Make it: Simple Stylish Teepee

I love love love it! The tent, the bedding, the hat, the garden... It's even that really lovely soft grass! I may need to live here... 

But don't be fooled by how perfect this all looks! There's no need to pay over $200 to have one of these in your garden this summer. It's so incredibly easy to make one and if you get the kids involved in the process it'll become a memory they'll look back on fondly. 

First a trip to Bunnings for 4 bamboo poles - roughly $3-4 each (usually found in the gardening section for staking tomatoes and such).  Second, dig out an old sheet, or you could pick up a cotton painters drop sheet for under $10 while you're at Bunnings. These can actually be great because they have a real linen-ey/canvas look about them. Stake your poles into the ground at angles so they meet and cross over slightly at the top like the pic and secure the joint with strong twine. and then wrap your fabric around the frame , gathering it at the top, leaving an opening on one face for entry and secure with old nappy pins/pegs or bulldog clips (whatever you have around that will do the job!). Finally, fill with some cosy bedding, cushions and favourite books. 

Party theme of the week: Back to school

It's almost time for the wee ones to head back to school... (cue squeals of delight from exhausted mums). And here's the perfect remedy for a reluctant student. A Back to School Party! I know what you're thinking, a party? Noooo!!!!!! But look how cute this stuff is! Go on.... They'll love it!

Back to school cupcakes

These cupcakes earn top marks for sweetening even the most reluctant student's return to school.

Ingredients

Yellow, green, and white frosting

Cupcakes

Red Skittles or M&M's

Small plastic bag

Rubber band or twist tie

Tim Tams - halved

Tic Tacs

Instructions

Cover the cupcakes with yellow frosting and allow them to sit for an hour before decorating. Dab each red Skittle or M&M with a bit of green frosting for the apple's leaf, then set them aside.

Put a tablespoon or two of white frosting into a small plastic bag for piping. Cut a very small hole in a corner of the bag, twist the top of the bag closed, and secure it with a rubber band or twist tie. Piping the frosting gently out of the hole, write messages on the Tim Tams. Leave space at the bottom of the cookie, where it'll be stuck into the cupcake.

Cut a groove in the cupcake's frosting with a knife, then fit a blackboard into the groove. Add one Skittle or M&M apple and a piece of Tic Tac chalk, as shown.

Via Kinser Event Company via Family Fun

There are even some free printables for your decorations and favours....

Click here for your free back to school banner and loads more decorative bits to zshoozsh up your soiree.

And click here for even more free back to school printables

Smories. Stories for small people...

Two words, no, three... Best. Site. Ever.

Smories is a KidSafe website where kids from all over the world can watch other kids their age tell original stories. Here's the story...

"We got the idea for smories.com during an extremely long journey in a very dirty Land Rover from the Kalahari desert in Botswana to Cape Town in South Africa in February this year (2010). Our daughter (8) had the idea to film herself with our ipod reading Enid Blyton short stories, and then play them back to her younger sister (6). This kept them entertained for hours. Our kids have always loved reading to each other and are transfixed when other children read them stories. They are also obsessed with the internet and will make their way to youtube any time they get their hands on a computer.

We thought a website that had a continuous flow of new stories, read aloud by kids, would make a healthier destination than so much of the stuff out there. Imagine you're stuck in traffic and need to keep a miniature person entertained in the back. Access a playlist of smories stories from your i-phone and voila... Once we had the idea for a site that publishes stories for kids read by kids, we also thought it would be a great unthreatening forum for showcasing unpublished stories. This allows writers to test their work in a straightforward and transparent way, hopefully giving them exposure which they might otherwise not have received. - Lisa Swerling & Ralph Lazar, London, March 2010

Well I'm sold. I listened to a handful of stories and it's truly addictive. You just want to see more kids reading more stories. The site design is really easy to navigate and every time you choose a story it tells you it's appropriate age group. I'm going to try it out on H tomorrow... What a find!

Crafty cats

Materials:

Thick paper/card

Pencil

Paints

Scissors

Double sided tape

1. To make the body I cut a strip 5 cm wide and 21cm long (the width of A4 paper). Then I drew a line 7.5cm in from each end. I drew a half circle on the outside of each side (these will be the arms/paws). Next, I folded along each line and cut the rounded part of each half circle (leaving the flat side attached). I used small scissors, but a stanley knife would be easier. I also cut two slots where there head would later be attached.

2. To make the head I cut a strip 5 cm wide and 25cm long and folded it in 3. I drew the face shape on the middle piece and cut along the outline (though all 3 pieces). Then I unfolded it and trimmed off the two little half ears at the back.

3. I also cut out a pair of paws with tabs at the top for joining to the body.

4. Next I painted the paws, head and body and left them to dry. Then drew on the features with a marker.

5. I assembled the little kitty using double sided tape by sticking the overlapping ends of each strip together at the back and sticking the foot tabs inside the body with the feet/paws peeking out at the bottom. Then I cut two slots to put the head in place on the body. Voila!


Via The Light Garden

BOREDOM BUSTER #3: Top 7 -mostly FREE!

In Sydney: Kids in the Park 2010/11 

Kids in the Park is massive fun for kids of all ages – whatever their passion! Check out the amazing range of FREE activities on offer at Sydney Olympic Park these Summer holidays! 

*Australia Day celebrations

*BMX and Mountain X

*Brickpit Ringwalk

*Clue Trail

*Crack the Code

*Disc Golf

*Movies by the Boulevard

*Sports Star and Dancing Star

*The Amazing Chase

*Medibank International Kids Day

With over 50 activities to choose from at this year's Kids in the Park Summer holiday program, be sure to check out the other listings for more info: SPORTY activities, ADVENTURE kids, PLAYFUL kids, CREATIVE kids

Date:18 Dec 2010 - 30 Jan 2011

Location:Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, NSW

Ages:All Ages / Family

Cost:FreeEvent 

Visit Website

In Melbourne: The Enchanted Party Fairy workshops for kids at ACMI

For little princes and princesses!

Princess Lilac and Princess Blossom take children on an enchanted adventure to undo a mischievous spell that's been cast over the garden. Activities on this spellbinding trail include craft, games, dancing and magic bubbles to help undo the spell. Each workshop runs for 45 minutes. Suitable for children aged 4-10 years.

Date: 21 Nov 2010 - 14 Jan 2011

Time:11am & 1pm

Location: ACMI, The Cube, Federation Square, Melbourne, VIC 

Ages:All Ages / Family

Cost: FREE - please register for your preferred session on the day

Event Info: (03) 8663 2583 Suitable for children aged 4-10 years 

Visit Website

In Sydney: Medibank International Sydney - Kids Day

The Medibank International Sydney 2011 promises to be one of the best tennis experiences in the nation. The eyes of the tennis world will turn to Sydney Olympic Park from 9-15 January as Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt, Gael Monfils, Samantha Stosur and many more serve up world class tennis action ahead of the Australian Open.  And Monday 10 Jan is Kids Day, where all children 16 years and under get access into the grounds and all the exciting activities on-site for free!

Date: 10 Jan 2011 - 10 Jan 2011

Time: From 10amLocation:Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre, Sydney, NSW 

Ages: All Ages / Family

Cost: U16s entry is FREE - Adults $9.90 Ground Pass

Event Info: Exciting on-site activities for under 16s and their families!

At home: Make an Erupting Volcano experiment

What You Need: Flour, salt, cooking oil, water, large bowl, plastic bottle, baking pan, red food colouring, liquid detergent, baking soda, vinegar, water

Activity: Mix 6 cups of flour, 2 cups of salt, 4 tablespoons of cooking oil and 2 cups of water in a large bowl. Mix the ingredients together with your hands until the mixture is firm. Stand the bottle in the centre of the pan. Mould the salt dough around the bottle in a cone shape (like a volcano) but leave the bottle top uncovered. Fill the bottle almost to the top with warm water. Add a few drops of food colouring. Squeeze 6 drops of detergent into the bottle. Add 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Slowly pour vinegar into the bottle. Your volcano will fizz and spurt red lava! Why? Mixing baking soda and vinegar makes a chemical reaction. 

Sydney & Melbourne: (Not free - but kind of amazing!)

Roar & Snore at the Zoo

Taronga Zoo's unique accommodation experience, Roar & Snore, has been re-launched. 

Roar ‘n’ Snore guests wine, dine and sleep where the elephants once walked, in the Historic Elephant Exhibit. After dinner in the Elephant House, guests explore the mystery of the Zoo after dark. Hear, smell, and see nocturnal creatures and share the passion, knowledge and stories of your camp hosts. 

After supper, retire to your safari tent for a restful night’s sleep. Wake in the morning to the calls of gibbons and birds and enjoy breakfast before a chance to meet the keepers and experience up-close animal encounters and life behind-the-scenes.

Cost includes snacks and nibbles, buffet dinner, dessert, tea and coffee, buffet breakfast. Twilight tour, behind the scene tours and fantastic photo opportunities. The chance to preview this unforgettable experience is truly once in a lifetime opportunity.

Vicitoria's Melbourne Zoo runs a Roar & Snore Event over the same period. Ticket prices are the same - See the web links below for details...

Date:1 Sep 2010 - 31 May 2011

Time:6:15pm - 9am

Location:Taronga Zoo, Sydney, NSW & Melbourne Zoo, Melbourne VIC

Ages:All Ages / Family

Cost:$195 Adults 

$145 Children (5–12 years)

Visit Melbourne Zoo Website

Visit Taronga Zoo Website

Honourable mentions...

Sydney's Powerhouse Museum is always good for inexpensive, educational fun. At the moment they're running Tinytoreum - a collection based exhibition featuring Australian artists and authors. Have a look here for more details.

The Peats Ridge Childrens Festival - it started today and runs until New Years Day - jam packed with fun activities and performances for kids as well as their mums and dads. Have a look here for more details.

Via Kidspot

I feel a tonne of craft projects coming on....

 Steady yourself for a month of craft madness here at nooshloves! I am the proud new owner of not one, but two of Kelly Doust's incredible books, The Crafty Minx and The Crafty Kid and I do love to share...

Glue gun at the ready... Hold onto your hats! 

And if you just can't wait until tomorrow - have a look here at Kelly's blog. I love her....

BOREDOM BUSTER #2: DIY workshops

Here's a fun activity that'll have the kids entertained - and the best part is, it's FREE! All through the school holidays, Bunnings stores nationally are holding DIY workshops for kids aged 4 to 8. They'll have a ball making toolboxes, trucks, planter boxes and CD holders. 

Hop onto the website here to check times and make a booking at your local store, and remember that the nice people at Bunnings are there to run the activities not to babysit our kids, so all kids attending the workshops need to be accompanied by an adult.

Found via Kidspot

BOREDOM BUSTER #1: Summer sleepout

The looooong school holiday break is upon us - and we know we're all going to struggle with ideas to keep rug rats entertained. Why not take advantage of the weather and organise a summer sleepout? Kids always love a little place to hang out all of their own. Tents and cubbies are always a winning idea. 

This one was made with a blanket, netting (to keep the pesky mozzies at bay), rope and pegs. 

The must-have sleepout accessories pack includes: torches, snacks, card games, walkie-talkies (if you have them), a backpack for their gear and of course a decent sleeping bag (which is a good investment as there'll be plenty of these little get-togethers through their pre-teen and adolescent years). Always make sure your young guests know you're there for them if they need you whilst giving them the space they need to have a good time.

The sleepout can be a great idea for little ones too. A night under the stars in the backyard with dad can be a night they'll remember well into adulthood.

Via homelife via notebook