A fun and easy way to get the kids moving. Go on a 'spy game' scavenger hunt. Scavenger hunts are always a hit here. It's an easy way I can get the boys moving without little effort on my end. And they love, love, love them! A couple of ones we've done recently: Rainbow Scavenger Hunt with Clues Scavenger Hunt to Spell Words Letter & Number Matching Hunt String ...
Bean Bag Toss as a Sight Word Game
The ABC mat came in handy, once again, as a mat for a bean bag toss that came into play for a fun sight word game for Henry. We've used the ABC mat in the past for learning an ABC learning game, as well as counting blocks of towers. Its kind of funny to think of how this mat has grown with Henry as he continues learning more and more. This time, we used it for Henry to practice ...
Spot the Sight Word
A new thing for us. Henry's learning sight words! This has been such a treat to practice with him. I set up a simple 'assignment' (wow, am I the homework mom now?) to begin learning sight words. Henry mastered his letters long ago, and recently also (apparently) mastered letter sounds (that's all from preschool, we haven't really worked on them much here besides the occasional 'So ...
10 Must Have Toys for Outdoor Fun!
These are my basic toys that kids must have for outdoor fun! They're pretty much as basic as it gets and we have them all and love them. I can only vouch for fun from 4 years and younger. But I think they're all pretty basic and have a wide age range associated with them. The toys aren't anything spectacular or anything out of the ordinary. They're just what we've tried and love ...
Mixing Colors on the Window
I set up an activity for mixing colors, without actually mixing them physically, just with light. As you may know, I love activities and crafts for the window. We have a huge picture window in our living room that just begs to be played with. This activity was pretty easy and fast to set up. I grabbed three sandwich baggies and squirted a glob of finger paint in each one. I ...
Reuse Lotion for a Smelling Sensory Activity
A sensory activity can be done with almost anything! As the simplify part of the Seventh Generation 7 day Journey to Natural Beauty, I did some spring cleaning and found an entire basket full of lotions that I haven't touched in years probably. Simplify My Routine: Reuse Before Throwing Out Since I don't use them, and haven't for ages, I might as well make room for the stuff that ...
Scavenger Hunt with Alphabet Photos
I always love scavenger hunts. The boys love them. Not sure why, buts it's always fun to hunt for something! Fun at Home with Kids shared this fun way to search for the alphabet with photos! How creative! It'd be fun hunting with the kids to take the photos, and then go on the alphabet scavenger hunt itself! There's lots and lots of super fun scavenger hunt ideas for kids! Have ...
The Latest Portraits of the Kids!
This post brought to you by Picture People. All opinions are 100% mine. I absolutely dread getting family portraits, or even just the kids portraits, taken. I don't know why... maybe its just trying to figure out what to wear... or getting everyone to smile. It just drains me. Last weekend, the whole family headed to our local Picture People studio. I have to admit, I was a ...
11 Colorful Rainbow Activities for Preschoolers
Earlier this week I featured a bunch of simple spring crafts for kids to do since spring is right around the corner. As a part of that, there are 12 rainbow activities that make me think spring. I now have another 11 rainbow activities for preschoolers to add to that! These rainbow activities are all by hands on moms that have submitted their activities here on hands on : as ...
St. Patrick’s Day Craft: Bubble Wrap Printed Shamrock
Get creative and paint some shamrocks as a St. Patrick's Day craft using bubble wrap! Packaging almost always gets reused in this house before it gets recycled or trashed. Before we made our Bubble Pop Roads, Henry made a print with the bubble wrap (or 'pops'). I'm loving that St Patrick''s is coming up because I can always give Henry the choice of color when we do an art ...
3 Math Games: A Hands on Mom Feature
Carolyn of The Pleasantest Thing submitted three math games that they do with the Melissa & Doug Number Mat (we have it already! do you?) The variations of the games are awesome to learn numbers and introduce new math concepts. I especially like the idea of splitting the numbers up, such a great introduction to addition! See the details of all three math games at The ...
4 Instruments for Kids to Make from Kiwi Crate
The Making Music activity kit from Kiwi Crate is full of instruments for kids to make! Time to make some music! I got this chance to review a Kiwi Crate, they offer single crates, or activity kits, to order (instead of the monthly subscription), so you can try it out to see if you like it before committing to a subscription. An activity kit all ready to go! First of all, what ...
A Race to Learn Phonics: A Hands on Mom Feature
Trisha of Inspiration Laboratories submitted this fun way to learn phonics with a Letter Sound Race! My favorite activities in one. Learning and getting the kids moving! This phonics race can be adapted to many levels, so whatever your kids are learning, adjust it to that. See how Inspiration Laboratories did it and all the variations of the Letter Sounds Race! Any hands on mom ...
Water Activity with Newspaper
This is one water activity that actually just grosses me out... I have a thing against certain items being wet... bread especially, but paper isn't much different. The wet newspaper is not something I'd like to touch myself. But, oh did my boys! They loved this sensory activity! It was only water and newspaper too! So simple! I had the plan to try the creeping water ...
FREE Printable Kids Activities Planner!
I've created a free printable activities planner to share with my loyal hands on : as we grow readers! I also want to quickly update everyone on how you can follow hands on : as we grow since social media is ever changing as well as how I incorporate my blog into all the places to share! A FREE Printable Kids Activities Planner for Email Subscribers First of all, I have created a ...
How to Make Play Dough: Recipe with Flour Substitute!
How to make play dough when you don't have any flour on hand? I came up with a simple, on the spot play dough recipe for when you just don't quite have the right ingredients. The boys wanted play dough recently, and I didn't have even a half a cup of flour on hand (funny, eh? Since we own a bakery...). And I really don't want to go shopping. I'm lazy in this cold weather! I dug ...
Simple Valentine Craft: Make a Vase!
We are just about Valentine'd out after all this Valentine craftiness that we've been doing! But we just had to do a quick bottle craft to make vases to put some flowers in for Valentine's Day! (ahem... hint hint hubby!) These vases are super simple for the kids to make and turn out super pretty! I'm not a coffee drinker at all, but International Delight's (affiliate link) ...
Conversation Heart Window Decorations
Today on G+ Red Ted Art, Inspiration Laboratories and myself will be sharing a few fun conversation heart activities! We made these conversation heart glue window clings (or maybe just window decorations)! They're super simple to make after some trial and error on my end. I got a couple tips from my experimenting with the kids! And even if they don't cling to ...
Homemade Heart Bird Feeder
Make your very own homemade heart shaped bird feeder to feed the birds this February for Valentine's Day and National Bird Feeding Month! I've been seeing these a lot around blogs lately so I wasn't sure if I wanted to post another one. But this is probably the one Valentine activity that Henry was so excited to do. And he could do about 90% of it all by himself. All you ...
Valentine Letter Learning & Matching Activity
Match up Scrabble letter tiles to candy hearts for a letter learning activity that's perfect for Valentine's Day! The boys have been begging for a water activity lately. And seriously, I am just blank lately! This is what I came up with... though I recommend doing this activity in something other than water because I now have some blank letter tiles! I got a tub of water ...
Valentine Heart Button Craft for Kids
This heart button craft is a colorful and pretty Valentine craft and can be a fun learning activity for kids too! I know I said the Valentine Tissue Wreath was one of my favorite Valentines craft, but this button craft is my favorite! I absolutely love how this looks on my mantel right now. It glimmers and shines in the light. Henry started with sorting buttons in a ...
Valentine Window of Toddler Painted Hearts
I love it when the kids make something to decorate our windows, and a Valentine window just had to be done! Since George has been asking non-stop to paint more and more hearts, I dug out some heart shaped paper doilies that I had bought a couple of years ago after Valentine's Day. We started with coloring a few with dot markers, and regular markers, just drawing on them, making it ...
Match Upper & Lowercase Letters Bracelet
Henry matched upper and lowercase letters to make a bracelet for Valentine's Day using letter beads and Valentine's Day words. He often comes home from school with a bracelet that he made. He is always so incredibly proud of it, and wears it for days. It keeps it on his nightstand at night. And won't let it out of his site. It becomes his pride and joy. We've never made one at ...
Sponge Art Painting for Valentine’s Day
Beautiful Valentine's Day sponge art is fun to make and do! After a round of cookie cutter painting, George was still going strong and was in the mood to paint, so we moved onto sponge art for Valentine's Day! So simple to do too! Sponge art is versatile [literally any shape can be made) and it's a fun sensory activity that results in a pretty piece of art! Let's create ...
Stamped Heart Valentine’s Day Art Project
A Valentine's Day art project that kids and even toddlers can do on their own! Upcycle a toilet paper towel tube to make an abstract heart art project! Be sure to be inspired by all our Valentine's Day projects we've been doing! Time to get creative with an abstract Valentine's Day art project! How can you not like abstract art that's by a toddler? All you need to do this ...
13 Ways to Get Creative with Tape Resist Art
I have a thing for using tape in activities, and tape resist art is a fun way to be creative with it! I love using tape resist art as a cool way for toddlers to do an art project and actually make something out of it. Its easy for them and beautiful in the end. Two quick tips for creating tape resist art successfully: Use painter's tape,(affiliate link) it comes in all sorts of ...
Kids Designs for Tissue Boxes
After voting in the White Cloud Tissue Box Designs (through their Voting App) for the Children's Miracle Network, I was so inspired to make our own tissue box designs! Henry wasn't too excited about it until I showed him it was going to be wrapped around the tissue box. And then he got super excited and decided that his design should get to go in his room in case he needs a ...
Building with Blocks & Technology
Using the iPad as a guide for building with blocks brings technology into a real hands on activity. Photos can be taken of any tower of blocks to rebuild! What's awesome is that once you get your child started with this activity, they'll likely want to build more towers to take photos of to use as new block building guides! One morning while George and I were playing with blocks ...
Sensory Activity with Corn Meal to Explore
A simple sensory activity that all kids will enjoy. Corn meal is a wonderful sensory material for kids to explore! Keeping George busy and entertained while Henry is at school each morning has become interesting. It's amazing to see how much he has grown just in the last couple of months intellectually. Even still, sensory play is a hit. I think it is for all ages (Henry ...
Valentine’s Day Art: Shaken Painted Hearts
This is a super fun, active way for toddlers to make Valentine's Day art! So, literally, get moving and get creative. A bonus, this Valentine's Day art is also a no-mess art activity! We're kicking off with some Valentine's Day art for this fun holiday with some shaken painted hearts, an idea I got from Toddler Approved! This was such a fun no-mess craft to do - with crazy ...
ABC Guide to be a Hands on Mom
We’re going to walk through what it means to be a hands on mom, from A to Z. I’ve talked previously on how to become a hands on mom by overcoming some common hurdles, or excuses, that we make for ourselves. But there’s more to it than that. In fact, I've put together an entire alphabet of the ins and outs of being hands on with your kids. Whether its my tips and tricks that I’ve ...
6 Learning Activities on It’s Playtime
Learning activities enforce a child's knowledge of what they're already learning through play. These activities are usually best received when your kid is interested in the topic already. It is almost impossible to force a child, of preschool age or younger for sure, to learn something that they have absolutely no interest in yet. Be patient, it will come. In the meantime, ...
Best Toddler Activities from 2012
2012 was a great year for toddler activities it seemed, we'll see what 2013 brings! Welcome to 2013! This week, over a hundred of kid-related bloggers have joined together to showcase their best work of 2012. Which means the best kids activities, whether they're crafts, art projects, learning activities, baby ideas or toddler activities! It just means there’s going to be a lot of ...
Box Train made from Cardboard Boxes
A box train got made over the holidays with all the packaging and cardboard boxes! It made for some seriously fun indoor toddler play. This year I did almost all (probably 98%!) of my Christmas shopping online, so boxes were in plenty this year. I didn't let the boys play with them until all the Christmas wrapping was finished to make sure I had enough boxes to put everything ...
My Favorite Activities from 2012
2012... What's been your favorite part? I've been looking back on the year, and looking through my old posts and activities that I've shared here on the blog (and I apologize for a lot of the formatting issues in the older posts!). Looking through them all brings a memory to mind with each one and they each make me smile (or cringe!). I hope I have helped you create some of ...
Wrapping Paper Snowflakes
Henry and I made some cool snowflakes from wrapping paper! See how we did it over on Kiwi Crate's The Studio! Cutting snowflakes are great cutting practice for a preschooler and work their fine motor skills. Coffee filters are a great medium to start with for the youngest, that's what Henry cut snowflakes from last year. This year, we stepped it up a notch and made them oh-so-pretty ...
Yarn Wrapped Ornaments for Window
Ever since I shared my favorite 30 homemade ornaments for kids, I've been eyeing those adorable yarn wrapped ornaments by The Crafty Crow! I decided I wanted them big to hang in the window at Christmastime. I tried it with some cardboard boxes, but I never had any that were big enough for what I was thinking. It wasn't until I realized that I'm a cake decorator and I have multiple ...
DIY Wrapping Paper: 10 Designs
Homemade wrapping paper designs: (above from top-left) Simple sticker art with office dots! By Red Ted Art Sponge and scooter art turned into gift wrap! By Taming the Goblin Tape resist scribble art the name of the gift's receiver! By What Do We Do All Day Stenciled snowflakes for a shimmery design! Because of Madalene. More DIY gift wrap designs: Pom poms on crumpled ...
Toddler Craft: Wrapping Paper Stocking
This is another activity that I did a couple of years ago with Henry after Christmas with wrapping paper scraps. The idea for the activity came from No Time For Flash Cards, once again. After the holidays, I always have a ton of wrapping paper scraps just lying around. Either from wrapping presents, or from unwrapping them on Christmas day. Take advantage of those scraps ...
Tape Resist Candy Cane Painting
The boys made gorgeous candy canes together. Each taking a part in the creating process. I'm not sure if its good to have one of my boys do one part of a project, and the other one finish it... but it seems to work well for my boys, and I like that I end up with one item that both boys worked together on. George started by making these candy canes while Henry was at ...
Decorate a Snowscape Window
As part of the Creative Christmas Countdown, I'm sharing a way to decorate a window for the holidays! There's many ways to decorate windows, in fact, I even started a Pinterest board for that very thing... Its fun to do and brightens up the room when the sun shines through it (See our leaf garland window, and get a window paint recipe)! For the holidays, the boys and I brought in ...
What I Wish Moms Would Say: Parenting Is…
If you could go back to when you had your first baby, what would you tell yourself? Summing it all up and quoting my husband, I'd tell myself to... Read everything you can on being a parent... and then adjust to fit 'shop conditions'. I'll elaborate on my husband's quote from my "mom" point of view. You're a mom for the first time. Relax and breathe. Trust yourself as a ...
Christmas Tree Window Decorations!
Foam sheets can be so versatile. They can be cut down to any shape or size that you'd like to make whatever you like! However, I have had these sticky foam sheets (affiliate link) forever and I wasn't really sure what to do with them. Last year, I used them to make our snowman fridge. But other than that, I don't think I've touched them. Until now. We decorated Christmas trees ...
Countdown to Christmas: Wrapping Paper Chain
The boys are super excited for Christmas this year. So to keep their excitement contained and still keep them excited... we created one of the most timeless, old-fashioned, activity countdowns that there is... the paper chain. Instead of the usual paper or card stock, we used leftover wrapping paper from last year. I love using things we have on hand, and especially reusing ...
5 Outdoor Activities on It’s Playtime!
With a newborn in the house now it's hard for us to get outside and play regularly. I dug up these five outdoor activities from last week's It's Playtime to inspire us with some ideas to get outside get this fall before it gets too cold later on this winter. When that snow does fall I also shared my winter, or snow, bucket list with 10 activities to do outside in the snow with ...
Q-Tip Snowflake Craft
Welcome Maggy from Red Ted Art as she shares a lovely winter craft! Last year, she shared her gingerbread house Christmas cards, this year, Maggy is sharing a snowflake craft! Well, it is wonderful to be here, whilst the lovely Jamie cuddles her new baby. Thank you for letting me visit Jamie! I would love to share this preschooler friendly Snowflake. It is so simple and easy, ...
5 Cars & Trucks Activities
http://jennifischer.blogspot.com/2012/11/ten-for-tuesday-things-that-go-series_13.htmlMy boys like things with wheels. So its often the center of many of our activities. Its just easier to include them then try to get the boys interested in a completely different theme. By including them in our activities, it often does get them interested in a completely different theme that they ...
10 Top Toys for Builders
The boys have been building and construction fanatics lately. And I've come to realize that instead of more and more toys to add to our collection of toys that never get played with. I'd rather have a toy that can be added onto to make it bigger and better in the years to come. Blocks are perfect to add onto year after year. And kids don't really grow out of blocks. They just start ...
Just Play on It’s Playtime!
I'm on baby break! Can you blame me with these three cuties? So, I'm going to let you all just browse and play this week! (Meet Louis, the littlest brother, if you haven't met him yet!) ...
Meet Louis! The Littlest Brother!
Meet the littlest brother of them all. Louis. We are now a family of five, with three boys! I'm excited and a little scared out of my mind... Louis arrived on Saturday, November 3rd. Weighed right in the middle of what the other boys did... 7 pounds, 1 ounce. And he's 20 inches long. The boys came to meet him on Sunday and I'm so thrilled that Henry is as excited as he is ...
8 Intentional Learning Activities
We mostly like to incorporate learning into our every day play. But there are occasions that I create intentional learning activities for the boys to do. And Henry really does enjoy doing them. He's kind of my smarty pants and likes to prove it. Last week was parent teacher conferences at Henry's school. So we got a nice little evaluation of what Henry's doing well on, and some ...
Gingerbread Mummy Halloween Treats
As you may already know, we own a bakery. The boys spend a lot of time there with Dad and I. Dad does the baking, I decorate cakes. It wasn't too long ago that someone passed along a photo to me of these mummified gingerbread men from Betty Crocker and we decided to start making them at the bakery. We already make gingerbread men cookies, we just needed to 'dress' them (and give ...
Foam Monster Treat Bags
Monsters come in all shapes and sizes! That's what's awesome about them. They can be absolutely anything. (Perfect for little kids to make!) A square could be a face, or a flower can! It doesn't matter at all. We made these foam monsters at Grandma's using Creatology's Foam Platters. And added in googly eyes and feathers or pipe cleaners, and the monsters are kicked up a notch! ...
6 Fall Fine Motor Activities
Since I shared a few gross motor activities to do last week on It's Playtime, I thought I'd turn it around and focus on the little things, like a few fine motor activities. To have lots of inspiration for fine motor activities, check out our 30 activities and materials that promote fine motor skills. (above, from top, left to right) Making Boys Men makes DIY scratch art (on ...
How to Make Kid Size Scarecrows
Let the kids take part this Autumn and make their very own scarecrows, kid size! Sugarsnips shows us how to make these easy scarecrows for the season! So a few weeks ago we had multiple plumbing "issues" which resulted in not 1 or 2 or even 3 visits from the plumber but the inevitable getting the city involved, not my favorite time, best day ever for the kids. Why? Because we had an ...
12 Things I Gotta Do Before the Baby Arrives!
I'm finally to the point of counting down the weeks left in this third pregnancy. 5 weeks and counting. (Take a stab at guessing when the baby will get here!) And reality kind of hit over the weekend that I'm not at all prepared for the baby to actually be here. My husband was diligently working on getting George's new big boy bedroom ready for the most part of my pregnancy. Now ...
Sticky Foam: A Birthday Cake in the Window
To celebrate the week before George's birthday, Henry made a birthday cake right on the front window. We received these foam platters from Michael's Creatology line, that come in a brightly colored shapes one, as well as a sports edition with balls, trophies and so on. These Foamies are perfect for sticking to the window! They are not self adhesive foams, they're just foam. (The ...
8 Leaf Activities for Kids on It’s Playtime!
It's almost that time of year. The time that the seasons are changing. And the time that the leaves are changing, and falling to the ground. What can the kids do with all these leaves? Of course, you gotta rake them up in a pile and jump in them and throw them in the air! But there's so much more you can do with leaves! My It's Playtime pals from last week shared lots of leaf ...
Happy Birthday Sensory Bin
It was George's Birthday over the weekend! George turned 2! This Happy Birthday Sensory Bin, that No Twiddle Twaddle is sharing today, would have been a perfect activity during the party, and may just be something we do for the fun of it this week to extend his birthday! Hi! I'm Bethany from the kid lit and play blog No Twiddle Twaddle, and I'm excited that Jamie is letting me ...
6 Sensory Activities for Toddlers to Explore with All 5 Senses
I often associate sensory activities to toddlers because it's all about exploring with your senses and not following direction or learning a specific curriculum. When I think of sensory activities, I can't help but think of ooey, gooey, slimy stuff to put through your fingers. But there's more to the senses then just touch. Sight, smell, taste, touch and sound. While most sensory ...
Large Tube Gravity Experiment
While fixing up George's new big boy room, we got new carpet for the room and ended up with this large carpet tube. This was such a treat for the boys! And I think you could go to any carpet store and they'd be happy to give you any tubes that they have. Or this experiment could be done on a much smaller scale too using wrapping paper tubes, or even a paper towel tube. Of ...
A Clean Up Method: Blocks Transport
Does this look familiar to you? A tub of blocks, dumped out all over the floor? This constantly happens in our house. Any tub of toys gets dumped out in its entirety. Blocks are very common to be strewn about the floor. And this time it happened while I was trying to get dinner on the table and it was right in the middle of our foyer. To entice the boys to pick them up, as ...
A Busy Play Activity: Styrofoam Destruction
Who knew Styrofoam packaging from a ceiling fan could provide such entertainment to two little boys? Add some tools (real tools!) to some good old Styrofoam and let the boys have a blast destructing it. Or is that all they're doing? At one point Henry was scooping soup Styrofoam pieces and at another time he was shaking it up, making popcorn with it! Oh, the imagination on ...
6 Creative Painting Ideas on It’s Playtime!
We haven't been having too many creative activities around here lately! I've been a little preoccupied with the bakery lately and haven't had the time I'd like to do art and crafty projects with the kids. I know, its a classic excuse to not be hands on with the kids. Anyway, I don't want to deprive you of getting creative with the kids just because we haven't been. So I found 6 ...
Fine Motor Activity with Drawer Knobs & Screws
Another toddler busy play activity! I've been after my husband for some nuts and bolts. I know he has a bunch somewhere (he saves absolutely everything, I'm sure he has a stash!). I decided to take a look for some myself and while doing so, George happened to find these drawer knobs with their screws! That would work just the same as the nuts and bolts! This was great ...
First Day of Preschool: Picnic Lunch
Henry headed off to his first day of 4 year old preschool on Monday. New building. New teacher. New experience! Henry was excited for school to start [thanks to our back-to-school countdown with books!] and to keep up the excitement, we planned a special picnic with the whole family for after school [he goes just for the morning, five days a week]. While Henry was at school, ...
Learning Shapes on It’s Playtime!
Henry's first week of school and they're already learning shapes! Henry knows the basic shapes, but drawing them, or making them might be a different story. He's getting much more into it though and I'm loving that he's trying! I found some learning activities for shapes on It's Playtime: (above, clockwise from top-left) Timeless Adventures works on fine motor ...
Entertained with Dominoes!
Dominoes! I think there's a lot of potential that could be done for activities with Dominoes, but for now, I just let the boys explore them and see what they thought of them. Henry immediately began to make a road with them, and George followed suit. I just happily watched to see what they'd use the Dominoes as. My mind turning with the possibilities for learning ...
Toddler Busy Play: Measuring Cups & Pots
I was trying to get some bars in the oven to bake, and the boys were not getting along for the life of them the other day and I needed to separate them. To keep George in the kitchen with me, but also to allow me to accomplish something, I simply handed him my set of measuring cups and a pot with a lid. It worked. A simple busy play set up perfect for a toddler. He loved ...
Games to Play! It’s Playtime!
Its game time! Of course there are board games that we love and are tried and true (this list contains affiliate links): Memory Candy Land Chutes and Ladders Ants in the Pants Games Don't Break the Ice But there's also games to really get the whole child involved! I love these homemade games that I found on It's Playtime last week and I cant wait to give them a ...
Drawing & Mark Making on It’s Playtime!
Since I'm so beyond proud and excited about Henry making his first real drawing with sidewalk chalk, I'm going to keep celebrating it with some drawings I found on It's Playtime last week. A few ways to get the kids excited to draw and even write stories! I love these ideas from these creative bloggers! (above, clockwise from top-left) Draw yourself as your favorite ...
Time for Shoes with Shoelaces
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Famous Footwear. All opinions are 100% mine. I swear sometimes all I do is shop for shoes for the boys. George, I think, has grown through three pairs this summer alone. He's has monstruous feet! And Henry has actually been wearing through his shoes this summer! I can't believe how much he wears them ...
Preschool Class on It’s Playtime
Since I'm sort of celebrating getting back into the groove of school, and refreshing the Henry's memory of things he has learned, this week, I'm going to pretend today's a day of preschool on It's Playtime! This week I've already shared 50 Ways to Learn the ABCs and 40 Math Activities for Preschoolers. Tomorrow will be another learning day too! In one short day, we're going to ...
Olympic Crafts on It’s Playtime!
It's the Olympics! I love the Olympics. The competitiveness, the strength, and athletes achieving their dreams. It's really amazing to see what they can do! The boys had a little race with fabric scraps and straws, which gave us a chance to discuss the meaning of words behind winning and losing. It seems that there's Olympic crafts and activities for the kids to do of all ...
Who’s Fastest? Blowing Fabric Race Activity
Thanks to Kitchen Counter Chronicles for passing on the Olympic torch to me in the Kid Bloggers Go Olympics. I now have a chance to race to the finish line and WIN! Or not, as part of a group effort, we'll all win in celebrating the Olympics with our kids, together. I mentioned winning because winning is obviously a huge part of the Olympics. Who doesn't want a gold medal? Do you ...
Drawing Activity: Chalkboard Connect the Dots
I found a simple way to have Henry work on writing (fine motor skills) as well as refreshing his counting skills. I also wanted to give him confidence that he could create drawings with just simple lines. Using a chalk board and chalk (or you could use your sidewalk or driveway if you don't have a chalkboard), I made some simple connect the dots in basic shapes. I've also done ...
Learning Activity: Shape Sorting for Preschoolers
Shape sorting. A good review for Henry before school starts! This was one of those non-planned activities though. The boys had been playing with the ABC and square foam mats (affiliate link) and I was sorting through some of my crafty items in my cupboard. I came across these poster shapes that I got from CraftProjectIdeas. I hadn't come up with any cool activity to do with them ...
Cultural Activities for Kids on It’s Playtime
Let's explore the world! Do you travel? We do, but it has always been in just the states. I have yet to jump an ocean to explore a faraway land myself, so my kids haven't had the chance at all. But there's way to help the kids (as well as myself) be globally aware and learn about different cultures, right from home: (above, from top, left to right:) Se7en takes us on a trip ...
Family Vacation Spot: Omaha, NE
This year for our family vacation we ventured a trip to Omaha, Nebraska. I was in contact with the Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau and got lots of great tips on where to go, what to see and where to eat. Something I will definitely be doing with every city we visit in the upcoming years! Not only were they super helpful with pointing me to places to go, but also handy with ...
Toddler Sensory Activity: Treasure Box
A quick treasure box made for George with recycled material and real coins. I received a package and absolutely love this crinkle paper stuff so I had to use it and knew George would love feeling it. I threw in some real coins and mixed it up a little bit (most of the coins just fell to the bottom) and put a couple coins on top to entice George into the sensory ...
It’s Playtime! Love the Earth
Upcycling isn't new to us in this house at all. We save almost anything that comes through this door in the hopes to somehow use it in an upcoming activity (even though it drives my husband insane). But a lot has come in handy and plus it shows the boys how to reuse many common objects for more than its original intention. (Be inspired to save your recyclables for upcyling with ...
Push Pin Geoboard: Made by Child!
A geoboard has been on my list of things to make for the kids for a long, long time. They've always seemed like such a great means to work on fine motor skills but yet letting the kids be creative. I've had the perfect board for it, and have been waiting (ever-so-patiently) for my husband to drill the holes precisely... Maybe I should have just bought my own, and I think I might ...
Fabric Painted Pillowcase
Remember our tie dyed pillowcase gift wrap? I added to it for a special little girl's birthday gift! I used this rather cool fabric paint called DecoArt Ink Effects that irons on whatever you paint! I'll show you the simple how-to [though, its pretty easy, so there's not really much to show you!]. And the best part is that its not all crunchy and crisp like most iron-ons that you ...
It’s Playtime is Full of Imagination!
What is a tool that you think best sparks a child's imagination? The cardboard box? Paint? How about dress up clothes? or reading books? This week's theme on the Readathon is Imagination and I've found so many brilliant ideas and resources to help encourage your child's imagination! For example, Fun with Mama has 7 simple ways to encourage imagination that's a must read. And ...
Fly a Homemade and Recycled Kite!
Fly a kite today! Run in the backyard or take it to the park. All you need it some string, a plastic grocery bag (one preferably without holes, which may or may not be hard to find), and a rubber band for extra assurance that it won't fly away. I tied string to both handles of the bag. One long for the string of the kite and one short, just to reach to the other ...
A Positive Look at It’s Playtime!
Building character with positive behavior is what Week 3 of the Readathon is all about. Check out the books that are available this week for free: Ditto the Butterfly StickFiggy & the Piggy Monkey Good Habits to Have Just like with learning anything, there's opportunities to teach positive behavior to your child in almost any circumstance. Here are a few fun ways that I ...
Making Friends on It’s Playtime!
Henry and Blue Dog are best friends. They have been for quite some time now. It makes me wonder how long he'll keep his stuffed animal friend... Even though Blue is just a stuffed animal, he gets treated like a real friend. Blue is sad if I don't say goodnight to him. Blue gets excited and angry. Henry tells us what Blue thinks on a regular basis. Henry even puts out dog food for ...
‘Make A Rainbow’ Hunt! with BabbaBox Giveaway!
We got a BabbaBox! (And you can get one too! Check out the giveaway for a 3 month membership below!) I just want to quickly tell you what BabbaCo< is all about. They send you some awesome crafty/activity ideas with all the stuff right in a box, right to your front door. Can't get much easier than that. No thinking. No shopping. No leftovers. Just easy. This is their BabbaBox! You ...
Play Dough with Tees, Straws & Pipe Cleaners
A simple play prompt. Play dough. Tees. Straws. And pipe cleaners added later. The boys and I made play dough and I simply added these items to it. Here's my favorite recipe for how to make homemade play dough. It was a great sensory activity because the play dough was still even warm from making it. Play dough normally is a wonderful sensory activity in itself, but the added ...
Tie Dyed Pillowcase Gift Wrap
Make a fun tie dyed pillowcase the totally doubles as a homemade gift bag! It's an easy way to get creative with your kids and share your art with others. The boys (okay mainly Henry) and I received this rad (had to break that out) Tulip Tie Dye Kit in the mail and got to do some tie dying! Totally! DIY Gift Wrap with a Tie Dyed Pillowcase We came up with a plan to dye ...
Simple Straw-Threaded Shoestring Necklace
I don't think is can get much more basic than threading with straws, can it? That's what I'm all about lately. Getting back to the basics. The simple activities. That are easy to whip up and stuff I have (and you probably do too). What's awesome about this is that you can use dry pasta noodles instead if you don't have straws. Anyhow. I had some of these shoelaces from a ...
The Best from It’s Playtime!
I haven't looked at the stats of It's Playtime in a while, so I thought it might be time for a selection of the best of last week's It's Playtime link up party. You guys always bring brilliant ideas and the ones that always stand out always get lots of love from readers clicking through, so I want to showcase them even more because they really do stand out and need the ...
“Things that Go” on It’s Playtime!
So, it turns out you guys are vehicle lovers too! We are in this house! And I collected 35 Activities for Things that Go, just so I'd have something handy to go to when I really need an activity the boys will really like and keep busy with. These are four brilliant vehicle activities that would be sure to be hits with the vehicle lovers! Above, clockwise from top-left: Just ...
Dinosaurs & Cars: Together!
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of VTechKids. All opinions are 100% mine. The boys received these cool toys from VTech the other day. They couldn't (and still can't) put them down. I'm so thrilled with this. Why? Because its something other than tractors for once! Yes, it's still another 'thing that goes'... but it's also a dinosaur! Something completely new to the ...
Pretend Play: Tractor Driving
Henry's imagination has been in full gear lately. His stories at bedtime are unbelievable. Along with unending... He often sets up the couch as a tractor for some pretend play and drives along and does his work for the day. (Seriously, this kid works all day in his mind.) This would be a great addition to the 35 Activities for Things that Go! A way to create your own ...
6 Water Activities on It’s Playtime!
This week we've gotten into water a little bit since its been nicer weather here again. George played with water and soap and made lots and lots of bubbles. And the boys both got into painting the driveway with water. Both activities were big hits, but then again, water always is. Since water is always a hit, I thought I'd share a six water activities I found on It's Playtime last ...
Learning Colors on It’s Playtime!
Need fun ways to learn some colors with the kids? We've done a few color learning activities... A colorful rainbow hunt for toys Sorting crayons by color Color sorting paper collage (guest post at Mama Pea Pod) Here's a few more ideas from It's Playtime! Above, clockwise from top-left: Carrots are Orange marked some clothespins with a color and matched them, ...
Match Tupperware Fine Motor Strengthening Activity
My Tupperware drawer needed cleaned out. I wasn't finding matching tubs and lids for the life of me. So I let the kids have at my drawer. Wiped it clean and started sorting and finding matches of lids and tubs... George just got a kick out of digging through my drawer. I don't think he found a single match, but did give it a shot. Henry joined us and absolutely loved ...
Children’s Books Activities on It’s Playtime!
Since this week is Children's Book Week, I thought I'd share a few book inspired activities that were shared on It's Playtime! We are book lovers in this house, I'm just no good at putting activities together with the book. So, hopefully these will inspire me a little, too. First, I just wanted to mention that No Twiddle Twaddle has a great list of books that are great for ...