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.