Doodle Rubbings

We had a lot of fun making what we call "Doodle Rubbings" this weekend. I think these are a fun learning tool.  These doodle rubbings are so quick and easy to make and they can be used by lots of kids (think play group or preschool, etc.)  Some themes we did were: emotions, things that fly, shapes, colors and names.

To make some Doodle Rubbings, here are some {Little Project} Tips:
*Materials you Need: Glue gun, cardboard, crayons, paper clips or binder clips

1- Cut your cardboard to size.  I used cereal box cardboard.  If you are going to have a lot of children participate you may want to use the heavy kind of cardboard instead, since it is harder to bend.  Use longer pieces of cardboard for words and names.

You can use smaller pieces for single pictures (happy and sad):

2-With the glue gun, just "draw" your picture.  I found that it was easier to draw when I put the glue gun right down on the cardboard.  This creates a flatter line of glue which works just as well for the coloring.  The nice thing about hot glue is that it is quite forgiving.  After it dries, if it didn't turn out well I could pull it off and do it again :)   You can also draw the image first on the cardboard before you do the hot glue part (I did that for the bird.)

3-To keep the Doodle Rubbing in place while coloring, use a paper clip or binder clip.
4-When coloring, encourage broad, lighter strokes.  The heavier strokes make it harder for the child to tell what the image is.

 You can use more than one color too in the rubbings.

The possibilities are endlessly fun with {This Little doodle Project}  I'm thinking of doing some dinosaurs and fossils next and also using this method when we learn about skeletons.

Making Doodle Rubbings of each child's name makes them feel really special.  Their eyes light up when they see their name come through!  

You could also make Doodle Rubbings as an activity when learning phone numbers, address, etc.  
Doing our Doodle Rubbings was fun partly because it feels like a secret message is coming through as you color over them.

Have fun creating some Doodle time for the little ones in your life!

Friday Favorites and Freebies

Here's a freebie for you from my summer photo stash.  We were at the beach this past weekend and someone had left this message in the sand.  I thought it would make a great starting photo for our summer collection.  If you think it would fit well in yours you are welcome to use it.  A Friday Freebie from me to you :)   (Click on it to see the image full-size.)

This tutorial of how to make a beach collage from shells would go great with the photo too!

10 great tips for art projects with kids by a Mommy who knows!

Here's an idea for where to keep all those art supplies-fun idea!

Cupcakes and Pretty go together HERE!

Have you heard of Doodle Bread? I LOVE stars-so many possibilities! This is so fun!

Sometimes I dream about how our house will look when we aren't renting anymore.  This site gets me going on all the fun we might have!

Have a Happy Friday, I hope you find something to fit your fancy!

A Store for the Village

We completed more of our village store this week with the grocery store.  I am realizing that we only have one month left here in our summer home-away-from-home and I find myself thinking we have a lot more village to create in just a month.  The store started out looking like this:

These are little bird houses.  My Mom picked these up at Joanne's for me and said they would be perfect for our village.  She was right :)  They are slowing turning into different places in the village.

I used a dremel tool to carve out the back of each house and to cut off the little bird "perch" in the front.  You can tell I don't get much practice with this little tool (I always just borrow one.)

But it turned out to be the perfect size for our village people.

For all the grocery store "products" I cut apart the newspaper ads from the stores and put them on with modge podge (a layer under and a layer over each of the pictures.)  I guess our store is basically wallpapered on! 
The back of the store has the produce, and another side has the snacks.
The inside shows eggs, breads, cheese, milk, juice, etc.  I'm seeing it as a fun way for us to learn about the food pyramid and talk about different kinds of foods and where they come from.  

The "STORE" letters are just to work on word recognition.  Jay glued the scrabble letters onto popsicle sticks. 

You can may be able see that there is also a little carrot garden next to the store.  It adds a little "farmer's market" feel to the grocery store.  The carrots are sewn down so they can't get lost but they can be "picked" from the garden.  
The Store is open for business...
I hope to add some flowers too, and some berries since we picked some of those up too at the farmer's market today.  Hmmm...makes me hungry just thinking about it :) 
If you want to build a village too, feel free to check out past posts about the village and making roads.  It's been a great "open-ended toy" to encourage lots of imagination!

Messages from the Sun

You know those little magnetic letters that end up all over the place?  Well, here is a fun summertime project you can do with them outside that teaches about words and sunshine:

Materials: construction paper, magnetic letters, sunshine, paperweight if it is windy.

To get a message from the sun:

1. Let your child choose words s/he likes and get the letters for them.Some children like words because they can spell them; like sun or frog.Others like words because they are meaningful to them; like doll or grandma.2. Let the child help you form the words on the construction paper in a sunny place.3.  You may want to use a paperweight.  Our main struggle was the wind with this project.4. wait....wait...wait...don't touch it for a couple of hours.5.  Then go out and see what message the sun left!
 When you take off the letters the paper has faded everywhere that the letters were not sitting.
Here's how one of ours turned out (don't be scared away by the bad photo ;)
{This Little Project} was a fun way to explore letters, words, and the sunshine.  Enjoy!

Friday Favorites and Freebies

It's Friday again!  And time to celebrate with some Freebies and Favorites!  I hope you find something to fit your fancy!

Check out this amazing map by Martha. I can't wait to try this out!

Think a spiced-up bike helmet might make it easier to want to wear one?  Check this Modge Podge site out-so many great ideas!

This is a beautiful way to do a light switch cover (and a nice little reminder :)

Have you ever thought about baking cookies in your car?

Craft Fail-seriously Funny. You need that on a Friday, or Monday, or any day. Go have a look.

Have a Happy Project Friday!

Remarkable Marker Fun

Most people think of dry erase markers on just the white board that they come with.  Did you know that dry erase markers work perfectly well on mirrors too?  

Below are 3 more surfaces and activities that are remarkably more fun with these fun little markers.  If you don't trust your little one with dry erase markers washable markers work too :)

Try doing a self-portrait right in front of the mirror.

Kids can make all kinds of expressions in the mirror and then draw them "on themselves."
Mirror writing is also a fun way to write reminders.  It's a great place to display sight words.  We also use it as a place for Spanish words we are learning.  Most families spend some time in front of the mirror.  You can write messages to each other too!

A dry erase marker on a laminated surface can make reviewing something so exciting!  Jay normally might not want to review how to draw each letter.  But with a dry erase marker it is an adventure he won't miss.  (He's using a placemat from the dollar store in this activity.)
 I draw a little dot on each letter so he remembers where to start and then he's off to draw them all-no complaints!  We've also used this technique with maps, etc.

Dry erase markers also work well on windows.   We use window writing to practice writing words.  It's way more exciting on the window then on "normal" paper!  They are great for rainy days too!

Dry erase markers are temporary on these surfaces but they come off easiest if they don't sit for a long time.  Remember to keep the dry erase markers OUT of REACH except for special occasions and to keep a good eye out while they are in use.  If you opt for washable markers (I do with Kay) then just use water to wash them away.
I hope you have fun with This Little Project!