We see PLAY all in capital letters because it is so important to human development.

It is the vehicle children use to learn, cope, self correct and explore the world. CMoR is so dedicated to promoting play we incorporate it into everything we do.

Each week we will post on the website a new ‘PLAY of the Week’ activity for you to do with your family. It will be an unplugged activity that can be done under the dining room table, in the tub, at the park or just about any place.

June 24th, 2010

Feelings Puppets:

Making puppets is a great way to communicate with your child and help them get in touch with themselves and others. Many different cultures use art forms to communicate and express emotion.

What you will need

• construction paper, paper plates. or a paper bag
• glue or tape
• crayons
• popsicle stick

What to do:

• Talk about different emotions and feelings with your child. Make a face and pass around a hand mirror so children can see how a certain feelings make them look.
• Discuss how feelings are always good although the behavior that accompanies them may not be acceptable. (For example it’s OK to feel angry-but it’s not OK to hit some as a result of experiencing this emotion.)
• Introduce and compare feelings. (Such as happy and sad.)
• Draw a face on one side of the puppet reflecting one emotion( angry, happy, laughing, etc...).
• Draw a face on the other side that represents another.
• Attach a craft stick for a handle.
• Children can turn their puppet to either side to express different feelings.

Homemade crayons

This is a great activity to emphasis the idea of reducing, reusing and recycling for kids.

What you will need:

• Old non-stick muffin pans
• Old crayons
• Oven

What to do:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees
• Peel the paper off the crayons.
• Put 5-10 small pieces of crayon in each muffin space. Experiment with color! Make rainbow crayons by putting all different colors, create single color crayons or even themed crayons (fall colors, winter colors etc.).
• Place the muffin tins in the oven until the crayons melt. Keep an eye on them and check them frequently, melting time varies. When they begin to look ‘soupy’ they are done. This usually takes about 8-12 minutes.
• Let the new crayons cool overnight or if you are in a hurry you can put them directly in the freezer and let set for about an hour.
• Remove the crayons and enjoy!

An EGG-citing time!

A new twist on old fashion dyed eggs.

What you will need:

• Eggs
• Aluminum Foil
• Paint (Acrylic paint works best)

1. Boil the eggs for 15 minutes and set aside to cool.
2. Cut large squares of aluminum foil (approximately 6” x 6”)
3. Carefully crumple the aluminum foil into a ball and uncrumple, leaving the foil square textured.
4. Coat the foil square with a thin layer of paint.
5. Lay the egg in the center and wrap the egg in the foil, gently pressing the foil against the egg.
6. Open up to reveal your beautifully colored egg
7. Repeat with different foil pieces and colors until you have the desired effect.

For the Birds!

In the spring many birds are working to build their nests. Did you know that you and your family could play a role in helping the birds build their humble abodes? You can create a special place birds can visit to gather important materials to build their nests.

What you will need:

1.Gather supplies including:

• A mesh bag (Such as an onion or potato bag.)
• Dryer lint
• Yarn or fabric scraps no longer than 3 inches long
• Dryed grass
• Feathers from old feather pillows

2.Stuff the bag with the various materials that you have gathered.
3.Hang the bag in a tree, shrub or any place where birds can come and remove the materials to build their nests.

March 17th, 2010

Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere!

Spring has sprung and bubbles are a great outdoor activity for all ages…but can also be moved indoors during those April showers.

Create you own homemade bubbles with this simple recipe:
6 parts water
2 parts dishwashing liquid (the Joy brand seems to work best)
3/4 part corn syrup.

Store in a covered container.

Dip bubble wands into the solution and wave through the air to create a wonderful array of bubbles!
For bubble wands use pipe cleaners bent into shapes, cookie cutters, wire clothes hangers, etc.

February 17th, 2010

Bust a move!

Turn on some music and dance. Dancing is a great way for families to exercise together! It is fun, physical and is more than just having sweet moves. You can use dancing with your children to introduce them to various kinds of music. How do you move differently to jazz, classical or even rock and roll music?

Ready to take your dancing to the next level? Add scarves to sway and wave as props or bring back those good old fashion moves like the lawnmower. Inspired by the lawnmower or even the shopping cart , see what moves your kids can come up with in a game of dancing charades.

SNOW Much Fun!

Get out of the house on these snowy days, have some fun and create beautiful snow paintings!

What you will need:

• Squirt or spray bottles
• Food color
• Water

Mix a couple bottles of food coloring and water. Take them outside and using the snow as your canvas create a wonderful winter masterpiece! You can even build a snowman and use the snow paints to decorate your creation.

Celebrate the winter season with a homemade blizzard!

With just shaving crème and imagination you and your child can have hours of fun! This activity will be sure to bring joy, learning and giggles to children of all ages. Kids love to get their hands messy and experiment with fun textures.

What you will need:

• Shaving crème
• An old drop cloth or tarp
• A space that you don’t mind getting a bit messy (kitchen floor, table top, bathtub)
• Bowls or pans

Simply prep the area that you will use by laying out a drop cloth. Spray a bit of shaving crème out and let your imagination go! Add as much ‘snow’ to you blizzard as you wish. Bowls or pans can be used as props to play with your ‘snow’. You can even practice letters or draw pictures by tracing them into the shaving crème.

Can’t get enough of the ‘blizzard’? Simply add a bit of Elmer’s glue to shaving crème and supply paper. Allow your child to finger paint with the ‘snow’ on a paper plate, constructions paper etc. When it dries is has a puffy paint effect. This makes a wonderful keepsake for you and your child’s ‘snow day’. It is recommended to do the ‘snow’ painting activity in a controlled table top setting.

Create your own pumpkin pie play dough!

What you will need:

• 4 cups of self-rising flour
• 1 cup of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• Pumpkin pie spice
• Food coloring

1. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Slowly add water and mix thoroughly.
2. Add food coloring and pumpkin spice. (Orange and yellow make festive fall colors!)
3. Knead for 5-10 minutes. Little hands can knead too!
4. Add more water if dough is too stiff, more flour if too sticky.
5. Sculpt, cut with cookie cutters...

Pieces can be dried at room temperature for several days or baked at 300 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours. Refrigerated dough will last for 5 days.

Remind children that the play dough only smells good, no tasting!

Get the whole family together to create fun fall decorations!