A little forward thinking and some treasures frozen into blocks of ice makes a run of super hot days a LOT more bearable.

What do you do to beat the heat?

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Sensory Play – Icy Fun! is a post from: picklebums.com

I remember the day we visited the girls’ kinder for the first time, just to see what it was like. They had a shop set up in the home corner area and immediately my just turned four year old girls made a beeline for it and stayed playing shop for the whole time we were there.

Now, four years later, nothing has changed. When someone says the magical words ‘let’s play shop’ eyes still light up and little faces still beam… there is just more of them now! And these days ‘playing shop’ is more involved then a just a basket and a few empty boxes!

These days we need to make our own money, and share it out equally between all the shoppers.

We need to make a sign, and don’t forget to add the shop’s web address too.

Then you have to arrange all the goods, find some bags, baskets and trolleys and distract your baby brother somehow… then… then you are ready to play shop!

Do you kids like to play shop?
What other dramatic play themes do they enjoy?

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Playing Shop. is a post from: picklebums.com

“I want to sick something! Mum can I glue something? You know, stick stuff? You know, like with glue?”

It makes me smile the way he talks. From a 2 year old who didn’t even say ‘Mama’ to a four year old who who talks like a geeky teenager.

How can I say no to a request like that?

So I dig out the pot of home-made paste and find some cardboard (we save cereal boxes to cut up and paste on) and then search the recesses of my frazzled brain for things he could paste with. I really need to write a list of good collage materials I tell myself as I cut up some origami paper (it’s all I could find) and start making a collection.

So here it is… a list of things to stick…. you know… like with glue.

Easy to find, Easy to Glue, Collage Materials.

Recycled Wrapping Paper
Recycled Christmas/Birthday Cards
Paper Streamers
Junk Mail
Recycled printed papers
Old Magazines
Feathers
Cotton Balls
Patty Pans (cup cake wrappers)
Flowers
Leaves
Grass
Sticks
Cellophane
Tissue Paper
Confetti
Fabric Scraps
Wool/String
Ribbons
Foil
Sequins
Packing Peanuts
Bubble Wrap
Match sticks/Tooth Picks
Icy Pole Sticks
Paper Doilies

I am sure there are lots more things to add to this list. What have I forgotten? What’s your favourite collage material?

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Easy Art for Kids – Easy to find, Easy to Glue, Collage Materials is a post from: picklebums.com

My girls don’t like Santa. They never have, and I’m beginning to think they never will.

These days, at a very grown up eight years of age, they can keep themselves together when they walk past a giant blow up Santa in a shop, but no amount of lollies can bribe them to get any where near a real live Santa. Not even some very rude and mean spirited people telling them that if they don’t like Santa they won’t get any presents has made them change their mind. They just don’t like the jolly old over dressed man, not one bit.

To get around the whole lack of presents idea the two of them decided that they were ok with Santa landing his sleigh in the paddock. He can touch down far, far, from our house, over near the windmill, and then send his Angels into the house to deliver the loot. Yep… bet you didn’t know that as well as all those reindeer, Santa also travels with two Christmas angels.

So it is the Christmas Angels that deliver gifts to our house, and it is The Angels who receive copious amounts of mail at around this time of the year.

Santa does get a little letter love…

Morgan decided he LOVED Santa as a two year old and proclaimed it loudly, much to his sisters’ disgust, but when it came time to actually say hello to him and get the expected lolly, the love wasn’t so forth-coming. But Morgan happily sat down to write a letter to Santa last night, even making a really good attempt at writing ‘Santa’ too.

If you’d like to write some Christmas letters, to Santa, the Angels or maybe just to friends and family, I have made a Christmas version of my kids letter writing set (You can find writing set 1 here and writing set 2 here.).

This set comes with three different writing papers. Each writing paper design comes in a lined and un-lined version, for those who’d are not quite ready to write yet (as requested by a reader) and each has a matching evelope template, just cut, fold and stick.

You can download the Christmas Letter Writing set in a zipped folder here, via 4shared (no password problems this time… I hope!)

There will be a new Christmas themed printable each Monday until Christmas, and a few random extras thrown in too! Follow me via facebook, or subscribe via rss to make sure you don’t miss out and be sure to check out last week’s Christmas Printable – Christmas Postcard Template – just add your own photos and you are ready to print!

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2011 Christmas Printable Series – Christmas Letter Writing Set. is a post from: picklebums.com

We usually use a glue stick for collage as they are quick and easy to get out and pack up, don’t need a brush and easy for small hands to manage. But for some collage materials you need something with a bit more sticking power, that’s when we make corn flour paste.

Corn Flour Paste Recipe

1 part corn flour – 1/3 cup
3 parts water – 1 hot cup

In a saucepan, mix the cornflour with a little cold water to form a paste. Then add the hot water (the hotter it is the less time it will take to ‘cook’ the paste) a little at a time, stirring vigorously to get rid of any lumps. Once all the water is added cook the paste, stirring continuously, over a medium heat until it thickens and becomes opaque.

This paste is thick and gloopy so it doesn’t drip off brushes or run down pages. If you require even more sticking power, add some pva glue to the mix.

The above amounts make up enough paste for four kids to paste and paste until the collage materials run out. Add a few drops of tea tree oil and left overs will keep in the fridge for ages.

This paste also makes excellent finger paint. Increase the quantities to 1 cup of corn flour and 3 cups of water and add food colouring or paint after you have cooked the paste.

We are enjoying lots of gluey activities around here at the moment. I will posting some more collage ideas and activities soon, but check out some of the gluey activities we’ve done in the past…

From left to right : Autumn Leaf Collage, Simple Paper Mosaics, Paper Covered Lanterns, Personal Letterboxes.

Linking up with the Play Academy at NurtureStore this week.

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Easy Art for Kids – Corn Flour Paste Recipe is a post from: picklebums.com

I know that my kids have been itching to play in this huge puddle since it stopped raining earlier this week.

I know that getting dirty is lots of fun.

I know that we don’t need a swimming pool

I know that if her career as a zoo keeper doesn’t work out, she could always take up mud wrestling.

I know that rolling up his pants was a total waste of time!

I know that an hour spent playing in a huge muddy puddle was the perfect end to the first week back at school.

What do you know? Link up with Yay For Home’s Things I Know

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Things I Know… is a post from: picklebums.com

I can hear the voice in my head, yelling across the play ground;

“Put the stick down!
It’s not safe, you’ll poke someone’s eye out!
Put it down!”

If the voice didn’t belong to me it was someone I was working with or another parent.

A small child waving a stick around seems to make even the bravest of us suddenly see visions of disaster. A ‘no playing with sticks’ policy seems to be the easiest way to avoid the scenario where one child’s eye balls is somehow skewered onto the end of another child’s stick.

But there is something about sticks that just draw children to them.

If there is a big stick in a paddock of long grass, my kids will find it. Then they’ll fight over who gets to play with it. The stick becomes a fishing rod, a sword, a light sabre, a wand, and monsters giant arm with clawed fingers on the end…. And while I am wincing at the thought of all those possible injuries my kids are busy playing, imagining, problem solving, working together and learning.

So I’m taking a deep breath, I’m putting on my big girl undies and being brave about this.
Yep, I am going to let my kids play with sticks.

Sure, there will be some limits. I don’t think even I am ready for lots of big sticks with lots of children in a small space…. but outside, with lots of space, and a bit of supervision and explanation? I’m willing to deal with the consequences and let my children take a few risks for the sake of learning and sheer enjoyment!

On Sunday morning, in some glorious winter sunshine, we went for a walk ‘up the back’.

Up the back, under the big trees there are lots and lots of sticks. Some of them are HUGE branches fallen from the sugar gums during recent storms. Some of the branches have been chopped up ready to be stacked as fire wood. Some sticks still have green leaves on them and some are as long as we are tall. It is stick heaven ‘up the back’ under the big trees, and I let my kids really enjoy it.

They had sword fights, made fairy houses, spent time stacking fire wood for Daddy, tried to use a big stick like a pole vault. I even let them run around like crazy people, sticks in hand. It was good fun!

Then we collected a basket full of sticks and carried them back to the shed… but more on that next week.

Do you let your kids play with sticks?
Do you let your kids take some risks in the name of learning or fun?

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Playing With Sticks is a post from: picklebums.com

We went on a hunt, looking for round things to print with. We found lots of different round things, some worked well for printing, other’s not so well!

Here are some round things that worked great to make prints with!

A cup
Cut up cardboard tube
Bottle caps
Marker lid
The bottom of a gum nut
Round blocks
Cut up tree branches.
A plastic container.

What other round things can you think of that would make interesting prints?

Here are our other printing with paint projects –
Sponge Printing
Lego/Duplo Printing
Printing with Household objects – including bubble wrap, toilet paper rolls and potato mashers!

Link up with the It’s Play Time link up at Let the Children Play!

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Easy Art for Kids – Circle Printing is a post from: picklebums.com

When things are going to hell in a hand basket, or when you just have a little snip of time between one thing and another, or when you just need everyone to stop running around the house and leaping off the couches… that’s when you need a 30 Minute Challenge!

It’s a new game I’ve invented (well ok, someone else probably thought of it first, but I invented it in our house!) and it works a treat to break the crazy cycle, at least for 30 minutes! Here’s how it works..

Challenge your kids to create something in 30 minutes.

Yep, it’s that simple!

You may need to vary the challenges and make the time longer or shorter depending on the activity or the age of the child, but the idea is the same. Make it sound special and tricky by announcing in your best ring masters voice that it’s… “Time for a 30 minute challenge!!!”

Here are some ideas for 30 Minute Challenges.

The Lego Challenge.

This our current favourite challenge. Challenge your kids to build something out of Lego. It might be a house, a garden, a vehicle…

There is a cool blog called Lego Challenge but I only found it after I’d wracked my brains trying to come up with ideas, but sadly, it hasn’t been updated for a while. Maybe they’ll be back after the US summer holidays are over?

The Play Dough Challenge.
Similar to the Lego challenge but with more mess, so this one is not good if you don’t have much time! Challenge your kids to make a play dough animal, or monster, or how about their favourite food?

The Drawing Challenge.

Challenge your kids to draw something. Perhaps a picture of themselves, or a family member, their favourite food, favourite animal. Or challenge them to draw using red, orange and green only, or only using triangles…

The Dancing Challenge.
Of course my girls came up with this challenge – make up a dance and perform it. I added the extra challenge of making sure everyone who wants to be in it can be in it!

The Cleaning Challenge.
So far this challenge has worked far better than I could ever had hoped, though I did shorten the time frame. I challenged the kids to make the living room as tidy as they could in 10 minutes and my goodness it was tidy!

Has anyone got any ideas for new challenges? Maybe I just need to challenge myself to get up and hang the washing!

Check out and link up to It’s Play Time at Let the Children Play – lots of great ideas!

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Activities for Kids – 30 Minute Challenge is a post from: picklebums.com

Ok so I may just be posting these fabulous dress-up links so that my Mum reads this and decides to make some for my kids… but hey… at least I’m honest!

Boy-ish dress-ups are always hard to find but these fleece pirate dress-up from Sew Can Do are cool and my girls would love them too!

How cool are these crowns made from plastic bottles by Paper Plate and Plane.

These silk scarf butterfly wings by This Mama Makes Stuff are beautiful!

Another more ‘boy-ish’ option, but my girls are eyeing off these frontier vests from Made because they are heavily into native American Indians at the moment and with a few alterations think this could make a great Indian vest!.

These dinosaur/dragon tails from Tatertots and Jello (guest post by Jessica from Running With Scissors) are just cool!

We love dressing up at our house, we always have, even when my big boy was only a little boy and he loved hats and bags.

Do your kids like to dress up as much as mine? Got some great dressing-up links to share?

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Links – Kids Dress-ups to Make is a post from: picklebums.com