365 TV-Free Activities: Mazzazines

I forget which kid couldn't pronounce "magazine" correctly when he was learning to talk, but ever since, we have called them "mazzazines" in this house. Obviously, we modeled the correct pronunciation of the word, to help the little one along. But, when it is just us, the superior word-pronouncers of the house, talking amongst ourselves, we call them "mazzazines" and cannot stop.

Okay, I'll stop for this one post, but please know, up here (pointing to head), I'm still calling them "mazzazines".

My guide for this year-long project, the book of 365 TV-Free Activities, has more than one activity involving pictures cut out of magazines, mailers; anything with big bright photos, letters, numbers, and scenery. As a matter of fact, it makes a nice project just to go through magazines with the kids and cut stuff out. I set out containers to sort the pictures and symbols we excised. They ended up in the following categories: food, animals, household items, human faces, vehicles, and body parts, numbers.

One of the activities we were shooting for is called Food Face (#112). In it you arrange pictures of food, or any other themed item. Here's one I made, but I like Henry's better.

He went for color as a theme, rather than images.

It looks simple, but coming up with that much solid dark and white in magazines selling everything with sumptuous bright colors can be a challenge.

I'm kind of embarrassed about our take on idea #10, Animal Puppet Stage. This is such an excellent opportunity to tie in information about science, specifically ecosystems, and we just went and made it weird. I give you, Cheetah Mountain:

In this activity a child is given a large piece of posterboard weight paper. We cut up a pizza box. Then, the child is given a variety of colorful art supplies, so that they may color an elaborate little world; perhaps a jungle scene, or underwater. We used photos of scenes from magazines.

Next, the child is given the instructions to glue pictures to cardboard, and then cut them out, leaving a little tab of cardboard sticking off of the bottom. Make corresponding slits in the scenery board and slide the tabs through them, creating a bewitching little theater of animals, wiggling about in their proper environment! Doesn't that sound delightful and educational?

Here's what Henry said after I suggested this activity and read the description to him, "Put a polar bear on an iceberg? Sounds boring." So,

Does it count if the animals have a sense that they are in the wrong place, as evidenced by their shared question mark? Can it be considered educational if it's aware of its inaccuracy?

And,

Run! She's growing her permanent teeth and she means to use them!

Finally,

I'm sure the authors, Steve and Ruth Bennet, would prefer we watch really bad TV instead of mangle their wonderful ideas like this. Where can I stream some Speed Racer?