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With the busy schedules and fast pace of the school year behind us (at least for a couple months!), summer offers the perfect time to slow down. The kids have more time to be kids! We love enjoying things that bring comfort combined with imagination, creativity and fun. June was “Get Outdoors Month” and we were inspired to do just that. One of the first things we did on our summer vacation was to visit the farm to pick some wildflowers. I wanted to let the kids create something that focused on their farm visit while enjoying a mealtime favorite — Back to Nature Mac & Cheese.
Picking wild flowers really allowed my kids to get their hands in the dirt (literally) and be connected to the world around them.
Inspired by our time outdoors and the beautiful flowers, we decided to create some easy sun catchers to capture the beautiful colors.
On the menu for lunch this day was Back to Nature Mac & Cheese – a simply good and simply delicious mealtime option. (Did you know? July 14th was Mac & Cheese Day.)
Back to Nature Mac and Cheese is a good source of calcium and protein – and with no artificial flavors, preservatives or synthetic colors, it’s a lunch that is fun for them and meets my standards, too.
We purchased the Back to Nature Made with Organic Pasta Macaroni & Cheese Dinner and Made with Organic Pasta Spirals & White Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese Dinner a few days earlier while shopping at Target and stocked up!
After picking our flowers, my girls trimmed and cut down some of their flowers to get ready for the project. They also made some vases for their room – another great way for them to bring the outdoors in!
SUNCATCHERS
What you need:
Items from outdoor – the more colorful the better or flower pieces.
Clear/See-Thru Contact Paper
Bowl or Circle Template – You’ll want each piece to be exactly the same.
Scissors
Large, Heavy Book
Glue
Ribbon or Twine
To Create Suncatcher:
- Trace a bowl or circle template twice.
- Prepare the items – breaking or picking off into small pieces that will fit between the two contact paper sheets.
- Cut out circles and peel paper off back, of one of them, placing sticky side-up. Keep the other side close-by.
- Add items to sticky side of contact paper and press down as you work to help flatten.
- When finished, add the other sheet of contact paper on top and place a heavy book on top. Leave overnight. *You can use a few dabs of clear glue around the edge to help encourage the two layers to stay together.
- Once flattened, punch a hole in the top and string twine or ribbon through for hanging.
Since my girls are in preschool, we talked a lot about the flowers we chose – colors, textures, counting and even added some counting into our project time by making some flowers with some extra macaroni.
My girls loved both creating their own flowers with the macaroni and preserving some of the beauty to hang in our windows. It was the perfect activity – combining time outdoors, creativity, nature with a simply good meal.
How do you bring creativity and fun to mealtime?
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Contact Paper Sun catchers – I am thinking of doing this craft at an assisted living facility. I was wondering how long the sun catchers keep their color/shape and look presentable to keep in a window or on a door.
I would dry the flower or plants used first that way you can assure they won’t fade too much more. It also might be a good idea to flatten the plants/flowers used with a heavy book. I did not do this on a first try and had better results when I did it on a second try. Additionally, I would glue around the edges of the contact paper with a bit of clear glue to help keep the hold. The contact paper is very durable, so with this extra step, I’d say they’d keep for a while. Enjoy~