Projects????

Question

I am the oldest (13) of 7 kids (siblings are 9, 6, 4, 2, and 2 month old twins). My mom bought leashes for the younger ones that could walk, and I told her that I thought it was stupid and mean. She said that "since I think I can do it better" I should parent them. She has left me in charge of them. Although she is still in the house, she doesn't help out, only with the twins.

The kids are being really good for me. I sent them all in the basement and am going to surprise them with a fun "project" some craft type thing. We always do puppets, cards, pictures, etc. What's a good idea? Help please!

Answer 1

Wow! What a great big sister you are! 1st I want to say your mom's proubly very frusterated and tired! Wow she has her hands full. I'm glad you are such a terrific kid! The idea of leahes dose sound kinda mean but I think your mom means it to keep them safe when you guys are out and they keep trying to run off right? lol! That would be a sight. And yea, I see how you feel that way. Its not very nice to think they look like pups on a leash. I imagion mom intends it or saft while out. And I'm sure she wouldnt realy do this (It might seem embarrisiong) unless she felt she couldnt keep them rounded up in town or something. But yea, I dont think I'd do it eaither.

But giving mom some time off from the kids and giving them some fun big sister time is a great idea. If you have a printer they have some great craft sites online. And you can even print out there favorite charectors to color. Do a search printable kids and you should find a bunch! And this might be messy (youll have to do allot of clean up) But making homemade play duh can be fun. Do a search for that. I like the idea of making snow flakes above. I always liked that. And old socks make great puppets with buttons. Totlet paper flowers are fun. Twist up the tissue and paste. As them what they want to be when they grow up. Find pictures in a magazine ane paste all the things.

Answer 2

Try having them make paper snowflakes and hang them in the basement  pretending it's winter. Then have them make snowmen out of play dough ( http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/art/playd... ). Some may think this is just for winter, but in the hot summer it's fun to pretend its cold weather. I used to sit for these 2 children (ages 2 and 5) and they enjoyed this so much.  You also could try these fun ideas:

1. Stringing beads is a fun way to give boredom the boot. And most preschoolers, both girls and boys, enjoy taking a crack at it. Beyond fueling creativity, beading also has another trick up its sleeve: it helps young kids practice patterning, or sequencing, which lays the groundwork for math, reading, and science. You can buy a sack of beads at any craft store. But here are 3 inexpensive ways for kids to make their own beads, from scratch.

(1.)  Pasta Beads

What You Need:

    * 3 cups of uncooked pasta with holes (use just one type: penne, rigatoni, macaroni, etc.)

    * food coloring in 3 different colors

    * 3 bowls

    * a measuring cup

    * rubbing alcohol

    * a spoon for mixing

    * yarn

    * scissors

    * masking tape



What You Do:

   1. Scoop 1 cup of uncooked pasta into each of the bowls. The pasta should all be of the same type.

   2. Add a few drops of food coloring (using a different color for each bowl) to each. Stir. Keep adding a few drops at a time until the pasta begins to change color.

   3. Add ¾ Tablespoon of rubbing alcohol and stir until evenly coated.

   4. Transfer the colored pasta to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper (or aluminum foil) and let it dry overnight.

   5. Once the pasta is dry, it’s ready for beading. Cut a piece of yarn into the appropriate length for your child’s necklace or bracelet, wrap a piece of masking tape around one end to make stringing easier, knot the other end, and set them to work!

Clay Beads

What You Need:

    * 1/2 cup flour

    * 1/2 cup cornstarch

    * 1/2 cup salt

    * tempura paint powder in at least two colors

    * warm water

    * several mixing bowls

    * pencil, knitting needles, or toothpicks

    * yarn

    * scissors

    * masking tape

This recipe is enough to make one color of bead. Double or triple it for each additional color.

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(2.) Pretend TV

What You Need:

    * Large cardboard box (big enough for a child to perch under).  If you don't have any around your home, try a grocery store (they usually have extras and are willing to give them away), or they can be purchased anywhere storage supplies are sold.

    * Paints, crayons, markers, glitter, sequins, feathers, glue - anything that your child might like to use to decorate his very own TV!

    * Heavy-duty scissors or utility knife (all cutting in this activity MUST be done by an adult)

What to Do:

You can't have a proper television show without a proper television.  Start by cutting a large square or rectangular hole on one side of your cardboard box.  Next, let your child decorate his new TV however he wants (make sure you do this project in a place that can get a little messy).  When the television is all finished (and the paint and glue has fully dried), have your child perch on his knees under the box so his face and chest are visible through the "screen."  Your little one is all set to star in his very own show!  If you have some extra cardboard, why not make a little remote?  As you "change the channel" you'll be able to enjoy all your child's imagination has to offer.

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(3.) Paper Chain Calender

Young kids usually have only a vague sense of time. They probably know that an hour is longer than ten minutes, and a week is shorter than a month, but it’s difficult for them to gage time’s passing. Making a paper chain calendar can help.

Materials:

Calendar

3” x 8” strips of colored construction paper

glue

Directions:

1. Pick a date in the future that has some meaning for your child, for example, the first day of Spring Break, the date a relative is set to come visit, a birthday, or the start date of a favorite activity, like soccer. Ideally, the date should be about a month away.

2. Pull out your calendar, and with your child’s help, count the number of days until the event you’ve chosen.

3. Give your child the construction paper strips and explain that each strip stands for one day. Together, count out the correct number of strips (one for each day until your event), then help your child make a paper chain, by gluing the end of each strip together to form a link, then adding the rest of the links to form a “chain”.



4. Hang your chain in your child’s room, or in a prominent place. Each day, allow her to remove one link from the chain. As the days pass, this will give her a visual picture to associate with the numbers she sees on the calendar.

Not only does this provide a concrete image for the passing of time, but it gives your child a great excuse to practice counting backwards!

(4.)  Make a "City of Bags"

Forget 2-D maps. It's time for 3-D! One way that kids learn about their community is by making maps that help them become aware of the people and places around them. Give your kid a stack of paper bags, swing by the police station, the fire house, and the other important buildings in your neighborhood. And get ready for this fun map building activity!

What You Need:

10 brown paper bags (lunch sacks work well)

Child safety scissors

Construction paper - various colors

Glue

Crayons or markers

What You Do:

   1.

      Explain to your child that together, you are going to create a 3-D map of where you live! Talk with your child about what your house looks like from the outside (how many doors, windows, colors, etc.) Have your child use the construction paper, crayons, and glue to create a brown bag model of your house. This could include drawing or gluing squares for windows, doors, roof, and so on.  Don’t forget to make a number to attach to the front of your bag to show your house number.

   2. Now ask your child to think about the important buildings in your city. Try to include community helper buildings and familiar features such as a police station, fire station, bakery, grocery store, post office, doctor's office, library, bank, and your local park. Help your child make paper bag models of at least 4 of these special places. Then place them on the floor together to show their location, in relation to where you live. For example, if your local library is 1 block from your house, place the library bag a few feet from your house bag, and so forth. Help your child label each bag with the name of each building.

      

   3. When you're finished, ask your child a few questions about the city:

      "Where is our house?"

      "How many buildings are on your map?"

      "Do you know which direction is North from our house?"

      "How would we get to the police station from our house?"

      "Who are our neighbors to the right and left of our house?"

      "What is your favorite place to visit in our city?"

      "Where would we go to mail a package?"

   4. You can extend this activity by helping your child make street signs for each of the streets represented on the 3-D map. She can have fun using small cars or trucks to pretend she's traveling to different places in the city. If you’re willing to let your city stand for a few days, you can add buildings a little bit at a time.

Not only is a city of bags a nice way to reuse and recycle, but it’s a cool project to get kids to think spatially. Plus, it's a great way to help your child practice map skills while affirming your family's place in the community around you.

Hope these helped, for more activities go to http://www.education.com/activity/all-gr...

God bless and good luck, your mom sounds like she's trying to get a break from all the kiddos so maybe you should have the kids and you make her cards that express how much  you all love her. She'd really appreciate that, give her  a break she's got a lot on her plate and she's trying her best.

Answer 3

Cutting out paper dolls and scenes was one of my favourite things as a little kid; I myself didn't know how to do the dolls but my babysitter did and she'd make long strings of them. Snowflakes and things are good -- as is colouring and drawing. These don't require many supplies that people don't usually have -- but if you have paints, newspaper, and old shirts/aprons, fingerpainting's fun too.

The TV show Zoom has a lot of great project ideas -- I don't know if a little kid could get into all of them, like Rube Goldberg machines, but definitely some of them.

Edit: Great way to show your mom you can do it better. She sounds really irresponsible o o;