Category: Kid Activities

Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.

~Lin Yutang

It is so much fun to have three little girls! The other day we decided it would be fun to make paper dolls. I found a great site online that we could print very basic dolls and clothes. Then the girls colored the dolls, drew on faces and designed some dresses for them to wear. I really liked these dolls since they are so simple, they really let the girls use their imagination when designing the clothes. You can make a boy, girl, dress them in pants, dresses, swimsuits, etc. There are many combinations! Katelyn made Ariel, Emily made a clown and Madison made a colorful character. We will definitely do this again soon!

http://familycrafts.about.com/od/paperdolls/tp/paperdolls.htm

Since it’s the start of a new month, I thought I would try to get my act together. My calendar is getting full already and I need to be on the ball to make sure it’s all done. Since I have strep right now, I figured I’d use my time on the sofa wisely. Here aer some activities I found at Reader’s Digest. They provide fun ideas to keep kids entertained while you finish up the dinner.

Paper Bag Turkeys What you’ll need: Paper grocery bags, newspapers, construction paper in a variety of colors, child-safe scissors, child-safe glue. Have each child stuff a bag with newspapers to form the main body of the turkey. To make head and neck, and features, let children cut out the shapes from construction paper and glue on.

Find the Bird What you’ll need: A paper turkey or a stuffed animal, blindfold. Blindfold one child, then hide the paper turkey or stuffed animal somewhere in the room. With the blindfold removed, the child must search for the prized bird. The other children watching shiver from the “cold” when the hunter is far away from the turkey, and fan themselves as the hunter gets “warmer.” Allow each child to get a turn as the hunter.

Turkey Treasure Hunt What you’ll need: Index cards, crayons. Have each child draw three pictures of turkeys on large index cards. Hide the cards throughout the house. Give the kids 15 minutes to find as many turkeys as they can. The one who finds the most wins.

Pin the Tail Feather on the Turkey What you’ll need: Sheet of poster paper, markers, adhesive tape, fake feather, blindfold. Tape a homemade picture of a turkey to the wall at a height that can be reached by the children. Blindfold each child for his turn, turn him around three times, and let him try to place the tail feather in the right spot. Once he places the feather on the poster, tape it onto that spot. The child who comes closest wins.

Gone Fishin’ What you’ll need: Cardboard, metal paper clips, an empty bucket, a broom, string. Cut pieces of cardboard into various holiday shapes (turkeys, Pilgrim hats, leaves) and attach a metal paper clip to each one. Put them all into a large empty bucket. Have the children fish for shapes using a broom with a string tied around the handle and a magnet on the end of the string. The kid who collects the most shapes wins.

Our girls love a great doll house. One for Disney Princesses, one for Polly Pocket, one for the little Wizard of Oz dolls Mommy keeps making them collect from McDonald’s, etc. I went looking for an idea of how to make more dollhouses and be able to customize them. That’s when I found this idea from Cookie Magazine. I will be heading out to find some foam board. This looks like a fun project! It’s portable too!

Directions:

1. Start with a piece of 20″x30″ foam core board (a standard size at art-supply stores), and using a box cutter and a T-square or yardstick, cut 10 inches off of the longer end to make a 20″x20″ square.
2. Cut the board horizontally right across the middle to create two 10″x20″ rectangles.
3. Measure 10 inches across the bottom of one rectangle, and cut a notch 1/4-inch wide and 2 inches tall. At the top of the second rectangle, make a notch the same size.
4. At the bottom of both rectangles, measure 4 1/2 inches from both ends, and cut doorways 2 inches wide and 5 inches tall.
5. Slide the notches into each other to form the x-shaped house.

As the fall weather approaches, here is a great indoor game to play.

You will need:

• Masking tape
• Blindfold

How to play:

1. Number the four corners of a room using pieces of masking tape stuck to the floor.
2. Choose one child to be the caller and have her put on a blindfold.
3. Everybody else forms a circle around the caller.
4. While the caller quietly counts to 10, the others scurry to corners of their choosing.
5. The caller shouts out a number from 1 to 4. Whoever is in that corner is out.
6. Now the caller counts to 10 again while the remaining players sneak off to new corners.
7. The game continues until one person is left; he then becomes the next caller.

Today is Labor Day. We all have the day off. Well, not if you’re a parent, but you know what I mean! He’s a very brief reason why we celebrate the day. Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September. It’s a day dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday tributes the working class contributions to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Since it’s Labor Day, I figured we would chat about getting your kids to do a little labor around the house. While there is a hot debate on whether or not to pay your little ones an allowance based on them doing chores, the chores themselves are an important part of your child’s development. So choosing to give them an allowance or not will stay out of this blog entry. I may save that for another day.

Assigning chores to each of your children is a wonderful way for them to build self esteem, create healthy habits and have a great attitude about working. It also helps them understand that they are a part of your family and everyone pitches in to help things run smoothly. There are guidelines you should follow when starting your children off on the path of good ol’ fashioned hard work. I searched the internet for those guidelines and it seems that many, many sources have the very same information. So the following is from that same source, authored by Elizabeth Pantly, so I will share it here with you also.

Choose the right chores

Choose age appropriate jobs for children based on their physical and mental abilities. Most parents underestimate their children’s abilities in this area. Keep in mind that a child who has mastered a complicated computer game can easily run the dishwasher! Preschoolers can handle one or two simple daily jobs. Older children can manage two or three daily jobs along with one or two weekly jobs.

Take time for training

Don’t assume that since your child has seen you do the task that she can do it herself. Be very specific in your instruction and demonstrate step-by-step as your child watches. The next step is to let your child help you, followed by your child doing the chore as you supervise. At the point you feel that your child has mastered the job she can take over responsibility for it.

Write it down

Children need a visual daily reminder to keep them on track doing chores. (This compares to your need for a daily planner sheet or to-do list.) A chore chart on which a child can make daily check marks is one helpful technique. An alternative is to use a pegboard made for hanging keys as a holder for tags that list a daily chore on each one. A child can flip the tags over as she completes each daily chore. At the end of the day, a parent can check for any open tags and have the child finish up before getting ready for bed.

First things first

Use the “when/then” technique. As an example, “When the pets are fed, then you may have your dinner.” As a quiet reminder, the child’s dinner plate can be left upside down, which means: “Run and feed the pets, then you can eat!” Other when/then routine suggestions are: “When your homework is done, then you can play outside.” “When your pajamas are on and teeth brushed, then we will read a book.” What makes this idea work best is when you follow the when/then rule every day.

Be specific

Be very specific in your instructions. As an example, “clean your room” is vague and can be interpreted in any number of ways. Instead, be explicit by saying, “Put your clothes in the closet, books on the shelf, dishes in the kitchen and toys in the toy box.”

Bonus Day!

Once in a while, just for fun, have a “Coin Collection Day.” Prior to having your child complete her chores, hide pennies, nickels, or dimes around the house under the items that need to be cleaned. When all the chores are done to your satisfaction, the child gets to keep the bonus!

Chore list ideas

What follows is a list of ideas from which you can choose a few chores for your child. The idea is not to turn your child into Cinderella! Simply review the list, consider your child’s age, ability, and personality, and select chores appropriate for your child. Preschoolers can handle one or two simple jobs. As children get older and more capable they can handle a larger quantity of jobs, as well as those that are more complex.

Ages 2 to 3

Put toys away, fill pet’s food dish, put clothes in hamper, wipe up spills, dust, pile books or magazines, choose clothes and dress self.

Ages 4 to 5

Above plus, make own bed, empty wastebaskets, bring in mail or newspaper, clear table, pull weeds, use hand-held vacuum to pick up crumbs, water flowers, unload utensils from dishwasher, wash plastic dishes at sink, fix bowl of cereal.

Ages 6 to 7

Above plus, sort laundry, sweep floors, handle personal hygiene, set and clear table, help make and pack lunch, weed, rake leaves, keep bedroom tidy, pour own drinks, answer telephone.

Ages 8 to 9

Above plus, load dishwasher, put away groceries, vacuum, help make dinner, make own snacks, wash table after meals, put away own laundry, sew buttons, run own bath, make own breakfast, peel vegetables, cook simple food (such as toast), mop floor, take pet for a walk, pack own suitcase.

Ages 10 and up

Above plus, unload dishwasher, fold laundry, clean bathroom, wash windows, wash car, cook simple meal with supervision, iron clothes, do laundry, baby-sit younger siblings (with adult in the home), mow lawn, clean kitchen, clean oven, change bed, make cookies or cake from box mix, plan birthday party, have neighborhood job – such as pet care or yard work, or have a paper route.

I thought this was a great idea! I’m sure you’ve all been to a cookie exchange or similar party. This is along the same concept, but it’s an activity bag exchange instead. Invite a group of moms (or dads!) to participate and have a party. It works best if the kids are around the same age and a group of 15 to 20 people works great. Each person is assigned to make a gallon size Ziploc bag with an activity to keep kids busy in it. They are to make a bag for each family attending the party. Most of the bags will cost around $1 to make so it’s not a huge investment and it’s lots of fun! At the gathering, you arrive with your activity bags and take home one from each other family. What a great way to have a whole tub full of different activity bags to easily pull out for your kids! The bags are best if they contain an activity where the children can entertain themselves. What a handy idea for when you would like to make a phone call or use the bathroom in peace!

Here are some starter ideas for the activity bags, you can google activity bags and come up with more ideas or create your own!

1. Playdoh
2. Pasta noodles and yarn
3. Bag of buttons for sorting
4. Chalk and dark construction paper
5. Plastic canvas and yarn (wrapped with tape at the end for easier poking through holes)

Grab a bunch of buttons and start sorting! Kids love this activity, but make sure you supervise smaller kids so the buttons don’t find their way into your child’s mouth. You can use an egg carton to sort the buttons into compartments or you can just make different piles. Flea markets, craft stores, grandma’s house, etc are all great places to find a bunch of neat buttons for this idea. To start the sorting, spread the buttons out on a table. Encourage your child to choose the sorting categories. They can sort by color, number of holes, size, shape, pretty or not so pretty! Once they are sorted, mix them up again and start with a new category. You can use the same sorting idea with pieces of hardware, like nuts and bolts, socks from the laundry, a stack of photos, crayons, etc.

As fall approaches, turn your backyard into your own nature preserve! Of course no nature preserve is complete without feeding the birds! Bird feeders are simple to make and it doesn’t take long to get the birds into your yard. You can start by attracting birds that feed on the ground (like crows) by tossing out bread crumbs. Toddlers love this activity! Each of the following feeders are temporary, quick and easy. You can use them to gauge whether feeding the birds if for you or not. Remember to place the feeders near a window so watching them eat is easy and fun! Keep in mind also that where birds eat, they will also poop! So keep that in mind when placing your feeders. These feeders are also cheap, cheap, cheap to make.

Orange Feeder

Place half an overripe orange or grapefruit on the end of a broken branch. Remove after 2 days.

Peanuts

Sew a string of whole, unshelled peanuts onto a ribbon (string or yarn will work also!) and hang it on a tree.

Pine Cone

Smear a pine cone with peanut butter and roll it in bird seed. Tie yarn on the top and hang from the tree.

Popcorn

Sew a garland of popcorn and put it on a tree.

Milk Jug

Cut an opening in one side of the jug, large enough for a small bird to enter. Add a handful of bird seed, then hang from a tree. Remember to put the cap back on the jug! This keeps the rain and snow from ruining the bird seed.

Cheerios

String Cheerios on twine and hang from a tree.

Cookie Shaped Feeders

Use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of a slice of bread. Use a straw and place a hole in the bread, near the top, but not too close that it will easily break. Allow the bread to dry out for a couple of days (this is a great way to use up the ends of a loaf!). Smear peanut butter or lard on the bread and coat in peanut butter. Run twine through the hole and hang from the tree.

With our oldest starting Kindergarten this week, I’ve been pretty behind in my blogging! I hope to be back in the swing of things next week and my blog should get more regular again.

So for now, here’s a quick idea…slime! (courtesy of Anne Helmenstine and about.com)

You will need:

• water
• white glue (like Elmer’s™)
• borax
• food coloring (unless you want uncolored white slime)

Directions:

There are two components to slime. There is a borax and water solution and a glue, water, and food coloring solution. Prepare them separately.

1. Mix 1 teaspoon borax in 1 cup of water. Stir until the borax is dissolved.
2. In a separate container, mix 1/2 cup (4 oz) white glue with 1/2 cup water. Add food coloring, if desired.
3. After you have dissolved the borax and diluted the glue, you are ready to combine the two solutions. Stir one slime solution into the other. Your slime will begin to polymerize immediately.
4. The slime will become hard to stir after you mix the borax and glue solutions. Try to mix it up as much as you can, then remove it from the bowl and finish mixing it by hand. It’s okay if there is some colored water remaining in the bowl.
5. The slime will start out as a highly flexible polymer. You can stretch it and watch it flow. As you work it more, the slime will become stiffer and more like putty. Then you can shape it and mold it, though it will lose its shape over time. Don’t eat your slime and don’t leave it on surfaces that could be stained by the food coloring.
6. Store your slime in a sealed ziplock bag, preferably in the refrigerator. Insect pests will leave slime alone because borax is a natural pesticide, but you’ll want to chill the slime to prevent mold growth if you live in an area with high mold count. The main danger to your slime is evaporation, so keep it sealed when you’re not using it.

The Setup

Head to the dollar store to pick up plastic pitchers, napkins and small paper cups. You’ll also need a sturdy table, chairs, a cooler, ice and lots of lemonade.

Advertise

Bring in the crowds by posting signs around the neighborhood. Just be sure to take down and recycle the signs afterward.

Choose a location

Set up next to a garage sale or other neighborhood event. You can also pick a nice, shady area in front of your home if you live on a busy enough street. Keep your stand clear of passing cars! Make sure you stay with your kids at all times while they are manning their stand.

Make it look nice

Stick to one color theme – bright colors are best! Decorate your stand with a large sign. Play music and fun games to attract thirsty people.

Set your price

Set your price upfront. Charge between 25 and 75 cents, depending on competition. Let the kids decide on a favorite charity to which they can donate some of their earnings – Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is a good one! Be sure to tell customers the money is going to charity.

Sell, Sell, Sell

To provide the coolest refreshment, keep pitchers of lemonade in ice-filled coolers – don’t pour into cups ahead of time. You can also sell delicious take-away treats as well. Have them individually wrapped and priced on the table.

Good luck and have fun!!