Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts

Friday, April 17, 2015

Tape Resist Ant Art!

Are you going buggy over spring?  Well, then today the preschool collaborators and I have 5 preschool bug activities that you'll absolutely love.  We've been digging ants lately, so I thought it would be fun to combine art and science to make some tape resist ant art!  

(And if you're looking for even more bug crafts, check out these egg carton bugs and my
fluttering butterfly craft!)


Tape Resist Ant Art!


Tape Resist Ant Art- Great way to combine science and art by learning about ants and then making artwork about their tunnels!
This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!

Monday, April 13, 2015

Kid Science: Studying Bird Beaks

Now that it's spring, I feel a severe kick in the bum to start doing more nature and science themed activities with Chuck.   There's something really cool about seeing blossoms, birds, bees, and bugs (whoa- bs!) all around.  We recently visited our nearby natural history museum and Chuck spent quite a bit of time playing with a bird beak activity.  It was so simple and fun that I had to share it here!

Kid Science:  Studying Bird Beaks with Kids

kid science:  studying bird beaks - great nature and spring activity to do with younger kids!
This post contains affiliate links.   Thank you for your support!


Saturday, April 11, 2015

5 Flower + Plant Activities for Preschoolers!

Spring is here! Spring is here!  In honor of this lovely season, here are 5 flower and plant activities that are just perfect for preschoolers!

5 Preschool Flower + Plant Activities


5 flower + plant activities that are perfect for kids!


Wednesday, March 18, 2015

3 Ways to Make Fruit and Vegetable Prints with Kids

Hey!  Are you going to throw away that shriveled carrot?  Got a few limes rolling around in the fridge and not sure what to do with them?  Then today's post is for you!  Today I'm going to share 3 fun ways to make fruit and vegetable print artwork!  And just to give you a heads up... one of the methods combines art AND science together to create prints that .... MAGICALLY APPEAR when you heat them.  Whoa.....

3 Ways to make Fruit and Vegetable Prints!

3 ways to make art with fruit and vegetable prints (including one magical + scientific way!)
                          This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!

Today several other kid craft-loving bloggers and I are sharing cute and fun crafts involving fruit and vegetable prints.  So scroll down to the bottom of the page for 10 MORE fun and crafty fruit and vegetable print ideas!

Let's get started!


Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Fizzy and Fun Ice Painting

Are you looking for fun process oriented art activities for kids?  As a craft lover, I'm definitely biased.  I tend to pin images of kids crafts.  I can't help it.  There are always cute smiles and googly eyes on everything.  (Happy sigh.)  Yup.  That's my happy place.

But lately, I worry that I'm boxing Chuck in too much.  He isn't always keen to make crafts with me. So I'm trying to let him just explore art materials more... without stressing about what the end product will look like.  (It's hard...but I think it's an important process for both of us.)

Today I'm joining with 34 other kid bloggers to share some fun, process oriented art activities that children will enjoy!  It's a series all about fun and messy exploration.  So check the bottom of the post for a link to all 35 ideas!

Here's my process oriented activity that Chuck and I recently completed together:

Fizzy and Fun Ice Painting 

fizzy ice-painting- a fun, fizzy, and colorful activity that will keep your child entertained!
This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!



Friday, March 6, 2015

10 Ocean Crafts and Activities

This week's Creative Preschool Collaborator's theme is Oceans and Fish!  I was excited to tackle the theme because Chuck LOVES going to the beach and playing in the ocean.   So keep reading for some ocean themed storybook ideas, 10 preschool ocean crafts/activities, AND 4 other kid blogger's creative Ocean themed activities!

10 Ocean Crafts and Activties

10 Ocean themed Activities for Preschool kids and a list of ocean-themed storybook ideas
This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Easy Spinning Top Marker Art

Recently Chuck's been interested in making things with me again. (Phew.  I thought our dry spell would never be over!)  He seems to enjoy using materials in different ways (like this rainy day process art activity).  So I thought it would be fun to combine a toy with an art item to make it more fun for him.  Tada... here's our spinner marker top!

Easy Spinning Top Marker Art!

Mix science and art with this great activity!  Simply spin the markers and watch them go!  Great activity to do with the kids!
This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!


This activity is just so cool because it combines science and art.  You can actually track the motion of the spinning "top."  (Just wait till you see the cool spirals it makes!  Wow.)


Friday, February 13, 2015

Preschool Weather Science: How can we stay dry?

I'm always looking for really easy ways to help Chuck learn science and math concepts.   We've been fighting colds these past two weeks, so activities that are easy to throw together and take little time to prep have been on the top of my list.  That's probably why I really appreciate good ebooks like STEAM: Preschool Activities for STEM Enrichment  (affiliate link). It's co-authored by one of my blogging buddies, Jamie from Handmade Kids Art and contains over 30+ simple and fun ways you can teach young children about science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics!

I recently received a free copy to review and ear-marked several ideas that I'd like to try out with Chuck.  Inspired by one activity in the book, here's a fun Preschool Science activity that we did to look at how we stay dry during the rain.

Easy Preschool Science:  How can we stay dry during the rain?

Preschool STEM science weather activity
This post contains affiliate links.


Friday, January 30, 2015

5 Ideas for Learning about the body!

I think last week's Creative Preschool Collaborator's theme of learning about the body was probably my favorite theme yet.  Each of us came up with really different and really creative ways to teach young children about the human body!  Here's a recap of all 5 bloggers' awesome ideas!

5 Ideas for learning about the body!


preschool science activities- 5 ideas for learning about the body


Friday, January 23, 2015

Let's learn about our brain! (Preschool Science Activity)

Today's Creative Preschool Collaborators theme is body parts!  (So be sure the check the bottom of the post for 4 other ways to teach preschool kids about their bodies!)

Lately Chuck's been interested in learning about his body, so this topic was right up our alley.   Since we have out-of-town guests staying with us for a bit, I designed 5 low-prep and easy activities to help Chuck learn about the brain!

Preschool Science:  Let's Learn about our brain!  

5 easy preschool activities to teach kids about the brain
This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!


Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Kids Science: Toilet Paper Comparisons!

We go through TONS of toilet paper around here.  (Ehh- TMI?  Probably.)  But I don't mind because that means we have a constant stash for our toilet paper roll crafts.  Recently, hubby received a couple free rolls of Charmin toilet paper to try out.  The packaging claimed that it was "ultra strong."  But... was it really?  I wondered how it would compare against other brands. And of course, we had to find out.  So we did this toilet paper science activity together as a family.

(Hmm... how does that saying go... the family that plays with toilet paper together... stays together?  Hee hee hee )

Toilet Paper Roll Science Activity

(Let's compare rolls.  Which one is the best?)

Preschool STEM Science Activity- toilet paper science


Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Kid Science: Let's Study Seeds

Are you looking for ways to incorporate science into your child's daily life?   Lately Chuck's been really enjoying the television show Sid the Science Kid.  I typically work beside him while he watches tv, but dang it, that show hooks me in EVERY TIME.  They make science so accessible for little kids (and adults too, apparently.)  Plus, I love how they encourage children to be curious, observe, and explore their world. Thanks to Sid, I'm now trying to do some really easy science activities at home with Chuck too.  In fact, here's one fun activity that we recently did together- we studied seeds!

Kid STEM Activity:  Seed Study!


kids stem activity- studying seeds!



Monday, November 10, 2014

Maple Syrup Candy + Craft Fail book review!

Now that the weather is a bit chillier, I thought it would be fun to do more fall and winter crafts and activities.  I loved reading the Little House on the Prairie series as a child and always wanted to try doing the things Laura did.  Last year, we made homemade butter from heavy cream.  This year, we tried our hand at making homemade maple syrup candy!

Let's Make Homemade Maple Syrup Candy!

(using snow-- ooh la la)

Make maple syrup candy using snow and maple syrup! (Great Fall and winter activity for the kids)
This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Rainy Day Process Art

We got rain!  We got rain!  Whoopie!  This was a pretty big deal here in SoCal because we've been in the middle of a drought for a looooong time. Since I love trying easy art projects with Chuck, we took advantage of the rain and collaborated with Mother Nature to create some beautiful rainy day process art.

Let's Make Rainy Day Process Art!

Rain Art:  Fun Rainy Day Process Art with Kids

This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!

This was a really fun and easy art project.  I really enjoyed it because we didn't concern ourselves so much with the final product.  Instead, we just really enjoyed making art together and then watching Mother Nature add her bit too.

Here's how we made our rainy day process art!


Friday, October 24, 2014

Glow in the Dark Moon Shirt

My son loves pointing out the moon at night.  Today I'm over at DIY Candy sharing how I made him this adorable glow in the dark moon shirt.


DIY Glow in the Dark Moon Shirt

DIY glow in the dark moon shirt



(By the way, did you see the solar eclipse yesterday?  We totally missed it. Ack!)

And if you really like glow in the dark crafts, here are some more from the archives!


Other glow in the dark crafts:

Have a great weekend, friends!

(Remember, you can always find other fun ideas on my Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts!)

Friday, October 17, 2014

Preschool Science: Let's Make Charts!

While I enjoy making things with Chuck, I'm also always looking for easy ways to incorporate mathematics and science into our daily activities too.   I loved math and science as a child, so I'd love it if he appreciated those subjects too.  Since he's only 3, our activities have to very pretty hands-on and relevant to his interests (like our shape dice,  cardboard bridges, and shape touch and find activities.)  We love taking walks outside.  So I incorporated science and math into our walk and created this chart to help us count the number of different things in our neighborhood. 

STEM ACTIVITY:  Make Charts With Preschoolers!

Easy preschool STEM activity- Make charts!


This was a super easy STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) activity to do with my preschooler.  It required very little prep and we practiced our observation, counting, and data analysis skills in the process!

Here's how we did the activity!

Friday, October 10, 2014

How did I make my skin glow?

Looking for an easy way to entertain the kids this weekend?  
How about making their skin glow

make your skin glow under black light with a highlighter
This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!

Yurp.  It's 1:30 AM here and I should be sleeping.   But I'm not.  Why?  Well, I couldn't because all my craft juices were flowing after seeing this tutorial.

Did you know that you can make your skin glow... with only 2 materials?  I had to try it out for myself.  So I took a highlighter and black light and then got working.  And guess what?  It worked!  The highlighter glows under black light!

Can you guess what Chuck and I will be doing this weekend?

Hope you have a great weekend!

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

5 Ways to Write Secret Messages

As a kid, I loved the idea of being a detective or a secret spy.  They got to wear cool clothes, go on adventures, and solve mysteries.  A couple of weeks ago I tried playing a detective game with Chuck.  I hid his favorite stuffed pig and then left 5 clues for him to follow.  The clues were all written as secret messages.  We had to do something to the paper to revel the hidden words.

5 Ways to Write Secret Messages


Pretend to be a Detective and write secret messages 5 different ways

(This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you so much for your support!)

Chuck was onboard with the game.   We've recently been gobbling up Nate the Great books from the library, so he really enjoyed being a detective and solving the case.


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.
(This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!)

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!

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)
(This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!)


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.