kidsactivitiesblog.com

Looking for a way to practice basic math skills? Make an abacus!

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These painted boxes are attached to the wall using Command Strips.  They can be used for easy, organized access to trinkets or to  make a dollhouse!

craftymorning.com

Use some old bow-tie noodles and turn them into pretty little butterflies! Using the neon chalk markers worked great and they dried very fast!

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by This West Coast Mommy

Take your child on a fall leaf hunt and make them into a book that will last!

Shara Lawrence-Weiss

Autumn Door Hanging: Make one with your child!

imaginationsoup.com

Fall is in the air.  The evenings are getting cooler and we are beginning to wake up to brisk mornings as well.  The leaves are beginning to change to reds and golds and the kids are getting restless.

What better way to enjoy the autumn colors than to take your children outside for a fall scavenger hunt!  Pack a picnic lunch.  Be sure to include a thermos of apple cider!  Head to the local park or nature trail and have fun watching your young ones explore this autumn season.

by Buzzmills

Soon the leaves will begin changing colors.  This is a fun way to explore the autumn changes outdoors and bring some inside for a fun craft project!

by Perkins eLearning

Tactile fingerpaint made from sugar, corn starch, water, liquid dish soap and food coloring!  Easily washable!

growingajeweledrose.com

Spring is the time to play with and in MUD!  Here's a recipe to make your mud a little more exciting! Have fun getting DIRTY!

pagingfunmums.com

My daughter just celebrated her 5th Birthday and loved her cake so much she didn’t want to cut it! I told her we would make her a cake that she could keep.

This is what we came up with.

SurfNetKids

The end product -- a one-of-a-kind door decoration -- is certainly special, but the best part of this project is the "collecting walk." This homemade wreath is an ideal group project -- each family member gets a chance to contribute, and there's no wrong way to do it.

Materials

• One 9- or 12-ounce plastic cup

• 1 to 1 1/4 cups of potting soil

• 1 tablespoon of grass seeds (we bought rye grass at a garden center)

• Spray bottle for watering

• Decorations, such as office dot stickers, markers, and ribbon (for safety, it should measure less than 6 inches long

Have your child fill the cup about three-quarters full of potting soil. Then, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of grass seeds on the surface of the soil. Cover the seeds with another thin layer of potting soil, and then use the spray bottle to water the soil until it feels barely moist. 

Place the cup in a sunny windowsill, and test the soil periodically. When it feels dry to the touch down to about an inch below the surface of the soil, water it again. Soon you'll have your very own Plant Pal!

growingajeweledrose.com

Let me start by saying that this sensory material is AMAZING even without the magical erupting aspect.  It is the best   sensory snow  we have ever tried.  It is naturally cold, making it the most realistic as well.  It is fluffy and powdery and clean smelling and amazing!  You also only need two ingredients to make it ; baking soda and shaving cream--two things most people already have on hand! 

coffeecupsandcrayons.com

Squishy snow, also called clean mud, is easy to make, fun to play with, and NOT a mess to clean up.  All you need is a bar of Ivory soap, a roll of toilet paper, and 1-1.5 cups of hot water.  

innerchildfun.com

Do you love painting projects, but are too impatient to wait for the paint to dry?? These puffy snowflake paintings are a fun open-ended art project that is simple and quick to do — with only 30 seconds drying time!

Laura Kiessling

This Christmas ornament craft is easy to make and a great gift idea! Fill a stretchable glove with cotton.  Glue the opening closed.  Place a thin ribbon below the middle and ring fingers and tie to create a loop (for hanging).  Then use a hot glue gun to glue down the middle and ring fingers, forming the "I Love You" handshape.  Decorate!  Your kids will enjoy making this ornament with you! 

inspiredbyfamilymag.com

Ring in 2014 with balloon countdown activities!  Decide on a period of time that is suitable for your children--hourly balloons, quarter-hour balloons, etc.  Write or braille an activity that you will do with your children for each time period, roll up the paper, place in each balloon, and blow up the balloon.  Write the time on the balloon with a thick, permanent marker, or hang a clock with the time drawn on it from each balloon.  Paper clocks can be brailled.  At the time listed on the balloon or paper clock, your child gets to POP the corresponding balloon! They can read the activity, and then have fun doing that activity with you.  Continue through each balloon until midnight (or bedtime)!  Your last balloon can have confetti in it to represent CELEBRATING the New Year!  

Some balloon activities can include:  

     * make New Year's Eve "shakers" (described below)

     * fill out and share your "What A Year" cards (described below)

     * paint with pudding/whipped cream

     * toast marshmallows 

     * play your favorite board game 

     * POP confetti balloons at midnight! (described below) 

     * have a toast of sparkling juice at midnight! 

brassyapple.com

Make tactile New Year's Eve noisemakers! 

Make New Year's Eve Confetti Balloons to POP at midnight! 

Materials:
Large balloons
Brightly colored construction paper
Hole punchers
A funnel 
Pushpins (optional)

When it comes to making a big bang, popping balloons is unparalleled--and even more thrilling if streams of confetti come pouring out. Prepare your New Year's balloons by setting the kids to work punching circles out of brightly colored construction paper with a hole puncher. (or use store-bought confetti) Stuff as many circles or confetti pieces as you can into each deflated balloon. Blow up the balloons and hang them high, but still within reach. A few moments before the appointed hour, hand out the pins. (If your kids are too young for pushpins, have them squeeze or sit on the balloons to pop them.) When the time is right, let that confetti fly! 
 

thirtyhandmadedays.com

Make and discuss your New Year's Resolutions with your kids!  Click below to find a printable form to guide your discussion. 

makeandtakes.com

Instead of simply coloring your easter eggs, make them tactual by decorating with various patterns of puff paint!  

amomwithalessonplan.com

What you’ll need: 12 plastic Easter eggs, small objects for filling the eggs and an empty egg carton.  For little ones who like to put things in their mouth, use edibles that will have distinctly different sounds when shaken such as:  granulated sugar, powdered sugar, cereal, m&m's, sprinkles, nuts, goldfish crackers, one hershey's kiss, raisins, graham cracker crumbs, etc.  The possibilities are endless!  I like to be sure the colors of same sound eggs are not alike, so they must rely on their hearing and the feel of the egg while they shake it, to find the match!