Mommy, Monet and Me! Letter C

 Crayons, Carpet, and Corn Syrup

This week at Mommy, Monet and Me we had such a great group of toddlers learning about the letter C!  We created art with color changing crayons, made carpet prints, and painted with colored corn syrup!

Color Changing Crayons

Materials: Old broken crayons, muffin tins

Making your own color changing crayons is really easy. You basically just take old crayons and melt them down in muffin tins or any other kind of heat proof mold.  Once the crayons are melted you let them cool and they become solid again.   Here is a link to the specifics on time and temperature for melting.

TIP: Soak your crayons in hot water to remove the paper, instead of trying to peel each crayon individually.  I don't know why I never thought of this before, but it worked like magic. 

TIP: Find an eager little helper to help you smash the crayons!  I put the crayons in a thick plastic bag and then let my niece do the smashing. She loved it.

Carpet Prints

Materials: Carpet pieces, paint, rollers, tray, paper.  

Kids get really excited when you tell them they get to paint on carpet.  It seems like they are breaking all the rules.  You can get carpet scraps or samples from local carpet stores.  This activity is more fun when you have a variety of kinds of carpet.   We used paint rollers to apply the paint to the carpet squares and then pressed the painted side onto our paper.  The results are pretty cool.  When you are done you can wash the carpet squares in the sink and leave them in the sun to dry and use again.



Corn Syrup Painting

Materials: light corn syrup, food coloring, paintbrushes or q-tips, cardstock

To make corn syrup paint simply combine a small amount of corn syrup and food coloring in a container.  You can use a paintbrush or q-tip to apply the paint to a thick paper like card stock.  The paper needs to be thick to handle the syrupy paint. 

Why paint with corn syrup?  When it dries it stays shiny.  It swirls together beautifully without getting too muddled and brown.  It is totally edible...for those little ones who like to put everything in their mouth.  It washes off surfaces and hands pretty easily with a little warm water.  The food coloring can dye clothes so better to wear a smock or strip them down and let them get messy!

Hope to see you next week for the letter D!

Mommy, Monet and Me! Letter B

 Letter B: Bubble Prints and Bead Bracelets

There are so many great activities to do with the letter B, but my favorite activities involve bubbles.  There is something magical about creating a bubble, and something even greater about capturing a bubble in art.

Blowing Bubbles

Materials: Dish soap, food coloring or tempera paint, medium size containers or bowls, straws, watercolor paper.

WARNING: many young children are used to sucking liquid through a straw and will accidentally suck the liquid into their mouths in this activity.  Make sure you only use non-toxic paints, and cut a small triangle out of the straw so they can't suck it up as easily.

Mix about a tablespoon of dish soap with 2 or 3 tablespoons of paint, and 1/2 cup of water.   Let the child blow through the straw into the liquid making bubbles.  When the bubbles rise above the rim of the container place the paper on top.  The colored bubbles will leave a bubble print behind.  Repeat on the same paper for a cool layered look.

Bubble Wrap Prints

Materials: bubble wrap, paint, paper, paintbrushes

This is a great way to recycle your old bubble wrap.  Paint directly on the bubble side of the bubble wrap, then place paper on painted bubbles and press lightly to make contact with all of the bubbles.  Remove paper and voila, beautiful bubble art.  I think the smaller bubble wrap works best for this project.

Bead Bracelets

Materials: Beads, buttons, pipe cleaners.

This is a great fine motor activity.  Place beads and buttons in a small bowl and let your child thread them onto a pipe cleaner.  When they are all done they can twist the pipe cleaner to make a bracelet.  The best part about the pipe cleaner is that it hold the beads in place, and keeps them from sliding off if your child drops the bracelet while they are beading. 

Next week: Letter C  Crayons, Carpet Prints, and Corn Syrup

Save 25% on Summer Tutoring!

Thanks for voting for Hobble Creek Learning Center as the best tutoring center in Utah Valley!  

To say thanks we are offering a special summer tutoring discount!

The first 20 families to sign up for summer tutoring will receive 25% off our normal tutoring rate. 

Call today for your free tutoring assessment!  801-491-0825

For more information on our exceptional tutoring program visit our website. 

Voted Best Tutoring and Best Child Care Center!

Thanks for voting for Hobble Creek Learning Center!  We have been voted the BEST Tutoring and BEST Child Care Center in Utah Valley!

Thanks to our wonderful teachers, aides, tutors and office staff for creating such an excellent school!  We couldn't do it without you!

Thanks to the wonderful families who trust us everyday with their inquisitive, bright and unique children.  We love working for you!

For more information on our excellent preschool, kindergarten and tutoring programs visit our website.

New Summer Classes!

 Sign up for Summer!

We have so many fun classes to sign up for this summer.  Avoid that mid-summer boredom and get your kids into our classes to learn about juggling, clay, ancient Egypt, superheroes, microbes, the rainforest, ooey, gooey, science and more!

For a complete list of summer programs visit our website. 

Don't forget we also have summer preschool starting at just $90.00 a month!

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St. Patrick's Day Party: March 12th

Come Celebrate with Us!

St. Patrick’s Day Party
Saturday, March 12th
10:00 am-Noon, FREE

The Balloon Guy, cookie decorating, face painting, Irish art, leprechaun games & lots of fun prizes!

Pot of Gold Prize Drawing
Our grand prize includes all of the following prizes
*Party Package from Balloon Guy Entertainment
*$25.00 gift certificate from Funfinity
*$30.00 gift certificate from Magleby's Restaurant
*Year Art Adventure Pass from Hobble Creek Learning Center
“Like” our Facebook page to enter!

Primary Children's Medical Center 
Toy Drive.
Get an extra entry in our general prize drawing for each new or gently used toy you donate at the party! All toys will be donated to Primary Children’s Medical Center. (No fabric toys please)

Door Prize and General Prize Drawing
First 50 people get a free Scholastic children's book! You get one prize entry just for coming to the party.  General prizes include toys and gift certificates from Funfinity, Magleby's Restaurant gift cards, and gift certificates from Hobble Creek Learning.

For more information about Hobble Creek Learning Center visit
www.hobblecreeklearning.com

Jr. Artists: Winter Watercolors

Here are some pictures from our winter watercolor project.  We used painters tape, salt, blue watercolor and crayons to create our beautiful pictures!   See more pictures on our Flickr page.  Next week we will be working on printmaking!

Mommy, Monet and Me! Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today in MMM we did three Valentine's Day art activities!  Foam Printing, Heart Stencils, and Mixing Pink.

Styrofoam Printing

Materials: Styrofoam plate, dull pencils, paint, paint rollers, tray, paper.

1. First draw your design on the back of a piece of styrofoam with a dull pencil.  Use the pencil to gently carve into the styrofoam leaving an indentation.  I like to use a plate because the lip of the plate gives the kids a handle when they are printing, but you could use any flat piece of styrofoam.  Save and reuse packing materials for this project.

2. When your design is complete roll a thin layer of paint out on a tray or cookie sheet.  Help your little one make it really thin.

3. Then turn your plate over and press your design into the plate (make sure to press each part of the plate down to get good contact with the paint).

4. Pull the styrofoam up and press firmly down onto the paper (again make sure to get good contact on the whole piece of foam).

5. Remove the plate and see your beautiful design on paper. 

This is a great way to make unique Valentine's because you can reuse the plate and make multiple prints of the same design.  Try mixing colors of paint or printing on different kinds of paper.  The possibilities are endless.  Print on card stock to make a beautiful one of a kind card for teachers or grandparents!

Homemade Heart Stencils

Materials: Paper, scissors, paint or bingo markers

1. First cut out heart stencils by folding paper in half and cutting half of a heart from the fold.  Cut a variety of hearts in different shapes and sizes.  Make sure to leave a border, don't cut your heart all the way to the edge of the paper.

2. Now you should have a positive and negative heart shape.  In other words a heart shaped piece of paper, and a heart shaped hole in the other piece of paper.

3. Place your heart stencils on a large piece of paper and use bingo markers to stamp around the edge of the heart shapes, and to fill in the heart stencils.   You could also use markers, crayons, or paint for this step.

This is a great lesson to help your child understand the difference between positive and negative space.  
 
Mixing Pink

Materials: Heart shaped paper, white paint, red paint, paintbrushes

Today we used red and white paint to make beautiful pink paint.  Simply give your child a dish or cup with each color of paint and one paintbrush and let them experiment with color.  They can mix the color on their heart or in the cups.

Each child's shade of pink was a little bit different, but we ended up with so many beautiful pink hearts to decorate our room for valentine's day!

No class next monday because of President's Day!  We will see you again on February 28th, 9:30-10:15 am for the letter R!

Junior Artists Week 1

Here are some pictures from the first day of Junior Artists!  The class is full but if you are interested in our art classes please call and put your name on our waiting list.  If we have enough interest we may open a second class.  If you would like to know more about this class check this blog each week to see our projects in progress!

Working on Portfolio Folders

Winter Art Classes! Now Enrolling

Styrofoam Plate Print by Emily

Sign up for art classes starting this February!

After taking a semester off to get used to motherhood Julie Hall is back to teach new and exciting art classes.  Space is limited so sign up early!

Junior Artists (5 and Up)
Tuesdays 4:00-5:00pm. (February 1-April 5)
Cost: $85.00 for 10 weeks.  

Cost can be prorated.  Advanced registration required.
In this exciting class students draw, paint, sculpt and discover the fundamental art elements: line, shape, texture, color, value and space. At the end of 10 weeks students display their work in a special gallery night for friends and family! Instructor: Julie Hall

Art Adventures
(Children 5 and under need to be accompanied by an adult)
Cost: $5.00 per child or $13.00 per family
Special Saturdays: 1:00-2:30pm

February 5    Chinese New Year!
March 12      Annual St. Patrick's Day Party (10:00-Noon) FREE
March 26      Wonderful Wizards
May 7           Under the Sea

Bring your friends and family for our Saturday art adventures. Participate in 3 different art activities, scavenger hunts, games, and riddles.  In the past we have gone on  a safari, traveled to space, and searched for dinosaurs!  Check out pictures from our art adventures.  Advanced registration preferred.

Mommy, Monet and Me! Letter M

Check here each Monday afternoon to see what fun projects we did in Mommy, Monet and Me! MMM is every monday morning (except for holidays) from 9:30-10:15 am at Hobble Creek Learning Center.

Today in Mommy, Monet and Me our letter of the day was M. So we had three M related toddler friendly projects: Marble Painting, Marker Magic, and Monoprints! All three activities are so fun with kids of any age.




Marble Painting

Materials: Paint, Marbles, Spoon, Box Lid (or something like it)

For marble painting I get an old box lid that will fit a piece of paper. Tape the paper down to the inside of the lid so it won't shift when you start painting. Get a few marbles and place one or two in each paint color (I water down the paint a little so the marble will roll easily). Have your child use the spoon to drop one or two marbles in the box lid, and start moving the box so the painted marbles roll all over your paper! A box lid with high sides is best so that you don't lose your marbles! I like to use red, yellow and blue paint so when the colors mix they make new colors!


Marker Magic

Materials: Constructions paper, scissors, dry erase markers, old sock or rag (to erase with)

I cut out some simple frames out of construction paper and taped them to the window. This serves two purposes. First, it makes drawing on the window even more special and fancy, and second it will give your toddler and natural boundary for their artwork. They are usually pretty good at staying in the frame. I always preface this activity by reminding our little artists that these are special markers and we can't use regular markers to draw on the windows and we never draw on the walls:) Let your toddler use dry erase markers to draw on the window, and a rag or old sock to erase and start again. They will have so much fun creating their masterpieces, and when they are all done the picture is framed and on display!

Monoprint

Materials: Baking tray or other flat smooth surface, paint, small paint roller or paintbrushes, q-tips, scrap paper

This activity was the favorite of the day! The kids stayed at this station the longest and loved printing new pictures over and over again. This is a basic printing technique to create one of a kind prints. Simply apply paint thinly to the inside of the baking tray (I use small paint rollers like this). You can also use a paintbrush to apply the paint. Then let your little one use a q-tip, or their fingers to make lines and designs in the paint. When they are satisfied with their creation press a piece of paper onto the tray and voila! A beautiful monoprint! I love this activity because the mess is contained within the tray and the results are beautiful. I also recommend using primary colors for this activity so the mixing paint creates beautiful new colors!

Remember moms: creativity takes courage! Don't be afraid to get a little messy, your kids will love it!

Open Enrollment!

Open enrollment for preschool and kindergarten begins January 3rd! Now is the time to reserve a space for your child in our summer or fall programs.

Not sure if Hobble Creek Learning is a good fit for your child? Here is what some of our parents said in a recent survey about their experience.

"my daughter is excited to go everyday, and even if she shies back when we get there, the teachers are really good at getting her in the classroom! and then she's happy for the rest of the time. everyone there is SO nice! it's sort of like family."

"My child always looks forward to school days. She is greeted with smiles and kindness. I love the learning activities and projects! Thank you for everything!!!"

100% of parents surveyed said they would recommend Hobble Creek Learning Center to a friend.

We invite parents and children to come for a personal tour of the school and meet our wonderful director and teachers! If you would like to set up a time to see the school please call 801-491-0825.

Space is limited and we fill classes on a first come first serve basis. Our morning classes fill very quickly so enroll early.

For more information visit our website. www.hobblecreeklearning.com

We look forward to meeting you!