fun | Nestlie B

November 6, 2020 5 Mins Read

13 TIPS FOR CRAFTING WITH KIDS

Crafts

Creating arts and crafts is a fun activity for the entire family. It’s a great way to expose children to the world of art. It allows them to flex their creative muscles, teaches them how to follow directions, and tests their gross and fine motor skills, all while creating a work of art. Plus, it can be an enjoyable experience, whether you are an artist or not.

As a parent, you don’t have to be an artist to do arts and crafts with your kids. Nor should you be afraid to attempt these activities with your family. You just need a few ideas, materials, and a little patience to get started on your crafting journey.

Check out the list below for tips and tricks on how to successfully do arts and crafts with your kids and create memories that will last a lifetime.

1. Pinterest and YouTube are great resources for arts and crafts ideas.

Both sites have craft ideas for all age groups. Many ideas come with step-by-step directions or video tutorials, which make it easy. Surf these sites for a variety of ideas. Create a board or list and save them for later.

2. Themes are fun.

The holidays provide a great opportunity to create theme-based crafts. Each holiday has a plethora of ideas to do with the kids. You can also incorporate your kid’s special interests to make crafting more interesting and fun. There are many craft projects about superheroes, dolls, trucks, or cartoon characters that are easy to make.

3. Give them a choice.

Show them your list of ideas or online boards. Let them choose one that tickles their fancy.

4. Choose activities that work with your child’s attention span.

Various factors determine a child’s attention span. Some children can spend hours doing one activity, while others can only stay focused for 15-20 minutes. Make a mental note of your child’s attention span and choose crafting activities accordingly.

5. Keep basic supplies in the home just for crafting.

You don’t need fancy arts and craft supplies. Choose crafts that require basic supplies that can be found in your home. Some of these items may already be in your home.

Child safe scissors
Glue
Tape
Markers
Color Pencils
Plain Paper
Crayons
Construction Paper
Coloring books (these are good to keep on hand to use at any time)

6. Do the craft ahead of time.

This tip is important if you choose a craft that may be a little more on the difficult side. It will allow you to determine if it’s worth doing the craft or not. Therefore, test it out to ensure you know how to do it yourself and if it’s worth your time.

7. Gather, pre-cut, and measure materials ahead of the activity.

Preparing materials before you begin saves time. It also makes it easier for younger children who lack fine motor skills to participate.

8. Have older kids gather and prep for the activity.

Kids love to help. Plus, they should be a part of the process from start to finish as much as possible.

9. Have a clean and spacious area to work.

Choose a place where they can lay out all of their materials and move freely. Cover the surface with newspaper or cloth if it’s going to be a messy craft project.

Ayla and Gigi making a pipe cleaner ring.

10. Allow them to be creative as they want.

They don’t have to follow the design to the letter. Let them come up with their own ideas. You may be pleasantly surprised by what they create.

11. Make sure they clean up and put things away when they are done.

Since they contribute to the mess, they should clean up when they are done. Cleaning up teaches them to be more responsible.

12. Display their work.

Children love to see the fruits of their labor on display. So, post it on social media, send it to family members, place it on a wall, or create a gallery. They will get a kick out of seeing it on display.

13. HAVE FUN!!

Crafting is a fun family activity. Don’t stress about it. Create memories and enjoy the crafts that you make with your kids.

Noelle and Kahlil Collaborating on a craft project.

What are your thoughts? Do you craft with your kids? If so, what are your fondest memories of crafting with your kids? Please share them in the comments below.

BONUS: For more educational tips and tricks for teachers and parents, check out my other website The Modern Schoolmarm.

November 5, 2020 4 Mins Read

14 TIPS FOR COOKING WITH KIDS

Lifestyle

Cooking with kids is a great bonding activity. First, it is a valuable hands-on learning experience that develops basic skills like following directions, reading, and measuring. Second, it’s a great opportunity to teach them how to make healthy food choices. Finally, it’s a lifelong skill that prepares them for adulthood.

However, cooking with kids can also be stressful if you fail to prepare and plan. Listed below are a few tips and tricks for working with kids in the kitchen to make it an enjoyable activity for the entire family.

1. Allow them to choose the recipe or make suggestions.

When you allow them to pick the recipe, they have a more vested interest in participating in the activity. They will take more pride in the outcome as well.

Kahlil making Christmas cookies with his daughters

2. Teach them basic kitchen safety.

Using oven mitts.
Teach them what to do in case of a fire. They should know the location of the fire extinguisher.
How to handle sharp objects.

3. Teach kids basic cooking skills.

How to use certain utensils.
How to measure ingredients.
The name and use of various pieces of cooking equipment.

4. Explain to children that parental permission and supervision is required to cook in the kitchen. Especially, if the recipe requires the use of a stove or sharp objects.

Make sure they understand that this rule is for their safety and well-being. Once they reach a certain age and/or skill level, they will be allowed more freedom in the kitchen.

My nieces preparing breakfast with their grandmother.

5. Have children read the list of ingredients and directions before they get started. Read them out loud for children that are unable to read.

Make sure they understand that reading the recipe before they start is an important step. It allows them to understand the recipe better and know what to expect before they start.

6. Gather and pre-measure the ingredients if you are working with small children.

This step will make it easier for them to help when it’s time to mix and pour the ingredients.

Pre-measured ingredients for our edible cookie dough recipe.

7. Allow older children to gather and measure ingredients.

This will give them practice following directions and using their math skills.

8. Allow younger children to pour and stir ingredients.

This makes them feel like they are making a contribution, even if it is a small one.

9. Work the oven and do the cutting yourself until they are ready.

If you are working with small children or don’t feel a child is ready to do the task independently, do it yourself—model how to do these tasks until they are capable of doing it by themselves.

10. Teach them recipes that don’t require an oven or sharp tools.

All children should know recipes that are safe to do without adult supervision. It’s just a basic cooking skill that all children should have.

Ayla and Noelle mixing the ingredients for the edible cookie dough.

11. Teach them to keep a neat working area and clean as they go.

They will have less mess to clean at the end.

12. Make cooking a regular activity.

The more they cook, the better they will be in the kitchen. Practice makes permanent.

Noelle buttering the pancakes for breakfast.

13. Have them prep the dinner table and clean up afterward.

Preparing the dinner table will teach them basic table setting skills.
Cleaning up will teach them that they are responsible for cooking the meal, putting the food away, and making sure the kitchen is clean and ready for later use.

14. HAVE FUN!!

Cooking shouldn’t feel like a chore. It should feel like a fun family activity. So, create memories and enjoy the meal at the end.

What are your thoughts? Do you cook with your kids? If so, what are some of your favorite recipes to make with your kids?

BONUS: For more educational tips and tricks for teachers and parents, check out my other website The Modern Schoolmarm.

April 12, 2018 1 Min Read

CHERRY BLOSSOM POP-UP BAR

Lifestyle

Kola and I visited the Cherry Blossom Pop Up Bar located on 7th Street in Washington DC at the end of March. We chose the perfect day to visit. There was no line outside wrapped around the corner and we were actually experiencing lovely Spring-like weather in the city that day.

The bar was a visual bonanza for the senses. Almost every square inch from floor to ceiling was covered in flowers and other representations of Spring in DC. Even the store front windows had treats for the eyes. Each section of the bar had a different display for the visitor to view. My cousin and I made sure we took pictures of each section and captured all of the details that we possibly could.

View the gallery below to see pictures of this creative bar.

CHERRY BLOSSOM POP-UP BAR GALLERY

May 5, 2017 5 Mins Read

MOTHER’S DAY TEA PARTY

Party Ideas

Every Mother’s Day, my brothers and I try very hard to make my Mom feel special. We buy her gifts, take her out, spend time with her, and make her favorite foods. We just love making her feel appreciated. Of course, we always want to do something different each year. So for Mother’s Day 2004, I hosted a tea party at our home.

My inspiration for the tea party came from two sources. First, my mother has a nice little teapot collection. Her collection is a mixture of floral, traditional, and Asian. She uses them periodically throughout the year when she is in the mood for tea or has company over. So I thought the tea party would give her a chance to share her love for tea and teapots with family and friends.

AUNT JEAN

My second source of inspiration came from a story told to me by my Mom. Apparently, my mother’s godmother, Aunt Jean, had a vast teacup collection in her china cabinet. Aunt Jean’s collection expanded over the years due to a tradition carried on by her own mother. According to the story, Aunt Jean’s mother would purchase her a new teacup every year as a gift to add to her collection until she had a complete set. Although Aunt Jean had a beautiful collection, she never used them. Aunt Jean always wanted to host a tea party, but due to work, children, and other life events she never had the opportunity to use her teacup collection. Not to mention, she had three sons and no daughters to share the tradition with. My mother was the closest thing she had to a daughter. Therefore, she shared the story with my mom. Who in turn, shared it with me.

About a month before Aunt Jean passed away, she had purchased me a lovely rose covered teacup. Even though it wasn’t my style, I loved the sentiment behind the gift. I also felt special because she decided to continue the tradition with me since she didn’t have a daughter to pass it on to. Of course, this was to my mother’s dismay because she was the one into teacups and pots.

My mother gave me the cup and shared the story behind the gift with me on my birthday. I called and thanked Aunt Jean for the wonderful gift and told her I would definitely use it. After I received the gift, Aunt Jean made my mother promise that she would complete my collection. My mother fulfilled her request a few months later and purchased the rest of the collection for me as a Christmas gift.

A few months later, I was trying to figure out what to do for Mother’s Day. After cycling through several ideas, I finally came up with the tea party idea. I thought it was tragic that Aunt Jean passed away without ever using her teacups. I didn’t want my mother having the same regret. So I thought a tea party would be a great way to use her teapot collection and honor Aunt Jean as well.

Initially, I wanted it to be a surprise party. Unfortunately, it is difficult to plan a surprise party when you live in the same house with the person you are trying to surprise. Ultimately, I decided to let Mom in on the tea party plans. It actually worked out better that way because it gave her something to look forward to and kept her busy with planning. Also, it was a great mother/daughter bonding moment. So it was a win/win situation for the both of us.

The planning process was fairly easy. First, we decided to have the party the day before Mother’s Day in order to give everyone the opportunity to come enjoy the tea party, but still spend Mother’s Day with their own family and friends. Then, we wrote out our guest list and sent out invitations. Everyone on our guest list was eager to attend the party because they had never been to a tea party. So we had plenty of people to entertain the day of the event.

VIGNETTE 1

The next part of the planning process was to come up with a menu that was fitting for a tea party. We had finger foods like cucumber sandwiches, fruit, tea cookies, etc… Additionally, since no two teapots in Mom’s collection are alike, we decided to set up different vignettes for each type of teapot. We also decided to have different types of tea in each teapot in order to have a variety of flavors for guests to try.

VIGNETTE 2

On the day of the tea party, things went as planned. Some of our guests brought their own moms to participate in the festivities. In honor of the moms that were no longer with us, pictures were shared in their memory. My brothers contributed to the event by being helpful throughout the day. They helped set up all of the tables and chairs, greeted guests, and made sure they were available whenever we needed them.

VIGNETTE 3

At the end of the tea party, we gave guests a cute party bag filled with items that my mother loved from her childhood. The items ranged from a set of jacks to old school candy. Overall, the tea party was a success and everyone had a nice time. I definitely would suggest having a tea party for your next Spring event. It’s a unique way to spend time with family and friends.

December 4, 2016 7 Mins Read

Galentine’s Day Party

Party Ideas

I first heard about Galentine’s Day back in February 2015. Actually, it was a meme that came across my Facebook news feed on Valentine’s Day. At first, I wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a joke or if it was a real thing. So I decided to do a bit of investigating to see what it was all about. To my surprise, it was an actual thing. A Valentine’s Day spinoff that was celebrated on February 13th. Apparently, Galentine’s Day is a day to leave the men folk and children at home and hang out with your girlfriends. Essentially, it’s a day to celebrate your favorite lady friends (Ladies celebrating ladies).

Learning about this day was really invigorating. I really loved the idea of a day to celebrate my best girlfriends. It actually made total sense to do so because they are the ones that are a mainstay in my life. My friends are wonderful women from all walks of life that have had nothing but a positive impact on me. Not to mention, it took a lot of anxiety and dread out of Valentine’s Day for me. As a woman that has always been unattached around Valentine’s Day, It gave me something else to focus on other than my single status.

After doing my research, I shared the meme and information with my cousin Kola. She too thought it was a great concept. Of course, since the day had already passed, we were unable to celebrate the occasion. So I decided to file the idea away to use as another great party idea for 2016.

So as soon as January 2016 was ushered in, the wheels started turning in my head about Galentine’s Day. Part of me was excited about having the party, but part of me was nervous about pitching it to my friends. Since Galentine’s Day isn’t really a well known celebration, I didn’t know how the idea would be received by my gal pals. Fortunately, all of them were game and intrigued by the concept. So, I proceeded to come up with plans for the day.

As I began to brainstorm, I wanted to come up with a unique idea. Something that was out of the norm. I didn’t want to do our usual stuff like dinner, lunch, brunch, movies, etc… So one evening during dinner, I tossed around several ideas for Galentine’s Day activities with my friend Andaiye. We actually came up with quite a few novel ideas. We thought about visiting an escape room, having a Moroccan dinner with belly dancers, or having a make-up party. Each idea was fun and different, but we also had to think of budget constraints for myself as well as my guests. Ultimately, I settled for a paint party. Since I ran a paint party company, I was already familiar with the concept. Plus, many of my friends had not participated in a paint party, so it was a great idea all around.

Once the party concept was in place, I immediately started designing the invitations. I decided to use an app called Hobnob for my invitations. Hobnob allows you to design an invite to send via text message. I thought this was a wonderful idea because people always check their phones, even before they check regular mail or email. The app is good to use because it allows guests to RSVP, send messages, chat, and post pictures. Using the Hobnob app was a win/win situation for me and the crew.

After the invites were sent, I hired Melannie B. Designs to conduct the paint party. She specializes in painting on wine glasses. The price range was between $30-40 per person, which I considered to be reasonable. In order to foot the bill for the night’s activity, I charged my guests $20 to help pay for the party host and supplies. I figured $20 was a feasible price for the evening because most people can’t even go out for dinner to a nice restaurant for twenty bucks. So my guests were more than willing to donate the money for a night of fun.

Since I’ve learned many lessons from throwing parties in the past, I decided to order food from our local Wegmans for the event. Ordering food saved a lot of time and energy, especially since I work a full-time job. It freed my time and energy up to focus on decorating and logistics. Plus, it actually turned out to be cheaper than buying a bunch of food and ingredients to feed my guests. All in all, I spent around $150 for all of the party trays created by Wegmans. Most of them were pretty tasty.

For decorations, I purchased supplies from Party City. They are great for providing party supplies for different occasions for a reasonable price. I bought decor to place on the walls and ceilings, table cloths, utensils, and gift boxes. I spent approximately $160 for the party supplies.

By the time February 13th had arrived, I had everything I needed to have a great party. I had planned and prepped everything meticulously in advance so that the set up would go smoothly. Fortunately, my mother graciously allowed me to have the party at her house because she had plenty of space. She had cleaned the house throughout the week so it would be ready the day of the party. All I had to do was bring the food and supplies over to set things up. My wonderful family assisted with the set up of decorations and food. My sister-in-law really did a lot during the last hour of prep in order for me to get dressed and chill before the party started. Thank God for helpful relatives.

The party started at 6pm. Most of my guests had arrived by 6:30. The paint instructor had set everything up thirty minutes before the party was scheduled to start, so we were ready to have some fun. Our instructor and her assistant were lively. They did a great job of demonstrating how to paint on wine glasses and skillfully kept the party moving.

By the end of the evening, everybody had two completed wine glasses to take home and put on display. All of my guests had a wonderful time. We talked, laughed, ate, and drank the night away. Before everyone left, we took plenty of pictures to commemorate the evening. Luckily, I told everyone to wear red or pink in advance in honor of the event. The pictures came out color coordinated and lovely.

All in all, my Galentine’s Day party was a smashing success. Everyone was thrilled to get away from their daily lives to hang out with their gal pals and do something different for a change. In the end, all of the hours put into planning the event were definitely worth it. I was happy to spend time with my friends and provide them with an evening of fun. I definitely look forward to celebrating Galentine’s Day next year with my favorite girlfriends.

Check out the links below to help plan your next Galentine’s Day party.

LINKS

Food – Wegmans
Paint Party Hostess- MelannieB Designs
Party Supplies – Party City
Text Invites – Hobnob
Menu Design – Canva
Galentine’s Day Ideas and Inspiration – Oh Happy Day Bustle Article Buzzfeed Article Julep Article Marie Claire Article Pinterest

GIFT BOX ITEMS

Nail polish
Nail file
Lip balm
Wine glass charm
Candy
Hand sanitizer
Hand lotion