While watching an episode of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Mark Jacinto exclaimed: " I wanna make that mami, let's do it!". This was the astronaut/rocket ship episode were they decorate their cardboard ships and helmet. I thought, why not!
I like that my boy is already coming up with ideas for our crafts. I like that he looks at something or imagines something and he wants to create and make it a reality. It really motivates me to see this transformation and excitement going on. Creation is a word I heart. This particular craft was actually quite challenging for him. It was challenging in the best of ways because it was out of his comfort zone. Why? Let's see, the aluminum foil was very hard to cut in a straight line( he can be quite meticulous about his work). Another hurdle he faced was the glitter pens. As a 4 and a half year old boy his grip is not precise yet. So squeezing the tube and having the pressure needed in order to make the shape he wanted to attain while juggling that new and challenging material, brought him to tears. I gotta say it was pretty hard for me too, the glitter was pretty dry and it was hard to press the liquid glitter through. I asked if he wanted to take a break but he got more frustrated. He wanted to get it done and push through the hurdle. I was happy inside, but kept quite.
Tears began to wet his precious round cheeks. I hugged him and said: "breathe deep" and so he did. Sometimes he gets annoyed by this request, but this time he welcomed it. I told him we can do it together. He firmly said: " no". I offered to show him how to do it and he nodded. After trial and error and watching me do it, he started to get it. I could not be more proud of him!
Once we were done with decorating that side of the helmet, I drew an M for Mark so he can cut a circle. On the other side of the helmet, he painted a rainbow.
Materials assembled.
Taping the foil.
More taping. He loves using tape!
Glueing!
He really wanted to paint a rainbow.
This was the part that brought him to tears=(
Once he passed the hard part, he enjoyed glueing the beads.
Cutting the circle with an M for Mark.
Hi, my Astronaut!
I love this picture of us.
Astronaut mami.
Astronaut papi.
Goofy Marky.
Charming Marky.
Silly Marky.
Materials for helmet:
- aluminium foil
- scissors
- glue
- tape
- small cardboard box
- beads
- paint
- brushes
- glitter pens
- sharpie
Note to self: working with new materials is always a positive thing because we learn new ways of doing things and have to adapt. Do it more often!.
Mark Jacinto enjoyed seeing this project through completion. The whole week he looked at it, play with it and kept saying: "I made that, I made that mom!".
I love that he relishes his work^.^
A few days later, papi and son created a rocket ship. It was a craft as well as a mini father and son date. I left some craft materials for them to decorate while I was away and Dominika was taking a nap. I loved their result. Papi of course took it to a new level and inserted LED lights inside the rocket ship and placed a speaker inside so the passenger can enjoy music. They used a giant cardboard box, decorated the outside with paint and markers and placed some wings on the side. Oh! and they also carved a dome type entrance on the back of the ship. I was so pleased with their project, they make such a great team:-)
If you, by chance make this, I would love to see it!
For more of our family crafts, follow us on instagram.
Take care