#makermarch

[nerfect]

Today’s #MarchMeetTheMaker prompt is “start the day,” and for the most part, my days start with breakfast and coffee in my boy, Rolo’s room. It’s on the back of the house, filled with dog themed artwork and it’s where the morning sun comes in nicely. . I tend to ease into the day here. I handle the small stuff here while listening to the birds, like checking my emails, reviewing my calendar, and check to see if I have any orders from my Etsy shop (link in profile.) . #makermarch #marchofthemakers #marchofmakers #marchmeetthemaker #startoftheday (at Berwyn, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpc8UuwOn3S/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[youresogorgeous13]

05.03.2018 // creating something. write your story. paint your picture. // your story deserves to be told, it deserves to be heard. create something good to make your world more beautiful. encourage others, let them know you understand. any kind word deserves to be spoken. every lovely thought deserves to be heard. put something good out in the world and let love grow.

[smallprotagonistbooks]

Today on the blog the first of our #MakerMarch series with DK Canada.  We’re going to blog one full activity from each of their exciting maker books to inspire you and your family!

First up is Look I’m a Cook an inspiring cook book for your and your smalls full of simple, creative food ideas to make together.  We decided on the Buggy Feast and it turned out to be a blast!

If you’re anything like me, the idea of organizing an activity like this with your busy small(s) can feel daunting.  I wasn’t sure how long my three year old would stay with this activity.  What surprised me and was a great reminder of the difference between kids & grown-ups was that each part of the preparation held equal weight for my small.  We’re so goal oriented as adults, kids just experience things!  Taking a grocery list to the store for unusual one-off items we don’t usually buy was a huge part of the fun for my little guy.  A “treasure hunt” to collect our ingredients.  Organizing the googly eyes into bowls and laying out all the ingredients was a delight for him.  He wandered off while his Dad and I decorated but about fifteen minutes later, after watching us, he told us which bug he wanted to make and patiently sat with us decorating his ladybug apple!     The recipes in this book are great for the small-smalls for attention span and then easily convert upwards for more independent kids!  Fresh, simple and a great way to get the whole family involved in something easy and delicious! Recommended for you and your smalls 2.5 & up!

[smallprotagonistbooks]

Today in our #MakerMarch series is Cooking Step-by-Step via DK Canada Books.  A wonderful cook book for smalls with over 50 simple recipes and gorgeous photos to help you enjoy cooking as a family.   We let our three-year-old protagonist pick a recipe and he chose these tasty chicken fingers!  We had a lot of fun with the prep and he finally got to fulfill a long-time wish:  Mama let him touch raw meat. (so much hand-washing afterwards ha ha).  Full disclosure: my son is a particular eater, I truly had no idea if he would try these after all our hard work but he surprised me with his excitement to dig in!  AND he liked them!  We ALL did!  They were simple and delicious and we made a honey mustard dip to enjoy them with.  A perfect lunch! This was a great recipe to get little hands involved. Bowls for dipping and stirring and beating made this an engaging preschooler activity and ours took real pride in “making his own lunch”.  Worth setting up the prep on a table they can reach!  The rest of the recipes in here all look delicious and straight forward.  Tasty fun for the whole family.  Recommended for smalls 3 & up and hungry grown-ups everywhere.  Yum!

[smallprotagonistbooks]

Today in our #MakerMarch series is Smithsonian Maker Lab by Jack Challoner via DK Books Canada.  This 28 project book is packed full of science for you & your smalls to explore together! We tackled Sugar Crystal Lollipops and spent a week growing them in the window in jars!  This project required a lot of adult preparation/involvement as it involves boiling hot sugar.  We also have an artificial colour allergy in the house so we made our first attempt at making our own colours out of blueberries and turmeric.  Our three year old small had a blast dipping the sticks, using pipettes to add colour and then watching our crystals grow in our sunny window. Our final products were pronounced “dee-wishus” and very sweet indeed!  

This ambitious tome definitely has more “aged up” activities for kids but many can be adapted to toddlers and preschoolers and the basic science behind everything is fascinating for every age.  Our small protagonist was blown away that we could “grow” candy just like house plants.  He loved the anticipation leading up to them being “ready”. We pronounce this book: loads of weekend fun for the whole family!

Recommended 3+up for scientists small and everywhere.   

[smallprotagonistbooks]

Today in our #MakerMarch series with DK Canada is Play With Art a wonderful collection of paper/pencil/paint activities to engage your smalls in play-based art.   We loved this book, whose activities are perfect for younger smalls and engage all the senses in lively play.  We chose “fruit and veggie fun” and made “stamps” out of various items from the fridge.  The entire activity was worth it for the “ooooo” of delight from my three year old when I told him he could dip food in paint.  He really enjoyed dipping fresh rosemary and parsley into the colours! We used washable finger paint for this activity and some sheets from a jumbo finger paint pad.  This activity got very messy very quickly so we recommend letting your small have at it with two adults available to tag-team clean up.  (One for kid clean up, one to clear it all away before kid returns to touch it ha ha). This book had loads of simple, fun activities for hands, feet, fingers and toes.  Recommended for smalls 2+up and their grown-ups too!