kids

Action Pack Magazine for Kids: Issue 9 {Mad Scientist} is now available

by kath_red on February 28, 2012

in Action Pack, Kids Crafts

Welcome to the Mad Scientist issue [Issue #9] of Action Pack Magazine for kids.

In this issue there are more than 14 fun, curious, tasty and artistic scientific experiments: 

  • You will learn about microwave expansion
  • and the science of bubbles and yeast,
  • you’ll experiment with crystals
  • and make some cool potions too.

 

Action Pack Issue 9: Mad Scientist Issue – is Available now only $5 for 20+ pages with 15 tutorials, recipes, crafts and more…

This is an e-magazine – you will receive a download link to a high quality printable pdf [which can also be viewed on a Tablet or iPad].

Preparing a Science Station:

  • Having a science experiments box prepared ready for all your experiments will mean you won’t be searching for the materials and tools you need and you won’t have to skip any of the projects because you can’t find that essential ingredient. You’ll be organised.
  • Set aside a time to prepare for the activities you plan on doing, find a container, box or basket to keep everything in. Use the list on the right to gather together most of the ingredients you will need for science fun at your fingertips. Don’t forget to check the list with each experiment to make sure you have everything you need.
List of ingredients and materials for Issue 9 of Action Pack:
  • The basics
  1. Empty cardboard rolls
  2. Plastic party cups & bowls
  3. Foil trays
  4. Sponges
  5. Drinking straws
  6. Chenille pipe cleaners
  7. Zip lock bags
  8. Egg cartons
  9. Balloons
  10. Rubber bands
  11. Sticky tape
  12. Brown paper bags
  • The tools
  1. Scissors
  2. Eye dropper
  3. Pencils
  4. Pegs
  5. Glass jars
  6. BBQ skewers
  7. Plastic bottles
  8. Funnel
  • The ingredients
  1. Salt
  2. Sugar
  3. Epsom salts
  4. Borax
  5. Bi-carb soda (baking soda)
  6. Ammonia
  7. Laundry bluing
  8. Food colour
  9. School glue / PVA glue
  10. Soap
  11. Shaving cream
  12. Dishwashing detergent
  13. Yeast

Action Pack Issue 9: Mad Scientist Issue – is Available now only $5 for 20+ pages with 15 tutorials, recipes, crafts and more…

This is an e-magazine – you will receive a download link to a high quality printable pdf [which can also be viewed on a Tablet or iPad].

For Parents:

The Action Pack magazines are aimed at 7–12 year old kids, and are meant for independent creativity. However be sure to gauge the suitability of each project for your child’s age and development. Some of the projects may be suitable for younger [5–6 year old] children with supervision. And depending upon the child’s age and abilities you may need to stay in the same room with them for some of the experiments.

But you don’t need to hover while your child is experimenting; feel free to let them experiment, observing and only helping when needed. On the flip side, don’t fret if you feel you don’t have enough science background to help or teach your children with the activities presented here, you should be more of a facilitator and a co-learner rather than a teacher – and that’s more fun anyway.

Setting up a science station is a great way to make these projects easily accessible for your children to discover and experiment as needed. Instead of turning on the electronic games or tv when they are bored and you are busy, why not let them head over to the pre-prepared science station for some free-range independent discovery.

What is a science station?  It’s a space you stock with materials of a scientific nature for experimentation. Your science station could be a table or sideboard that you have permanently set up, or it could be a box that can be dragged out and set up on the kitchen table [or outside when required].

Action Pack Issue 9: Mad Scientist Issue – is Available now only $5 for 20+ pages with 15 tutorials, recipes, crafts and more…

This is an e-magazine – you will receive a download link to a high quality printable pdf [which can also be viewed on a Tablet or iPad].

 

Instructions: After you have purchased the Action Pack you will receive an email with a secure link to where you can download the pdf. This is a timed link you will have a couple of days to download and save the file to your computer. When you receive the secure link it may go over two lines so be sure to highlight the entire link when opening it and saving it. You will then be able to view and print the file at any time after that at your liesure.

Because these pdf files are high quality full colour documents you can choose whether to print only the project as you need it, to keep it to view online or on your ipad only, or to print out the entire document and then keep it in a folder to be used over and over again. For optimum quality choose ‘best quality’ when printing, especially for the pages with illustrations. However feel free to print it out in black and white too.

Contact for more information: Action-pack[@]whipup.net

{ 1 comment }

For more kids craft, creative ideas and activities go to the Action Pack website

Guest blogger series | A felt crown tutorial

by contributor on October 26, 2011

in Guest blog series2 2011, Kids Crafts, Whip Up Tutorials

Rachel Wolf lives in rural Wisconsin with her husband and two children. Rachel spends her days living her bliss in a swirling cloud of living, playing, homeschooling, mothering, writing, crafting, and work-at-home-mama chaos. Visit her blog Clean or her organic body care business, LuSa Organics.

Felt Crown Tutorial

A felt crown is required play equipment for any young child. With the right crown you can be the queen, the king, the prince, the knight, or the ruler-of-all-that-you-see. We love crowns for birthdays in particular. Nothing makes a child feel more special than birthday fuss plus a special crown (though we tend to wear them daily in our corner of the world as well.)

A homemade crown is something to be cherished and easier to make than you can imagine. I have not provided a proper pattern because I think each crown is best born of your own creativity. You don’t need me to draw the lines for you. (Really. You don’t!) I cut mine free-hand, but if you want to be more precise, cut a sample from paper first to get a feel for it. It’s a crown. For your kid. Don’t over think it and you really can’t mess it up.

The crown below is sized for a child ages 3-6. For an older child just add a pinch of extra length to the elastic.

Ready? Let’s sew.

Materials

  • Cotton fabric for casing, 3″ x 10″
  • Wool felt (mine is 60% wool), two pieces 15″ x 5″ each
  • 6″ length of 1/4″ elastic
  • safety pin
  • fine glitter (optional)

Process

  1. Sew an elastic casing from cotton. You will sew the seam along the long side. Stitch, turn, and press with seam to the center.
  2. Insert elastic as follows: Fasten a safety pin to one end of elastic. Pull elastic through casing until the elastic tail is even with first opening. Stitch.Pull safety pin, gathering casing, and align the other end of elastic with casing opening. Remove pin and sew.
  3. Cut your crown. Determine which color felt is your background and which is your main color (the front). Fold your background color in half and cut a basic crown shape, with a peak in the center.
  4. Cutting freehand with your shears, shape the basic crown into something more artistic. Wing it. Whatever you create will be lovely! Just let it flow. I folded my fabric in half and cut through both sides at once. (Save your scraps. You’ll need them in a minute.) Hold this modified crown shape up to your child (or even your own head, looking in the mirror) and adjust height and shape as needed.
  5. When you are satisfied with the shape of your crown cut an identical piece out of your second piece of felt. (Lay the already cut crown over the second piece and trace or cut around it.)
  6. Trim off 1/2″ from bottom of the second piece of felt. This will make it smaller and you’ll be able to see the background color all around.
  7. Cut out any embellishments you’d like from the background felt scraps. I prefer to keep it very simple to allow the child to create all the extras in their imagination, but follow your own intuition. Circles, gems, stars, or other simple graphics are ideal.
  8. When you are satisfied with placement, topstitch embellishments into place with matching or contrasting thread onto the main color crown piece.
  9. Pin background crown to main crown panel and carefully sew across top and bottom seams. (Leave sides open for the moment.)
  10. Insert elastic casing with right side facing frontward. Sew. Repeat on second side, being careful not to twist. Your crown is done! For added bling rub with a bit of extra fine glitter. That’ll take it right over the top.

{ 11 comments }

For more kids craft, creative ideas and activities go to the Action Pack website

5 fun recycled crafts for kids

by kath_red on July 19, 2011

in Green Crafting, Kids Crafts

  1. Making this gnome bowling set from recycled soda bottles looks like a fun thing for the grownups and kids to make and play with together.
  2. Make this boats from corks – great all day activity for all ages (via).
  3. Weave a mat using t-shirts also (via) great project for school age kids and I am thinking grownups too will dig this.
  4. Braided headbands using fabric scraps - perfect for all ages.
  5. Printed wall hanging - using cereal boxes and found materials

{ 5 comments }

For more kids craft, creative ideas and activities go to the Action Pack website

Whipup.net Action Pack: Issue 3 {May 2011}

by kath_red on May 3, 2011

in Action Pack, Features, Kids Crafts

Issue 3 (May) of Whipup.net’s printable Mini-Mag for kids (aged 7+) continues on from issue 1 & 2 by offering more opportunities for learning, fun and experimentation. This ‘Tea & Sew’ themed issue contains instructions & printables for a busy afternoon or two of tea drinking, cooking and sewing: lots of experimenting with flavours, sewing, dyeing and baking. Plus we have included the perfect project to make for Mother’s Day.

Action Pack: A mini-mag for kids who want to do stuff is available in an easy downloadable PDF format, priced at only $5, and with no advertising.

Our philosophy for Action Pack is all about inspiring kids to be creative, to develop and nurture healthy habits, and to feed inquisitive minds, and challenge imaginations. This ‘Action Pack’, is for busy parents and creative energetic kids.

In this pack you will find: a whole heap of projects around the theme ‘Tea & Sew’, with tasting, experimenting with flavours, sewing projects and more.

  • The instructions to sew a tea cup and jam tarts.
  • A recipe with variations to make your own tea flavoured cookies.
  • Make sun tea, herbal ice tea and spiced chai.
  • Instructions to tea dye fabric and make a personalised hand sewn tea cosy.
  • Lots of information and facts about tea traditions around the world.
  • Plus a bonus Mother’s Day project.

Our philosophy:
- We see kids as competent, creative and capable people.
- We believe that our kids are resourceful and clever and we try to enable them to develop their independence and creative minds within a secure and nurturing environment.
- We see learning opportunities everywhere. Learning should and can be fun.
- But we also know that parents are busy and cannot realistically be spending all weekend ‘playing’ with their kids.
- We want kids to get off the couch, away from the computer and learn the value and fun in making and doing stuff.

We really love the end result and hope you do too. Available now in our shop.

Instructions: After you have purchased the Action Pack you will receive an email with the link to where you can download the pdf. This is a 48 hour link – Save it straight away onto your computer and then it print out at your liesure. It is a full colour 25 page document – but you can print the pages as you need them. You can also print out the whole pack and bind it and store it in a folder to be used over and over. For optimum quality choose ‘best quality’ when printing, especially for the pages with illustrations. However feel free to print it out in black and white too.

Contact for more information: Action-pack@whipup.net

 

If you would like to find out more you can download the press release here.

{ 17 comments }

For more kids craft, creative ideas and activities go to the Action Pack website

Whipup.net Action Pack: Issue 2 {April 2011}

by kath_red on March 30, 2011

in Action Pack, Kids Crafts

Issue 2 (April) of Whipup.net’s printable Mini-Mag for kids (aged 7+) is bigger and better than issue 1 – if that is even possible.

Action Pack is available in an easy downloadable PDF format. Priced at only $5, and with no advertising, this month’s issue is jam packed with 25 pages of projects – with a Seeds & Beads theme for the new planting season – inside you will find craft projects, gardening projects, science, cooking, drawing and more, everything a kid needs for a weekend (or two) of activities. Plus – a bonus 4 pages of Easter cooking and experimenting!

Our philosophy for Action Pack is all about inspiring kids to be creative, to develop and nurture healthy habits, and to feed inquisitive minds, and challenge imaginations. This ‘Action Pack’, is for busy parents and creative energetic kids.

In this pack you will find: a whole slew of projects around the theme Seeds & Beads, with lots of delicious cooking, science experiments, simple craft projects and outdoor activities.

  • Instructions to make garden lanterns and beaded dragonflies to decorate your garden.
  • Instructions to show you how-to draw realistic and cartoon dragonflies – the good insect!. Plus lots of fun facts and interesting information throughout.
  • How to grow seeds – make seed bombs, recycled plant containers and bird seed treats to attract birds to your garden + printable seed packets to save and store your seeds.
  • Learn all about how to use edible seeds in your cooking, make cakes, crackers and salad sprinkles as well as a refreshing Lavender Lemonade!
  • Plus an a bonus Easter supplement with a recipe for Hot Cross Spice Buns and Experiments with naturally dyeing eggs.

Our philosophy:
- We see kids as competent, creative and capable people.
- We believe that our kids are resourceful and clever and we try to enable them to develop their independence and creative minds within a secure and nurturing environment.
- We see learning opportunities everywhere. Learning should and can be fun.
- But we also know that parents are busy and cannot realistically be spending all weekend ‘playing’ with their kids.
- We want kids to get off the couch, away from the computer and learn the value and fun in making and doing stuff.

We really love the end result and hope you do too. Available now in our shop.

Instructions: After you have purchased the Action Pack you will receive an email with the link to where you can download the pdf. This is a 24 hour link – Save it onto your computer and then print out. It is a full colour 30 page document – but you can print the pages as you need them. You can also print out the whole pack and bind it and store it in a folder to be used over and over. For optimum quality choose ‘best quality’ when printing, especially for the pages with illustrations. However feel free to print it out in black and white too.

Contact for more information: Action-pack@whipup.net

 

If you would like to find out more you can download the press release here.

{ 15 comments }

For more kids craft, creative ideas and activities go to the Action Pack website

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