Make Learning Shapes Fun With Kids Crafts

Learning shapes is a fundamental skill toddlers and preschool children learn early in life. Shapes are all around us in everyday items like the television, drinking glasses and even windows in our houses. But learning to recognize the many different shapes is not always easy for toddlers.

As parents, grandparents and daycare providers, we can help kids learn shapes while having lots of fun. Kids of all ages love to create and make things with their own hands and these kids craft ideas are a perfect way to incorporate some fun and lots of learning.

Shapes Crafts for Kids

When learning shapes, kids generally start with the basic shapes like circles, squares, triangles, etc. So think of anything that has these basic shapes and then turn it into a kids craft idea. For instance, using simple craft supplies like construction paper, scissors and glue you can make many different shapes crafts.

Here are some quick ideas for shapes crafts that you can do with your kids.

A House of Shapes

Cut out basic house shapes with different colored construction paper. Use a square or rectangle for the house, a triangle for the roof and several circles, ovals, smaller squares and rectangles for the parts of the house.

Then have the kids glue the house together on a piece of paper. They can use ovals, circles or whatever shape for the windows. Have them name the shapes as they glue their house together.

Animal Shapes Crafts

Kids can create many animals, insects and fish using some of the basic shapes. For instance, create a cute angel fish using triangle shapes to form the body, tail and fins. Penguins are all the rage right now and your kids can put one together with a few oval shapes and a circle for the head. Use black and white construction paper or craft foam and you can have a cute penguin in no time. Glue them to a popsicle stick and you have an instant puppet.

Inexpensive Crafts to Learn Shapes

Kids craft ideas do not have to be expensive or even use your typical craft supplies. Instead recycle some of your household items to make many different shaped crafts. Reuse an empty coffee can to make a simple drum. The circle shape of the can is perfect for creating a drum set. Just cover the can with construction paper, decorate and put the lid back on. Then use some wooden dowels or BBQ skewers and some wooden beads to create your drum sticks. If you don't have wooden beads you can even use marshmallows. Just stick the marshmallow on the end of the stick. You can even paint them which will help seal the gooey treat. Keep in mind, these drumsticks are not for eating.

Use paper plates to create a king or queen's crown. Cut out several triangles from the middle of the plate and then decorate with glitter glue, beads and ribbon and they have a king or queen's crown they can wear.

Get out the old newspapers and create a Paper Mache craft. Paper Mache is a great way to create many different shaped crafts. You can create an oval shaped Easter egg by blowing up a balloon (into an oval shape) and then just start laying your Paper Mache together. Once everything is dried, just decorate and you have a finished craft.

Shapes Activities

Learning shapes with kids crafts are a great way to get the children involved and having fun while they learn. You can also add many shapes activities for kids to help reinforce their learning. Create several flash cards with different shapes and have them play "concentration" or matching the shapes with the cards.

You can even reinvent those old favorite childhood games like "red light, green light". Instead of the child calling out red light, green light, give them two shapes to call out and one shape would mean go and the other would mean stop. Another kid's activity idea for learning shapes is to place different objects around the house. Then ask your child to find all square shaped objects, and then circle shapes, etc.

Another great way to help with their learning is with fun songs or lyrics. Studies show that by adding a catchy tune or lyrics children are able to retain the information better. Rather you use kids craft ideas, activities, a catchy song or a combination of all of these, you and your kids will have fun while they learn their shapes.

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Home Sewing - How To Make Your Sewing Not Look Homemade

Most of us will agree that sewing your own clothes saves you money and brings great satisfaction. It is gratifying when you complete a project and can say that you sewed it yourself. But, perhaps the biggest reason most people do not sew their own clothes is because they look homemade. You start out with visions that the outfit will look exactly on you the way it looked on the pattern envelope, but when it’s finished it looks like something is missing. And, you can’t quite put your finger on what it is.

I remember, as a teenager, staying up all night to finish an outfit so I could wear something new the next day for a special event or occasion. Even though I thought I looked cute, people could tell it was homemade, the night before. The only time the iron touched it was when it was finished, and then I really ironed it… hard. I didn’t know what was missing until I stepped into a home economics sewing class, and saw a bunch of odd looking tools that I did not recognize, or know how to use.

What I learned in that sewing class was that the secret to making home sewing not look homemade was in the press…using those odd looking tools. I didn’t know that if I put off pressing the garment until completion, that it would be too late to set in the shape. I didn’t know that no matter how well I sewed, the professional look was also a result of proper pressing.

Yes, properly pressing seams as you sew actually shapes the garment and sets the stitching lines. As we all know, the body is not flat, it has curves, and using the ironing board alone will not shape the garment properly. The only way to shape your garment is by using the proper pressing equipment along with the ironing board.

If you are like me, and most home sewers, before taking a sewing class, you are also unfamiliar with specialized pressing equipment and not accustomed to using them. But, using the proper sewing tools along with the proper pressing and sewing techniques makes the difference in the end result. It helps shape the fabric so it will fit the body more smoothly. Some of those odd looking pressing tools are listed below:

• Steam iron for pressing and shaping fabric and setting stitches at all stages of construction.

• Ironing board, well padded and smoothly covered in 100% cotton cover, absorbs moisture from the steam iron.

• Tailor’s ham for pressing shaped areas and curved seams.

• Seam roll, or sleeve roll, for pressing seam allowances open and pressing seams in narrow areas.

• Clapper for pressing sharp creases without it looking over-pressed.

• Wooden point presser for pressing corners and points, and pressing straight seams open.

• Press cloths for protecting the right side of the fabric during pressing.

Pressing is different from ironing. When most of us iron, we use a back and forth motion, moving the iron over the fabric. In pressing, the iron is lowered to the place to be pressed, then raised off the fabric, and moved to the next area.

Ironing board covers should be 100% cotton because the all-cotton fabric absorbs the moisture so that the fashion fabric will dry quickly. The traditional ironing covers with the reflective surface, actually reflects the steam, and may cause burn damage to some fabrics and slows down the drying process when you’re shaping with steam.

First, be sure you know the fabric content to determine the proper heat setting for the iron, then follow the techniques below as you sew your garment pieces together.

Press curved areas such as darts, hiplines, bustlines and collars over the tailor’s ham from the wrong side with the point of the dart smoothed flat over the end of the ham to shape their curve. Horizontal darts should be pressed down, and vertical darts should be pressed toward the center of the garment.

Curved seams sometimes need to be clipped slightly along the edges so they can be pressed open without puckering. Do not clip any closer to the seam than absolutely necessary to press the seam flat. Be careful not to cut pass the stitched seam.

Darts in heavy or bulky fabric will be less bulky if you slash in the middle, and then press open. Be careful not to slash so close to the point that the fabric will pull apart.

Press seams open over sleeve or seam roll from the wrong side with the tip of the iron along the stitching line to prevent the seam edges from marking or showing through on the right side.

Follow the grain line in the fabric when pressing by moving the iron in the same direction as the lengthwise yarns of the fabric. Pressing across the grain or on the bias can stretch the garment piece out of shape.

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NEW SEWING TIPS

I recently made a lovely light-weight floral chiffon dress with a light-weight attached underslip. It turned out beautifully, however, the underslip would sometimes peek out just a bit over the scooped neckline of the dress. I had already done topstitching hoping to correct the problem. I ended up taking a small amount of pennies and sewing them into the hemline of the underslip, separated by stitching a line on either side of the penny, and then re-stitching the small opening closed. I added them in the front of the slip about every six inches. These small weights kept the underslip from showing, were easily added, and cost only pennies! Try it sometime for yourself...

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