The Flour Game

My sister in law suggested this game a few months ago. We just got around to trying it. It was so fun!

THE FLOUR GAME:

1. Fill a regular sized bowl with flour.
2. Place a plate on top of bowl and flip bowl over.
3. You now remove the bowl and have a heap of flour, the shape of the bowl.
4. Add a penny on the top of the flour.
5. Take turns carefully cutting away slices of the flour (like you'd cut a pie)
6. Whomever takes the turn that makes the penny fall, looses.

It's just a fun easy game. Is a little messy!!! But, well worth it.

Mailman Fun

We've been having fun playing mailman.

1. Envelopes: cut out of felt, sewn with a simple blanket stitch.
2. Stamps: cut with pinking shears out of felt.
(They stick together well enough for play time fun without velcro)
3. Letters: First I cut out pieces of cardboard. I then covered the cardboard with white vinyl. You could easily use contact paper. The kids can draw pictures with erasable markers, and it wipes clean.
4. Mailbox: made from an old cardboard box, covered with paper, cut a hole in the middle. I would love a mini metal mailbox in the future, but until then...

Of course, the vinyl machine came in handy for labeling, and lettering, etc. but I'm sure your handwriting is cuter than mine! :)

Dino Dig...a different take!

Earlier I posted about the "dino-dig" where you freeze little plastic toys in the ice, and have the kids chip away the ice. I saw on another blog that one mom uses this fun idea in the tub!! I tried it, and the kids thought it was so cool. I froze all different sizes of ice cubes (using ziplocs and cups), and at bath time I dumped them in the tub with them. They thought it was so funny how the ice would make the bath water cold in spots...and they had fun waiting for the ice to melt with a little surprise inside.

Scratch Art

1. Color a piece of paper with crayons so that the surface is very "waxy" and no paper is showing through.
2. Mix small amount of black tempera paint with 1 drip of dish detergent.
3. Paint over the crayon with paint mixture.
4. Let paint dry.
5. Give kids something to "scratch" their art with. We used coins, nails, screws, paperclips, toothpicks, etc.

VERY FUN and FAST...

Dino Dig

I did this a while back for preschool. I actually forgot about it, I better do it again!

1. An assortment of cups, bowls, ice cube trays, etc.
2. Little plastic dinosaurs.

The night before you want to do the activity, fill up the various bowls and cups with water. I let them freeze for about an hour and then I took them out and inserted the dinosaur right in the center of the ice...adding a little more water to freeze over the top.

When the kids are ready. Get out some cookie sheets or vinyl tablecloth or something to protect your kitchen because it gets wild! If you live in a warm climate, no problem, just go outside.

Anyway, give the kids different tools: rocks, hammers, pliers, spoons, etc and let them get to work being a paleontologist! It kept my boys busy for much longer than I anticipated...and what's more cool than digging a toy out of ice that you get to keep and play with?!

Teaching Manners

This is a little more for boys, because it uses dinosaurs. A story all about dinosaurs and their manners. Names like rude-rex and stingy-stego!! To print out the story and the template of the dinosarus go here:
http://www.executivehomemaker.com/content.asp?pid=87&id=551

Setting the Table

The other night the boys set the table. My place setting had 7 knives. Good time to teach them how to set the table! Printable placemat found here:
http://www.parents.com/parents/story.jsp?storyid=/templatedata/parents/story/data/5434.xml

Homemade Puffy Paint

Combine:
1 T. Salt
1 T. Flour
Food Coloring

Add a little water but keep the mixture thick. Let the kids paint on cardstock with the mixture. When their masterpiece is complete, place in the microwave for 10-30 seconds until it bubbles up and dries. Thanks Becky!

The 3 Little Pigs

I am in charge of preschool tomorrow. I opted to do a 3 Little Pigs theme.

I printed out a felt board story of the classic 3 little pigs here: http://www.preschoolprintables.com/felt/3pigs/feltpig.shtml

I also plan on acting out the play after reading it. Building houses with cardboard boxes, laundry baskets, cushions, blankets, etc. I also plan on making these masks for the kids. I will probably just glue it onto a paper plate to make it easier, and let them color, because the girls LOVE to color...
pig masks found here: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/masks/Maskpig.shtml
wolf mask found here: http://www.angelfire.com/dc/childsplay/Masks_BBWolf.htm

Then our craft is all about the pigs as well! Making houses (2-dimensional) with straw (pipe cleaner), sticks (popsicle sticks), and bricks (carboard or sandpaper cut out like bricks). And, letting them paint a little here and there... Also, I've discovered how fun it is to color with crayons on sandpaper, so that is an added bonus to using it and coloring it red.

I know we've all heard the story a thousand times, but I forget to repeat this one to my kids very often. Just a fun idea to throw out...and besides, I kind of want a real pig. :)

Wrapping Paper or Toilet Paper...

I had recently used up a roll of wrapping paper. If you have boys, you know what a great sword this becomes...but a little friend came over, and we only had the 1. That's not very fair! So, we cut the roll up into small rolls and made binoculars! I've seen this done with toilet paper rolls, but I'm not really in the habit of saving those. Anyway, fun, dispensable toy for the day for the kids. I put a big rubberband around the 2 rolls, a little glue down the middle, hole punched the outer edges and tied a piece of yarn so it could hang around their neck.

Washing Money

This is in the "preschooler busy book". It's a fun one. Get all your coins, and let your child wash them all! I got out a few different buckets of water, and we put different "ingredients" in each one. One had soap, one had vinegar water, one had salt, one had sugar (just for fun...I let my child choose something he wanted to put in the water to clean with, hence salt and sugar). I then gave him a few brushes, a toothbrush, a few rags, etc. He cleaned and splashed and washed for a good 45 minutes. It was very fun. And, the way I see it, who doesn't need those gross coins washed anyway!

TumbleBugs

These do require mostly adult making, but the decorating is for the kids. I don't know why I love these so much, but they remind me of my childhood, and my grandma's house. I'm trying to figure out what more permanent item I can make them out of (instead of paper which gets squished). Until then, here it is out of paper. Really fun for the kids to make "ramps" and their bugs have races. Once you see them in action, you might be reminded of long ago...

Link here:
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=11739

Boredom Bags

I can't take credit for this one. It was my sis-in-laws idea. You know when your kids are really bored, and you don't want any more TV, and you need a quick idea? Well, solution! When we recently got together in Tahoe, we each brought 5 ideas for these "boredom bags" (as I call them). They each fit in a ziploc size bag, and everything you need for the project is in there. They are easy, simple, and just something different for those moments. Could even been thrown in the church bag at the last minute!

Examples:
1. tinfoil & pipe cleaners: You can make so many creations with these 2 small items! Rings, crowns, masks, tinfoil guys, etc. etc. Minutes of fun (I'd say hours, but I have boys...nothing lasts hours)
2. lines on paper: practice cutting along the lines.
3. Magnetic properties: a magnet and a bunch of misc. items from your junk drawer. The kids really have fun discovering that just because it's "shiny" doesn't mean it's magnetic.
4. sandpaper & crayons: Fun to color on a texture!
5. lacing: shapes with hole punches and pipe cleaner - practice lacing skills.
6. Odds Game: Roll the dice, fill in the graph with # rolled on dice.


Those are to give you a few ideas. This would be a really fun project to get together with friends and do, and to just have a tupperware full.