Top 10 Birthday Gifts For Girls

Kids love opening "real" presents-don't resort to offering a gift card for your next birthday gift. You can offer a fun present that your child (or a friend) will enjoy playing with, and get some other real benefits as well. Choose outdoor toys to encourage physical activity, or an art set to get the creative juices flowing. Consider bringing one of the following "girl" gifts to your next Party:

Top 10 Birthday Gifts For Girls

Top 10 Birthday Gifts For Girls

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Top 10 Birthday Gifts For Girls

Top 10 Birthday Gifts For Girls

1. Barbie with Clothing: If you are at all crafty, you can knit, crochet, or sew a unique, one of a kind Barbie wardrobe. Looks for scraps of sparkly and embroidered fabrics or yarns to make your child's Barbie the best Dressed on the block.

2. Sewing Machine: Choose a basic "grown up" sewing machine equipped with a simple zigzag and straight stitch for an oldergirl. Girls under 9 may prefer a child sized machine with the same functions. Includes a basic sewing book and some fabrics to get her started. This is an "old fashioned" gift, but learning to sew and craft at an early age promotes both creativity and manual dexterity.

3. Salon Trip: Plan a mini salon day, including a hAircut and style, and a simple manicure and pedicure. This is a great way to spend some one on one time with your daughter, no matter how old she is.

4. Sports EquipMent: Sports are not just for boys! Most little girls will enjoy a t-ball set or similar item, and girls of all ages can play basketball or soccer. Playing sports builds confidence and fitness, and a child that enjoys sports will develop healthy habits that last a lifetime.

5. Play House orKitchen Set: Even young toddlers enjoy pretend play. If you provide your daughter with a pretend house or kitchen, you are providing her with the opportunity to play "pretend", and role play as well.

6. Bike, Skates, or Skateboard: Provide a fun way to get around, and add a matching helmet and safety gear as needed.

7. Cooking or baking set: Depending on your child's age, you can provide a "real" set of Cooking utensils, and possibly some cooking lessons. If your child is interested, you can seek out classes in cake decorating, artisan breads, or other specialty items. This gift is not limited to girls-many boys enjoy cooking as well!

8. Art set: Assemble your own art set using a tackle box and basic art Supplies. Includes paint and brushes,paper, pastels, canvas, scissors, and other fine art Supplies. You can also include a collapsible easel for your budding artist to work on.

9. Scrapbook Set: Select or make a scrapbooking kit, including an album, specialty papers, scissors, punches and stickers. Includes an inexpensive camera, and your child can scrapbook using her own photos.

Top 10 Birthday Gifts For Girls

Kids Easel for Art-Give A Gift of Fun and Learning in This Great Value Toy

By giving to kids easel you are giving them so much more than you would initially think!

Kids Easel for Art-Give A Gift of Fun and Learning in This Great Value Toy

Kids Easel for Art-Give A Gift of Fun and Learning in This Great Value Toy

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Kids Easel for Art-Give A Gift of Fun and Learning in This Great Value Toy

Kids Easel for Art-Give A Gift of Fun and Learning in This Great Value Toy

Most young children will love to have their own art easel, for them it will just about having great fun painting and drawing, but much more takes place at a child's art easel than that.

A person's personality is pretty much determined in the very early years of childhood. Well before a child reaches 10 years old, in fact probably by 7-8 years old their personality and disposition to life is pretty much set. Which can be quite a daunting thought for parents!

I know what a child experiences and what opportunities they have in the early years can have a profound effect on the rest of their life. One of the important factors in a child'sdevelopMent is their chance for self-expression; art provides a great way of doing this. Those early scribbles may have a lot more importance than we once realized and are well deserving of exhibition on a refrigerator door at least!

Children have always drawn and painted using any space on tables and floors or wherever they had space to work, and that is just fine. However give them an easel, just like "real" grown up "artists and you give them something extra.

Giving them their own place to paint and draw can in a small way help affirm the importance of what they do. It also helps keep the clutter of art materials in one place too, as most easels have storage bins and shelves put pens, pencils, brushes, paint etc. in or on. It can also helpsave time and upsets at meal times because tables or floors don't have to be cleared of debris.

Your child might not turn out to be a professional artist, but having the ability to express themselves with confidence is always going to be a benefit to them. Of course this confidence doesn't just happen, it is the result of many things, but one of those things can be praise and encourageMent of their artistic endeavors. It is not the child's ability that is important, but how they feel about the way their efforts are received.

Kids easels are not like the artist easels designed to support stretched canvas frames or canvas-covered boards, but more like the old-fashioned chalkboards on a free-standing a-frame.

In fact many art > easels for kids do have a chalkboard to draw and write on, but nearly all easel have two working surfaces, to which paper can be attached for painting and drawing on. As well As a chalkboard there is usually a whiteboard for kids felt pens or the like.

Also it possible to get a magnetic easel, so that one of the surfaces is magnetic, so that pre-formed magnetic letters and numbers can be applied and moved around easily. This can be useful for kids learning the alphabet or doing simple sums etc. Some easels include a selection of magnetic letters and numbers, but these can be bought quite easily as extras in many places if not included with the easel.

Kids Easel for Art-Give A Gift of Fun and Learning in This Great Value Toy

Preschool Art Easel Interest-Learning Center Ideas

The Art Easel does not just have to be for paint! Although paint is the primary medium used at an easel, let's get creative and find ways to attract the children who don't typically use art materials very often!

Preschool Art Easel Interest-Learning Center Ideas

Preschool Art Easel Interest-Learning Center Ideas

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Preschool Art Easel Interest-Learning Center Ideas

Preschool Art Easel Interest-Learning Center Ideas

Of course, it is an easel where most times painting as a form of art is offered. However, it can be much, much more! You do not ONLY need to have paint and brushes at your easel, although that is the most popular item in my classroom (and most other preschool classrooms!).

The most common items used in this area are large or small paint, paint brushes and paint cups.
PlaceMent of your easel should be near other active interest centers. This center will typically have two to four children usingit at one time (if yours is two-sided) and they do love to talk and ask questions about each others creations!

Keep in mind that paint gets EVERYWHERE! On the walls, on the floor and on the children! It is therefore best to not have this center in the main flow of traffic in your classroom so that the children walking by do not slip. If possible, place the easel on a floored area, not carpet. If this is not possible, place a large mat or tableCloth underneath it. In addition, hang a shower curtain or plastic tableCloth to the wall behind it ... just in case!)

What do children learn when using the Art Easel?

Activities in this area help children develop in many of the same areas they would at your Art Center or table suchas:

Become more creative while using the materials.

Understand their knowledge about how to use the various materials and tools that you provide.

Build self confidence as they put their own ideas into action and make decisions as they use the materials.

Develop small motor control and coordination.

Learn about color, size and math as they experiMent with color mixing patterns and counting, depending on the materials available.

How should the teacher prepare this as an Interest Learning Center?

As with any activity that encourages creativity, there is no preparation needed other than planning and setting out the materials. Simply plan the items you want at the easel, place them in the easel trays and let the childrenexplore!

The most important thing you, as a teacher, can do here is to encourage their thinking skills and social skills by asking "I wonder" type open ended questions:

"That is a beautiful shade of blue! How did you make that? " "I see a pattern with the shapes you are gluing on! Triangle, circle, triangle, circle, triangle. I wonder what would come next in that pattern? "

Plan It!

Be sure that part of your classroom curriculum planning includes deciding on activities for your Art Easel. There are many concepts and objectives that can be met in this area!

Preschool Art Easel Interest-Learning Center Ideas