Daily at Home Project: A Bright Monday With A Project For All Ages

by | Mar 23, 2020 | At-Home Enrichment | 0 comments

Please find below our daily SolBe Family update letter containing helpful resources and exciting projects to explore while we all do our part to stay home during this pandemic.

SolBe Families,

We hope you had a restorative weekend.

If you are searching for more resources on managing anxiety around coronavirus (for us and for our kids), Dr. Becky at Home is a fantastic, honest support for parenting. These are uncertain times and we hope you are treating yourselves with the kindness you deserve. Working from home and operating under social distancing restrictions means finding new normals for everyone. Be gentle with yourselves as you navigate this new territory…you are all doing wonderfully! If you need a “pick-me-up”- or a “calm-me-down,” check out Tara Brach’s podcast—she is an all-time favorite.

Are you working on toilet training during this time at home? Our partner Jennifer Gillette (whom we adore!!) is offering a free virtual workshop on Wednesday, March 25, at 7:00 PM. You can click this link to register.

As many of you know, and may be experiencing first hand, our hospitals and frontline medical workers are short on supplies. If anyone has, or knows anyone, with a supply of masks, gloves, or gowns please send Marlo an email (marlo@solbelearning.com). We would love to get a drive going and deliver any and all (much needed) excess equipment to our neighboring hospitals.

Commonwealth Plastic Surgery is offering to remove stitches/repair cuts/do whatever they can in the form of non-emergency medical help to keep ERs available for COVID-19 patients. If interested, or if you know of anyone who may be, you can call (781) 239-8906. Feel free to pass this information along to others!

Project of the Day for all ages: How to Make a Stamp From a Potato

“Making a stamp from a potato is a fun activity for adults as well as children and a great way to create your own unique shapes. The finished stamp is ideal for decorating book covers, greeting cards, gift wrap and in many other ways. Simple shapes are the easiest, however with a little creative thought even the most basic shape can be turned into something special.

This is a great project for kids, however, younger children will require help and supervision when cutting around the potato.

What You Need

  • Potatoes
  • Kitchen knife
  • Water-based paint
  • Pencil or marker pen
  • Paper
  • Waste paper for practicing

Here’s How

  • Cut the potato in half. Draw the desired shape onto the surface of the potato using a pencil or marker pen. Cut around this shape with a kitchen knife, leaving the design so it is raised on the surface of the potato.
  • Pour some paint into a saucer and dab the potato in the paint, ensuring that the surface is evenly coated.
  • If there is too much paint on the potato stamp it will slip when stamped onto paper. Therefore to remove any excess paint, stamp the potato onto waste or scratch paper a couple of times. Start stamping the potato stamp as required. This can be stamped several times before the potato needs dipping in the paint again. The potato can be washed after use and used again with another color.
  • Leave the paper to one side for the paint to dry. Add decoration to the stamped images as required.
  • Variation: Use a small cutter to make a shape in the potato. Cookie cutters, apple corers, cutters used to cut shapes from polymer clay and other utensils can be used to make a shape in the potato. Simply press the cutter into the potato and then cut around this with a kitchen knife. This is an ideal way to create more complicated or fiddly shapes.
  • Foam stamps are the ideal next step for beginners who are interested in learning more about stamping. Foam stamps are lightweight and easy to hold. They also often feature bold shapes that work well with paints.

Tips

  • Cutting the potato with a serrated knife will give a textured surface. Use a fork or skewer to make tiny holes in the potato for added design interest.
  • Don’t let the potato dry out as this will distort the design.
  • Simple shapes can be decorated with marker pens or paints. A simple square, for instance, can easily be turned into an image of a wrapped gift box by drawing on a ribbon. A circle can become a smiley face by the addition of a couple of dots for eyes and a semi-circle for a mouth.
  • Apply glitter to give an added sparkle to the finished project.
  • As well as using potatoes to make stamps, you could also try other vegetables and fruit such as carrots and oranges.”

More resources to follow in the coming days. Feedback and more ideas welcome, as always!  We will also be sharing the projects of the day on our blog in days to follow—we encourage you to share if you have friends looking for fun ideas, recipes, activities, etc.!

Be well and stay healthy!

The SolBe Team

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We’ve felt the uncertainty that occurs when our children are in the care of someone else. At SolBe, we know you will always be your child’s first teacher; we’re here as a knowledgeable partner in your child’s education.

From our experience, children rise to the intellectual life of those around them, so we are committed to growing as individuals and as a team. You can count on us to provide a warm and engaging learning experience for your little one.

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