Category Archives: activities for kids

Dr. Seuss Activities for Read Across America Day

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Dr. Seuss Activities for Read Across America Day

Yesterday (March 2nd) was national Read Across America Day!

A holiday celebrating my favorite pastime?  Whoohoo!

And better yet, I’ve found a way to easily incorporate activities for my kids into this wonderful holiday, via the Dr. Seuss site.

I may have been too distracted yesterday with setting up a new laptop to replace my well-loved laptop that finally died on me, BUT that doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate it today.  Or every day, for that matter.

My girls and I read every night, and often during the day, too, but at Seussville.com I found a free downloadable Read Across America activity booklet that gives you ideas for expanding upon the readings of Dr. Seuss books.

How cool is that?

It’s technically a classroom activity guide, but that doesn’t mean you can incorporate the ideas into playtime at home.  Some examples include using The Foot Book as inspiration for dancing and different ways to sing based on verses and characters from One Fish Two Fish and Mr. Brown Can Moo!  Can You?

Dr. Seuss Activities for Read Across America Day

There are many more activity ideas and even a printable certificate for the kiddos.  So check out the Read Across America activity booklet and let me know what you and your kids liked best!

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Shamrock Fun for Kids on St. Patrick’s Day

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shamrock suncather

I just noticed that my pin of the above Shamrock Sun Catcher has been re-pinned over 2,000 times on Pinterest.  Reminded me that St. Patty’s Day is coming up.

I normally would have been much more aware of this, except that a massive sinus infection has recently melted my brain.

Anyway, the St. Patrick’s Day crafts I did with my kids last year are on one of my Squidoo lenses (St Patrick’s Day Crafts and Recipes for Kids), and include a few fun crafts that all resemble shamrocks.

Like our green dinner biscuits and chocolate shamrocks:

shamrock biscuits

chocolate shamrocks

You’ll find all of the instructions and step-by-step photos at St Patrick’s Day Crafts and Recipes for Kids.

Check it out and please share with me if you decide to make any of them!

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Ocean Sensory Play Bath

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ocean sensory play bath

This was a wonderful activity – so easy to set up and so much fun for the girls!

I incorporated this into Letter O Day.  (I know, I know:  I’m a little behind in posting all of the Alphabet Activities and their free printables, but I’m getting there…)  It’s an activity that I found on Pinterest, originally from Growing a Jeweled Rose.

The girls have always loved sensory bins where they search for small toys in a little tray or bowl, but I loved the idea of allowing them to immerse themselves in a giant sensory bin!

I made it in much the same way as my inspiration, with just a small change:  I didn’t add food coloring to the water.  I didn’t think it was necessary, and, as the bath went on, a little of the food coloring seeped from the noodles and colored the bathwater anyway.

ocean sensory play bath

As you can see, in the above photo, I started with plain bathwater.  I threw in the noodles, spread them around, tossed in a few ocean-themed toys, and let the girls climb in.

To make the noodles, I took 3 pounds of spaghetti and cooked it in two pots.  One pound went in one pot, with quite a few drops of green food coloring, to make the “seaweed,” and the other two pounds went into the other pot, with a LOT of blue food coloring, to make the “water.”  Or “blue seaweed,” or “coral” or “algae.”  Whatever.

After cooking the spaghetti, I rinsed it off in a colander in the sink to get rid of excess food coloring.  I didn’t want to turn my girls blue, after all.

ocean sensory play bath

After spreading around the spaghetti, we threw in their ocean animal squirt toys and a handful of mermaids.  It wasn’t a ton of toys, but it was enough.

They mostly played with the noodles, anyway.

ocean sensory play bath

Before climbing in, the girls stood outside the tub, feeling the spaghetti with their hands, then gently dipping in their toes.  Lots of giggles.

Then they jumped right in.

They held the spaghetti in their hands, wiggled it between their toes, “wrote” on the sides of the tub with it, and dumped handfuls on each other’s heads.

ocean sensory play bath

We made all kinds of shapes out of the spaghetti on the tub sides and on the tile wall.  My 20-month-old did a lot of swirling and slow movements with her hands and feet in the noodles.  My 3-year-old made patterns on the edge of the tub for her mermaids to sit in.  She concentrated pretty hard on her projects.  But even with all that focus, there was so much laughter and endless smiles.

They even helped me dump the spaghetti into a plastic bin before draining the tub.  They thought it was fun to use the little metal colanders with handles to help scoop it all up.

And, afterwards, the girls got a good scrub, and I made sure to dump some baking soda and white vinegar down the drain, because some noodles did escape me.

Overall, a great, great project.  So much fun!

It’s been requested multiple times, although I may do it in a little blow-up pool next time.  Kinda like our blustery day water play.  We’ll see.  :)

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Make Your Own Snow

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make your own play snow

Some of our friends had six feet of snow in their backyards during the polar vortex.

Here in Florida, we experienced a gentle misting of ice coating our cars and grass.  Good for me (I didn’t have to abandon my flip flops) but bad for my preschooler, who still remembers romping through the snow during our vacation last winter.

Solution:  make our own snow.

I found the Erupting Snow Recipe at Growing a Jeweled Rose, and I thought it looked like a great idea:  realistic play snow and a science experiment, too!

make your own play snow

It was super simple to make, since it has only two ingredients.  My daughter even helped me mix it.

make your own play snow

You just empty some baking soda into a container (we used an old Tupperware) and mix in some shaving cream until you reach a consistency where it will form snow balls that don’t fall apart.

We used two small boxes of baking soda and what I believe was most of a can of shaving cream.

We mixed it with our hands, which is why my hand looks coated in the stuff in the top photo, but once it’s mixed, it doesn’t stick to your hand too much.

make your own play snow

And we played with it on a disposable, plastic tablecloth, to contain the mess.  And just vacuumed up any that spilled on the carpet.

Oh, and, incidentally, the girls decided that it was best to play in the snow while wearing their dress-up outfits.  Just in case you were wondering about the frilly sleeves and skirts.  :)

make your own play snow

The snow is great for sensory play.  My daughters both loved sinking their hands into it…

make your own play snow

… and their feet.

make your own play snow

And when they were tired of playing with it, I put the cover on the Tupperware and we set it aside for a few days.

Then we pulled it out again to perform our “science experiment.”

Since I often use baking soda and vinegar to clean my house, my girls had seen the fizzle they produce.  But now they were going to use their snow to create it.

make your own play snow

We made little snow balls, using our melon baller to measure them out, and then tossed them into a vat of white vinegar:

make your own play snow

*fizzle, fizzle, bubble, pop*

make your own play snow

It was a lot of fun, and a great way to incorporate discussions of the seasons into our sensory play.

And if you’re looking for more winter activities, you could try out our Crystal Snowmen!

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Heart-Shaped Salt Dough Fingerprint Magnets

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Heart Shaped Salt Dough Fingerprint Magnets

For Grandma’s birthday this year we made little magnets from salt dough that had the impressions of the girls’ fingerprints.

Last year we made a large heart for both of their footprints, and it was a big hit, but this year I wanted to something a little different.

And, admittedly, the little fingerprints don’t really show their fingerprint texture; they’re really more like finger “indents.”  But the girls really liked making them for Grandma and hanging them on the fridge.

We put their initial on their heart so they’d know which was which, and they like that their fingers fit in the imprints.

Heart Shaped Salt Dough Fingerprint Magnets

Salt dough is a pretty standard recipe.  For this project I made half of the recipe, and what we didn’t use, I let the girls play with, since it’s like play dough.

To make the salt dough: 

Combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup salt in a bowl.  Mix in 1/2 cup water.  Knead. 

To make the hearts, I rolled out the dough and used a cookie cutter to cut out the hearts.  The girls pressed in their fingers and I drew in their initials with a toothpick.  Then we baked them at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours, flipped them over and baked for an additional 30 minutes.  Once cool, we painted them.  Once the paint was dry, I attached button magnets to the back.

Heart Shaped Salt Dough Fingerprint Magnets

And, of course, we rolled out the dough on our Jake and the Neverland Pirates Placemat.  I think I love this thing more than my kids.  It’s soooooo easy to clean.  We use it for meals and crafts.  I’m a fan of multi-purposeing.

Oh – and we used the toy play dough rolling pin.  But you could roll it out with whatever you have:  a regular rolling pin, a drinking glass, etc.

Heart Shaped Salt Dough Fingerprint Magnets

I helped my girls press their fingers into the dough so that their two fingerprints would mimic the shape of the heart.

Heart Shaped Salt Dough Fingerprint Magnets

Then I took a toothpick and drew in their initials by pressing the end of the toothpick into the dough.

Heart Shaped Salt Dough Fingerprint Magnets

After baking the shapes (we made a few) and cooling them completely, we painted them.

We used sponge brushes and a metallic pink acrylic paint.  I like the sponge brushes because it’s easy to cover the shape and you can soak up excess paint from the letters with the sponge.

We didn’t seal them with anything, but you could.

I bought button magnets with adhesive so all we had to do was peel off the paper and stick them to the back of the hearts once the paint was dry.  But you could use any type of crafting magnet.

Heart Shaped Salt Dough Fingerprint Magnets

We had a lot of fun making these and the finished product made a great gift for Grandma’s birthday.

What have you used salt dough to make?

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Letter M: Free Alphabet Worksheets for Kids

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FREE Letter M Printables | Alphabet Activities for Kids

If you’re new here, please read the Introduction to the Alphabet Activities first!

Here are all of the free printable PDFs for the Letter M.  They are for home and classroom use, please don’t sell them.  Click on each title to print or download them:

M is for M and Ms Patterns

M is for M and Ms

M is for Marshmallows

M is for Matching Milk and Muffins

M is for Mermaid

M is for Mighty

M is for Monkey Maze

M is for Moose

M is for Motorcycle

M is for Mouse Mayhem

And be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest to see our latest recipes and crafts!

Have fun!

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10 New Year’s Eve Activities for Kids

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10 New Years Eve Activities for Kids

Need some fun ideas to entertain your kids on New Year’s Eve?

I’ve compiled a list of all the things my girls and I did this past New Year’s Eve.  I had such a great time making this a special holiday for them and watching them have fun celebrating it.

And my girls may be just shy of 2 and 4-years-old right now, but these activities will be a part of our traditions for many years to come since they are great for all ages.

1.  Make a “New Year’s Eve Activity Bag”  (or Box)

New Year's Eve Activity Bag

I filled a gold bag with some of the party supplies we’d be utilizing on New Year’s Eve, which included noisemakers, glitter hats, silver bead necklaces, gold balloons (not yet blown up), and a couple of LED light-up wands I picked up at the dollar store.

Since it was only a few days after Christmas, I felt that getting a “present” of activities would be a neat way to start the day.

New Year's Eve Activity Bag

2.  Champagne Bubble Balloon Toss

Speaking of balloons, I find that they are a sure way to make any day special.  So, naturally, they make holidays extra special.

In the spirit of the holiday, I picked up a package of gold balloons at Walmart (for a buck) because they were the color of champagne.  I told the girls they were like bubbles and we kicked and bounced and tossed them around throughout the day and night.

New Year's Eve Balloons

3.  Make Giant Numbers for Photos and Decoration

I always have construction paper on hand (especially for our alphabet activities) and so that’s what I used to make the numbers.  I chose 4 colors and cut each of the numbers from a different sheet.  And I did it by hand.  I’ve learned that my kids aren’t perfectionists like me, so I don’t have to kill myself over the details.

We used the numbers first to pose for a few photos.  Next I asked my oldest daughter what the numbers were and asked if she could trace them each with her fingers.  Then we taped them to the TV hutch, just under the television, so that they would be visible while we watched the ball drop.  (They actually fell asleep before that, but we left the numbers up for a few days anyway, since they looked so cheerful.)

New Year's Eve Numbers 2014

4.  Practice Counting Down

Okay, I don’t know if older kids would get a kick out of this, but my girls certainly found it exciting.

Throughout the day, when discussing New Year’s Eve and how the ball would drop at midnight, I would announce, “Let’s practice counting down!” and we would shout out the numbers from 10 to 1 followed by a shout of “Happy New Years!”

My oldest daughter loved the counting and my littlest one enjoyed all the noise.

5.  Celebrate with Fireworks

We let the girls handle a couple of sparklers, and I was surprised at how quickly and excitedly they went through a whole box of snappers.  Then we lit a fountain-type firework in the street and did our many ooooohs and aaaaahs.

Many people set off fireworks at midnight, but we did all this just after the sun went down.

6. Dress Up

A great way to ring in the new year is by getting all dolled up – even if you’re just hanging out at home.  Whether you’re throwing (or attending) a party or just riding out the ball drop on your couch, adding a little frill to your outfit will make it extra special.

My girls got dressed up in twirl-worthy skirts and party bead necklaces.  Let girls paint their nails in fun colors.  Let boys try on silly neckties or style their hair in Mohawks.  Have fun with it.

7.  Eat Party Food

You may actually be throwing a party, but even if you’re not, celebrate the holiday like you are.  This goes along with #6.  Serve appetizers and tapas instead of a large meal.  Set out chips and dip, cheese and crackers, hot wings.

You could make regular food special, like serving hot dogs that have been cut in spirals and turned into “confetti ribbons.”

And eat grapes.  You’re young ones might not be able to stuff a dozen grapes in their mouths in a minute like the traditional Twelve Grapes of Luck, but you can still snack on them throughout the day.  It helped to sneak some more fruit into our day by announcing that they were good luck.

8.  Make a Giant Cookie Clock

Make a cookie cake into a Cookie Clock by adding chocolate numbers.  And, sure, I talked about numbers and counting with my daughter with this clock as inspiration, but really, we mostly made it for the sake of the chocolaty, gooey goodness.   Read about it here.

Cookie Clock 5

9.  Make Confetti Poppers

This was a New Years craft for us, because my kids helped.  We made confetti and made “poppers” that showered the confetti on us.  It was a fun addition to our celebration.  Here are our Confetti Poppers:

Confetti Poppers

10.  Serve Sparkling Grape Juice

But not just any sparkling grape juice… if you want to make it really festive, add in some cotton candy!

Cotton Candy Champagne

What New Year’s Eve traditions do you have?  How do you celebrate it with your kids?

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New Year’s Eve Confetti Poppers

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New Year's Eve Confetti Poppers

Confetti is always a fun way to celebrate holidays and special occasions.

Until it is time to clean up.

So, to find a way to incorporate confetti into our New Year’s celebration, I decided upon Confetti Poppers that were designed much like a pull-string pinata.  And, like a pinata, we put them outside.

For the confetti, we used construction paper cut into tiny pieces.  My 3-year-old was very excited about this part.  I did some of the confetti, but it was mostly her job while  I constructed the poppers and her younger sister giggled about the tissue paper.

New Year's Eve Confetti Poppers

I’ve seen a few varieties of things like this online, but I chose my materials based off of what I had on hand.

You’ll need:

toilet paper rolls
tissue paper
pipe cleaners
construction paper
ribbon or string
scissors

Cut the construction paper into tiny pieces for the confetti.  Take the pipe cleaners and wrap one end into a kind of ball or loop.  The bigger the loop the better, because the smaller loops I made (like the one pictured below) didn’t break the paper enough for all of the confetti to fall out, and those poppers had to be shaken a little.

Also, if your pipe cleaners are “kid-friendly” like mine were, you’ll need to un-bend the end so that the pointy metal piece is straight, and not tucked over.

Take a piece of colorful tissue paper (ours was used tissue paper from previous birthdays – yes, I’m that person), and wrap it around an empty toilet paper roll, gathering the extra.  With small scissors, poke a teeny, tiny hole in the center of the paper that’s wrapped around the roll – see photo.

New Year's Eve Confetti Poppers

After poking the hole, very, very gently push the pipe cleaner through it by inserting it in the top of the toilet paper roll and pushing it through the hole and pulling it all the way down.  If you do this roughly, you’ll rip the paper.  The loop in your pipe cleaner should be resting on the tissue paper covering the bottom of the toilet paper roll.

Pour a handful of confetti into the top of the toilet paper roll and gather the tissue paper together to close it.  Tie a long ribbon or string around the gathered paper.  Use the other end of this string to tie the poppers to something high, or just to hold them over your kids if you don’t have anything to hang them from.

New Year's Eve Confetti Poppers

We hung ours outside, mostly so we wouldn’t get confetti all over the house.  Unfortunately, it began to rain just as I tied the last popper on the branch, so we rushed a little more than I expected.  But the poppers achieved their goal:  smiles and giggles.

New Year's Eve Confetti Poppers

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Elf-Sized Chocolate Chip Confetti Cookies

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Elf Sized Chocolate Chip Confetti Cookies

Actually, all I had intended to do was make mini chocolate chip cookies… until my daughter said, “I want to put sprinkles on them!”

Whoa.

How did I ever come up with creative ideas before I had a 3-year-old to guide me???

Seriously.

Elf Sized Chocolate Chip Confetti Cookies

Anyway, as you can see from the batter, we actually poured the sprinkles right into the mix so they would be spread throughout the miniature cookies.

Elf Sized Chocolate Chip Confetti Cookies

And when we scooped them onto the cookie trays to bake, we made them smaller than normal, about a half of a teaspoon each.

Perfect for elf-sized hands.  :)

Elf Sized Chocolate Chip Confetti Cookies

Elf-Sized Chocolate Chip Confetti Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/8 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup rainbow sprinkles

Preheat oven to 375F.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl, with a mixer or by hand.  Add egg.

Gradually blend in flour mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips and sprinkles.

Drop a half teaspoon of batter onto baking sheets.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Cool on wire racks.  Store covered.

*****

Click to PRINT the free PDF of the recipe:  Elf Sized Chocolate Chip Confetti Cookies

And, of course, don’t forget to share some cookies with your elf.

Merry Christmas!  :)

Crystal Snowmen

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Crystal Snowmen | Borax Christmas Ornament Craft

I love how these crystal snowmen catch the light of the low winter sun.

These snowmen are our version of the traditional borax Christmas ornaments.  I used white pipe cleaners (chenille sticks) to represent the snowmen:  one per ornament/sun catcher.

Crystal Snowmen

The above photo shows how we made them.  They were pretty easy for my 3-year-old to help with.

We took one stick and made it into a circle, twisting the ends around each other to seal the shape.  Then we twisted it a little over a third of the way up to create the bottom circle of the snowman, and again to create the torso and head.

Crystal Snowmen

I tied some thread to the top of the snowmen and wrapped that thread around the handle of a spoon that fit over a wide, 1 liter measuring cup.  You can do just one ornament in a smaller glass, but I wanted to do two at a time.

Make sure you have a enough room to hang the snowmen, then take them out of the glass.  Fill the glass with water and boil it in the microwave, or add boiling water from another source.  Mix in the borax and stir gently, then put the snowmen back in.  Let it sit overnight.  Done!

You’ll need:

pipe cleaners (chenille sticks)
thread
4 cups boiling water
1/2 cup borax

After sitting overnight, dump out the water.  If the crystals that formed on the snowmen attached to crystals on the bottom of the glass, simply chip them gently away with a fork.  Then, unravel the thread from the spoon and tie a loop to attach to suction cups for a window or a hook for a tree ornament.

What kind of borax ornaments have you made?

And don’t forget to check out these other Christmas crafts:

DIY Lifesize Cardboard Gingerbread House

Felt Fashion Christmas Tree

Easy Christmas Craft: Paper Cone Christmas Trees

Easy Christmas Craft: Toilet Paper Roll Ornament Painting

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