Rock Creatures

Brooke loved this activity. It's easy and it gets the kids out of the house for a little bit!

Materials Needed
- Various rocks of different shapes/sizes
- Washable paint in various colors
- Paint brushes
- Glue
- Random craft items to decorate rocks (googly eyes, feathers, yarn, stickers, buttons, glitter, etc)
- Sharpie markers for drawing faces, etc (optional)

Age Range Recommendation
18+ Months (although younger ones can definitely help out!)

Directions
- Go outside and collect rocks of various shapes and sizes.
- Set up an area covered with newspaper or a towel with paint the crafting supplies listed above.
- Paint rocks different colors; allow to dry.
- Decorate painted rocks with craft items. You can make animals, faces or even just stick stickers all over them!

The both loved collecting rocks!

Busy Painting


Brookey's "Rock Lady"

Homemade Face Painting

Brookey has gotten her face painted a dozen or so times at birthday parties, fairs, carnivals, etc. She ALWAYS loves it, so why not do it at home?! It costs virtually nothing, since most of the materials you probably have on hand. Have fun painting your little one! And let them have a chance to paint YOU, too...don't worry, the "paint" is washable with soap and water!!

Homemade Face Paint Recipe

Bowl or small container(s)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 face cream/cold cream/heavy lotion (white--i used Aveeno Baby Lotion)
1/2 teaspoon water
Food coloring
Small paintbrushes


Mix cornstarch and cream together until smooth. Add water and stir. Add food coloring one drop at a time until you get the desired color. Apply with small paintbrushes and wash off with soap and water. You can store the "paint" in small containers or jars. Baby food jars or those Gerber baby food containers work well. I have to tell you that I got a: "You're the best mom ever!" with this activity. Let that be your motivation! ENJOY!

4th of July Activity: Red, White and Blue Chain

I never used to be so "in" to holidays. I know people have heard me say "I hate Christmas." This was all before I was a teacher and a mom. Now that I am both of those, it has really forced me to step up my holiday celebrating! Now I'm looking for every little holiday and celebrate and do activities around. Kids just eat this stuff up...and they usually learn a little something, too.

4th of July is right around the corner! Here is an activity Brooke and I did last week--a Red, White and Blue 4th of July "words" chain. Here's what we did:

1. We read a couple of 4th of July books that talked about what the holiday was all about. The two books we read were: Hooray for the 4th of July and 4th of July Mice.





2. I drew lines on red, white and blue construction paper about 1.5 inches apart and had Brooke cut them out (cutting a straight line is a great preschool/pre-K skill!).

3. We brainstormed words that had to do with the 4th of July that we had read about or talked about. For example: fireworks, birthday, USA, flag. We took turns writing these words on each of the strips of paper. If your child is younger, you can write them. Brooke thought of the words herself, but if your child is younger, I would have them start by trying to name some of the objects on the pages of the books (flag, fireworks, food).


4. We put the strips into a chain using a glue stick. Ta-Da! Your 4th of July chain!

Outdoor Activity: Washing Toys!

This was a great outdoor activity I got from the Preschoolers Busy Book. Both Brooke and Will had a blast with it and I FINALLY found a use for Buddy's old baby bathtub!

All I did was fill an old baby bathtub with soapy water. Then I dumped all their plastic bath toys in the tub, gave them a few washcloths and told them to start washing! What's not fun about splashing around in soapy water on a summer's day?? Plus, all their bath toys are clean now!

Materials Needed
- Plastic baby bathtub or large plastic bin
- Various toys (baby dishes, play dishes and Tupperware also work well)
- Soap/Water
- Washcloths

Age Range Recommendation
- Ages 1-6

Keeping Them Busy: 365 Activities

Being at home with the kids, it's easy to run out of activities to keep busy little ones occupied. I have found that the busier they are, the happier they are. This doesn't have to mean running all over town to ballet, gymnastics, soccer, playdates, etc. It can just mean some fun, well-planned activities at home.

I just purchased two awesome books, The Arts & Crafts Busy Book and The Preschoolers Busy Book. Each book has 365 activities to keep toddlers and preschoolers busy! I plan to try at least one everyday. I will blog about ones that the kids really like. Most of the activities are SUPER simple and cost nothing--which is a concept I love because I hate running to Michael's every day just to get glue dots or lace for some specialty craft.

We already tried one, Playdoh letters. Since I'm really working hard with Brooke on writing and forming letters, this was another great way for her to practice. Kids at this age are all about DOING, MAKING, CREATING. Just grab some plain old cheap Play-Doh. Start making letters! I always throw in saying the letter sound after she creates the letter. Then we brainstorm things that start with that letter. This is also great for learning how to spell their name and other short words. So easy. Even Buddy liked squishing the Playdoh!

Age range recommendations

The Preschoolers Busy Book: Ages 3-6

Arts & Crafts Busy Book: Ages 1-6