elephant feet stilts craft

a great way to use those many cans that we all throw into the bin... just drill holes, thread the string and stick on some toes and bobs your uncle they are made. I added some pipe to the rope for the handles. kids had fun trying to walk in them.

jester hat craft

Was another super easy craft this one. Just card cut into shape. a bit or colourful sticky tape for the band and then coloured in with textas and finished off with pomps. Loved by all...

small simple shaker egg craft

On Monday we did the simplest egg shaker possible. We used a kinder surprise egg container and filled it with a little bit of rice. Then put the egg back together and wrapped a bit of sticker around the seal(leftover white sticker from printer again cut with pinking shears) and prettied it up with some spotty tape I found at the cheapy store. Kids loved it.

Turtle photo frame craft

Hope all the dad's had a great day today and enjoyed their gifts that the children created this last week. On Wednesday we made turtle photo frames. Mainly made from foam.

new addition to the kitchen station

Yes there is a new addition to the kitchen...can you pick it??? A microwave!!! Goes around and dings too. Kids are having a ball with this newy. Come and check it out.

Lion pencil holder craft

To start this weeks fathers day theme we made lion pencil holders. Just a bit of cardboard tube circled by the lion. Great craft for younger kids as it is very easy to do.

Our wall of fame

When you come to playgroup you will notice our huge wall of fame which is covered by all our creations. Once dried they go up on the wall till they are taken home.

binoculars craft

A very simple version of binoculars for the kids to make. Just too tubes painted red, taped together and then decorated with sticker(more of the printer offcuts) and then holes drilled for the string. Easy but lots of fun both while being made and afterwards playing with them. Here's a couple of shots of the creations in use...

Helpful Hint #2 -edible paint

I got this recipe from this lovely blog It was tried and tested today. And yes it is edible but not really tasty!!! Throw 2 cups of any kind of flour that you have lying around into a bowl, gradually add COLD water until it forms a fairly smooth paste free of any big lumps, then slowly add freshly boiled HOT water, stirring constantly until it forms the right consistancy - if you are finger painting you'll want it to be a little thicker, so add less water. Split the mixture into however many colours you want and add a food colouring to you desired colour is reached. Now you have a non-toxic, completely toddler safe paint that they can eat all they like. Only make enough for the painting session as it only really lasts for 24 hours.

bee rattle craft

body was made from a cardboard tube, cardboard wings, sticker seals one end and ping pong ball seals the other end. A bell is put inside before the ping pong ball is taped to the tube. Eyes with double sided tape go on the ping pong ball to form face and the children drew their own faces. Pipe cleaner legs are poked thru slits in the tube.

spin wheel craft

All you need to make a spin wheel is a square of paper, a length of thin dowel, some florists wire, and a drinking straw. Was nice watching the children running around afterwards with their wheels.

New Ice cream parlour

Children had a ball with the new play ice cream station. Very easy to do at home just scunch up paper as the scoops of icecream. Cone is just a piece of orange card shaped to the cone shape.Hours of fun.

bat craft

this craft is hard to show in motion So check out the little video I have attached. It is a bat that flaps. Cut out a bat shape then cut a slit in the middle and push a straw thru and cut the straw in half then tape the straw so that the straw becomes a handle for the flapping. Next glue a pom pom body on (I didn't have any so I made some cardboard ones) next glue the yellow foam eye surrounds and then the googley eyes. lastly draw the wing veins. Hold the handle and push it up and down to see the bats wings flap. Kids loved it.

chicken cup craft

This one again, was a hit, mainly because it too makes a noise. It is made from a plastic cup which I sprayed the inside of with yellow paint. A hole was pierced thru the bottom and a long piece of string threaded thru. Tie the end inside the cup to a toothpick so that it cannot be pulled right thru. Next the eggshell was cut from leftover sticker scraps from the printers I work for and the kids stuck it to the bottom. The beak is just a diamond shape of red paper folded in half and taped to the cup and googley eyes are also attached with double sided tape. The wings are actually cut from the top of the cup and taped into place. Lastly cut a rectangle of yellow tissue paper, fringe the edges and scrunch the middle so that the fringed edges stick out the top of the cup. And wahla!!! To make the chiken go "bawk, bawk", dangle the string into a bucket of water then tug the string from the top and the movement of your hands sliding down the string makes the noise. Try it. This is my sample...

helpful hint #1 -playdough recipe

Okay, every now and then I will be putting in a helpful hint, whether it be recipes of the things we use in playgroup or something that will help you at home with your crafting fun with you children. Today's helpful hint is the recipe of how I make my playdough. Not only is it cheaper to make your own playdough, but then you know what you child could be placing in their mouth!! And lets face it most kids do at some stage.

So heres the ingredients...
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
food colouring to desired effect
1 1/2 cups hot water (mix the food colouring in this water first before adding to the flour and salt)
2 tsp vegetable oil

It's easy. If your dough is a bit sticky just work in some more flour till it isn't sticky.