One of the small delights of a real tree is finding all its pine cones. The boys had a great time collecting them while helping trim our tree. They also made the observation that pine cones are very similar in shape to pine trees which lead to the idea of creating our own little Christmas tree farm.
Husbandie's dream is to one day own a Christmas tree farm, he's a little jealous that his boys beat him to it.
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| close up of the trees |
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| our supplies: small styrofoam tray, pine cones (i sprayed them with primer the night before), tongs, paint brushes, and green paint (with some blue and white thrown in for a quick color mixing lesson) |
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| we used the tongs because big buddy prefers to keep his hands clean |
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| mini man is fine with messy hands but still gave the tongs a try |
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| then he remembered messy hands are what makes painting fun - you can also see that while i almost always make him wear a smock, pants are optional :) |
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| sponge painting the tray |
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| once dry we added the pine cones. some could be pushed through the tray, others required glue |
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| i used the glue gun and big buddy placed the trees |
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| then we used paper scraps, 2 craft sticks, and letter stamps to make a sign |
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| mini man added the final touch - snow |
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| our pine cone christmas tree farm |
that is so cute and love the optional pants. That's one to embarrass him with when he gets older. Visiting from preschool corner.
ReplyDeleteThis is too darn cute. I mini Christmas tree farm! I'm visiting from the preschool corner. This would also be a great activity for my new Thrifty Thursday Linky party. I'd love for you to come by, and link up if you'd like! http://www.playingwithwords365.com/2011/11/thrifty-thursday-linky-party-1/ Have a fantastic weekend!
ReplyDeleteTHAT IS SUPER CUTE !!!
ReplyDeleteHow cute! What a fun idea!
ReplyDeleteSuper cute! Such a fun idea.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! We may have to make some to use in our lego building area to encourage more dramatic play to the building. Stopping by from the Afterschool Bloghop!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this activity! I grew up cutting my tree down on a Christmas tree farm, but where I live now they've never heard of doing such a thing. Picking it out at Home Depot just isn't the same.
ReplyDeleteHow fun!! We painted some and put them in small clay pots and are in the process of decorating them with pom poms. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!
ReplyDeleteI love love this farm. You can play so many games with it. Fantastic idea for use the tongs, my 3.5 yo would love to be given some tongs to use... at least for a bit before she can't resist getting fingers into paint. I have just found your blog through Monday Madness, I love it.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great idea! I would have never thought to do this but know my kids would love it. Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDeleteI really think this is an awesome idea, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLori
This is so cute! I love this idea.
ReplyDeleteSo cute! That took a lot of work. He did a good job. So sorry for the late reply. I am behind on everything. I am so glad you shared last week on Monday Madness.
ReplyDeleteAwe, love it! We painted pine cones last year and then dusted them with glitter. I had glitter EVERYWHERE! It was a pain to clean up but the kids loved it!
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