Sesame Street Scavenger Hunt

In one of the more ironic twists of my life, I am now babysitting for the middle school band instructor.

I know.

Maybe we should not let him or his wife know about all the band bashing that has been going on around here.

Let’s just say that I’m thrilled my son is “making music” and call it done.

The plan is for me to babysit them for 2-4 days each month.

The band director’s children!

The job is great because I can bring my daughter with me on days that she is not in school.

As I was preparing to babysit one day I made a Sesame Street Scavenger Hunt for the 3 year old and my 4 year old to play.

sesamestreetHuntThe girls each had one of the above boards and a crayon which they used to mark off when they found a character. I scattered the cut out characters around the house and let the girls walk around looking for them.

big_bird

They both loved the activity and played several times since I had brought several extra boards.

I knew Caroline would love it since she loved her Bad Guys Scavenger Hunt at her super hero party.

Click here to download this Sesame Street Scavenger Hunt

For this week’s babysitting entertainment I’m printing out 2 copies of the scavenger hunt board and we’re going to play memory.

Happy Scavenger Hunting!

Elmo Inspires

On a whim, I threw My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud by Kevin Clash into my library bag at the same time as I picked up these wonderful books.

While this book may not be in the same literary category as the others, it was a worthwhile read. It was quite inspiring to read how Kevin Clash’s parents nurtured his creativity and encouraged his passion. Very easily they could have chosen a different route when their son expressed the desire to become a professional puppeteer.

The quote below was a good reminder for me to get off the computer and create something with my kids.

“There’s a certain sweet magic you feel when you sit down and create something with a child, whether it’s a masterpiece in watercolors or pasta shapes glued to a paper plate. And remember, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t held a crayon in decades or if you don’t remember how to fold a paper airplane or if you can’t draw hands or horses or rocket ships. In the eyes of a child, your artistic talents are supreme. It’s not what you create – it is simply the fact that you are helping that child celebrate the joy of creativity.”

Inspired by this quote, the four of us sat down and made paper bag puppets.

Though a simple craft, it was a tremendous amount of fun.

We spent an hour laughing, sharing stories, and enjoying one another. The boys eagerly filled me in on all the intricacies of the Batman series while making their superhero puppets.

 Here are the final products.

Alex created Robin and Two Face while Caroline enjoyed using tons of glue.

When Andrew announced he was going to make a half Batman and half Joker puppet my 37 year old brain automatically thought he would draw each half of the characters vertically. I was fascinated to watch him create his half and half character horizontally.

Supermom was my creation and I’d have to say I’m quite proud of her. I wouldn’t be surprised if Angelina Jolie’s people wrote to my people thanking me for the likeness.

My boys were less than impressed with Supermoms’ weapon which indicates they must not be familiar with the powers of my purse. McGuyver and I could go head to head in any episode requiring us to keep a two year old entertained during a license renewal at the DMV.

What’s the last creative thing you did with your kids?

Making Todays Creative Blog

Close Your Eyes Kiddos

Last week I was walking through Toys R Us looking for the cheapest perfect birthday gift for Andrew’s classmate. Cherishing the alone time I was having, I decided to walk around and get some ideas for Caroline’s birthday. She will be two next month and loves Elmo. I’ve been thinking about doing an Elmo party for her so I went in search of all things Elmo.

I came to the party aisle and stopped dead in my tracks. Something was immediately disturbing to me. How can they make this? What cruel people think this is appropriate?

Elmo PinataYes, folks, an Elmo pinata.

Just think about it for a moment.

Elmo, the adorable, cuddly, lovable friend of your child’s getting his body bashed with a bat.

Imagine the terror that will strike in the minds of little kids when they witness this.

Shouldn’t this product come with a label? In the event that you use incredibly poor judgement and decide to have this at your child’s birthday party, you will be required to pay for 3 years of therapy.

I’m pretty sure we will pass on this and just opt for the Elmo napkins and plates.