Boredom Busters for Kids and Adults

Here in NE Kansas schools, the local Colleges and Universities canceled classes again for the third day in less than a week.  Unheard of.  We are covered in a beautiful thick blanket of heavy, heavy snow - perfect for making snowmen.  In fact, the children are just now putting the finishing touches on a snow family to stand watch out front.   

If you have some crafty little souls in your house who are complaining of being BORED - heaven forbid - let us suggest these patterns and printable PDFs that will allow you to quickly get them engaged in a productive project that won't end in 30 seconds.  If these don't match your children's skill or interest level, don't fear, we have an amazing archive of projects, tutorials, and activities - check out all the categories you can search in our sidebar, bottom right!    

Barn Farmhouse Skin PDF, Instant download from DollsAndDaydreams

Funky Fleece Hat PDF Pattern from monkeysbug

Peasant Swing Top and Dress, PDF sewing pattern from AveryLane

Paper Doll PDF Printout, instant download from DollsAndDaydreams

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Bring the Outdoors in: Snow

By Christine of Belly Bear Baby Gear

 

Sometimes you can't go and enjoy the great outdoors.  That doesn't mean you can't bring the outdoors inside.  For this experience we brought some fluffy wintery white into our living room.

Sean and Isabel love the snow, but as they are still young, they don't tolerate being out in the cold for very long.  Bringing a tub of snow into the house gave them the opportunity to explore the snow at their leisure.

Not many supplies are needed for this activity: a large sheet or table cloth to cover the floor, a dish pan, and a few kitchen utensils.  I provided them with spoons, forks and plastic cups for this occasion.  And of course a good dose of snow!

Isabel and Sean made quick work of this snow.  Of course their favorite thing was eating it!  Next time it's just too cold to go out and enjoy the snow, go ahead and bring some in.  Sit back and enjoy the show.  Our house was filled with squeals of delight as Sean and Isabel marveled at the feel of the cold snow on their hands.

Christine can be found online in the following locations:

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Sensory Activity:: Candy Corn Sensory Seek

Who doesn't love a good game of hide and seek? Halloween and Thanksgiving are over and I'm sure y'all have some extra candy corn, Indian corn or candy pumpkins left, no? I know I do! Here's a fun way to use it up without eating all that sugar!


Materials::

• Box/Bag of White Rice (I used just about 2 boxes) 
• Rubbing Alcohol 
• Food Coloring (red & yellow) 
• Large Zip Bag 
• Sensory Table/Water Table/Bucket/Storage Bin...anything really! 
• Candy Corn (the yellow, orange & white kind) 
• Cookie Sheet 

Process::
You will be separating your rice so you can make 2 colors (since the rice is already white, you won't need to do anything to it for the white color...obviously). I'd say I used about 3-4 cups of rice for each color.

To dye the rice, just pour your rice into a zip bag, add a splash of rubbing alcohol and a few drops (I think I used about 8 drops of each color) of food coloring. Close the bag and have either your child or yourself shake it up! I found that to make the orange color it was best to pour the alcohol in a bowl and add the red and yellow first before pouring it into the bag. This gave it an even orange color.

Once you are done coating your rice with the color, spread it out onto a cookie sheet to dry overnight.

Now you can play! Mix the yellow, orange and white rice together in your sensory tub and add the candy corn. Bury the candy corn so it's not visible. You can leave some peaking out for starters.

We used an egg carton to collect all the candy corn Bug found.

She doesn't look too thrilled here, but I promise she was!

Isn't that fun?! Bug certainly thought so!

Like what you see? Come visit my blog Tutus & Tea Parties for more fun with the kiddos and; even some DIYs for you!

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Art Project:: Bubble Wrap Fall Tree

Article submitted by RaisingGreenKids, blog - RaisingGreenRichmondKids

Have your little ones create Fall trees using leftover bubble wrap. This is a fun and super easy eco-friendly craft for little ones of all ages.

What you'll need:
paper - heavier stock paper works best
cut squares of bubble wrap. mine were about 4x4
paints-yellow,red,orange,brown
brown markers or crayons

Directions:

If you child is older they can draw their own tree trunk, if they are younger draw it for them.
Put a thin layer of each color of paint on a left over lid or reusable bowl or plate.
Show your child how to take the square of bubble wrap into their hand and dip it into the paint, then dab up and down on the paper in different spots above the tree trunk.
Use different colors to create a fun Fall picture. Enjoy!

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25 Things For Kids To Do When Stuck Indoors

EtsyKids team member and mother of two, Katie of childhoodstore, who is also patiently preparing to wait out Hurricane Sandy, shares some really fun indoor activities to do with kids using stuff you already have at home (love that!).  Not in the path of Hurricane Sandy?  Count yourself lucky and bookmark this for later ... think endless freezing cold days of winter, indoor recess at the grade school, games and activities for classroom parties.

Like most everybody on the east coast we are preparing for hurricane Sandy, which means we are stocking up on batteries, waters and snacks. It also means I am preparing for the potential of a week home with both girls and no electricity. So here is a list of some activities we have done before that I am thinking we might revisit this week. Do you have any fun indoor activities for kids?

Shoe Matching Game
Play With a Box
Play With Waterbeads
Painters Tape Hopscotch
Bean Bag Games
Make a Cardboard Computer
Cave Drawing
Pipe Cleaner and Colander Sculptures
Walk the Line
Floor Puzzles
Play People Riddles
Shaving Cream Car Wash
Paint with Water
Post-it Note Art Gallery
Color Relay
Clean Penny Experiment
Form a Square Game
Play Dress-Up
Dance
Glue Painting
Make Plastic Straw Necklaces
Cloud Dough
Plastic Cup Printing
Apple Printing
Plastic Baggie Art

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Sensory Activity:: Baby Lotion Body Paint

One rainy day my sister came for a visit and while looking for something to do, we came across this recipe for baby lotion body paint! Since I still have 4 bottles of baby lotion from my baby shower (3 years ago) I though it was the perfect paint to make!

Good times!

Like what you see? Come visit my blog Tutus & Tea Parties for more fun with the kiddos and; even some DIYs for you!

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Sensory Activity:: Puffy Paint ABC Cards

Bug is starting to learn her letters. She knows a good amount already and she can write an H {the first letter of her name}. I love having some hands on ways to learn so I came up with this for letter learning. Bug seems to like them and we have been working on one letter at a time each week. I have all the letters she knows in one pile and the ones to learn in another so she can play games with the letters she learned. I am thinking about gluing a photo of the letter sign on the back to help her with signing her letters when I'm not there to show her the sign.


What you will need:
-microwave puffy paint recipe {found here}
-microwave
-writing utensil {I used a Sharpie}
-cardboard {we used an old box}
-food coloring
-scissors/razor blade
-a squeeze bottle or a spoon
-patience


What to do:
-cut 26 small-ish squares out of your cardboard {big enough to write a letter on}
-draw in marker a letter on each square
-make the microwave puffy paint {I doubled the recipe and had a little more than enough}
-using your squeeze bottle {I used a spoon} trace the letter with your puffy paint
-microwave according to instructions below the recipe {I think we did it for about 25 seconds}

Here are some things you can use these for:

Have your children trace along the letters with their fingers.

Do crayon rubbings with the letters. {not sure how well these would work...but it would be worth a shot}

Make words with the letter squares.

Spread them all out, mix 'em up and have a letter search.

Glue a photo of something that begins with that letter or a photo of the ASL sign for that letter.

If you like this post and want to see more toddler activities please visit my blog, Tutus and Tea Parties. You can also follow me on: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest.

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Easy Oil Paintings

By Cori of Peace, Baby! Batiks

My son and I are working through the alphabet with a “letter of the week,” and when I needed an art project for “O Week” a couple of weeks ago, I turned to this marbleized paper tutorial from Unplug Your Kids. For our purposes, I called them oil paintings.

Here’s what you need:
A shallow pan (I used a dish pan)
Food coloring
Vegetable oil
Water
Thick paper (We used watercolor paper and cardstock)
Dropper

First, mix up the colors. Stir together 1/2 tablespoon oil and several drops of food coloring for each color. Mix with a fork for several minutes to combine the two ingredients. (Next time I will try shaking it, as suggested in the original instructions. It's a little like salad dressing.)

Put just enough water in the bottom of your pan to cover the bottom. (The colors will sink if the water is too deep.)

Use the dropper to put dots of color on top of the water. Don’t be afraid to mix colors, put colors on top of each other, or swirl them around. My son is into mixing colors lately, so he loved mixing the colors together.

When you’re done adding colors, gently place a piece of cardstock or watercolor paper on top of the water. Let it sit there until you see the pattern of colors seep through the paper. Gently peel the paper off, let excess water drain off, and set aside to dry.

Change the water and try again!

We’ve used our oil paintings to make cards, and I’m thinking about getting frames for a couple of them. They’re so pretty!

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Bring the Outdoors In: Beautiful Things - Collecting and Sorting

By Christine of Belly Bear Baby Gear

Items found in nature contain such beauty, and children seem to be particularly attuned to this beauty. With only a few simple items, you can encourage your children to participate in this fun and educational nature based activity.

All you will need is a paper bag (or other collecting vessel), an empty egg carton and the great outdoors!

Begin by giving your child a paper bag and bringing them outside. A walk in the woods would provide for some great diverse items for collection, but as you will see, your own back yard will do just fine.

If you are working with young children, you may need to show them what to do by placing a few items in their bag for them. Encourage them to collect as many small three dimensional items as they'd like.

Sean was particularly drawn to this patch of grass and rocks in our yard. He discovered big and little rocks as well as a few left over acorn caps. As your child collects more items, this is an opportunity for you to build their nature vocabulary by naming and labeling what they are collecting.

Once your bags are nice and full bring them inside and pour the contents into the top portion of your egg carton.

Sit back for a moment and enjoy the spoils of all your hard work. Allow your child to study the items and consider how they may be sorted.

Young toddlers will simply enjoy exploring the items and filling the cups in the egg carton at random. You can begin encouraging them to notice the similarities and differences by explaining "Let's put all the rocks together" or "Look at all the pink petals".

When working with older children you can encourage more advanced sorting skills. Allow them to study what they have collected and decide how they will sort the beautiful things they have found. They may decide to sort by color placing all the brown things and pink things together, or they may decide sorting by type of object makes the most sense for them.

This activity will encourage your child to begin developing their mathematical thinking skills such as sorting objects varying by one or two attributes all the while enjoying the natural objects they collected. Take a moment to enjoy the beauty found outside with your children and help foster the next generation of nature lovers.

Christine can be found online on her blog Belly Bear Baby Gear, facebook, and her etsy shop:

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Father’s Day Tie Bookmarks

By Cori of Peace, Baby! Batiks

Got an hour between now and Father’s Day (June 17)? Then you have time for the kids to make fun bookmarks for the dads and father figures in their lives. My husband, father, father-in-law, and grandfather all love to read, so this idea was a no-brainer for us!

To start, I drew simple tie shapes on cardstock. I drew a triangle with rounded edges for the knot, and a long rectangle with a point at the end for the tie. I drew two per page, but I probably could have squeezed three or four on there. (I'll be the first to admit that my tie shapes are not perfect, but I think that only adds to their charm!)

Then, I set my son to decorating with crayons and markers. The first couple were simple, but he had a great time with patterns and shapes on the last two.

Once they were decorated, he stamped “Happy Father’s Day” onto the back of each and signed it. I dated them so the dads would remember. Then, I laminated them in clear contact paper. Add a loop or ribbon, and you’ve got a gift Dad will love!

We’re also going to fill out one of these fun questionnaires for my husband for Father’s Day. My son is four, and I can’t wait to see what answers he comes up with. I imagine it’s going to be hysterical. I think we’ll do it every year.

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Under the Sea Craft Projects

By Cori of Peace, Baby! Batiks

Finding Nemo is all the rage at my house these days, temporarily bumping Lightning McQueen from most-favored-toy status. We’ve borrowed ocean books from the library, visited aquariums, and pretended we were Nemo and his friends.

So, when I started planning the monthly arts and crafts activity for my MOMS Club, I scoured my Kid Stuff Pinterest board for simple projects related to ocean creatures. I settled on two painting projects: paper bowl jellyfish and paper plate fish.

The jellyfish were inspired by this project from First Palette and this one from Creekside Learning. I told the kids we were making octopuses; as we moved along with the craft, they informed me the octopuses looked more like jellyfish. I went back and looked at the original ideas, and of course, they were right!

We started our jellyfish by painting the bottom of paper bowls. Some kids painted the whole thing; others, like my son, just painted the base of the bowl. I glued googly eyes onto each one. We used tape to attach streamers around the bowl for tentacles.

The fish were inspired by these beautiful paper plate tropical fish from Crafts by Amanda. For the fish, give each kid two paper plates. Have them paint one to be the fish body and help them draw fins on the other plate (or draw them for little guys), and paint those shapes.

When everything is dry, cut out the fins and tape or glue them into place. Draw an eye or attach a googly eye. Too cute!

Here are some other fishy crafts we’ve tried or want to try:

Paper plate octopus, via Artsy Craftsy Mom

Egg carton fish, via Crafty-Crafted. Ours are still a work in progress; we need to add stripes, fins, and eyes.

Squishy fish aquariums, from Teach Preschool (one of my favorite blogs!). We used light blue hair gel and added food coloring to make the gel bluer.

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Toddler Sensory Activity: Planting Flowers

It's finally warming up here in NY and we are enjoying watching the flowers bloom! Here's a fun sensory play idea to welcome Spring.

What you need:

• dried black beans {I used 2 bags}
• fake flowers
• small flower pots
• any other gardening tools you have around the house {we used shovels and a small watering can}
• sensory table {If you don't have a sensory table {I don't} then you can use a bowl, Tupperware, one of those disposable lasagna pans {which we used}...pretty much anything your little heart desires. There are also tons of sensory table DIYs around the internet if you are handy enough to make one yourself. We also have a water table that we like to use.}

What to do:

• empty out your beans into the sensory table
• trim flowers so they aren't too large for the kiddos {make sure no metal is sticking out - you may want to tape the bottom just in case}
• have the children "plant" their flowers by filling a planter with beans and sticking in the flower{s}
• we also have a small watering can to pretend to water the flowers

If you like this post and want to see more toddler activities please visit my blog, Tutus and Tea Parties. You can also follow me on: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest.

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