{Pasta Play : And Other Cheap Toddler Fun}

All this funny Sydney weather has left me many times with a very active toddler at home whilst it's raining outside. Here are SOME of the ways I have kept him amused lately. I have had to get creative as he is a smart kid, but needs to burn energy and get creative and change activities frequently!

1. Pasta Play:
I started simply by putting 5 pasta noodles on one plate, handing him another empty plate and some mini tongs. No instructions, just let him play and count.


2. Spaghetti Tower: Then I blu-taked a spaghetti strand to a plate and he started building them up counting as he went. He was enjoying this more than I thought.





Of course my son found a way to make a mess (he is an expert there) and do we turned cleaning into another game (I know I may have a shelf life for this lol)!



Then we got s break in the sun so we decided to try car painting. Combining cars and mess = BIG hit for my little one.

1. Find old or cheap cars you don't mind getting painted.
2. Let them paint the wheels and watch on some paper as the tyres make rainbow tracks.
3. Then put done warm soapy water in a bucket and have a "car wash" to clean up ;)


There are a few other things I will share soon that don't cost the earth. If you have any other ideas - feel free to share them here or on facebook or twitter :)

Lauren x




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

{Build-a-Cubby Kit} A great gift idea for "mini men"

I love giving my children toys and experiences that teach them but also develop their imagination. In my humble opinion, too many toys these days hand the experience to them on a 'silver platter' and don't allow them to imagine, create, change and experiment. Thats's why I love things like blocks and lego.

So when Mr. 4 was invited to a birthday party for a friend at prep I thought a bit outside the box. I remeber seeing something simailar ages ago online somewhere (that sparked the initial idea) but it was so long ago and I have no idea where I found it. When I track it down, I will definitley give credit ;)

I put together a very basic draw string bag in a blue fabric from my stash to put it all in and attached this tag:



Here are some pictures of what I used to create the kit:









Enjoy;
Lauren x

{Mr Magorium and My Bow Tie Boy}

I just love watching children play and imagine and it's so sad that we loose this as we get older. Recently we had family movie night and watched Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium whichh captivated our 4 year old beyond belief. He loved watching the craziness of the toys and the outfits (Eddie's hats and Mr Magoriums suits in particular).
This may have influenced him to put together his outfit for church last Sunday which I am kicking myself I didn't get a picture of. He chose to wear (no matter how I hinted otherwise) thongs, jean shorts his white button up and collared shirt and black bow-tie from his Aunty and Uncles wedding last October. ALL TOGETHER! So gorgeous. So, I found some fabric in my stash that Mr Magorium would swoon over and fashioned a Bow Tie for my boy. I had no idea how to start so I looked at his wedding one and just kinda guessed (helpful i know ;)

The basic idea of supplies was:
*2x large rectangles (mine measured approx 16cm x 13.5cm)
*2x small rectangles (mine measured approx 8.5cm x 11cm)
[NOTE: I would also have cut fusable interfacing if I had the right thickness on hand....it would have made finished product much sturdier]
*1x long piece of the same fabric about 7.5cm x 15.5cm to create the tube around the center of the bow tie (in hindsight this made almost enough for two so length could be much shorter even about half)
*1x length of thick sturdy elastic with enough length to fit around neck of your child


Method (without interfacing):
1. Place the same size rectangles right sides together and sew around with 1/4" seam leaving a few cms on the boarder to turn inside out.
2. Repeat with other rectangles.


3. Turn them out and top stich around the edge to finish nicely
4. Using your long piece, fold in half length ways right side together. Sew a 1/4" seam along the edge making sure to backstitch along both ends (this helps give seam strength when turning out on itself.

5. Place the small rectangle on top of the large one and center it. Run a little stitch a few times back and forwards in the middle to secure them together.

6. With the 'tubed center piece' place it around both rectangles to 'mask' the finish product and measure how much you need.

7. Sew it into a loop and cut off excess and turn inside out so seam is on inside (you'll have to take care making sure your seams match as closley as possible here for a good finish)
8. Tightly roll rectangles together and feed through the 'tubed centre piece' and then 'fluff out' (for lack of a better term) to reveal the desired look.
9. Using your measured elastic, thread through the tube and then stitch over the ends followed by a reverse stitch (I did this twice as I wanted to make sure it was sturdy).


10. Move the seam on the elastic so it's under the center piece to make the look more finished.




TADA!!! Told you it was easy. When I handed it to him he just loved it, but chose a fabric off the shelf and said "now Mum we need a bag to keep it in because this a very special bow tie". So with his chosen fabric I knocked up a quick carry bag for him to keep his tie in. Maybe he is catching the sewing bug like I have - hahaha!

This is such an easy project and you only need basic sewing skills. I just love the look of this I might just do one for me as a headband with some fabric a little more girly *ideas flooding head as I type* lol ;)

Enjoy;
Lauren x

{Super Kid!}

I had a birthday for a three year old boy recently and what better gift than a SUPER cool personalised cape to match the thriving imagination! The gift was not only a hit by the birthday boy, but my son (mr. 4) is putting in orders for his own "Super Cape". His favourite part was the star fabric on the under side and he frequently makes sure I "don't forget to buy star material mum" hahahaha!

Think I will have to get sewing, my son is putting orders on the table faster than I can sew :)

Enjoy;
Lauren x

Who needs a living room?

I found this link on twitter through a retweet and was GOBSMACKED!!!! My boys would LOVE LOVE LOVE this to play with. Even if I could afford this incredible set up, I would need a spare room to put this baby (which they'd grow out of in a few years). BUT fun to dream right?!?!?

An outdoor playgym also by Cedar Works
(of course located in Maine- USA)

Product Review ::: from Boys Germs

Here are a few of my favourite finds from a wonderful website called "Boys Germs". Have a browse and I hope you like these awesome products like I did ;)

Personalised Name Light from mylight from about $140 (different options available).





Not your average blocks from A + R for US$158.

Gumboots from Little Elk $49.95

Dorothy 'mini' lamp from Lilly and Lolly $145

Bubble Clox from Lilly and Lolly $39.95

Tyre wheel and wrench spoon from Wrenchware US$19

Table and Chairs Set from Hip Kids for $110

Enjoy;
Lauren x

Patterns With Buttons - Incidental playing/ learning :)

While my little man was napping the day before last, I cooked dinner and some cookies with my (almost) 4 year old boy. Whilst cookies were in the oven, I took the chance to have some teaching/ playing time with him. I got out a sheet that I quickly whipped up that looked like this and got a jar of buttons from my craft room. Then we spontaniously "played button games" (which I made up as we went). Some examples of these games are below:

* First I used the grid and put a red button in the first square, then a yellow one then red again (making a pattern of 2 colours: RED/YELLOW/RED/ YELLOW). Then we said the colours aloud together and he told me which one came next. Then I said "finish the pattern" and taught him what that meant. He placed buttons in the RYRYRY pattern to fill the grid.

* Then I did a pattern of three colours BLUE/YELLOW/ORANGE. So I put into the grid BLUE/YELLOW/ORANGE/BLUE......then he figured out he had to fill in the pattern by putting in the yellow then orange buttons squares and he kept it going to fill the 10 space grid.

* The circles we used for early addition skills. E.g. I have one in my circle. (1) How many in your circle? (1) Lets ADD them together 1 plus 1 = 2 buttons together.

* (CATEGORY/ ATTRIBUTE LEARNING). Choose your favourite button and put it into the circle (they might pick a green/ shiny/ big one). Ask them "why is that your favourite?" Whatever reason they state is the attribute they have notified in their button. So, lets see if we can find any other green buttons and put the others in the different circle.

The sky is the limit with this activity and there are so many things you can teach but because it's fun, they think they atre playing!!! I could fill this page with activity ideas, but I will spare you :)

Lauren x

Imagination play time

Something inside me smiles when I cast my eyes on my boys playing with their wooden blocks and toys. Too often in these times the toys are leaving the imagination aspect out of play. But there is nothing like the 'chicnking' (just made that word up....hehe) sound of wooden blocks turning into people, cities, a bbq, a castle or even simple towers that tumble with a CRASH - the options are endless!!! Well, I found a few websites that have these kind of toys and just had to share.....nothing like pure play!
Enjoy :)
Lauren x

Rainy Day Activity - Paper City

There are just some things that are perfect rainy day activities.....we have done two of these today. Playdough and a paper city inspired by a favourite blog of mine 'Made by Joel'.
Joel has putup on his blog, different printable components for his paper city. The best thing about this is it is a cheap activity and we were at it for hours!!! We did something similar ages ago and these are great activities that store well and entertain for hours....the options are endless.

Made By Joel - LOVE IT!!!

I came across this blog "made by joel" that is by a guy called Joel (derr) who has 2 gorgeous kids and makes lots of things for his them. I love that he sews, but his projects are simple and things I could attempt since I am on my L-Plates.
What I love about the creations he shows, are that the toys are fairly basic and let the kids imagination use them in all sorts of settings. The applications for these "kid-powered" toys are endless and want to try a few of these when I get a machine at home :)

Slotted building discs to create anything!!!

"Toy Bench" satisfies my love of simple wooden toys that can create anything and modern simplicity decorating in one!!!!

This toy zoo mat allows the kids to get out toy animals and create a world of animal fueled imagination.

These wooden cars are adorable as they all fit into the cute little tin and would provide many hours of entertainment!

I saved the best till last!!! With two boys in the house that love 'playing house' this modern house would definitley be a welcome addition to the "role play" that we do so often but without the 'tissy' pink touched synonomus with typical doll houses!!!! Must show hubby and send SUBTLE hints ;)