This Land is Your Land” with hand motions. Check out this link of a kindergarten class singing it - wish I would have recorded our kiddos singing it.

We then put some vinegar, food coloring (red in one, blue in another) and penne noodles in a tub to dye for our Noodle Necklaces. The kids had fun shaking the tubs to get the color on the noodles. We set them out to dry and then got to work on our…

 Red White Blue Tissue Lantern

The Stuff	The Prep	The FUN!
Glass jars (we have been saving pasta, pickle, etc jars) Red, White, Blue tissue paper Modge podge (or glue mixed with water) Foam/paint brushes Tea lights (we used battery powered ones)	Cut tissue paper into squares Put modge podge on plate/bowl	1. Use brush to paint modge podge on a section of the jar. 2. Stick tissue squares on top of the modge podge. 3. Repeat to cover the jar. 4. Add a layer of modge podge on top of the tissue squares. 5. Light or turn on the tea light and place inside the jar. Beautiful!

 Yogurt and Berries US Flag SNACK

The Stuff	The Prep	The FUN!
Vanilla or plain yogurt Blueberries Strawberries Blue and Red Ice cubes (made from juice) *We also had red, white and blue goldfish	Freeze blue and red ice cubes Cut fruit Put dollop of yoghurt and berries on plates Put red and blue ice cubes in water cups	1. Kids spread their yoghurt out flat into a rectangle. 2. Then they use their berries to create a flag! 3. Then of course they gobble it down!

We did the next three crafts in centers with and a helper at each one.

The kids rotated to each center and then we had a
parade around our street!

Noodle Necklaces
Noodle necklaces are a classic craft for kids and we have made them at several holidays (ie. Green for St. Patrick’s Day). I am always looking for kids to be involved more in the whole process so I had them dye the noodles ~ they loved it and it cut down on the prep!

The Stuff	The Prep	The FUN!
Penne pasta Vinegar Food coloring (we used red and blue) Tub (with a lid) Yarn/string Plastic kids needle (or check out Happy Hooligans for her easy straw needle)	Thread needles on the yarn Tie one noodle to the end of the yarn	1. Add a little bit of vinegar (maybe a tablespoon) and several drops of food coloring to a tub. 2. Add the noodles and lid. *Save some noodles plain for the white ones. Pass the tub around and have the kids shake until the color is on the noodles. 3. Set out to dry – if it is hot this won’t take long! 4. Kids thread the noodles on the yarn. Tie off when finished and wear with pride!

 Fabric/Ribbon Flags
I was looking for an easy way for them to make flags and the rubber band around the top worked well. Some of the smaller kids just needed help holding the rubber band out and they slid the fabric/ribbon through!

The Stuff	The Prep	The FUN!
Small dowels Rubber bands Fabric/Ribbon cut into 12-24ish” long strips	Cut fabric/ribbon Wrap a rubber band around the top of a dowel	1. Kids pull up part of the rubber band and slide a piece of fabric/ribbon through. 2. Pull on the fabric/ribbon so it goes half way through. 3. Repeat until flag looks full! *optional ~ We also added small bells to the ends of pipe cleaners and put these through the rubber bands

Pipe Cleaner Hats

The Stuff	The Prep	The FUN!
Red fabric or craft foam (3” by 24”) Red, blue, silver pipe cleaners Duct tape 2 paper clips/kid *optional ~sticker	Cut red fabric in strips	1. Kids twist the pipe cleaners around their fingers to make a spiral. 2. Turn the red fabric so that the wrong side is showing. Lay the pipe cleaners down on the fabric so the ends go about half way down. 3. Put a piece of duct tape across the pipe cleaners to attach to the fabric. 4. Flip to the front side and add stickers if you wish. 5. Size to the kiddos head and attach with two paper clips on the back. Wear hat for the parade!

More ideas…

Check out Child Care Lounge for songs!

We sang Wave and an adapted version of Red, White, and Blue!

Have a Parade while singing songs!

 Firework Straw Painting

Please BRAINSTORM your ideas/suggestions in the COMMENTS below for the
Stars and Stripes (Fourth of July) Event!
Happy Crafting
~Sara