Snow Painting

Here is a great way to get the kids outdoors for some fun in the wintertime. If you have snow on the ground, you have a blank canvas just waiting to be painted. Pick up some spray bottles from a dollar store. Fill them with water and then add food color to create a variety of colors. Head outside and let the kids create wonderful art creations by spraying the snow. Your yard will be beautiful!

Note: food coloring has been known to stain clothes, so supervise younger kids when they are painting.

You can also use this to create a painted "obstacle course." Spray a path that will take the kids all around the yard, around trees, zig-zag, hopping from spot to spot, etc. Then paint an S for the start and an F for the finish. Have them run the course... ready, set, go!

Play Food For Free

Sometimes the most simple ideas are right under your nose and you just don't think about them. I went to a birthday party and the mom had her kids play kitchen totally stocked. But it wasn't plastic food and miniature cardboard food boxes. She had stocked the shelves with the empty boxes and containers from her own kitchen. What a brilliant idea!

When I got home, I went through all the stuff I had saved for potential rainy day craft material - macaroni and cheese boxes, rice a roni, poptarts, cardboard oatmeal canisters, juice containers, egg cartons, plastic spice shakers, pizza boxes...the list could go on and on. I taped them shut and stocked the shelves in my girls room. Wow! They were excited! They did nothing but play store and cooking for the next 3 days. The best part is that if items get squished or ruined, you just throw them away and replenish the next time you empty a packaged food item. What a great way to recycle what used to go straight to the trash.

You may need to experiment depending on your kids temperament. My kids didn't like having the containers taped shut. They ripped them open so they could "pour" the contents out and cook. I think they will last longer if they are taped closed but not if they tear them up trying to open them!

editors note: 1-14-09

My kids are now content to leave them taped shut, which does indeed prolong the life span.

Playdough Pizza Parlor

We had a blast having a pizza parlor on our kitchen table today. Break out the playdough and give it a try. My girls have a play kitchen, but they really weren't interested in using it. Instead we had an old Mt. Dew cube box which became the pizza oven. They did like using some of the accessories though - a spatula, a tray, and a couple of plates.

First you have to have them knead the doughball. (playdough) Then roll it out. Next come the toppings. Get creative. We made pepperoni pizzas with lots of cheese. They can put it in the oven to cook, then slice it up when it is done. Fold the pizza in half and they can bake a calzone.

Dad was home today so he got to consume many pizza creations! I didn't think those kids were ever going to stop playing with the playdough!

If pizzas don't catch your kids fancy, try having them create and cook some other food they enjoy - cupcakes with sprinkles on top, cinnamon rolls...

Contemporary Art for Little People

This is a great project for any age because it does not require staying in the lines. Buy a small art canvas for your child to paint. Get a roll of painters blue tape. Lay out strips of tape on the canvas. You can stick to all straight lines to create series of rectangles and squares or put them on as random angles and lines. Now your child can either paint over the whole canvas or just fill in the spaces with color. Once the paint has dried, remove the painters tape and you have a contemporary art piece.

Variations on this would be to give only certain colors to your child for painting - cool blues, greens, and purples or a warm set of oranges, yellows, and reds. Do you want them to create art work for their room? Use the colors from their room for creating the art.

Graham Cracker Houses

Instead of baking gingerbread, buy a box of graham crackers and just do the fun part - decorating!

The basics: You will need a box of graham crackers, a container of icing, and an assortment of candies for decorating. Also, a 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar mixed in a cup of icing will help the icing dry hard enough to hold your cracker house together.

For a base used cardboard covered in aluminum foil. To pipe your icing onto your house, cut the corner off a plastic bag. Once you have your walls assembled you have two options.
1. You can cover the house with icing and stick the candies on, or
2. use your icing like glue and stick individual candies on the house.
If you go for option one, be sure to only ice one cracker at a time or the icing may get too hard for the candy to stick to it before you get all your decorating done.

Teddy Bear Races

Get a couple of empty plastic clothes baskets and put a teddy bear in each. Have your kids race each other or you race your kid. Set a course for the race then push your teddy bears across the floor and see who gets to the end first. Try not to dump your teddy bear along the way! (don't have plastic baskets? find something else that will work in their place - even a couple small empty boxes will do) If you have really young ones, you may want to have the goal be finishing, rather than racing.

Choo-Choo Train

Have your kids form a train by standing behind each other and holding onto the waist of the kid in front of them. You be the engine in the front. Reach your hands back for your kid to hold onto if it isn't easy for them to hold onto your waist. Now chuga-chuga-choo-choo all around the yard. If they want, let them take a turn being the engine.

Rain Dance

Go outside and teach your kids how to do a rain dance. If it's winter, do a snow dance. Pattern it after native american dancing and have fun.

If you have a playgroup this is a fun indoor activity. Create a rainstorm inside. Have all the kids sit in a circle on the floor. One parent starts the rain storm and whatever they do, have the kids do. To really make is sound authentic, go around the circle one by one adding to the rainstorm. They should keep doing their the current motion until it is their turn again. Say, "Here comes the wind." Make circular motions on the floor with your hands. Have the kids do the same motions, going around the circle clockwise. When everyone is making the wind noise, the parent says, "Here comes the rain," and starts tapping the floor with their fingertips. Each child in turn taps the floor. Then the parent says, "it's getting harder," and taps the floor with their whole fingers. Go around the circle, changing from fingertips to fingers. Then the parents says, "it's getting harder," and pounds the floor with their palms, and each child in turn changes from fingers to palms. Do the reverse for the storm passing.

Indoor Sledding

Take turns giving your kids "sled" rides. Get a blanket out and lay it on the floor. Have your kid sit down on it, pull the sides in towards them for them to hold onto. Now you take the end and pull them around the house. This works best on non-carpeted floors, but can be done even on carpet. note: this is in place of going to the gym for you!

Puzzles

Bring out your puzzles and spend some time putting them together with your kids. Try to use the time for teaching your kids too. You can teach them about the shapes, colors, or objects in the puzzles.

Puff the Magic Dragon

This is one that shouldn't be forgotten. Teach your kids the song Puff the Magic Dragon. You can get all the lyrics and music here. And contrary to rumor, there is nothing untoward intended in the lyrics. See snopes.com for the lowdown on the lyrics.

Snowman door wreath

Pick up 3 wreaths from your local dollar store or craft store. Tie them together to form your snowman and add a hat, scarf and mittens. The totally homemade version goes like this: Get an old cardboard box. Cut one big circle out of cardboard. Draw 3 circles inside each other on your cardboard circle, so that it looks like a dartboard. Then cut along each line. This leaves you with 3 circles to make your wreaths for the snowman. Punch holes in the circles and tie them together to make your snowman. Let your kids glue cotton balls onto the snowman, then dress him in your scarf set and hang on the wall or your front door. If you make a smaller one, then your kids can use construction paper to make the accessories for the snowman and glue them on. See a picture here.

Puppet Show

Put on a puppet show. If you have puppets, you can use them. Otherwise, make puppets as a craft time activity. You can get elaborate and make a 'stage' from an old box or just sit the kids down at the dining room table. You get on the other side and sit on the floor. Then just have the puppets perform at the table height.

Animal Fun

Have your kids pretend to be different animals. Have them walk, crawl, or jump like the animals and imitate their noises. Have them try to be like a variety of different animals. You can do farm animals, zoo animals, or pets. Teach them about the different animals while they are playing. Tell them about the animals habits, what they like to eat, etc.

Paper Bag Puppets

Make paper bag puppets. You can do this by decorating the bags with construction paper cutouts or get more creative with other art supplies. (ex: buttons, yarn, glitter, etc.) Need more help?

Try making farm animals like a cow, pig, sheep, or chicken.
Make domestic animals like a cat, dog, or bunny.
Make zoo animals like a lion, penguin, or bear.
Make people.

Old MacDonald

Sing Old MacDonald had a Farm with your kids. This is a great interactive song for your little ones to learn the different farm animals and the sounds they make. If you are lucky enough to have animal hand puppets, use them as you sing the song. Don't be afraid to use any animal even if it isn't a traditional farm animal. Your kids will love making all sorts of critter noises with you. :)

Hokey Pokey

Do the Hokey Pokey with your kids today. Need the Lyrics? Don't be afraid to add your own twist to the song and dance like "You put your teddy bear in, you put your teddy bear out..."

Playdough Fun

Using playdough, have your kids make shapes. You can give them direction and make it a teaching opportunity or just let them freestyle. Young kids will enjoy using cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the pressed playdough. You can find playdough cutters at the dollar store, or make some basic shapes out of old cardboard tubes or boxes. You can also work on color recognition with your playdough time.

Ideas for themes:
Learn parts of the body - make all the body parts - feet, legs, body, arms, head - then assemble them.
Learn shapes - make circles, squares, triangles, rectangles
Zoo animals
Pets
Farm animals
Learn sizes - long/short, big/small

Simon Says

Play Simon Says. You as the parent should be Simon. You say "Simon says..." and fill in the blank with an action for the kids to imitate. (touch your nose, stomp your feet, etc.) Keep the actions more simple for the indoors. Do things that will help with them learning to identify arms, legs, hands, feet, etc. If you play outdoors, you can get even more creative since you may have more room to roam. (run in a circle, roll down the hill, etc) Then if you give them an action without saying 'Simon says' that child is out. This is a good game for older kids to help them with their listening skills. For young children, always say 'Simon says.' They enjoy doing whatever silly things you can come up with.

Paper Dolls

For your craft time make paper dolls. You can either design them yourself, or get some help online. (paper doll link) Keep it simple for the younger ones - maybe make a simple bear. You can use colored construction paper for clothes, or plain paper and let your kids color them.

Sponge Painting

Cut shapes out of sponges - circles, squares, triangles. You can use old ones or buy new ones at the dollar store. Wet the shapes but wring out the excess water. Dip the sponge in paint or use a brush to apply the paint. Press the sponge onto canvas or paper.

If You're Happy and You Know It!

Sing the song If You're Happy and You Know It with your kids. Find the music and lyrics here. Have fun with this one by making up your own actions to perform. Let your kids come up with ideas too - they can be quite fun! Examples: If you're happy and you know it...
stick out your tongue
nod your head
flap your arms
yell yahoo!
jump in the air

Pictures from Shapes

Get out construction paper and glue. Cut out a bunch of circles, squares, and triangles from different colored paper. Then let your kids glue the shapes onto a sheet of construction paper. They can either do a collage or use the shapes to create pictures, like a tangram (a tangram uses 7 geometric pieces to create different forms) only with as many shapes and pieces as they want.

Shape Scavenger Hunt

Make a list of the items your kids have to find. The items should be based on shapes such as 4 squares, 2 rectangles, 1 triangle, 3 circles. Give your kids a bag or basket to collect their items. If your kids are older, you might want to increase the difficulty of the scavenger hunt by tagging colors and shapes together - ex: red square, blue circle, etc. Work with your kids to see the shapes in their every day environment.

Hide and Go Seek

An oldie but a goodie. One person is it. They close their eyes and count to ten. While they are counting, the other kids (or parent) hides. Traditionally, after counting to ten say, "Ready or not, here I come!" After finding the hiders, the last person found gets to be it.

I Spy

If you don't know how this game works, one person says "I spy with my little eye something that is...." then you give a description of the object that you have chosen. (ex: green, tall, round) Then the other person looks around and tries guessing what the object is that you have described. Take turns picking the object or let whoever guesses it get the next turn.

Play Pretend

Let your kids decide who they will be and what adventure they will go on. Get into the game with them and ask them questions to prompt their imagination further. Ex: Okay, we are Dora and Diego and we are going to the mountain. How are we getting there? Are we walking, hopping, taking a scooter?

Food for Thought

Have you ever wondered how to get your kids to eat healthy? Here is the quick tip of the day: If you want them to eat healthy, you have to eat healthy.

I was at one time a raw foodist and I still have a few favorite recipes that I like to whip up now and again. These are definitely not your traditional fare. But my kids want to eat whatever I am eating. They don't care that no other kid on the block is eating raw tabouli salad for lunch. What they care about is that mommy is eating raw tabouli salad - and they want it.

There are some things that they might try and decide they don't want. But usually if they see me eating it on a regular basis, they try it again because, gosh darn it.... they want what I have!

Sure my kids like to eat chicken nuggets and french fries. But when they beg for fruit, eat green salads, raw nuts and whole wheat pasta on a regular basis, do you think I worry about the occasional junk food? Nope.

That is the unfortunate truth of it...if you want your kids to eat healthy, then it starts with you.

And since I mentioned it, here is the recipe for raw tabouli that I make...yummy and chock full of nutrition.

In a food processor chop several green onions, about 1/2 bunch of parsley, and 1/2 bunch of cilantro. Mix in a handful of chopped raw almonds and 1 large chopped tomato. Mash a ripe avocado with the juice of 1/2 small lemon, a drizzle of EVOO, and a little honey. (optional) Stir the avocado dressing into the salad and chow down!

The Next Survivor Series

I don't know when I am going to be back at home and on a regular posting schedule again, but hang in there, I will be back! Until then, this came my way via email and I thought it was too good not to pass on! Women, get ready to sign your husbands up for this next Survivor....

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES - Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money. In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time.

Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment.

He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care. He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times. The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.

The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.

During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting. They will need to read a book and then pray with the children each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice. If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right to be called Mother!

New Year, New Format

A big apology to my 1 or 2 readers out there besides my mom. We have had a major interruption this week in my ability to blog. First I have been having computer problems and was concerned about having a virus. I wanted to download the AVG free virus protection program, but on dial up, it was a very lengthy process. (about 4 1/2 hours) To make matters worse, I kept getting disconnected and having to restart the download.

Then, after finally getting the virus protection up and running, we had an unforeseen major change of venue. We packed up our kids and drove 27 hours to Phoenix. Hubby is going to be working down here for a while. With all of this going on, I have not had the opportunity to do my regular blogging.

Meanwhile, I have been thinking about changing the format. My original concept was for a book that would categorize activities for moms. I am going to start doing posts following this format. Each post will be under one of the activity labels - indoor time, outdoor time, arts, crafts, music, and story time. Then you can pick and choose your own activities by looking under the labels on the blog page. The good news is that I am back on high speed internet now that I am in Phoenix, so I should be able to get the site completely updated while I am here.

Thanks for your patience and next week will resume regular postings.

Now for wading through all this, you get rewarded with this touching little tidbit to remind us that children may say the darndest things, but sometimes they also say the most profound things. Click on the Sky Angel Cowboy link and listen to the audio message.

P, P, What Begins With P

You know how Sesame Street has a letter of the day each show? Well, we are going to have a letter of the day today - P. You could really have fun with it and feed your kids meals that are "p" foods... pancakes, pork chops, peas, potatoes, popsicles, pickles, pizza, etc.



Craft Time: Break out old circulars or magazines that you can cut up. Make a collage on construction paper of things that begin with the letter P. If your kids are young, do the cutting for them, but then let them glue the pictures onto the paper.



Outdoor Time: Play Pretend. Let your kids decide who they will be and what adventure they will go on. Get into the game with them and ask them questions to prompt their imagination further. Ex: Okay, we are Dora and Diego and we are going to the mountain. How are we getting there? Are we walking, hopping, taking a scooter?



Music Time: Teach your kids the song Puff the Magic Dragon. You can get all the lyrics and music here.



Story Time: Look through your collection of books for "P" stories - either the title or the main character. Harold and the Purple Crayon would work for example with the purple crayon being prominant throughout the book. :)



Art Time: Pink and purple art time. Give your kids a sheet of art paper and all the different shades of pink and purple crayons. See what creative designs they can make with just those colors.



Indoor Time: Puzzle time. Bring out your puzzles and spend some time putting them together with your kids.

Ship Shape Shenanigans

Craft Time: Get out construction paper and glue. Cut out a bunch of circles, squares, and triangles from different colored paper. Then let your kids glue the shapes onto a sheet of construction paper. They can either do a collage or use the shapes to create pictures, like a tangram.

Indoor Time: Have a shape scavenger hunt. Make a list of the items your kids have to find. The items should be based on shapes such as 4 squares, 2 rectangles, 1 triangle, 3 circles. Give your kids a bag or basket to collect their items. If your kids are older, you might want to increase the difficulty of the scavenger hunt by tagging colors and shapes together - ex: red square, blue circle, etc. Work with your kids to see the shapes in their every day environment.

Music Time: Sing the song If You're Happy and You Know It with your kids. Find the music and lyrics here. Have fun with this one by making up your own actions to perform. Let your kids come up with ideas too - they can be quite fun!

Art Time: Sponge painting. Cut shapes out of sponges - circles, squares, triangles. You can use old ones or buy new ones at the dollar store. Wet the shapes but wring out the excess water. Dip the sponge in paint or use a brush to apply the paint. Press the sponge onto canvas or paper.

Outdoor Time: Play I Spy. If you don't know how this game works, one person says "I spy with my little eye something that is...." then you give a description of the object that you have chosen. (ex: green, tall, round) Then the other person looks around and tries guessing what the object is that you have described. For this game, stick to shapes. Pick out objects that specifically can be described as a shape - round, square, rectangle, etc.

Story Time: Find books that teach shapes. If you don't have any specifically on shapes, use any books with good pictures. Then have your kids find the shapes in the pictures.

Busy Bodies

Craft Time: For your craft time make paper dolls. You can either design them yourself, or get some help online. (paper doll link) Keep it simple for the younger ones - maybe make a simple bear.

Indoor Time: Play Simon Says. Keep the actions more simple for the indoors. Do things that will help with them learning to identify arms, legs, hands, feet, etc.

Outdoor Time: Here is an easy one...play hide and go seek.

Art Time: Using playdough, have your kids shape little people. Make all the body parts - feet, legs, body, arms, head - then assemble them.

Story Time: Find a book that teaches about the parts of the body. (arms, legs, hands, feet, etc.) This will tie in nicely with your music time today.

Music Time: Do the Hokey Pokey with your kids today. Need the Lyrics? Don't be afraid to add your own twist to the song and dance like "You put your teddy bear in, you put your teddy bear out..."