She makes the most beautiful toys and tutorials for DIY projects for creative parents.I also admire her photos of diverse Central Asian cousine and culture. Her blog is one of my favourites..
Another Great Craft with Kids for the Fall.
Hello my name is Lesley and it is my great pleasure to do this very special feature post for Vesna.
I am an American and I have a great blog about toy making, crafts with kids, and Central Asian cuisine and culture. Vesna and I both share a love for birds. Before I show you how to make bird feeders with your children here are few of my favorite projects with links in case you want to see how they were done.
Bird Cradle/LINK
Bird and Butterfly Mural/LINK
Bird Cradle Linens/LINK
My daughter recently turned three and is finally old enough to do a 10 minute craft project. We have have been doing "crafts for preschoolers playdates" with her friends. They have been a lot of fun!
When doing crafts with preschoolers you have to be willing to clean up a big mess and finish the project yourself, as this age has a really short attention span. Its all about the exploration and not the end result, right moms?. Prepping the activity as much as you can before starting and reducing the number of steps you expect the child to do on his own will make it more enjoyable and productive for all. I like to precut/prepare most of the"elements", lay them out in trays and let the child focus on assembling or trying different things out. This prevents frustation for the average preschooler. Young children need to experiment with materials and processes first, before they have the maturity to be creative and make "beautiful things".
Bird Seed Cakes
An opportunity to learn about measuring amounts and fractions.
Messy Play is the Best!
Recipe1 package of unflavored gelatin dissolved in
1/2 cup of hot water
3/4 cup of flour
3 TBSP of corn syrup
4 cups of birdseed
A small amount of nuts, dried fruit, or popped popcorn if desired
It is really important to get the proportions right with this or the edible glue will not work. Instead everything will crumble easily or be too sticky and moist.
Press into molds and insert a dowel or pencil into the cake.
Use a layer of saran wrap to make the cakes easier to remove from the molds. The closer your hole is the the center and the thinner your cake, then the better success you will have if you want to hang them. Too much weight or a softer cake and the string will pull right through and your creation will end up on the ground.You can use soap molds, jello and aspic molds, muffin tins, plastic containers etc. Some people even mold this recipe into wreathes or holiday ornaments for gifts.
Let the molds sit in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before removing the cakes.
Some mommy made details.
Acorn Bird Feeder
I drilled a small hole in a wooden bowl from the thrift store.
I did the same thing from a branch cut from our apple tree.
I used a plastic bag to mold the stuff into the shape I wanted.
Let it set overnight in the refrigerator.
I nailed my "stem" to the "cap".
You can rest this in a tall jar or glass for support while you complete the next steps.
I cut ,and glued, a piece of felt to fit the bottom of the bowl.
I put lots of glue onto this and added my cake.
I poured more non-toxic glue in around the sides and let it dry for two days.
I 'll give the squirrels 24 hours to destroy my work.
This was our favorite birthday gift!
You assemble the cardboard bird house in less than 5 minutes. It comes precut and scored.
Then add some sticker details and a dowel.
The perfect activity designed for the preschooler's attention span and skill level.
I hope you will try to make a bird feeder or two at home with your children. Please come visit my blog for lots of great inspiration and fun! My Mommy Makes It
