Pattern game for preschoolers

Patterns are fun to do as a daily "homework" game around my house.

However, my sons waste paper with the preschool booklets he has because he is good and finishes them rather rapidly.

So here is a reusable pattern game with Legos.

I love it and so do my boys. Win-win.

Repurposed Graco playpen

Make your own toddler bed or fort out of a portable playpen crib by simply cutting out the net.

This is a wonderfully simple repurposing gem that I found on Pinterest.

Lucky me I found an old playpen in truck of a car we are selling. It had gotten moldy so I did not feel bad/wasteful cutting out the netting.

Damien hopped right in as soon as I built it and hasn't gotten out yet.

He says its his ninja movie watching bed. LoL I love that little boy!!!!!

I put a blanket over the top but the one on Pinterest had a crib mattress over the top. FYI :-)

Monster spray

Do you have a child who is afraid of the dark? If you do than you know what a struggle bed time can be.

My sweet little Damien recently decided that he is afraid of the dark.

Even though we have discussed in great lengths that there is NOTHING in the dark to be afraid of.

I tell him Mom and Dad are right next door as well as his big dog Odin, so he is super Protected all day and night always.

Needless to say Damien is still certain there is something so scary that he MUST sleep with mom and dad and that is the only solution.

I however have a trick up my sleeve, monster spray.

All you need is an empty room fragrance spray bottle filled with water.

This way is too much gets sprayed no one will get sick.

I made a label with some printer paper, marker, and tape.

I hope this helps other parents and kids out there in the life puzzle we all live in.

DIY Moon sand

This recipe is to make your own moon sand at home out of flour and oil.

Materials:
Flour
Oil
Container

I used baby oil but you could use any kind of oil.

I put a couple cups of flour in a container and slowly mixed in the oil until the mixture crumbled but could still hold shapes when pressed.

If it is too dry add more oil. If it is too wet add more flour.

I made the boys their moon sand in the summer and it is still just as fun as the day I made it five months ago.

The boys play with their containers of homemade moon sand all the time.  They focus on it which is rare for these wild boys.  I love that not only do the boys enjoy playing with this super cheap DIY moon sand but they love sharing the fun when their friends come to visit.  Friends and cousins of all ages get loads of entertainment from this simple craft.

Great craft for any age as long as they don't eat it :-)

I was going to make some up for gifts this holiday season. I just cant decide what size container to put them in.?.hmmmm....Or what color to make them?? Or maybe no color and just glitter, oh yeah, glitter! Sorry, squirrel.....................................

Salt and flour dough

Mix 2 cups of flour with 1 cup of salt. Mix in cold water until it becomes the consistency of play dough.

Make shapes. I used stamps to stamp images on them. You can do whatever you'd like. You can poke a hole in them with a tooth pick to hang the finished product.

Once dough it done being molded and shaped. Bake at 250 for two hours or until hard.

I had some bigger shapes that took 3 hours.

I spray painted them this time but next time I want to try spray glitter.

Repurposed shoe box lid

Materials:
Acrylic paint
Shoe box lid
Paint brush
Scraper or end of paint brush

Cover shoe box lid with paint. The thicker you put on the paint the more texture it will have.




Scratch any design you can think of.





I scratched in the boys first letter of their name and the age they are.

Really, skies the limits!

Lego rockets

-Balloons
-Assortment of Legos
-Lego wheels

Begin by hypothesizing what design will work best. Build and discover.

We all had so much fun experimenting what designs worked best.

The tallest, shortest, heaviest, lightest, widest, and or whatever...........

Moon sand DIY

8 cups of flour
1 cup of baby oil (any oil will work)

Mix, squish, scoop until mixed and then the skies the limits!

The boys really enjoyed mixing up this DIY moon sand. Hours of entertainment :-)

Towel label

Label your family's individual towel hooks so there is never any confusion.

All you need is a dry erase marker and good penmanship :-)

Simplistic success!!!

Rope bridge

Simple fun!!!!
At least two ropes tied between trees and the kids can use their core strength and energy up for hours.

Time out glitter timer

One part gel, twenty parts water, add glitter and use as a soothing time out timer.

I added the gel a little at a time until it took ten minutes to settle. This was the time I was after. You could adjust the gel settling time to your own liking.

DIY elf ears

I used gold card stock and folded it in half. On the fold is where I drew the curve of the ear while using the bottom edge of the paper for the flat opening for the real ear. I sketched out the pointy ear shape in pencil. Then I cut out the shape I wanted. Once it was cut out I used scotch tape to connect the front and the back leaving the flat bottom opened.

My first one didn't fit right so I had to make two sets. Good luck!!!! Happy elfing !

Free fun for kids

I save any container I use. Every jam jar, ketchup bottle, soda bottles, and anything else that I can wash clean. I even keep all my t.p and paper towel rolls. I am NOT a hoarder! I'm crafty :-)

I open a paper bag (which can also be used as a toy) and fill with like containers. I set my paper collector bags in the garage except the t.p roll bag that's under the bathroom sink. Whenever I need an extra container I can have one on hand, it's handy.

So when my children say I'm bored I will let them choose some containers or just give them the whole bag depending on how full it is.

You wouldn't think trash could equal hours of fun but it can if you add imagination.

Bleach design shirt

This project is super easy and turns an ordinary shirt into a one of a kind in a minute.

Choose your piece of cloth and shaped stickers or tape. Put bleach in a spray bottle and set aside. Place a piece of cardboard behind cloth. Tape design or put stickers on the cloth. Spray once or twice over design. Promptly remove stickers or tape and rinse with warm water in the bathtub.
Only spray once to three times or it will be too much bleach. I learned this the hard way, now I have a shirt that is all bleached out with no cool design.
Wash cloth like you normally would after rinsed thoroughly.
Experiment and be safe, it is toxic.

Easy lunch

Tortilla chips, can of chili, cheese.
Bake at 350* until cheese is melted.

Super hero mask

I drew this mask on Brodie with marker. Wash off with rubbing alcohol.
Fun and easy face art for your little super hero.

Breakfast flowers

Brodie is always looking for new ways to eat eggs. We found this on pinterest so we thought we would give it a try.

Three pieces of Canadian bacon and one egg per muffin cup.
I scramble eggs with salt, pepper, cheese, and worstershire.
I greased the muffin pan and preheated the oven to 350*
Place three pieces of meat in muffin tin and fill evenly with egg.
Bake for twenty minutes.
Brodie ate them on English muffins.
This is easy and allows me more time for being a short order cook.

Toddler tracing

I put a piece of paper in a ziplock bag. Let all the air out and let Damien draw on it with a dry erase marker. Then I wrote his name on the paper and then put it back in its plastic home. Damien had so much fun tracing his name. He has been having trouble with his m's and n's. This gave him the boost of confidence he needed.

Easy, fun, and disposable. My favorite kind of crafts.

Prints (mini art)

Today we found some foam from the mushroom container to re purpose. You could probably use a takeout foam box instead.

We took a pen and drew our pictures. Making sure we cut into the foam as we drew.

Once our stamp was complete we covered it with paint. We laid a piece of paper over it to remove this first print(this is not the print). Once the excess paint is pull away from the first print you are ready to make THE ONE. I used card stock to make these mini pieces of art.

Lay card stock over the foam print and hold still while pressing evenly, rub if you do not move it. Pull off and allow to dry.

Tadaaaaaaa mini art!!!!!!

Both my three year old and eight year old enjoyed this project.

I messed up by not reversing the original text so it turned out backwards. So make sure if you write anything, do it backwards on the foam.

(in the picture the Pegasus is not fully painted. Make sure you cover the whole stamp before you make the print)

Dad

Great gift!!!!
I made this for Kyle's 2nd fathers day.
The boys were so proud of this gift.
It is really easy and was a fun craft the whole way through.
Other letters could be used to spell other things like; MOM, GRANDPARENTS, GRANDCHILDREN , AUNT, UNCLE, or anything you can think of.
I will be doing this again this year now that my boys have changed so much.

-wooden letter
-paint (any kind)

Easy, peasey, lemon squeezy :-)

Have fun creating! Whom ever received the photo will be so glad you did.