Fall crafts

Subscribe to Grand Connection by Email

Friday's Grand Connection Fun

by Mary May Larmoyeux

Fall is officially here!  I so look forward to cool autumn days and the changing colors!

How do you connect with your grandkids during the autumn months? One thing that I've done is make fall placemats with them. It's so easy to do:

•  Snap some pictures of the grands holding pumpkins, sitting in a pile of leaves, or standing by trees that are turning fall colors. Print out the pictures. With the grands, glue or tape the back of each selected picture onto a piece of placemat-size construction paper. 
• Help your grand write a Bible verse about changing seasons on each placemat, such as Daniel 2:21: “He changes times and seasons.” Discuss the verse and memorize it together.
• Now, encourage the grands to decorate the placemat with personal drawings, his/her name, stickers, prints of leaves made from a leaf stamp or a homemade “potato leaf stamp” (directions below), words describing things he/she is grateful for, etc.
•  Date each place mat.

How to Make a Leaf Potato Stamp:

• Wash several baking potatoes and cut them in half (width). Using a sharp knife, carve out the shape of a leaf (a different shape on each potato).
• On each potato, cut away the potato surrounding the shape so that the shape of the leaves will be about one-fourth of an inch. Presto—you have your stamp.
• Pour paints of fall colors into bowls (throw-away bowls are nice to use). Help your grand dip a stamp into a shallow bowl of paint. Now it’s ready for your grand to stamp his/her masterpiece.

As an added touch, the placemats could be laminated.

For long-distance grands: Make and mail some fall placemats to the grands. You may want to send them some stickers of pumpkins and leaves and ask them to create a picture with some of them and mail it back to you.

For older grandkids: Go on a picnic with them (of course, little ones would also enjoy this). Give them a piece of "fall jewelry" such as a necklace with a leaf pendant or a bookmark made in the shape of a leaf.

How do you create fall memories with your grands?

Have fun!
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/


© 2009 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.

A Crafty Weekend

Friday’s Fun

Two of our grands will soon be spending the weekend with Pops and me (ages 3 ½ and 1 ½). The three year old and I are going to make leaf placemats and also decorate plastic cups to go with the placemats. If you’ve ever painted plastic cups and have any tips, I’d really appreciate your comment about this.

Speaking of crafts, a friend recently returned from visiting her out-of-town nieces and nephew. She shared that she took them all to a craft store one day and let them each purchase one item. Then she helped them begin making their crafts before she left to return home. She said she's their favorite aunt. I wonder why?

Now, if you have an out-of-town grand and don’t plan to visit soon, you could mail them a craft. Either mail them one as a surprise or call/e-mail and ask the grands what they would like.

If your grandchildren surf the net, ask them to log onto a particular online craft site and help them select an item that they would like to make. You could even talk with them on the phone while both you and your grand are looking at the same website. You may want to purchase an identical craft, and you and your grand could compare your progress via the phone or e-mail. If you're into pictures on the cell phone, you could share your craft progress even though you lives miles from one another.

Have fun!

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

Let's Make Fall Placemats

Friday Fun

It’s beginning to feel a lot like … fall. Don’t you just love the cool autumn days and the changing colors! What a great time to make fall placemats with your grandkids.

Here’s how:

· Snap some pictures of the grands holding pumpkins, sitting in a pile of leaves, or standing by trees that are turning fall colors. Print out the pictures. Glue or tape the back of each selected picture onto a piece of placemat-size construction paper.

· Help your grand write a Bible verse about changing seasons on each placemat, such as Daniel 2:21: “He changes times and seasons.” Discuss the verse and memorize it together.

· Now, help your grand decorate the placemat with personal drawings, his/her name, stickers, prints of leaves made from a purchased leaf stamp or a homemade “potato leaf stamp” (directions below), words describing things he/she is grateful for, etc.

· Date each place mat.

· You can either laminate the placemats with clear Contact paper or go to a teacher supply store or copy shop and have them laminated professionally.


How to Make a Leaf Potato Stamp

Wash several baking potatoes and cut them in half (width). Using a sharp knife, carve out the shape of a leaf (a different shape on each potato).

On each potato, cut away the potato surrounding the shape so that the shape of the leaves will be about one-fourth of an inch. Presto—you have your stamp.

Pour paints of fall colors into bowls (throw-away bowls are nice to use). Help your grand dip a stamp into a shallow bowl of paint. Now it’s ready for your grand to stamp his/her masterpiece.

Have fun!

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/