Category Archives: way to play

chalk spray art for your kids


chalk spray art

It’s a definite outdoor activity; so much fun but so messy, I am telling you! (but since it’s a washable paint don’t worry).

Lucky us we have a beautiful space at jeddo and teta house, but still my little artist manage to spray the walls, plants, curtains… leaving behind memorable pieces of art.

To make the chalk sprayable paint you need:

  • spraying bottles
  • 1/4 cup corn starch
  • 1/4 cup baking soda
  • 3 cups warm water
  • food coloring gel (wilton as i always recommend)

You have to really mix well until all dissolved, and shake it before starting to spray.

chalk spray art

The world of water, colors and art provides a soothing sensory experience and it’s an excellent avenue for children to learn physical, cognitive and social skills. I love those kind of messy activities, It’s an important part of early education. Children will be given the tools to develop and practice fine motor skills, for instance, spraying bottles are great for developing kids tiny hand muscles.

chalk spray art

Get down on the floor with your child. You are the ultimate plaything, and any activity will seem more fun if your child can share it with you. Introduce the game and let your child improvise. But always talk to him while you play and you’ll help boost his language skills.

chalk spray art

chalk spray art

Chalk spray art develops concentration, problem-solving and planning. He learns how to aim correctly, but trust me in the beginning he will spray everywhere.

spray chalk art

This game is open ended. You can introduce the brush or your kid  favorite play thing. Nady decided to spray the balloons, his favorite toy. He was extremely happy!

spray chalk art

spray chalk art

spray chalk art

Small tip: If your bottle nozzles are clogging, means the inner tubing is touching the floor of the bottle. You only need to snip off a small piece of the tube so it doesn’t sit in the residual corn starch and get clogged.

Happy playing!

water balloons pinata


water balloons pinata

The perfect fun game for hot summer days. We are taking advantage of still being in lebanon to enjoy the outdoor plays. Fill up some balloons and tie them to a rope. Give your child a stick to whack them and let the fun begin!

water balloons pinata

Splashing fun is always a success, you can increase the fun by adding colors to the water or hiding a small object in the balloons, kids love surprises and having small things in bigger.

water balloons pinata

water balloons pinata

We used helium strength balloons, so the popping itself wasn’t easy for Nady (19 months) but he really enjoyed the gush of water, he was really soaked. I was so proud of him trying to pop the balloons, whacking hard at them which develops problem solving and fine motor skills.

water balloons pinata

This game will be spectacular for a birthday party! I highly rate this game for a large group of kids of all ages.

homemade paint to my little artist masterpiece


homemade paint

This homemade paint recipe is closer to paint dough due to the thick texture you get. But it all depends on how much you want to dilute it!

The original recipe calls for:

  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup salt
  • 3/4 cup water
  • coloring gel (wilton as i always recommend)

Whisk together the water, flour, and salt, then add the coloring gel. The dough will be just barely pourable, if you want it less thick, add 1/4 cup of water. Pour the dough into squeeze bottles.

homemade paint

To take advantage of the nice weather (before going back to doha heat), we took everything we might need and we head to the closest parc to let my little artist create his colorful chef d’oeuvre!

homemade paint

To kick off the play, i handed him sponge cut outs to paint with. Knowing that after 5 minutes he will go excited and use only his hands. Let your child choose how to play, you can suggest new things or present new options, but he should be the boss. The most important is to talk to him while you play and you’ll help boost his language skills and widen his imagination.

homemade paint

Time for a messy play! I just sat down and watched him while naming the colors, textures, and things around us. He was enjoying squeezing the paint out of the bottles and mixing! Lots of mixing!

homemade paint

As always Nady likes to taste everything! That’s why i always prepare homemade recipes with edible ingredients to play with.

homemade paint

When we first played with noodles and playdough we had doubts he inherited my OCD tendancies, but this time i am sure he does 🙂 look how he always tidy the sponges!

homemade paint

After 45 minutes of painting, here is Nady’s chef d’oeuvre! I am really impressed!

homemade paint

Drying times will vary depending on the dough’s thickness!

homemade paint

homemade paint

It was such a fun and quality time together. Always spend time with your kids, this is the best you can do to them.

 

sail away with paper boats


paper boatSail into summer with fun paper boats. Such a fun water activity, sailing boats into water streams played magic on me when i was a kid.

Since we arrived to lebanon, i wanted to take Nady to this specific place where i used to play when i was his age or even bigger.

paper boats

The sound of water flowing increases the energy and causes great eagerness! With less than a dollar you can make 20 colored boats to launch in this cool water.

paper boatsHere is a detailed tutorial paper boat craft:

paper boat tutorialFold an A4 paper in half. Again fold from both sides to the middle two side triangles to make like the roof of a house.

paper boatsFold up the rectangular part under the triangle from both sides. Fold the edges to the inside to make hat shape.

paper boats tutorialFold the hat exactly in the middle, then fold up the edges (triangles) from both sides. Again if you open it it looks like a hat.

paper boats tutorialOpen the hat sideways, et voila the beautiful paper boat!

paper boats

The multi colored boats and the green on the sides of the water stream created a charming frame! If you don’t have natural water streams nearby, you can play by the sides of a pool or even in the bathtub to make the shower more fun.

paper boats

paper boats

We could stay forever playing, sensory water activities are endless, as i always say it’s one of the most exciting things to explore! Even when all the boats sailed away, Nady found another game to stay by the stream. Throwing stones in the water! Yes splash, slosh and slop! He was so excited he just wanted to soak his hands in the cold water…

throwing stones

Imagine how exciting and fun playing with water!

paper boats

colored pasta frame to Nady’s best papa tuto in the world – Happy father’s day!


colored pasta frame

Papa Tuto (Antoun) we miss you a lot, can’t wait one more week to join us! Nady’s is in a hurry to see you to offer you his handmade frame, made with love.

If you want to make similar frame, all you need is colored pasta and a frame of your choice.

Color different type of pasta, with food coloring. Let it dry completely for at least 5 hours before using.

colored pasta frame

Choose a white frame (for a better contrast with the colors) with big borders to have a space to stick the colored pasta.

colored pasta

Tuto as Nady calls Antoun! You can write anything you wish, maybe a message!

Brush the frame with glue (we used UHU) give your child the pasta and let him be creative.

colored pasta

This beautiful frame is 100% made by Nady 🙂

colored pasta

 

colored frame

He kept on sticking and removing the pasta for a long time! He really enjoyed this craft play! Even after he is done with the frame he played with the remaining pasta for some time!

colored pasta

colored pasta

It’s the second father’s day for you, and it happens for the second time we are not celebrating in the same country. I collected your happy moments with Nady over these two years, i know each picture says hundred words, thousand stories and infinite feelings.

father's day

Happy father’s day tuto, am sure Nady will grow up loving you and being proud of you!

Happy father’s day to all the fathers in the world, especially those who lost a kid, those who raised one they didn’t give birth to and those who takes care of their kid with special needs.

Happy father’s day to my father in law William, may you live long and god grants you health.

father's day

Finally happy father’s day to the one who put me on his shoulders to reach the stars.

تعاليمك صلاتي وصدرك سمائي وحبك سرمدي كيسوعي أزلي.

father's day