Are you dreaming of warm weather?

As the snow is starting to melt, it feels like shorts and flip flop season is right around the corner.  In Minnesota, shorts and flip flops usually start appearing when the temperature hits 50 degrees.

I realize I should be transitioning from winter to spring.  However I saw an idea for making a sandy beach art project and I couldn’t wait until June to let the kids try it out.

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Do your children play with jacks?

The game of jacks dates back to over 2000 years ago.  In the ancient world this game was played with stones or small animal bones.  As time went on a wooden ball was introduced to the game.  Then eventually a rubber ball replaced the wooden one and metal game pieces replaced the stones.

I know you wanted to history of the game of jacks before I proceeded with today’s blog post.  For more exciting history facts on toys and games check out: History Lives

Now moving on to my point… Jacks have been around for centuries, yet today you don’t see many children playing this game.  Why not?  Let’s think about the benefits:

1.  Helps develop great hand eye coordination.

2.  Children learn to play with one another and take turns.

3.  It is a short game.  Long attention span is not required.

4.  There is no TV or computer involved.  Simple hands-on fun!

5.  Children love to watch their parents scream and yell when they accidentally step on one.

If you still don’t think that playing jacks is a suitable game for your children, you can try the Jack-in-a-Box Painting activity.

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Do you reuse greeting cards at  your house?

I have to admit that reusing greeting cards is not something I have done in the past.  Usually after birthdays or holidays I will save a few of the cards for the scrapbook or memory box and the rest get tossed out.

I realize I need to change this habit and start reusing cards.  There are so many different things that you can do with cards.  From arts and crafts to puzzles, greeting cards are a great resource for teachers and parents.

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Does your child have a favorite color?

Blue, blue and more blue.  My daughter is obsessed with the color blue. Whenever she uses color crayons, colored pencils, markers or paint it is always blue. However if you look in her closet, almost her entire wardrobe is pink.  Besides jeans there is not one blue item in the mix.

Since my daughter seems to be inspired Picasso’s Blue Period, we are running into problems with our art supplies.  All of the blue crayons are the shortest.  All of the blue markers are the first ones to wear out.  And in each set of watercolor paints, the blue is gone.

No matter how much I love Crayola, I do not want to be buying new watercolor paint sets each month just to have more blue.  I recently found a recipe for homemade watercolors.  I am going to give it a try and make gallons of blue paint!

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Did Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow this year?

He did.  This means six more weeks of winter.  For those of you not wanting to hear this news you can disagree with Phil and go along with Chuck’s prediction.  Staten Island’s groundhog, Chuck, did NOT see his shadow which means an early spring.  I was not aware of all the different groundhogs in the country.  There is Willie from Illinois, Jimmy from Wisconsin as well as a number of others.  For more Groundhog’s Day information check out the Raleigh Examiner.

Since there is going to be six more weeks of winter, I thought we would do another winter art project.  I was hoping to be doing a project about tulips and daisies but I guess it will have to wait.

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