Archive for the ‘Fun Spring Activities’ Category

Tips for Gardening with Kids

Monday, March 9th, 2015

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Gardening with kids is a joy! The kids can see a plant growing up out of the soil into a large and beautiful plant. Getting fresh air and sunshine is good for children, and they are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables when they grow their own plants.

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First you will want to find a plot of ground for your child to plant his or her garden. There was a small square plot at the front of our house, and my son chose that space for a small tomato plant. If you look at the picture above, last year his plant grew to ten times the size in just three months! The tomatoes tasted wonderful. He wanted to sell them, but they were just too good. So into his mouth they popped.

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This year my son wanted to plant strawberry plants. I told him that a contained area is great for strawberry plants, which tend to take over the whole yard like a weed. The strawberry plants thrived as well.

Tips for Gardening with Kids

  • Make sure that the soil is rich in the area where your child is planting. You will want to dig out the bad soil and replace it with good gardening soil.
  • Don’t forget to water your plants. You might want to place a note on the refrigerator to remind your child to water the plants.
  • Let the child choose the plants. This way they will be more interested in the growth and produce of their plants.
  • Choose plants that are native to your area. You are more likely to succeed if the plants are indigenous to the area. You can find those in local nurseries rather than big chain stores that ship their plants from outside your state.

Have a wonderful time gardening with your kids!

Eggshell Art

Wednesday, May 29th, 2013

eggshell-art

Make beautiful eggshell art with your kids. It’s easy and fun to make a mosaic with broken pieces of eggshell dyed different colors.

You will need the following materials:

  • eggshells
  • egg dye
  • paper towels
  • vinegar
  • drinking glasses
  • black card stock
  • pencil
  • white school glue

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Start by dying the broken eggshells different colors. Pour half a cup of boiling water into each drinking glass, along with one tablespoon of vinegar and 10-20 drops of food coloring. Wait for 5 minutes, stirring the eggshells occasionally.

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Dump each glass into a colander in the sink, one by one. Line a cookie sheet with paper towels, and place the eggshells on it to dry. Don’t mix the colors unless you’re trying to make strange confetti. Let it dry overnight.

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Draw a design with pencil on the black card stock paper. Then fill one area with white school glue. Dump one color of eggshells onto the page, pressing the eggshells down. Re-arrange the eggshells until they look nice. Lift the page to let the excess eggshells fall from the page. Then move on to the next color until your design is cmplete. After letting it dry, you can enjoy your finished eggshell art!

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How to Make a Spring Tree

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013

spring-treeYou can make a beautiful spring tree for your entryway by attaching tissue paper flowers to a gnarly branch stuck into some dirt in a pot.

I happen to have a dead tree in my entry way, as you well know from my Thankfulness Tree. Those who follow me on Facebook also saw a dilapidated picture of oversized ornaments hanging from it at Christmas time. Ah, yes. Why don’t I just throw the darned thing out already? Because look! I just transformed it into a gorgeous spring tree! It makes me smile each time I pass by. (And my daughter was delighted, too. My husband just rolled his eyes.)

You can make tissue paper flowers with cookie cutters, and those come out more fancy than the simplified ones I’m going to show you here. Instead of using a cookie cutter, I grabbed the lid of a mayonnaise jar and traced around it on light and dark pink tissue paper. Make 4 circles with a pencil, then cut stacks of the tissue paper all at once to make this project go faster. (It’s actually easier to cut 6 or 7 layers of tissue paper than to cut one piece, because the paper is so flimsy.)

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Now that all your circles are cut out, stab half a piece of pipe cleaner into the center of a stack of 4 or 5 pieces. Hook the pipe cleaner to make a lump so that the tissue paper doesn’t slide off the end. Now fluff up the tissue paper. Your flower is finished.

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Make as many flowers as you like to decorate your tree. I used one large piece of tissue paper for light pink, and one for dark. I cut as many circles as I could, and I ended up with the amount of flowers you see in the picture.

 

17 Creative Ways to Use Cookie Cutters

Monday, May 13th, 2013

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Here are 17 creative ways to use cookie cutters! Each of the activities are hot-linked to the tutorial that will show you exactly how to do each activity and tips to make your projects more fun. Your kids will have a blast as you go through these simple, exciting activities:

#1 Fruit Shapes: I give you tips on how to cut fun shapes out of fruit.

#2 Shape Books: Shape books can encourage young writers to write fun stories, descriptions, or summaries. The booklets are just their size.

#3 Sandwiches: Make these cute shape sandwiches, perfect for taking to your next tea party.

#4 Tissue Paper Art: Make wonderful tissue paper art, such as flowers or stained glass windows.

#5 Pancakes: Make pancakes the shape of cookie cutters. I warn you about my mistakes.

#6 Bubbles: Use a cookie cutter as a bubble blower! (Includes link to more bubble activities.)

#7 Patches: This is how you can make a fun patch for your clothing.

#8 Gift Bags: Gift bags are another one of the many creative ways to use cookie cutters, and the recipients of your gifts will enjoy getting their gift in a unique bag.

#9 Quesadillas: Go south of the border with your cookie cutter mania. These quesadillas are simple and will delight your kids.

#10 Jello Shapes: These jello shapes are easy to make and disconnected from the cookie cutter more easily than any other food.

#11 Garlands: These garlands will make people feel special and only take 15 minutes to make.

#12 Dolls and Pillows: Some cookie cutters lend themselves well to make a felt doll. The gingerbread man cookie cutter is fabulous for this toy.

#13 Rice Krispie Treats: Here is the recipe for Rice Krispie treats, as well as tips on how to get them to come out better.

#14 Scrapbooking: When you need a specific shape for your pictures, you can slap down the picture, grab a cookie cutter of the desired shape, and trace around the cookie cutter.

#15 Soap Shapes: Make beautiful shaped soap without having to buy an expensive kit.

#16 Jam Tarts: Make these easy jam tarts with ready-made pie crust, jam, and a cookie cutter!

#17 Sand Shapes: Ideas for how to use cookie cutters effectively in the sand.