Mooncake Festival 2013

This post is rather late because I have been preoccupied with other things. This year Mooncake Festival fell on a Thursday night. The kids have a holiday on Friday so it was just right. They could stay up to play lanterns. 

As usual, we used our recycled lanterns. Now that they are older, they are more interested in playing with fire candles. 

They still have two lanterns each, recycled from 2-3 years ago. A classic fish, a bird and a butterfly lantern plus a Ben 10 lantern for my boy.  The boy is also slowly outgrowing his Ben 10 lantern. Time sure flies.

This year the fish caught fire so I guess we will have one less lantern to recycle next year.

After we're done playing with candles, the kids will have a shower and then everyone will have mooncake for supper before we go to bed.

This year is was rather cloudy, so we only got to see blurry images of the full moon.

My husband said that the kids are getting too old for this but I think otherwise. You are never too old to play with lanterns and candles and to prove my point, sure enough, a courting couple soon passed by and they too sat down and played with candles. :)

Basic Craft Supplies for Kids - Ideas on What to Stock and Keep For Kids Crafts

Image Credit: Faber Castell Big Fun Crafts

If you child likes to do art and craft projects, I would suggest that you have the following available at all times. Keep them stocked and available and at a place where your child can reach easily. These will provide hours of fun on a rainy day or a cold day inside.

Craft Supplies for Kids Checklist - Stock these!

1. Paper (Keep plain construction paper in different colors stocked up and get specialty papers in different designs for occassions. Crepe paper is great to have around too and so are transparent colored paper.)
2. Glue (Basic and a must)
3. Scissors (Can be normal scissors or craft scissors for cutting wiggley lines. Get blunt scissors for young children)
4. Stickers (Very easy to use for young children)
5. Rubber Stamps (Very easy to use for young children)
6. Glitters (Glitter Glue or Glitter Pens. Pens are easier for younger kids)
7. Ribbons (You can keep ribbons from hampers and recycle them for crafts)
8. Craft Punch (Great ones to have are teddy bear and heart punch or border punch. Snowflakes are beautiful too)
9. 3D Embellishments (These are like stickers. They are self adhesive and come in materials like felt, beads, lace, sequins and rhinestones. They are easy to use and lovely to look at. Not suitable for very young kids because of choking hazzards.
10. Rulers (Basic)
11. Erasers (Must Have)
12. Color Pencils (Basic)
13. Crayons or Color Pastels (Basic)
14. Paints and Paintbrushes (Nice to have)
15. Colored Pens (Should Have)
16. Googly Eyes (are self adhesive and fun!)
17. Pipe Cleaners (wonderful medium for crafts but be careful about sharp points)
18. Colored Pom Poms (lovely for making 3D art or animal pom poms)
19. Beads (Beads aren't just for necklaces and bracelets. They can be added to other craft projects too

Matching Girl And Doll Dresses

For every little girl who loves dolls, having one that dresses up in the same dress as her is a dream. I am sure a doll with matching girl and doll clothes will be on the wishlist of many little girls this Christmas. They will also make good gifts for birthdays and just for fun.

Recognizing this, a company called Dollie & Me came up with a line of matching dresses for girl's and their dolls. I just love this concept and I love the dress options at Dollie & Me! The variety of garments for girl and doll for playing, partying, and even sleeping is amazing. The miniature doll garments look exactly like the girl's dress and are so cute and adorable!

In 2009, Dollie & Me collaborated with Madame Alexander to create more affordable 18 inch dolls for its line of doll and girl's matching clothing so you can find cheaper 18" dolls to wear these matching doll and girl garments.

This post features a whole range of Dollie & Me matching girl dresses with matching doll garments. I hope you enjoy browsing and find something delightful to surprise a little girl.

These party dresses look too good on a doll but never too cool for a little girl.

Mind Mapping For Kids

Recently my girl was asked to draw several mind maps for her grade school assignment. She didn't know where to start so we searched online for mind mapping for kids and found some great articles and mind maps for kids. I especially liked the following ones. I think the are excellent to explain what are mind maps, the benefits of mind mapping, show some example mind maps and then try with some free printable mind mapping templates.

1. From BrainTraining4kids.com by Tony Buzan we found a lovely mind map showing How To Mindmap For Primary School Kids. You can view the step by step process or see the actual mind mapping process as well. Excellent and easy for kids to understand and follow.
2. I also like the picture of the left brain right brain here from drawmeanidea.com for explaining to kids why we mind map. The rest of the article is a bit heavy for children but the picture of the brain in this article is just right for explaining to kids the benefits of mind mapping and making use of both left and right brains for maximum learning impact.
3. To see a sample mind map by kids, go here for some mind mapping samples for kids. I especially like the life cycle mind map. (You will have to scroll down a little to view it).
4. Finally, your child can draw his or her first mind map either free hand or if you prefer you can download free mind map templates from My Mind Map.

I hope you enjoy this article and have fun mind mapping with your kids.