FunThingsToDoWithUrKidz

This was a really fun sensory idea. It is a shower jelly but also could be placed in a water table for outside fun. To make start by heating water in a pot. Then add in any body wash of your choice and the food coloring of your choice. Feel free to add glitter at this point if you like. Then add in unflavored gelatin packs and mix. We bought a big box and used about 16 packs. Place in a conditioner of choice and place in fridge till set.  side notes~  spray mold with non stick spray for easy removal  when you pour the mix into the mold, use a spoon to remove the bubbles(we didn't when we added the purple and thats why you can clearly see bubbles)  let one color set before adding another  it is not edible, of course so best for kids not babies ;p

This was a craft my kids did last new years. They traced their hand and then wrote something they would like to learn this year. As the new year comes what is your new years resolution?

Fun I spy candy cane hunt. I went along and hid some candy canes in the woods behind our house, later I took my son out and waited for him to spot one. After that he  loved searching for more. Some I placed in hard to reach places and watched him problem solve to get them. It was interesting to see his mind working out these problems and was over all just a fun time outside in the fresh air. 

Fun easy game to help bring in the holidays. Make a large Christmas tree on the floor using green tape.  Then cut out ornaments and a star. That is a part kids can do, it can help with practicing cutting and hand eye coordination. Then have the kids go one at a time to walk the lines and place the decorations on the tree but be careful falling off will make you start all over again. Once all the decorations are on the tree it is time for the star. The next persons turn can put the star on the tree or everyone can do it once. I had one kid bring the star up and then go up and get to again and hand it to the next person. Who ever did not fall off got a piece of candy in the end.

 One of the best slime's we have ever made and I am pretty sure well have made well over 40 different kinds of slime. This one is a very neat sensory slime. It turned out just like kinetic sand but then moved like slime does. We were able to cut it and it would still stick together but the more you played with it the softer it got and the more it flowed like slime. So to make this you will need~ 1 bottle of glue liquid starch sand First mix the bottle of glue with little over 1/4 cup of liquid starch. ( I did this in a cup and then transferred it to a zip lock bag after, you can just mix everything by hand but it was a lot cleaner to do it this way.) Then I added in a little over 1 cup of sand. (a little at a time, mixing in between adding more) That is it, it did not come out sticky and was a lot of fun. If you want to keep it f or a long time place it in a air tight container or back in a zip lock bag, other wise it will dry out.

Best dessert/treat  ever!  Need~ Skittle vanilla ice cream (you can also use soy ice cream) First step is to sort the skittles by color. Then using a blender crush the skittle into a powder. Let the ice cream soften and then just mix the powder into the ice cream. You can also add little bit of food coloring if wanted, it just makes the ice cream pop but really not needed. Put it back into the freezer to harden and done! Side note, blending skittle is really loud at first. It ended up as a great treat and for sure not too sugary.  We also used the full bag of skittles shown and all the powder it made. 

It has been a almost daily thing for us to go to our local park and walk. We normally just enjoy the walk and do not take pictures but this time decided to so we can share our finds with everyone. Our park is part park with baseball fields and part woods with trails. Sense we started walking often there has been a big change in my kids moods.(especially my son) He is a very hyper kid with a not so long attention span. The walks help get out all the energy and with that helps him listen more. We also let them learn about decision making during walks. Every turn we come to one kid chooses the next way to go and after it is the opposites kids turn to choose. We talk about water safety and stranger safety. Over all we just have a lot of fun. It is great bonding time. Other things daily walks for kids helps~ Relax and clam kids(helps them focus) Keep kids fit and healthy Simulates independent learning Expanse vocabulary Gives good life experiences (makes memories, can teach a

Feels like forever sense we did a sensory bath, and this is the first time in our new home. So we broke it in by making a Jingle Bell Rock bath. For this bath we added jingle bells to the bath, gave paint to paint the walls with and listened to some Christmas music while each kids got washed that night. Only thing I suggest is to wash the paint off of the wall right after the bath, I have found it gets harder to get off as time passes. We did not add any food coloring to the water but you could. You could also add foam Christmas/winter shapes. Foam will stick to most walls once wet. The only one of the 5 sense we missed was taste..normally taste and a bath do not go well together. ;) We had music and the bells for hearing, painted walls for sight, soap/bubbles for smell, and of course everything but the music playing counts as touch. 

Turkey hunting game for kids using balloons and nerf guns. I was surprised the darts did not pop the balloons but it gave my kids more time to play  and hit the balloons. We took turns hitting one balloon at a time but I think it would have been better just to let them go and play with no rules. Who ever hit down the most balloons was the winner. We did put points on the balloons but we really did not pay attention to that, it is just another way to play. (and yes my turkeys are not the best lol  I am not a good artist and honestly I hate balloons...we also bought what we thought was brown balloons but upon blowing them up found out they are purple -_- so we have many different color turkeys )

This has been on my to do list for awhile now and finally decided to face the challenge and do it. So with kids in tow we set out to make our tipi. The hardest part of this activity was finding all the sticks. The kids enjoyed it though, trying to find bigger and bigger sticks..see how can carry the biggest back and just having fun. After we got what we felt like was enough sticks and cleaned them of any sharp edges we went right into making up our tipi. We used string to tie them together and when it was finished we add two sheets. (sadly we did not have one big enough and when we went into making this we were going to make it all from sticks but finding enough sticks was proven to be hard so a blanket worked.) It was just a fun learning experience. We are waiting our neighborhood kids to come home to play! As we built we made sure to hit some survival points on how to build shelter with just the things found in the woods. (no blankets needed ;) )

need~ push pop containers food coloring clear glycerin soap Any little things you would like to add (soap sprinkles, glitter or other things) Start by melting the soap. Cut off small pieces, place in a microwaveable bowl and heat for 15 second till it is melted. Then add in food coloring and pour into  the push pop containers. Let the soap become hard is making more then one color, or don't. We did not let some harden completely and the color effect was pretty cool. Once done let it harden totally before use. It will not stain skin and might change the color of bath water. 

Turkey hand with candy corn disguise the turkey...found the outline on google  Dot turkey, done with bingo markers  Foot print and hand print turkey  Hand print turkey  Hand print turkey  Finger print turkey  Paper plate and hand print turkey Fruit turkey  Another finger print turkey  Shaker turkey, done by folding a plate in half, adding rice and stapling it closed   felt turkey  Pumpkin turkey  color page turkey  Another shaker turkey  Paper  towel roll turkey 

need~ ice cream (strawberry taste best) water meta mucil food coloring  In a bowl mix a table spoon of meta mucil in about cup of water. Mix and add food coloring. Then melt some ice cream and add that in. Microwave for 15 seconds and repeat till slime forms. Mix in between times. For me it took about 4 times of putting it in, taking out and mixing and then putting it back in. It gets less sticky as slime forms and as it sits when done.  This is edible but I wouldn't recommend eating a lot. Honestly the flavor is okay but I dont think a kid would eat a lot anyway...it doesn't taste THAT good. lol

With the new addition of two kittens came a expensive "need" list. Food, litter, litter boxes, vet bills, treats, and who could forget toys! Kittens thrive on toys and playing. Well that statement is for sure true with these two little kittens. They break and chew up toys more then my toddles ever did. So it was time to get creative with making them toys with the things around us. They where both found as strays so that inspired my daughter to think about what they would have seen and learned being outside. Off she went collecting feathers and sticks. She decided to add string and hang the feathers she found off of the stick. One thing to always be careful with is using clean feathers, don't want to get anyone sick! Also make sure there is no sharp points. Anyway it was a big hit! and yes after awhile it got destroyed like every other toy but it was free and can easily be recreated! Welcome Mario & Mia!

Well we are done using our little pumpkins for decoration so instead of just throwing them out we cut the top off and scooped out the insides to make pumpkin boats. Easy idea and small enough to fit in a water table. 

We had a lot of fun making this and they came out beautiful and look so yummy! What you need~ Clear glycerin soap Brown food coloring Cupcake wrappers Start by melting the soap in cubes for 15 seconds till they are fully melted. Once melted add in the brown food coloring a little at a time till you have the color you like. ( I was thinking some chocolate essential oil would be really neat to add at this point and you could, I just did not have any on hand) After mixing pour into cupcake liners and set in fridge to harden. Once harden it is done! The food coloring will not stain and though I have seen adults use these for pranks I do not suggest that.

Just in time for Halloween, a craft you can do quickly and probably have the stuff all ready. Need for this craft~ liquid starch glue food coloring Halloween teeth and anything else you would like to add In a cup mix the glue with the food coloring. I used two different types of glue one cheap one and one regular school glue. I am pretty sure the cheap dollar store one didn't work while the one I normally use did. So my mix was some what liquid and slimy. It was pretty neat actually. Once the food color is mixed in add liquid starch a little at a time till the slime forms. I had to add a lot because of that off brand glue.  To finish mix with hands and done! Just add teeth and any other add on's.  If you do not want kids to get dirty before Halloween place slime and anything else in a zip lock bag, and let them poke and find everything hidden. It is just as fun!

1. Something they want 2.  Something to wear 3. Something to read 4. Something they need  For many parent Christmas can easily get out of hand and become one expensive holiday, but that is not what Christmas is all about. So this challenge is to keep spending low but still have fun. I noticed as my kids get older the things they want are getting more expensive and this also helped my kids decided what they REALLY want, otherwise they would write a  two page list of just "things". We still do the stockings too and normally place candy, new tooth brush, lotion and such in them. Here are some ideas of things to give as Christmas gifts beside the normal toys and electronics.  ~Tickets! (zoo, concert, train rides(we have a place near us that does Christmas train rides and stories with hot coco), aquarium ) Can also do memberships to these places  ~Magazine subscription  ~Classes (for art, excising, dance, soccer) ~Monthly boxes. (I have seen a monthly box for

When my two kids were little  I had one that was so attached she never left my side and one that was a runner, meaning if he seen something he liked he went for it. Really who could blame him, at the toddler stage he really didn't understand safety and there was lots to explore. I remember going to crowed places and always having to hold his hand or put him in a stroller to keep him safe. I remember thinking how unfair this was to him but necessary cause he still did not understand safety. He was to young to really grasp it. Then on a local giving group a mom was giving away this backpack harness for free and I figured why not give it a try. It will give him a little more freedom to explore the world around him with both hands and without having to sit in a stroller.  The first time we tried we went to a local mall and he was so happy to be able to walk freely.(he is not one to hold hands) You could tell he felt like such a big boy, but with that the looks started. It really did

Most kids at some point watch tv and many believe it to be mind rotting.  So here is some questions to get kids thinking as they watch tv and after. 1. What was the programs message? 2. How would you rate this show from 1 to 10? 3.Was there anything you did not agree with in the show? 4. Could you identify with any of the characters? 5.What would you do to solve the problems in the show? 6.Do you feel like the show portrayed life as it really is? 7. Would you watch this show again? why or why not? 8. Has the program motivated you to do better?(be a better person?) Tv in moderation can be beneficial, especially when you turn it into a learning experience.

Halloween is a fun time of the year for kids, lets remember to be safe with these tips! ~Halloween starts by getting the right size costume. Too big could make a kid trip and fall and too small will restrict movement. ~Mask can block eye sight, mask free is the best way to go but if your child chooses a mask costume make sure the eye holes are big enough to see clearly out of. ~Try to stay away from dark costumes, or add reflective tape. (even a car going slow can kill a kid if hit)(We like to go all out with glow sticks, kids love them) ~Test all make up on skin before the night of Halloween. This way you will know if it irritates skin ahead of time. ~Remind kids to not eat any candy till it has been checked over. ~Do not let little kids go alone. (You would think that was be common sense but I was surprised to see how many were just let to go by themselves last year) ~Stick to side walks or paths ~Remind kids to never go into someones house. ~Skip over any dark houses.(no l

A fun game to keep kids entertained while going on a walk. I know mines can get bored and  I start to hear are we going home yet pretty quickly. So we made up this game to keep little minds busy  and learning. It is a twist on the regular I Spy game, this time we just picked out shapes. Who knew there was many to be found!  Heart leaf  Circle, round berries Snowflake looking flowers  This is in the middle of  a field...still counts as a circle right  This praying mantis had a triangle head with long skinny legs This bug was just interesting and it took us all a second the realize it was eating another bug. I thought it was a dragon fly but was told later it is not and can sting, so I am still not sure what it is lol

This is a activity we love doing every fall and I have shown on here but it has never been our actually pictures.  So this year I remembered to grab pictures, well as many as I could. It was still a messy process and my kids still made a mess but it's allowed when doing something so fun.  So to start you need to collect pine cones. I did not realize sense we moved there is little to no pine cone trees around, so this was a little hard. We had to go for a very long walk ;) (they slept well that night) After collecting many pine cones we left them outside in a bucket so any unwanted bugs had a chance to leave. The next day we tied string around each and painted them with peanut butter. Once completely covered we rolled them around in bird seed, and that is it. We went for another walk in the woods and found a down tree, it became the perfect place to hang them.    Nice way to feed wildlife and give back.