Stones and sticks, there us something about my boys and these materials. We seem to collect these “treasures” wherever we go and I have to make sure I empty trouser pockets before washing them or I would be busy washing stones too!

{How to} Make a stone Tic Tac Toe or noughts and crosses Game

We are big fans of simple games and often play noughts and crosses or tic tac tow on paper, but we recently had a go at making a game from some stones we had collected and a wooden cheese board.

Materials

1. Stones
2. Black Sharpie and White marker
3. Tape
4. Wooden board

How to make it.

As the boys wanted to make our with me, I oped for as simple as possible and marked out the board using tape.  I will change this for paint when I have more time.

We simply drew either an X or an O on the stones.

This has been in our living room for over a month now and it played with a lot.  So many visitors have commented on it and asked where they can get their own version!

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Go on a Stone Hunt

We often go on little mini adventures (walks) and my boys always collect treasure.  I adore this idea of a nature walk with alphabet rocks.  Or you could use the walk to talk about the different type of rocks.

Crafts with Stones

There are so many fantastic crafts that you can do with stones such as pet rocks which is something the boys love to make.  I love the idea of making a set of alphabet rocks or using them as plant markers.  If you dont want to get the paint out, why not try these wax rocks, which are stunning.   You could also use your stones to make art too like these at Zing Zing Tree.  If you find a precious stone then why not turn it into a stone necklace.

Activities with Stones

If you already have lots of stones in your house then it is time to get active with them.  I love Nurturestore’s stone cairns or you could have a go at scooping and selling with your rocks.  You could use them for spelling or story telling.  We use our stones to record memories.  Rocks and stones are also perfect for sensory play.

Make sure you are following our facebook page, Google + page or on Pinterest for lots more stone crafts and activities over the coming week.

I loooove pompoms and so do the boys.  we find making them something of an addiction especially with these Pom-Pom makers.  It really is super simple and something that my boys can do all on their own and is a great way of using up scraps of wool.  We find making them really therapeutic and something that we tend to make them on an evening when we are all sat around chatting together.  These makers are really simple for children to use, just take a look at the video below of Thinly Spread’s Bonus Boy aged five making a pompom.

How to make a Pompom

Cardboard strip method – Maggie at Red Ted Art shows you how to make a pompom using just a strip of card and wool in her blog post about making pompom bunnies.

Cardboard donut method – Miss LIzzie at Me and my shadow shows how simple and effective this method is with her pompom wreath.

Crayon box chronicles shows us how to make pompoms using folks  – This is so easy for tiny pompoms.   You can even make them from two cardboard rolls.

Crafts with Pompoms

Materials

• Yarn
• Pom Pom Maker
• Felt – yellow for the chicks
• Glue – we used the glue gun, but also fabric glue
• Small beads for eyes

Method

1. Make a largeish pompom in yellow wool for the chick’s body
2. In yellow felt cut out two shapes for the chicks wings and one for the chicks tail feathers.  Also cut a small triangle for the chicks beak – in future ones I will make this orange to stand out more.
3. Stick the wings and tail to the pom pom using a glue gun.
4. Stick the eyes and beak on using fabric glue

You can also make pompom bunnies or pompom monsters.  There are lots of animals you can craft with pompoms, including hedgehogs, spiders, robins or sheep!   Why not make a bunch of white pompoms and then you have no melt indoor snowballs.

Activities with Pompoms

I know my boys would love to race pompom balls, see more of this great activity at frugal fun 4 boys.  You could turn them in to angry birds and use them to knock down cups or use them for a colour sorting activity.  You can even use pompoms for maths activities or literacy exercises.

Make sure you are following our facebook page, Google + page or on Pinterest for lots more pompom crafts and activities over the coming week.

Welcome to the first ever something for the weekend #sftw.  A regular series which I hope inspired you to make, so, see, cook and just generally enjoy family time at the weekend.  The idea is to provide simple activities that can fit into family weekend.

 Bird Watching

This weekend is RSPB Big Garden birdwatch, so I thought I would so a something for the week with this in mind.  The birdwatch only takes an hour of your time and is a great way to introduce different birds to your children.  You can print out a checklist (or use their online tool on your tablet, desktop of mobile phone) from the RSPB website and they also have information of what to do to attract the birds to your garden.  If you want more bird based activities, they also have some great family fun activities on their web site.   Alternatively you can find a super free bird watching printable book here at Buggy and Buddy. 

Bird Feeders

When I was decluttering my kitchen this week, I am ashamed to say I come across a rather large amount of very out of date nuts and seeds, so rather than throw them away we decided to make bird feeders with them.

Ingredients

1. Bird seed or nuts and seeds
2. Lard or solid vegetable fat if you are vegetarian.
3. Yoghurt posts or other pot (we used jelly jars)
4. String
5. Cookie cutters
6. Greaseproof paper.

Method

1. Pop your block of lard in a large heatproof bowl and place over a pan filled with simmering water.  The aim is to softener not melt the lard.   If you are doing this with small children you can do this by vigorously beating the lard with a wooden spoon.
2. Stir in the bird seed
3. lay your cookie cutters out on wax paper and fill half way with the birdseed mixture.
4. Cut your twine, knot the end and push the knot down into your birdseed.
5. Continue to fill the rest of the cookie cutter with  birdseed, covering the end of your twine and knot.
6. press down on the birdseed so it is compact.
7. Allow them to dry overnight and then remove from the cookie cutters and hang them

We also made some in pots, which do not have very well as they are rather large and heavy, put they are perfect for popping on top of bird feeders.  Another way to do this is to use pine cones.  just mix the lard with seeds and oats with your hands – lovely messy fun and swish it into the pine cones. Then refrigerate and hang.  You really can just use what you have in.  No seed or lard, then do not despair you can use peanut butter and loo roll to make bird feeders! .  Or if you have some cheerios, then try these fab cheerio bird feeders from Happy Hooligans.  

Pinecone Owl

You can find the instructions to make this adorable pinecone owl here.  You only need to have pinecones, glue, Felt, (or you could use craft foam or even card if that is all you have) and googly eyes.

Books about birds

I hope you like this and would love any feedback you can give me.  If you are looking for other bird crafts you could always make bird cards, handprint duck,  foam birds with feathers or these fab play dough feathered birds.  I adore this fab creative writing ideas from Nurturestore.  Buggy and Buddy has a great roundup post all about learning about birds.