Tag Archives: activities

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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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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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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New Year’s Eve Cookie Clock

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New Year's Eve Cookie Clock

Cookies are always a good idea.

Seriously.

So why not bake a giant cookie to help you ring in the New Year?

New Year's Eve Cookie Clock

Since I wanted our giant cookie to look like a clock, I used melted chocolate to make some numbers.  I used dark cocoa chocolate melts, but you could also use regular chocolate chips for this, too.

I melted them at 50% power in a baggy, then cut off a small corner to squeeze out the chocolate onto some parchment paper.  I let these harden while we made the cookie.

New Year's Eve Cookie Clock

And the easiest way to shape your cookie into a circle is by using a circular pan.  I don’t have any fancy “giant cookie pans” or anything, so we smushed our cookie dough into a regular cake pan.  On top of a piece of parchment paper, though, that I had cut into a circle just smaller than the pan.  The paper keeps the cookie from sticking.

Use your favorite cookie dough here.  I went with chocolate chip, and I even used a box mix since we had some of those BOGO deals from Publix taking up room in the pantry, but you could use any recipe you like.

You need to watch it as it’s cooking.  Since it will be thicker than a regular cookie, the middle will still be a little soft when the edges are done.  You just kind of have to judge.  Usually the middle will feel a little underdone to some people (unless you overcook it), but that’s what I love about them.  It’s kind of like a cookie-brownie.

New Year's Eve Cookie Clock

When you take the baked cookie out of the oven, let it sit for a minute or two, and then lay the chocolate numbers on top of the cookie, very gently pressing to make sure it stays in place.

The heat from the cookie will melt the bottom of the chocolate numbers and as the cookie cools the numbers will harden again.

To make the pattern easier, put the 12, 3, 6, and 9 on first, and arrange the other numbers in between them.

I drew on the hands of the clock afterwards, since I wasn’t really sure what size I’d need.  You could draw the hands ahead of time when you make the numbers, though.  And if you really want to make them ahead of time but you’re really worried about the size, make a few and choose the best when the cookie is done.

New Year's Eve Cookie Clock

Once the cookie and numbers had finished cooled, I stuck some candles in it and we sang Happy Birthday to Mother Earth in celebration of the New Year.  My girls loved blowing out the candles at the end of the song.

Oh, and I did actually remove the cookie from the pan after we took out the candles and before we cut it.  It only cracked a little on the edge when I stuck a cake server under it to transfer it to a plate, but I didn’t take any photos after that.  Was too busy eating.  :)

Do you have any special New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day foods?  Let me know!

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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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Painting With Chalk

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Painting with Chalk

A bit of a warm streak hit us here in Florida while most of the rest of the country was freezing.  It’s a strange December when it’s 80 degrees outside.

Anyway, it does mean we’ve been spending plenty of time outdoors.  In shorts, too, but that’s not the point.

One of the things I showed my girls today was that chalk wasn’t just great for drawing – it was great for “painting,” too.

This is a method of drawing where you simply dip your chalk into a cup of water before drawing with it.  (Kind of like watercolor pencils.)

I let the chalk soak for a few seconds before drawing, and I repeatedly dipped it back into the water while drawing.  The wetter it was, the smoother the finished product.

Painting with Chalk

You can see that I made some different shapes to show my girls how the colors would look when the chalk was wet.  It was brilliant against the brick and smooth to the touch. My oldest daughter liked to blend the colors.

You could, obviously, also do this on concrete, but we have brick in the backyard.  Whatever surface you usually use for chalk drawings should work.

We also used the blocks from the chalkboard storage box and blocks set I made.

And my girls also drew all over themselves with the wet chalk.  My 21-month-old especially.  She covered her legs in the wet chalk, and thought it was hysterical.  Luckily, one of the reasons I love chalk so much is it’s very, very easy to wash off.

Have you tried this?  I’d love to know if your kids enjoyed it, too!

Coloring the Disney Box

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coloring disney box

The best part of the Disney Store box?  What’s inside, of course!

What was inside were Christmas presents… and another surprise.

I opened the box that came in the mail when the girls weren’t around, expecting just the things I ordered awaiting me.  But, much to my delight, the inside of the box was a present in itself:  it was decorated with Disney characters.

The plain, brown cardboard part of the box was on the outside when it was packaged and delivered, with the fun stuff hidden inside.

So, after storing away the Christmas gifts in the closet, I opened up the box into a flat piece of cardboard, and invited my girls to draw on it, much like they did their gingerbread house.

There was an outline of Tinker Bell and Pluto all ready for their designs, plus a trail of pixie dust and plenty of white space to fill in.

A great way to keep my little artists entertained.  :)

Felt Fashion Christmas Tree

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Felt Fashion Christmas Tree

Our next Christmas craft this year was a felt Christmas tree that was bigger than my girls.

It’s a similar concept to our Halloween felt board, but much, much bigger.

And more fashionable.

I had actually intended on doing a more traditional-looking felt Christmas tree, kind of like this tree that I saw last year.

But then I came across these amazing felt sheets:

Felt Fashion Christmas Tree

Score!

With these printed felt pieces I could make a delightfully girly Christmas tree instead!  :)

Found them at Walmart, of all places.  And I bought a yard of dark green felt from their fabric department, for the tree.  I thought about getting some dark purple or a paisley patterned piece heavy with lime green (they sell precut pieces like these at Michaels), but I decided to stick with the green.  I liked how it looked.

And I was going to cut a star from one of the pieces I had, but then I came across those adorable pink felt star ornaments on sale at Michaels.  For forty cents, I couldn’t pass them up.  Especially since they matched the felt I already had.

Felt Fashion Christmas Tree

Because I didn’t want to screw up the tree while cutting, I folded my yard of fabric in half, lengthwise, and drew a tree pattern on it with chalk, instead of just cutting it out by hand, like I do most things.

Then I cut out the ornaments.  I cut rough squares and then cut circles out of them.  I cut a dozen ornaments from the two with zebra stripes, but only six from the other two patterns, to give them some variation of size.

Felt Fashion Christmas Tree

Then I had to decide where to hang it.  I tried using tape, even packing tape, but it was kind of heavy, so I didn’t consider the tape sturdy enough.

I tried sticking the felt directly to the stucco wall on the porch, thinking it would stick like felt does to brick, but the stucco was too smooth because of the paint.

I wound up going with Command Strips (pictured above).   The picture hanging ones come with a texture similar to Velcro, so, instead of using the 8 pieces as a set of 4 hangers, I stuck the rough side of the strips right on the felt tree.  Then I peeled off the sticky backing and stuck it on the wall.

The main reason I used the Strips is because I can adjust the tree.  With a gentle pull, the felt comes right off of the rough side of the strips.  And, when it’s time to pack up the Christmas decorations, I can gently pull the Strips off the wall.  (But always follow the directions – if you do, they won’t harm your wall, but if you don’t, they’ll take the paint right off.)

Although, if you prefer, you could just leave the tree on the floor and let your kids play with it that way.  But I think they have more fun with it if it’s hanging up.  Like this:

Felt Fashion Christmas Tree

I love the felt for playing.  It’s great for both my preschooler and my toddler.  They can put the ornaments on the tree, take them off, rearrange them, make patterns, and then do it all over again.

And I love that I found these fancy felt sheets.  I was prepared to do the tree in traditional colors, but I love this concept.  It’s so easy to change up the colors.  Like, you could do a white Christmas tree instead.  Or blue.  Or green, but with just gold ornaments.  Or whatever colors you’ve used to decorate your home for Christmas.  What a great way to personalize an interactive toy for your kids!

Felt Fashion Christmas Tree

Have fun with it!

And please share if you’ve made your own!  :)

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

DIY Lifesize Cardboard Gingerbread House

Easy Christmas Craft: Paper Cone Christmas Trees

Easy Christmas Craft: Toilet Paper Roll Ornament Painting

Crystal Snowmen

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