10 Ways to Play With Your Kids Today

Photo by Victoria Bayer

Is summer slipping away as fast for you as it is for us?  Here’s a few easy ways to take advantage of the end of July with your kiddos this week…

1. Grab some boats (or make some simple floating ones with bark or paper) and spread out a tarp, shower curtain or plastic tablecloth in the yard.  Drizzle water on it with the hose and sit right smack in the middle of it — getting cool, floating boats, making little island getaways, you name it.
2. Have a photo shoot outside.  Be sure to let the kids take your picture too!
3. Shoot some hoops — even if that means tossing balled up socks into a bowl on the coffee table because it’s 115 degrees outside.
4. Go on a sprinkler walk.  Head to an area of town where people have their sprinklers going and sidewalks that go through them, and try to walk through as many sprinklers to cool down as possible.
5. Make some real fruit slushies.  Toss frozen fruit like strawberries in the blender with some water and sugar to taste.  Blend like crazy and enjoy.  Make it extra fun by playing chef with a big variety of frozen fruit choices.
6. Freeze lots of ice cube trays and muffin tins full of colored water and then put all your multi-colored ice treasures in a big bowl.  Head out to the kiddie pool and grab some buckets of water to melt and color mix like crazy.
7. Take blocks of ice to the top of a grassy hill and go ice blocking.  Here’s more info on this activity that’s on our bucket list this year!
8. Make mud pies.
9. Play balloon volleyball.
10. Go camping.  Can’t do that?  Camp in the back yard.  Can’t do that?  Camp in the living room.

And yes, I know it’s winter for some of you!  I think a lot of these are still options.  If not, please do something fabulous and then come back and tell us about it. 

 

100 Ways to Make Today Magical

I’ve been lax in posting here while we’ve been dealing with Victoria’s health struggles, so I thought I’d make up for it with an extra special “ways to make the day magical” post!  Here’s 100 ways to make the day magical that have been featured in past posts…

1.  During the night, decorate the living room with streamers and a big sign that says “Happy _____ Day!” (marmot day, random day, I love you day, blueberry day…)  Make up traditions for the day together– you must wear purple, it’s traditional to eat ice cream for breakfast, whatever.

2.  Teach the kids to whistle with blades of grass and stage your own backyard grass concert together.

3.  Play with water balloons.  Get creative with how to throw them.  For instance, we like to throw them straight up and try to be as close as possible to where they land.  We also like to make targets and try to catch them without breaking them.

4.  Make a love box.  Find a fun, small box and put a treat inside.  Leave it on someone’s pillow, at their seat at the dinner table or in a lunch box.  The person has to put something in it and pass it on to another family member.  Ideas for treats– a chocolate, a tiny toy, a poem, a drawing, a love letter, a fresh flower, a list of things you love about the person, a coupon for a back rub… 

5.  Make squirt gun art.  Give the kids each a piece of poster board and some washable markers and ask them to use lots of colors and make a design all over the posterboard.  They can do lines, colored circles, patterns, whatever.  The more color the better!  Hang them on the clothes line or prop them up in the back yard and give each child a squirt gun filled with water.  Have them squirt their pictures to make the ink run and make new designs, colors and patterns.

6.  Visit a museum together.

 7.  Let the kids camp out in the back yard or living room.  Better yet, join them.  Don’t forget the campfire songs!

8.  Fade some clothes.  Let each child pick a dark or bright colored T-shirt and gather an assortment or rocks or other small, heavy shapes.  Have the kids arrange their shapes on the T-shirts in a sunny place where they can remain undisturbed for a few days.  Have them check their shirts every few days until they have faded enough to make the pattern really visible. 

9.  Throw a theme potluck– everyone must bring a dish that starts with A, has exactly 3 ingredients or is a certain color, for example.  If you don’t want to have to clean first, stage it at a park.

10.  Buy a pack of toilet paper for the sole purpose of goofy fun.  Wrap your kids up into mummies, make toilet paper streamers and run through the yard, toss it and see how long you can get the tail as you throw, experiment with getting it wet and having “snowball” fights with it… If you can, compost it when you’re finished.

11.  Take a field trip to someplace you’ve never been in your community– a factory, museum, or even an old graveyard.  Really explore it and talk about what you find.

12.  Play detective.  Take the kids to a “scene of the crime” like an empty lot or quiet park.  Give them notebooks and have them really look at the surroundings, then have them make up a story of what happened there based on the evidence.  There are two tire tracks but only one set of footprints, so one person never got out of the car…. have them come up with their own stories.

13.  Make a canopy out of fabric, sheets or lace curtains over your child’s bed.  You can make something for the night or something more permanent.  Kids love the privacy and the fun of canopies!

14.  Sit down and paint, sketch or sculpt with your kids.  Sure, you give them crafts to do but how often do you sit down for an hour and join in?  They’ll love the extra attention and you might not realize how much fun you’ll have!

15.  Look at old videos of your children as babies, and even of the times before they were born.  Talk about how you felt during those times and retell the stories that go along with them.

16.  Do three sweet things today for each family member.  They can be tiny little things, just something to show you love them that you know will make them happy.  Buy your honey a big bag of his favorite treats and bring it to him after supper.  Leave the dishes and go read a story to your toddler.  Give extra monkey hugs (in our family, we dip kids upside down and holler “monkey hug!” and swing them back up– then repeat until exhaustion), and so on.

17.  Have the kids put on a show for the family.  They can dance, sing, act, you name it.  Ask them to spend the day preparing it, then offer to charge admission after supper (to you, older relatives, whoever).  It can be a talent show, variety show, or whatever they like.  Help them put together costumes, music, and the works.  For little ones, you can do the same thing but scale down the preparation.  Let them wear tutus and spin around with scarves, then sing “I’m a little teapot” for doting onlookers.

18. Find a park that offers something different like paddle boats, horseback riding, or even horseshoes.  Spend a lazy day connecting and having fun.

19.  Chase fireflies.

20.  Make puppets and put on a puppet show.

21. Gather sticks in the back yard and some fun art supplies (paint, glitter, baubles…) and make magic wands.

22.  Bake cookies.  The more decadent, the better.

23.  Walk around town adding food coloring to puddles.  Magical Mama Tiffany says, “Wouldn’t it be fun to go walking and find all different colors of puddles?!”.

24.  Use clean sand castle molds to make ice cream castles.  Decorate wildly and eat!

25.  Play the sock game.  Everybody puts on socks and sits in a circle, then tries to pull everybody else’s socks off while keeping their own on.  Whoever is last to have a sock on wins!

26.  Blow raspberries on everybody’s bellies.

27. Leave a candy bar and a note for the mailman.

28.  Have the kids play dress up in their most fanciful clothes and then go on an evening walk around the neighborhood.

29.  Start a snail habitat.  Magical Mama Jen shared this sweet idea years ago for the Magical Childhood newsletter…

I have always loved snails, and while out with Sage a month or so ago, we were looking at snails and how they have 2 sets of antennae, etc…and I thought…why not bring them IN?  Soooo….I searched on the internet to see what snails need to be able ot survive indoors.  All you need is a large container with air holes (of course, lol)  In the bottom, place about an inch of gravel…then a couple inches of soil on top of that.  Place some “greenery” from outside in there…it will root and grow very well….also, give them a rock to play on, lol, and lean a stick in there…..a good idea is to place some moss on some of the soil to help retain moisture for them.  They eat fruit and veggie scraps…..ours love carrot and cucumber, but do NOT like cantaloupe or celery.  It’s been quite educational for us to have them…as well and fun…you can see their mouths open up, they have a row of teeth called a Radula that they rub on food to eat it..very neat to see their open mouths as they stick to the container.  )

You should mist their habitat every day or so, keeping their home moist, but not overly so.  Also…the chlorine in water is bad for them, so either leave a container of water open outside for a couple days to let the chlorine evaporate, or boil water for about 10 minutes. (lid off)

You should also clean out their home every week or so…and a tip that I saw on one web site was to put their food on a little piece of wood, or something to that effect, so once it starts to get a little “icky”, you can just take the wood out and rinse it off….much easier than digging around in there with your hands to remove the left overs.

Hope that helps some…if you need more info, try typing “snail habitat” in a search engine….

30.  Go for a walk in the rain with your child.  Umbrellas optional.

31.  Have a bubble relay outside– players blow or carry their bubbles from person to person and start over if they pop.  Alternately, blow a bubble and see if you can work as a team to blow it across a finish line.

32.  Help the kids make these pretty pens from strips of their art or favorite scrapbooking papers.  Chocolate on my Cranium has the super easy instructions.

33.  Make up a miniature golf course in the backyard or living room.

34.  Throw a fairy party.

35.  Find a patch of clover and find four leaf clovers.  My kids find dozens.  To preserve them, press them between a small, folded piece of waxed paper in a heavy book.

36.  Find some whimsical stickers and help the kids scatter them around the house in half-secret places.  We once used a sheet of dragonfly rub-ons this way and it was so fun to happen upon them.  You can put them inside a dresser drawer or cabinet drawer, on baseboards or mirrors, anywhere.  Make sure they’re removable if you don’t want permanent whimsy!

37.  Make tissue paper resist prints.  The Frugal Family Fun Blog tells you how.

38.  Start an “I love you” journal together on the inside of your cupboard doors.  Cover them with contact paper for easy removal (and for keepsakes).  Take turns leaving notes to each other, artwork, recording special moments, etc.  Make sure little ones understand which places are okay for this special graffiti.

39. Make a blanket fort on the clothesline.

40. Make paper boats and sail them in puddles or the kiddie pool.

41.  Or fill the kiddie pool with something else like bubble solution for giant bubbles, oobleck or water and colored oil.

42.  Meet some friends at a science museum.

43.  Mail your child a postcard telling her how much you love her.

44.  Write a song together and record it yourselves singing it.

45.  Make homemade lemonade.  Find a way to make it unique to your family.  For instance, we put a handful of mint leaves in when making a sugar syrup for ours (one cup sugar, one cup water, simmer till the sugar dissolves and the mint is fragrant, then combine with 4 cups of water and 1 to 1 1/2 cups lemon juice, to taste) and garnished with mint.  Also consider using frozen berries for ice cubes, adding a couple of scoops of a bright juice concentrate or serving with ice cubes that have edible flowers (without pesticides!) inside.

46.  Sketch your child as he sleeps.  Let go of any criticism about your artistic abilities and just enjoy the process of really studying your child and capturing a moment.

47. Go rock hunting for smooth stones and use paint or permanent markers to write inspirational words like “courage,” “strength,” “love” or “laugh” on them — or even just silly faces and symbols.  Put one in your pocket on days you need it, and let the kids do the same.

48. Have a glow-in-the-dark treasure hunt after dark.

49.  Take a horse drawn carriage ride.  We went two weekends in a row because we happened upon them, once at a winery and once at a historic event.  At $5 and $3 each, it was worth the cost for a really wonderful experience.

50.  Record a new wacky or sweet greeting on the answering machine together.  Keep it short but fun!

51. Make nature pendants.  (Jack made a billion of these plus bookmarks the other day and loved it, though you can’t tell by this look on his face!)

52.  Call some local museums and find out when they have free days to visit (many are free all the time!). Spend an afternoon just dawdling and enjoying yourself there.

53.  After dark, head outside together and howl at the moon.

54.  Make fresh fruit sorbets in the ice cream maker.  No ice cream maker?  Make it in a bag!

55.  Make some toad houses.

56.   Have a breakfast picnic in the park.

57. Run in the sprinkler together.  Yes, you too!

58.  Make up some fizzing sidewalk chalk.  Quirky Momma has all the details on how to take homemade sidewalk chalk paint to the next level.  This is definitely on our to-do list this week!

59.  Put birthday candles in each child’s dinner tonight.  It doesn’t matter if dinner is sandwiches and it’s 9 months from their birthdays, kids just love blowing out candles and feeling special. 

60.  Go someplace beautiful together.  Is there a hill outside of the city where you can park and watch the lights below?  A Japanese garden with peaceful spots to relax?  Find someplace beautiful and just sit and talk.  Bring a treat like a bag of fresh chocolate chip cookies or old fashioned root beer in bottles, and just unwind together.

61.  Try painting on salt.  Tot School has the simple directions.

62. That idea was inspired by one on A Bit of This and a Bit of That.  For another of their whimsical projects, try salt chalk painting.

63.  Have a jam session.  Gather up instruments and make your own by filling tins with pennies and getting pots to bang on.  Find as many different types as you can, and then sit everybody down on the floor.  Have someone start with a back beat and then one by one join in.  We started a retreat with this when I was on the board of a state organization, and it was a hoot even for a room full of us old folks.    Be as loud a you want!

64.  Make homemade popsicles.  We use fruit juice and sometimes freeze different flavors and colors in layers to make them especially fun.

65.  Do some spring window art.  Fingerpaint & Superheroes shows you how.

66.  Pick out some older clothes and let the kids decorate them with markers.  You can use washable markers (keep in mind that not all might wash out) and let kids make new designs each time, or you can use permanent ones.  Fabric markers can add special highlights too.  Here’s my girls years ago in some home-designed patterns. 

67. Make mud art!  Find a good place to dig in the dirt and provide some water, spoons, platters and pretties to decorate with (we used dried flower petals, dried beans and pasta, and beads).  Let the kids mix up mud andmake whatever designs they like and leave them to dry.  Take pictures and then just rinse and reuse the special stuff later.

68.  Let the kids arrange some 2×4 boards on the lawn in a funky pattern or their initials.  Wait a few days and let the sun “brand” your lawn.  The covered area will be brown in the shape the kids made.  Don’t worry, it’s temporary.  The grass will green up again soon after.

69.  Make a celebration cake “just because.”  Add candles and too much icing.  If you want, go all out and eat it with your hands.

70.  Give your kids facials.  Include a slow, circular face massage with cleansing lotion followed by a warm washcloth soak.  Follow that with a masque (there are great recipes online) while you sit and talk.  Finish with a light moisturizer in a delicious scent.

71.  Make up a family dance line routine.

72.  Have a sidewalk parade with neighborhood kids.

73.  Visit thrift shops for an old piece of furniture and repaint it together.  Make it as whimsical, funky or dramatic as they like.

74. Dedicate a song to your child on the radio.

75.  Have a watermelon seed spitting contest outside.

76. Take apart a cheap wall clock and let the kids decorate the face before putting it back up.  For little ones, do painted hand prints.

77. Put bubbles in the kiddie pool!  Just add a generous squirt of bubble bath or good quality dish soap and then spray fresh water into the pool.  We used Dawn dish soap and had bubbles for over an hour! 
 

78. Invent a recipe together.  Make up a standard cookie, cake or pancake recipe and then brainstorm on things to add.  Write it all down in a family cookbook as you go (with measurements) & afterwards write suggestions on improvements for next time.  One of the most fun parts is you get to come up with your own name for your recipe– that and getting to eat it all up. 

79.  Make snow cones!  You can make up your own syrup for on top (here’s an easy recipe using kool-aid powder) but it’s even easier (and loads healthier) to just use fruit juice concentrate (undiluted).  Crush your ice in the blender or let the kids pound it in a big ziplock baggie covered with a dish towel.  Then scoop it into cups or dishes and just drizzle your syrup of choice and serve!

80.  Go see a pageant (a historic play) or other outdoor show.

81.  Better yet, sign up to be part of one!

82.  Have a puzzle marathon.  Pick out a big, challenging puzzle and clear a spot at the table.   Get some snacks, arrange a great soundtrack and sit and chat and eat and work on it together as a family until it’s done.

83.  Help the kids run a popsicle or lemonade stand.  Decide on a great goal for the earnings, whether it will be donated to charity like a local animal shelter, used for some fabulous family fun or applied towards a treat the kids have been yearning for.

84.  Find an outdoor concert to attend together.

85.  Make a date with one of the kids for a daybreak breakfast together.  Get some tasty treats for the occasion like a thermos of chocolate milk and some blueberry muffins and wake your child just in time to find a cozy spot to watch the sunrise and enjoy your special breakfast.  Then, if you get so lucky, you can go back to bed!

86.  Scatter wildflower seeds in dull places.

87.  Make up a bunch of wonderful pictures and bring them to decorate doors and walls at a retirement home.  Go door to door offering them to residents and make people’s day (and let your kids get delightfully fawned over!).

88.  Make moth paint!  From a very old issue of the Magical Childhood newsletter:

Did you know there are more than 10,000 species of moths?  For an interesting nocturnal adventure, mix up a batch of this goo and trek outside after dark to see how many you can spot.  Mix two over-ripe bananas, 4 tablespoons of sugar and 1 cup of apple juice and paint it onto several tree trunks.  After dark, head out with the kiddos and a flashlight to see if any moths have come to dine.  Their eyes will reflect the light and they will often stay and munch despite you, so you get a chance to identify different kinds and get an up-close look at the little creatures.  Some people mix up very elaborate concoctions, often involving beer and molasses, while others say that just smearing a mashed watermelon will do the job.  Still, warm, moist nights are supposed to work best.  Happy hunting!

89. Look for shooting stars.  This time of the year the sky is filled with them. 

 

90. Make art for lunch.  Spread a tortilla with cream cheese or almond butter and then give kids an assortment of colorful fruits, veggies and other healthy foods to make their own mosaic picture.  You can cut things like green and red peppers into strips, halve cherry tomatoes and grapes, slice olives and cheese, etc.  Take a picture before they eat their creations!

91.  Visit a farmers’ market.  Pick out some fresh, local foods and take the time to chat with the vendors.  You’ll find good deals, get good food and help the community.  You can often find fabulous other finds too, from homemade soaps to fresh cookies to jewelry.

92.  Take up a new sport.  We picked up some badminton rackets and birdies at a garage sale last week and our whole family has been having a blast playing badminton every day since then.  We rigged up a net using a hammock and bamboo stakes in the back yard.  Whether it’s tennis or t-ball, find a new way to play outside.

93.  Find a children’s book that’s set in your area and read it together.  If you don’t know of any, ask your local librarian or do a google search.  We’re in the area of On the Banks of Plum Creek here and we have friends who recently discovered that their cabin is near the fictional site of My Side of the Mountain.  Do a little sleuthing and find some story to visit where you can feel that added kinship to the characters.

94.  Explore a local historic site.  Jesse James and the Younger Brothers were in a big shoot-out just up the highway from us and the kids love visiting the site and imagining the battle.  At another site we find Native American artifacts and imagine how different life was here just a couple of hundred years ago.

95.  Extend the fireworks season by sprinkling pop rocks on cupcakes.  Okay, it’s quite junky but the kids will delight at geting a popping surprise with every bite!

96. Find a good hill and roll down it!

97.  Doll the kids up and do a photo shoot.  Make it as glamorous, funny or theatrical as they like, complete with props.  Help them pose and take a billion pictures.  Or if they prefer, let them doll you up and play fashion photographer for YOU.

98. Make your own puzzle.  Have the kids assemble an old puzzle and when it’s all together, take it outside and spray paint it white.  When it’s dry, give them paints or markers and have them create a new picture for it.  Remind them to try to cover as many of the pieces with the picture as possible to make it easier to assemble.

99. Hand out permanent markers and plain white socks, and let the kids make some fun feet!  Check out these cuties that Victoria made for Alex!

100. Try to conduct your entire family dinner conversation in song.

And with that, chickadees, I’m off to wrestle the laundry and plan some sort of marvelously messy art project.  Have a wonderful week!

10 Ways to Make Today Magical

Look who’s joined our family!  We adopted Layla, a three year-old collie, from a shelter last week.  She’s absolutely wonderful, very well trained, and super loving and loyal.

Things are busy and mostly wonderful here.  Fiona will turn 6 months old in a little over a week, and in a month Jack will turn 9, Alex will turn 5 and Victoria will turn 14 (Anna is the only child not celebrating in the next month!). 

I’m working on getting back to more regular blogging and catching up in every other thing I’m perpetually behind in.  We’ll see how it goes!

Here’s a few ways to make a little magic this week.

1.  Go rock hunting together.  Pick any spot with lots of stones and look for ones that are particularly beautiful, sparkly or cute.  Compare rocks when you’re done and pick a few to bring home.

2.  Make a garden sculpture.  Scavenge at the garage or basement for assorted odd parts that nobody wants.  Add some wire, electrical tape or anything else you fancy to hold your parts together and have the kids create something wild and wonderful.

3.  Gather up old, stale spices and let the kids take them outside to “cook” with.  Save empty containers to fill with sand, dirt or crushed leaves.  Give them a couple of bowls to mix their creations in and spoons to stir.

4.  Go puddle stomping.

5.  Go for a bird walk to see how many different birds you can find and ID.  Bring a bird guide if you like or start a journal to document how many kinds you’ve spotted.

6.  Fill some squirt guns or spray bottles with water and have the kids spray designs on the side of the house or the driveway.  Invite them to draw pictures with the water and see if they can write their names.

7.  Lie on your backs in the grass and cloud watch.

8.  Hold a carnival in the back yard.  Rig up some easy contests (knock over pop bottles with bean bags, toss the ball into the bucket and so on) and get extra toys or stuffed animals that can be passed on.  Invite friends and ask them to contribute their own games and prizes.

9.  Make up your own super heroes and super villains and act out a scene together.  Our girls were Butterfly Girl and Fashion Queen once when they were little and they attacked the Evil Messy Haired Daddy.  (Snort)  The campier the better!

10. Visit an ethnic grocery store together and find some new goodies to sample and collect.

And with that, I’m off to tackle the next 20 things on my to-do list and sneak a bit of chocolate.  Have a magical week!

10 Ways to Make Today Magical

Fiona at 5 months ~ Photo by Toria Bayer

Happy Monday!

Here’s a few ways to make some memories with your kiddos this week…

1.  Celebrate Pi Day with the kids on Wednesday (3-14).  Here’s some fun ways to celebrate this math-themed holiday (including the directions to the paper plate jumping game below).  Here’s a few pictures of ways we’ve celebrated in previous years.

       

And here’s a cute way to remember Pi to 7 places:

How I wish I could calculate Pi…

3.141592 (the number of letters in each word corresponds to that number)

2. Get out paint pens or permanent markers and let your child decorate an old pair of shoes or rain boots.

3. Start a “Mom and me” (or Dad or Grandma and me!) scrapbook. Find or make a blank book. Do some pages every week together about the two of you. For instance, write notes to each other (be sure to date them!) or find a picture of yourself at your child’s age and make side by side pages comparing yourselves. At age 8, what were each of your favorite books, hobbies, colors, friends, wishes?

4. Head outside and make bunches of magic wands or altered sticks.  Just find sticks and peel, carve, paint and/or otherwise personalize them until they feel right. 

   

5. Send or deliver a box full of balloons to a child you love.  Fill each balloon with a little love note, joke, dollar or other treat.  She’s Crafty came up with the idea to send her nephew 20 $1 bills in balloons for his birthday, but I also think it would be great fun with other things besides just cash, and to do it “just because” for a child (or two or three!) who could use a fun surprise.

6. Find a park you’ve never been to and go play together.  Bring friends, if possible!

7. Find something junky in the house and let your child alter it. One of the advantages of having old, unloveable furniture or belongings is that you have nothing to lose with this sort of project!  Let kiddos use paint pens on the old wooden chair in the basement or permanent markers on the inside of a beat up dresser (make sure it doesn’t come off on clothes though!). I once took a gold paint pen to a really boring computer monitor and covered it with swirls and polka dots. You can even designate an old T-shirt for altering.

8. Leave some leprechaun prints all around the house!  Tutus and Tantrums used a Barbie shoe and washable paint to leave these fun little prints!

9. Have the kids put on oversized t-shirts and stuff pillows inside so they can sumo wrestle.  Thanks to a reader at All for the Boys for the fun idea!

10. Hide a dozen little notes that say “Mama loves you” in unexpected places.  And perhaps a couple that say things like, “Watch out for the chicken behind you” and random gibberish.  I find that a little ridiculous silliness on Mama’s part keeps kids on their toes! 

And with that, my pretties, I’m off to look for that really big ream of newspaper end paper that I stashed away just for a dreary day like today. 

Have a magical week!

 

10 Ways to Make Today Magical

Happy Tuesday!

My deepest apologies for being so lackadaisical about posting lately!  Having five children of such varying ages does keep me busy!  It’s (mostly!) the best kind of busy though! 

Here’s a few ways to add a little magic to your adventures this week…

1.  Do some Pinterest-inspired art together.  I have a Pinterest board just of drawing and altered book ideas, and Annalee and I scrolled through it and tried out lots of the ideas together the other night.  It was a fun way to learn some new doodling techniques and we sat and chatted as we drew.

2.  Head to a thrift store and splurge on a prom dress or bridesmaid’s dress for dress up.  They’re $7 each at a store near us, and it’s the most magical way I know to make a certain couple of girls happy…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.  Got snow?  Make some targets for snowball target practice, like Playful Learning did!  No snow?  Get creative with balls, water balloons or even mud balls! 

4.  Give each other fancy pedicures.  These teal and black polka dotted beauties are courtesy of 8 year-old Jack.  

(Side note: Every week for my prenatal visit with Fiona, my doctor would look to see what kind of a pedicure I had for that visit, since my kids were so fond of giving me crazy paint jobs and they always made her smile.)

5.  Start hosting a Saturday night movie night with friends.  Don’t forget the munchies!

"As you wish...."

6.  Do some melted crayon art.  Line a warming tray or electric griddle with tinfoil and then place a sheet of paper on it.  Let kids draw on the paper with crayons, pressing down and drawing slowly so the crayons will melt into vibrant, waxy pools as they draw.  You can use mittens to help protect little ones from getting burned, but close supervision and cautions about the heat are the best protection.  We turn the heat to around 200 for little ones and 250 for older kids (and more satisfying results). 

No griddle?  Use a couple of cookie sheets warmed in the oven and just rotate them as they cool off.

7.  Let the kids do something crazy with their hair.  Go for temporary colorful hair spray, glitter or even go all out like our brave friend Jessie (with Jack and Fiona) and her even braver mum Tiffany, who’s shaving her hair off to raise money for cancer research (you can donate here to help!).

Here’s Tiffany before with her beautiful hair (and my beautiful babe).  At least it grows back quickly, huh?! 

8.  Bake a cake together and let your child decorate it, either for his/her birthday or just because!

9.  Make a bird seed work of art in the front yard.  Head to Family Fun for more details.

10.  Decorate some rocks with lovely little painted hearts like Color Me Katie and leave them around the world to brighten people’s days!

And with that, I’m off to tackle 87 things on my to-do list and chase small children with noisy kisses. 

Have a magical week!

 

 

10 Ways to Make Today Magical

Happy Friday!  I’m so out of order and behind in posts that I thought it would be fun to do a Friday list of ways to make a little magic.

Here’s ten ways to make some fun memories this week….

1.  Do some eyebombing!  You’ve heard of yarnbombing and seedbombing, well now there’s eyebombing!  Head into the world with your kiddos and some wiggly eyes and see what inanimate objects you can add some whimsy to.  Just looking at their gallery is sure to bring a smile!

2.  Write up a list of 50 reasons you love your child and slip it somewhere to be found later. 

3.  Bake a cake from scratch together and then decorate it outlandishly.

4. Got snow?  Do something wacky with it like fill the yard with tiny snowmen like these from Urban Debris.

No snow?  Make your own!

5.  Start a new tradition of setting the table with a theme once a week.  Years ago, I worked as a banquet server at a Marriott resort and we frequently set up rooms with decorating themes.  Some of the common table themes were beach (bright colored napkins, sea shells, leis, etc.) and hoedown (red and white checkered napkins, old fashioned lanterns, silverware in a weathered wood box…).  We also used mirrors, flowers and lots of creative props to just make the tables look opulent.  Add some fancy napkin folds and dinner is transformed!

6. Print out a bunch of wacky mustaches (PDF file) and do all different fun things with them.

7.  Grab a pair of beat up shoes and all sorts of fun crafty materials like spray paint, fake jewels, glitter, modge podge, stickers, anything and make some fabulous new pretties!

8.  Make some sandwich art in the style of famous artists.

9.  Give the kids an assortment of things to take apart.  Broken toys, old radios and other household items become fascinating experiments when kids are armed with simple tools like screwdrivers and allowed to see how they work.  Just be sure to avoid computer monitors, TVs and smoke detectors because of serious risks and be sure they’re not plugged in.  See this article for safety precautions and how to do this on a larger scale.

10.  Play family Minute To Win It.  Here’s some fun ideas to try and here are some more.  Make your own up, too!

This week, my two oldest girls are off on adventures.  Victoria is in New York City as a mother’s helper for a friend, and Anna is in Minneapolis with some wonderful family friends.  It’s fun having “just” the three youngest kids and seeing how our days are different. 

I’m planning on taking Jack and Fiona down to Nebraska to visit with our fabulous friend Tiffany and family tomorrow, too, so Daryl and Alex will be on their own for a few days. 

It will be great having our assorted adventures, but I’m also looking forward to being all together again!  I’m acutely aware of how few years are left before some of my chickadees are flying the nest, and I want to make the most of these days together. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

10 Ways to Make Today (and New Year’s Eve) Magical

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, Solstice, Hanukkah or whatever your family celebrates.

Here’s some ways to make a little magic this week, especially for the new year.

1.  Make nature confetti.  Let kids duplicate the fun of tossing confetti without the mess to clean up– and help birds and squirrels at the same time.  In a large bowl, mix up bird seed, dried corn, crumpled leaves, small dried fruits, flower petals and/or any other natural materials you have on hand.  Take the bowl outside and encourage the kids to toss handfuls up in the air.  They can shout happy new year, offer up wishes for loved ones and so on as they toss.

2.  Use sand molds to make a really whimsical supper.  Wash them really well and then use them to make mashed potato castles (make it thick, oil the mold, pack it in and then very gently unmold), sea creature ice cream shapes (soften ice cream and spoon into molds, freeze and gently unmold by dipping the mold side quickly in hot water) and so on.  You can decorate the creations with fancy toothpicks, blueberry eyes, peas and carrots, you name it.

3.  Be detectives.  Take the kids to any public place and concoct a story together of what occurred there.  The kids can use clues as small as footprints or litter to figure out what kind of people (or animals) were there and what they might have been doing.  Invent the rest of the story together and weave an exciting tale based on the clues left behind.

4.  Make ice ornaments and hang them outside.  Fill small dishes with colored water and small natural items, along with a loop of yarn.  Freeze outside overnight, then dip in warm water for a moment to pop out of their containers.  Hang on low bushes and trees.

5.  If you have snow in your area, get the kids wondering what kind of visitors have been poking about!  Use carpet remnant, large pieces of cardboard or other scrap materials to make some giant beast prints.  Cut them out (an exacto knife works well) and then poke two holes in each to tie them onto a pair of shoes.  Now go stomp around in the snow while the kids are sleeping or away, and really get them wondering!

6.  Go sledding or ice skating in the kitchen!  Pull little ones around on towels, or have them put on socks and slip around the floor.  Older kids can pull the little ones and accidentally get some exercise in at the same time!  If you’re brave enough, give them a bucket of warm soapy water and have them “mop” the floor with their stocking feet.  My girls used to love to do this, though it can get pretty wet!

7.  Spend an ordinary day in ball gowns, fancy clothes or costume.  Go someplace if possible!

8.  Have your child use magic markers or fabric pens to alter a pair of old white tennies.  Slip a bell onto each shoelace so she can jingle when she walks.

9.  Take a white crayon and write some fun and simple activities on random squares of a 2012 calendar.  Each day, let your child color the day’s calendar square with a marker to reveal any secret messages (the crayon writing will appear like magic).  Some fun ideas for messages are Go on a picnic, I love you, Smile!, Wear purple day, Cake for breakfast and 100 Kisses day.

10. Gather a few branches in a pot or heavy vase.  Give the kids strips of ribbon, small pieces of paper with a hole punched for hanging, and a pen.  Ask them to write wishes, prayers or blessings for themselves and loved ones for the coming year.  Tie the wishes to the branches.  Kids can decorate their blessing tree throughout the year to match the season.  At the end of the year, give them another color of paper to write out thanks and record accomplishments.  The papers can be saved in a small container or scrapbook.

And with that, I’m going off to start on the ceremonial New Year’s Week laundry pile.   

Have a magical week!

 

10 Ways to Make Today Magical… Holiday Style

Happy Holidays!  I’m snatching a list of ways to make the day magical that I put in the Magical Childhood newsletter back in 2002!  It helps to have done this for so long and be able to steal from myself when life gets hectic.   

I know that people celebrate all different wonderful holidays this time of year so some of these might not apply to your family, but I hope that you find something that does!

1.  Camp out under the Christmas tree overnight.

2.  Give each child a small amount of money and go shopping for the food shelf.  Let them choose what they buy, reminding them to look for stuff they’d want to eat but also that they can get a lot more by buying inexpensive items.  Go together to the food shelf or drop off spot.

3.  Go for a drive to see holiday lights.  Better yet, park and walk.

4.  See if your church or neighborhood groups are going Christmas caroling, or put together your own group and visit a few neighbors.

5.  Make gingerbread people.

6. Take in a concert at a nearby school or community center.

7.  Dress up in holiday colors and/or fancy clothes for everyday stuff.  Add curling ribbon to the kids’ hair (and yours!), wear necklaces made from small ornaments, and generally dress to the nines.

8.  Make time regularly through the season to turn off all the noise, gather with the kids and read scripture or stories that move you, say prayers or concentrate on your spirituality in a meaningful way.

9.  Have a red and green meal.

10. Forget about all the “gottas” and live the season through children’s eyes again.  Drink egg nog, sing along badly to carols, sit in the dark and watch the tree, get something flashy for the yard or the door, wear one red and one green sock, tell absolutely everybody “Happy holidays” when you’re out, smile extra, buy yourself a present, make crafts with the kids, play in the snow (or in the sprinkler), light candles, give donations, look at the stars, dance in the kitchen, be goofy with the kids, wink at Santa, say thank you, watch Rudolph, slow down, and enjoy the beauty and the holiness of this amazing world.

And with that, chickadees, I’m off to do my best to make things merry. 

Have a magical week!

 

10 Ways to Make Today Magical

Happy Tuesday!

Sorry I’ve been a little MIA lately.  Something about the 5th child has me a little stretched thin these days!  I’m getting back into my groove though and am loving all the things that are keeping me busy. 

Here’s some ways to find a little magic this week…

1.  String cranberries, popcorn and other edible goodies on trees outside for the birds and squirrels.  Be sure to put them near a window where you all can watch them being enjoyed!

2.  Got any mismatched mittens?  Make some little snowfolks!  You can use odds and ends if you don’t have all of the supplies (a little rubber ball could become the head, for instance).

3.  Make billions of paper snowflakes and decorate the house with them!

4.  Get out the sleeping bags and sleep under the Christmas tree with the kids.

5.  Have an inside snowball fight!  Crumple up oodles of paper from the recycling bin and give each player a laundry basket full.  Find some good launching spots (behind the couch, behind a table…) and commence flinging! 

6.  Make an Angry Bird style challenge.  Stack up anything light (paper cups, egg cartons, cardboard blocks…) in all different shapes and then make a simple catapult to launch soft objects at it.  We used egg cartons that we had stockpiled for a friend with chickens, along with a big serving spoon propped over a small can for a launcher.  The kids put soft balls in the spoon, pounded on the other end, and watched the ball fly at the target!  They made all sorts of elaborate towers to crash down and had such fun!

7.  Turn a big box into a playhouse.  Check out this one from Life as a Thrifter.  She even mounted a dollar store mirror inside!

8.  Deliver cookies or homemade candies to your local fire fighters, police station or other community helpers.

9.  Compliment each other, balloon style!  Pick someone in the room to focus on and toss a balloon up in the air.  Everybody else has to keep bopping the balloon up and keep it from hitting the ground.  You can’t bop it without calling out something fabulous about your subject though!  Think quick! See how long you can keep it up (and how many wonderful things people can think up about each other!).

10.  Have some Mr. Blue fun, like Color Me Katie. 

Have a magical week!  Don’t forget to take care of you!

 

 

 

10 Ways to Make Today Magical

Happy Monday!

I hope everything is going wonderfully in your neck of the woods. 

Things are pretty good here.  Fiona turned 6 weeks old today and she’s growing like crazy.  We all have fun getting her to smile and taking turns cuddling her.  The older kids have all been busy with new friends, old friends, out of town visits, crafts, reading, learning and keeping their dad and I on our toes. 

Here’s a few ways to make a little magic with your kiddos this week…

1.  Have a Pinterest week challenge.  If you’re on Pinterest, you know that there are always oodles of fun crafts, recipes and projects to pin.  The problem is that it’s easy to spend all of your time pinning and no time actually doing the crafts, recipes and projects!  Last week, I challenged myself to do at least one “pin” every day.  So far, I’ve discovered a half dozen new recipes that are keepers, played fun art games with my kids and found some printables the kids really liked.  (Here’s my boards, where you’re likely to find lots of things I’ve pinned to include in 10 ways to make the day magical lists!)

2.  Give the kids some paint pens and let them alter some of your spice bottles with magical or crazy names.  Basil can become fairy grass or peppercorns can become eye of newt.  Let the kids’ imaginations run wild!  We did this a few years ago and it was so fun to open the cupboards and find our renamed containers! 

(I searched all over for some pictures I had of ours from way back and couldn’t find them.  I guess it’s a sign we need to do it again!)

3.  Leave elf footprints around the house.  Cut tiny, pointed shoe prints out of a piece of sponge and dip them in a plate of flour or a bowl of homemade mud (depending on your floor surface!).  Stamp a trail in some random places around the house– up on a windowsill, over by the children’s toys, leading to the fridge… all the places an elf would visit.

4.  Gather up some unwanted Barbies (or pick some up for next to nothing at a thrift store) and have a Project Runway or Lady Gaga fashion challenge with them.  Do crazy hairstyles, make the wackiest clothes imaginable and so on. 

5.  Make some favorite nursery rhymes or songs into Mad Libs, such as:

Hey diddle diddle, the (animal) and the (musical instrument)
The (farm animal) jumped over the (noun)
The (adjective) (noun) (verb, past tense)
To see such (noun)
And the (noun) ran away with the (noun) 

Older kids?  Turn some modern rock or pop songs into mad libs and then make a video of the kids singing the new versions!

6.  Give your kids laundry basket rides in the kitchen or down the hallway.  Put a pillow in the bottom, plop a child in and then push, pull and spin it around to your little one’s delight.  You can thread a jumprope or scarf through some holes or the handle to make it easier to pull.  Kids can give each other rides too (and the pulling is great exercise to expend some of that extra energy!).

7.  Make a cave!  Lagniappe Academy has more info on this fun and simple idea.

8.  Have the kids draw with markers or crayons just using their feet.  It may help to tape down the paper on the floor.

9.  Tape a length of ribbon at net level, blow up a balloon, and have a family game of volleyball inside.

10. Mix washable tempera paint with a little dish soap and paint winter or holiday scenes on the windows.  For little ones, cut sponges into holiday shapes like trees, ornaments, dreidels and bells and let them stamp the paint on.  It’ll wash right off with water and a sponge later.  To make clean-up easier, you can decorate the outside of the windows, though it won’t be waterproof, of course. 

*****

And with that, I’m off to tackle a to-do list longer than my leg (though truth be told, I’m really short so that’s not saying a lot). 

Have a magical week!