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Water Bottle Crafts Ideas for Kids

by Mary Ann on September 14, 2011

Water Bottle Crafts

Today’s blog has absolutely nothing to teach you or your children except that some days are just for fun! I thought about water bottle crafts because my daughter and son in law came to live with us for three weeks while they were waiting for their new apartment to open up. They drink a lot of bottled water. Soon I noticed that there was a collection of water bottles building up and I wondered what in the world to do with them. Of course some of them ended up in my “creation box” but what to do with the rest? So I did some searching around and found some of the cutest ideas for water bottle crafts and I just had to share them with you. Here are five simple crafts with water bottles.

1. Magnetic Monsters

magnetic monster water bottle craft picture

Magnetic Monster, chenille stems with eyes

You will need:

Tacky white glue or gorilla glue
Chenille stems cut into about 1-2 inch pieces.
Wiggle eyes (Choose sizes that will fit through the bottle opening)
A strong magnet
An empty water bottle
Heavy string

a. Snip the chenille stems into pieces.

b. Glue one eye to each piece of chenille stem.

c. Put a good number of these one eyed monsters in your clean and dry bottle.

d. Glue the lid in place.

e. Use the magnet to capture pieces of your pipe cleaners and bring them together to create your monsters. (The picture at the top of the blog shows pipe cleaners without eyes)
Idea courtesy: I Can Teach My Child

2. Water Bottle Collage

Water Bottle Collage

You will need:

A clean empty water bottle
Strips of colored paper
Scissors

a. Fill your bottle with strips of colored paper that has been cut into different widths and lengths. Why not fold roll or curl some of the strips.

b. Put the paper strips into the water bottle.

c. Glue the lid in place.

e. See what different kinds of effects you can get by varying the types of paper, color of paper and how full you fill your bottle.
Idea courtesy: Teach Preschool

3. Make a Landscape in a Plastic Bottle

Scene in a Bottle

You will need:

A clean and dry plastic water bottle
Scissors
White glue
Cardboard
Plastic miniatures from the craft store

a. Remove the plastic bottle’s label and discard it.

b. Cut out an oval or rectangle shape out of the side of the plastic bottle.

c. Look at the piece that came off of the plastic bottle, this is how large the scene can be.

d. Glue a landscape on cardboard. You can find miniature figurines at the craft store or you can draw and cut out some from paper.

e. Glue the plastic bottle around the landscape. And there you have it…a landscape in a bottle.
Idea courtesy: Artists Helping Children

4. Baby Rattle

Baby Rattle

You will need:

A clean dry water bottle
Glue
Rice, sequins, beads
Craft ribbon

a. Put some rice, sequins and beads inside the bottle.

b. Glue the lid in place.

c. Tie and glue ribbons around the neck of the bottle.

Craft ribbons are dye fast and do not fray so are safe to use. Craft glue is non toxic.
Idea courtesy: Craft Bits

5. Water Bottle Bird Feeder Craft

Water Bottle Bird Feeder

You will need:

A clean dry water bottle
Scissors
Pencils or spoons
Bird seed

a. Poke holes in the water bottle where the pencil or spoon will go through.

b. Cut a small hole above that one so the birds can perch on the pencil and reach in to get seeds.

c. You can cut one set of holes or two as shown in the picture.

d. Once you have your holes cut, add your pencils or spoons and fill with seed.

e. The more mixed your seed, the greater the mix of birds.

Idea courtesy: Messy Fingers Science

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Zoology for kids-Learning about Ladybugs

by Mary Ann on September 12, 2011

We love books!!

Zoology! I was never a very good science student – I had trouble with memorizing facts and thinking analytically; but I LOVE zoology. My grades did not reflect my interest. I particularly like the study of insects – entomology. Great word isn’t it!

The Traveling Closet was all about entomology for kids this week – we learned about lady bugs. My goodness did you know there are over 5000 kinds of lady bugs!!

What I could share with Jack, Maggie and Mary was very simple but I have to say that I ate up the books from the library. Lady bugs are fascinating. They do not always look the same. The children were very interested in the fact that baby lady bugs are really ugly!!!

If you wan to learn about them for yourself then just take a look at this page. WOW, you can see pictures of so many lady bugs and find out about Ladybug Taxonomy; great word to add to a vocabulary list.

How to make a ladybug crown!

We began our day by making some lady bug crowns. This was a fun and easy project to do. With a stapler and some tape it was quite painless. Jack, being the free thinker that he is, did not want a crown! He was empathetic about it. He wanted a lady bug caterpillar. It didn’t matter a whit that lady bugs do not look like caterpillars, he really wanted one.

Jack's ladybug caterpillar

Then we read a funny book about a lazy lady bug. Latter we read about a grouchy lady bug. The book “Are You a Ladybug” was hilarious to Maggie who is beginning to develop a keen sense of humor.

We painted some rocks to look just like lady bugs and we put them into the garden.

How to make ladybug rocks for a garden

Here is a tip that really works well when reading books to children. As we read the books if I come upon a word that we have already talked about I pause and don’t say the word. If I get a quizzical look then I know they haven’t really gotten the information and I say the word. I use a soft voice or a silly voice or a loud voice. They like that. If they know the word they yell it out. It is a fun way to read a book. Jack really enjoyed learning that lady bugs eat aphids. He got that word right away and enjoyed yelling it out every time it was in a sentence.

We read a fun story about a girl who kept a pet lady bug. I wish we had been able to find one. When we talk about lady bugs again I am going to make sure it is in the spring when we can buy some at the garden store and then let them go in our garden.

Ladybugs on a stick

We ended the day with a book that has nothing to do with ladybugs, well except for the fact that a ladybug is the narrator. It was called Can You Make a Scary Face?. We loved acting out this book. Check it out because it is silly and fun. (See below)

Here is something that I really wanted to do but we did not have time to gather the materials. It is a snack called Ladybugs on a stick and it is darling.

There are tons of ladybug coloring pages available from very realistic to silly. Just google ‘lady bug coloring pages’ and click the image tab.

I found some great finger plays all about lady bugs and you can see them below. For one I made a small plain red lady bug and then as we said the poem we added the spots. I had to do it a few times because the children liked it so much.

grandma and grand daughter making ladybug

Giving our Ladybug spots for her suit

Ever wonder where the ‘Ladybug, Ladybug fly away home’ rhyme came from. Check it out and share it with your older children.

You can also find a great craft for older kids on how to make a Ladybug pencil topper.

Introducing Zoology to children can lead to great fun and some very interesting conversations.

Finger plays and Rhymes about ladybugs:

1. Ladybug! Ladybug! Fly away home.

Ladybug! Ladybug! Fly away home.
Your house is on fire.
And your children all gone.

All except one,
And that’s little Ann,
For she crept under
The frying pan.

2. Ladybug by Maria Fleming

Ladybugs all dressed in red
Strolling through the flowerbed.
If I were tiny just like you
I’d creep among the flowers too!

3. Five Little Ladybugs

Five little ladybugs, climbing on some plants,
Eating the aphids, but not the ants!
The first one said: “Save some aphids for me!”
The second one said: “These are tasty as can be!”
The third one said: “Oh, they’re almost gone!”
The fourth one said: “Then it’s time to move on!
The fifth one said: “Come on, let’s fly!”
So they opened their wings and flew through the sky.

4. Little Red Bug by Susan M. Paprocki

Little red bug, oh so cute,
Here’s a black spot for your suit.
Now you go and have some fun
With your spot, your very first one.

Little red bug, oh so cute,
Here’s a black spot for your suit.
It’s so nice to own a few,
So enjoy these lovely two.

Little red bug, oh so cute,
Here’s a black spot for your suit.
We are very pleased to see
How nice you look with all three.

Little red bug, oh so cute,
Here’s a black spot for your suit.
You might feel that you need more,
So we proudly give you four.

Little red bug, oh so cute,
Here’s a black spot for your suit.
Heaven, heaven, sakes alive,
Look at you, you’re wearing five!

Books about Ladybugs for Children:

Can You Make A Scary Face? By Jan Thomas

Are You a Ladybug by Judy Allen

The Very Lazy Ladybug by Isobel Finn

Bridget Fidget and the Most Perfect Pet by Joe Berger

Face to Face With the Ladybug by Valerie Tracqui

Ladybugs Red, Firey, and Bright by Mia Posada

The Ladybug and Other Insects by A First Discovery Book from Scholastic

What About Ladybugs by by Celia Godwin

Ladybug, Ladybug by Ruth Brown

Eye Spy a Ladtbug by Melinda Lilly

The Ladybug by Sabrina Crewe

Ladybug by Charles Fuge

Pet Bugs by Sally Kneidel

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

I saved the Grouchy Ladybug for last because there is a very nice website that has many activities that all relate to this one book.

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The legacy of 9/11- Lean into becoming softer souls

by Jodie Palmer on September 11, 2011

Jodie Palmer

I, of course, remember exactly where I was, how I heard about the World Trade Center and many more terrible details of the day. However, the years have passed for me and the experience has found a place far back in my mind and I haven’t thought much about it other than the periodic disgust I experience when I come face to face with some liberty that has been sacrificed in the name of security (but that’s a different post). However, for some reason I have become interested in remembering “it” this year. For the first time I have wanted to consider more deeply this experience. The video of The Falling Man was just the perfect inspiration for me. It was a different sort of documentary on 9/11 than I have seen before. It didn’t focus on the heroism of the day, but rather considered elements of the day that have been globally erased and self censored. I would originally have said it is because we wanted to be sensitive to some sort of sacred ground, and the nature of 9/11 naturally repelled any sense of voyeurism. But now I think a little differently. I think coming face to face with the “jumpers” of 9/11 presents to us the truth that there is a duty we have to humanity to stand as “witnesses” to what has been and what is.

I use the term duty simply to describe the critical place that “standing as a witness” has in the preservation and movement of the cause of liberty. We cannot stand against, or hope to overcome that which we refuse to witness. What I am NOT saying is that witnessing means that every person must watch every horrible deed that is done; in fact, it doesn’t necessarily mean “watch” at all. The word witness is derived from a root meaning “to bear in mind;” “to remember;” “to be careful;” and is defined today, in part, as “knowledge;” “understanding;” and “wisdom.” What I AM SAYING is that standing as a witness is to hold within us the truth of what is and has been so that we can remember, be “watchcarers” over the unfolding of the future, and move in wisdom. The last phrase of the video is so poignant to me. “Looking at the falling man and to discuss it is the only option we have given that there is a falling man.”

I tried to imagine my sister or my brother as the falling man, and how I would feel. It’s almost a ludicrous effort, who can really say how you might feel and respond? But I pray that if or when I am placed in any sort of horrific situation as that, I would become a softer soul; softer to my kin and my friend, but even more importantly, softer to my enemy.

The possible sister of the falling man said, “I hope we aren’t searching for the identity of the falling man, but finding our own identity as we see him.” That is my hope for myself; that as I stand as a witness to the falling man, that my heart and my soul has been uncovered in greater measure, that I will be what I hope to be when I am called to love in the impossible moment.

This is my own personal work to learn to master God’s weapon of love. It might seem an oxymoron to use the terms weapon and love together. But I mean it very seriously. Love is quiet, gentle, tender, unresistingly altering, yet powerful enough to cut asunder and even to dismember. Anyone who has figuratively “plucked out his own eye,” or “cut off his hand” understands the cutting victory of love.

As we remember 9/11, may we resist the temptation to become harder, and lean into the whisperings to become softer souls. May we be more deeply revealed to ourselves, that we can stand as powerful witnesses in the name of liberty and love.

Jodie Palmer is the mother of three beautiful children and has another on the way. She is married to Doug Palmer. Jodie has been a mentor to many, served in more capacities than can be mentioned, is beloved by hundreds of friends and her family and is the co-founder of the Leadership Education Family Builder Program.

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What makes a good teacher:Willingness to learn

by Mary Ann on September 9, 2011

Gaining knowledge is about knowing where to find information-not in having all the information

The willingness to learn is what makes a great teacher

Gaining knowledge is about knowing where to find information-not in having all the information. Many parents worry about home schooling because they do not know everything about every subject. Some of us did well in art but were slow in math or loved science but hated English. Some parents have a degree in engineering but are clueless about English literature and others have a degree in sociology but history eludes them. Because of this there is the worry that we just can’t help educate our children because we are not experts in all the topics that they need to know about. Samuel Johnson said, “Knowledge is of two kinds: We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information about it.”

When we know and believe that we can access information on any subject we wish and that we can stay a step or two ahead of our child then we know that we can help them gain an education and love learning. Knowing that anything we need we can access increases our confidence in our ability to help our children learn anything. All we need is the determination to gain our own education. If I do not know my multiplication tables (and believe me many adults don’t) then I should learn them and then I can help my child learn them. If I do not know why clouds are different and how rain is formed then I should read and study it out and then I can teach my child. We need to understand that knowing everything isn’t what makes a good teacher but instead knowing where to find information and then making the effort to learn it ourselves – that is what makes an excellent teacher.

We error, I believe, when we assume that someone else can teach our child better than we can because they have a degree we don’t have or a teaching certificate. I believe we error when we make the assumption that our child’s public school teacher knows all about the subject they are called to teach.

I come from a family of teachers. My father was a teacher when he was young and returned to that profession later in his life. Many of my aunts were teachers. I have cousins who are teachers. I have a sister and she has a husband and they are both teachers. What I have observed over the years is that many times these teachers are called upon to teach grades and subjects that they have no more information about than the average parent. This week I received a family letter and it had a comment that I just had to share. It is a clear example of what I am talking about. This is from one of the teachers in my family.

We can learn what we need to teach.

“I had my schedule changed in the last day or so, now I’m teaching Biology and Zoology. I haven’t taught Zoology so that will be a new change and a different one. I hope I can get things put together for that. There is no book right now so we will see what happens. I might be using the Internet a lot.”

This high school teacher isn’t freaking out because he is going to teach Zoology, a subject he has never taught before and without a book, the means he is used to using to teach. What this teacher is going to do is find what he needs to take back to his class. And that is what we can do as parents. We can all help our children love learning by learning ourselves and then sharing what we have learned with them!

“‘How do you know so much about everything?’ was asked of a very wise and intelligent man; and the answer was ‘By never being afraid or ashamed to ask questions as to anything of which I was ignorant.” John Abbott

We should never be ashamed if we do not understand a subject. Because we do not know about some thing does not diminish our ability to teach. Not being willing to learn ourselves, that is where our power is lost.

One of the greatest gifts we can give to a child is to let them observe us learning, searching out the information and then sharing it. It will help them understand that the truly educated person knows he doesn’t know everything but also knows that he can learn anything by reading, searching for information and having mentors. It is a great gift to give a child who can then have a life long love of learning.