Welcome back to our year-long adventure! I hope you’re enjoying our new Disney Family Movie Night! For the month of May, we decided to pick a movie to help celebrate Cinco de Mayo: Coco!
Be sure to tag us or hashtag #EVMDISNEYNITE if you join in on the fun via social media.
May Movie: Coco
May Craft: Coco Guitar Craft
Coco is truly all about music, so we wanted to keep a musical theme to every craft and activity revolving around Coco. I’ve always got cardboard boxes lying around, (online shopper addict- oops) so I decided to cut some pieces into guitar shapes big enough for my kiddos.
We got out all our primary color paints and painted our cardboard guitars to be decorated just like the one in the movie. We also have a real guitar in house that I used to reference and show my kids, but you could easily just pull up pictures from the internet! This craft was so simple, I didn’t need to buy anything, which is always a win!
May Sensory Fun: Sugar skull play doh faces
I decided to do something different this month. Rather than do (yet another) sensory bin, I decided to mix it up with some PlayDoh sensory play.
I printed out a cute outline of a sugar skull and laminated it (I have a cheap laminator on hand, but you don’t have to laminate it to have fun!)
We used PlayDoh and cookie cutters to make our own sugar skull face. Show your kids pictures of different sugar skulls, if they are old enough, talk about the meaning and when it is used.
Here are a few facts, and some help getting started if you need it: Sugar Skulls for kids.
May Activity: Music dance party
Using that guitar, it’s time to listen to the music and dance to a mariachi music playlist! I recently chatted with about the importance of exposing young kids to different types of music, it is a simple way to expose your kids to different cultures while having fun.
Stephanie Jamison, owner and director of the Musik Box, and a specialist in Early Education told me, “The reason we start music so early with little ones is to introduce a variety of music, representing diverse cultures, styles and tonalities as well as varied instrumentation and voice types.
Not only will your child enjoy responding to these different types of music emotionally and physically, but intellectually it is important that your child experience all different types of music. We tend to appreciate and enjoy listening to music that is familiar. But, by exposing your children to a broad selection of music at an early age, you are helping your child to have a rich repertoire of familiar sounds and styles that will make more music accessible and interesting to your child throughout a lifetime.
When older kids respond, “I don’t like it,” they often really mean, “I am not familiar with it.” If we want our children to be open to a wide variety of music and cultures, we have to repeatedly provide exposure.
When the new becomes familiar, children develop a greater appreciation for a wide variety of music. Think of it this way – you are developing your child’s palate. Just as you have to keep introducing a wide-variety of foods to get them to eat healthful foods, you have to introduce them to the world around them through music, books and cultural experiences.”
You can find some curated playlists to dance along with us on Kindermusik’s Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Grab the guitar and dance around knowing you’re doing more than just using up some energy with a dance party!
May Snack/Treat: Churros!
I am not a chef nor a baker. To be honest, my husband loves to cook and I’m totally blessed in that way. However, these churros weren’t as terrifying to make as I thought they would be!
We used this Disneyland Churro recipe, and while they weren’t quite Disneyland status, they weren’t bad! If you aren’t quite ready to try making churros, I found another fun alternative (we made both) that is equally as yummy! Churro chex mix was much easier to make and perfect for cuddling on the couch to watch Coco!
