Tagged with 'arts and crafts'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c41UozGgE2k&feature=emb_logoHome's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3-5Supplies:• Design & Drill bolts in various colors• Pipe cleaners• Pencil• Scissors• Construction paper• Googly eyes• Stickers or markers to decorate your creaturesProcedure:Bolt Butterfly1. Fold paper in half, draw your wings and cut them out.2. Cut two openings on the center of the wings.3. Decorate your wings with stickers, markers or crayons.4. Cut two short pipe cleaners and roll one end towards the center, these will be the antennae.5. Insert both pipe cleaners through the hole of the bolt.6. Put the bolt through the opening on the wings.7. Add googly eyes and you’re done!Bolt Monster1. Cut pipe cleaners to the desired length, insert them through the bolt’s hole.2. Cut a mouth with an opening.3. Put the bolt through.4. Add googly eyes and you're done! Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mow5lL4FKz4&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3-5Supplies:• Paper• Scissors• Spoon• Tape• Toilet Paper Roll• Playfoam PluffleProcedure:1. Cut two stems and a few leaves out of your construction paper.2. Tape the stems to a sheet of paper.3. Cut the toilet paper roll(s) in half, then cut each half into four shorter cylinders. Press each one in half to make a petal shape.4. Place the petals on top of the stems.5. Show your child how to spoon the Playfoam Pluffle into each “petal”, bringing your flower to colorful life and exercising those fine motor skills! Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY0LRj3iYc8&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3-5Supplies:• Playfoam pods in 5 different colors• Craft sticks• White paper• Crayons• Tape• Scissors• Googly eyes (optional)Procedure:1. Cut your paper into a cloud shape.2. Draw a cute face on your cloud – googly eyes make everything more fun!3. Tape the top of the craft sticks side by side across the bottom of the paper cloud.4. Draw a colored dot above each craft stick – the color of the dot should match the colors of Playfoam you have.5. Show your child how to shape Playfoam into a long line and place it on the craft stick below the matching colored dot.Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFjXx8QqO6M&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Janene Russell, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3+Practice writing your name using paper confetti.Supplies:• Construction paper• Scissors• Glue• PaperProcedure:Create a colorful masterpiece by using colored paper scraps and gluing them onto paper. This is a fun way to outline your child’s name and even design your own mosaic![caption id="attachment_6411" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Photo credit: @sarahroseloves[/caption]A former teacher and current mom of two young children, EI Product Manager Janene Russell has more than 15 years of early learning experience! This So Cal native puts her little kid knowledge to good use, guiding the development of the Bright Basics and GeoSafari Jr. lines, as well as various preschool games and classroom resources.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkPWWsKdmDY&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3+This is a great way to repurpose any container, such as a yogurt or cream cheese tub!Supplies:• Yarn• Glue• Clean yogurt or other container• Paint brushProcedure:1. Use your paint brush to brush a thing layer of glue on the outside of the container.2. Starting at the bottom, wrap your yarn around the outside of the container. Try not to leave any space between the layers of yarn. If there is space between the layers, push the yarn closer together toward the bottom of the container.3. Trim the loose ends of the yarn.4. Add a drop of glue to the ends to keep them adhered to the pot.5.  Allow the glue to dry.For EXTRA FUN - Add potting soil and a plant. If you’re not ready to plant, use this as a vase for faux flowers!Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSFfjXtVraI&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3-7Supplies:• Flowers, leaves, acorns, anything you can find outside• Googly eyesProcedure:1. Go outside, explore, and collect flowers, leaves and other cool things from nature!2. See what you can create using the natural objects you’ve found! Here we’re making a bunny…3. Use the flower as the head…4. Then the leaves as the ears…5.  An acorn as a nose…6. Add googly eyes and you’re done!Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=er_vXxmXQWI&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3–5Supplies:• Construction paper in various colors• Scissors• Marker• Tape• Playfoam Pod• Googly eyesProcedure:1. Cut two yellow wings out of construction paper, then tape them to either side of the pod.2. Fold a sheet of orange construction paper in half and cut out a small triangle.3. Open the triangle and draw two smaller triangles on the inside, to make a beak.4. Add tape to the back of the beak and stick it to the center of the pod.5. Add googly eyes.6. Add a little note to the back and you’re done!Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=UtL6PUpIsXg&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Janene Russell, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3–4Put your egg cartons to good use – and build those early math skills – with a DIY egg carton counter! This math activity encourages counting, number sense, and one to one correspondence.Supplies:• Egg Carton• Markers• Counters (pasta, buttons, sequins, coins, pom poms, etc.)Procedure:1.  Write the numerals 1 – 12 in order on the bottom of each slot in the carton.2.  On the sides of each slot, draw dots representing that number.3.  Together with your child, count out the matching number of counters and place them in the corresponding spots.A former teacher and current mom of two young children, EI Product Manager Janene Russell has more than 15 years of early learning experience! This So Cal native puts her little kid knowledge to good use, guiding the development of the Bright Basics and GeoSafari Jr. lines, as well as various preschool games and classroom resources.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2xfU39aNVY&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3–5Supplies:• Construction paper in various colors• Scissors• Marker• Tape• Playfoam Pod• Googly eyesProcedure:1. Cut two pink ears and 2 smaller yellow ears out of construction paper.2. Tape the smaller ears to the big ears.3. Add tape to the bottom of the ears, place them on the top of the  Playfoam pod, and press to secure in place.4. Add googly eyes.5. Using a smudge-proof marker, draw a nose, mouth and whiskers right onto the front of the plastic pod.6. Add a little note to the back and you’re done!Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.