Craft Services

The following post was sponsored by Seedling. Thanks, Seedling!

The box came late Monday afternoon and in my head, knowing that this post was set to go live Thursday, I was like, "there's no way I'll have a post by then..." but by Tuesday evening, the kids were rocking their necklaces, finishing their capes, hatching their dinosaur eggs and excavating their excavation sites. By Wednesday morning, I was on the Seedling website bookmarking gifts for the kids' birthdays. 

Seedling, for those who (like me) had never heard of the marketplace before, is a one stop shop for creative kids and their parents looking to invest in quality items that foster self-expression and empower children to build their own adventures. Not only do they offer projects for kids of all ages (3-13+), they make it easy to choose what is appropriate for the age group you are shopping for. 

What's that you say? You would like to purchase a project for a seven year old STEM enthusiast? How about this? Or this? Or this or this or this?

Anyway. Because my kids are suckers for crafting (and I am not) I was especially excited for the kids to each pick an activity set -- Seedling graciously shipped us some extras as well --that I could oversee but not, you know, plan...

Here is what went down two (after school) afternoons in a row:

Day One: Monday 

Project #1 Bead Necklaces

Bo and Revi didn't get the whole necklace thing at first and settled on a math game instead. They sat on the carpet for almost an hour organizing beads, counting them and making designs. 

The only reason the beads ended up on necklace strings is because they saw Fable making one in the dining room. Otherwise, this would have likely gone on... which, note to self, "Jar of Beads" would make a great boredom buster... screw the necklace, this is HOURS OF ENTERTAINMENT RIGHT HERE CAN I GET A WHUT WHUT?

***

 
Revi's necklace (strung by me. She needed some help.)
Fable's necklace.

Project #2: Dino Eggs

(These are all for me. JK.)

***

Day Two: Tuesday

Project #3: Rock Excavation

Archer picked this activity set and IT WAS AMAZING. Fable picked the Snow Globe project, which resulted in a bit of a meltdown when our clay fell apart in the oven (my bad)  and was a little jealous that she didn't pick rock excavation as her activity, so Archer invited her to join him. HOURS LATER... They had their rocks. (And I am not even kidding when I say hours. They worked on this project after school two days in a row.) 

Talk about an incredible lesson, right? I mean, METAPHOR CENTRAL. Watching Archer and Fable scratch the precious rocks out of the sandy mass was pretty poetic. What a wonderful lesson in not only excavation but LIFE. Five stars for this project. (And a slam dunk for those of you looking for fun projects for Spring Break and/or Summer.) 

Project #4: Superhero Capes 

(and masks)

When these arrived Monday I had to hide them from Bo and Revi because I knew we wouldn't have time to finish them before bed. So. Tuesday, I picked the girls up from school early and brought them home to work on their capes. They were ecstatic and tore open their boxes in a record zero seconds.

... and went to work.

***

***

I cut out the letters and the butterflies and the stars and they did the rest. And then Bo decided to glue all of the pencils and glitter glue caps to her cape, which was awesome, until, you know... it didn't actually stick...

Everything else did, though. And the capes turned out amazing.

First thing Wednesday morning, the girls ran to where their capes were drying and put them on... and didn't take them off...  ever again.

"Revi. I am your sister," - Bo Vader

(Bo actually said that, btw. Her comic timing is her signature these days.)

Meanwhile, Revi got WAY into the whole butterfly mask situation and went to bed with hers on.

And away they went to fight the good fight. (And me during bedtime.)

I feel like every child should own a cape. And every adult, too, for that matter. Revi told me I could borrow hers, though, so I'm golden. Thanks, Revi. (And thanks, Seedling. You guys rule.) 

***

Build, imagine, play! Seedling helps bring kids' ideas to life with kid-tested, parent-approved activity kits that encourage children to follow their own creative initiative. Register at seedling.com and get 25% off on your purchase when using code SEEDLING25. Offer valid one per customer; discount does not apply to past purchases, packaging, applicable taxes, or shipping and handling. Expires EOD April 9th, 2015

I also have a build-your-own superhero cape + superhero mask (your choice of colors) to give away to a reader this week! To win? Tell me what makes the kid(s) in your life heroic. I'll choose one winner next Thursday, April 3rd. (US and Canada.) Good luck and may the fierce be with you...

 

GGC