Spin Art

This is a great spin art tutorial I got from brassyapple.blogspot.com. She's got some other great tutorials, so check her out.

Materials:

Cheap salad spinner (She purchased hers for under $3.00 at the grocery store)
Acrylic Paint - in various colors
Paper - construction works great!
Pencil/Pen
Scissors
something to cover your work area - newspaper, cheap plastic tablecloth, etc
optional: disposable pan or disposable plastic lid

Click here to get to the Brassy Apple post on how to make spin art. Have fun!

Water Painting

I got this activity from mommyandme.com, a great resouce for kids fun. This activity is great because it gets you outside and it's free!

No preparation and no cleanup and your child will have a great time! There won't be many opportunities to give your toddler a paintbrush and the freedom to paint anything he desires. With a bucket of water and some paintbrushes, outside of course, your child can paint the house, the fence, his trike, or make designs and patterns on the sidewalk.

Step by Step:
1. Fill a bucket with water.
2. Make sure you don't put too much water in the bucket, you want it light enough so your child can carry it without your help.
3. Give him paint brushes, roller, sponges, or anything you can think of that makes for fun painting.
4. If your child paints on the sidewalk, point out how his painting disappears because the water has dried.
5. Stress the fact that this is an OUTSIDE activity using water instead of paint.


Materials:
Small plastic bucket with handles
Paint brushes of various sizes
Paint roller

Birthday Traditions

I was reading a post on thesavvyorganizer.com. The author was talking about a birthday tradition she has with her kids. She never let her kids go to school on their birthday. She spent the whole day with them. I think it is a great way to make their day special, but this is not feasible for everyone (I work), so I tried to think of other birthday traditions that would be fun. I thought of a couple I have heard others say they had.

1. Have a special Birthday Plate. The example I saw was a bright red one. The birthday kid gets to use the special plate. (You can also make it a Celebration Plate. Whenever someone has a special thing to celebrate, such as a good grade, winning a ball game, getting a merit badge, etc, they get to use the special plate. It makes the kids feel special)

2. Decorate their bedroom while they are sleeping. What fun it would be too look forward to a fun room when you wake up in the morning.

3. Birthday kids always got to pick what we had for dinner when I was growing up.

4. Make opening presents into a treasure hunt. Use clues to lead them around until they find the gifts.

The point of these traditions in to make the child feel special and teach them that they are of value. Also, when the sibling know they will have their own turn on their birthday, it give them a chance to help their brother or sister feel special and the celebrate with them.

Please share any birthday traditions with us. Or any traditions at all. Post them as a comment or email us and we will post them on the blog. We would love to hear from you.

Sponge Toys

I've seen these fun toys on a lot of blogs, but I first saw them at makeandtakes.com (one of my favorite blogs) She explains easily how to make them.

Needed:
New kitchen sponges (3x5 or 5x7)
Zip ties
Scissors

For step by step instructions click here.

Summer Relay Races

With summer picnic season upon us, why not have some fun relay races for your kids. AmazigMoms.com and funandgames.org have some great ideas for relay races. If you have any fun picnic games you have played, please post them here or email us.

Pudding Paint

M from work told me that when her kids were little, her mother-in-law let them paint with pudding. She would make some pudding for the kids, sat them at the table, and let them finger paint all over the table. It is easy to clean up after and you don't have to worry if they put it in their mouths.

I'm sure there are other ways (maybe less messy ways) of using pudding to finger paint. I remember being little in Joy School, and we finger painted with pudding on butcher paper or large construction paper. I can't remember which. Plus, once they are done, they can eat the extra pudding for a snack.

Have fun painting!

All Work And No Play...

I'm not lucky enough to be a stay at home mom. Because of this, what little time I do have at home is so much more important. I have a hard time balancing the house work I need to get done with spending time with Baby D. D is still an infant, so it makes it a little easier. He's just happy when I talk to him while I fold laundry. But I came across a great idea to help moms manage time between work and play.

The author of organizedeveryday.blogspot.com has a post about how she deals with her toddler. She sets a timer (she uses 12 minutes but any amount of time would work. I would suggest short times for younger children.) She plays with her daughter till the timer goes off. Then she sets the timer again and works for the next 12 minutes. Often times her daughter helps with the work. When the timer goes off, they start the cycle over again. They break for lunch and such. She said she gets a lot done during the day, but feels like she has had quality time with her daughter.

What a great way to teach your children the importance of balance in life and the importance of work. Also, by organizing your day, you are a lot less stressed.

Please email us with any ideas on how you organize your day with your children. The struggle between play and house work, I feel, is a universal one. We would love to hear you ideas!