Monkey has always loved his arts and craft activities, and now he is that little bit older, his abilities and what he can achieve (with some help) have come on leaps and bounds. There are so many activities I want to try with him and so many things I want to make with him, but with a newborn who has colic, reflux and a possible allergy, my hands are sadly tied a bit more than I would like them to be and I am struggling to balance both of their needs. Thankfully Daddy loves doing things with Monkey and this weekend he stepped in to have a go at some Monkey & Daddy crafting :).
One of the things I had an idea to do was to make a tractor as Monkey loves them. I had the idea ages ago so we have been collecting small boxes and bottle tops for a while ready for this purpose. They chose a couple of suitable boxes and some bottle tops to use as wheels. While doing more crafting lately we have realised how long it takes for PVA glue to dry, I haven’t really used it since I was a kid and don’t remember it taking so long! So anyway they fixed the boxes together with tape instead and just glued on the wheels.
To then make a chimney/funnel on the engine of the tractor Daddy cut up a cardboard tube and then very cleverly made a hole in the box for the engine. I wouldn’t have thought to do it this way but it is the easiest way, basically cutting a small hole and snipping out a sort of star pattern around it, so that when it is the right size he could push the tube into the hole and it is held securely in place.
A few more bottle tops were added around for “decoration” and once it was all put together, then came the fun part, painting with some poster paint mixed with PVA glue.
Lovely to see Monkey and Daddy having fun creating something together 🙂 We do all of our messy play etc. in the conservatory, and even with a heater in there with the cold weather lately it took a few days to dry, but this morning it is perfectly dry and Monkey has been loving driving it around the lounge floor!
Just a simple bit of crafting fun, it’s not the most accurate tractor as the wheels are a bit small and it also resembles a train… but in Monkey’s imagination it is the best tractor ever because he and Daddy made it together 🙂
Ah, what a great tractor. Junk box modelling is a fantastic activity, especially when created together. My kids love junk box modelling, but I can never get them to actually paint their creations after. Yours looks great.
Thanks for linking #LetKidsbeKids
Now I like this, and I have a 4 year old who would like this too! I doubt I’d ever get my husband to make it with our son though (he’s not into his art and craft so much) 🙂
I love the colours – what a creative idea!
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Monkey has made a fantastic tractor. It’s lovely to do a bit of crafting with Dad’s. I think we often just assume it’s going to be the Mom’s doing it but they often do things differently and explore different ways when Dad is involved. x
That’s brilliant and definitely all the more special for being a daddy/monkey creation 🙂 #MiniCreations
Well done to the boys, that’s a very creative and colourful tractor. Love it! Sorry about the baby, with colic and reflux, been there, done that, twice, I hope it eases, I know how hard it is, and that it can take up a lot of life… 🙁 Popped over from KidGLoves linky!
Some top dadding there! Funnily enough, the only messy play my hubs will tolerate is a bit of painting. Must be something satisfying for the male psyche about it. Hope you had a nice little break while they were busy! x
Lucas says – What an AWESOME tractor Monkey. You’ve definitely excelled yourself this week. Red’s my favourite colour too so it’s AWESOME on every level. Sending your Daddy XL MEGA High-5’s for helping you although you did look like you didn’t need that much help!!
Thanks for linking to #minicreations