Rainsticks

All kids love making noise with musical instruments...I think anyway...I know I do...would...did...anyways this is along the same lines as Jennifer's paper plate tambourines. All you need is a cardboard tube (paper towel roll, toilet paper roll, pringles can.) Block off one end of the tube with some construction paper then pour either rice or pasta in to the tube. Next block off the other end with construction paper. Let your kids decorate the rain stick with crayons or marker, if you really wanted to get fancy you could also use some string and little craft feathers. So think twice before throwing out that next paper towel roll! Fun!

CTR Boy!

As I was looking for some books for our trip to Reno, Carson found this book about a CTR Boy (didn't see one about CTR Girl, but your kids don't have to know that!). Anyways, the book starts with a little boy who did something wrong that his mom had told him many times not to do, so she has an idea to make him a CTR cape and tag to help him remember to Choose the Right and it goes through how it changed his choices during the day. Then at the end she tells him he can be CTR boy even without the cape:). Cute book, easy craft.

Supplies:

Blanket or towel to make a cape (I already had some capes I made for Carson's b-day)

Scissors

Paper

Crayon

Tape

Just write the letters, cut out, and tape onto the cape! Quick and fun! (and by-the-way, Carson thinks he's smiling like the boy in that first picture, thus the silly grin on his face!)

Coffee Table Books . . . Starring Your Kids' Artwork!

I get a daily newsletter from Disney.com with ideas for things to do and I thought this one was brilliant . . .

_________________________________________________

"Mom, look at the flowers I made you," Trevor exclaimed, proudly showing off his latest art project, a vivid drawing of red and yellow tulips. "Can I hang it up on the refrigerator?" he asked.

The picture was lovely, and certainly worth displaying -- but it also was his third artistic creation in less than an hour. My two daughters also were budding artists with a high production rate, and I was quickly running out of refrigerator and wall space to hang their personal Picassos.

Throwing them away simply was not an option. I can still hear the screams from the last time Ally found her drawing in the garbage can.

"How could you throw this aaaawaaaay? I made it for you!" she cried, making me feel like a terrible mother.

To better preserve and display my children's artistic expressions, I made a personalized coffee table art book. First, we chose 40 or so of their best pictures and preserved them by applying a thin layer of Mod Podge, a special craft glue. While the pictures dried, we gave each page a title. I had the kids make a book cover, using sturdy cardboard stock from the scrapbook store, and took turns gluing sequins and jewels to decorate it. Once done, we dated the inside cover page and I had each child sign their name.

When finished, I took all the preserved artwork and covers to a copy shop and had the book bound with a coil binding. The final product looks professional, gives guests a chance to see lots of work while sitting on the sofa, and is easy to store when it's time to make another one.

And it's nice to be able to see the grocery list hanging on the fridge again...

Hairy Apples!!

What you need:

Granny Smith or other "tart" apple(s) ,
Peanut butter,
Coconut
Raisins

How to make Hairy Apples:

Quarter and deseed the apples, spread a layer of peanut butter over the apples sections and sprinkle with small amount of coconut (this makes the "hair") use raisins to create "eyes", "legs" or other "creature decorations" on the apple sections then eat to your hearts content.

Cookie Bouquet

OK, so I was thinking about it and this could actually be something fairly simple to do with the kids and could also double as a service project. My visiting teacher actually dropped this off at my house a few weeks ago and I just thought it was adorable. Basically all you need is an old cup or vase, some pretty rocks, a couple skinny skinny dowels, some cookies, gum drops, green construction paper and a piece of ribbon.

Start by having the kids put the rocks in the cup or vase. Then cut your gum drops in 1/2 and stick it on the dowel. Next poke the cookie on the dowel and the other 1/2 of the gum drop on top to hold the cookie in place. Then cut out some leaf shapes and hole punch a couple of holes for the kids to thread through the dowel. Make a few of those, stick them in the rocks and tie a ribbon around the vase. Then you can have your kids help you to deliver it to your neighbor or someone in your ward who might need their day brightened.

Horray for Puppets!

OK so I could COMPLETELY be out of the loop but last time I checked kids love puppets! Here are two SUPER easy ways to make puppets:

#1. Use old stuffed animals you might have lying around the house that your kids don't really play with anymore and cut a small slit down the bottom seam of the animal. Remove all the stuffing and voila you have a puppet.

#2. If you don't want to destroy any of the toys you already have you can also make puppets out of paper bags. Use the fold/flap part as the mouth. Depending on the age of your kids you could cut out pieces for them to glue on to the bag or just have them draw directly on to the bag.

Be creative with your puppets too, they can be anything or anyone your kids want them to be! Once you have your puppet your kids can have puppet shows behind a counter or a table, whatever you have available. Good times will be had all around...

Play with Static!!!

An age old fun time!!! All you need a balloon! Let them rub it on their heads to make their hair stand up. Also put a balloon next to running water, and see how the water will bend around the balloon and the static electricity! The your kids can always play, "Don't let it touch the floor." This should take up at least an hour of a rainy afternoon!

Leprechaun Traps

I could type all of it out, but I'll leave the link.

http://www.diylife.com/2008/03/07/enchant-your-kids-with-a-leprechaun-trap/

In Addition to Tambourines...

...you can make drums out of oatmeal or raisin canisters. Just glue the lids on them, wrap construction paper around (and glue that), then decorate. We made these, along with tambourines, for Nursery and they were a hit

Paper Plate Tambourines

Supplies:

• paper plates
• markers (and stickers, if desired)
• rice or pasta
• tape

Activity:

Have the kids color on the backside of the paper plates with markers and decorate with stickers. When finished, turn one of the plates right-side up and fill with a small amount of rice or pasta. Position the other plate upside down over the top and tape the edges together. Voila! Happy noise-making for at least 5 minutes!

Playing "School"

One of the best things we've incorporated in our weekday activities is playing "school." I have a 3-year-old and an almost 2-year-old and we spend about 5-minutes each day doing a lesson out of the Primary 1 manual. (This is the book they use at church for Nursery and Sunbeams.) Sometimes, we'll spend several days on the same lesson or we may do a quick lesson on a different topic everyday. I try to find out what they talked about in Beck's class on Sunday so we can review that lesson during the week and talk about the upcoming lesson, as well. The kids LOVE this little activity and actually remind me to do it! We sing songs and look at the pictures relating to the lesson and I think it's brought a wonderful spirit into our home.

You can order just the manual from the Church website, but I recommend springing for the picture packet and CD. Click here for the link. The picture packet has illustrations that go along with all of the lessons. The book, in addition to the lessons, has lots of ideas for activities and games that go along with the topics. The CD includes some really fun stuff, like different kinds of music and an imaginary "Trip to the Zoo" where a narrator instructs the kids to "drive" to the zoo and then spend time walking around and acting like the various animals they would see there. My kids absolutely love this and ask me to play it for them often -- and they really ham it up and get some wiggles out. So, $11.50 sounds a little steep for the whole package, but I think it's completely worth it!

Some of the benefits: I feel like my kids are learning how to be reverent, how to sit in a chair for a lesson and LISTEN, and I am learning more about them and how much they really understand through the questions I ask. And THAT has been rewarding for me.