Pumpkin Pounding!

It’s that time of year again. For like 20 years (yes, I am getting old!) I’ve been telling you to do pumpkin pounding!

Here’s what I told you back in 2009. I swear I was 20 at the time. 😉

It’s that time of year again, and few things are as fun as pounding pumpkins.  Gather up some golf tees and a mallet (or a hammer and nails for older kids), and let each child pound the tees into a pumpkin.  Push the tees or nails in a bit to get them started, so the kids don’t have to hold them and risk pounding fingers (you can also hold them in place with a clothespin instead of fingers).  They can do patterns or just pound randomly.  This is a fabulously satisfying sensory integration activity for toddlers to teens.  It’s silly fun! 

And another time…

Poke, pound, pester and pulverize your leftover pumpkins!  Have you tried this yet?  I’ve been telling you to do it for years and it’s such outrageous fun.  Make designs, spell out words, nail pretty leaves in patterns, try pounding different objects in, pull the pegs out and leave cool hole patterns and just pound them… 

Have fun!

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Oodles of Nutcracker Kids’ Crafts!

Miss Fiona and her daddy have a tradition this time of year of watching The Nutcracker and reading picture books about nutcrackers.  Daryl also has a collection of nutcrackers that the kids love to play with.

Last week, Fiona asked me if she could spend her money on a nutcracker for daddy.  The nutcracker in question was overpriced and badly made, so I offered to help her make him a nutcracker instead.  She loved the idea and I was on the hunt for some fun and easy nutcracker crafts.

Here are the best that I found, in case your kiddos would like to make some nutcrackers of their own.

Sophie World has this easy printable nutcracker that kids color and then glue to a toilet paper tube.  Add embellishments like buttons, feathers, pompoms and even a toothpick sword if you like.  It’s a bit tricky to find the PDF — click on “stats” to find it.

Learn Create Love has a printable nutcracker that kids can color and then cut out and assemble.

Playground Park Bench has a rather elaborate Nutcracker and mouse battle tic tac toe game made of clothespins that you can make with the kids.  I’m not sure we need to buy all the parts and do it that fancy, but I’m thinking we could use some clothespins and craft supplies around the house to make our own kid versions.

Schooling a Monkey shows how to make cute little craft stick nutcracker characters.

Crafty Morning uses popsicle sticks, paper and clothespins to make some very cute kid-made nutcrackers.

Glued to My Crafts has a sweet paper plate nutcracker for kids to craft.

Fireflies and Mudpies shows how to make a toy soldier ornament with craft sticks and paint.

And I am in love with these darling nutcracker portraits shared on smArt Class.

She also shared this video to show kids how to draw their own nutcrackers.

 

 

Deviant Art’s CyberDrone has a printable nutcracker cube kids can have fun assembling, too.

Lastly, Mom Junction has an assortment of Nutcracker themed coloring pages to print out for the kids to color.

And with that, I’m off to do a billion nutcracker crafts with a happy little girl.

 

 

10 Ways to Make Today Magical

Happy Monday!

Sorry to be MIA for so long again.  Let’s see if I can do better this month!  🙂 

Here are a few ways to make some memories with your kiddos this week…..

1.  Head outside to enjoy the spring weather for some simple, old fashioned fun together.  Blow bubbles (the photo above is from about 8 years ago when the local paper caught me playing with Jack and Victoria in the front yard).  Fly kites. Toss the frisbee.  There’s a reason those things have lasted so many generations.  They’re just fun!

2. Paint some walking sticks.  Head out to the woods and found some good specimens, and then bring them home and decorate them.

3. Play magic eight ball radio.  This silly game is something my husband and our sixteen year-old, Victoria, came up with on their way to play practice together last month.  All they do is ask the radio a question (How is opening night going to go?  Should the family go to Sioux Falls tomorrow?  How is Alex going to act at the restaurant?) and then press “seek” on the radio.  The first line or sentence that someone says or sings after it finds a station is the answer.  Sometimes they have to press seek a few times to get a proper answer. The answers tend to be pretty funny, and our whole family was laughing when they taught us how to play last week.  🙂

4.  Make some yarn eggs together.  We first did this craft when my Annalee was a preschooler.  She’s now fifteen!  Here are the instructions.

5.  Do some dice drawing!  Here’s a free printable to play this fun art game, or you could make up your own together.

6.  Go for a walk in the rain (or after the rain) and go puddle stomping together.

7.  Make some Ivory soap clouds in the microwave and then paint them.  Here are the easy instructions and the science behind what happens.

8.  Do some chalk art around the house and yard together.  Parents magazine says:

Walk around outside your home with a piece or two of chalk and look for interesting patterns — eyes in knots of wood, oddly shaped cracks in the sidewalk or driveway, a nail hole in the wall — that can be turned into a little picture with a few quick strokes. Let your imagination lead you; chalk isn’t permanent. Take a photo for yourself, then leave your art for someone else to find.

9.  Do a photo shoot together.  Kids of all ages love to pose for photos, and then you can play with filters and photo apps to perfect the shots.  This is also one of my kids’ favorite ways to make memories with each other.  My big kids are always getting the little ones to pose for them.  🙂

Photo by Jack (age 9), edited by Anna (age 12)

Photo of Fiona (age 3) by Anna (age 14)

10.  Make some DIY cardboard box kits!  I absolutely love this idea from Inner Child Fun.  Head over for the easy instructions.

And with that, chickadees, I’m off to try to catch up on the next 150 things I’m behind on!  Have a magical week!

10 Ways to Make Today Magical

Happy Monday!  And happy Labor Day to those in the states, as well!

Here are a few ways to make a little magic with the kiddos this week…..

1.  Go splash in the rain together — or in the puddles after the rain is over.  My 14 year-old Anna took 2 year-old Fiona outside to dance in the rain yesterday and before long she was joined by her big sister Victoria and then Dad and then 11 year-old Jack.  They had a blast before they finally came back in, soaking wet but grinning ear to ear.

2.   Have a cleaning party with the kids.  Dress up in fabulous play dress-up clothes (party hats and/or tiaras are a must!), blast some happy music, grab some fun treats and clean like crazy together.  Set a timer for every 15 minutes to take a break and enjoy some treats together, and concentrate on being as wild and wacky as possible as you clean.  Who says cleaning has to be dull?!

3.  Take part in the Spore Project!  This fun art project involves simply making mushrooms from paper lunch bags to decorate a bit of land someplace.  The creators explain:

The SPORE Project is an awareness program to support creativity and art education by constructing and planting mushrooms made from paper lunch bags.  

Ten of thousands of paper bag mushrooms have been constructed and planted by hundreds of individuals, students and organizations around the world.

As of may 2011, paper bag mushrooms have been planted in every continent of the world.. including Antarctica!

You can learn more on the Spore Project website or their fun Facebook page.

4.  Make colored ice blocks for the bath.  Here’s how we do it.

5.  Go graffiti spotting.  My Anna is a huge graffiti fan and she loves to go places to photograph particularly well done work.  Trains and urban areas are where we’ve found the best stuff.  (This one was a memorial for a young man who died.)

 6.  Make up some batches of play dough with natural dyes.  It’s great fun to experiment to make your own colors.  Here’s our recipe.

7.  Sit down with your kids and make up lists of 10 or 20 things you each love about special people in your lives.  You can write the lists for kids who aren’t writing yet, but keep it in their words and have them add some decorations.  Then mail them out or take a picture to email to each loved one.

8.  Head out with a permanent marker and alter some leaves.  Leave them discreetly in nature where observant passers-by will happen upon them and get a smile.  🙂

9.  Set up some art supplies outside and let the kids make a glorious, artistic mess.

10. Have you microwaved a bar of Ivory soap with the kids yet?  Take it one step further and make colorful soap clouds!  Here’s how we do it, along with the science behind the fun.

And with that, chickadees, I’m getting back to work.  I have lots of updates to share, but they’ll have to wait till slightly later.  I have a broken oven, a (mildly) flooded basement, a recovering boy and the messiest house this side of the Mississippi to deal with. 

I’ll be back soon, but in the meantime — have a magical week!

 

 

 

 

 

Silly Photo Shoots!

Here’s a fun and easy way to make a little magic with your kiddos. 

Have a zany photo shoot! 

We’ve done many of these over the years and it always leads to smiles.

There are some free apps that let you get pretty creative, too.  🙂 

Happy Wednesday!

 

Talk Like a Pirate!

Arrr!  How could I nearly let International Talk Like a Pirate Day slip by without posting about it!  Tsk!

Never fear.  I’ve assembled a few pirate goodies for you to take part with your wee pirates with what’s left of the day.

You can check out the Magical Childhood archives to help your kids choose their pirate names.

You can find sunken treasure at National Geographic education.

You can make Jack Sparrow’s tricorne hat cookies.  Any cookie stuffed with peanut butter cups is a winner in my book!

You can find pirate crafts and activities at DLTK-kids.

You can make quick and easy (adorable!) newspaper swords, bandana pirate skirts and more at alphamom.

You can find activities for junior pirates (even a pirate curriculum!) at talk like a pirate day (the main site is not always child-friendly).

Lastly, you can have fun with the kids translating text (poetry, news items, homework!) into pirate speak at the english to pirate translator.

And for fun for the grown-ups, be sure to change your Facebook language to pirate for the day!

Here’s how:

1. Click the Gear icon at the top of the Facebook page and select Account Settings.
2. The account settings page opens and the language setting is the last one in the list.
3. Click the Edit link next to it. The Choose Primary drop-down list appears.
4. Click the drop-down list and click on Pirate English.

And with that, me hearties, I’m off to t’ play with me sprogs!

Have a swashbucklin’ day!

 

Ten Ways To Make Today Magical

Hello magical people!  I hope everything is wonderful in your corner of the universe.  Here’s a few ways to make some memories with your kids this week.

1.  For September, use a white crayon to write an invisible message or fun activity on each square in the calendar. Each day, let your child color the square with a marker to reveal the secret message.

2.  Tie-dye some clothes with tissue paper and squirt guns.  I first saw this darling craft on Dollar Store Crafts (that’s their versions below!) and loved the versions (and reports on what worked best) at How to… do something.

3.  Have a paper airplane derby. You’ll find free patterns for simple to fancy planes, helicopters, rockets, frisbees and more here.  This is also a fun way to reuse old coloring pages, worksheets, scrapbooking paper and even maps.

4.  Make crab apple cider.  If you’re lucky enough to have access to crab apple trees, you have to try making crab apple cider with the kids!  It’s easy (no apple press required) and the cider is beautiful ruby red and delicious.  We have friends who go to a park near their home every fall to harvest unsprayed crab apples for this stuff since we introduced them to it.  It’s a fun, tasty tradition!

5.  Do bleach pen altering.  Here’s a shirt Victoria did a couple of years ago and here’s how she did it.

6.  Invent a secret handshake or special good-bye.  Some families have special handshakes that mom or dad do with each child every morning before school.  Victoria and I had a long series of signs we went through every night when she went to bed for years.  It’s a special way to start the day or end the night and know you’re loved.

7.  Start making toasts every night at supper.

8.  Have a bake-off for your pup!  The internet is full of fun and easy recipes for dog treats, from sweet potato “rawhide” dog chews to gluten free pumpkin dog cookies to no-bake peanut butter oat balls. You can find assortments of recipes on sites like Dog Treat Recipes too.  Make up an assortment together and have your dogs do a taste test to determine their favorites. 

9.  Have a cleaning party with the kids.  Dress up in fabulous play dress-up clothes (party hats and/or tiaras are a must!), blast some happy music, grab some fun treats and clean like crazy together.  Set a timer for every 15 minutes to take a break and enjoy some treats together, and concentrate on being as wild and wacky as possible as you clean.  Decide on a fun family treat to enjoy together when you’re done. Who says cleaning has to be dull?!

10. See if a city near you has a sculpture walk.  Our family loves to visit Sioux Falls every year to walk the annual “sculpture walk” downtown.  Dozens of artists display their sculpture each year and the city gives out pamphlets that tell a little bit about each piece and let you vote on your favorite.  We all walk the streets together checking out all of the works and deciding which ones we like best.  I just found out that a city even closer to us has an annual sculpture walk too.

And with that, my dears, I’m off to catch up on the other 99 things on my to-do list!  Have a wonderful week and don’t forget to take care of you!

 

10 Ways to Make Today Magical

Happy Monday!  Sorry I’ve gone off for so long again.  I seem to always be behind in everything but my heartbeat.  🙂

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

1.  Plan a silly theme pot luck in the park with friends.  Have the kids agree on a theme (foods that start with B, family heritage recipes, naturally red foods, finger foods, foods on a stick, round foods…) and meet up at the park to enjoy the fun together.

2.  Do art in the rain.  Whether it’s drizzling or full on pouring, gather some sturdy cardstock, watercolor paper, canvas or poster board and art supplies and go out to create in it.  Let the rain help make the art.  Lay the paper flat to see how the raindrops splatter paint and markers as the kids create, or prop it up on an easel to make running paint effects.  Bring it someplace safe to dry and then admire the kids’ artistic collaborations with nature.  No rain?  Use the sprinkler!

3.  Explore a cave.

4.  Make mix-and-match fruit slushies.  Just freeze some fruit (chopped if it’s large, or whole if it’s small like berries) and then blend it in a strong blender with a little water and a bit of sugar to taste.  Let the kids mix and match flavors and colors and then do taste tests to choose favorite combinations.  If you have an ice cream maker you can also make fruit slushies or a soft serve sorbet by pouring in juice instead of your milk mixture.

5.  Decorate some old hats as crazy as you can, and then wear them out in public. 

6.  Clear out a back closet or other out of the way place to become a secret hideaway for your child.  Stock it with flashlights and lots of fun items to decorate it.

7.  Start a family poem wall.  Put up a large piece of paper on a door and put a pen nearby.  Ask every family member to add a word every time he or she passes.  It can be silly or serious.  Save the finished poems in an album or scrapbook.

8.  Make a bubble frenzy somewhere public.  Get lots of bottles of good bubbles and head out someplace where you and the kids can make masses of bubbles to bring smiles to as many faces as possible.  We used to love to do this at a park on a corner where evening traffic was always congested, just to see the smiles break out on grumpy drivers’ faces.

9.  Drape some blankets over a clothesline, tree, tent poles or other props in the back yard and make some impromptu forts.  Stock the insides with some fun books, games, snacks, a flashlight, whatever, and see what fun the kids dream up to have in their new fun space.

10. Go to another town and on the way make up totally different identities for yourselves.  I’ve recommended this one several times over the years, because it’s a family favorite.  🙂  All day, call yourselves by your fake names and play along with your alternate life.  Encourage the kids to really get creative for eavesdroppers. 

And with that, my pretties, I’m off to tackle the next 99 things on my to-do list… or get distracted by something shiny on the internet.  That’s pretty likely too!

Have a magical week!

Our Craft Sheet

Those who have been reading Magical Childhood for a while know that I often recommend sheet painting.  It’s even one of the first crafts I put up on the original Magical Childhood site.

We have been using an old white bed sheet for crafts and sheet painting for over a dozen years now. 

In the summer time, we hang it on the clothes line and the kids use paint to decorate it. 

Sometimes we put it on the ground and they decorate it with their feet. 

Sometimes it’s washable paint, sometimes not. 

The sheet looks different every year and every project. 

In the winter time and on rainy days, the sheet is our art tablecloth.  It doesn’t matter how messy or staining an activity is, because if it stains the craft sheet it just adds more character and another memory. 

I love my craft sheet and it makes me smile every time I spread it on the table or hang it on the line for another round of staining. 

It’s so amazing to look at little one year old Fiona using it now and remembering when her teenage sisters were making those stains. 

You can use any old flat bed sheet for an art cloth or pick one up for a dollar or two from a thrift store. 

I highly recommend starting your own. 

You’ll never find another bunch of stains to make you smile more.  🙂

 

Oodles of Ways to Have Fun With Pumpkins!

Want to have a little pumpkin fun besides the usual jack-o-lanterns? 

Here’s a whole slew of fun ways to decorate and play with these fantastic orange veggies...

Lowe’s suggests using hardware to make all sorts of whimsical, wonderful little pumpkin creations.

Oasis Accents tells how to make glittered pumpkins.

The Magic Onions posted the delightful idea of letting kids pound nails in and then string yarn on their creations.

The Preschool Toolbox made sweet little pumpkin boats.

The Swede Records featured some gorgeous melted crayon pumpkins.

Sweet Paul made this lovely little pumpkin diorama.

Country Living has a whole slideshow of fun ideas, including using stencils, decals, paint with painter’s tape, and more.

And for a few more ideas, check out my round-up of 35 Ways to use pumpkins for crafts, entertaining, education and more.

What’s your favorite way to use pumpkins? 

…Besides in pie, of course!  🙂