Valentine’s Day Crafts
Have your kids show some love with these fun and easy Valentine’s Day craft ideas!
New Year’s Crafts for Kids
Need some fun activities to keep the kids busy on New Year’s Eve? Try making a countdown clock!
Supplies:
- Paper plate
- Craft foam
- Metal fastener
- Glitter glue
- Marker
- Acrylic paint
- Paint brush
- Glue
- Scissors
Instructions:
1. Paint entire paper plate with glitter glue, set aside to dry.
2. Use scissors to cut out clock arms from craft foam.
3. Cut a strip of foam about 4″ long.
4. Glue circle to one end of the strip of foam.
5. Use glitter glue to draw a design on the circle. Set aside to dry.
6. Poke a small hole in the ends of the clock arms to insert the fastener through.
7. Poke a small hole in the center of the paper plate.
8. Use the marker to write on the clock numbers.
9. Insert fastener through the clock arms and then through the hole in the center of the plate.
10. Close back of fastener loose enough so that clock arms will move.
11. Paint the outside edge of the paper plate as a border.
12. Check to be sure the glitter glue on your “time marker” is dry, then glue it to the back of the plate, aligning the design with your child’s bed time.
Tips:
Make a simpler version of this craft using foam sticker numbers and a plain paper plate instead of glitter glue and the marker.
Want to look through other New Year’s Eve crafts, activities, and recipes? Check Kaboose.com for ideas!
Kids’ Movies: 2011
Another year has passed! As we get closer to 2012, let’s look back at the popular kids’ movies that were released in 2011.
Gnomeo and Juliet: Retelling of Romeo and Juliet with the Montagues and Capulets reimagined as two warring families of gnomes living next door to each other.
Rango: Rango is a pet chameleon who accidentally winds up in the town of Dirt, a lawless outpost in the Wild West in desperate need of a new sheriff.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules: As Greg enters seventh grade, he and his older brother/chief tormentor must deal with their parents’ misguided attempts to have them bond, even as Greg tries every attempt to impress his crush, Holly Hills.
Hop: On the eve of taking over the family business, the teenage son of the Easter Bunny leaves Easter Island for Hollywood to pursue his dream of becoming a drummer. There he’s hit on the road by a out of work slacker who takes him in.
Rio: A nerdy but kind-hearted blue macaw is sent from Minnesota to Brazil to save his species by breeding with a female macaw. But to win her heart he must confront his fear of flying, and outwit the likes of poachers, thieves and bulldogs.
Kung Fu Panda 2: Po, now a kung fu master, is protecting the valley of peace with Master Shifu and The Furious Five. But, soon they have to join forces with another group of kung fu masters — Thundering Rhino, Soothsayer, and Croc, in order to defeat Lord Shen, an evil emperor peacock who emerges with a weapon so powerful, it threatens the existence of kung fu itself.
Mr. Popper’s Penguins: A driven businessman is clueless when it comes to the important things in life, until he inherits six penguins. Soon he’s turned his swank New York apartment into a snowy winter wonderland and the rest of his life is upside-down.
Cars 2: Race car Lightning McQueen and tow truck Mater head to Japan and Europe to compete in the World Grand Prix, but Mater is mistaken for an agent and ends up working with Finn McMissile.
Winnie the Pooh: Owl sends the philosophical “bear of very little brain” and friends Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Kanga, Roo and Eeyore on a wild quest to save Christopher Robin from an imaginary culprit. Meanwhile, Eeyore has lost his tail. It turns out to be a very busy day for a bear who simply set out to find some honey.
Puss in Boots: A story about the events leading up to the sword fighting cat’s meeting with Shrek and his friends.
Happy Feet 2: Master tap-dancing penguin Mumble has a problem – his son is reluctant to dance and has another role model, a charismatic puffin who can fly. Add to that a devastating outside threat that Mumble will only be able to fight by bringing the creatures of Antarctica together.
Movies Currently in Theaters
Hugo: An orphan boy in the 1930′s lives a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station where he maintains the clocks and thieves to survive. When Hugo encounters a broken automaton, an eccentric girl, and the reserved man who runs the toy shop, he is caught up in a magical adventure that could put all of his secrets in jeopardy.
Arthur Christmas: Santa has an ultra-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole in order to deliver billions of presents in one night, and this year he’s giving his son, Arthur, a special mission that must be completed before Christmas morning.
The Muppets: Gary and his Muppet roommate Walter help Kermit and Co. get back together and put on a show to save the Muppet Theater when it is scheduled to be destroyed.
Did we miss any movies? Let us know!
Holiday Sweets
This time of year, lots of people spend time baking tasty cookies, cakes, and pies. Want to try something a little different with your kids? Make chocolate-covered pretzel rods! They are very quick and easy to make, and kids will enjoy helping with this recipe.
Ingredients:
- Pretzel rods
- Semisweet chocolate chips
- Sprinkles (or other toppings)
Directions:
1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Melt the chocolate chips in either a double boiler or in a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Remove from heat. Alternatively, you can microwave the chocolate. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between until completely melted.
3. While the chocolate is still hot, dip the rods in the chocolate and place on the cookie sheet.
4. Using a spoon, scoop out some chocolate and finish covering the rods to ½ of the way down.
5. Sprinkle with sprinkles. Allow to cool until solid.
6. Wrap either individually or in bunches in pretzel rod bags (these can be purchased at arts and crafts stores).
Save some for yourself and give some away to friends and family!
