The Mama Workshop |

06/10/2017

Cardboard Tree with Removable Monkeys Craft

Retelling Caps for Sale wouldn’t be the same without a cardboard tree with removable monkeys! Where would the peddler nap? And who would take the peddler’s caps? There would be no story. LOL.

You gotta have the tree and monkeys.

We’ve been having so much fun with this book. My son dressed up as the peddler. He put on daddy’s coat and hat; I made him a mustache to wear out of cardstock. We even took turns stacking as many hats as we can find in the house on our heads. It turned into a counting game of who could stack the most hats.

It’s been super fun!

But the monkeys and the tree! My son was wondering where those were. So, to the drawing board (not really, but I had to put my thinking cap on).

I asked myself, “how can I make monkeys in a tree that can “climb” down and take the wooden peddler’s playdoh hats?”

Presto! Cardboard, paint, scissors and command strips! That will do!

Read on to find out how to make the cardboard tree with removable monkeys:

06/04/2017

DIY Caps for Sale Wooden Peddler + Activity

This month we are reading Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina. So, we made a wooden peddler to go along with the book.

If you don’t know about the book boxes that Beth from Days with Grey and I have been collaborating on, you can check out the last few book boxes we have done: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Mouse Count and Owl Babies

But to review, a book box contains your child’s favorite book that’s easy to read paired with some activities that help your child retell the story to you.

I made the peddler out of a 3 1/2 inch turned wood doll. It needed to be big enough to hold 12 playdoh hats. A small peg doll would just fall over. This peddler doll is so fun! And my my son gets to play with it and playdoh as he tells me the story!

Read more to find out how to make the wooden peddler and how to do the activity:

06/02/2017

Frosted Donut Craft for Toddlers

It’s National Donut Day today! So, we’re making a frosted donut craft, and possibly going to take a mini trip to get a real frosted donut somewhere after. Why not, right?!

I do have a mini donut maker. So, maybe we will just make mini donuts instead! My son can pour the batter into the donut maker. It will be a fun activity to do with him!

I did share this craft on Instagram awhile back and said I was going to put the DIY on the blog and totally spaced. Mom life. It makes me forget stuff a lot.

Well, here is the Frosted Donut Craft that I promised. I apologize for it being so late.

05/25/2017

Stencil Cat Art for Toddlers

We’re making cat art today (made mostly by my daughter)!

She loves cats. She has a leopard blanket she carries everywhere and a little Meow (as she calls it) that she cuddles with. It’s really cute! Every time she sees a cat, she says, “Meow, Mommy! Meow!”

So, I thought it would be fun to make a stencil out of cardboard and do some art! She was all about the paint. She did, however, end up painting her face. So, there’s that. But, that’s to be expected with a two year old.

It washes right off with water. So, it’s really not a big deal. My only suggestion is to wear clothes you don’t care about getting paint on because it doesn’t come out of your clothes. But, it comes right off of skin.

Read on to see how to make the Stencil Cat Art:

05/19/2017

Color Sorting and Sensory Activity

The Very Hungry Caterpillar has so many activity possibilities! Yesterday, we did a color sorting and sensory activity using our plastic fruits and veggies we have. I’ll be sharing more about it below.

A couple activities we have done already are a Days of the Week Caterpillar Craft and our Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt game that go along with the book. They’re both so much fun!

We also did a Watermelon Cardboard Fruit Stamp activity that I shared on Instagram! The caterpillar eats a watermelon slice on a Saturday. So, I thought this would be fun to do! My daughter loved stamping the paper! To see all the steps, hover on the photo below and click the little right arrow to scroll through the pictures.