We’re lifting this idea right from Martha Stewart of all places! She (or they) have a great piece about dyeing eggs with beets, onions, cabbage, tumeric and coffee. The directions sound simple and doable, the eggs look arty. Preschoolers especially are curious about experimenting with food.
Our only tips: kids love dyeing eggs but their interest span may be shorter than we expect, and we boil extra eggs because some always crack somewhere in the process.
Happy Spring!
We were just on the phone brainstorming teacher gifts and thought to share some quick ideas.
• Homemade bookmark and bookstore gift certificate
• Homemade cranberry bread
• Satsuma tangerines or other special fruit
For decorating cards, gift tags, wrapping paper or bookmarks, we cut sponges or potatoes into shapes and the kids dip them into paint then stamp the paper. Office product stores carry laminating pages to use for the bookmarks, or for small items like gift tags we use packing tape and a hole punch to laminate and attach to presents. We grab basic paints at the stationary or toy store. It’s amazing what can be done with tissue paper and some ribbon!
Maclaren just announced a recall of all single and double umbrella strollers manufactured from 1999 to November 2009 after reports in the US of children’s fingers being injured or amputated by the hinges when the stroller is unfolded.
Maclaren advises customers to stop using the strollers and contact Maclaren USA for free safety covers for the hinges. The problem–besides the fact that they waited until 12 children lost their fingers–is that Maclaren’s site has been overloaded since breaking the news. We’ve found the clearest information on the recall and contacting Maclaren at Consumer Affairs. The CPSC also has posted a short, helpful YouTube video demonstrating the hinge problem.
Lyndsey’s neighbor loaned her a bag of face paints, complete with theatrical blood, for the boys’ spooky Halloween this weekend. The store bought paints included a range of colors, with non-toxic written on the labels. Then, in a not so fast reminder, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics releases their report finding lead in children’s face paints.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested ten different face paint brands and found lead, a neurotoxin, in all of them. Six of the 10 contained the heavy metals and skin irritants nickel, chromium and/or cobalt at levels higher than safety recommendations from industry studies. None of the face paints listed lead, nickel, chromium or cobalt as an ingredient. Since parents have no way of knowing the actual ingredients in face paints, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics advises parents not to use face paints on children until the FDA establishes safety standards.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics suggests some recipes for homemade face paints. The instructions remind us of our trials and errors with natural Easter egg coloring, but also a fun Halloween project to tackle with preschoolers. We’ve been carving pumpkins, roasting seeds and cheering costume parades, with three more days before the Halloween finale we appreciate something new!
Healthy Child has a great article on cleaning all kinds of toys, Keeping Toys Clean to Make Playtime Pure.
Their advice is simple, uses natural cleaners and inspired us to finally wash those well loved stuffed animals. We sign up for the Healthy Child Times Newsletter to receive their monthly tips and articles, there’s always something helpful!