Family Ties Forum

In the news | Toys go ‘green’

Looking for some “Good Green Fun”?

Head to Toys “R” Us. That’s the retailer’s latest marketing campaign designed to promote a new line of eco-friendly toys.

The products will be available, grouped in special “green” sections of Toys “R” Us stores, by Earth Day, April 22.

Wooden building blocks and pull toys, and dolls made with organic cotton [. . .]

SPRING BREAK | Old-fashioned games to play on a lazy day

By CAROL J.G. WARD | cjgward@thestate.com

Do kids still play Red Rover, Mother May I and Red Light, Green Light? My cousins, sister and I used to love playing those games on crisp spring days and sticky summer afternoons spent at my grandparents’ house. My son is too old for those games now, but I don’t recall that they were very popular among his elementary-school set just a few years ago.

As I started thinking about spring break and how parents might entertain their children during the week, my mind wandered to those days spent at Pop’s and Grandma Lily’s. There was never a shortage of ways to have fun. We played in the barn and chased dibbies. (Yes, I know the rest of the world calls baby chicks “biddies,” but my family always called them dibbies.) Pop (pictured) told us that if we could catch one, we could keep it, so away we’d go, chasing the flock of baby chicks around the dirt yard. If you’ve ever tried to catch a baby chick, you know [ . . . ]

SPRING CRAFTS | Jelly bean bouquet

Easter is second only to Halloween for candy sales in the United States. Looking for a way to use all those leftover Easter jelly beans? This sweet bouquet of jelly bean flowers was found in a Brach's Easter craft sheet.

JELLY BEAN BOUQUET

Supplies:
1 cardboard egg carton
Acrylic paint in three pastel colors plus green
Brushes
Scissors
Jelly beans
Craft sticks
Glue

Directions:
1. Cut the bottom of an egg carton into 12 separate cups. Trim to resemble petals.

SPRING CRAFTS | Painted bunny pot

Celebrate spring break with this cute and easy-to-make bunny planter, perfect for a spring birthday gift or special treat. Why not make them for some-bunny you love? Hop to it!

PAINTED BUNNY POT
What you need:
acrylic paints in spring colors (white, pink, green and yellow)
4- or 5-inch-deep clay pot
2 large wooden spoons
small wooden heart (sold at craft stores)
black permanent marker
craft glue
spring plant to put in your painted pot

Directions:
1. Paint the clay pot and wooden spoons white. Let them dry. [ . . . ]

SPRING CRAFTS | Basketball cupcakes

March Madness has begun. Score big with resident hoop fans by making a batch of these tournament-time treats

BASKETBALL CUPCAKES

Supplies:
Mini white cupcakes (ours is 1 inch tall)
White frosting
Orange decorators' gel
Sugar cookies (ours is 3 inches in diameter)
Mini-basketball chocolates (available at candy stores or online at chocolate expressions.com)

1. For each basket, trim the cupcake flush with the wrapper's edges, if needed.

SPRING CRAFTS | This caterpillar can hide treasure

Celebrate spring creepy crawlies with this colorful caterpillar. Use it as a secret compartment for holding treasures or notes.

FAT CATERPILLAR

Supplies:
Round container
Different colors of felt
2 cotton balls
Blue and black acrylic paint and brushes
1 black pipe cleaner
Toilet paper roll
Glue
Scissors

DIRECTIONS:
1. Measure the circumference of the container.

SPRING CRAFTS | Grass hut

Spring is here, flowers are blooming and grass is growing. Create this silly grass hut with leftover seed. And tell Dad he won’t have to mow this grass.

GRASS HUT
Supplies:
4 new standard kitchen sponges in various colors
Ruler
Permanent marker
Scissors
Large plastic food storage container
Spray bottle of water
1/2 cup grass seed
Floral pins

Directions:
1. Wet the sponges slightly to create a good growing surface.

SPRING CRAFTS | Garden greeting card

Does a teacher, grandparent or family friend have a spring birthday? Or do you just want to do something nice for a neighbor? Create this clever greeting card and send it to them. ). It holds a brightly colored packet of seeds as a bonus. This is a simple craft, easily made by younger children with help from an adult.

GARDEN GREETING CARD
Supplies:
Watering can template (download here)
1 8-1/2x11 sheet of silver card stock
Scissors
Double-sided tape
Seed packet
Black marking pen

Directions:
1. Print out the watering can template on a sheet of silver (or gray) card stock.

SPRING CRAFTS | Caterpillar and butterfly

Mother Nature has been fascinating us for centuries with a miracle called metamorphosis. It's the process by which that caterpillar you see turns into a beautiful-winged butterfly.

Most female butterflies lay eggs on plant material that will be used as food for the hungry little caterpillar that emerges. The egg stage can last a few days, but some eggs laid in the fall will not hatch until spring. Eating is the most important job the new caterpillar does. As it grows, the caterpillar will shed its skin repeatedly until it begins to form one that hardens into a pupa, where it will rest until the real magic takes place. Soon, it will break out of the cocoon or chrysalis as a beautiful butterfly.

METAMORPHOSIS
Supplies for the caterpillar:
3 chenille stems
1 green construction paper
Pencil
Hole punch
Marking pen
Scissors

Caterpillar directions:
1. Make the caterpillar's head by wrapping half of one stem around the pencil. Leave the rest of the stem straight and remove the pencil.

Easter crafts | Most egg-cellent eggs

Add a splash of pizzazz to your Easter baskets and your decorating party by punching up the dyed-and-true method of egg embellishment with these alternatives.

Instructions labeled “easy” are simple enough that toddlers can do them with supervision. “Intermediate” eggs work for about ages 5 and up, with adult help. Those labeled “advanced” are for the craft-happy and probably can’t be completed successfully by anyone under age 10.

LEAF-PRINT EGG (Intermediate-advanced)
Instead of opting for the classic egg-dyeing technique this Easter, turn a new leaf with this reverse-stenciling method.

Supplies:
Small flat leaves (we used fern, cilantro, dill, thyme and mint leaves)
Hard-boiled white eggs
Nylon stockings, cut into 3-inch-long sections
Rubber bands
[ . . . ]

Easter crafts | Crazy hat

This Easter basket hat is a blast to make and fun to wear. What’s more, it can help burn off some of your children’s Easter morning anticipation.
This is an easy craft for 7-year-olds on up. It’s a little more difficult for the younger set, because it involves wielding the almighty stapler. If you want to avoid a big mess, eschew the glue and make it a stapler-only project.

EASTER BASKET HAT
Supplies:
One sheet of 12-inch-by-18-inch foam for each hat
A stapler and plenty of staples
A ruler
A pencil
Glue, such as Elmer’s or Aleene’s Tacky Glue
Colored markers
[ . . . ]

SPRING FUN | Hop to Easter crafts

With spring just around the corner, bunnies and chicks are in the spotlight. And when Easter rolls around March 23, that famous rabbit — the Easter Bunny — will be out and about.

Celebrate these fuzzy little creatures with some cute and easy-to-make crafts, perfect for Easter giving or springtime treats.

We've included directions for bunny boxes and cool chicks.

Hot topic | Webkinz

GET IN THE CONVERSATION: Does your child love Webkinz? Are the virtual pets a fun pastime or a waste of time? Click on the "Comments" link.

In Newsweek, family columnist Kathleen Deveny writes that despite a perception that Webkinz are a plot to teach children to become greedy consumers, “some of the lessons are good. Kids can't waste all their cash on junk — or their wee virtual pals will go hungry. Leslie Cohn, whose daughter Danielle, 8, has a big Webkinz collection, says the game teaches kids how to shop for bargains and spend money wisely.”

Humor columnist Celia Rivenbark says that Webkinz mania is “like real life, only it's not. Last week, while my kid checked on the food dish for her virtual pet and contemplated how much ‘KinzCash’ she'd need to buy a virtual swimming pool, her 7-month-old kitten was rolling on the floor below her, slowly and dramatically choking on a 3-inch blade of grass that had gotten lodged in her nostril. ‘Hell-o,’ I said, ‘Real life happening over here!’ "

SPRING FUN | Create colorful puppets to celebrate folk tales

Many of life's lessons can be learned from a world where animals speak and behave as humans. The stories, called fables, might feature a lion that takes pity on a mouse or a grasshopper that goes hungry through winter, to teach common-sense rules for life.

Some of the most popular fables are a collection of stories attributed to a Greek slave named Aesop, who died about B.C. 565. His stories use animals to teach moral values and offer advice. Many expressions we use today, such as "sour grapes" and "slow and steady wins the race," are derived from fables. [ . . . ]

FAMILY TIES FORUM | Guitar Hero

LET 'ER RIFF! POPULAR 'GUITAR HERO' TURNING JOE SCHMOES INTO JIMI HENDRIXES

Is your child a “Guitar Hero” fanatic? Parents, do you love it? Hate it? Why? Do you and your child bond over the music of your youth, made cool again by Guitar Hero? Do you have any concerns about the music or images portrayed in the game? Share your opinion by posting a comment at the end of this story.