This blog is about art with an archangel as well as art for an archangel, my son Gabriel. Most, if not all of the arts & crafts I will blog about are in essence for my son. Crafting & art at an early age not only stimulates creativity but also teaches a child how to use many of his fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are movements that use the small muscles of the fingers, toes, wrists, lips, & tongue. These are extremely important in his development.
I love to peruse the craft store & see what's new or really, what newly hits my eye for inspiration. Thing is, unless it is a craft kit for one project, most things come in multiples. I only have one Gabriel so often I think of many different ways to utilize something. Large foam items often come in packages (see foam hands) so if I get them, they need to be special. I spotted these awesome Foam Crab shapes & felt summer approaching immediately; had to buy them. Here's one project we made- a family set of crab magnets.
There's a great article from the Examiner on why puzzles are good for children. Key points:
Puzzles build hand eye coordination
Puzzles develop fine motor skills
Puzzles offer opportunities for social and language skills
Puzzles encourage problem solving and logical thinking
MATERIALS: All you need is a puzzle (we have a few of the kind that come in a baggie instead of a box):
& self-adhesive craft magnets like these below. I love these because they are easy to cut with scissors & they are thin. They also adhere well.
Turn all of the pieces over.
Adhere one magnet to the center of each piece:
And you are ready to put together the puzzle on any magnetic surface... the refrigerator, dishwasher... washing machine (keeps kids busy!) or on a magnetic lapboard (great busy time in the car! No pieces lost.)
See the Beatles magnet, upper left-hand corner? Gabriel knows all 4 Beatles' names since he was one! Now it is "his" magnet.
Recently a friend of ours gave Gabriel some very much
appreciated hand-me-down clothes along with a stack of magazines… Ranger Rick,
Highlights & Nick Jr. from when her son was younger. Gabriel took to each
magazine like each was a new book. And I was surprised to see him focus on the
Dora the Explorer items most of all in the Nick Jr. Magazines. Why? Well, we
limit his TV time to mostly Sesame Street & Jack’s Big Music Show.
Television is sensory-overload for our tot. So I am not sure if Dora’s cute face
beckoned Gabriel from the pages or what, but I allowed him to watch the show.
And lo & behold, in his little rambling voice… he “answered” her questions.
Whoa. This was a huge step for us… Needless to say, I have become a Dora fan. Saying all that, you’ll know why I chose this “A-Dora-Ble” craft
to highlight her. I was Pin-spired by The Creative Salad’s bottle-cap magnet
post (are YOU on Pinterest? No? You should be especially if you
are reading a craft blog!) And I had already been collecting bottle caps… so this came
about…
& Good 'ol bottle caps. Mine are a collection from our office, where in our lobby, Think Coffee sells Boylan soda:
Small stickers... Ours, starring that famous bilingual gal of the small screen. Place one sticker inside the cap. Then, "paint" over the sticker using homemade
glue/sealer/finish (see below, also known as "modge podge")
Did you know that homemade "modge podge" is a 50% school, white glue to 50% water ratio? I did... 2 "drops" of water + 2 "drops" of white glue=
Allow to dry well...
Almost done!!! Uh oh... Watch out for Swiper!
Time for GLITTER FUN! Yes, I said glitter & fun in the same sentence. Yes, I am a mom... ha ha... Want to lessen the mess? Use glitter glue pens like these:
Dab the glitter glue on top of the sealed stickers & around the fluted edge of the cap...Allow to dry, AND...
Now you have a new, fun, one-of-a-kind set of magnets... Oh, again, watch out, ¡cuidado! ~ Swiper!
