Sunday, August 31, 2014

DIY Climbing Cardboard Circus Men Toys

I love making interactive toys for Chuck. There's something immensely gratifying about creating something that's beautiful, functional, and fun.... out of recyclable items!  Recently I made these two cardboard climbing circus men toys for Chuck.  You pull on the strings and the men race to the top.

Cardboard Climbing Circus Strong Men Toys

DIY Toys:  Make Climbing Circus Men Toys!

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Hee hee.  Do you dig their leotards, chest hair, and handlebar mustache?  Yup.  These manly men exude quite a bit of style, don't you think?

Ok.  Let's get making!

Friday, August 29, 2014

Shape Touch and Find Game

Now that Chuck is almost 3 I'm trying to do more educational activities with him.  Besides learning our numbers, we're also working on identifying different shapes.  Here's a fun shape activity that we've recently been doing together.        

Let's learn about shapes!


Shape Touch and Find Game:  A great way to teach shapes and math to little kids

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Early childhood mathematics education is something I feel quite strongly about.  Before I was a mommy, I was working on my doctorate degree in education. Although I never finished writing my dissertation (for reasons that you can about here),  I did spend  many years observing and studying how preschool children learn mathematics.  I also had the wonderful opportunity to work on a research-based preschool math curriculum called  Big Math For Little Kids.

This Touch and Find Shape game is one of my favorites from that curriculum.  It's a great activity because it helps young children to learn the number of sides and corners in shapes in a really fun and interactive way. 

Let's play the touch and find shape game!


Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Magic Fizzy "Sand!"

Once upon a time there was a mom who found herself with a very bored child.  He didn't want to play with any of his toys.  He didn't want to play outside.  And he certainly did not want to do any crafts.  Finding herself at her wits end, this mom pulled out 2 ingredients from cupboard and within minutes, whipped up several batches of wonderful smelling Magic Fizzy "Sand."  She then gave her child the sand and he played and played. After he grew tired of the activity, magic mom waved her magic wand and poof!  The sand began to bubble and fizz, delighting the child once more.  And they all lived happily ever after.

Ok.  Full admission time... I was that mom.  And yes, I found myself with a grumpy child.  And yes, this magic "sand" ended up entertaining him for over half an hour (which as we all know, is like years in little kid time.)

Let's Make Magic Fizzy "Sand!"

Super easy and fun activity:  Make magic fizzy "sand" from 2 ingredients.  Let the kids play and then add water to make the sand fizz and bubble!  Cool science and sensory activtity.
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If you find yourself with a super bored or grouchy child, then this activity is for you.  Magic "Sand" is easy to make, smells wonderful, and really does fizz and bubble with water.

Wanna know how I made it?  Keep reading!

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Homemade Finger painted Starry Night

I love Van Gogh's artwork.  The colors, the movement, the textures... wow, wow, wow.  How does someone even do that?  Yowzers.  Gosh, did he make the world so much more beautiful with his art.  *Happy sigh*  Ok, ok... I'm back.  Let's get to today's post!  Chuck and I have explored great artwork in the past by making collages inspired by Matisse and super easy abstract artwork.  So I thought it was high time we tried our hand at making some artwork inspired by Van Gogh.   Except that instead of using real paints... we used some homemade finger paints!  


Collaborative Art Project:  Finger Painted Starry Night!


Finger Paint the Classics:  Make this 3 ingredient homemade finger paint and then paint Van Gogh's Starry Night with your preschooler!
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For months now I kept seeing Kidzaw Master Art Kits pop up everywhere.  (Have you heard of them?  They're kits that provide kids with all the materials necessary to make artwork inspired the great artists.)  I saw great results with older children and toyed with the idea of buying one to try out.  But Chuck's only 2 and I'll be honest, his affinity for arts and crafts varies daily.  Yurp.  So I came up with this cheaper alternative.  The finger paint is super easy to make and you could adapt the design to recreate any of Van Gogh's artwork.

So let's begin!


Monday, August 25, 2014

DIY Toadstool Stool (Ikea Hack!)

When we moved into tour new home, I really wanted to get Chuck his own little table with chairs.  After looking around, we found some really affordable options at Ikea.  So we brought them home.  I love them, but then thought I could spruce them up a little bit.  Since I have a soft spot for red mushrooms, I did a super easy Ikea Hack and turned them into...

Toadstool Stools!


DIY Ikea Hack:  Turn a stool into a cute toadstool seat!  Super easy and cute results!

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Hee hee hee. Whoa. Super Mario super mushroom flashback!

 Ok. I've snapped out of it.  Yup.  They're pretty darn cute and they were super easy to make.  Let's get mushroom making!


Thursday, August 21, 2014

Building Play Dough and Rock Houses

Happy Friday everybody!  Today I just wanted to share with you a really, really easy and fun activity that Chuck and I recently did together.  Inspired by fellow Rockin' Art Mom Babble Dabble Do's Clay and Wood Block Structures, Chuck and I built Rock and Play Dough Houses!

Building with Rock and Playdough! 


Build with Rocks and Play Dough (great for 3 Little Pigs Story)
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We've been going to the beach once a week lately, and I always come home with lovely rocks. To justify my slowly growing pile of rocks, I thought this would be a great way for us to use them in a fun and creative way.


Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Let's Explore Art Materials like Scientists

Whenever we do art projects, I always hand Chuck certain drawing materials because I know their properties and how they'll look and interact with each other.  In this activity I thought it would be fun to change it up a bit and let Chuck do some exploring.  So we tried our hand at exploring art materials like scientists!    

Scientifically exploring Art Materials with Kids


how to explore different art materials with kids in a scientific way
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Monday, August 18, 2014

DIY Cardboard Rocket Launcher Toy

Apparently we've reached the stage where Chuck likes pretending to shoot things... and people.  (Ack.  Is this common?  I'm assuming so... )  So I thought it would be fun to somehow make a toy that would actually shoot things, like a catapult or a slingshot.  We always seem to have cardboard rolls lying around, so I built this cardboard roll rocket launcher toy.  Then, we had a BLAST playing with it!

Get it?  Rocket launcher?  Blast? Like blast off?   Hee hee hee... wah wah wah.

DIY Cardboard Roll Rocket Launcher Toy


How to make a cardboard DIY rocket launcher for kids

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This rocket launcher toy uses rubber bands and cardboard rolls to shoot aluminum foil balls.  It's so powerful that we can actually shoot a ball across our (small) patio... whoa, right?  Since the balls are made from aluminum foil, they don't hurt. So you could create several launchers, shoot each other, and then not worry about anyone getting hurt.  Excellent, right?

Keep on reading to build your own rocket launcher and see other cool DIY toys that you can make and play with your little one.


Thursday, August 14, 2014

Make Egg Carton Bugs

I love a good egg carton craft.  We don't eat eggs too often here, so whenever we finish a carton, I'm always super stoked to make something with it.  Today's Egg Carton Insect Craft came about because ants have been on our minds a lot lately.  For some reason there seem to be ants EVERYWHERE in our new home.  Eeek.  Plus, we recently watched "Honey I shrunk the kids" and Chuck loved Anty the giant ant.   So that's why we had to make ourselves some egg carton bugs!

Let's Make Egg Carton Insects!


make egg carton insects (bees and ants)- easy and fun craft
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Tuesday, August 12, 2014

DIY Astro Turf Rug

So... what are your thoughts on astro turf?  Hate it?  Love it?  I think it's really fun and provides a super affordable way to cover a lot of space for a small price.  You're probably asking why I have a sudden interest in the green stuff.  Well, after living in apartments for most of my adult life, hubby and I finally have a place that has a .... wait for it.... small outdoor patio.  Woo hoo!  Chuck was so excited to see our tiny "backyard" that he literally ran around the area for about half an hour when we first moved in.  The space is really a blessing and I love that we can just open the door and enjoy some private outdoor space whenever we want to.  And that brings me to today's craft post- our backyard DIY Astro Turf Rug.

DIY Astro Turf Rug

DIY Astro Turf Rug for Kids
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We don't wear shoes inside the house, so it's a hassle for Chuck to have to put on and take off his shoes every time he wants to quickly pop outside.  So we made this super easy astro turf rug to act as a very large door mat.   We love it so much because it's a cute area where Chuck can play or go barefoot without tracking too much dirt into the house.


Monday, August 11, 2014

Building Cardboard Bridges (Kid Engineering!)

Ever wonder why corrugated boxes are so strong?  Since we've started unpacking, I'm surprised by how well our boxes held up.  Even after being shipped across the country, our stuff is intact and our boxes still look good.  Wow!  Those folded bits really make corrugated cardboard strong!  This thought inspired me to try building some simple cardboard bridges with Chuck.  This way we could see for ourselves how folds made cardboard stronger.

Easy Kid Engineering:  Let's Cardboard Build bridges!

(Does folding paper make it stronger?)

building cardboard bridges with kids (engineering)



Friday, August 8, 2014

Build a Bird's Nest

Lately Chuck and I have been going on a lot of nature walks.  Typically after lunch or dinner we'll just walk around our neighborhood and fly our toy planes, or pick up random rocks and twigs on the sidewalk.  Because Chuck loves collecting different objects, I thought it would be fun if we tried making something with the items that we found.  This time, we tried our hand at making a bird's nest.

Let's Build a Bird's Nest!

build a bird's nest using items gathered from nature walk


Tuesday, August 5, 2014

DIY Paper Slingshot

Hi everyone!  Sorry for being MIA for about a week, but we finally did our cross country move.  Now we're calling California home.... and trying to tackle mountains of unpacked boxes.  Eeek!  Right now I'm taking a quick break and figured I'd upload a fun DIY toy post.  During our last week in Jersey, I kept wanting to craft something... but found it difficult given that everything had already been packed away.  So while we were playing outside with friends, I spotted this Y-shaped stick and thought it was the perfect for making a slingshot!

DIY Paper Slingshots!


homemade paper slingshots

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When I told hubby about my idea, he showed me how he used to make slingshots as a kid.  So I took his design and adapted it to the twig.  Now, I know that some of you consider this a weapon... but we made sure to set some ground rules and  only aim at objects and NOT at people.