Its the last Kids Co-op before Christmas, so not too late to get your Christmas activities linked up - or any other lovely kids related posts. This week I'm linking up the following:
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(Goblin is 38 months)
It's the week before Christmas so I thought I'd share an activity that can be a great calm down idea on Christmas day for both children and adults. The classic pomander. The beauty of pomanders is that if you make them this year they will have shrunk to a good size to hang on the tree for next year.
To make a pomander you will need a jar of cloves - we used about half a jar on one pomander. A large orange and a kebab skewer - I cut Goblin's down to less than the depth of the orange. OK confession: I cut it down after he stuck it straight through and into his hand, but you can learn from my bad parenting and make yours child safe (ish - you still need to watch where they stick the spike).
The next step is very simple, you use the skewer to make a hole, then you pop a clove in the hole. This was absolutely brilliant fine motor practice - pincer grip and accuracy.
I let Goblin do his in what ever haphazard manor he wanted but I was a bit more methodical with mine starting with a line around the orange and then working out in a grid formation to get the cloves spaced out enough to allow for shrinkage - and for a ribbon.
One reason that this activity is such a nice calm down activity for Christmas day is the smell it gives off. The mix of orange and cloves is just soooo Christmassy and it will fill the room.
Have a lovely festive season whether you are celebrating Christmas or not.
have literally just added cloves to my delivery order for the weekend to do this. Am thinking of a nice keep them up the dinner table activity of xmas day while they are waiting for the grown ups to finish x For younger ones who may be around I may make the holes for them x Thanks lovely festive idea x
ReplyDeletewhat a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting and have a Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteO...M...G...Monko, this is brilliant. I know I've probably read about these in some book from my childhood set in "merry old England." My boys would be so into this. Do the cloves preserve it forever? I'm going to Google it now. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteyes, the orange shrinks down and the cloves get closer together until they are basically just a sphere of cloves. They smell amazing and you can hang them on your tree.
DeleteBTW--in the pictures above--is Goblin using someone's leg as a work bench?? LOL!
ReplyDeleteyeah that'd be my leg, he likes to do things in very close proximity sometimes.
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