52 Creative Ideas to Entertain Young Kids

Throughout my years of blogging I have received several e-mails from parents asking what kinds of low cost activities they can do with young kids. 

While there are several ideas online, I have gathered up 52 of my favorite ideas.

That's right! 52 ideas!

That's one for every week of the year. Or do one a day for 52 days. All of these ideas are low cost and many of them may not cost you anything at all. They are simple enough for younger kids however, older kids may enjoy them as well.

 

Dancing Oobleck via Housing a Forest

 

Raised Salt Painting via One Perfect Day

 

Digging for Bugs in the 'Mud' via I Can Teach My Child

 

Melted Crayon on Wood via The Artful Parent

 

Finger Leg Puppets via Picklebums

 

Balloon Bongos via minieco.co.uk

 

Jellyfish in a Bottle via Bhoomplay's Blog

 

PVC Bow & Arrow via Skip to my Lou

 

Cardboard village via Adventures in Pink Sugar Land

 

Make Your Own Dinosaur Eggs via Play Create Explore

 

Tornado in a Bottle via In Lieu of Preschool

 

Cup Races via Almost Unschoolers

 

Marshmallow Shooters via Come Together Kids

 

Rainbow Painted Toast via Share and Remember

 

Blow bubbles when It's below freezing via Science Made Fun

 

Build a Mud Pond via Stay at Home Educator

 

Paint the Snow via Nothing if not Intentional

 

Make play food using sponges via One Perfect Day

 

Send a Hug via Paging Supermom

 

Make a felt board via The Busy Budgeting Mama

 

Edible Candy Necklace via Blondie and Brownies

 

Melt crayons on hot rocks via Eighteen 25

Masking Tape Car Track 

{If you know who this photo belongs to please let me know so that I can give credit}

Decorate Marshmallows via Color me Katie

Make water balloon pinata's via Scrap Happy Heather

Make a cave of stars via Play at Home Mom

Make your own bath toys via Martha Stewart

 

Set up a 'toy' wash via Learning to Play and Playing to Learn

 

Turn your bathtub into a boat via Bath Activities for Kids

 

Outdoor Xylophone via Child Central Station

 

Making Mud Pies vie The Write Start

 

Create a water maze via Shja

 

Make a pin wheel via Domestically Speaking



Disappearing Egg Shell via See Jamie Teach.



Safety Pin Bracelet via Alpha Mom

Felted Finger Puppets via Whip Up

Dream Catcher via 4 Crazy Kings

Giant Squid via Whatever

 Bubble Snakes via Come Together Kids



Cardboard Guitars via Make It and Love It

Love Monsters (Could make any time. Not just valentines Day) via Eighteen25

Rolling Surf Toy via Pi'ikea

Play doctor with pretend band aids via Pink and Green Mama

Photo Bookmarks via Come Together Kids

Toddler Spray Paint via Sun Hats & Wellie Boots.


 
Cloud Dough via Juggling With Kids 

Drive in Movie via Not Just a Houswife 

 Paper Destruction via Creative with Kids


 
Dry Erase Coloring (quiet) Book via  Icandy Handmade


 
DIY Sidewalk Paint via All Things Simple 

Let your child glue their head to magazine pages vie Lightning in a bottle

Play superhero via The Southern Institute

Celebrating Easter with Science

How are you celebrating Easter in your classroom? 

Today I am highlighting 6 fun egg and Peep related science experiments.

 

Playing with Ice Eggs via Bath Activities

 

Dissolving Peeps Experiment via Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

 

Volcano Easter Egg Experiment via Housing A Forest

 

How Long Does It Take To Boil An Egg? via A Mom With A Lesson Plan

Walking On Eggs via Steve Spangler Science

Microwaved Peep Experiment via Mom To 2 Posh Lil Divas

Fine Motor Skills

Here is a simple idea. Take apart a flash light and ask your child to put it back together. Not only does it require fine motor skills, in also encourages problem solving. 

For several other ideas to develop fine motor skills check out this post.

Fine Motor Skills

Help your kids love the outdoors with an outdoor play area

The temps here have been in the 70's! Hubby and I have been spending a lot of time outdoors trying to get some projects finished before it gets too hot. I have set up a few fun activities in our yard for the girls to entertain themselves while hubby and I work. I will be taking photos and sharing these activities with you later on. For now I would like to share some inspiration for you so that you can set up your own activities to get the kiddos outside and away from the TV.

 

This sandbox has built in seats that actually fold down to form a lid. 

This fun Pool Noodle Game would only cost a few dollars to make and would provide tons of fun for the whole family.

 

This photo was actually taken at a children's museum so there is no tutorial. However, with a little imagination and a lot of rope it would be easy to make your own.

 

Set up a twister game in your front yard! So much fun and would only take a few minutes to set up. 

 

This "car wash" was made from PVC pipe and cost less than $30. What a perfect way to spend a hot summer day.

What about you? What kinds of outdoor activities do you have set up for your kids?

Encouraging Kids to READ

Truth is, I don't really have to encourage my girls to read. They are both natural born readers. However, I have come up with a few ideas to make reading more fun for them.

• Talk about the pictures in the book. Don't just read the words, talk with your child about what is going on in the book. Point to pictures and ask your child to name an object or tell you what is happening in the illustration.I often ask my girls what they think will happen next before turning the page.

• Use your voice. Don't read in a monotone voice. If the character in the book is really excited, raise your voice and get excited too. If the character is sad, start sniffling and rub your eyes as though you are crying while you read. This will give kids a real sense of what is happening in the story and keep them more engaged.

• Reading Buddies. I tossed a couple stuffed animals into a basket and explained to the kids that these were reading buddies. They can grab one out whenever they want someone to read to

• Reading Goggles. Give your kids some pipe cleaners and let them make their own reading goggles. 

• Do crafts related to the book. Once you are finished reading, think of something creative to make that will go along with the book. If you can't think of anything try doing a search online. There are TONS of ideas.

What about you? Do you do anything special with your kids to encourage them to read?

Shoe Tying Practice {Free Printable}

I have been meaning to teach my girls how to tie their shoes for some time now. Unfortunately they don't have any real shoes to practice with. It just always seemed easier to buy Velcro or slip-on shoes.

I remembered one of my local libraries having a cardboard shoe with laces for the kids to practice on. I decided to recreate my own so that my kids could practice at home.


Directions:

• Cut out the shoe in the download provided below.
• Using a hole punch, punch out the holes in each of the flaps.
• Fold the flaps toward the center of the shoe.
• Lace with shoe laces or ribbon.

Tips:

• To make the shoe sturdier you can print on heavy card stock or laminate it
• Make it more personal by letting the kids decorate the their own shoe. 

Shoelace Tying Practice - View & Print

 

Fine Motor Skills - Spring Tracing Sheets

Help your little ones celebrate Spring while developing their fine motor skills with these fun tracing sheets.

 

Butterfly - View & Print

 

Lady Bug  - View & Print

 

Rain - View & Print

Crystal Shamrocks

Just wanted to share a simple St. Patrick's Day craft that the girls and I did.

Materials:
Green Pipe Cleaners
String
Craft Stick or Pencil
Borax
Water
Jars or Glasses

 Begin boiling your water. While you are waiting for your water to boil, bend your pipe cleaners into shamrock shapes. Tie a string to the top of the shamrock and tie a pencil to the other end of the string. Your sting will need to be long enough to hang the shamrock in the glass but not so long that it touches the bottom.

Pour boiling water into your jars and add 1/4 cup of borax to each jar. Stir until all of the borax has dissolved. Place your shamrocks into the solution resting the pencil on top of the jar. Your shamrocks should be completely submerged. If they are not then just add more water until they are.

Now is all you have to do is wait. I think it took about 3 hours before we started seeing any changes. After about 12 hours I took the shamrocks out and placed them on a paper towel and left them overnight to dry.

St. Patrick's Day Rainbow Craft

Check out these fun rainbows that the girls and I made for St. Patrick's Day

I cut a paper plate in half and gave on half to each kid for them to paint rainbows on.

I then cut some construction paper into into strips. Since my youngest still needs help with her colors, I thought this would be a good opportunity for her. I had her sort all of the strips into piles and then we talked about each color.

She also wanted to count the strips which gave me another idea.

I wrote a number (1 through 6) at the top of each strip.

The girls started gluing the rings onto the plate. Starting with the ring that had a number 1, then they linked the number 2 ring onto that and so on.

Be sure to grab this free Clover Tracing Printable for your kids as well.

Tracing Clovers - Free Printable

Need something to keep your little ones entertained this Weekend?

Why not help them develop their fine motor skills with this St. Patrick's Day clover tracing sheet.

Clover - View & Print