Rainbow Crayon Twist Sticks

Despite the fairly decent pictures, this project was pretty close to a craft fail (one of the reasons Pinterest is not always as wonderful as it seems)

 In theory it seemed like a great idea- peel and sort all our crayon stubs into baking cups in a muffin tray, melt in the oven and pour in layers into old glue stick shells.

 I had envisioned nice neat layers of color, but of course as each layer was added, the hot wax melted the layer underneath and they blended together. Also- fully half of the glue sticks broke once the crayon layers were in and I tried to twist them up to use them (the little piece of plastic broke because the hardened crayons were pretty tricky to twist through)

 But it wasn't all bad.  The girls and I had fun sorting the crayon stubs together; the workable sticks are still pretty fun to color with despite the blended colors, and as a little bonus I was reminded of how contagious creative endeavoring is. While I was cleaning our crayon-wax-besmattered kitchen, M began a creative project of her own, gluing baking cups to the wall (it actually looked quite neat- I should have taken a picture)

 Thanks to Infarrantly Creative for inspiring this activity!

Sun Upcycled Crayons

It has always seemed like the oppressively hot Texas summers ought to be good for something or other, and now I've found it- I can use the 100+ degree days to melt down old crayon pieces into fun multicolored crayons. I found the idea on Mama Smiles a while back, and tried it last week (because it's definitely still summer here).
I don't know if it is necessary or not, but I surrounded the little cups of crayons with tin foil and covered the whole thing with plastic wrap. They turned out well, and M had fun checking them every day to see how much they had melted. It took about a week for ours to melt.

Outdoor Play Blog Hop

Non-toy Toys for Babies

Radiator Vent: G loves the sound and feel of running her hands over the vent.Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl: Makes a wonderful long-resonating sound when she plops toys in or bangs with a spoon.
Tin pie plate: Great drum sounds, and mirror effect!
What other non- toys have your babies turned into fun toys?

Fun with Newspaper Inserts

A couple of weeks ago I bought three Sunday newspapers because I knew that the coupons that week were going to be worthwhile. Here are some things M and I did with all those extra glossy ads we had around the house as a result.

Swimming: we spread them all over the playroom floor and pretended we were in a swimming pool of newspapers.Crumpled paper war: we grabbed hand fulls of papers and tossed them at eachother."Falling Leaves:" Using a chair I piled as many papers on top of the ceiling fan as I could and then turned on the fan. M had so much fun standing under the papers that were billowing down that she wanted her little sister to get in on the fun too. At her suggestion, we moved G's bouncy chair under the fan, and we all enjoyed the shower!


It's Playtime!

13 Everyday objects to put in a toddler's busy box

As part of my 15 month-old's daily routine, she spends twenty minutes playing alone on a blanket.

As long as she has something interesting to do there, she is very content to sit quietly (and in fact, she emerges from the time a more peaceful, happier baby than when she began).

The challenge, sometimes, is coming up with interesting things for her to explore each day. We have neither the space, money, nor inclination to keep filling the house with new toys; but I have found that there are everyday household items that can do just as well.

Here are some of the more successful everyday objects turned toddler toys:

1. Spools of thread- good for stacking and placing in and out of a container.

2. Tupperware containers- or old sour cream, yogurt containers, etc. She especially likes putting the lids on and off.

3. Water bottles half- filled with water (with lids tightly screwed on!) she loves to shake them and watch the water splash.

4. Old photographs. We have a lot of extra copies of pictures or prints that didn't turn out as well as we would have liked around the house. My baby LOVES looking at these and pointing out people she knows.

5. Dominoes-They make such a satisfying "clink" when they knock together. Great for stacking.

6. Spoons- especially if there is some sort of container for her to bang them on.

7. Stack of Paper Cups. These are great for nesting.

8. Cassette Tape holders- Fun to open and close and put little things in them.

9. Set of Playing Cards- If you have a deck that is missing a card or two, you could still get some good use out of them by giving them to your baby. My aunt and uncle had a deck like this that they covered with photographs. Whenever they played card games with friends, they would take out their baby's deck so she wouldn't be tempted to grab at the cards in their hands.

10. Measuring Cups- especially the kind that are strung together on a ring.

11. Sweet Potatoes- Truly! There is a definite "creatureliness" to their appearance, which, I guess is the reason my daughter seems to have an affection for them. She treats them like dolls and carries them around the house if I let her.

12. Clothes pins- But if they are the new kind, you might want keep an eye on your baby with them. Mine has a tendency to pinch herself and get upset.

13. Cookie cutters. If you have carpet, these are fun to press into the pile and then "erase" by rubbing at the shapes.

Even with all these options, some days I'm still at a loss for what to give my daughter during blanket time. I would love to hear about the everyday things you've turned into toys!

Dinosaur Birthday Party

Do you have a little boy with a birthday coming up? I have just come across a delightful idea for his party!

How about a dinosaur party with the following activities?

Dinosaur Dig

Save all of your chicken, turkey, and beef bones from dinner for a few months. Boil them so that all of the meat comes off. Then bury them in your sandbox or in an old garden bed. Give the birthday guests buckets and send them off on an archeological dig to find as many bones as they can.

Museum Creations

Let the kids create their own creatures out of the bones they have just found. Give them white modeling clay to hold the bones together. Distribute index cards so they can make placards for their creatures and encourage them to make up names and descriptions. Each guest can take his/her dinosaur home in a shoe box.

Colossal Volcano Eruption

As a climax to your party, make a giant volcano eruption in the sandbox. Ask the kids to make a big mound of sand. Maybe you can have little plastic dinosaurs and trees and such available for them to decorate the scene. In the middle of the mound, bury all but the top of a clean frozen juice can containing 1/4 cup baking soda. In another can mix 1 cup water with 2/3 cup vinegar, 1/3 cup diswashing liquid and a few drops of red food dye. When the kids are all paying attention, pour the vinegar mixture into the volcano and enjoy the foamy eruption!


(It's probably worth noting on the invitations that guests should arrive in play clothes that they don't mind getting dirty)

This idea for a party is from Prime Time Together with Kids by Donna Erikson

Scarecrow from an old mop

Here is a fun use for a mop or broom that has reached retirement age. Let your kids build a scarecrow out of it for the pumpkin patch or garden in your yard! Here's what you need:

- an old mop, broom, or some sort of long pole
- rags (best if they are pieces of clothing, and a pillowcase can work for the head)
- straw (can be cheaply purchased from a local feed store)
- some good strong rubber bands for cinching the waist, neck, wrists, and ankles. (twine would work too, but it's a little more work)

He may not be as pretty as the scarecrows in the windows at JoAnns or Michael's these days, but your kids will think he's great especially if they do all the work themselves!

The Run-and-Jump Couch

Do you have an old couch that has seen better days? Before you send it to the garbage dump, I have a suggestion for you. Some of the most fun my brother, sister, and I had at home was with such a couch. My parents delayed getting rid of it for about a week while we turned it into a fun machine.

Our favorite thing to do was to take all of the cushions off and scatter them behind the couch. We would then all line up on the opposite wall and charge at the couch all together, taking a flying leap at its back. The couch would catapult backward with us on it and we would go rolling onto the cushions.

Rough? Noisy? Maybe a smidge dangerous? (in the way of bruises and bumps and such) Yes- but really, REALLY fun! We couldn't wait until our parents had another couch they wanted to get rid of, and sure enough- when they did, we had another grand old time. We even invited friends over to jump on the couch

Works for Me Wednesday: This post is part of the carnival at Rocksinmydryer.com

Rotten Tomato Fights

If you have some tomatoes in your garden that somehow got overlooked and are now past their prime, don't let them go to waste. (the compost pile is another idea, but not nearly as much fun)