Make DIY marbled Easter eggs with a fun sensory art idea from our Member of the Month, Lana. Ever feel like all you do is search the internet for things to do with your kids? Then, by the time you've found something fun, you don't actually have time to do anything. Our Member of the Month, Lana, was right there with you. She was stuck looking for things to do, but never ...
Sweet Candy Speech Activity for Toddlers!
Teach your toddler new words and concepts using sweet treats. Your toddler will love this candy speech activity idea from our Member of the Month, Rebecca. Rebecca, our Member of the Month, pulls double duty with activities. Not only is she a hands-on mom to identical twin girls, but she also helps her speech-language clients. Working with young children through her SLP ...
Simple Textured Yarn Heart Craft for Decoration
DIY a fun Valentine's Day decoration with a textured yarn heart craft that's perfect to do with your kids! George wanted to make something with yarn. So we made a yarn heart craft with it! We've done a few yarn crafts in the past, so I thought making a heart for Valentine's Day would be a fun twist! I quickly drew a large heart on a piece of scrapbook paper. Simple ...
25 Active Ways to Learn Indoors with Tape
Get active and learn with tape! Try out these fun and creative ways to learn indoors with your preschooler or toddler! I have a thing with tape. I kind of like it.... just a little. Okay, maybe a lot! It comes in handy for activities, especially for active ways to learn pretty much anything! The great thing about tape is it gets the kids moving indoors. When its too hot, ...
Upper & Lowercase Letters Heart Matching Activity for Preschoolers
Try this fun heart matching activity to teach the difference between uppercase and lowercase letters! I had no idea what Henry knew at this point when it came to upper and lowercase letters. He could recognize most uppercase letters for sure, but lowercase I really didn't know... But this was definitely the next step we needed to take in learning letters. I wanted to help ...
Make a Super Sweet Marshmallow Snowman Craft for Kids
This marshmallow snowman craft is a seasonal way to stay warm and work on fine motor skills! It's been a little snowy outside and Henry has yet to actually get out in it and PLAY. He's been outside, but it's usually to help Dad shovel the driveway. And he doesn't last too long. He's a smart boy - he knows he's cold and he just comes inside. So I thought it was time to make a ...
Give Silly Paper Bag Haircuts with Your Preschooler
Work on scissor skills and build fine motor skills with super silly paper bag haircuts from our Member of the Month, Stephanie! Work on scissor skills and build fine motor skills with super silly paper bag haircuts from our Member of the Month, Stephanie! For hands-on moms, the internet is a vast resource of parenting ideas and kid-friendly activities. ...
Easy Ways To Help Your Kids Fall In Love With Writing
Help your child fall in love with writing through creative, non-worksheet writing activities and ideas from Eveline Heston! Even though your child learns writing basics in school, you as a parent are still your child's first and most important teacher. Writing practice at school alone might not be enough for your child. Sticking to those old school worksheets might even be ...
Quick & Easy DIY Preschooler Scavenger Hunt to Match Shapes
Work on matching with a fun, quick scavenger hunt! Your child can match shapes to their outlines. We're working on shapes! So I made a quick game for George to match shapes with their outlines. While George was gone with Grandpa to run an errand, I quickly searched around the house to find a few objects to trace. I was originally inspired by the file folder shape matching ...
Build a Snowman on Your Fridge Activity for Kids
Even if you don't have any snow, you can still build a snowman on your fridge with a fun, interactive winter activity for kids. I love winter! And building snowmen. But there's not always snow on the ground. So I brought our snowman fun inside! I came up with a way to build a snowman on the fridge! And you can do this, too. It's so super easy. I made ours an interactive ...
Make a DIY Pumpkin Scented Rice Bin for Simple Fall Play
Dig into fun fall-themed sensory fun with a great DIY pumpkin scented rice sensory bin for older toddlers and preschoolers. What's more "fall" than pumpkins!?! I loved the idea of mixing one of my favorite fall things with an easy sensory activity. Make a DIY Pumpkin Scented Rice Bin for Simple Fall Play A pumpkin scented rice sensory bin is so much fun! Dig into all things ...
Easy No-Prep Looking and Listening Activity to Practice Mindfulness
Enjoy a quiet outside activity inspired by our Member of the Month, Angela. You'll practice observational and mindfulness skills just by looking and listening! Time is limited for parents. Being hands-on takes up time. First, you research activities and collect supplies. Then you find time in your schedule to actually do the activities. Our Member of the Month, ...
Super Simple Soapy Sensory Foam Activity for Kids
Whip up some sensory foam using just dish soap and your food processor! Let your kids explore the foam for a fun sensory experience for all ages! This sensory foam has been on my list to do again with the boys for ages. It's been a long time since I did this with George and Henry for Valentine's Day one year. Super Simple Soapy Sensory Foam Activity for Kids Louis got to ...
Fun Fall Find the Letter on the Pumpkin Activity for Preschoolers
Combine Fall pumpkins and letter learning in a fun find the letter activity that's just perfect for preschoolers! Fall is pumpkin time! Time for picking pumpkins, decorating pumpkins, and just playing with pumpkins! Of course, it's also time for pumpkin crafts as well. Pumpkins also make great learning tools, too. Fun Fall Find the Letter on the Pumpkin Activity for ...
Simple and Fun Disappearing Letters Chalk Activity for Preschoolers
Practice the alphabet and letter sounds with a fun disappearing letters chalk activity from our Member of the Month, Liz! It might seem simple from the outside looking in, but being a stay-at-home parent can be challenging! Our Member of the Month, Liz, knows just how tough parenting 24/7 can be! When she was stuck for fun and easy activities, she turned to The Activity Room ...
Super Simple Paper Plate Letter Learning Activity for Preschoolers
Learning letters doesn't have to be worksheets and drills. Try a fun hands-on paper plate letter learning activity to help your preschooler build letter recognition! Letters are a funny thing. They're just a shape, a squiggle, a design... but they mean something. Getting kids to recognize letters takes repetition. I love the letter learning activities we've done in the past, like ...
Super Simple Cloud Dough Reading Activity for Preschoolers
Try a simple and fun cloud dough reading activity with your child! Your preschoolers will build reading comprehension skills without even knowing it. Working moms are super strapped for time! Our Member of the Month, Rachael, knows all about juggling work and parenting. Rachael is a super busy working mom of four, ages 8, 3, 2, and 2 months. Her time is at a premium and she ...
Two Simple Line Walking Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Make walking on a line even more fun with these two fun tweaks. Your toddler or preschooler will love these two simple line walking activities! With two kids in special education and developmental therapies, Member of the Month Babi started searching. She was looking for hands-on ways to support her children at home. Enter The Activity Room! "My kids were in speech therapy, ...
Paint with Frozen Paint Cubes on a Hot Day
Painting with frozen paint on a hot day is a fun and creative way to beat the heat! Its a great summer art project for kids when it's really hot outside! Summer is heating up and we are trying to find creative ways to stay cool. So far, George has played with ice cubes (a simple sensory activity for babies) and Henry discovered a healthy snack of fruit in a frozen ice ...
Super Cute DIY Bag Clip Monsters for Preschoolers
Cute little critters make fine motor skills practice super easy! DIY your own bag clip monsters that are perfect for preschoolers. What do you do when you have a newborn to care for and a busy two-year-old who loves hands-on activities? If you're Melissa Timmins, our Member of the Month, you join The Activity Room! Before her younger daughter was born, Melissa was able to spend ...
8 Ways to Prepare Your Child for Preschool
Get your child set for school with easy ways to prepare your child for preschool from Katie of Mommy with Selective Memory and Susan of Kindergarten & Preschool for Parents & Teachers. With school starting just around the corner, our two experts are sharing some super simple ways to prep your child for preschool! Perfect timing for Henry! Skip the Stress on the First ...
A Big Chalk Maze for Preschoolers
After checking out a life-size maze, we had to make a big chalk maze to drive through at home! This is a great sidewalk chalk activity for preschoolers. Its easier to make a big chalk maze than you might think, too! Any kind of sidewalk chalk activity is fun for the kids. And it usually gets them moving, which I love. A month or so ago, we headed to our local maize maze ...
Easy Homemade Window Paint Recipe
Make this easy DIY window paint recipe with your kids and create art on your windows! It's fun to wash off this window paint and create again and again. I love when Henry chooses the activity for the day. This time he wanted really, really badly to paint the big window again! When we made window paint last time, it was super sticky and goopy. This time, I looked up a new window ...
Sidewalk Chalk Drawing & Mark Making
Even non-sidewalk chalk lovers will have a blast marking chalk marks in unusual places! It's such a great way to practice drawing and early writing skills outside. Sidewalk chalk has never really been a hit here before. We don't have the smoothest sidewalks or a very smooth driveway. So I've just never pushed it. I don't even enjoy drawing with it on it, so why should they? I ...
Making Bubbles & Playing with Bubbles
Toddlers love bubbles of all kinds! It's fun making bubbles and letting them play in it, stirring, scooping and pouring! It's sensory goodness! George likes bubbles. The perfect activity for him (as a toddler) is making bubbles! We mixed water and dish soap on a perfect day to be outside. George had a blast! I have this bucket that I actually got out of my ...
Easy DIY Cereal Box Puzzles to Learn to Count
Upcycle (or recycle) your empty cereal boxes into cereal box puzzles to help teach problem-solving and matching skills, and learn to count while you're at it! I've been on the hunt for some really simple activities that I can throw together on a whim. This cereal box puzzle is one of them. It's almost immediate. I actually didn't happen to have a cereal box in the recycling bin, ...
Starched Coffee Filter Flowers Craft
Make pretty starched coffee filter flowers with your kids. These are a perfect spring craft to do together! Have you used starch in your crafts with the kids? After this flower craft, I'm so excited to find new ways to use it. I got inspired to make these starched coffee filter flowers from Ms. Motta's Mixed Media's Chulily-inspired artwork. The boys and I started by ...
Super Simple DIY Tin Can Drums for Kids to Make
Upcycle your soup and vegetable cans into tin can drums with this super fun art activity! We've been on a tin can binge, so Henry and I had to make these drums from tin cans, too! DIY Upcycled Tin Can Drums During my hunt for balloon ideas, I adapted this tin can drum idea from both Quirky Momma and Mini-Eco. Play with balloons with this fun balloon science ...
Making Muddy Prints with Your Toddler
Get dirty and learn about animals with mud prints of animal tracks, hands, and feet! The boys have been loving their dirt patch. Henry keeps talking about making mud and turning it to dirt and the other way around, not fully understanding it I don't think. So I thought, what better way to show him what mud is exactly than making it! We turned the dirt patch into a mud patch ...
Matching Upper and Lowercase Letters on ABC Road
Help your child learn their ABCs by matching upper and lowercase letters. I've found that matching upper and lowercase letters is a great way to reinforce learning letters for preschoolers. Of course, making it fun is really what works! We did just that using our ABC mat (affiliate link if you're interested). A toy I completely forgot about. Do you ever forget you have ...
Easy Pipe Cleaner Ring Stacking Activity (with a Twist!)
Switch up a popular ring stacking activity with pipe cleaners so that it's fun for younger ones, too. There are so many fun activities out there for children, especially on Hands on As We Grow. Preschoolers and toddlers can have a blast! For younger children, especially babies and early walkers, finding easy-to-do activities can be harder. Our Member of the Month, Andrea, ...
Marbled Easter Eggs Sensory Activity
Making these marbled Easter eggs definitely doubles as a fun sensory activity! Finding ways for young kids (under 4-ish) to decorate Easter eggs can be tricky sometimes. They don't have the patience to sit and hold an egg in a cup to make it two colors. Or the ability to really do the fancy decorative eggs either. Make marbled Easter eggs that little kids as young as 2 can ...
Follow-the-String Indoor Scavenger Hunt for Kids
An indoor scavenger hunt for kids is switched up with a little string and letters. In an attempt to keep bringing the same fun for my younger kids, we just redid this string indoor scavenger hunt to spell your name with George. Whether its their name, or finding little gems you've hidden along the way, it doesn't matter. But having them find the letters of their name just adds a ...
Learning Letters Action Game
Your child will have a blast with a fun learning letters action game that's also a follow-the-leader activity! Being a stay-at-home parent can be challenging. You have to be "on" all day, every day. On the other hand, you do get to monopolize all the sticky kisses, sweet hugs, and create priceless memories constantly. Plus, you get to enjoy those ah-ha moments, like the ...
12 Snowy Indoor Activities for Kids this Winter
Have tons of wintery fun with snowy indoor activities to do with your children! It's hard being stuck inside during winter weather. When that happens, it's time for easy and fun snowy indoor activities. Here's a list of a bunch of fun snowy activities for the kids to do that are also all winter related and snow themed! Most of these activities and crafts use things you might ...
Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt with Numbers
Hunt for numbers and hearts with a fun Valentine's Day scavenger hunt. This Valentine's Day scavenger hunt for hearts is one of my all-time fave activities. Maybe just because it's a scavenger hunt, but I also really get into Valentine's day crafts and activities too, so this is a great combo using them both. I first shared this idea a couple years ago during the middle of ...
Easy Customizable Cotton Ball Craft
Make a simple and endlessly customizable cotton ball craft from Meagan! When you're a single mom, or live most of your week as a 'single mom' with your husband traveling or deployed, or just away for the majority of the day, it can be very tiring and lonesome not having that adult connection. Our member of the month in The Activity Room has a husband that travels most of the week ...
Snowman Craft from Tin Cans! Great Winter Craft!
Recycle tin cans with this snowman craft that is perfect for winter. This snowman craft (that's also a wind chime) was so fun. I've had this idea in my head the entire fall and couldn't wait to find the time to do it with the boys! Things started rocky, for sure, but I do love the end result. It started out that I didn't have any white paint. Well, honestly, I did. Just not ...
Valentine’s Activity for Kids: Hunt for Love
Show your preschooler you care with a fun scavenger hunt Valentine's activity! I decided that we needed some kind of Valentine's Day activity to do, instead of just crafty and artsy ideas. We did a heart hunt last year, with great success. But this year, I wanted to make Henry think about love a little. So I came up with the Hunt For Love Valentine's activity. To ...
Learn Letters with DIY Sensory Bins
Today's sensory bin activity from Heather is a snap to create, but gives at least a week of letter learning fun! Living in a small house brings its challenges for sure. Especially when you have kids and all that comes with them. Our Activity Room member of the month, Heather knows all about this. In a small house, you don't have a lot of room for all the toys ...
How to Make This Holiday One Your Kids Will Remember
Every holiday season I am reminded of a guest post here on Hands On As We Grow about slowing down to make your child's day. This post had the right message at the right time... three days before Christmas. Every year, I am reminded of this... I need to slow down. In The Activity Room this month and next, that is what we're doing... We are finding ways to slow down and enjoy this ...
Card Slot Busy Activity from our Member of The Month Jaime
Talk about jumping right in and taking action. Our member of this month did just that right from the start of her membership to The Activity Room. Before I 'met' Jamie and the other members of The Activity Room, I was kind of just pulling myself through the day. My toddler was bored with the same toys and I kept thinking, there has to be a solution that isn't, more toys. And within ...
Tips for Traveling with Kids for the Holidays
Thanksgiving and Christmas, probably the two most traveled times of the year. Especially as a family... which usually means road trips!I know with having three boys in the van for our trips, things can sometimes get a little hectic and overwhelming. I'm by no means an expert in traveling because we don't do it a lot, which makes me in need of some traveling tips from some of the ...
Light Up Ghost Craft for Halloween
I love making Halloween crafts with the kids! I'm not sure why, but its close behind Christmas crafts and making crafts for Valentine's Day. We haven't even gotten a chance to decorate with pumpkins yet, but have gotten a good start for Halloween with the spiral ghost craft we made and reading in a Halloween fort! Now we've lit up the buffet with these light up ghosts! A ...
A No-Stress Philosophy for Doing Activities with Kids
Something I love the most about being in the online world is meeting people from all over the world. What always amazes me is the similarities between all of us. We're all parents trying to be more active and involved with children during their childhood, to make the most of the little time that it is. In The Activity Room, (our monthly activity planning group) we have members ...
Who is The Activity Room For? (Hint: Not just moms!)
Often, you'll see that I address you as a parent... or more specifically (and, yes, I'm gender-stereotyping), Mom. But as you probably know, it's not just Mom and Dad that do activities with their kids. Who is spending the most amount of time with the kids? While most of our members in The Activity Room are Moms, there are others who are not, including our September member of ...
Make Your Own Safari Adventure Binoculars
Each month we feature one of our members from The Activity Room along with their favorite activity... and often they give us their own creations. I love that! Today's pretend play activity comes from the creative mind of Haley, our member of the month for August. Haley is a sweetheart that gives her friendship, encouragement, and accountability to other members in our ...
The Not-So-Secret Tip to Do More Activities
I hate to admit how far behind I am, but this post is going to show that off.... Tina is our July member of the month in The Activity Room, and I have yet to share about her with you. Tina has been an active member from Quebec since the beginning of The Activity Room (over a year ago!). Today she shares her not-so-secret tip for keeping up with doing activities with her two ...
5 Peanut Butter & Jelly Variations for Field Trip Lunches (+ Tips)
I can't believe that back to school is already right around the corner! Crazy how this summer flew by so fast. I guess it's true what they say, time does fly when you're having fun! At the beginning of every school year, our kids' teachers dutifully ask if we want to help out and volunteer during the year (and how often, which I love that they ask that). I always love to do ...
A ‘Counting Up’ Countdown to Back to School
Henry's getting pretty excited to get back to school in a few days. We had a preschool open house the other night, so Henry got to check out his new classroom and officially meet the teacher and her aide (though he already knew his teacher personally). The following day we had a home visit from them as well. Henry kept asking when he got to start school, so I thought this would be ...
How to Transform Activities to What Your Child Enjoys
If you've been around Hands On As We Grow for awhile, or if you're a reader of our weekly newsletter, you will know that I "preach" about learning your child's interests and strengths, and using that info to transform activities in a way that they will enjoy. This month, Katie is our Activity Room Member of the Month. Katie's always sharing her spin on the activity-of-the-day ...
25 Ways to Make Today an Adventure with FREE Printable
This summer, I am making it a goal to do have a summer family adventure once a week with the kids. These adventures can be super simple, close to home, and free adventures... but they all have to be fun and get us going and doing something. Bonus points if it's something we've never done before. I'm thinking of these family adventure days as little field trips to do with the ...
A Letter Hunt on The Stairs
Earlier this year, I realized that Louis just wasn't grasping his letters. I had a moment of panic and wondered Why? He's 4 and his brothers grasped them much earlier. So I started doing letter activities with him to help him begin to identify them. He knew the letters in his name well, so I started with those and built on them to build his confidence. This letter hunt on the ...
5 Tips to Get Back to Doing Activities
How do you get motivated to do activities again after getting out of a rhythm? This month, we are chatting with Svenja, a member of The Activity Room. She is a working mom in a place that is winter more often than it's not. The weather plays it's toll on them and gives a lot of ups and downs. Before we get into chatting with Svenja, I want to give you a few tips on how to ...
Achieve Your Summer Goal of Fun & Relaxation!
Summer is around the corner and soon we'll have older kids home from school, and the craziness that summer brings! If you have a busy summer ahead, it's time to plan your summer to make the most of it! (Seriously! Your kids only have 18 summers with you! How many have already passed?) I can't tell you how many summers I've let float by, only to find myself back-to-school shopping ...
Non-Flower Crafts for Mom Made by the Kids
Finally, I've come up with a list of a bunch of non-flower type crafts for mom that the kids can make for Mother's Day. Every year, it seems that the kids and I make some kind of flower crafts for Mother's Day to give to Grandma. I'm trying to get out of that rut and find some non-flower crafts for the kids to make. We just made these gorgeous tinted mason jars that I'm ...
How Do You Build a Fort? 7 Epic Forts for Kids
My kids have been fort builders (and fort lovers) since they were little. I remember my own winter breaks and long weekends making forts and spending the entire time in there, reading, playing pretend something or another, or even building the fort around the television to watch a show! Over the years, my boys have built many different forts, of all kinds and I feel like they keep ...
Passing Objects Fine Motor Activity
I love the idea of passing objects through something else. It builds concentration, fine motor control with hand steadiness, and just seems cool to me. I always have tape on hand, right? So I grabbed several rolls of tape, in all different sizes. From painter's tape, masking tape, to washi tape and electrical tape. It all works! (I especially love washi tape - affiliate link ...
A-MAZE-ing Way to Learn a Letter
This has got to be one of my favorite go-to activities to learn a letter. We do this over and over again with different letters to really get to know a specific letter. You can find an entire week of activities to learn any letter here. For this a-MAZE-ing letter activity, all you need is painter's tape (affiliate link), a marker and a car (or something for your ...
The Activity Room Member of the Month: Mindy
As we're heading into another month in The Activity Room, I want to take a moment to thank the wonderful members that make this place special. In The Activity Room, I provide members with a plan of activities to follow, to make it easy to spend time and make those special memories with your kids. However, the members make this community special by participating, showing everyone ...
Women History Books With Corresponding Kids Activities
March is Women's History Month and I want to do a little something to celebrate it with a few women history books and having a corresponding activity to do with each. With having three boys myself, I hate to say it, but women kind of get left out of the mix most of the time! My oldest as been reading a ton of chapter books now that's he's in third grade and this year we happened ...
St. Patrick’s Day Craft: Wreath
We've been having some fun with St. Patrick's Day crafts and decorating the house with plenty of rainbows and shamrocks! We added to the collection with a shamrock wreath to display. Henry and I made a wreath like this before for Valentine's Day. This time we made it with shamrocks and green and orange colors for St. Patrick's Day. I made this wreath with George this time. I set ...
Drawing Underneath & Upside Down
If you want to get creative in a new way, have fun with it and find a new place to put that piece of paper! Grab some tape, a piece of paper and markers... lie down on your back and draw! This has been a blast for us several times now, I can't believe it took us so long to do this. We drew upside down and underneath! We pulled out our dining room chairs and taped a piece ...
The Activity Room Member of the Month: Tabitha
As I began the journey of creating The Activity Room as a place to provide parents (and even grandparents and childcare providers) with achievable activities that they can do with their kids at a moments notice, I knew it was more than just that. I knew it was going to be more about the members in the community and us joining together and lifting each other up, motivating and ...
Find the Letter on the Heart
Valentine's Day doesn't have to be only about crafts for the kids to do. We usually use it as an opportunity to sneak in some lovely learning activities too! Plus, this one works on fine motor skills. I adapted this find the letter activity from a previous activity we did in the fall that I shared on PBS Parents, that was A is for Apple. The point of this activity was to work ...
Simple Sorting Activity When You’re in a Pinch
When you're in a pinch for something to do with your kids, try a simple sorting activity! Use anything you have! We happened to have pom poms, in lots of different colors and sizes. You could sort buttons, blocks, even paper! I grabbed a couple containers quickly when Louis wanted to do an activity and I had nothing in mind to do yet. (If that's the case for you, ...
Magic Homemade Puffy Paint to Make a Snowman
This is a last-minute winter craft I did with my 4-year old, Louis. We've been browsing Hands On As We Grow lately, and something somewhere sparked the idea to paint a snowman. I'm not even sure what that would have been since we don't have any painted snowmen on here yet. But we do have lots of winter crafts for toddlers! Anyway, it sparked the idea to create white homemade ...
How to Fulfill Your Activity Goals this Year
Now that the holiday season seems to be finally winding down (why does it seem to take until mid-January for me to catch my breath?), I'm looking into the New Year. This year, the holiday seemed very relaxed on my end. How about you? In The Activity Room, we really worked on savoring the holidays. I think I did okay doing that this year, even though it seemed hard to get in the ...
How to Actually Protect Your Family
Eight years after having my first child... almost nine... and we finally got our Will figured out. And guess what? It wasn't as scary as I thought. We 'informally' talked to our guardian of choice at the time of my oldest being born. And that was it, he was on board! Yay! I knew we had to get papers drawn up... but the thought of going to a lawyer just looked like I was going to ...
Valentine’s Day Stamped Cards
Make easy Valentine's Day stamped cards with this easy activity. CraftProjectIdeas.com is showing the love this February. They sent me this fun stamp kit! Henry and I decided to try making Valentine's Day stamped cards. Easy Valentine's Day Stamped Cards Henry and I broke out our kit to make some Valentine Cards! I haven't ever owned a stamp before, so this was a thrill for me, ...
Classic Glittery Christmas Stocking Craft
This has got to be one of the most classic crafts we've made, especially for Christmas. But since it's a classic, we just had to make this simple Christmas stocking craft! I cut out two pieces of red scrapbook paper in a stocking shape. Nothing fancy, just a giant 'J' pretty much. I cut them out together, so they're exactly the same shape and size. I punched holes around the ...
Jello Sensory Activity Perfectly Simple for Babies
Jello is a fantastic sensory experience for babies and young toddlers. Especially kids that still put everything in their mouth (know one?). Make up a batch or two and create this activity to explore smells, tastes and the ooey gooey-ness of it all! Samara has been an avid follower of the blog for awhile. She's super excited to share this jello sensory activity she did with her ...
Number Puzzle Scavenger Hunt for Preschoolers
This is a fun puzzle scavenger hunt that will have your preschooler counting their way through the hunt. Puzzles are a favorite of mine. I spent many hours as a kid putting together 1000+ piece puzzles, especially in the winter. I am so glad to share this pastime with my oldest now, and we're getting there with George. Puzzles are fantastic for so many skills. From cognitive, ...
A Week of Fun in the Fall
Fall activities are something I always look forward to... it's my favorite time of year. Why not make a week of fun in the fall with these creative activities to do with your kids? Want more weeks of activities for you? Check these out! An activity plan for kids that love to play in water! I've chosen some of our favorite activities to do in the summer to do this week, to ...
Summer Activity Plan to Enjoy With the Kids
We are in full swing of summer. And I haven't adjust yet to figure out when my kids need my attention and when they don't. (Take a look at tips to make routines work for you.) This week, I'm putting a plan together, and we're going to have fun! I'm really savoring this summer, as it seems that my kids are growing up way too fast and soon they'll be off on their bikes to the pool ...
Strengthening Hands with Play Dough Names
We haven't gotten very creative with play dough lately. The kids get it out and play with it. It usually consists of making food for us to pretend eat, or driving trucks and tractors through it to make tracks. I was looking for a quick activity to do one evening, and had fine motor skills on my mind. I kept telling myself that play dough is such a great tool for fine motor ...
Paper Towel Art is Gloriously Fun for Everyone
You know I love a simple activity. There's something magical about this paper towel art. Seriously. And it's so simple. This is one of those activities that I see every once in awhile go through my feed on Pinterest, or I think I saw it in the Huddle not too long ago. I have always wanted to do it, but honestly, never have because its one that I can't come up with an ...
Trace to Erase the Letters on the Chalkboard
This was a revisit on our toddler's version of painting with water on the chalkboard. Now that my kids are not toddlers anymore (ah! When did that happen?), I added a tad bit of learning to the simple activity. I had George and Louis each grab a dish from the cupboards and fill it with water. While they did that, I wrote letters for Louis on the chalkboard, and numbers for ...
How to Teach Kids About Recycling When They’re Young
Do you recycle in your home? Do your kids help? We do the basics, and the kids help out here and there, we love to upcycle our recyclables a lot. But today, Swapna from Practical Mom is sharing some tips on getting your kids recycling and also learning about the recycling process itself. I always think its better when you expect something of someone to explain why it matters, what ...
Simple Block Learning Activity with Shapes & Colors
Super simple block learning activity for toddlers and preschoolers to practice their shapes and colors and then build! If your child loves blocks, I have tons of block activities for them to do! We did this long, long ago with George (see below) and this time, Louis got a turn. George played along too and did block patterns. Before inviting the kids to play, first collect some ...
Simple Things for Young Kids to Do on an Airplane
In January, my whole family took a trip to San Diego to stay at Legoland. If you have never been, I highly recommend the hotel, it was fantastic. However, we live in Iowa, which meant a nice flight to get there. We opted to drive almost four hours to Minneapolis to have a non-stop flight, which was still a four hour flight.After driving for so long, I was worried how the flight ...
Can You Promise to Play an Hour a Day for 30 Days?
Green Toys™ is doing something super awesome this month, the 30 days leading up to Earth Day. And I am excited to partner with them, because this is perfect and a pledge I also want to take myself. Are you familiar with Green Toys™? Here's a quick run-down: They make awesome, eco-friendly children's toys (100% recycled, packaging too). Their toys encourage open ended play (no ...
Classic Beating on Pots & Pans
I think each and every one of us grew up banging on our mother's pots and pans. But, yet its often forgotten to let our own kids enjoy this simple activity. Find more simple activities like this here This is a great first time activity for even babies! See below when I did this activity with George when he was 10 months old. Louis enjoyed it this time, and he's three! And ...
Shake, Shake, Shake to Make Art!
One of the best, and probably funnest, ways for a toddler to make art is by shake, shake, shaking it! I don't do this nearly enough with the kids. Which is sad because I'm such a fan of big art. Coming in oh-so-close to being the best, is a little less messy version of toddler crafting: contact paper collages. However, back to our shake-shake art for toddlers. This is messy, but ...
Cereal Sensory Bin for Toddlers
We have done our share of fun sensory activities in the past, but can you believe we've never done just a simple cereal sensory bin? This is a perfect sensory bin for toddlers since its completely edible! (In fact, my three year old, just sat and munched most of the time!) It wasn't until Kaitlin shared a photo of the giant Cheerios sensory bin in The Huddle that I thought to ...
Tracing Letters & Shapes with Toothpicks
I cannot take credit for this toothpick tracing idea. A fellow huddler, Tabitha, shared a photo of her son tracing in The Huddle. I thought the idea was fantastic and did it with my boys as well. Originally, I prepped the paper to trace for Louis, my three year old. I thought this would be a great way for him to learn shapes and a few letters. Of course, my preschooler, ...
What to Do When an Activity is No-Good
Our sticky spider web is one of the most popular activities on Hands On As We Grow. It is super fun and gets the kids moving. However, many readers have had problems doing the activity. Their tape isn't sticky enough to hold the newspaper thrown at it. Or the child can't throw the ball of newspaper to get it to stick. I had a reader write me an email sharing her child's ...
Learn to Weave & Pattern With a Clothes Basket
Weaving is a fun concept for kids to learn. I always think of it as a fine motor activity... but really, I think that depends on the size you're doing it as. If you do big weaving like we have in the past (on stairs, or on a baby gate), its really not about fine motor control. What weaving is always about is patterns. In and out, in and out. Over and over again. My ...
A Week of Activities to Learn a Letter
As Louis is coming up into the preschool age, we are beginning to work on letters a little bit at home. I thought it might be fun to put together a week of activities to work on a letter at a time. You can do these activities for just that, or you can mix the letters up during the week. Whatever your child is most into. Just to give you a little background on how I plan a week of ...
Letter Search for Toddlers (Word Search Alternative)
I recently made Louis' three year well-child appointment. Our doctor does more testing during this appointment than just medically. They check to make sure he's on track socially, speech-wise and even a little academically. I had a moment of panic. I have yet to work on learning activities with Louis. We've done some very basic activities, and that's it. I've never pushed ...
“I Spy My Name” Rice Sensory Bin
This rice sensory bin is shared by fellow mom, and Huddler, Tabitha. It has a fun learning twist! "I Spy My Name"! My son has been really interested lately in learning how to spell his name. Kids seem to learn best when they don't even know they are learning, so I wanted to come up with a way to help him learn how to spell his name while having fun! I came up with a very ...
3 Questions for a Second Chance at Parenting
Take a moment to imagine this. Today, unexpectedly, will be your last. This could very well be the reality. You never know when it could be your last. (I pray that it won't be.) How would you feel about your parenting if you were done today? Hopefully, today won't be your last and you'll have years and years of parenting ahead of you. But as a new year comes, it's a second chance ...
Non-Rules to Let Kids be Kids & Never Grow Up
Kids are told to not run, not jump, and not get dirty all the time. But what do kids want to do? Let kids be kids and do what they do best. I've been listening to Peter Pan with the kids on Audible (our sponsor). There's so much going on with Peter Pan and I had so many ideas to share with you. So many Peter Pan activities and crafts I wanted to share. ...
Holiday Activities to Do at Grandma’s House
The holidays are very stressful and the fun can sometimes get sucked right out of it. Especially when you're visiting family and the kids are in a strange place. You want it to be that something that the kids look forward to, and for it to be about more than the presents that they get. What if you had a list of go-to activities for the kids to do with Grandma at her ...
Slice the Web Lightsaber Activity
Do your kids like to destroy things? Do they tend to destruct the moment something gets put together? Finally! An activity the kids get to do just that. Swing and slice the web down! We are so excited to partner with Duracell, Hasbro and Disney. They are teaming up with Toys“R”Us to help us get ready for the holidays. I have a super giveaway you'll want to get for all the hottest ...
Around the Town Scavenger Hunt to do as Your Child Grows
My child's not old enough for that activity. My child's too old. My child can't do that yet. That's way too easy for my child. Wherever your child is, scavenger hunts can grow with your kids as they grow. I am super excited to partner with Little Tikes Perfect Fit 4-in-1 Trike that does just the same. Grows with your child from 9 months to 5 years. This Around Town Scavenger Hunt ...
A Week of Christmas Activities for the Kids
You asked for it. I'm giving it to you. For free! A week of Christmas activities to do with the kids! Just to give you a little background on how I plan a week of activities for my own kids: I start with the gauging what my child is interested in (using the "My Child This Week" sheet of the free weekly planner). I fill one out for each of my kids and what they’re into ...
7 Ways Kids Can Help in the Kitchen
The stove is hot, there's a knife, the eggs will break... what in the world can I have my kids help me with in the kitchen? Whether I'm baking or I'm cooking, my 5 year old is always there with his step stool to help. I have a budding chef on my hands, George is actually really good help! While my kids are not MASTERCHEFs (at least not yet!) they ...
Gross Motor Activity for a Rainy Day: Walking on Pillows
I'm almost embarrassed to post this gross motor activity.... it seems too simple to warrant a post. But with that said, it was super duper fun and had George moving all morning long! And its perfect for those days you're stuck indoors, when its cold or rainy. (Hey, its Iowa here and spring has taken a long time to really show itself!) You have everything it takes to do this ...