Old Glory Craft
I’m sure craft sticks and painter’s tape isn’t exactly what Betsy Ross had in mind when she made the first flag over 230 years ago. But we had fun lots of fun making this popsicle stick flag…even if all the…
Squeezable Homemade Finger Paint
I get writer’s block…some times more than others. I had a few days last week where I felt like my ideas had all dried up. That’s when I like to look through books and magazines for inspiration. In fact, I…
Salt-Absorbing Fireworks!
Several months ago, I saw this idea for absorbing artwork from Family Fun using salt and colored water. I thought it would be fun to use black paper to make some festive 4th of July fireworks. So that’s exactly what we…
Toddler Time: Straws & Lids
Little Brother came up with this activity all on his own. In fact, he is fascinated by it and will spend at least 15 minutes (which is long for him) putting the straw through the lid and then pulling it…
Toddler Time: Big Bead Threading for Little Fingers
I admit it…I’m double-dipping. Remember the caterpillar counting activity I posted? Well, I’m repurposing that for an activity with Little Brother as well. The pieces of the pool noodle serve as really large beads. And what’s an excellent fine-motor activity…
Stained Glass Butterfly
This craft sorta happened on accident. It is a combination of a leftover tie-dyed coffee filter from this post and the Bob & Larry Stained Glass. But boy, am I glad we stumbled upon it! I would like a few…
Tie-Dye Butterfly Magnet
Big Brother’s favorite part of making these butterflies was, hands down, using the spray bottle! And I just love how the colors blended together. The rest of it was pretty fun too, especially seeing the end result! And the best…
Semi-Safe "Sword" Fighting
I honestly believe that pretend “sword fighting” must be programmed into the DNA of boys. I don’t recall either of my boys ever seeing this on TV, so I’m just blaming it on the Y chromosome. The same is true…
Edi-Dough {aka Edible Playdough}
Who says you can’t play with your food??? We had so much fun making, playing with, and eating this playdough! This was an activity I did with my first graders when we were exploring the life cycle of a butterfly…
Jumping through Hoops
I bought three hula-hoops at the dollar store a few days ago and the first thing Big Brother did when we brought them in the house was to lay them out and jump from one hoop to the next. What…
Mother’s Day "Magic" Invisible Card
Big Brother got a kick out of making this card! The real surprise came once he began painting it! Here’s what you’ll need: white cardstock, a white crayon, a paintbrush, and some paint. 1. Using a white crayon, write a…
Chicken Beak Counting and Guessing Game
This “game” incorporates both fine motor and cognitive development and emphasizes number recognition, counting, one-to-one correspondence, and hypothesizing. Talk about packing a punch! We pretended that the tweezer was a chicken beak and Big Brother practiced putting the corresponding number…
Toddler Time: Building Towers
Blocks are a childhood staple, but did you know that learning to build a tower of blocks is also somewhat of a developmental milestone? Toddlers must use cognition and fine motor skills to stack one block on top of another…the…
Shape Chick
One of my biggest pet peeves is “kid’s crafts” that look perfect…because I know that the child was not really one doing the craft, the parent/caregiver/teacher was. As you can tell right off the bat, this sweet chick was 100%…
Stepping Stones and Diaper Towers
I stocked up on diapers for Little Brother this week at Walgreens (you can’t beat 8 cents per diaper!). I bought 8 packages total and the boys invented their own games using the diaper packages. Rather than hauling them to our…
Outdoor Play = Gross Motor Activity
One major reason that it is so important for kids to be outside is that playing outside naturally yields itself to gross motor activity! What kid goes outside and just sits on the sidewalk? No, kids want to run, jump, skip, throw…
Toddler Time: Pots & Pans "Puzzles"
If your kids are anything like mine, they don’t really play with toys a whole lot. They’d rather play with household items or demand my constant, undivided attention (I’m particularly thinking of one of my children). That’s why I love any…
Toddler Time: Tearing Paper
After a recent conversation with my friend Jennie, a former Pre-K teacher who now has a son about the same age as Little Brother, I was motivated to start posting some toddler-friendly ideas…even if they aren’t all that “unique.” I’m…