Homemade Toys

Want to make some fun, easy, and cheap toys for your tot?  I bet you have most of these materials in your house!

Straw Drop

I took a plastic container and used my exacto knife to cut rectangles in the lid, some big and some small.  Then I cut plastic straws to varying lengths and gave everything to G (2 years old).  He LOVES dropping the straws through the holes, and we also talk about the color and size of the straws!

Felt Board

Grab some sheets of felt (super cheap at the craft store) and cut out shapes.  I got my felt board at Lakeshore, although you could easily make your own by wrapping a bulletin board or a piece of foam board in felt.  G and M (5 years old) have so much fun creating scenes.

Coin Drop

One of the longest-standing toys in our house is the Puffs container!  I cut a slit in the lid and the kids love dropping poker chips or buttons through it.  It's also a great activity to teach taking off lids!

Egg Cartons

Egg cartons are great sorting tools!  I put a bowl of manipulatives with an egg carton and it becomes a learning activity, which helps develop their knowledge of one-to-one correspondence.

Written by Jill

Ways to Play with the Alphabet

Is your tot starting to name letters, notice letters around the house, or asking how to form certain letters?  If so, she's probably ready to start playing with the alphabet!  Here are some fun ways to get your tot doing hands-on learning.

I picked this giant whiteboard at Costco and it was a GREAT buy.  We don't hang it, but instead move it around the house, wherever she's interested in learning!  Paired with some erasable markers, it's a fabulous way to give your tot LOTS of space to write and make those curvy and straight lines.

If you're looking for something free and AWESOME, we highly recommend Starfall!  It's a great website for early letter development and phonemic awareness.   

Pair a magnetic whiteboard with some foam, magnetic letters (mine are from Lakeshore and they're super durable and come in upper and lowercase form).  I put these out and let G (2 years old) "write" a story with them.  He loves this activity and it gets him working and touching those letters.

And of course, the most AWESOME way to play with the alphabet is to create some alphabet drawers, packed full of tiny objects!  At almost 6, it's still M's favorite activity and has grown with her since she was 2.5.  

For more alphabet fun, take a look at The Activity Mom's Alphabet Favorites!

Written by Jill

DIY Lego Storage

I made these! Can you believe it? You won't believe how easy they were to make and B (6 years old) told me I was awesome and that always makes my day!

You don't have to use them to store Legos, you can use them to store anything and it is the perfect decoration for a Lego fan. 

I took the labels off of this large plastic container and spray painted it yellow. When you are spray painting, spray it lightly from a distance and use a few coats to cover it instead of too much all at once (like I tried to do) because it will drip. If it does drip let it dry, sand it down a little bit in those areas, and start over with the spray paint.  

When the containers are dry use a black permanent marker to draw on the lego faces. 

Idea inspired by Obseussed

Your Lego fan will also love these ideas:

Lego Game

Simple Lego Party Ideas

Learn and Play with Your 24 Month Old

I can barely believe that my itty bitty boy is almost TWO!  We've had such a fun year of playing and learning; here's what Mr. Busy Body did this month!

G doesn't go to preschool yet but I take him to a weekly tumbling class.  It's great to develop his gross motor skills (lots of jumping, rolling, and attempted tumbling), PLUS he gets to be around tots exactly his age.  An added bonus is social fun for mama, too.  We go through our city's parks and recreation department because the classes are SO reasonably priced!

Easter may be over but the egg hunts don't have to be!  Have you kept out some eggs?  Keep hiding them and keep searching!  G loves when we give him clues, such as, "Look UNDER the couch!"  It's a great way to teach directional words and following directions! 

Play dough to an almost two year old is still magical.  It's just messy enough for me to handle multiple times a day and there's so many ways to switch it up.  Cookie cutters, small toys or objects, or even birthday candles are fun additions to make the play last longer.

Looking for an advanced way to hone those fine motor skills?  Get out a game of Cootie!  Most of the pieces have to go in at an angle and G will stay SO focused to get those pieces in JUST the right way! 

Stickers are so easy, so fun, and so cheap.  I can hand him a sheet and they will keep him focused and entertained (especially at restaurants or doctor appointments!).  I always try to pick up a couple packs when I'm at the Dollar Tree.

 Our friends bought a Strider bike for their three year old and G loves playing on it!  He was especially thrilled when we were at an expo recently that had a LOT of different ones for him to try.  They improve your child's balance and aids in future bike riding.  They are a little pricey, but even my 5 year old likes to race around on it!

G loves playing on the iPad and we are still exploring new app options.  So far, his favorite are ANY of the (free) Fisher-Price ones.  There are ones about colors, shapes, letters, and animal sounds and he loves them all!

He wants to use these chopsticks so badly so we've been practicing with lots of hand-over-hand learning (well, as much as he'll let me!).  Putting small objects, like these counting bears, is a great activity to teach one-to-one correspondence, too! 

And what could appeal more to a boy than hammering (safe!) objects?!  The styrofoam block is from the dollar spot and the plastic hammer is compliments of Fisher-Price.  He LOVES (I mean seriously, LOVES) to hammer those golf tees in the block.  A little bit harder?  Removing the tees!

Written by Jill

Lots of fun, hands on activities for this age group keep their minds occupied and their bodies busy!

NEW Learn and Play with Your Toddler eBook

36 Pages of Monthly Activities for Your Toddler!

Balancing Activities with Multiple Kids

One of the questions The Activity Moms get asked most often is "How do you juggle activities with children of different ages?".  

In my home, we have M that is 5, G that is almost 2, and baby G that is only 2 months old.  When it was JUST M, we never had a problem balancing activities but when G was ready to enter the learning scene, some adjustments definitely had to be made!  Here are some ways to keep everyone learning in a safe, fun, and cooperative environment!

Learning Stations

I was very accustomed to doing "tray-type" activities, but that wasn't the greatest fit for G's learning style.  So instead, I do learning stations.  They are NOT hard to set up, as it can be as simple as setting up a box of instruments in one corner, taped down butcher paper and crayons in the kitchen, and dress up clothes in another.  Center-based play builds cooperation and encourages imagination.

M and G absolutely LOVE to do dress up centers together, as well as pretend play.  Try setting up a doctor's office, market, or school and let your tots learn and play at the same time!

Sensory Tubs Geared Toward Multiple Ages

One of M's favorite learning activities are sensory tubs, but with G being younger, I wasn't ready for him to be flinging rice throughout the house!  So, think of fillers that safe for the younger set but still engaging for the older set.  We like using chunks of ice, cotton balls, and Easter basket "grass."

Cooperative Learning

Sometimes, you have to think of ways to differentiate the learning within the SAME activity.  Reading books is BIG in our house, but G doesn't always have the attention span to listen.  He wants to be included but often becomes a distraction.  So to differentiate, Daddy will read, Maddie will listen, and G will stay busy by tearing old magazines or sifting through his board books.  

Other Tips:

• When you are working with the older child, give the younger one a few of the materials you are using so they feel included (markers, paper, playing cards, paint brush, etc.).
• Let your older child be the leader and "teach" his younger sibling how to do an activity that is perfect for his age.
• Sit on the floor and have one child on each side of you. You can can be right there to point, direct, and teach each child and you sitting in the middle will hopefully be a barrier from distraction. I've often done this with board games. I play against each of them (at the same time) in a game that is perfect for their age and level. 

Thinking of ways that will include the younger kiddo will allow you to still work with the older one, all while they BOTH learn!

Written by Jill

Alphabet Bug Hunt (printable)

image courtesy of clker.com

Get our your magnifying glasses, because tis the season to hunt for bugs! One of our favorite things to do in the Spring and Summer months has been to search, discover, and learn about insects. To make this experience even more exciting for the kids, I created an ABC scavenger hunt. 

My intention is to bring our ABC list along when we  are out in nature as well as to use indoors on rainy days through Internet research. The reason why I included Internet research is because some of the insects will be difficult to find in our region. Also, it was challenging to find common insects with every letter of the alphabet.  An extinct species was even included for the letter X..Xerces Butterfly.  So of course this is one that will need to be researched, but what a great way to teach kids about endangered and extinct species!

After printing out the ABC Scavenger Hunt Pages, laminate for long term use.  Have your child use a dry erase marker and circle each insect found during your hunt.  This is a  great long term project for any aged child and can be used at different times when you are in nature.  There is  space to include the names of other insects that may be discovered that aren't listed. 

Another great way to extend this activity and to incorporate technology is to bring along a digital camera and have your child take photos of discoveries.  The photos can be used to make an online slide show or printed out to create an insect book. 

Not only will your little ones be exposed to a variety of insects, but this activity will help enforce letter identification and sounds. Have them think about other insects that might start with the letter sound.  For example- (Bb is for beetle, bee, butterfly ) Older children can research and read more about the insects that interest them most. 

Written by Jen

Mother and Daughter DIY Spa Day

Guest Post by Michelle Pino, a Spa Manager at Skana in upstate New York

Spa experiences are so relaxing and rejuvenating, but not everyone has the time or the budget to indulge in a spa getaway. However, an at home spa experience is a great ay to ease stress and relax. A spa day is simple to pull together and will leave everyone feeling brand new for a long time afterward.

Just look around your kitchen, and you can probably find many useful and essential items that can be used for a spa day.

Avocado and Yogurt

What else can you do with avocados besides make guacamole? How about fighting wrinkles? The monounsaturated fats in avocados promote skin elasticity and collagen production. Yogurt contains milk, which has been used for ages to keep skin soft and youthful.

To prepare a homemade anti aging mask: 

• Mash one avocado and add 1/4 cup of plain yogurt. 
• Apply mixture to face. 
• Leave on for 15 minutes to half an hour before rinsing off. 

Olive Oil

Want a rich, conditioning hair mask that costs next to nothing? 

To prepare a hair mask combine: 

• Half a cup of mayonnaise
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• Apply mixture to hair. Leave on for at least 10 minutes. Shampoo out and style. 

Apple Pie Skin Polish

Apples have plenty of nutritional benefits. In fact, they are 85 percent water, and are high in vitamins A and C as well as potassium. Apples are especially useful in removing dead skin cells as well as dirt on the surface of the skin. 

To prepare a homemade skin polish:

• 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon of apple sauce
• 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon
• Mix well and apply to the skin in a circular motion while bathing. 

At home spa experiences are great because they can be spur of the moment and are practically fuss and cost free. A simple, relaxing day with your daughter can be just what you need!

Michelle Pino is a Spa Manager at Skana, a spa in upstate New York at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY. She enjoys DIY projects, healthy recipes, exercise, and all things related to skin care. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Michelle via email at michellepino@turningstone.com.

Time Saving Tip

I'm obsessed with quotes and I'm also obsessed with Pinterest so it is no coincidence that I've stumbled upon subway art printables that so many awesome bloggers offer for FREE. 

I have a 5X7 frame near my kitchen that I like to put them in and I change it often (once a month) especially around holidays. I love it! 

Time Saving Tip: 

When I find a new quote or holiday art to print, I put it in the frame but keep the old ones right behind it. That way they are all in one place and easy to rotate. I've been doing this for more than a year so I have one for each holiday, season, or month all in the same frame. So easy and fun!

You can also find and print 12 different ones all at one time and put them in your frame so you are all set to rotate them throughout the year.  

My Subway Art Board on Pinterest has several printables to help you get started.

This would also be a great way to rotate your child's artwork!

Worm Activities

Little boys and many adventurous girls love investigating worms!  These squirmy activities are perfect for this time of year with April showers bringing many critters to our outside gardens.

Before starting any activities, enjoy a few books featuring worms.  Here are a couple of our favorites..

Would your little one eat worms for lunch?  Be sure to serve gummy worms after reading this fun book- Worms for Lunch by Leonid Gore .  We love the illustrations and reading about the different animals and what they like to eat.

What would it feel like to be a worm for a day?  Find out by reading life from a worm's  perspective in this humorous book- Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin.

Activities with Gummy Worms
1. Counting-- Add and subtract the worms
2. Measure the worms
3. Sort by color. How many red worms are there? How many green?  Are they more red or green?
4. Using a small plastic container, cut out holes, have your little guy pick up the worms chopsticks and try to put the gummy worms in the holes for a fun fine-motor challenge.
5. Have your little one cook create dirt with pudding and chocolate cookie crumbs and top it off with some of the gummy worms!



After a rainy day, be sure to go outside and explore real worms with your kids.  Don't forget your magnifying glass!

Written by Jen

Developing Gross Motor Skills (8 Activities)

Motor skills are motions carried out when the brain, nervous system, and muscles work together. Fine motor skills are small muscle movements, such as grabbing something with your thumb and forefinger. Gross motor skills are bigger movements that use the bigger muscles such as running and jumping. (Resource: babycenter.com)

So often we focus on ways to practice and develop fine motor skills. So here are a few ways to get the bigger muscles moving with gross motor skill activities:

DIY Golf Course

Putt the ball through tunnels, under chairs, around stuffed animals, etc. 

Bowling

Use toilet paper tubes cut in half with cupcake liners on top as your pins. 

You can even use water bottles as pins. Roll a ball to knock them down. 

Obstacle Course

Make an obstacle course with pillows, painters tape, tunnels, blankets, or boxes. 

Move around, under, and over the obstacles. 

Indoor Balance Beam

Put a piece of painters tape on the floor and practice walking, crawling, or hopping on the balance beam. 

Human Size Board Game

Set up 10 pillows and start at the beginning. Roll the die and bounce from pillow to pillow (how many you rolled). When you get to the end, you win. 

Bean Bag Toss

Cut a square in the top of a shirt box. Toss bean bags and try to get as many as you can in the hole. 

Beware of Crocodiles

Cut out crocodile shapes from construction paper. Put them on the floor in a vertical line with letters, colors, shapes, or words at the end. We worked on names of the people in our family. Have your child tip toe, jump over, or gallop around the crocodiles to find a certain item at the end. For example, "Can you find the card that says Mom? Watch out for crocodiles!" and he would jump down, find the card, and jump back with it. 

Falling Flowers

Stand on a chair and drop silk flowers or silk leaves down to the floor. Let your child try to catch them midair in a bucket or cup. 

Importance of Your Child Seeing His Name in Print

Your child's name is often the first word that he will learn to recognize, read, and spell. It may even be the word that helps him make connections about letters making sounds and letters making words.

Usually, the first letter of his own name is what he identifies first. "N for Natalie! M for Mom! D for Dad!". Once those sounds are learned, he can make connections to other words that start with those same sounds. "Hey nose starts with N just like Natalie starts with N!"

Vinyl Decal from Signs.com 

For those reasons (and also that it is a cool decoration) I've always had my children's names displayed in a creative way in their bedroom. They can see the letters of their name daily, we use them to sing our name song, and it also makes their room a special place of their own.

An easy way to display your child's name is with a vinyl decal. I got mine (above) from Signs.com where you can even upload custom designs or have their designers help you for FREE! So cool!

She loves that her N has a crown! She is really into princesses right now so it grabs her attention.

Use the promo code: ACTIVITYMOM15 to save 15% off your order at Signs.com! 

Do you want to win a custom vinyl decal 

for your child from Signs.com (up to $50)? 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cookie Recipe for the Kids

Quick, go grab your kiddo and a box of vanilla, yellow, or white cake mix.  You're about to make the most delicious, colorful, and EASIEST cookies ever!

Mix a box of cake mix with 1 teaspoon of baking soda.  Then, in a separate bowl, mix two eggs, a half cup of oil, and a teaspoon of vanilla.  Mix it up and pour it in the bowl of cake mix and baking soda.

Now, ready for the big fun?  Pour in a cup or so of rainbow sprinkles!

Let your tot stir and pour along the way!

Plop the dough in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes.

Such a fun and quick recipe and I promise that your kids will love it!


Now you can download and print the
  Sprinkle Cookie Recipe for Beginning Readers.

If your child has fun reading and making this recipe, he will love similar recipes in Cooking to Learn!

May Busy Boxes

It's time for another month of busy boxes!  I swapped out four old ones for these new ones:

Art

One of G's favorite busy boxes is Play-doh, followed closely behind by markers and crayons (especially the markers!).  I've been trying to find other art-centered boxes and was so excited to find some of these paint with water books in the Michael's dollar section.  All we do is fill a bowl with water and keep the box stocked with paint brushes and the book.  He loves to do this box independently and it's totally at his level.

Scratch Paper

Another fun art box this month has THIS magic scratch paper.  Basically, any scratches made reveal a rainbow design.  So fun!  I keep the box stocked with several sheets, as well as a popsicle stick, golf tee, birthday candle and plastic spoon.  He can use all these tools to make different designs (I usually keep the scratching tool out, as it's fairly sharp and this is another box he does independently so I don't feel safe with him using it). 

Shaving Cream

Oh boy, this was a fun and MESSY busy box (notice that I only took a picture at the beginning, since by the END we were both covered!).  I bought a can of shaving cream at the Dollar Tree and together, we squirted a ton in an empty busy box.  He LOVED squishing, smooshing, and hiding his hands in it and it was a great opportunity for us to talk about our five senses (because it DID have a strong smell!).

Piggy Bank

For a busy box with less mess, I popped a plastic piggy bank inside and added some coins.  Not only does he LOVE to drop the money in (always supervise with small pieces!), he's almost completely mastered unscrewing the pig's nose and dumping the coins out.  Great fine motor work!