Creative Kids

I am not a very crafty person.  I am not one to come up with arts & crafts to make with the girls, like some of my other mommy friends do.  Maybe it's my type A personality that prevents me from doing this, but creativity just isn't in me.  But folks, starting today, I'm changing all of that!  I don't want my girls to look back at their childhood & think to themselves, 'mommy never did fun things with us'.

Once a week I'm going to attempt to make something crafty with the girls.  Or I may even let them help me make something in the kitchen (Kennedy has been begging me to let her help make banana bread).   Gasp!  I know, can you believe it??!!  Growing up, 'kids' + 'kitchen' did not go together.  Mom didn't want her kitchen messed up & dirty, so we never really learned how to cook or bake. (I still love you mom!)  I want that to change, though, with my girls.  If they are eager to learn (which they are), then I am willing to teach!

Our first project we created together was Sponge Puppets.

I saw this project in the Highlights High Five magazine.  If you have young children & are looking for a wonderful magazine, I highly recommend this one!

The supplies needed:

You will need to cut a slit in the edge of the sponge.  The slit should be large enough for your child's finger to fit inside the sponge.

Next, cut colored paper to make a mouth, eyes, a nose, & ears for the sponge puppet. 

Here are the girls working on their cutting skills.  Kennedy is getting the hang of cutting.  Ashby, not so much!

Next, glue them onto the sponge.  We tried a glue stick first but that didn't hold them onto the sponge, so I had to use some super glue.  I'm sure Elmer's glue would work too.  And for the ears, we had to insert toothpicks into the sponge, and then glue the ears onto the toothpick.

Here they are getting ready to glue them on.

And the finished product.

But Ashby just wasn't satisfied with her 'bald' puppet, so she added some hair to hers! :)

The girls love their puppets!  They don't quite get the concept of putting their finger in it like a puppet, but they sure have enjoyed playing with them, carrying them around the house, even wanting the puppets to 'watch' them as they ate their lunch.

I'd have to say that my first arts & crafts project with the girls was a success.  By no means was this sponge puppet fancy, but the girls loved making them and I loved spending quality time with the two of them.  And I'm sure as they get older they won't remember this project we did together, but I will forever remember this special time that we spent together. 



 Watch out Martha Stewart, you may soon have some competition on your hands! :)