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Offbeat Friendship Day Crafts for Kids - & Adults

7/30/2018

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Friendship bands are the most common, tried and tested part of Friendship Day, which falls this year on August 5. Though they are an integral part of the said occasion, there are a number of alternative, unique ways your kids can make their best friends feel special. Moreover, it could be a good occasion to let our (read: parents’) friends also feel special, get in touch with them after all these years if you aren’t in regular touch already. These little tokens of appreciation are sure to go a long way in rekindling your bond with your pals even if it’s been a while since you touched base last. After all, friendship is forever, right?

There are a whole lot of very interesting resources available online, such as these fun craft activities for kids which can be fashioned to suit any occasion. For the upcoming Friendship Day in particular, here are 2 offbeat Friendship Day DIY crafts you can have fun making with your kids.
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“keychain” by Angelo_Gemmi is licensed under CC by 2.0
Handmade Keychains: I was going to suggest making DIY bookmarks again, similar to the ones mentioned in my last Mother’s Day post here, but then realized that everyone (unfortunately) may not be a big fan of reading like me. However, one thing that everyone finds use for on a daily basis is a keychain – house keys, car keys, cupboard keys – we all use it every day. So why not make a simple handmade keychain that will bring a smile to your friend’s face whenever their eyes catch it? It need not be anything elaborate, just a simple beaded keychain with the beads spelling out your name, or whatever your pal considers a lucky charm (mine is a feather and my best friend always, for some weird reason, thought a shoe was lucky for her) or just some colorful tassels that will remind her of you every time she locks her front door or inserts her car keys into the ignition. I mean, I would love it myself so I assume others who receive it would too!
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“Low Poly Chromatic 3 Girls Playing Vintage Silhouette No Background” by GDJ is licensed under CC by 2.0
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Handmade Cards or Scrapbook: There can be nothing better than a handmade card or a small DIY piece of craft that you’ve molded with your own hands, to reach out to your best friends. Ask your child to draw herself and her friend (the one she plans to give the card too; since personalization is the key here) how she envisions them together on a piece of colored cardboard that can be folded in half. I asked my daughter to do it and she came up with three different cards for her three best friends – one in which she had her hands covering her eyes while her friend was hiding behind a tree, another with a neighborhood pal digging in mud and both getting their arms and legs and clothes all messy while grinning away to glory and a third just sitting on a bench looking at the birds and squirrels. It spoke volumes about how each friend held a unique place in her life.

I, personally, am not very good at drawing so I’ve dug out old college photographs together with two of my best friends, who are now settled far off in different countries and rarely get to meet. I’m planning to make a scrapbook of sorts (here is a simple scrapbook tutorial I followed) and mail it to them the snail mail way. So many memories came flooding back when I was sifting through the pictures – those were some really good times! Sigh.
Good friends are like stars. You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there.
To the ones who have always been there for me, I wish you all a very Happy Friendship Day!
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Simple Last Minute Mother's Day Crafts for Kids

5/13/2018

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 Mother’s Day is almost upon us and for those kids (read: dads because you know you are the one who should have started planning a surprise for mom with the kids earlier but didn’t) who haven’t yet thought up of a way to make your mom’s day special, we have just the things for you. Have a look at these Mother’s Day activities or if you are in a greater hurry, read on; we have two simple crafts that can be whipped up in a jiffy to save your day.
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Image courtesy: YouTube
For her jewelry: This could be a keepsake for her dressing table. All you need to do is get your hands on (washed and dried) ice-cream sticks; about 12 in number should be good enough, in addition to some glue to stick them together. Begin by painting them in your favorite colors – to keep it simple you could stick to just two colors or even one leaving the other color to be a natural brown hue, or else go multicolor to give your gift a cheerful air. Make a triangle with three sticks – one flat at the bottom, and 2 others in an inverted V-shape touching together at the top. Glue them together so that they form a complete inverted V with a horizontal flat bottom. Make 2 such combinations. Finally, set them about 3-4 inches apart and glue on 5-6 sticks on the same one side (slope) of the inverted V’s, such that the glue part is at both ends of each stick and touching both the combinations you made in the first place.  Just make sure you leave a little space between each stick. Your jewelry holder is now ready to hold your mum’s earrings!

Let your mother find it on her dressing table all propped up once she comes into the room to get dressed for the day; she’ll be in for a very pleasant surprise!
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Image courtesy: Flickr
For her books: If your mom is a bookworm and loves to bury her nose into the pages of a book the first chance she gets, making a handmade bookmark is just the thing. You can use thick cardboard or even construction paper for this purpose. Use a pair of blunt scissors to cut out the cardboard or construction paper in the shape and size of a bookmark. If you are in a hurry, you could just paint up a short message on the cut out bookmark. But if you have a little time on your hands, look for an old photograph of you and your mom together, cut it out to fit the bookmark (even if only the faces seem to fit onto the bookmark, it works well) and paste the photo onto it. Punch in a hole at one end and insert a bright colored ribbon into it, tying it up into a knot at one end. Here is an alternative way with a step-by-step tutorial if you wish to have a look.

The best way to gift it to her could be to put it in between the pages of a book you know she is reading currently and leave it on her bedside table, or wherever she is most likely to find the book. Rest assured, it will remind you of her every time she picks up something to read!
Last year we talked about what mothers would actually ask for, if given a choice. If you haven’t already read that post, you could go through it here. Happy Mother’s Day!
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Simple Easter Bunny Crafts for Kids

3/30/2018

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Bunnies are cuddly,
The large and the small,
But I like chocolate ones,
The best of them all!
Well, that’s because when it comes to anything sweet, chocolate is right on top of my mind. My daughter seems to have taken after me too, in the chocolate department.

Talking about cuddly bunnies brings to mind Easter which is right around the corner. Here is an interesting article I found that talks about the origins of (chocolate) Easter eggs and how Easter bunnies came into being. And for those of you who do not consider themselves to be too much of the crafty sort, here are two simple Easter bunny crafts for you and your kids.
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“Easter Bunny in a Basket” by logoscambodia is licensed under CC by 2.0
​Paper Plate Easter Bunnies
This is such a simple DIY craft that even toddlers and preschoolers can pitch in to help. Here’s what you need – paper plates (small or big, both work well), googly eyes (not essential), thick cardboard or construction paper, some straws (for the bunny’s whiskers), cotton balls (brightly colored if possible, for the nose) and glue. Begin by taking 3-4 straws and twisting them around each other at a common center (a bit of transparent adhesive tape can be used to keep them in place). Glue it at the center of the back side of the plate. Once the glue dries up, stick on the cotton ball for the nose at the center intersection of the straws.

Next come the ears – here’s where construction paper or cardboard comes into use. Using a blunt pair of scissors, ask your kids to cut out two ear-shaped bits and then glue them on adjacent to each other at the top. The kids can also color in them to make it an Easter rabbit with colorful ears. Finally, simply stick on googly eyes if you have them or else just ask your little ones to draw the eyes as well as the smiling mouth using a black marker.

Egg Carton Easter Bunnies
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“Misc Egg Carton” by glitch is licensed under CC by 2.0
All of us have old cardboard egg cartons that we usually end up throwing away in the trash. Well, those very cartons can be recycled to make cute-looking Easter bunnies! All you need – egg cartons (of course), cardboard or construction paper, cotton, glue, marker pens (black and white), paint, a blunt pair of scissors and Easter eggs. Cut apart the carton into individual egg holders and ask your little ones to paint them entirely (both inside and out) in their favorite colors. Once the paint is dry, cut out the bunny rabbit ears from the cardboard or construction paper (like before, only smaller in size) and glue them to the inside back side of the individual cup, with their upper ends sticking out outside the cup.

A small ball of cotton for the nose and a bigger and rounder ball of cotton for the tail should be stuck on at the front and back sides respectively. Draw out eyes or stick on googly eyes again and use a white marker to add whiskers to your bunny. Pop in the Easter egg and your bunny rabbit is ready!

Do have a look at this collection of Easter activities for kids too. It has fun activities, coloring pages for younger kids, games and even interesting Easter worksheets. Happy Easter, everyone!
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Parenting - Carpenters vs Gardeners

2/26/2018

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​The other day a good friend suggested I should read The Gardener and the Carpenter by Alison Gopnik, a renowned developmental psychologist in the United States. Apparently, we as parents tend to unknowingly act as carpenters for our kids instead of being gardeners who should let them bloom and flourish in their own right. Being a gardener parent is akin to good parenting, claims the author.
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“Parents Swinging Child Silhouette” by GDJ is licensed under CC by 2.0
I just finished reading the book and I have to admit, it did strike a chord somewhere within. I realized the fact that me as a parent, and a majority of the parents around me are following what she calls ‘the narrow parenting model’. For instance, according to most parents, a strict set of rules need to be adhered to by our kids – such as kids that go to school have to learn science mostly be reading facts about it rather than by doing stuff. (This was really satisfying for me as a homeschooling parent – most of our science lessons at home are taught as well as learnt by doing instead of just learning by rote.)

In the author’s words: “So our job as parents is not to make a particular kind of child. Instead, our job is to provide a protected space of love, safety and stability in which children of many unpredictable kinds can flourish. Our job is not to shape our children’s minds; it’s to let those minds explore all the possibilities that the world allows. Our job is not to tell children how to play; it’s to give them the toys and pick the toys up again after the kids are done. We can’t make children learn, but we can let them learn.”
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She couldn’t have put it better in words.
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5 Illustrated Chinese New Year Books for Kids

1/31/2018

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The Chinese New Year is also commonly called the Lunar New Year, as its months are coordinated by the cycles of the moon. It starts on a different date each year, this year on February 16. Today, the Chinese New Year is celebrated not only in China alone, but as a popular Spring Festival all over the world.

Here are five fascinating books to introduce your little ones to this special occasion.
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Dragon Dance: A Chinese New Year Lift-the-Flap Book (by Joan Holub): Meant for younger kids, everything fun associated with the Chinese New Year forms a part of this story – a scrumptious New Year family dinner, the wonderful Chinese parade or simply shopping for fresh flowers. The illustrations are colorful and the kids would love lifting up the flaps to see what lies underneath. My kids love dragon games and anything to do with dragons overall, so I’m sure they’ll enjoy this story.
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Image courtesy: The New York Times
The Race for the Chinese Zodiac (by Gabrielle Wang): The Chinese zodiac contains twelve signs in all. Legend has it that the ancient Chinese Jade Emperor had proclaimed once upon a time that the first twelve animals that would cross a particular river would be famous and have an year named after them. But then, thirteen animals managed to cross – competing for just twelve months. Who would be left out? The striking illustrations talk about friendship and teamwork, laziness and trickery and make for a captivating read.

Bringing in the New Year (by Grace Lin): Another book meant for younger kids, this is a simple family story that can be read aloud and talks about New Year celebrations, along with each family member contributing to preparing for it. The dust is swept out, decorations are hung, delicious dumplings are prepared and there’s even a dragon parade at the end of it all! This is ideal for preschoolers in the classroom or even at home.
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Image courtesy: Amazon
D is for Dragon Dance (by Ying Chang Compestine): The exciting traditions of the Chinese New Year along with each alphabet standing for something – A for Acrobats, B for Balls, C for Calligraphy, D for Dragon Dance and the like – this is what the book is all about. There are firecrackers, zodiac and other creative Chinese illustrations in this alphabet book. The brightly colored pictures and brief descriptions are perfect to talk about the Chinese culture and traditions in the new year.

Celebrate Chinese New Year with the Fong Family (by F. Isabel Campoy & Alma Flor Ada): Two families – the Fongs and the Sanchezs – are celebrating the Chinese New Year together. One of the kids is an avid photographer and takes excellent pictures of all the traditions, but he must do all this without landing himself in trouble! The first part of the story makes for a fun read while the second half of the book explains the traditions by means of photographs taken by the kid within the story itself. Definitely an enlightening read.

The 15-day Spring Festival or Chinese New Year is all about cleaning and decorations, dumplings and firecrackers, visiting family and friends and above all, having a gala time. With one New Year already behind us, let’s celebrate the onset of another New Year with pomp and show, in our own little ways with our kids!
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Dear Diary...

10/2/2017

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​Sarah (my daughter who’s growing up way faster than I would have liked and I can’t seem to do anything about it) declared today that she wants to be a ‘book writer’ when she grows up. Author, I corrected her. She wanted to know what extra she should do or study to become one. I have absolutely no qualms in admitting that I was feeling so puffed up with pride (though I did not show it) that my young daughter was so serious in this regard. A writer. What could be better? Creativity at its best.
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“Telephone” by MabelAmber is licensed under CC by 2.0
So here’s what we did as a first step in that direction. We walked to the neighborhood store and bought her two brand new notebooks (a little fancy ones, with hard covers). My first and foremost suggestion to her was to start writing right away – a diary entry a day, about anything that may catch her fancy. It could be about her next-door neighbor pal whom she likes/dislikes and why; it could be a TV show that she enjoys watching; it could even be what she ate for dinner and the family talks on the dining table. The key was to start writing every single day without fail, to make this a habit. She readily agreed and is already penning down her first entry, the tip of her tongue sticking out (this happens when concentration is at its very peak).
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And you know what? I’m starting a diary too from today, inspired by daughter dearest. Who knows, one fine day we might just come out with a published copy of Mum & Daughter Chronicles!
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Honey and Bees Activities for Kids

9/25/2017

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September is celebrated as the National Honey month in the United States. Apparently, the month of September marks the end of the honey collection season and hence the significance. We even have a National Honey Board and today is the first time I got to know about it!
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Made me wonder – honey is messy, gooey and sweet – the ideal substance kids would (literally) love to wallow in. Why not carry out some simple DIY activities with honey and teach them a couple of things while indulging in it? Here goes.

Honey in the Kitchen
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“Honey” by stevepb is licensed under CC by 2.0​
My kids (and I’m sure a majority of all kids everywhere) absolutely adore smoothies. Breakfast for them has to have a smoothie in tow and I very happily oblige, since it is nothing but pure milk along with the goodness of fruit. Recently, I’ve started asking my daughter to make her own smoothie by measuring out its ingredients and then blending them all together. The son is still too young to do so but he watches, perched up on a stool. We have a measuring glass which my daughter uses to measure out the yogurt and fruit juice (which I squeeze beforehand) before adding them to the blender with the fruit pieces. She now knows all about milliliters (ml) and liters, thanks to the smoothie making process! Yesterday I asked my younger one to measure out a little honey in the glass (up to a certain ml level) and top up the smoothie with it. He was thrilled to be ‘grown-up enough’ to be measuring out things!

We’re talking about honey here for the simple reason that it’s National Honey month. The underlying idea is to get your kids to measure out liquids and/or solids and learn about the basic units of measurement through a hands-on activity, rather than just through written worksheets and the like.
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Beehive Craft
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“Scissors” by stux is licensed under CC by 2.0
Who doesn’t love to pop bubble wrap? It’s actually pretty addictive (and I’m a victim). But it can come to other uses too, such as crafting up a realistic looking beehive, for one. The other day I was reading about an activity where you can simply cut out a wrap in the rough shape of a hive to begin with. Then ask your kids to paint on the bubble side up with brown/orange/mustard hues. Next, press on the painted side onto thick chart paper such that it leaves an imprint. Allow it to dry for a while. Your child could then draw cheerful little honeybees prancing around the hives and it’ll look so real!

Another simple way is to use a cardboard egg tray for the same. Carefully cut out the base, leaving the partitions intact. Ask your kids to paint it a bright orange, stick it onto thick construction paper and add bees here and there (your child could either draw them or stick them on). Voila – the beehive is ready! Here are some more interesting craft activities for kids, to bring out their (and your) artsy side.

And just before I wrap up this post, here’s some interesting advice from the honeybee itself:
Create a buzz
Sip life’s sweet moments
Mind your own beeswax
Work together
Always find your way home
Stick close to your honey
Bee yourself!
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The Magic of Harry Potter

8/31/2017

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In my last post, I talked about my kids being fans of Winnie the Pooh. Just the other day, an article made me realize something I had known since long, and yet refused to acknowledge; that I am as much (or perhaps even more) of a die-hard fan of Harry Potter than my kids are of Winnie the Pooh.
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This year marks two decades of the introduction of the magical world of Harry Potter. It was on June 26 1997 that the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, had hit bookshelves and taken the world by storm. And the magic continues to live on and multiply ever since.
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“Harry Potter” by ed_davad is licensed under CC by 2.0
Those who haven’t read the series sometimes seem flummoxed at the magical madness of it all. I mean, it’s actually a make-believe world with wizards and witches flying around on broomsticks, using wands to cast spells at each other and there’s apparently a school that teaches it all. What’s with the brouhaha about this non-existent world? Neither is our protagonist a superhero – he’s a very normal-looking, bespectacled boy who is neither strikingly handsome, nor outstandingly intelligent. Then why the great fan following?

If you ask me, it’s the words that are captivating more than the storyline itself. Rowling has managed to weave a wonderful tale of friendship and love, the triumph of good over evil and the hardships that must be overcome along the way. Here are some of my favorite lines from the books:
“Happiness can be found in the darkest of places, if only one remembers to turn on the lights.”
“It’s our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

And I’m pretty sure Rowling unknowingly described herself when she penned this dialogue for one of her characters:
“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic.”
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Our Official Ambassador of Friendship

8/6/2017

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​My kids are big fans of Winnie the Pooh, so much so that they have Pooh-shaped cushions on their beds too. They probably love him because he is a cute bear, adores honey and enjoys partying, singing, dancing and merry-making with his fun group of pals.
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“Disney” by Wetmount is licensed under CC by 2.0
Well, I love him too. Not exactly just for those reasons perhaps, but because of the simple little bits and pieces of dialogue that Winnie the Pooh says at times, that end up meaning so much. Read on and you’ll know what I mean.
  • Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.
  • The things that make me different are the things that make me.
  • You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
  • Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.
  • How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard!
  • If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.
  • If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever.
The silly old bear seems not so silly any more once you grow up; once you start appreciating the life lessons he has given us every step of the way. Well, perhaps that’s why he’s the official ‘Ambassador of Friendship at the United Nations’!
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…which brings me to the crux of the matter, the real reason I started talking about our beloved Pooh in the first place. It’s the first Sunday of August – the International Day of Friendship. Happy Friendship Day!
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3 Outdoor Summer Learning Games for Kids

7/30/2017

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Summertime reminds me of the classic simple games we used to play outdoors as kids. Back then, they were just a source of fun and laughter, fights and scuffles. Now, extensive research has proved that it was all not just mere ‘fun’; slowly but steadily these games were unknowingly helping us to pick up certain basic skills that would come in handy later in our lives.

Here are 3 examples of such classic outdoor learning games which are fun even today:

Hide and Seek
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“People” by PublicDomainPictures is licensed under CC by 2.0
Every one of us at some point in our lives has played the game of hide and seek. I remember cheating almost every single time when I was supposed to count till 20 with my eyes closed facing the wall; I would barely reach the number 10, shout out loud ‘Ready!’ and then rush to find the others before they had managed to find a safe hiding place for themselves. It was more fun if the group was relatively large; 4 or more players. In addition to the fun factor, games like hide and seek help kids learn how to figure out stuff and hone their problem-solving skills – what could be the common and not-so-common hiding places? Taking turns themselves to hide and seek as well as giving others a chance to do so inculcates a sense of teamwork in children and provides the ideal challenging environment for them to learn while playing.

Hopscotch
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“Feet” by Merio is licensed under CC by 2.0
This is a game that is played one at a time using a grid with numbers 1-9 drawn on a flat surface. The rules are simple – the player needs to throw a pebble onto one number at a time, and avoid that particular numbered box while hopping to-and-fro across all the other boxes on one leg. Landing on both legs at any time or landing onto the box with the pebble means you are out of the game or must start right from the very beginning (number 1). Hopping on one foot requires physical coordination and balance, especially in younger kids. One needs to get into a set rhythm and practice control while hopping onto certain areas while avoiding others, aiding in cognitive skill development in kids. In addition to mastering body control, since hopscotch involves numbers, it can be a good way to brush up on basic math skills for younger kids while playing.

Marbles
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“Marbles” by Arieth is licensed under CC by 2.0
Ideal for slightly older kids, the game of marbles can be played in a group of 2 or more kids at a time. All you need is a piece of chalk and some marbles. The rules of the game are pretty straightforward – you draw a circle on the ground with chalk, place your marbles within the circle and then try and knock out your opponent’s marbles with one of your own. Right from simple things like taking turns to winning and losing, the game of marbles helps to develop fine motor skills in kids. A simple flick of the wrist needs to be right on target in order to effectively knock the other marbles out of the circle; this requires hand-eye coordination and careful eye-tracking, a precursor to geometry skills in later years.

In the modern day and age, there is no dearth of learning games for kids - in all shapes, sizes, subjects and ages possible. But like they say, some things never go out of style. And games like these are perhaps here to stay, forever.
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