Happy Birthday George! You're 1 year old today! A celebration to you here on It's Playtime! A virtual birthday party from some of our playdate friends! So happy to see that someone brought the cake and cupcakes to the party! Thanks to Create with your Hands for bringing the play dough cake and the pom pom mini cupcakes were courtesy of Learning 4 Kids, this will be a true ...
Outdoor Activities : Yet to do this Fall
With the weather getting cooler each day, I've found that we're not getting outside nearly as much as we were this summer. The weather is still plenty nice to play all day outside, just with a jacket on instead. (Though that jacket seems to have bugs crawling in it or something, Henry just doesn't want to keep it on!) To get us in the mood to play outside, here are a few ...
Art: DIY Wrapping Paper from Tissue Paper
George is turning 1...tomorrow! Henry and I got creative by making some of our own wrapping paper for George's present. A simple art technique with tissue paper and water, that I learned about from The Little Red Hen. Henry started with ripping different colors of tissue paper into small pieces. We then arranged them on a long piece of butcher (or art) paper. It was an ...
How to Referee Fighting Boys
With George turning one this week, he has also become mobile. The two boys are already pushing and shoving, fighting over toys. I know the coming year will bring one a whole different set of struggles between the two of them. I have found that keeping them occupied with activities, crafts or art, does help. But I can't possibly keep them that busy all the time, nor would I ...
How to Discipline a Demanding 2 Year Old
Henry acting out? No....That never happens. Ha. I wish that was a true story. Henry whizzed through the terrible twos with just a lot of energy, not really being terrible. The three's have been another story. It has been very common to see a full-blown tantrum over the tiniest thing. What I have come to learn is that my behavior affects his behavior. I know this is basic ...
Baby Play : Baby Food Jars
Baby food jars and lids. Simple entertainment for a baby. And it's something almost every mom has on hand. Henry asked to get these his 'grain bins' back out and George can't stop playing with them. (Henry hasn't been the happiest about that either.) Ignore the numbers on the jars and lids, those were for counting for Henry, I'm not about to try to teach my one year old ...
It’s Playtime! : Play for Boys
Now to be fair and unbiased, there are many ways to play that both boys and girls like. And dressing up and art are for the boys, too. But there are some things that every boy loves. Cars, vehicles, dirt, to name a few. I'm always on the lookout for things to do with boys. New activities, new play ideas, even new art inspiration that my boys would find interesting. Here ...
Pretend Play : Play Dough Pizza Bites
After sharing 34 ways to create, pretend and learn with Play Dough last week, I stumbled upon Play-Doh's website and came across Play-Doh Playdates! A bunch of pizza ideas! I loved the Pizza Play Dough idea that I shared from The Imagination Tree, so I thought Henry would love to make his own and have a Pizza Night! Henry's been begging me to play with play dough the last couple ...
Raising Kids is Tough : Gender Awareness
More of those Unwanted Behaviors have been answered! This time its a pretty touchy topic but one definitely to be aware of. Is your child becoming a little too aware of his/her private parts, or worse, others? These hands on experts have given their professional and personal answers to help deal with or accept those unwanted behaviors that you submitted. The Hands On Experts: ...
It’s Playtime! : Preschooler Games
As a child I loved games! Maybe its the competitive part of me.I loved (and still do) a challenge. I hope (to a certain extent at least) my kids have this same competitive drive throughout childhood and into adulthood. Games that are age appropriate for a preschooler are sometimes hard to come by. To make a game exciting as well as stimulating can sometimes be a challenge! A ...
Raising Kids is Tough : Adult Differences
Every Monday through September, we'll be going through some Unwanted Behaviors. I'm very excited for this part in the series, because I often wonder what is expected of my child at his age, or how to cope with certain outbursts. And boy, the experts have some great answers to share! These hands on experts have given their professional and personal answers to help deal with or ...
Simple DIY Calendar for Preschooler
My preschooler doesn't really like preschool. What do I do? I decided to create some structure to our day. I created a simple calendar of the week, so Henry can see what days he has preschool. As well as seeing what he can do when he gets home from preschool! (That's my hope, to get him excited about both preschool and an after-school activity.) In addition, it ...
It’s Playtime! : The Areas of Play
In yesterday's post, P is for Play, I went through a few of the ways I look at play, and how I believe it is an important part of learning for a young child. Luckily enough, I find inspiration for all kinds of ways to play every week from It's Playtime! (Yay Playtimers!) Here are your ways to play in each area of Play that I outlined yesterday. Outdoor Play: Gratefully ...
P is for Play!
P is for Play. One letter and only one part of the ABCs of Teaching Preschool. Deborah of Teach Preschool has hit an amazing milestone on Facebook: 20k fans. Yes, that's right, 20,000 fans! I'm thrilled to be included in Teach Preschool's celebration! This is only one post in a collection of the "ABCs of Teaching Preschool". I don't teach preschool, but I do teach my own ...
Raising Kids is Tough : Eating Battles
For the Raising Kids is Tough series, August has been all about your Eating Battles. This is the final edition of Eating Battles. This week are all the questions that came in throughout the month and I've posted on Facebook to have fans, as well as the experts, give you their answers! The Hands On Experts: Mom Expert: Jill of A Mom with a Lesson Plan Parenting Expert: Erin ...
It’s Playtime! : Energy Busters
I have lately felt the itch to get moving. To get Henry and George moving, more specifically. I noticed that we haven't been doing as many energetic activities as we were prior to the summer. Being outdoors all day does get the kids moving. I looked through last week's It's Playtime for inspiration to get the kids moving. I found some nifty ways to get the kids tangled up and ...
Raising Kids is Tough : Healthy Snacks
We're discussing your Eating Battles. This week are some suggestions for healthy snacks that don't turn into a meal. I have gathered some suggestions on Facebook as well as from one of the experts (Sarah from Füdoo Boards). The hands on experts have given their professional and personal answers to help lessen your eating battles that you have submitted. The Hands On Experts: Mom ...
It’s Playtime! : Feet & Hand Prints
Last week on It's Playtime, I noticed a lot of hand and foot action you guys have been having! But before we get into our playdate, I wanted to share that I found out earlier this week that hands on : as we grow has been nominated as the 'Best Craft for Kids Blog' on Parents.com!(!!!!!) If you agree that you find lots of valuable kids crafts and art (and activities!) here, head ...
Art : DIY Tie-Dyed T-Shirts
Welcome back, Jane from Mama Pea Pod! Way back, when It's Playtime was new (this week we've done it 20 times already!), I found this fun filled blog called Mama Pea Pod and asked her right away to guest post on hands on : as we grow. It was around Easter, and Jane got artsy with some plastic eggs! Jane's back again, and this time she's getting artsy with some t-shirts! This is such ...
Fine Motor Activity: Cutting Straws
As a learning activity to help Henry learn to use a scissors better, I set out the above items on his play table during his nap. It includes straws, Magic Loops (plastic strings), and a pair of child scissors. I really didn't expect Henry to be as excited as he was when he woke from his nap to find this bowl. He began snipping right away. He struggles quite a bit with the ...
Raising Kids is Tough : Picky Eaters
This month, every Monday for the Raising Kids is Tough series we're discussing your Eating Battles. We're in the third week of hearing the experts advice those pesky eating and dining troubles. This week I have gathered the information from two of the experts (Erin from The Intentional Parent and Sarah from Füdoo Boards) on how to deal when your kids refuse to eat particular foods ...
It’s Playtime! : Favorite Play Posts
The Best of It's Playtime! Your favorite ways to play from last week's It's Playtime! These playful posts had the most people that checked them out or the ones you 'Liked' the most. COOL Ice Art at Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas had one popular post last week! This Cool Ice Art was not only the most clicked on link of It's Playtime, but it was also the ...
Free Play : DIY Road Map
Not sure why it took me so long to realize that I can draw on our play table. But now that I have, Henry and I have created many road maps! Roads are the biggest hit. And since Henry can't reach across the table, the road always goes around the table. (Its a 4x8 piece of plywood, and for some reason is a smooth white on one side.) (Any white board would work for this, ...
Raising Kids is Tough : Dining Out
This month is dedicated to Eating Battles. This is the second week of your questions being answered (last week was food battles at the dinner table). These hands on experts have given their professional and personal answers to help lessen your eating battles that you submitted. The Hands On Experts: Mom Expert: Jill of A Mom with a Lesson Plan Parenting Expert: Erin of The ...
It’s Playtime : Play Resources
I love a good round up of activities, art or crafts. A place where I can find a lot of play resources in one spot and go from there. (This also often introduces me to new blogs that I've never seen.) I do a round up each month on the topic I find most compelling to me at the time. Just recently, I did a Beat the Heat roundup of 38 activities to keep cool with water and ...
Art : DIY Upcycled Crayons
Long ago, when there wasn't any reason to Beat the Heat. My mom had a bucket full of old crayons with lots of bits and pieces. So, Henry, Grandma and I made some upcycled crayons. I read, somewhere at the time, about a tip for removing the paper on the crayons by soaking them in water. It didn't seem to help, and some reason, I had the brilliant idea of adding hot water ...
Outdoor Play : Scavenger Hunt
It has been a while since I made a scavenger hunt for Henry. This time I wanted Henry to be more self-sufficient at it. So I made a scavenger hunt guide with pictures (as well as the word). Another fun way to do a nature scavenger hunt is to go on a nature walk scavenger hunt and practice counting! (Super easy to make, I just used Word, inserted some clip art of the ...
Raising Kids is Tough : At the Dinner Table
I announced the Raising Kids is Tough [RKIT] series on the blog and asked for your toughest questions. Each Monday for the month of August, I'm going to focus on the battles of eating that every household has at one time or another. Very generously, the hands on experts have given their professional and personal answers to help lessen those battles. The Hands On Experts: Mom ...
It’s Playtime! : Beat the Heat
I realize that we're not the only people going through a heat wave these past few weeks. I've noticed in many posts linked up to It's Playtime lately, especially last week, that my playdate pals have found creative ways to beat the heat too! (Come Together Kids, using the heat like an oven to melt crayons: Hot Car Crayons!) Check out how hot it was for Come Together Kids ...
A Mom with a Lesson Plan : Spotlight
Are you organized and have a lesson plan? I don't. But, thankfully, Jill from A Mom with a Lesson Plan does! Head on over and check out the new sponsor on the blog, A Mom with a Lesson Plan! There's Lesson Plans for every theme imaginable and it keeps growing! Just last week, Jill added a Money theme and before that a Camping theme lesson plan! But my favorite theme that I've seen ...
It’s Playtime! : Fine Motor Skills
Gross motor skills, Henry has down. He was an early walker, and always ahead of the curve for all the big milestones. Those tedious fine motor skills though, Henry has a little trouble with. Henry's not the most patient little boy, so sneaking in some practice can sometimes be tricky. We have found a few sneaky ways to work on his fine motor with a couple activities like ...
11 Fun Ways for Preschoolers to Clean Up
Cleaning is a part of life, unfortunately. Why not start at a young age? I like to include clean up as part of the activity we're doing. Making it fun makes it seem more like something we get to do, rather than have to. Henry usually goes with my ideas and generally loves the clean up better than the activity itself. I think it makes him feel important and that's he's doing ...
About hands on : as we grow
Hands on : as we grow is all about hands on activities for hands on moms. Email: [email protected] Blog : hands on : as we grow Facebook : hands on : as we grow Pinterest: hands on : as we grow (Jamie) Twitter : @handsonaswegrow Hands on : as we grow is focused on the activities I (Jamie) do with my two boys, Henry and George (and soon baby Louis too!). ...
It’s Playtime! : Paper Play
Last week on It's Playtime, I featured all about colors. This week, its all about paper. Sometime to do with both paper and colors: A Color Collage! I'm over at Mama Pea Pod today sharing about this fun learning activity! As for some play ideas with paper? My play pals punch, fold, rip, glue and paint paper in all sorts of ways! (Chatterboxes at Puddles and Gumboots) Who ...
Conflict Resolution : A Mommy Fun Fact
Jill's the wonderful mom behind the blog, A Mom With A Lesson Plan. Jill approached me to do a guest post swap on our blogs. I had to take her up on the offer, I absolutely adore her blog! (Read as: check out her blog asap!) Today, I'm over at A Mom With A Lesson Plan giving a quick tip for camping boredom. Building structures out of an item quite often found while camping. But ...
American Heart Walk : Ellie’s Story
Ellie Jo. Ellie happens to be my husband's cousin. She also happens to only be (almost) 4. That makes her one of Henry's best friends. Keep reading to learn a little about Ellie's life. (Inserted throughout are quotes from Ellie's Mom, Heidi.) Ellie Jo. Every year, the Heart Walk for the AHA lands right around Ellie's birthday. Every year, Ellie's family and friends get ...
It’s Playtime! : Colors
Henry has learned his colors long ago. He has also learned the different shades of green, blue, pink, purple and other colors. We're just learning what happens when you mix two colors together. (I do think he has what blue and yellow make together figured out though!) There are lots of fun ways to implement learning about colors in your preschooler, These Playtime pals have given ...
Preschool Technology : Keyboard Lesson
Opening a Word document and letting Henry have free reign with the computer keyboard. Never thought a preschooler could have so much fun. And learn a thing or two in the process! Getting comfortable with a QWERTY keyboard is new to Henry. The letters aren't alphabetical like his toy laptop (affiliate link). Finding letters was somewhat of a struggle. At first, just ...
It’s Playtime! : Playing Favorites
The Best of It's Playtime! The posts that you liked the best, by heading over to their blogs or liking them on the linky. These are your favorite play posts: Fun Projects For Your Kid's camping sensory bin! With foil, gems, acorns and so much more... Sensory galore! Spaghetti Towers! Practice patterning and giving those little fingers a workout! Love the bright colored ...
Crafty Art : Eric Carle Caterpillar
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (affiliate link) by Eric Carle is probably the most well-known, and popular, of his books. At least it is to me. I asked Henry if he'd like to make a caterpillar out of tin cans. He jumped at the chance and wanted me to read the book constantly while he painted. Tin cans have been on my brain lately, wondering what else I can do with them. I ...
It’s Playtime! : Animals
Animals. Cow. Learning animal names. Moo. Learning animal sounds. Its a big part of the beginning stages of talking for a toddler. Flying. Learning animal movements. Nests. Learning animal habitats. For a preschooler, animals become part of their world. This week, Kate at An Amazing Child is celebrating Eric Carle. We checked out a few books by Carle that we didn't ...
Kid Talk : Construction Site
During some outdoor play after supper, Henry got his big backhoe out and started digging on the hillside. When I asked what he was doing, the following is his answer. I'm tearing down a building. A bakery. A building that a bakery was in. And I'm going to put a farm there. And over there. And another farm over there. He went on to tell me about whose farm is going where. Along ...
Free Play : Fabric
Yesterday's basket of fabric scraps that George explored, turned into some exploring from Henry, as well. The entire basket, of course, was dumped onto the floor immediately. Henry began sorting the fabric scraps by color. At least that's what he told me. He was collecting the blue fabrics. He hoarded his collection behind him. Telling me I couldn't have the ...
Fabric + Wipes Container = Hours of Fun for Babies & Toddlers
A new sensory item to try is a tub of fabric scraps, or even old rags or washcloths. Put a selection of the fabric scraps and washcloths in an old wipes container. This is the best toy ever for older babies! Babies can feel the fabric between their hands, exploring how it feels, and even taste it. Shut the lid to the container and then pull out a bit of the fabric to ...
Playtime Series : Let the Children Play
Meet Jenny from Let the Children Play! (This is part four in a series of features on the hosts of It's Playtime!) Jenny is the author behind the blog, Let the Children Play. Her name explains her philosophy loud and clear. The posts she writes are definitely reminders to just let the children play! Jenny is an Australian, mom to two boys, and a preschool teacher that has a love ...
It’s Playtime : Just Art
Painting is an obvious form of art. There are also many different ways to paint. But, what about other ways to make art, without paint? Using fabric scraps to make a collage like Tinkerlab is an artform that can be expanded upon to make even more art masterpieces! Art for Little Hands creates a piece of permanent art by printing from a collection of nature in clay. ...
Make a Tin Can Forest for Outdoor Pretend Play
Henry and I made a real forest with upcycled tin cans, tree branches and a few plants. Henry loves picking up sticks at Grandma's house. So that's just what he did. While he added the biggest branches he could find to Grandma's twig pile, I gathered some small sticks for our project. I snapped the branches to be about 4-8 inches long. Henry snapped a couple, but ...
Outdoor Play : Firewood Sculpture
Henry got to camp overnight with Grandma and Grandpa last weekend. We joined them for the night for fire-cooked pizzas and s'mores. Before building the fire, a giant stack of firewood was begging to be played with. Henry and I began to build a sculpture. (Mostly assembled by myself, with Henry's assistance.) Balancing the firewood to get it to stay took great ...
Playtime Series : Quirky Momma
Meet Rachel from Quirky Momma! (This is part three in a series of features on the play based hosts of It's Playtime!) From toddler play, to preschool crafts to fun snacks for kids, Quirky Momma is full of fun learning activities! The mom behind the blog is Rachel. She's a fun-loving Momma of four kids with two more on the way (nope, not pregnant, adopting this time). Yep! That's ...
It’s Playtime! : Gardening
My Mom, Henry and I planted our garden last week. I'm curious how Henry will react when he sees the first seedlings of peas. Or when the pumpkins are large enough to carve! And when we can make cucumber salad with fresh, from the garden, cucumbers. The experience ofgrowing a garden to a preschooler has lots of possibilities. Getting the kids involved with gardening gets ...
Letter Learning Activity with the ABC Mat!
Using an ABC Mat and ABC Blocks, a letter learning activity is formed! Letting Henry lead the way, we put the ABC mat together in order of the ABC's and 123's. He used his hammer to pound in each of the letters to their corresponding blocks. Once the mat was together, we gathered our Melissa and Doug ABC blocks (affiliate link) and drew one block at a time. On each side ...
Outdoor Play : Gardening
A garden has been on my to do list for many summers. Finally this summer, we got one planted. Thanks to my mom. The weather we've had this last week has been perfect! It's been so great to be outdoors! Henry didn't get into it as much as I had hoped he would with the garden, especially at first. (When there's big machines also at the farm, planting a garden isn't the first ...
It’s Playtime! : Big Art Edition
Creating Art while sitting just doesn't do it in this house. To get Henry the most involved (and happy while doing it), I come up with ways to make art that gets him moving as well.The best way to do this? Make the art big! The It's Playtime posts that catch my eye the most are the ones with Big Art! More specifically, Big Art that uses body movement. How do you use movement ...
Baby Play : Block Towers
Any baby (or even preschooler) has a tendency to knock over any tower you build. George jumped right at the opportunity! Stacking up blocks at various heights, George crawled right over to plow them down. Teaching him, amidst his play, all about cause and effect. George first discovered the block towers, attempted to touch them which knocked them down and then finally ...
Playtime Series : Messy Kids
Meet Rachele from Messy Kids! (This is part two in a series of features on the play based hosts of It's Playtime!) Messy Kids is a play based blog written by Rachele, and is focused on the creative process of art. Rachele lives in San Diego and sidekicks her blog as a clown! This canvas art that her son, Michael, made is outstanding and really encourages the creative process ...
Art : Window Paint Creations
Paint on a large window, outside? It doesn't get much better than that! We've finally had some nice weather lately, and getting outside has been much needed! I quickly made up some window paint. I googled the recipe for window paint and ran across a recipe that included dish soap. I looked under my sink, no dish soap? So, I substituted with hand soap. Without really ...
Free Play : Carpet Doodles
Carpet doodling was an unexpected activity that came out of some free play. Henry and I scored a bunch of old utensils and cookie cutters from my great-grandmother's house. They've been in a bucket around the house and played with nearly every day. As we were playing one day, we discovered that they could make marks, or doodles, in the carpet rugs! This lead to some ...
Playtime Series : The Imagination Tree
Meet Anna from The Imagination Tree! (This is part one in a series of features on the play based hosts of It's Playtime!) The Imagination Tree is a very creative, play based blog written by Anna Ranson from the UK. She currently stays at home with her two little girls, but professionally she's a primary teacher. Throughout Anna's posts, she has learning experiences in everyday ...
It’s Playtime! : Upcycle before Recycle
Recycling versus Upcycling? I'm still unsure of the differences, so I had to look it up and found this article from Intercon. How I understand it is to upcycle means you give new life to or reuse items without degrading it. Recycling degrades the item and turns it into something new again.So my advice: Do both! Upcycle the item as many times as possible. Then recycle. And start over ...
Traveling Activities
This past weekend the boys and I went traveling with Grandma and (someday) Aunt Kim to visit my other brother's family. How to entertain the boys during our travels? I packed bags of activities to do! Imaginets (this link as well as others that follow are affiliate links)- a magnetic white board case with magnet shapes to create. (Included some of Henry's Crayola washable ...
Baby Play : Mirror Reflections
Mirrors are fascinating to a baby! George is no exception. I sat George in front of a full length mirror. (the closet doors at the hotel we were at this past weekend) He had a blast exploring his reflection! Can I touch the reflection? What will it do? Turns out the reflection can do everything George can! ...
It’s Playtime! : Sensory Activities
We don't set out to find ways to play with textures and do sensory activities. Usually, they find us in our own everyday play - whether you know it or not, your child is exposed to sensory type play every time he touches, eats, smells, or makes a mess with something! This week alone, Henry squished together the sliminess of our flour mixture activity, felt the paint on his hands ...
Flour Piping Sensory Activity for Kids
After seeing the sand piping bags at Irresistible Ideas for Play Based Learning, I knew it was a sensory activity that Henry would love to get messy doing. Minus the sand, we made our own flour piping bags. After our Free Play : Stirring and Mixing activity, I couldn't let Henry miss out on mixing together the flour and water. Henry measured and scooped flour into a large bowl ...
Cardboard Box Ramps: Trial & Error
Henry (along with most preschool boys) loves things that move. These cardboard box ramps were no exception. The ramps are leftover cardboard box flaps (from the Box Flap Bridges) that I hot glued inside another cardboard box. I cut a square hole in the lower end of each box flap for the ball to fall through, along with a hole at the top of the main cardboard box. Henry ...
It’s Playtime! : Mother’s Day
For Mother's Day, Henry and I created a fun and very playful bouquet of flowers together for my mom and for his late Grandma. Here's a sneak peak. (Full post here!) Play based ideas preschoolers can do for Mother's Day: Clean the house, preschooler style (very appreciated by mom). Make the Yarn Circle Garland into a bouquet of flowers. Decorate a dozen cupcakes just for ...
Craft an Airplane : from Green Kid Crafts
Here's a simple, quick airplane craft from Green Kid Crafts. I was pretty excited when Penny from Green Kid Crafts contacted me about reviewing her products - the only subscription-based, earth-friendly craft kits in the states. I was even more excited when I got the crafts! They were sent to me packaged in completely recyclable materials: newspaper and tissue ...
Free Play Activity : Stirring and Mixing
Henry is sometimes all business and no play. He thinks a lot of things are 'his job'. As he often says, 'It's my job' in his bestman's voice. This day was no exception. (His facial expressions in all of the photos show exactly his seriousness of the day. No smiles.) Time for some free play. I set out a bunch of bowls. One with some flour. One with some corn meal. I ...
It’s Playtime! : Move That Body!
Science@Home had a great post linked up to last week's It's Playtime: Body Games! These games are played with just your body! They all really encourage play in children of all ages! We are very active in this house and do many of these games on a regular basis: Running! Wrestling! Tickling! Some games that I'm most excited to try: Rolling downhills! Leap ...
Exploring Baby Food
Last week on It's Playtime! I featured some baby things to do. The pudding fingerpaint (from Girl in Air) stuck in my mind. A friend of mine commented on Facebook about using baby food, too! That's just what I did. George was fussy one afternoon while Henry was napping. After failing all attempts to make him happy (feeding, diaper, napping) I strapped him in his high ...
Stacking : Trial & Error
As we were playing the other day, I looked over, and saw Henry building this: I was quite impressed! Those are skinny blocks and they stood as tall as him! I'm not quite sure what they are exactly, or where we even got them. But this could easily be done with any kind of box. The thinner and taller the block, the harder it is. I noticed as Henry was stacking ...
Easter Egg Hunt
A few of the family kids (all boys!) got together on Easter and did a quick egg hunt in the back yards. It was great to get outside. I have to 'fess up and say I didn't make the Outdoors in April challenges. This last week has been hectic with Easter at the bakery and the boys having colds, along with the weather being pretty crappy, we just didn't make it outside much at ...
Painting Easter Eggs : Feature by Mama Pea Pod
I just recently found Jane's blog, Mama Pea Pod, through our weekly party It's Playtime. Jane has two small girls so her crafts and playing seem like a breath of fresh air to me. Her Princess Pea just recently had a Rainbow Birthday Party that looks like it was a lot of fun! But, what caught my eye were these Painted Easter Eggs, and what other fun that ended up being ...
Henry’s First Egg Decorating
This is Henry's first year of actually trying to do some egg decorating. We tried some new (to me) techniques this year. I got inspired by the 26 Ideas and Techniques for Egg Decorating list that I put together earlier this week. Henry, my mom and I tried 4 techniques. Vibrant Egg Dye Aren't these eggs vibrant? We created our own egg dye this year and used My World - ...
Puffs Easter Bunny: Tissue Box Challenge
Here is Henry's and my entry for the Tissue Box Challenge put on by The Activity Mom and JDaniel4's Mom. Puffs Easter Bunny! This is as crafty as we get here. Totally out of our element. But it was so simple and quick to make! Materials you'll need: 1 small Puffs tissue box (full) 1 toilet paper roll (empty) white paper/art paper/butcher paper 2 ...
Tractor & Play Dough Birthday Party Fun!
Henry turned 3 last Friday and he had his birthday party on Saturday. It was a lot of fun! All Henry wanted for his birthday was a Tractor Cake. Instead of carving a cake into the shape of a tractor, I decided to go the route of giving him a new tractor on his cake. Henry couldn't wait to cut the cake to take the tractor out, and pulled the stuck tractor out of the frosting ...
DIY Balloon Birthday Wreath with Number
This is a quick tutorial for a DIY balloon birthday wreath with a number of the birthday kid's age that they can make themselves! I plan to use this wreath over and over again for upcoming birthdays and switch out the numbers for each kid. Here's what Henry and I did to make his 3rd birthday balloon wreath. I cut a wreath shape out of cardboard and a Number 3. I set ...
Building a Bird’s Nest : Outdoors in April
Henry and I have been talking about making a bird's nest for a couple weeks now. This week it finally got warm enough to spend the entire morning or afternoon (or both!) outdoors. To make our bird's nest, Henry and I headed outside to gather our materials for the nest: small sticks, leaves, dead grass I also used a couple small boxes (from our gigantic baby food ...
Painting with Balls : Guest Post by QuirkyMomma
I am so excited to have my first guest blogger on hands on as we grow to be Rachel from QuirkyMomma. She's a mom of 4, looking to adopt another, and has lots fun learning activities for kids. Rachel is full of all sorts of ideas for every child. Not just the boys. Not just the girls. Not for just the active, or just the crafty type. She's got it all. I absolutely love this ...
It’s Playtime! : Show off your fun!
I am so excited to be collaborating with some wonderful bloggers that I've met in this huge blogosphere! Rachel from QuirkyMomma, Anna from The Imagination Tree and I have some fun things in store. First up is a weekly playdate party to share all things play-based and creative! I'm so excited to see what new blogs and posts that come our way. So spread the word and link up your ...
Cupcake Masterpieces by the Future Baker
I had some work to get done at the Bakery this morning, Henry tagged along. (That's something new for me. Henry tags along with Dad to work at the Bakery quite often. But never with me.) I wasn't sure how it'd go. Then I thought maybe he could make his own cupcakes while I'm decorating a cake. It worked perfectly! Henry really enjoyed himself. And I got my work done. Here's how ...
Outdoors in April (take 1)
We've been getting outside every day so far - staying true to the challenges*! Not much for activities yet - as its still pretty cold. Although, today it hit 70(!!) and all I did was go for a walk! Henry went with Dad to the farm and played in the tractors all afternoon. Henry and I have been working on raking the lawn for the most part. Henry has been digging in some ...
Shaving Cream Eggs for Easter Tree
A messy messy activity ending with a beautiful craft for Easter. Start by adding shaving cream to a pan. Henry had troubles pushing it hard enough to make it come out. Add food coloring. Swirl the colors around. Swirl some more... ... and end up with a not so pretty color. Build towers. Add utensils. Henry used a fork and knife for creating. Once ...
Food Tracks & Layered Play Dough
Making tracks with trucks and tractors in Play Doh is nothing new in this house. Instead of vehicles, today we tried food! (play food) Craters made from grapes! Corn on the Cob made nice rows. And a fork? It makes for a great tool to tear it all up! While Henry was exploring the prints food can make, I was dinking around creating Layered Play Doh Art! (warning : if you have ...
Balloon Art
In continuing with our balloon extravaganza : we painted balloons today. We painted them two ways : (1) paint before blowing up the balloons (2) paint blown up balloons I liked painting the balloons beforehand the best. It had a sense of mystery. What will this look like when it gets big? Henry wasn't as interested as I was in painting the balloons before ...
Activity Course with Balloons
Every child I know has a fascination with balloons. At every birthday party, every kid wants to take one home. They are usually the highlight of the party... (unless you have one of these - affiliate link - at your party.) So this week I thought: Why do the balloons only come out at birthday parties? They bring lots of entertainment in just being balloons. But there's so ...
Play a Game of Balloon Badminton with Your Toddler
What can you do with a couple of balloons? (Ideas are welcome!) Not to worry - I've put together a list of 30 things to do with balloons! A favorite of ours is balloon badminton! I blew up a couple balloons and the first thing we did was play Balloon Badminton! I put together two 'rackets' with paper plates and plastic forks taped to the back of the paper plate. You could ...
Henry vs George [0-6 months]
I thought it would be a great way to capture the memories of the boys by putting them side by side. I do not mean to compare my children and say one is better than the other. But who doesn't look back at what their first child did when their second child just did the same thing? When the boys were born, they looked identical. Over the course of the last 6 months, George has ...
Box Flap Bridges & an Experiment
I think I can now be certified as a civil engineer. What? Experience would be needed? My Experience: ABC Mat Road Bubble Pop Road and the latest: Box Flap Bridges I had a ton of box flaps that I cut off from a previous road project. (Ha, more experience!) This time I thought some bridges would be fun to add in the mix. I used clothespins to hold the flaps ...
Toddler Talk : Helping
The one thing that lets me have some sort of order in this house, and keeps me sane, is that Henry loves to help me clean and do my regular household work. Dust mopping the wood floors has become a weekly necessity and this is Henry's favorite! I shortened a Swiffer mop by taking out a couple of the sections, so now its just his height. When doing laundry, Henry always jumps ...
Bubble Pop Road & More
I order a lot of my baby supplies (formula, baby food, diapers) online. My latest shipment came with a ridiculous amount of packaging. I ordered a stovetop's worth - it came in 3 gigantic boxes (above) and had about 1 1/2 boxes worth of packaging. Since I had no control over the first R (reduce), we moved onto the second one - REUSE! Henry and I spent a morning making a ...
Salt Painting
Henry and I experimented with glue, salt and food coloring. I did not like this craft, until I framed it. There's something about the frame that makes it look professional! (okay, that may be an exaggeration) Its really pretty easy and a toddler can definitely do it. 1) Paint some white school glue on your paper (or dump it like Henry did!) 2) Sprinkle with ordinary ...
KoolAid Paint with Fun Cleanup
Some crafts don't turn out exactly how you plan... (isn't that the cardinal rule of crafting with toddlers and preschoolers?) but the process of doing it is still just as fun and educational. Henry painted with ice cubes and KoolAid. He sprinkled a couple packages of KoolAid on paper in a tupperware. Added some ice cubes and shook it around. (FYI: ...
Hammering & A Spaghetti Flop
Henry worked on his hand-eye coordination with his love for tools. All you need are some golf tees (thanks Mom) and Styrofoam. And, of course, your boy's kid's toy hammer(s). The Styrofoam had slants around the edge. For some reason or another, this is where Henry liked to nail his tees nails in. It made for a really difficult angle for him to hold onto the tee and hit it, ...
Self Portrait & Henry’s Best Friend
To get Henry excited to do this activity : we first did a portrait of... Can you guess who? Click here for a hint. Next, Henry's turn. He laid down, I traced him. All along the way, I asked him what color he would like each thing to be. Unfortunately, he wanted to be traced in Yellow, so it doesn't show up the best. We got to work adding his ...
10 Valentine’s Day Crafts & Activities
Here are 10 Valentine's Day Crafts & Activities for the kids to do! What I may love even more than doing the crafts and activities themselves. The outcome of the craft. Look at my mantel! All homemade crafts done by my very own 2 year old. They may not be perfect - but they look pretty awesome all together. Happy Valentine's Day! ABC = abc - add a little learning to this ...
A Valentine’s Day Activity or Two: Patterning & a Heart Hunt
Here's a Valentine's Day activity or two. We didn't just do crafts to get ready for Valentine's Day... Scavenger hunts are always a blast, this is an easy version of one. Plus a chance to practice patterns! Patterning as a Valentine's Day Activity: I've noticed other blogs with toddler's doing patterns. I've never once tried to explain what a pattern is to Henry. Things ...
Stuffed Heart Balloon
Henry made his own balloon! (disclaimer: this is not really a balloon... it cannot be flown around: Henry was extremely disappointed) This was a two day project. We set out painting some butcher art paper (affiliate link). A brown paper bag would work too. I told Henry to cover as much of the paper as he could. Here he is showing me that he CAN reach all the way to the ...
Valentine’s Day Craft: Tissue Wreath
This is one of my favorites so far! Henry got busy painting a piece of white butcher paper. We get it from the bakery, you could use any kind of construction or art paper roll (affiliate link). While he painted, I cut out a wreath shape from cardboard (Chalk in My Pocket, where I got this idea, used a pizza delivery box for this). I then got busy making 'flowers' out of ...
Yummy Edible Valentines
Growing up, frosted graham crackers was one of my favorites. Every time my mom made cupcakes, cake or brownies, the extra frosting always went on graham crackers. Even though these are pretty yummy, I'm not sure why they were a favorite, maybe its just the memories that are my favorites - or maybe its just because Mom makes everything better. I got this idea from Toddlers Busy ...