In Entertainment, Inspirations on February 3, 2010 at 12:39 pm
So, another 6 weeks of winter according to Punxsutawney Phil, huh? I was through with winter about a week ago. Cabin fever settling in on us. I dug through old pictures and found activities Kaye and I did last winter to beat the stuck-at-home blahs. It was nostalgic to look at pictures of Kaye from last winter. She was so little and cute. And what do you know, some of it has to do with reusing household items. Kid friendly, eco friendly.
1. Box car.
We had a ton of diaper boxes lying around. So Kaye and I got a little creative and made a box car using packing tape and paper plates as wheels and steering wheel. Then she sat in it while I pushed her around the house racing in her car.
2. Color your own fort.
I taped a few diaper boxes together to make a little fort for Kaye to color and draw. She called it her princess castle.
3. Make a shoebox alphabet fishing game.
Kaye helped me paint the inside of the shoe box with blue paint to make the water look. I made a fish pattern, traced it 26 times. Had Kaye color and decorate the fish. Then I wrote each letter of the alphabet on each fish. Cut out. Put a metal paper clip on each fish. Then found a couple sticks outside. Tied a string to it as the fishing line. Finally, glued a small magnet to the end of the dangling line. It helped teach her the alphabet.
4. Magic carpet ride.
This was a game Kaye played at my parents’ house. Kaye hopped on a rug, held on to dear life and my dad pulled on the other end of the rug. They went all over the house like that. She laughed so hard.
5. Cookie cutter and wearable Play Dough.
Make bracelets, anklets or use cookie cutters to cut fun shapes.
6. Ball pit.
Your kids will love me for this. You will hate me for this. We had a small inflatable pool and filled it with balls. I purchased special ball pit balls
at Wal-Mart or you can find it at Target, too. I do have to say, I was happy to put the balls away when the little pool popped a year later. I was tired of picking up 300 balls day after day. However, my kids and their friends all loved it. It was by far the most popular toy in our house. And in the summer, you can pack away the balls and fill the pool with water, in your backyard of course.
In Crafts, Entertainment, Holidays on November 18, 2009 at 9:01 am
{image by Parents Magazine}
If you are hosting a party or the actual holiday itself, one of your sanity savers this holiday season will be keeping the kids busy. Sending them outside won’t always work. Here are some children’s craft and game ideas to keep them entertained on their own. Or designate another adult or a teenager to supervise. And don’t forget about the Thanksgiving garland.
- Prop improv. Gather random things around the house and the kids have to improv a scene with that prop.
- Sock puppet show. Collect old socks, provide decorations, and have the children make sock puppets. Then have them do a show for everyone.
- Magic tricks. Look up some simple magic tricks online and have the kids learn a few.
- Entertaining kids’ table. Cover the table with butcher paper and have a cup of crayons or markers for the kids to doodle while eating. Let them design their own placemats with pre-cut paper shapes or foam shapes.
- Yarn necklaces. These never get old as long as you supply them with edible beads such as Fruit Loops and LifeSavers.
- Fake mustaches. Have them make fake mustaches on a stick. Then take a picture of each child with his/her mustache to take home as a souvenir or mailed later as a thank you card.
- Fingerprint tree. Draw a tree with only the trunk and branches. Or use brown yarn and glue on paper. Then have the children fill the tree with leaves made by their finger prints. Use water based paints that will be easy to wash off such as tempera paint.
- Pumpkin bowling. This will have to be done outside. Use uncut leftover Halloween pumpkins as the bowling ball and empty liter soda bottles as the pins.
- Gratitude pie spinner. It is pictured above from Parents Magazine. Go to link for a how to.
- Mayflower place cards. It is picture below, also from Parents Magazine. Go to link for a how to.
{image by Parents Magazine}
