Archive for the 'Childrens Activities & Crafts' Category
Presidents Day is Family Day at State Theatre in NJ
No Comment |Posted by: mchazen on January 28, 2010
Looking for something to do on President’s Day
It’s 29 events in 1 day!
February 15th, 2010
Spend the holiday with your family at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ, under the Hub City Big Top and at three theatres on Livingston Avenue.
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Host Family / Au Pair Picnic
No Comment |Posted by: mchazen on August 24, 2009
What a great time we had last week at our Host Family / Au Pair Picnic in Holmdel Park. Here are just a few of the pictures. For more go to the photos page on top. If you have additional pictures you would like to share please send them so they can added on.
Many of the families had a chance to meet one another. Host Children were setting playdates with each other and their au pairs. It was just a great day and many new friendships were formed.
We even had a clown that did face painting and than a magic show that young and old seem to enjoy. Thank you Abercrombie Clowns.
Looking forward to seeing everyone at our next event
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Host Family Au Pair Picnic In August
No Comment |Posted by: mchazen on July 31, 2009
Date: Sunday August 16, 2009
Time: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Place: Holmdel Park 44 Longstreet Road Holmdel, New Jersey
http://www.monmouthcountyparks.com/parks/holmdel.asp
We will be meeting near the playground at P2 ( parking lot 2)
(see attached park map) please look for CCAP signs to find us.
Please join Cultural Care Au Pair for an International Picnic! We’ll all enjoy a wonderful day outside together, eating, playing and getting to know one another a little better. We will have a clown for the kids. Please bring a picnic lunch for your family
This is a great opportunity to meet other host families and au pairs in the area and will count as your attendance to one host family day conference during the year. Families interested in learning more about our flexible, affordable childcare program are also welcome to attend. So feel welcome to bring neighbors and friends interested in the program
Please RSVP to Local Childcare Coordinator Michele Chazen. Phone: 732-566-8937.
Email: Michele.Chazen@lcc.culturalcare.com. I look forward to seeing you at our Picnic!
Cultural Care Au Pair offers:
* Flexible, live-in care for your children
* $330 average weekly cost for 45 hours of childcare
* Qualified and carefully screened candidates
Directions to the Park
Garden State Parkway to Exit 114. Southbound, turn right onto Red Hill Rd; northbound, turn left onto Red Hill Rd. Follow Red Hill Rd. to Everett Rd., turn right (heading west). Follow Everett Rd. to Roberts Rd., turn left. Follow Roberts Rd. to Longstreet Rd., turn right to Park on left.
State Hwy. 34 to Roberts Rd. (1.75 miles north of Rt. 520). Southbound, turn left; northbound, turn right. Follow Roberts Rd. to Longstreet Rd., turn left. Park is on left.State Hwy. 35 to Holmdel/Keyport Rd. Northbound, turn left; southbound, turn right. Follow Holmdel/Keyport Rd. to Crawfords Corner Rd., turn left. Continue to Longstreet Rd., turn right Park is on right
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$1.00 Movies For Charity Weds At 10a.m. All Summer Long
No Comment |Posted by: mchazen on June 25, 2009
Looking for something cheap or inexpensive to do this summer? AMC Theatres every Wed at 10a.m. from June 17 - August 5 will have $1.00 movies for charity. We are lucky enough to have a participating theatre in our area. The Loews Freehold Metroplex 14 at 101 Trotters Lane. For more information, details and other locations you can visit the AMC Theatre site by clicking on this link AMCTheatres.com
Movie Schedule**
June 24: Kung Fu Panda
July 1: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
July 8: Tale of Despereaux
July 15: Horton Hears a Who
July 22: The Spiderwick Chronicles
July 29: Nim’s Island
August 5: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
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Playground Safety Tips
No Comment |Posted by: mchazen on May 27, 2009
Now that the weather is nice outside and school will be over soon many of you will be enjoying the outdoors with the child/children you take care of. I want to remind you of some safety tips for using playground equipment.
Some tips to keep in mind are:
- Always supervise children when on playgrounds. Maintain visual and auditory contact at all times.
- Ensure that children use age- and size-appropriate playground equipment.
- Prevent unsafe behaviors like pushing, shoving, crowding and inappropriate use of equipment. Continually enforce the rules of safe play.
- Remove hood and neck drawstrings from all children’s clothing. Never allow children to wear necklaces, purses, scarves or clothing with drawstrings while on playgrounds.
- Tie shoelaces to prevent tripping and entanglement in equipment and look for trip hazards on the playground.
- Make sure that children use playground equipment in a safe manner. They should use ladders to get on slides, slide feet first; sit on swings; and not jump off moving swings or walk in front of or behind moving swings. In addition, children should use handrails and guardrails on equipment and should not climb or sit on top of elevated bars.
- Make sure the surface of any playground on which children are playing is safe. Acceptable surfaces include loose-fill materials maintained at the appropriate depth, usually 9-12 inches, such as hardwood fiber mulch or chips, pea gravel or fine sand. Shredded rubber, rubber mats, synthetic turf and other artificial materials are also acceptable surfaces. Asphalt, concrete, grass or soil are not acceptable surfaces. Surfacing should extend a minimum of 6 feet in all directions around stationary equipment and further around swings and other moving equipment.
- Check for unsafe design elements on the playground, such as open “S” hooks, equipment which is not securely anchored, openings between three and one half inches and nine inches which could allow head entrapment, inadequate spacing between equipment, platforms with no guard rails and protrusions or sharp edges that could cut a child or catch a string or item of clothing. Any problems should be fixed immediately or reported to the playground’s maintainer.
- Make sure playground is regularly maintained.
Public Playground Safety Checklist
- Surfaces around playground equipment have at least 12 inches of wood chips, mulch, sand, or pea gravel, or are mats made of safety-tested rubber or rubber-like materials.
- Protective surfacing extends at least 6 feet in all directions from play equipment. (For swings, be sure surfacing extends, in back and front, twice the height of the suspending bar.)
- Play structures more than 30 inches high are spaced at least 9 feet apart.
- No dangerous hardware is apparent (like open “S” hooks or protruding bolt ends)
- Spaces that could trap children, such as openings in guardrails or between ladder rungs, measure less than 3.5 inches or more than 9 inches.
- There are no sharp points or edges in equipment.
- Absence of tripping hazards, like exposed concrete footings, tree stumps, and rocks.
- Elevated surfaces, like platforms and ramps, have guardrails to prevent falls.
- Remember, check playgrounds regularly to see that equipment and surfacing are in good condition and carefully supervise children on playgrounds to make sure they’re safe.
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Activity Tip of The Week
No Comment |Posted by: mchazen on August 6, 2007
Salt Art
You can create some really beautiful effects with this salt art craft. Kids also enjoy coloring the salt with food coloring before painting with it.
Click more for supplies needed and directions
What you’ll need:
- Newspaper
- School glue
- Construction paper
- Paintbrush
- Large tray or cookie sheet
- Plastic cup
- Egg carton (optional)
- Sandpaper (optional)
For each color of sand you want to use:
- 1/2 cup of salt
- Food coloring
- Ziploc bag
How to make it:
- Pour half a cup of salt into a Ziploc bag and add several drops of food coloring.
- Close the bag tightly, making sure that most of the air is out. (You can add more food coloring to get more vibrant colors of “sand.”)
- Use your fingers (on the outside of the bag) to mix the color into the salt. Pour the salt in a thin layer on the newspaper and let it dry.
- Repeat this for each color, giving each its own piece of newspaper. (You can use half of a page.) When all colors are dry, pick up the papers one at a time and pour the salt back into Ziploc bags or into separate compartments in an egg carton.
- Mix together glue and water in equal amounts. (If you use two tablespoons of water, use two tablespoons of glue.)
- Put a piece of construction paper in the tray. Use a pencil to draw the design you want and then use the paintbrush to paint (glue) the areas where you want ONLY THE FIRST COLOR to stick.
- Use your fingers to sprinkle the first color over the areas you painted. Wait a few minutes to allow the salt to stick and then hold the paper over the tray to let the “extra” salt fall off of the painting.
- Pour the “extra” salt back into its container - you can use it again. Repeat step six and seven until you have all of the colors you want in your painting. Voila! You have created “sand” art.
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Activity Tip of The Week
No Comment |Posted by: mchazen on July 29, 2007
Seashell Mobile
Make a great souvenir of a beachside stay with this seashell mobile. Kids love collecting shells, sand dollars, pinecones or whatever else they may decide to use in this classic summer craft.
Click more for details
What you’ll need:
- Shells or other finds
- String
- 2 pieces of dowel rod, about 1 foot length
- Glue
How to make it:
- Use string to make dowels into an ‘X’ shape.
- Glue shells onto several different lengths of string.
- Let dry about a day.
- Tie string with shells to dowel rods at all four corners and some between.
- Hang somewhere you, your friends, and neighbors can all see it and enjoy it. It will also give you a chance to tell everyone about your adventures in collecting your treasures.
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Activity Tip of the Week
No Comment |Posted by: mchazen on July 22, 2007
Ocean Bottle
Age
This project is rated VERY EASY to do.
Click on more for directions
What you need
- Empty two liter plastic bottle with lid
- Clear vegetable oil or mineral oil
- Water
- funnel
- Blue food coloring
- Small star fish, shells and other sea creatures
- One tsp glitter
- White craft glue
- Hot glue
What you do
- Wash and dry two-liter bottle and remove all labels
- Fill bottle halfway with tap water
- Add a few drops of blue food coloring and swirl around to mix
- Add glitter
- Add sea creatures
- Fill bottle the rest of the way with vegetable oil using a funnel
- Be sure that rim and cap are dry, then apply white craft glue around the rim. Seal cap.
- Use a layer of hot glue around the outer edge of the cap for added protection from leakage
- Turn bottle on its side and gently rock the bottle to create a “wave” inside your ocean habitat!
Helpful hints
- Use lightweight starfish, shells and other sea creature toys that can float. Test them first in a bowl or glass of water. Find these at your local craft supply store or discount department store.
- Make the ocean any color you choose! Blue is standard of course, but if your child’s room is decorated with red and yellow, go with red food coloring. There’s no rule that says your ocean must be blue.
- Small children will be mesmerized by this creation. They can help make this every step. Let them insert the sea creatures, hold the funnel and help add the tap water. In the steps that may be more difficult for little fingers, have them hold the bottle steady for you while you add the glitter.
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Activity Tip of The Week
No Comment |Posted by: mchazen on July 15, 2007
Sand Sculpture
Every beachside sculptor knows the frustration of seeing a masterpiece swept away by the waves. Now kids can craft a permanent sand sculpture just by using sand, water and cornstarch.
Click on more for directions
What you’ll need:
- 3 cups of sand (”play sand” from the hardware store works if you don’t have “beach sand”)
- 1 1/2 cups of cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups of water
- Newspaper
- Old cooking pot
- Large spoon
How to make it:
- Mix the ingredients together in the pot.
- With the help of a grownup, cook the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly.
- When it gets thick, take it off of the stove and let cool.
- Once it is cool, use the spoon to turn it out on the newspaper.
- Now you can make it into any shape you like, let it dry, and keep your creation forever!
Tips:
A quick spray of Pam or other lubricating spray helps the sand pop right out of the sandcastle molds. A hole poked into the top of the sandcastle mold also seemed to help.
To make the sandcastles pop out perfectly, the trick seemed to be packing the sand mixture into the molds tightly and leaving an air space at the open end of the mold and slamming the mold down hard onto the plate….the extra air helps pop the sand right out
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Activity Tip of The Week
No Comment |Posted by: mchazen on July 9, 2007
Paper Plate Fish Aquarium
Supplies Needed
2 paper plates
Tempura Paint
1clear storage bag
Blue, green, colored construction paper
Sand
Shells
Scissor
Glue
Click more for directions
What you do:
Paint outside of one paper plate any color you want. Paint the inside of the other paper plate blue and let dry. When dry cut out a circle from the middle of colored paper plate to fit a storage-size bag into it. Glue the bag around the edge of the cutout fish bowl. Draw fish on paper and cut out and decorate. Place gravel, green shredded paper, green raffia, shells and fish onto the blue inside of the paper plate. Glue both paper plates together. Enjoy your aquarium.
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