With the end of the school year fast approaching again and Mothers Day and Fathers Day around this time of year too, you may have started browsing fun gifts to make with the children. 

I don't think you can beat a gift that has been home made. It shows real care and thought has gone into it. Today I want to share with you a beautiful Thank you for Helping me Grown Canvas that my daughter has made using her finger tips. 

Throughout the year there are many occasions where keepsakes are just the most adorable thing to receive. We have Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Christmas, Grandparents Day, Valentines Day, Birthdays or just simply because. Making a batch of Salt Dough using our super easy recipe has endless possibilities! Today I am sharing with you an adorable Foot Print Keepsake that is perfect to give/keep all year round. 

We have had the pleasure to be the judge over on #kidscrafts101 hosted by Red Ted Art and Incredibusy on Instagram. Every day you have the chance to add the crafts you have been up to by simply adding the hashtag #kidscrafts101 to your posts. 

I enjoy having a look through the photographs anyway. I love seeing what other people have been up to. It's great for finding some new ideas to try. 

This week we choose the theme Hearts. I thought it was the perfect theme for the upcoming Valentines Day. 

Today I want to show you how you can use a recycled cardboard rill to make a really effective heart stamp. The stamps will make great additions to your Valentines Day crafting and beyond. It's completely free and is really effective.

We have the wonderful Sue Baxter joining us today sharing another fabulous Learning Through Play set up. Sue is a childminder, rated outstanding by Ofsted and its easy to see why. We have already been lucky enough to see activities she has shared with the children for Duck Week, Easter, Pancake Day, St Davids Day, Spring and we have more coming! 

Today Sue is sharing with us a Bird Themed Tuff Tray her children have enjoyed playing with. A bird topic is an evergreen topic to cover with the children. Throughout the year birds need our help and through these trays and activities we can teach children all about the birds we see out and about and discuss ways we can help them - for example making homemade bird feeders, recycling and making your own feeding stations, providing bird houses for birds to nest with their eggs. 

Instead of breathing life into the sneak peak post I shared on here a couple of years ago of the guest post I shared on Red Ted Art I decided to create a fresh post with lots of lovely new images AND and video (with a colour change too)! 

Today I want to share with you a keepsake that is fabulous to make and give to someone special anytime of the year. Whether you want to capture the adorable little foot prints for Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Christmas or just because - it will work for any of them. 

We are a big fans of Keepsakes here at Learning and Exploring Through Play. Although playing is always a priority for us - you will know that if you follow us on Instagram, sometimes its fun to personally capture something to treasure for years to come. 

With my daughter spending most of her free time creating and making cards to give to her friends or relatives - we brought some of her recent art together to create this Blowing a Kiss Hand Print Card. Great for Valentines, Birthdays, Mothers Day, Fathers Day - in fact, it's great for any occasion or simply just because.

If you follow us over on Instagram you will know we are always out and about, doing something together as a family. If we're not out and about we are crafting and getting messy.

Have you seen the I love you to pieces Sun Catcher Card we shared last year? It has been super popular and is so cute!

I have wanted to give drip painting a go for quite some time. With us getting through lots of baby jars each week with the twins - I washed a few out to make some Luminaries using this method. We made some Heart Luminaries recently and I light them every night! They are beautiful and I love that they were made by my daughter!

You will need:

Vivid Paints

Glitter Paints work brilliant too!

Glass Jars

Battery Operated Candles

Surface Protection

Wash your jars out. If they have labels stuck to them, submerge in water and they will fall off with no effort. Consider the surface underneath your jars as the paint will drip down in blobs. We used large plastic jar lids (that I have saved off the baby porridge pots. I honestly drive my other half crazy - HA!). We actually used the blobs of colourful paint that fell on the lids to enjoy another Process Art activity, It wasn't planned which made the spontaneous additional activity rather fun!.

Place your clean, dry jars in the centre of your lids, upside down. Begin squirting paint on the base of the jar. Keep squirting and you will see the paint ooze down the sides of the jar. It's actually quite a calming activity, even my preschool was fascinated by the paint falling down gracefully. The colours came together beautifully! 

When there was enough paint added - we found that there was a pool of colours sitting at the top of the glass jar. Using our finger, we skimmed over the top to help push this paint over the sides. The swirls were so pretty on our fingers - I grabbed a piece of paper for us to do some printing with our fingers!

It took all day and overnight for them to dry fully. I did manage to move them onto a different surface. I was conscious of the beautiful thick blobs of paint that were on the lids and was keen to make show my Preschooler another beautiful Process Art technique.

Once they were fully dry I gave them a quick spray with some varnish that I purchased from a DIY store. It's great stuff and dries within an hour! We grabbed the battery operated tealights and popped them inside! They looked beautiful. I love all the vibrant colours and the mix of glitter really adds to the effect!

They are great fun to make all year round. You can make them as little gifts for Mothers Day, enjoy the rainbow colours as part of St Patricks Day or make them just because. My preschooler has made sure Nanny has a set of them too! They look lovely with our heart luminaries. 

Now to think of something else we can utilise empty baby jars with. 

If you have a go at making some of these we would love to see them!! Be sure to get in touch!! 

We would love to add your photos!

Before you go two posts you HAVE to check out:

Heart Jar Luminaries

Jar Lid Marbelling Process Art

The shaving foam has been out again in our household - this time to make some marbled hearts! Not only is this activity great for the senses, children are free to explore as they wish and each time the process will give them a beautiful piece of artwork. There is no right or wrong way.

Heart crafts are not only fun for Valentines Day, but all year through. Whether you choose to make them for Mothers Day, Grandparents Day or just because - they make lovely decorations and the kids will have so much fun with the process.

We are loving the heart theme at the moment and can't get enough of them! Today we bring another lovely craft that is suitable for even the youngest of children. Not only is it a beautiful craft - it links in perfectly with The Story of the Kindness Elves.

Get the craft stash out, cut up your heart wreath shapes and let the children loose with the glue. I love crafts where children can just make and create as they please. No direction, no adult interference - just being given the opportunity to make something completely independently...... because lets face it - this is when children get the most out of activities.

We have been busy making some Flower Candle Holders using Salt Dough and they look so pretty I couldn't wait to share them with you!

We do enjoy using Salt Dough and have used it to make lots of keepsakes and gifts over the last few years! We pretty much have inspiration all year through now! Search Salt Dough on the blog to see more!

Make a super cute 'love you to pieces card' with your children for somebody special. Whether you make it for a Birthday, Valentines, Mothers Day, Fathers Day a celebration/occasion or simply just because.... I'm sure it will be received well!

If you follow us over on Instagram you will know we are always out and about, doing something together as a family. If we're not out and about we are crafting and getting messy.

Did you see the beautiful heart suncatchers we made? So pretty!! It was actually the suncatchers that inspired me to do this craft with my daughter - who is always asking to make cards! I have seen the craft floating around so we decided to put our own spin on it!

I have been stumbling across some pretty awesome ideas for your Early Years classrooms. I thought it would be great to bring these ideas together and collectively share them all with you. Whether you run your own daycare, work in a school setting or if you have young children at home - this collection of amazing ideas will no doubt inspire you to bring even more fun and adventure to your settings. Today we are looking at the Creative Area. 

I have fond memories playing with Lego as a child. I can still remember the structures I sat building with my Dad and the imagination that flowed afterwards. Lego is a fantastic tool for creativity, problem solving, following step by step instructions and critical thinking. Its a brand that has been around for years. 

Founded in 1932 LEGO has been past down through the generations. The name LEGO derived from two Danish Words - "leg godt" meaning Play Well.

In preparations for Spring gifting for Birthdays and Mothers Day I did the most wonderful activity with the children that we all had so much fun with - using the pour painting technique on terracotta pots! I shared the video of this activity over on Instagram and Tiktok this week so do make sure you come and join us over on there to see all the other lovely things we share!

Ramadan is a month long fast. It is a time considered for intense prayer and devotion to the religion of Islam.

Ramadan is a spiritual journey to help followers empathise with the less fortunate and makes them feel closer to God. It is based on the lunar calendar so the fast lasts for 29 or 30 days depending on the sighting of the moon. During the festival - Muslims fast from dawn till dusk (which can be up to 16 hours this time of year!) and enjoy eating during the evenings.
People often give money to charities to help feed the hungry. You will also find people reading the holy book The Quran.

Not all people fast. The elderly, children under the age of 14, travellers, the sick, breastfeeding or expectant mothers are all exempt. 

Fasting is one of the five pillars that form the foundation of Islam. Other pillars include a pilgrimage to Mecca, Faith, Charity and Prayer.