Jesenje radosti - The Joy that Autumn Brings

Ako se sećate, prošle godine smo pravile ukrase za prozore i tegle pomoću samolepljive (vitraž) folije (link). Ove godine smo radile nešto slično, ali smo koristile foliju za čuvanje hrane. Postupak je vrlo jednostavan i možete ga videti kada kliknete ovde (hvala Tanji za link). Sve u svemu, vrlo je jednostavno. Razvučete foliju po stolu (silno se napatite da se ne uvrne i ne zalepi, jer vam onda nema pomoći), deca poslažu lišće kako im se dopada, i onda preko toga prebacite drugi sloj folije. Kada istisnete vazduh, prilepite za prozor ili vrata (i na vratima izgleda dobro). Ova folija koju smo mi koristile je dosta tanka, verovatno postoji da se kupi i neko bolje rešenje. Prozori danju izgledaju sjajno, ali uveče baš i ne :(

 

 

You might remerber that we made some autumn luminaries last year using selfadhesive foil and autumn leaves (link). This year we made something similar, but using cling foil. The process is really very very simple and you can see it when you click here (thank you, Tanja, for the link). All you need to do is to unwrap a piece of cling foil (be careful not to twist it, because it sticks easily and it's hard to fix it), get the kids to arrange the leaves, and put another layer of foil over the leaves. Squeeze out the air and stick it to your window or door (it looks fine on doors, too). The cling foil we used was very thin, perhaps it would've been better if we used a stronger one. The windows look awesome during the day, in the dark not so much :(

Slane čestitke za Novu godinu - Christmas Cards with a Pinch of Salt

Za ovo zvezdano nebo vam je potrebno:

1. Papir za crtanje vodenim bojicama
2. Plava vodena boja ili tempera
3. Nalepnice u obliku zvezde ili pahulje
4. Četkica, makaze, lepak
5. So (kuhinjska, krupna ili sitna)
6. Karton na koji ćete zalepiti čestitku

Postupak je vrlo jednostavan i zabavan i maloj deci i predškolcima. Na beli papir zalepite željene nalepnice (1), potom sve to obojite

(2), a zatim pospite solju (3). Preporučujem da bojite deo po deo čestitke i odmah ga posolite dok je još mokro, jer ako se boja prosuši, so nema efekta. Potom, kad se sve osuši, otresete višak soli i skinete nalepnice. Zalepite čestitku na karton, upišete lepe želje i pošaljete.

Izvor: artfulparent.com

What you need to create this starry night:

1. Watercolour paper
2. Blue watercolour
3. Star or snowflake shaped stickers
4. A brush, scissors and some glue
5. Salt (choose the type you want or mix more types)
6. Cardboard on which you will place the card when finished

The process is quite simple and it's interesting for both for toddlers and preschoolers. Stick the stars or showflakes on the paper (1), paint it all with watercolour paint (2) and pour some salt on it (3). I advise to paint smaller portions of the card and immediately put salt on them, then go on to the next part of the paper, because the salt works best when the paint is still very wet. When the card is finished, let it dry, then brush off the excess salt and peel away the stars. Paste the card onto a piece of cardboard, write your warmest wishes on the inside of the Christmas card and mail them :)

Source: artfulparent.com

U borbi protiv dosade br. 3 sa olovkom i papirom - Boredom buster No. 3 with pen and paper

Bili smo na moru, u apartmanu vile u kojoj je bilo smešteno još pet-šest porodica sa decom različitih uzrasta. Čovek bi pomislio da nikako ne može da im bude dosadno. Imali smo ogromno dvorište sa fino pokošenom travom, hladovinu, malo igralište i velike kamene stolove sa stolicama. Recept za sjajan provod. Međutim, imali smo i dnevni red po kojem nismo smeli da pisnemo od 14h do 17h (gazdarica nas je vrlo energično, onako pravo grčki, opominjala i rasterivala decu iz dvorišta). Kako nama mlađa ćerka u to vreme spava, nismo mogli na plažu, pa su deca bila primorana da se igraju tiho.

Da ne bi sve vreme imali telefone i tablete u rukama, na brzinu smo organizovali par drugačijih aktivnosti sa materijalom koji smo imali kod sebe.

1. Crtanje uz podstrek - na list papira nacrtate oči, a dete treba da nacrta sve ostalo, po svojoj želji. Kasnije smo u prodavnici pronašli nalepnice, pa smo to koristili za ideju (voće, povrće i slično).

2. Spoji tačkice na ubrusu - uzmete ubrus i bojice (najbolje flomastere) i igrate se „spoji tačkice“. Nisam imala pojma da ubrusi (i toalet papiri) imaju tako zanimljiv dizajn. A ima ga u neograničenim količinama.

We spent some time at the seaside this year in an apartment. Five or six more families were there with children of different ages. You would think that kids could not get bored with a huge back yard with finely cut grass, lots of shade, a small playground and large stone tables with chairs around them. It was a recipe for a great time. However, we were also bound with a mandatory quiet time from 2 to 5 pm (the landlady was quite energetic when it came to rushing the kids off from the back yard). Since it was our younger daughter's nap time at that time, we couldn't go to the beach, so the kids had to play quietly.

We didn't want them to have tablets and cell phones in their hands all the time, so we had to come up with some quiet activities with materials we had at hand.

1. Prompted drawing - I drew a pair of eyes on a sheet of paper and the kids were to draw around them, however they wanted. Later we found some stickers in a store, so we used them as prompts (vegetables, fruit, etc.)

2. Connect the dots on kitchen towels - all you need is a kitchen towel and some crayons (markers work best) and you can start connecting the dots. I had no idea that kitchen towels (and toilet paper for that matter) have such interesting design. And they are not hard to come by.

 

Osmeh i cvetić - A smile and a flower

 
Budući da nas i ova tura gripa nije mimoišla (uz upalu pluća), ideja za ovogodišnje osmomartovske čestitke je reciklirana. Detaljna uputstva možete da pronađete na ovom linku od pre par godina, ali je na slici jedno dete više :)

 

 

Since this round of the flue didn't miss us aswell (coupled with pneumonia), this year's idea for a Mother's day card is an old one. You can find the instructions here, posted a few years ago. However, there is one kid more on the photo :)

 

 

Šarene vrećice (U borbi protiv dosade br. 2) - Squishy bags (Boredom buster No. 2)

Evo još jedne jednostavne zabave koju lako možete organizovati. Mene je podsetila na peronice koje smo imali kad smo bili deca :)

Potrebno vam je:

• vrećice sa patent zatvaračem
• gel za tuširanje ili šampon
• perlice ili šljokice
• marker za pisanje po CD-u

Cilj igre je da dete dogura šljokice do mesta označenog na vrećici. Mi smo prvo imali samo jednu vrstu šljokica, a potom smo pokušali sa dve, tako da sva srca treba da se dovedu do flomasterom iscrtanog srca, a svi cvetovi do cveta. Ema je uživala u zadatku, a Maja u gnječenju vrećica.

Izvor: BestToys4Toddlers

Here is another simple activity that is easy to organize. It reminded me of pencil cases we used to have when we were kids :)

You will need:

• ziplock bags
• shower gel or shampoo
• sequins
• a permanent marker for CDs

The aim is to push the sequins to the place marked on the bag. We tried the game with only one type of sequins, then later we moved on to two - all the hearts were to be in a heart shape and all the flowers in the flower shape. Ema really enjoyed chasing the sequins, whereas Maja enjoyed squeezing the bags.

Source: BestToys4Toddlers
 

Porodična jelka - A Family Christmas Tree

Saradnja među blogerima je divna stvar! Putem ovog bloga upoznala sam autorku bloga Mama, hoćemo nešto da pravimo i započela je super saradnja. Jednom prilikom mi je M. rekla da je u prodavnici u svojoj blizini naišla na penastu gumu i da se setila mene, te se ponudila da mi kupi nekoliko komada i pošalje. Zahvaljujući mojoj prezauzetosti, a i obilju ideja u vezi sa ovim materijalom, tek sada smo stigli da ga iskoristimo (zajedno sa šljokicama koje su takođe bile u paketu).

Iako smo samo Ema i ja pravile ove jelkice (više Ema nego ja), praktično su učestvovali svi članovi porodice, makar time što su nam ostavili otisak svoje šake. Jelke možete da okačite na svoju pravu novogodišnju jelku kao ukras, da ih zalepite na čestitku i tako ih poklonite nekom, da ih zalepite na ulazna vrata (mi smo onu najveću, sa četiri šake, zalepili na vrata stana) i još mnogo toga. Sve što vam je potrebno je šaka, olovka, makaze, penasta guma (mada možete upotrebiti i filc ili hamer ili kolaž papir), lepak, šljokice i to je to!

 

 



 Cooperation between bloggers is a wonderful thing! During my blogging, I have met a fellow blogger (Mom, let's make something), a very creative mother of two. She came accross these craft foam sheets in a nearby store and thought of me. She offered to send me a few sheets and a some glitter, but due to my busy life and the huge quantity of ideas with this material, they remained unused until now.

 

Even though only me and Ema (well, mostly Ema) worked on this project, the whole family was involved in a way, even though only by leaving a handprint. You can use these Christmas trees as ornaments for your big Christmas tree, you can glue them on a sheet of paper and make Christmas cards, you can use them to decorate your flat, or glue them to your front door (as we did with the biggest one, with all four handprints). All you need are some handprints, a few sheets of craft foam (you can also use fleece, cardboard or whatever you like), scissors, glue, glitter and that's it!

 

U potrazi za blagom - Treasure hunting

Ema strašno voli da traži skriveno blago i prati uputstva ili mape. Zimus smo pravile fosile dinosaurusa i skrivali ih po stanu sa pisanim uputstvima (pogledajte ovde) što je naišlo na ogromno oduševljenje. Tu igru često igramo opet.

Letos smo proveli nekih desetak dana na planini, između igranja fudbala sa drugarom, ljuljanja na ljuljaškama, puštanja zmaja, planinarenju po brdima i vulkanskim stenama, ostalo je vremena i za traženje blaga.

Nacrtala sam jednu uprošćenu mapu našeg dvorišta i grafitnom olovkom sa „X“ označila gde su sakriveni gorepomenuti fosili. Deca su se naoružala baterijskom lampom i dobrom voljom i krenula u potragu. Kada su ih sve pronašli, izbrisali smo oznake, pa krenuli iznova. Zatim su se dogovorili da će jedno od njih da sakriva fosile, a drugo da traži, pa da se menjaju. A možete im i organizovati takmičenje.

Sve u svemu, super igra da vežbate snalaženje u prostoru i praćenje uputstava, a i da se deca fizički aktiviraju. Ukoliko nemate dvorište, možete se igrati i u stanu ili parku ili gde god želite. Uživajte :)

* * *

 

My daughter really likes looking for hidden treasure by following instructions or maps. This winter we made dinosaur fossils and played a game where she had to find them following textual instructions (see here). She enjoyed that very much and we play that game often.

This summer we spent about ten days in the hills. After playing football with her friend, swinging on the swings, flying a kite, hiking in the hills and volcano rocks there was some time left for treasure hunting.

I made a pretty simple map of our back yard and marked the spots where those fossils were hidden with a pencil. The kids found a flashlignt, took the map and headed off to look for the treasure. When they found the fossils, we erased the „X“ marks on the map and started all over again. Then they made a deal that one of them will hide the treasure and that the other would look for it on their own, and they would later switch parts. And you can also organize a competition and give each of them a map with different hidden treasures.

All in all, this is a great way to practice spacial awareness and following instructions and it's also a cool way to get your kids to move around a bit more. If you do not have a back yard, you can play at home, or at the park or wherever you wish. Have fun :)

 

U susret proleću - Awaiting spring

U očekivanju toplijih i sunčanih dana, odlučile smo da se pozabavimo cvećem. Posadile lukovice zumbula, lala i krokusa i sada čekamo da niknu. Istina, prekasno sam se setila da kupim lukovice, trebalo ih je posaditi između septembra i decembra, a ne u februaru, ali nadamo se najboljem. A dok prve biljčice ne niknu, na blogu My kids make pronašla sam odličnu ideju za pravljenje cvetova od ostataka prediva.

Potrebno vam je sledeće:

1. lepak od kukuruznog skroba (Pomešati 1/4 šolje kukuruznog skroba (gustina) sa 1 šoljom vode, staviti na ringlu da se greje i mešati dok ne zgusne nalik na puding. Potom ohladiti smesu do temperature bezbedne da u nju klinci mogu da umoče prste.)
2. ostaci prediva raznih boja (iseći na dužinu od desetak centimetara)
3. modle u obliku cveta ili zvezde
4. tacna prekrivena papirom za pečenje

Sve što treba da uradite je da umočite predivo u lepak, prstima ocedite višak i popunite modlu. Zatim modlu podignete (cvet ostaje na papiru) i ponovite postupak.

Cvetovi mogu da se suše na toplom mestu preko noći ili u rerni, na niskoj temperaturi. Mi smo naše sušili na radijatoru.

 

 A potom smo nekoliko cvetića pretvorile u čestitku za tetkin rođendan. Od njih možete napraviti i buket cveća, čestitke za osmi mart, venčiće, ili čak čestitke za Valentinovo (koristite modle u obliku srca).

* * *

 

While we are impatiently expecting sunnier and warmer days, my daughter and me decided to activate our green fingers. We planted some flowerbulbs (narcissus, tulip and crocus bulbs). Truth to be said, I was somewhat late with planting them, there are supposed to be planted between September and December, but we're keeping our fingers crossed.

And, while waiting for the plants to appear, I found a great idea for making string flowers on My kids make blog.

You need the following:

1. corn starch glue (1/4 cup cornstarch, 1 cup of water, heat it and whisk it well untill it thickens. Then cool it till it reaches a temperature that it safe for kids to play with.)
2. stash yarn in various colours, cut to pieces about 10 cm long
3. cookie cutters in the shape of a flower or star
4. a tray lined with baking paper

Dip the yarn in glue, use your fingers to remove excess glue and put the yarn in the cookie cutter. Then remove the cutter and repeat the process.

 

You can dry the flowers on the tray in a warm place overnight, or you can dry it in the oven. We chose the first method.

 

We used the flowers to make a birthday card for Ema's aunt, but you can use it to make a bouquet of flowers, or a mother's day card, or even a Valentine's day card (use heart shaped cookie cutters).

 

 

 



Još jedna aktivnost sa jesenjim lišćem - Owls, birds and autumn leaves

Koliko god da je jesen dugo trajala, ipak nisam stigla da objavim ovaj post na vreme. Evo još jednog divnog načina da provedete jesenji dan.

Potreban vam je crtež sove, puno sitnijeg lišća, makaze i lepak.

Ideja sa sovom je preuzeta sa ovog sajta, a pticu smo improvizovale.

Even though we had quite a long autumn, I am still late with publishing this post. Here is another great way to spend an autumn day.

All you need is a drawing of an owl, lots and lots of smaller autumn leaves, scissors and glue.

The idea for this project came from this website, whereas the bird was an improvisation.

 

Šivenje za decu, drugi deo - Sewing for kids, part two

Pre nekoliko meseci sam pisala post o šivenju (mada je to pre vez, nego šivenje) za decu. Rekla sam da za sada sa Emom samo šijemo u krug ili po linijama, da još nismo savladali neke zahtevnije oblike. E pa sada je Emin rad dobio i upotrebnu vrednost. Od izvezenih motiva smo napravile čestitke za baku i prabaku.

Već vidim i neke novogodišnje čestitke u istom fazonu...

 

I wrote a post, a few months ago, about sewing for kids. I said that for now we only sewed in straight lines or in circles, that we hadn't made it to some more complex patterns. Well, I am happy to report that our little activity now has a more practical use. We've made birthday cards for Ema's grandmother and greatgrandmother.

I can already see some New Year cards made with this technique...

 

 

Jesen i brojevi - Autumn and numbers

Evo još jedne aktivnosti koju možete vrlo jednostavno izvesti, a obuhvata učenje brojeva od 1 do 10. Mi smo je obradile na dva načina - ostavljajući mrljice tempere u odgovarajućem broju i lepljenjem sakupljenih listova. Mogućnosti su beskrajne. Ako se odlučite da improvizujete, ili ste ovu aktivnost već izveli na neki drugi način, rado bih čula vaše ideje.

Here is another activity that is very simple to carry out, and it involves learning numbers from 1 to 10. We chose these two ways to go about it, but the possibilities are endless. We used tempera paints to leave an appropriate number of dots on the paper and pasted leaves we collected during the day. If you decide to improvise, or you have done this activity in some other way, I would be very happy to hear your ideas.

 

 

 

Jesenja princeza - Autumn princess

Pre par dana smo u povratku iz vrtića nakupile punu vreću suvog lišća i tek danas smo stigle da ih iskoristimo.

Prvo smo pravile krunu od lišća. Na pravougani tanji karton je Ema lepila listove, zalepila krajeve i onda pozirala.

* * * * *

A few days ago, on our way back from kindergarten, we collected a bagfull of autumn leaves, but only today we had the time to use them.

First, we made an autumn leaves crown. Ema pasted the leaves onto a thin rectangular cardboard, we glued the ends together, and then came the time for posing.

* * * * *

 

Pošto nam je ostalo još puno lišća, setila sam se nečega što smo kao klinci radili - ocrtavanje listova na papiru. Sećate se toga, zar ne? Stavite list ispod papira (to smo radili i sa novčićima) i onda voštanom bojicom pređete preko toga. To je Emi držalo pažnju baš dugo.

 

* * * * *

 

Since we had a lot of leaves left, I remembered an activity we used to do as kids - tracing leaves on paper. Do you remember doing that? You put a leaf under a sheet of paper (we used to do it with coins, too) and then colour over it with a crayon. Ema enjoyed this activity for quite a while.



Prvi jesenji dan

Jesen je danas i zvanično počela, mada je bila u najavi već pre par dana, naglim zahlađenjem i kišom. To nas je opet primoralo da ostanemo u stanu i smišljamo šta ćemo da radimo. Evo nekoliko aktivnosti kojima smo se bavili ovih dana.

 

1. Kućica za konjiće

 

Ema je oduševljena konjićima u raznim veličinama i oblicima, pa smo joj kupili nekoliko. Međutim, konjićima je bila potrebna i kućica, pošto, jel'te, napolju pada kiša. Kućicu sam napravila od kutije za mleko (one kartonske što u sebi sadrži 10 tetrapakova mleka) i valovite lepenke. Kutija od mleka je taman dobre čvrstine da mogu da se iseku prozori i vrata i da mogu da se otvaraju i zatvaraju. Ostalo je još samo da pronađem neki lep papir da obložim kućicu iznutra, da izgleda kao da ima tapete.

 

 

 

 

2. TV karijera

 

E, sad kad su konjići imali rešeno stambeno pitanje, počeli su da grade karijeru. Ovo parče stiropora je iz kutije naše nove mini pekare i Ema ga je uspešno transformisala u televizor. U glavnoj ulozi - konjići.

 

 

3. Kocke

 

Ovu ideju sam pronašla još davno, na blogu Mame koja ne radi na repeat. Naš deda je veoma spretan kada su u pitanju svi stolarski zadaci, pa nam je isekao, izbrusio i lakirao kocke još za Božić prošle godine. Do sada smo ih koristili za pravljenje kula, a sada smo njihovu upotrebu proširili i na popunjavanje geometrijskih oblika. Ove kocke se mogu koristiti na razne načine, tako da će nam biti zanimljive još jako dugo.

 

 

 

4. Nalepnice i pranje zuba

 

Negde od sredine leta javio nam se problem da nam pranje zuba više nije bilo zanimljivo, pa je Ema tu aktivnost svesrdno izbegavala. Pošto jako voli da lepi nalepnice, kupile smo specijalne „nalepnice za pranje zubića” koje se smeju lepiti tek nakon što se operu zubi. Sada ih peremo i više puta dnevno :) Ova ideja je zapravo zamišljena da se nalepnicama obeleži da je neki određeni zadatak ispunjen, pa kada se skupi 5 ili 7 ili 10 (izaberite broj koji vam odgovara) nalepnica, dete zasluži neku nagradu. Međutim, Emi je lepljenje nalepnica nagrada samo po sebi, pa nismo proširivali aktivnost. Čuvamo tu opciju kao rezervu.

 

 

 

Šivenje za početnike - Sewing for kids

Čini mi se da je i moja ćerka malko zaražena ručnim radom. Čim se latim igala dotrčava da traži i ona da štrika. Pošto je ipak previše mala za pletenje, setila sam se nečeg sličnog što sam pročitala na blogovima. Jednostavno je, a odlično za razvijanje motorike.

Za ovo „šivenje za početnike” vam je potrebno sledeće:

1. tanjiri od stiropora (najbolje od povrća ili šampinjona, jer se oni na kojima je bilo meso izuzetno teško peru i uvek se usmrde),
2. jedna deblja i tupa igla (mi koristimo iglu za vunu),
3. raznobojno predivo ili konac (odlično za smanjivanje količine stash-a).

Iglom probušite rupice gde želite da prođe konac i dajte malom umetniku da uživa. Na ovaj način možete napraviti ram za slike, izvesti razne motive (cvetove, ime, kućicu, auto i slično). Mi smo za sada još u fazi šivenja u krug i usavršavanja tehnike, ali nadam se da ćemo uskoro napredovati.

It seems that the craft bug is going around my family. Whenever I pick up my needles, my daugther runs over to me and demands to knit herself. Since she is still too young for knitting, I remembered something I had read on various blogs. It's a simple idea and great for developing motor skills.

For this "sewing for beginners" you will need the following:

1. styrofoam plates (I suggest picking those that were used for vegetables or mushrooms, because the ones that were used for meat are extremely difficult to wash and quickly start to smell bad),
2. one thick needle (we use a yarn needle),
3. yarn or thread in different colours (great for stash busting).

Use the needle to make tiny holes on the plate and let the little artists enjoy themselves. You can use this technique to make picture frames, embroider different motifs (flowers, the child's name, a car, a house, etc.). We are still at the level of sewing in circles or straight lines, but I hope that we will soon advance to a higher "level".

Ideje za dan kada veje - What to do when you're snowed in

Pečati od krompira

Ovu ideju sam pronašla na nekoliko blogova. Veoma je jednostavna i vrlo je verovatno da u kući imate sve sastojke potrebne da je sprovedete u delo.
Potrebni su vam krompiri (manji), modle za kolače (mogu biti i plastične i metalne), nekoliko sunđera za pranje sudova i tempere.

Potatoe stamps

I've found this idea on several blogs. It is very simple and you probably have at home all the things you need for it.
You need some potatoes (smaller ones), cookie cutters (you can use both plastic and metal ones), a few sponges for washing dishes and tempera paint.

Utisnite modlicu u krompir do dubine 6-7 mm.
Press the cookie cutter into the potatoe 6-7 mm deep.

Dok se modla nalazi u krompiru, nožem odsescite okolni krompir i izvucite modlicu.
With the cookie cutter still inside the potatoe, use the knife to cut out the extra potatoe around the cutter, then remove the cutter.

Izlijte malo tempere na pokvašen sunđer, razmažite prstom i spremni ste za pečatiranje.
Pour some tempera paint onto a damp sponge, use your finger to spread it around the sponge evenly,
and you're ready to go!

Uživajte :)
Have fun!

Piši-briši vežbanke

Ova ideja potiče sa bloga Škrabalice i Mame koje ne radi na repeat. Ema i ja često radimo vežbice spajanja, rešavanja lavirinta, zaokruživanja i slično, a na ovaj način možemo iznova raditi vežbe koje su nam se dopale.
Potrebne su vam fascikle od providne folije (poznate pod nazivom „gaće”), flomaster za belu tablu, sunđer za brisanje (mada se taj flomaster uredno briše i ubrusima, toalet papirom i sličnim), odštampane vežbe i fascikla u koju ćete ih odložiti. Vežbe možete naći na Internetu, ima ih u izobilju. Samo ukucajte u Google „(free) printables for three/four/five year olds” i pojaviće se puno toga. Ima ih i na sajtovima koji su vezani za određene likove iz crtanih filmova, pa možete naći Pepu, Doru, Bena i Holi, itd., što ovakve vežbe čini mnogo zanimljivijim.

Reusable printables

I've found this idea on Škrabalica and Mame koje ne rade na repeat's blogs. Ema and I often do exercises that involve linking, circling, doing mazes and similar activities, and this way we can do those that we like over and over again.
All you need are transparent folders, whiteboard markers, sponge for erasing them (although all kinds of soft paper, such as tissues, can do the work), printed exercises and a file where you'll store them. Exercises can be found on the Internet, in abundance. Just google "printables for three/four/five year olds" and you'll have plenty to choose from. There are printable activities on sites devoted to cartoon characters, so you can find Peppa, Dora the Explorer, Ben and Holly and many others, which makes these tasks much more fun.