"Scrap" Book

I save my scrap paper for my daughter to color on, but I found a way that's much more fun! We took several pieces of scrap paper, folded them in half and stapled down the edge to make a "book". Then I gave her some crayons and stickers and she made her very own book. She felt pretty important, if you can tell from the pictures below. Anyway, this is just a random daily activity that we spiced up a little.

Water Fight

Okay, so not very original, but sometimes the most spontaneous things are the very most fun! My husband and I were outside the other day when it was pretty hot, and we somehow got into a water fight, fully dressed of course! We involved my kids (being gentle with them) and they had a BLAST and didn't want to go inside. Yes, I had to deal with wet soggy clothes afterwards, but pure joy like that is worth it.

Bubbles and Bubble Wands

Sorry I've been missing in action! I've had a crazy couple of weeks.
I LOVE bubbles (and my kids do too.) I made this homemade solution because we go through so much of this stuff, and this is cheaper for us, plus it works great. I have a few more recipes I want to try, but for now here's this one.

Bubble Recipe:

(Fills a gallon milk jug)
11 Cups Water
4 Cups Ajax dish soap (anti-bacterial works best)
1 Cup corn syrup

Mix all together!

We've been having a great time experimenting with different bubble wands.

Bubble Wand Ideas:

First of all, pipe cleaners are awesome. Kids can make whatever shape/color they want.

Another thing I love to do- take a couple straws and cut them in half, then tape them together. Dip one end in bubble solution, and blow into the other end. This makes tons of little bubbles, and it's easy for young children to do.
Fly Swatters are GREAT. (You can buy a new clean one for really cheap.) Just dip and wave it around. Makes LOTS of bubbles. Funnels. We dipped the small end in the solution, then blew into the big end. Easy for my daughter.

The possibilities are endless!

Highchair Entertainment

I was getting really frustrated tonight trying to get a bunch of cleaning done while trying to keep my one year old out of it. He wasn't hungry, so snacks were out, and he was just restless- he got four shots this afternoon! :( Anyway, I decided to try this. I've had it in mind for awhile. All you do is take some little toys, tie them to pieces of string, and tape them to the high chair. This is GREAT because he loved playing with all the little toys, throwing them off, and then he could get them again. Bonus for my son in particular- he loves playing with his feet, so that was fun for him too. :)

Tape City

We had a lot of fun with tape this morning. We made roads for my daughter's cars! We even made a little parking lot. You could get really creative with this by accessorizing with toys (doll houses, little people, trees, animals...)


Idea from The Toddler's Busy Book by Trish Kuffner

Basketsock

This may be a given, but I thought I'd post it anyway. We played our own version of basketball, but with socks and a basket. Both kids found it to be great fun (and mom and dad as well!) and really, how much damage can you do with socks?

Sticky Feet

Today, I took some clear contact paper and taped it to the floor, sticky side up. My kids had SO much fun walking on it, dancing on it, just playing in general. Their feet (and hands) not only stick to it, but make fun sounds coming up!

We got it out again later, (this time I put it on the kitchen floor, and it stuck better) and the kids had even more fun. They got pretty creative rolling toys across it and stuff. They're still in there playing- I'm going to have a hard time getting them to go to bed! :)

Idea from The Toddler's Busy Book by Trish Kuffner