Category: 6-Year-Old

New Year’s Traditions

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If ever there was a year to ring in with as many lucky traditions as possible, then 2021 is it! To wit, the kids had fun testing out customs from three other countries to start the year on the right foot.

For the first, we tried this Colombian tradition of wishing for travel and adventure in the year ahead: take a suitcase for a walk!

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Of course the kids wanted to pack theirs up (with stuffed animals and socks!) before we took a silly stroll around the neighborhood.

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Next up, it was time to leap into the new year – literally! Apparently a Danish tradition, I gave Travis permission to jump from the coffee table to the couch. The kids also perfected their jumping skills from couch to floor.

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And finally, we invited good luck into our home by opening up all the kitchen cabinets just before bed, a tradition from the Philippines meant to bring good fortune. (If you live in a warm enough climate, open up doors and windows, too!).

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What lucky traditions will you use this New Years? Please share in the comments!

Chinese Paper Dragons

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Chinese New Years won’t technically fall until February 12, 2021, but these dragon puppets still felt fun to make as we made the transition to 2021 as festive as possible!

To make each dragon, I first cut sheets of construction paper in half vertically, then glued them together into one extra long strip. You’ll need two pieces like this for each dragon; Travis chose black and blue and Veronika chose black and purple.

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I wouldn’t normally recommend using hot glue on paper, but in this case it was the most secure way to glue one strip to the other, perpendicular to each other. Fold up accordion-style.

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We then cut extra sheets of construction paper to be the heads and tails (rounding the heads slightly and cutting the tails into a triangle point). Use hot glue to add to either end of the body.

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Just a few final touches were needed now! Veronika helped glue feathers and bright buttons onto each face, and we added additional features with marker.

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Our dragons were ready to rock and roar.

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We’re looking forward to the upcoming Year of the Ox!

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Party Creatures

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Good bye to 2020; I don’t think anyone is going to miss it! We wanted to launch into the new year with the prettiest party possible from home, so put together these fun confetti poppers!

To start, knot a balloon and then snip off a bit of the end opposite the knot. Fit the balloon over an empty toilet paper roll and secure with duct tape.

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Next, we chose a pretty patterned paper to cover each roll. After that, each tube needed some silly adornments! We glued wiggle eyes onto pom poms, which were then added to each tube along with twisted sparkly chenille stems.

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These creatures were ready to party! Your kids might even want to name them. Popping Pat? Confetti Carly? Anything alliterative and silly fits the bill.

For confetti, Travis used a hole punch to make circles from sparkly construction paper (or cardstock would work, too). This was a neat homemade twist on confetti but took lots of effort, so we also added a few packs of sequins from the store.

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Now set the creatures aside until it’s time to count down to midnight! After that, the kids helped fill up each tube with the confetti.

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Pull back on the knot of the balloon to launch. Five, four, three, two, one: Happy New Year!

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We are wishing a very happy and healthy 2021 to all.

Clothespin Puppets

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It’s that time of the month when we’re emptying out the craft bin before stocking up for the month ahead, and I love projects like this that use up all the bits and bobs! Since Travis learned about puppets this month, we made one last simple type: clothespin puppets!

We wanted to decorate the body of the clothespin, but didn’t want to wait for paint to dry. The perfect solution? Strips of decorative washi tape.

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Once the tape was in place, we could decorate them in any way. Most of them received wiggle eyes, and we also glued down feathers, beads, pom poms, and more.

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All the kids had to do was pinch the clothespins to make the “mouth” of each little creature talk.

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These cute puppets are sure to make their way into all sorts of imaginative games.

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Butterfly Hand Puppet

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We’ve been having fun with puppets lately, and here’s a neat one that kids can wear right on their hands!

I had a few fabric swatches in different prints, so cut out circles for a blue butterfly and a rather whimsical pineapple one. Insert this circle of fabric into a clothespin. Ideally I would have used a peg clothespin, but a spring-type clothespin worked in a pinch (with a little hot glue for security).

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I then wrapped a pipe cleaner around the tip of each clothespin as the antennae.

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Now to get it onto the kids’ hands! Using some old exfoliating gloves from the drugstore, I hot glued one “butterfly” onto each glove.

Veronika loved fluttering hers around!

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Travis’s very quickly became a flying dragon involved in make-believe games rather than a butterfly, but that worked just as well! Either way, these puppets were simple but fun to make.

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Bread Roll Puppets

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Today, Travis had full permission to play with his food because we turned a bread roll into a puppet!

To start, I showed Travis how to make a “smile” in a French bread roll by cutting a slit in the middle like a mouth.

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Poke two additional holes above the mouth with a butter knife to be the eyes. We filled these with chocolate chips, although raisins might have worked better.

For a silly tongue, fold up your favorite meatless deli slice (like Tofurky), and insert into the mouth.

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Let the showtime begin! Travis immediately began both eating the puppet and being silly with it, squeezing so the mouth could move. The rolls were so delicious that the puppet didn’t last long! But if you manage to slow your hungry kids down, arrange the rolls on a plate with basil or lettuce leaves as hair for a cute photo-op first.

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Milk Swirl Experiment

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Here’s a neat STEM experiment that Travis tried once before (aiming to imitate the look of the Northern Lights), but this time we were more focused on the science of surface tension and why the experiment works as it does.

I can’t vouch for every type of non-dairy milk on the market, but the activity works great with oat milk.

To start, simply pour a layer of your milk into a shallow bowl. Add drops of food coloring near the center (just one or two drops of each), close together so they are nearly touching.

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Now dip a q-tip swab in a bit of liquid dish soap. Touch lightly to the food coloring…

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…and watch the colors skitter away! There is definite wow factor to this one. Here’s a quick clip of our second round (because of course we needed to test it out more than once!).

Travis and I talked about what’s really happening here after all the swirly fun was done: The soap has both a hydrophilic (water-loving) end and a hydrophobic (water-fearing) end. The latter grabs onto the fat in the milk, which means all the milk molecules start to get pulled apart and the colors go skittering along with them.

All that science aside, it’s just so fun to watch! If you use a different type of non-dairy milk, please share your results in the comments!

Corn Husk Dolls

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All you need to make these adorable dolls is a package of corn husks from the international aisle of the supermarket. They’re easy to make and turn out so cute!

To start, Travis helped layer four husks for each doll. Secure near the top with a rubber band.

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Now fold the husks over so they hide this first rubber band. Attach a second rubber band near the top, so the doll is now divided into a head and a skirt.

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For the arms, the kids helped roll up one husk tightly. Secure with three rubber bands: one in the middle and one near either end to form two “hands”.

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Slot this arm piece up the middle of the doll’s body. Add a final rubber band under the arms, delineating where the waist would be.

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Time to decorate! Veronika loved coloring a rainbow shirt on hers, while I drew eyes and a mouth on the face.

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Travis turned his into Baby Yoda with some green marker and black eyes! The dolls were soon involved in inventive games for the kids, meaning this project was fun both as a craft and for the imagination.

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Crazy Bird Puppets

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If a cold winter afternoon is driving your kids a bit stir-crazy, then make crazy puppets with all that energy. Crazy bird puppets that is!

To start, paint paper plates with any colors your kids want. You’ll need two and half plates per bird, but we just went crazy (of course!) and painted more than we needed, ending up with about 7 or 8 plates.

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Veronika really wanted to help, too, and loved mixing colors and alternating between large- and small-bristled brushes.

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I needed some place to let all those plates dry. Ideally I would have had some place to hang them from clothespins, but I settled for laying them down on top of scrap paper in the bathtub. Once dry, we folded two plates in half and then stapled together. Place the half plate underneath the bottom one and staple on.

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Now, your hands can insert between the two full-sized plates so you can work the “beak” of the bird to make it look like he’s cackling and cawing and talking. Travis helped glue on feathers and pom poms for decoration, and then these birds looked even crazier.

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Put a sock on your wrist and you’ll even have the illusion of colorful neck feathers as you make the bird’s beak move.

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Here’s hoping you have a crazy good time with these puppets.

Candy-Less Canes

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Confession: we’ve probably eaten way too many sugary candy canes this holiday season. So it was time to put a healthier spin on this favorite holiday treat!

Over two afternoons, we had fun making faux candy canes with red-and-white foods. First up was a fruit version. I sliced strawberries and bananas and set them on a cutting board, then challenged Travis to arrange them like a candy cane (or as Veronika calls it, a “minty”).

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He quickly got the hang of it, and then both kids loved devouring this trompe l’oiel snack.

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Needless to say, the red stripes (a.k.a. strawberries) didn’t last long.

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The next day it was time for a savory spin on the treat! This time I set out piles of sliced tomato and vegan feta cheese. Travis again quickly figured out how to line them up like candy cane stripes.

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And the kids quickly polished it off for a snack! What foods would you use for a pretend candy cane? Please share in the comments!