Feltermom

Ninja Disks

Awnya — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:34:45 +0000

My son (5) is totally obsessed with Ninjas right now. not really sure why, but all day long he is talking about ninjas and what they do. Today we made him some Ninja Disks to have fun with.

I had a few old CD’s laying around and so we hot glued 2 of them together (so the shiny side is out and the words are in the center).

Tada! Ninja Disks. So simple and yet, they have been keeping him busy for over 2 hours now. He has taken them into the back yard and will throw them and then go hunting for them. I can see hours and hours of fun coming from these recycled old CD’s.

www.Time4Felt.com

Sushi for kids

Awnya — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:51:10 +0000

Did you know that Sushi does NOT mean raw fish? It actually means “Rice flavored with vinegar”. I had NO idea! Recently, I attended a class where Michiko Duncan, a wonderful woman from Japan, taught me how to make sushi. It was so yummy and now my kids love it too. Truth be told, the aren’t so crazy about the sushi rice, but I just gave them plain rice and all was well. My kids are just weird and although the sushi rice is sweet, they didn’t like it. I mean, these are the kids that would rather have broccoli than have a sucker. But they did thoroughly enjoy topping their sushi with all kinds of veggies and munching it down. YUM!

So to begin, rinse your sushi rice really well. It is a pretty dirty rice, so you want to get it good and clean. Then make your sushi rice either on the stove top or in a rice cooker according to the directions. Sushi rice is a different kind of rice than white rice or brown rice. I found what I used at the Asian store. After the rice is cooked, add the sushi rice seasoning. The recipe I used took 4 cups rice, 2 tablespoons vinegar, 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix the vinegar, sugar and salt until dissolved before pouring over the rice. Mix well.

While the rice is cooking, begin to gather your toppings. We used:
- shredded carrots
- cooked brocolli
- cucumber (small cubes)
- cheese
- crab
- salad shrimp
- pees
- scrambled egg
- avocado
Some others that are yummy are:
- corn
- mushrooms
- bamboo shoots
- seaweed wraps (cut into tiny bits)

To assemble- Put a pile of rice on your plate. Add toppings you like. Mix and eat. Yum!! Here are some kids and the sushi that they made:

www.Time4Felt.com

Springtime Fun crafts and activities

Awnya — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:47:08 +0000

Since my creativity has been on the fritz lately, here are some super creative things from some other people. Hopefully soon my creative juices will start flowing and I can post something of my own creation!
Until then, a big thank you goes out to the other creative people in the world. You help make me look good!

Paper inch worm by All Kids Network

Yarn Butterflies by Gummy Lump

Butterfly snacks by Steals and Deals for kids

Toilet paper butterflies by Bo Bunny

Vegetable flowers by Smiling Green Mom

Egg carton wreath by Free Kids Crafts

Grow a “Cup of Spring” by Creative Connections for Kids

Have a great time crafting with your kiddos!

www.Time4Felt.com

Easter Crafts and Recipes

Awnya — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:22:23 +0000

Here are some super fun ideas for Easter. It seems like only yesterday I was posting ideas for St. Patrick’s Day, but I guess it was only a few weeks ago.

So here are some of my favorite ideas for kiddos for Easter. They are cute and most of them are super simple.

Jelly Bean Bracelets. YUM! By Twiggle Box

Easter Bunny Sucker Craft by The Mother Huddle

Easter Birds nest snack idea by Insightful Nana

Cloth Bunny & Chick for Easter Tutorials by Own Two Hands

Mix and Match Pattern with Plastic Eggs by Engaging Toddler Activities

Easter Egg Bouquet by Ms Not So Perfect

Marshmallow Easter Egg Kid Craft by No Time for Flashcards

www.Time4Felt.com

Spring into spring!

Awnya — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:23:55 +0000

Spring has finally arrived, and I know it is that point where we all breathe a sigh of relief because we can finally get outside and blow the cobwebs off so to speak!
With spring comes Easter, and what better way to enjoy the holiday than by getting outside with the children and letting off some steam.

A great idea I came up with to do this was with a Trampoline in the garden. Trampolines can offer so much fun and enjoyment to the entire family. Most people assume it is an activity just reserved for children, but I find it an amazing way to keep fit whilst spending time with your children.

You can burn so many calories bouncing up and down for an hour or so. You can even make up games to play with the children using this type of play equipment. You can have one person on the trampoline and a few people on the ground running around the outside of the trampoline. The aim of the game is to be the one bouncing on the trampoline the longest, and the only way you can get onto the trampoline is by getting a question right which is posed by the ‘bouncer’. This could be a maths question or word game, but either way it means the bouncer must try to come up with a question that they know the answer to but no one else does! I would suggest having a referee for this game so no cheating occurs!

After all that bouncing, you could use the trampoline to make an outdoor picnic party. If you have an enclosure on your trampoline, you could decorate it with Easter-themed bunting? These could be bunnies or egg shapes that everyone can decorate individually then attach them together with string or ribbon and tie them around the outside of your trampoline.

You could then make some yummy treats like bird’s nests made with Rice Krispie or Cornflake cakes (made by melting chocolate and mixing in either Cornflakes or Rice Krispies). You can add little chocolate eggs to look like the eggs inside the nest. These are so easy to make and don’t require any baking so perfect to get the children involved. You can also cut sandwiches into various Easter shapes – like rabbits or eggs to make them a bit more fun to eat. There tend to be a lot of Easter shaped cake and biscuit molds in the shops at the minute too. It is even a good way to get children eating carrot sticks and celery sticks – as this is what the Easter bunny eats of course!

Other fun themed food ideas (for those with a sweet tooth) can be found at the Disney family fun website. For some savory ideas – there are some great recipe at The Picnic Site.

So get outside, get bouncing like the Easter bunny and get creative with some Easter snacks and crafts, and hopefully you will have plenty to keep the whole family entertained over the holidays.
Written by Abbi Stewart, who is one of the ‘play experts’ from the Big Game Hunter’s Trampolines Shop in the UK.

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Thanks for your guest blog article Abbi! Such fantastic and fun ideas!

www.Time4Felt.com

Are you using Pinterest

Awnya — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:02:15 +0000

Pinterest is a really fun new thing online. In essence, think of it as a virtual cork board where you can see things you like and then “pin” them on to the board. It is great for organizing and accessing wherever and whenever.

Here is a picture of one of my boards:

As you can see, there are a lot of really fun ideas there. The best part is most of those pictures link to a blog or a tutorial on how you can do/make them yourself! I also have boards for holiday ideas, food, free printables, and many more. Follow all of the boards or just 1 or 2, it is up to you!!

So click on the picture above to see the excellent resource that Pinterest can be for you!!

www.Time4Felt.com

St. Patrick’s Day Free Printable Paper Bag Puppet!

Awnya — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 18:39:25 +0000

Here is a fun Free printable paper bag puppet I’ve been working on just for St. Patrick’s Day. It is a fun, jolly leprechaun!
Enjoy!!

Free Printable Paper bag puppets.

Enjoy!!

www.Time4Felt.com

St. Patricks Day Crafts

Awnya — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:07:58 +0000

Here are some fun crafts for kids inspired by St. Patrick’s Day. Most of these I found on Pinterest and have linked each picture to the place you can find the instructions for each craft. Enjoy!

Shamrock hair clips: by Sugar Bee Crafts

Party Favors or After School treats – by Maple Memories

Another version on the licorice and chocolate treats at

TSJ Photography

(including a printable topper to the bag)

Handprint Rainbow from Enchanted Learning.com

Rainbow and cloud – by Everything Except the Grill

St Patrick’s Day Paper Mobile craft by CraftIdeas.info

Leaping Leprechaun printable pattern from LearnEnglish-ESL

St. Patty’s Day Maze – by Printables.Kaboose.com

Shamrock Maze from Family Fun

www.Time4Felt.com

Journal Jars

Awnya — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:58:20 +0000

Recently I did an activity with some 8 and 9 year old girls. We made journal jars. If you aren’t familiar with what those are, they are jars with questions that kids can answer while they are journaling. Sometimes they just help kids get the “creative juices” flowing but other times, the questions are some that when answered will give later generations a peak at what life was like when these kids were young.

So here are the questions we used. I printed them out onto colored paper to make the jars look even more pretty.

Here are the journal jars questions we used.

www.Time4Felt.com

Snowball poem

Awnya — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:19:51 +0000

It snowed last night! It has only snowed like 6 times all winter. I wanted to share a little bit of “snow love” with you, so here is a poem about a snowball.

The Snowball
by Shel Silverstein

I made myself a snowball
As perfect as could be.
I though I’d keep it as a pet
And let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas
And a pillow for its’ head.
Then last night it ran away,
But first — it wet the bed!

www.Time4Felt.com