Night Terrors. Phew. Just saying it exhausts me. Seriously. I cannot explain what a night terror is. And I'm (this) close to videoing George when he has one. But can't bring myself to publish that for the whole world to see. A night terror is not a nightmare. I can only explain it as something that is so uncontrolled by the child. And there's nothing a parent can do to ...
Go on a Scavenger Hunt!
As I mentioned earlier this week in the Letter and Number Scavenger Hunt, we do hunts quite frequently around here. There's so many ways to do it that they never get old. Just to name a few ways that we've done them: Indoor String Scavenger Hunt Toy hunt by Colors Outdoor Scavenger Hunt But that's not all you can do! Check out what I found on It's Playtime to hunt ...
Busy Play: Play Dough Construction Site
Henry's on another play dough kick since his birthday. He got all these little construction machines, and cones and people as a gift and it turned out to be a great addition to play dough that entertained them for hours. Yes, them. George and Henry played side by side for a long time. George was in and out a lot, but always came back to play with Henry. Henry was just engrossed ...
Paint a Cardboard Town
Start upcycling some cardboard boxes, or just your cereal boxes, to make a whole town! This is a wonderfully arty post written by Justine of The Lone Home Ranger. I was not the crafting sort before I had kids. Even after my first daughter came along, I admittedly looked at art projects as a necessary evil. I would remind myself of the connection between art and high brain ...
Poppin’ Balloons!
Balloon Poppin'! A little after birthday party fun! This was a great laugh for everyone! I was hysterically laughing, as were the boys! And it reminded me how much I loved doing activities with balloons. They're so much fun, no matter what you do! I still have quite a few blown up, so maybe we'll come up with something, or be inspired by the 30 Ways to Play with Balloons ...
Tree Handprint & Symmetry Art
Hey hey hey! We all have firsts, right? Well, around here... it was handprints! Can you believe it? We have never done handprints in this house yet... until now! And Henry was so excited to do it. It was actually his idea. I asked if he wanted to paint something and he said he wanted to do handprints! (Must be doing some of those at school, I guess!) Henry jumped right ...
Busy Play on It’s Playtime!
After listing a bunch of toddler activities yesterday, I realized busy play is really good for them. Where it just opens up the door to exploration of materials or a new concept for them. Plus busy play has its advantages for the parent! It keeps them occupied while you can get something done [like laundry or put dinner on the table], or can keep them quiet in much needed spaces ...
Henry’s Semi Truck 4th Birthday Party
Happy Birthday Henry! Henry turned four over the weekend and had a great birthday party. I usually try to set out some sort of activity for the kids (mostly boys) to do on their own throughout the party. In the past, I've had play dough and markers. This time, I tried going with Henry's "Semi" theme and had them haul loads to the 'river' (just like Grandpa does). I taped ...
Energetic Activity: Letter Sound Punch Game
I laugh when I think of this game we did. It was on a whim, and of course, it was made for George, but ended up making it for Henry because he was more interested in it. (It always seems to go that way...) This is an activity that takes some movement (Yay! Gross Motor activity! We like energetic activities!) and they get to learn in the process. And guess, what? The learning can ...
ABCs and Beyond on It’s Playtime!
Learning the ABCs are such a gigantic step for a preschooler! At least it was for me when Henry first recognized the letter M. After that, they fell into place really quickly! First there's upper case letters, then lower case letters.... then its onto sounds (or sometimes sounds come before recognizing the letters). And then of course putting them all together to spell words. ...
Toddler Activity: Pipe Cleaner Sprinkles
We have these little containers from the bakery that hold glitter. When I empty them, I just can't throw them away. They seem so useful for something. They're like a giant spice container with huge holes. If you don't have anything like this (which doesn't surprise me, not everyone has access to bakery ingredients), a container could easier be made from an oatmeal container or ...
What Can We Use Egg Cartons For? Make a Train
I'm not crunchy. I'm not green. At least I don't go completely out of my way to be. But I do every day basic things like recycling, shutting off the lights, and so on... (I've listed out my 9 ways to be Earth Friendly with the Kids.) But my best green living tip? And also my favorite is to reuse and upcycle items for play with the boys. Items such as... cardboard ...
3 Types of Resist for Easter Egg Decorating
After trying some new ways to decorate eggs with Henry last year, I thought it would be nice to try a couple other new ways this year. My thoughts on what kind of decorated eggs I'd like to try? Trying sticker resist eggs, like I saw at Le Papier Studio. Hot glue resist decorated eggs, as I saw at Creative Connections for Kids As my mom and I were looking for our ...
It’s Playtime! Its time for Eggs!
It's Easter time, so eggs are on the mind this week. In fact, we decorated our Easter eggs today, tomorrow you'll get a peek at those! (Until then, you can check out last year's eggs that we decorated, as well as 26 other ideas for decorating, so you're good to go for this weekend!) So, what else can we do with eggs besides decorate them? Well, Tinkerlab put together a massive ...
Family Challenge: Get Outside as a Family
The Family Network is bringing you a monthly Family Challenge, in hopes to challenge you to do the same. April's Family Challenge is to Get Outside as a Family. I've been saying over and over that this weather has been incredible this year. (We mowed the lawn in March, when has that ever happened before?) Anyhow. April is a pretty busy month for us with Easter and Henry's ...
It’s Playtime! A Creative Easter
I'm finally getting into Easter mode. After making a collage cross with the boys, and working on the weeds outside. It's made me realize that Easter is just around the corner. Easter has a lot of craftiness to it for some reason. So I thought I'd share a few ways to get really creative and focus on the process of the art when creating something for Easter. I found a few ideas on ...
Proud Moments: The unRecognized Firsts
We all keep track of the major milestones (or at least have the intention of doing so)... I've noticed with George's baby book its missing a lot of the details compared to Henry's, though. We always think of the major milestones. The first time they crawl, first steps, first tooth, and of course the first time they sleep through the night. It seems though that after 2 years ...
It’s Playtime! Outdoor Activities
We're outside all the time all of a sudden, and I feel so unprepared! I don't have any activities in my mind yet for outdoors! Gotta start making a list I guess. So today I'll start with some from It's Playtime! Its crazy that this March weather has let us play outside everyday, and without coats! Crazy! But I'll take it. The Artful Child shared 10 ways to play outdoors in the ...
Say Cheese! Share a Smile!
Okay, these are more spontaneous smiles than saying "Cheese!" and they're for an incredible cause too! Elizabeth, of Broken Treasures, has asked a few of her blogger friends to help spread the word about these smiles. These smiles are Spontaneous Smileys! And these spontaneous smileys are from people like me and you. They help fix smiles of children that need it (kids that have a ...
Getting to Sleep after Daylight Savings Time
The start of Daylight Savings Time in the Spring is usually never a big deal in this house. In fact, I actually look forward to it. It brings me (at most) two days of sleeping in until 7am instead of the usual 6am. Yay! Henry's really good about the time change. We put him to bed at the regular time (we don't adjust anything because of Daylight Savings Time, its 8pm, its ...
It’s Playtime! St. Patrick’s Day Shamrocks
I think St. Patrick's Day is Henry's favorite holiday. Why? Because everything's green! Its his favorite color! He's always super excited to make any shamrocks that we do. And I love the hanging shamrock craft we came up with this year too! Last year's shamrock window decor craft was more toddler friendly, and I think I'll try a version of it with George for an upcoming holiday! ...
9 Hands on Ways to be Earth-Friendly
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not." We've been reading The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (affiliate link). This book is actually new to me, but I love the message for the boys (and myself!). Its about how a business comes into a 'forest' of Truffala Trees and uses them to make his new product. He ends up cutting down every last ...
It’s Playtime! Colorful Rainbows
We had a lot of fun going on a hunt for toys in the colors of the rainbow. Henry knows the colors at time, usually he needs a little bit of reminding though. The rainbow sponge art had a lot of repetitiveness with applying the colors over and over, so that was a great way for him to learn them. Whether he knows the colors of the rainbow or not, they're still so much fun to ...
Preschool Craft: Shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day
Make a string of shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day! It's a perfect fine motor activity for preschoolers, too. We liked our Strings of Hearts in our dining room so well during Valentine's Day! We were talking about them one night at dinner, thinking that we should take them down. Henry didn't want to. So Dad suggested we make a craft for St. Patrick's Day coming up. My wheels ...
It’s Playtime is Learning Time!
I love to find fun ways to teach new concepts to the boys.Henry's been really into counting lately, so we've been doing a lot of things with numbers. (He's even adding and subtracting, and even sometimes dividing without even knowing it!) Here's 4 learning activities for the kids from last week's It's Playtime! Above, clockwise from top-left: Mama's Little Muse had fun mixing ...
Kid Activity: Crayon Color Sorting
The kids and I were out shopping, actually doing it to waste time to pick up Dad. And I came across these crayon shaped paint sample cards. I had no plan for them, but I've been seeing a million ideas for sample cards lately, and thought there must be something I could do with them. It seems I'm starting to hoard things without a plan lately. Yesterday's activity was with ...
Painting, Activities, Experiments & Learning
Some edible yogurt finger paint, let George participate in a painting activity with us! Another way to get George involved in painting? Put it in a baggy! Add something to roll around and let him have at it. A super fun, messy (but yet clean) sensory activity for both the boys! Making foam from dish soap! Some tape as roads and add blocks to build a city! Have fun! Paint a ...
I’m Proud: Writing his Name
Trying to get Henry focused on writing, or really anything fine-motor related, has been a struggle. He was always about movement, full of energy. Too much energy to sit still and take time to learn such a thing as writing. Yes, it worried me. He didn't seem to be 'up to par' in this area. But I let it go. He's 3 and I know writing isn't something they should be able to do, it was ...
It’s Playtime! Time to Recycle!
I've been on the lookout for some fun ways to get some use out of our recycling. The 34 Recyclables to Upcycle is only the beginning of what can be done with recyclables! Its so fun to see what everyone comes up with to do with stuff that most find as trash! Above, clockwise from top-left: Picklebums had fun with a box and created a tunnel for the kids! Learning to tie shoes ...
Kids Experiment: How Much Water Does it Hold?
Henry wanted to do an experiment. He said he'd come up with one for us to do after nap. So, after nap, Henry collected his things for his experiment. He brought a tractor and his wagons. He told me his experiment was to pour water into them. So I grabbed some cookie sheets in case of spillage. I got him a cup of water and let him do his experiment. He found out soon ...
Block Activity: Build a City
After doing our tape maze of numbers. The maze stuck (yes, pun intended) around awhile. On one of those 'no-nap' days, Henry and I kept busy (while George was napping) with blocks and the tape maze and made a Block City! Henry and I added blocks around the tape maze. The tape posing as the streets of the block city. It became our town, with landmarks that we have in our ...
It’s Playtime! Get Moving Indoors!
This time of year... Even though its been a mild winter in Iowa. We're still itching to get outside more and run! We're finding creative ways to burn off energy in the house. And so our some of our It's Playtime playdates! I love the ideas that you guys have been coming up with to get active indoors. (Crafty Moms Share: Indoor Snowball Fight!) We have snow. But its not ...
16 Valentine’s Celebrations from The Heart Project Party!
Earlier this week, Cathy of NurtureStore and I hosted a very hoppin' Valentine's Day party for The Heart Project! A bunch of moms joined the party and swapped ideas for Valentine's Day, including family celebrations and traditions, as well as recipes and crafts. Cathy shared yesterday a few of the Valentine's crafts and recipes that party-goers chimed in with. Today, I'm ...
It’s Playtime! The Heart Project Features
The Heart Project has been kicked off great. A week into it and we've raised well over our initial goal over $1,000 for the American Heart Association. We've now re-evaluated our goal, and lifted it to $2k, will you help us make it?The Heart Project is a book (The Heart Book) full of heart projects for kids to do! So many great ideas to get crafty and artsy, even get the kids in the ...
Valentine’s Day Art: The Kids’ HeArts
I'm not sure what it is about this Heart art that I like so much. Maybe its because both the boys did it together. Or maybe its because I found out how nicely Henry can cut and follow a line. Or maybe its just because its close to Valentine's Day, and love is in the air. Collaboration seems to be the key around here lately. I've been collaborating with other ...
It’s Playtime: Some Favorites
Sometimes I just like to look through It's Playtime and find some great ideas to bookmark (on Pinterest) for the kids to do. Okay. Most of the time. That's what I do. Here are a few that I'm pinning to do with the boys in the near future. (Lessons Learnt Journals: Paperclip Number Match) First of all, I love the addition of the button to the paper clips! It makes them ...
‘In Memory Of’ Collaborative Kids Art
100 Acts of Kindness. Toddler Approved has a series on it, with many ideas for kindness and how to instill it in our children. While we're trying to do our acts of kindness, teaching what kindness is to a three year old seems tough at times. By acting kind to each other, and leading my example, is the only way I can figure out how to teach this concept. To contribute to the ...
It’s Playtime! Activities for My Toddler
This year is the year for George. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself. He's 16 months right now. So he still can't do a lot of the activities that Henry and I get into. We have a lot of time to ourselves, just the two of us. Some nice Mommy and Me time. But we rarely set out to do something. We just play. I want to start getting him involved. Be hands on with him. I ...
Valentine Craft for Kids: Strings of Hearts Chandelier
A learning Valentine craft for kids to this Valentine's Day! String up some pretty (and easy!) hearts to your dining room chandelier and it'll set the mood with every meal. I cannot tell you all the levels of learning that Henry worked on when making this chandelier of hearts. Counting Patterning Cutting Threading Sequencing Just to name the obvious ...
Counting Blocks While Building Towers
Counting blocks on their corresponding numbers. We always have a lot of fun with counting. And a lot of fun with blocks. Have you checked out the 44 activities using blocks for preschoolers? How do you get a preschooler boy excited about learning? Bring in the big machines. By bringing in Henry's everyday love of farming into activities, especially learning activities, he's ...
Preschool Activity : Building Structures
This post is written and shared by Emma at Science Sparks. A simple, fun activity to do with a variety of ages and skill levels. And you probably have everything you need right in your pantry! When I brought out the spaghetti and marshmallows I think my children thought we were having some kind of weird and wonderful (to them) dinner!In actual fact we were looking at structures ...
It’s Playtime! Science Experiments for Preschoolers!
After doing our lava lamp experiment, I've been on the lookout for more fun with science! Especially experiments that my preschooler will find fun to do! Here are a few experiments I found just on last week's It's Playtime! from my playdate friends! (Science Sparks: What's Heaviest?) A great experiment from Science Sparks. Find out what's heavier! This is a concept I need to ...
Melted Crayon Art: Crayon Shavings
I've seen various ways to make melted crayon art around, so we wanted to make one ourselves using crayon shavings. Henry, Grandma and I made some pretty art with crayon shavings! And it was fun to do! The crayon shavings are what makes this art so pretty, but it also gave Henry some time to work on his fine motor skills. Henry did his own pile of crayon shavings ...
Parenting: Be your Child’s Advocate for a Better Education
A post written and shared by Melissa at Imagination Soup. Melissa shares a few tips and strategies of what worked for her on how to handle being her child's advocate for a better education. See what Melissa recommends to do. It started with preschool, but I made excuses. Then, it happened in public elementary school. Several times and I ran out of excuses. Terrible ...
Collaborative Heart Project Fundraiser
I am putting together a collaborative fundraiser between bloggers. This is a heart project because all proceeds from this fundraiser are going towards the American Heart Association (AHA). If you are a blogger and would like to participate, please read through the details below and email me with your interest at handsonaswegrow(at)gmail.com. This is Valentine's season, so ...
It’s Playtime! More Snow Activities!
We're getting snow tonight! Time to get busy with some of those snow activities I posted about yesterday! And here's five more snow themed activities! So, now you have 37 snow ideas for the kids to do! The It's Playtime! players have been getting creative with their snow activities since no one seemed to have any snow. (My Oatmeal Kisses: Poofs of Snow) No snow? Make it! My ...
Parenting : On Motherhood
Were you a natural when it came to motherhood? I wasn't. Read on to hear the story of Angelique of AngeliqueFelix.com, on becoming a mother. A wonderful post is written and shared by Angelique at AngeliqueFelix.com - The Magic of Play "I am not afraid, I was born to do this" - Joan of Arc, heroin of France The beginning Before you start reading this post, you should know that I ...
Learning to Let Go of Creativity Control
Ever feel like this project just isn't turning out? Let go. Remember the process. A post written and shared by Ali at At Home with Ali. Learning to Let Go Doing art projects and crafts with young children can drive anyone crazy. Paint going everywhere except on the paper, glue on fingers and in hair, mountains of glitter spread out for no purpose, oil pastels having their ...
It’s Playtime! Indoor Activities
Its that time of year. When we all duck our heads and hibernate for a couple of months. Granted, we try to get outside as much as we can. But most days its not for long, if at all. So... What indoor activities can we do on these cold days coming up? (Really, its been pretty nice here lately, I can't believe its in the 40s in January in Iowa...) (Make Do & ...
Learning Activity: Cutting Snowflakes
Henry's been on a cutting kick lately. Since its winter, I decided to take advantage of this and cut snowflakes! I tried my best to make this as preschooler-friendly as possible. We used coffee filters for our snowflakes. Coffee filters are easy to cut, plus they're already round! And they were really easy for Henry to cut. He didn't struggle cutting through them at ...
Best Projects for Kids from 2011
Happy New Year! Cheers to 2012! Let's remember 2011 though, shall we? I'm not going to flood you with all my favorite posts, I shared my twelve favorite activities last month. I also won't bore you with the most popular kids projects, as most of them are collections of play ideas. But, I am going to share our most popular project from 2011.Here's our Best Project for Kids from ...
It’s Playtime! Christmas Treats
Some last minute treats for Santa? Or for our family get together! Try these Christmas sweets and goodies with the kids this year! (Crystal & Co. : Christmas Cookies) Have you made cookies to set out for Santa yet? Its getting close! Time to get baking! We have yet to start this tradition, but I think this year might be the year to do it. This Ranger Cookies Recipe ...
Music: Christmas Cheer
Hi! This is Jill from confidencemeetsparenting.com. I am so excited to be visiting hands on: as we grow today! I am also excited that Jamie is taking a well deserved break. Some of you may not know, but along with running this blog Jamie is also a huge support in our little education / mommy blogger network. I am lucky to have her as a "bloggy friend"! Little M (my 4 year old) ...
Art: Christmas Coffee Filter Garland
How many alternate uses are there for coffee filters? A google search of coffee filter craft brings up 1,680,000 pictures of crafts you can do with a coffee filters. This month at Art For Little Hands we are doing several art projects using the medium of a coffee filter. One of those projects we worked on this last week was a coffee filter banner. This is such a simple and easy ...
Literacy Activity: Book Making
Today, a literacy craft is shared by Erin at Small Types. Some book making ideas! They can be easily adapted for the holidays.Make some homemade gifts for the grandparents! Hello, hands on : as we grow readers! I’m thrilled for the opportunity to guest post here on one of my favorite blogs. Thanks, Jamie! In this busy season, it’s especially tough to carve out timefor ...
It’s Playtime! Let it Snow!
The Creative Christmas Countdown is well under way. Kitchen Counter Chronicles has today's advent activity, Making Snowflakes! Looking around the It's Playtime posts has gotten me in the mood for snow (okay, just a little though)! So, bring on the snow! Let it Snow! (Adventures at Home: Snowflake Mobile) Adventures at Home makes paper snowflakes into a pretty mobile for the ...
Christmas Crafts: Child-Made Cards
Two fun Christmas Card Crafts for the kids to make! Shared by Cathy at NurtureStore. (I love her point that they don't have to be perfect. That's kind of the best part!) Simple child-made Christmas cards With two crafty kids in the house we love to make and send some simple child-made Christmas cards to our friends and family. I love adding homemade touches to our celebration ...
Craft: Gingerbread House Greeting Card
Maggy at Red Ted Art is sharing a Christmas Craft today! These are cute holiday cards made to look like a real gingerbread house! But one you can send in the mail to friends and family! Hello! My name is Maggy and I am from Red Ted Art, where I regularly do Kids Crafts with my two preschoolers and share weekly "How Tos" to inspire adults and teens. So lovely to be here today and ...
Creative Christmas Countdown: Decorate the Kids Rooms
Today is Day 12 of the Creative Christmas Countdown! Decorate the Kids Rooms! Decorating the kids rooms is definitely going to be a new Christmas tradition! Henry and I decided on creating a Christmas tree of lights in the corner of his bedroom. We found a string of lights and I got busy taping and stringing them up. I did hammer one nail in at the top near the corner of the ...
Craft: 3 Homemade Christmas Ornaments
For a number of reasons, the first being we didn't want JDaniel to accidentally knock over the tree or try to climb it, we haven’t had a full size Christmas tree. We have had a table top tree instead. This year things will be different. We are going to put up a full size tree and I thought it would be fun to have JDaniel make some ornaments for it. Christmas Card Ball: This ...
It’s Playtime! : Paper Holiday Decorations
The Creative Christmas Countdown is well under way. Mama Pea Pod has today's advent activity, Making Paper Decorations! I found a few inspirational ideas from last week's It's Playtime to get us in the mood to get creating some wonderful paper decorations for today's Christmas Countdown activity! (Gratefully Growing in Grace: Paper Advent Activity Chain) A classic paper ...
Winter Craft : Snowman Puppets!
I'm grateful to have such wonderful friends in the blog world to allow me to take a little bit of a break this month to spend more time with my family during the holidays.Today's post is written and shared by Terri at Creative Family Fun. A fun craft to create with the kids, and play with it afterwards! Terri teaches us how to make snowman finger puppets! So ...
Activity : Cutting Catalogs for a Book
Henry's finally got the act of cutting with a scissors down! It took a lot of practice, but he's figured it out and loves cutting now! (He often requests to do it randomly...) We have these John Deere catalogs and calendars frequently. My parents often grab them at the implement just for Henry to have his 'books'. I suggested to Henry that we create our own book from these ...
A Break for the Holidays : Favorite Posts
Throughout December I've decided to take a little break and step back from the blog a little bit during the holidays. I'm going to be exercising what I learned throughout the 30 Days to Hands on Play Challenge, and focus more of my attention on the family.>I still may pop in a couple times this month with a post or two, as well as continue It's Playtime each week. But for the ...
It’s Playtime! : Christmas Countdown
It's the beginning of the Christmas countdown. There's 24 Days before Christmas! Add to that a collection of 24 Kid Bloggers. And that means there's a Creative Christmas Countdown! Kids Activities Blog has organized an activity a day from 24 creative kid bloggers to countdown to Christmas! I'm very excited for this, and I'm taking part! I'm day 12! Yay! I bet you're familiar with ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : Keep Playing
DAY 30 CHALLENGE: KEEP ON PLAYING! Today is the final day of the 30 Days to Hands on Play Challenge. While this month has been exhausting with keeping up with all the challenges and all the participants, I'm very sad to see its over already! The Imagination Tree and I have had thousands of visitors checking in on the challenges, as well as over 600 participants receiving the ...
Science Experiment : Ice, Water, Vapor
Henry woke up asking to do an experiment! When I asked what kind of experiment he'd like to do, he replied, Ice! Probably thinking of our sand and salt experiment on ice that we did for the 30 Days to Hands on Play Challenge (for Day 22, Investigate). I didn't have anything prepared yet, but ice cubes. So after asking some fans on Facebook (check here to see their ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : Special Craft
DAY 28 CHALLENGE: CREATE SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL DAY 28 CHALLENGE: Take a moment to discuss ideas with your child about what you'd like to create and for who. How can you make it special? How can you make it personal? Take the time today to create it for that special someone! (Remember to keep it uninterrupted time: being present with the child. No ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : Play in a Box
DAY 26 CHALLENGE: PLAY IN A BOX DAY 26 CHALLENGE: Spend (at least) 15 minutes playing with, in or around a cardboard box! Let the imaginations of your children decide what it will be today. Add any elements needed to create it. Inspiration: Tinkerlab had a cardboard box challenge last May, you can check out our Cardboard Box Ramps, as well as 24 cardboard box ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : Playful Fun
DAY 24 CHALLENGE: PLAYFUL FUN! And the weekly It's Playtime! Party! DAY 24 CHALLENGE: Spend (at least) 15 minutes getting down on the floor with the kids and have some fun! Start tickling, chasing, or maybe even some safe rough housing! Happy Thanksgiving play challengers! This is a great challenge for today, because you could get multiple members of the family ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : Investigate
DAY 22 CHALLENGE: INVESTIGATE DAY 22 CHALLENGE: Spend (at least) 15 minutes investigating something of interest to your child. Whether its how something works, why we use certain materials or tools for things, or a simple science investigation. Take a minutes to research it yourself, then find a why to explore it further with your child. (Remember to keep it uninterrupted ...
Allowing Kids to be Independent
Allowing your child to independent. That sounds obvious, and maybe even easy. But it is something I believe every parent may struggle with at some point in those early independent, yet dependent, years. How to keep some control of the chaos, yet allow your child to have a say, takes some balance. Jillian, author of the inspiring learning blog A Mom with a Lesson Plan, ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : Paint
DAY 20 CHALLENGE: PAINT! DAY 20 CHALLENGE: Paint! In anyway you like! Get creative (and maybe a little messy), and spend 15 minutes of uninterrupted time, with the kids today! Challenge yourself to use a new tool to paint with. Or even better, paint on something out of the ordinary! Or maybe use a new method of painting! Get some inspiration by these 40 Big Art ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : In the Kitchen
DAY 18 CHALLENGE: KIDS IN THE KITCHEN DAY 18 CHALLENGE: Get in the kitchen and spend some uninterrupted* time with the kids making something together! Try to find a kid-friendly recipe that your kids can lead the way on. (*uninterrupted : being present with the child. No technology, phones, television, computer, etc. No errands, chores, making dinner, etc.) Henry ...
It’s Playtime! : Hands on Play
Today's challenge is to create a reading nook! I can't wait to make one (this is something we don't generally do with the boys). Head over to The Imagination Tree for some ideas and more info on the challenge! Today, for It's Playtime, I'm sharing some of the fun things you've been up to with the 30 Days to Hands on Play Challenge. We've had loads of participation from readers, as ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : A Hunt
DAY 16 CHALLENGE: GO ON A HUNT DAY 16 CHALLENGE: Spend (at least) 15 minutes of uninterrupted* time going on a hunt! Plan one out with drawings, pictures or words. Or shout out an item to look for! Get creative with it! (*uninterrupted : being present with the child. No technology, phones, television, computer, etc. No errands, chores, making dinner, etc.) I ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : Act Out a Story
DAY 14 CHALLENGE: ACT OUT A STORY Today we're digging into your imaginations (as well as memory!) and bringing a story to real life! Read a story, or have your child tell it from memory and play the parts. Bring the story to life! I recently read about this Comprehension Story Walk at Fairy Dust Teaching that could be adapted to most stories. I started with the road for ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : Field Trip
DAY 12 CHALLENGE: FIELD TRIP! I don't know how many times I see events going on that I want to do with the boys, but they come and go without us ever attending them. Today we are! We're choosing a field trip that's local and we're going to enjoy it for today! DAY 12 CHALLENGE: It's a field trip today! Take a look at your local newspaper to find some events going on ...
Imagine Toys : DIY Puzzles
Imagine Toys was so very kind to send this beautiful product our way to test out. A 9-Piece Block Puzzle to decorate your own puzzles. The package includes: 9 wooden blocks 6 colors of acrylic paint 2 paint brushes An assortment of colored pencils As this product is for 3+, and Henry's just three and not the most excelled in drawing, I was curious how the puzzles would ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : Concoctions
DAY 10 CHALLENGE: MIXING CONCOCTIONS Mixing together a few ingredients, creating a concoction that does wonders. Your kids will love this challenge! And learn a little about science in the process. Vinegar and Baking Soda. Oh the magic. Adding a little color to it adds a whole new element of fun! Mixing and dropping the vinegar in and watching it explode. It never ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : Water Play
This is bound to be a little messy, so prep your area a little bit if you mind. Playing with water is an all-time favorite in this house. Henry and George both could stand on a stool for hours (literally) at the kitchen sink, splashing, scooping, cleaning, or anything else they can come across. This time, I set up a couple separate tubs of water and dropped in a red and ...
How to Teach Kids Responsibility
Henry is a big help around the house. He really is. When he's in the mood. I'd like to implement a chore system in our house, but before doing so, I asked Sarah, founder of füdoo Boards, how to do it. As well as inquiring about why its important for kids to have some responsibilities. How can I raise a responsible child? It looks like I'm right on track with starting ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : Family Time
DAY 6 CHALLENGE: FAMILY TOGETHER TIME Puzzles, Game Night, Coloring. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon or evening! Some together time as a family before the work week hits us again. This challenge may seem kind of obvious, we spend a lot of time together as a family, but rarely doing something together as a family. This is great reminder of how important and special ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : Pretend Islands
DAY 4 CHALLENGE: PRETEND ISLANDS! It's time to get moving now and let imaginations run wild! Take some pillows, lay them out sporadically. Ta da! You've created islands with the floor as water! We jumped from island to island to see if we could make it to them all. Don't fall in the water and get wet! To start this activity, I started throwing pillows out on the ...
It’s Playtime! : Sorting
I'm ecstatic with the response for the 30 Days to Hands on Play Challenge that I'm doing with The Imagination Tree. For Day 3, Anna's challenging you with some Block Building! Back to It's Playtime though... I was overwhelmed with the amount of Halloween activities you guys do! I thought we were busy being spooky and creepy, but you guys completely outdid me! However, Halloween ...
30 Days to Hands on Play : Build a Fort!
DAY 2 CHALLENGE: BUILD A FORT! Today is a simple, easy task that every one can do with whatever they have on hand. And every child I know loves building forts! Building it is almost more fun than playing in it, so let the kids take part in that as well! Let them lead you where to place objects, such as blankets, tables, cushions, pillows, etc. Their imaginations will ...
A Challenge : 30 Days to Hands on Play
I've got a challenge for myself. And for you too, if you'd like to join us! Us? Yep! Anna from The Imagination Tree and I have put together a 30 day challenge! A challenge to play more hands on with your kids. 30 DAYS TO HANDS ON PLAY What is 30 Days to Hands on Play? A 30 day challenge to inspire you to play (at least) 15 minutes with your kids (no interuptions). To ...
It’s Playtime! : Get Moving this Fall
I know it's almost Halloween and I should be featuring all the great Halloween ideas that have been linked up. You can check out previous It's Playtime Halloween features on Googly Eyes and A Spooky Halloween. This week, I'm thinking about what to do to get the kids moving yet this fall before it gets too cold outside to go run around! (Gratefully Growing in Grace: A ...
Spaghetti Spider Web Craft for Halloween
After playing with colored spaghetti noodles with George... Henry and I made some spaghetti spider webs with it too! This time, I let Henry do the coloring. What other color would he pick, but green? I simply had cooked some spaghetti and threw a little bit of vegetable oil in it after I drained it. (I added the oil for the sensory activity I did with George, it's not ...
Imaginary Play : Betty Lukens Felt Boards
Talk about bringing in some imagination to our days! We received these awesome, very high quality felts from Betty Lukens Felts a couple weeks ago. The Carville mat will not be left alone! I once had to actually put it up out of sight so I could get the kids to listen to me! Henry has used it for everything imaginable. Cars, trucks, the ambulance, fire trucks, motorcycles, ...
10 Ten-Minute Challenges for Preschoolers
Kate's here today to create a challenge for you. Are you up for it? Or, more correctly, I should ask, are your kids up for it? This is a challenge directed to your kids to help in 'those moments' and I bet you'll find yourself having fun doing the challenge with your kids too! Kate is the amazing mom and author behind Picklebums. Full of beautiful children (four!) and beautiful ...
Seven Mom Tips : Activia Selects
As a stay at home mom, and an admittedly, addicted blogger. I try to do things as quickly as possible. (This is just my nature, I've always been this way.) I've learned to involve the kids in what I'm doing. They love to help. Include them. This sometimes counteracts the getting it done quickly, but it keeps them busy while I can get it done. When I can't involve them, there are ...
It’s Playtime: Make Creative Art with Your Kids
Create beautiful art with your child at playtime! Making creative art is a great way to bond with your child, and brighten your home together. Making art with my boys always brings a smile to my face. I hope it does the same for you, too! So I went hunting for other examples of beautiful art projects online. I found beautiful artwork on some of my favorite activity and family ...
Sensory Activity: Hauling Corn
With harvest in full swing at Grandpa's farm, Henry's always begging to go along and ride in the combine. This weekend, the entire family got out there and rode along! I decided to bring home some corn straight from the field for a sensory activity! (Okay, it may have gone through the corn bins before I got to it.) Find more transportation activities like this for ...
It’s Playtime! : Autumn Leaves
Henry and I have been gathering leaves and other nature items on our walks each day. In hopes to make or do something exciting with them. Not really sure what yet. But we're collecting them in the meantime. Autumn is in full swing here in Iowa and so is It's Playtime! Your autumn posts are so exciting to see. There are so many variations of ideas for all kinds offall activities and ...
A First Birthday Celebration
Happy 1st Birthday George! We celebrated with friends and family this past weekend. I try to provide entertainment for the kids, not activities or crafts that I have to lead. I set out open-ended items that I think the kids can use themselves and not get bored with. I always swap out my rug for the ABC play mat. So much more washable when there's spills to be had. I ...
Art Activity : Zoo Animal Puzzles
A counting book called 1, 2 ,3 to the Zoo' (affiliate link) by Eric Carle inspired this creative art and activity. The book is a counting train of zoo animals! Henry really enjoyed this book and loved counting each zoo animal. A great way to learn to count to ten. We decided to bring these zoo animals to life and make them interactive! We set out to paint first. Painting in ...
Keep updated!
New this month! I'm starting a newsletter to highlight some of my favorite posts, along with highlighting some of my other favorite blogs! You don't want to miss this! There may also be some sneak peaks of the upcoming month, as well as a way to tell me what you want to see more of! Sign up to receive the hands on : as we grow newsletter! Like hands on : as we grow on ...
Toddler Activity : Tissue Paper Bag
I let George loose with a paper bag full of tissue paper left over from our DIY Wrapping Paper that Henry and I made. George explored the tissue paper for probably a good half hour. It kept him fully entertained. What came to my surprise, was that I had an empty tub in the room (purely by accident) and George began to transfer the tissue paper from the paper bag to ...