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Spring 

 

   

Where is Jesus? Magic Watercolor Art As I was thinking of ways to incorporate more Resurrection activities into our week leading up

to Easter, I remembered the “magic” watercolor technique and how simple and easy it is to

use!

I first made it as a craft…but then quickly realized it would be nice to have a printable for busy

families or Bible classes. Feel free to use and share the

printable !

Here’s what you’ll need:

❏ The “Where is Jesus?” Printable on Cardstock

❏ Watercolors

❏ Oil Pastels.

If you don’t have oil pastels, you can use regular crayons, just be sure to press hard and trace

over your writing a few times.

1. Print out the “Where is Jesus?” Printable on

Cardstock. Use a white oil pastel or crayon to write “He has

Risen” on the inside of the tomb.

2. Let your child begin painting the paper with watercolors.

Watch his/her surprise as the watercolor resists the crayon! If your child can read

(or is learning), have him/her read the message aloud.

Marbled Easter Egg Painting These marbled Easter Egg are quick, easy, and make for a pretty

finished product!

Here’s what you’ll need:

❏ paint

❏ shaving cream

❏ craft sticks

❏ cardstock

1. Draw an egg shape on your piece of cardstock.

2. Spray some shaving cream into a shallow bowl.

3. Add your selected colors of paint and swirl it around gently with

a craft stick. I forgot to take a picture of this step…to many little

hands helping. :)

4. Spread the swirled shaving cream onto the cardstock.

5. Scrape it off using the edge of the craft stick.

6. Let it dry.

7. Cut it out and enjoy!

 

   

Outdoor Play = Gross Motor Activity 

One major reason that it is so important for kids to be outside is that playing outside naturally

yields itself to gross motor activity! What kid goes outside and just sits on the sidewalk? No,

kids want to run, jump, skip, throw a ball, swing, go down a

slide…do things that kids are meant to do. And the great things is

that all of these things kids enjoy doing help them to develop

balance and proper muscle tone. Plus, it burns lots and lots of

energy (good news for mothers of boys whoneed to burn this

energy off…maybe that’s why winter is so difficult for us!). Keep

in mind that gross motor development is JUST AS IMPORTANT as

cognitive and language development!

Springtime means there are ample opportunities for gross motor

activity! While the weather is nice, make an effort to spend at

least an hour outside. If you have babies or young toddlers, go

for a walk and get some fresh air. We sometimes have to be a bit

more vigilant when we are outside to ensure the safety of our children, but it is totally worth it!

Meeting friends at the playground is an excellent way to promote socialdevelopment as well. In

my very limited experience, I’ve noticed that rarely will children fight at a playground like they

tend to when toys are involved. I lovemeeting friends at the park because the “bigger” kids can

play while I watch Little Brother like a hawk because he thinks he is a big kid and is a little

daredevil to the core. I’ve noticed that the kids learned how to take turns, help friends up

while crossing a difficult bridge, and include new friends while playing at the park!

So get on outside (weather permitting) and enjoy all the benefits of outdoor play!

 

   

Digging for Bugs in the ‘Mud’ 

Want to encourage your child to dig for bugs in the “mud” without getting muddy (or coming in

contact with real bugs)? This is a fun chocolatey-smelling version of playdough that can double

as mud!

Here’s what you’ll need for the chocolate scented

playdough:

❏ 4 cups flour

❏ 1 cup cocoa

❏ 5 cups water

❏ 2 1/2 cups salt (just about the equivalent of an

entire container)

❏ 3 Tablespoons cream of tartar

❏ 10 tablespoons oil (vegetable or canola)

1. Mix the dry ingredients.

2. Add the water and oil.

3. Stir all the ingredients together and cook over

low-medium heat.

4. Keep stirring (you’ll get your forearm workout for the

day in). The mixture will start to thicken up and pull

together. Keep going a little bit longer until…

…it is no longer sticky when you

squeeze a piece of the mixture

between your fingers.

5. Once it’s no longer sticky, dump it out onto a

clean surface.

6. While still warm (but not hot) knead together until

smooth.

7. Cover with a dishcloth for about 20 minutes and

then place inside a gallon-size plastic bag. Leave the

bag open until there is no longer any condensation.

Press all of the air out of the bag and seal. (Once it

was completely dry, I wrapped it in plastic cling-wrap

first before putting it into the gallon-sized bag since I

wasn’t planning to use it for a few weeks.)

This playdough is also lots of fun for making tracks

with your trucks! :)

Flower Patterning with Lemongrass-Scented Playdough We had lots of fun making and playing with this playdough. And I absolutely love the fresh

scent of the lemongrass essential oil (which I already had on hand from the Natural Mosquito

Spray we made last year)!

There are so many learning-related things

you could do with this playdough (in addition

to just playing with it). We used some fake

flowers (since I refused to cut the tulips in

our yard) to do a little patterning. We also

did a little one-to-one correspondence action

with Little Brother.

Recipe for Lemongrass Playdough:

❏ 2 1/2 cups flour

❏ 1 1/4 cups salt

❏ 1 1/2 Tablespoons Cream of Tartar

❏ 2 1/2 cups water

❏ 5 tablespoons oil

❏ Lemongrass essential oil (I used

about 7 drops)

❏ Green food coloring

1. Mix the dry ingredients first (2.5 cups

flour, 1 1/4 cups salt, 1 1/2 Tablespoons

cream or tartar).

2. Add 2 1/2 cups of water and 5

tablespoons of oil.

3. Get ready to add your green food coloring

and lemongrass essential oil.

4. Stir over low to medium heat.

5. Once it thickens and congregates in the middle of the pan, stir just a tiny bit longer.

6. Throw on the counter and once it is cool enough to touch, knead several times.

7. Cover with a dish towel until it is cool enough

to store in a Ziploc bag.

Now for the pattern play:

If you have a younger child, demonstrate how to

make a pattern for him/her. You might do the

first couple pattern units (what repeats itself) and then let him/her finish.

If your child is older and familiar with patterns, ask him/her to see what different patterns

he/she can come up with!

Number Snake Threading (made with plastic eggs) 

As I was staring down some leftover plastic easter

eggs trying to think of a way to repurpose them, this

project came to mind. A few snips with the scissors

later, the number snake was born!

This was a great activity for Big Brother because it

was great practice in number sequencing and fine

motor control. Getting the ribbon through each hole

in the Easter eggs was challenging without becoming

frustrating.

Here’s what you’ll need:

❏ 12 rounded tops of plastic Easter eggs

(preferably the kind that have two holes at the

top)

❏ scissors (or perhaps a drill)

❏ a piece of ribbon at least 18″ long

❏ a hot glue gun

❏ 2 googly eyes

❏ a paper clip

❏ a Sharpie to write the numbers on each egg

1. Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut a large hole between

the two smaller holes at the top of your rounded plastic egg

half. I would suggest using the rounded side instead of the

more oval side of the plastic egg.

2. Cut a piece of ribbon at least 18 inches long (can you tell

I’m using some Christmas ribbon?). Tie several knots about

an inch or two away from one end. You’ll want the wad of

knots to be big enough that they can’t slip through the holes

you made in the eggs.

3. Slide the end of the ribbon through the hole of one of the eggs and then hot glue the knot

into the egg.

4. While you have your hot glue gun out, go ahead and glue on the googly eyes as well.

5. Write each numeral on the very bottom of each plastic egg using a permanent marker (we

did numbers 1-12).

6. Let your child start threading each egg onto the ribbon.

Ta-da! All done!

To keep the eggs from falling off, just fold up the end of the ribbon and secure it

with a paper clip!

Summer 

 

   

4th of July Fun with Water Beads 

Looking for a fun activity for your little ones this 4th of July holiday that doesn’t involve striking

matches, combustion, or loud noises? Try making a red, white & blue sensory tub with water

beads!

Water Beads are the latest early childhood sensation! They are tiny little beads that absorb

water up 100 times their size and feel bouncy, slippery, and altogether wonderful. They are

awesome for sensory tubs as well as dumping and pouring (for children 3 and older…they are a

choking hazard for the little ones)! Officially, they are: “A type of water-absorbent polymer that

absorbs, stores, and then releases water needed for growing plants. It is nontoxic and

completely biodegradable.”

Obviously, they weren’t originally created to be used for children’s sensory tubs and

exploration, but they have been recruited none the less!

For this activity, I bought each individual package of red, white, and blue “dry” water beads

from JoAnn’s (using my 50% off coupons, of course). The brand I used was called “Aqua

Gems”. I believe the colors were officially called “Pearl White, Ruby, and Dark Blue”.

If you buy the “dry” water beads, you’ll have to soak them in the suggested amount of water

for 4-6 hours. After 4-6 hours, the beads should have absorbed most of the water but you’ll

want to dump out any remaining water.

To make the flag mold, I just took a

silverware tray and covered it with foil.

Scoop and dump each individual color of beads into the tray.

Then dump all the remaining beads into a shallow plastic tub (or sensory table) and let your

kids get busy!

I put the lid on our tub and am planning on pulling these water beads out frequently as we gear

up for the holiday! If they start to dry out, all you have to do is add a little water!

And can I just say that instead of swimming in a pool of spaghetti like the cute little old lady on

Patch Adams, I would REALLY love to swim in a swimming pool filled with water beads???

Fireworks in a Jar

If you have a little one who is fascinated with colors and fireworks, this simple experiment is for

you (and your child). You most likely have everything you already need in your cupboard for

these fireworks in a jar: oil, water, and food

coloring!

1. Fill your jar 3/4 of the way full with warm

water.

2. In a separate bowl, mix a 3-4 tablespoons of

oil and several drops of different colors of food

coloring (I used 4 drops of each color: red,

yellow, blue, and green).

3. Use a fork to gently mix the oil and food

coloring together.

4. Gently pour the oil mixture into the jar.

5. Watch what happens—the food coloring

will slowly sink out of the oil and into the

water. When this happens, it will expand

and begin to mix with the other colors.

The Science Behind It: 

Food coloring dissolves in water but not in oil. Because the oil is less dense than the water, it

will float at the top. The colored droplets will begin to sink because they are heavier than the

oil. Once they sink into the water, they will begin dissolving into the water (which looks like a

tiny explosion).

 

   

DIY Treasure Chest for Toddlers This Toddler Treasure hunt was a huge hit with Little Sister (16 months)…especially since this

was the first time she got to play with sand! She loved it! Not only is it a great sensory

activity for toddlers, it also helps with fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. This glass

baby food lids work especially well for toddlers as they are just large enough that they do not

pose a choking hazard (unlike other store-bought gold coins).

Here’s what you’ll need: A baby wipes container, lids from glass baby food containers, gold

spray paint , a large plastic container, and sand!

WARNING: If your child still puts items in his/her mouth, DO NOT apply spray paint to the

baby food lids. Instead, just leave them as they are. We are in an in-between phase of this

(Little Sister is getting better but still does occasionally), so I just watched her like a hawk

while we were playing.

After I had everything else we needed, I happened to run by Dollar

General to pick up a few things and found these gems (no pun intended).

:) I was especially excited about these because I wanted some type of

jewels but couldn’t think of anything large/safe enough. And the boys

can also use them in the pool when we are finished — BONUS!

First of all, I spray-painted the baby wipes container and

the front and back of the baby food jar lids.

Then we put some sand in a plastic container and started

hiding our “treasure”. I did end up having to use scissors

to make the hole in the baby wipes container slightly

larger so all the pieces could fit in.

 

 

Little Sister was very 

excited to find her 

treasure and put it in the 

treasure box! 

Rolling Pin Art for Toddlers Creativity at our house majorly suffers during the winter months, mainly because I don’t want

to clean up big giant messes in my house (I know, I know, I’m horrible). Thank goodness that

with warmer weather comes more creative projects…which can easily be washed away with just

rain or the water hose.

Little Sister created her first “big art” using a rolling pin and finger paint for Day #4 of our A

Very Toddler Summer series we are co-hosting with Toddler Approved . Our rolling pin art for

toddlers was definitely a messy hit!

Here’s what you’ll need: a rolling pin, washable paint , a shallow pan, and white butcher paper.

Optional: a hot glue gun.

We used Crayola Washable Finger Paint , but I would actually suggest using just a normal

washable paint because as the finger paint was more like a gel and didn’t spread easily.

I also suggest wearing “play clothes” or a swimsuit. We just got back from a baseball game

when we did this activity, so Little Sister was already a sticky/yucky mess. The paint came out

just fine from her clothes, but you never know.

1. Optional: Use the hot glue gun to make a design on your rolling pin. This didn’t work quite

as well as I anticipated, but it still came out okay.

2. Lay a piece of butcher paper outside and hold down

with rocks.

3. Spread some washable paint in your shallow pan

and let your child roll the rolling pin in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Miss, of course, 

had to get it all over 

herself.  :)

Fall 

 

   

Personalized Leaf Rubbing 

I wanted to make our leaf rubbings a little more personalized, so I was excited to find these

“puffy stickers” at the dollar store! We chose to put Big Brother’s name on the leaves, but you

could make cards saying “Happy Fall” too!

1. Tape down a couple leaves, vein-side up.

2. Add the puffy stickers.

3. Let your little one begin coloring. It was quite an

effort to get Big Brother to color gently!

…And we didn’t totally succeed, but at least you can see the letters and leaf imprints. ;)

The Mayflower (simplified) 

I love how children’s crafts always take on a life of

their own. So what if it doesn’t look all that much like it

is supposed to…it is the process, not the product. :)

Even though this Mayflower does not look like the

large ship we see in books, it is simple and easy for a

child to make…making it a winner in my book!

Here’s what you’ll need:

❏ an empty

❏ paper towel roll

❏ a straw

❏ white paper

❏ a glue stick a stapler

❏ tape

1. Cut a slit in the paper towel holder. Flatten it and let your

little one color it with a brown marker. Big Brother wasn’t

really into it.

2. Staple each side and then squish it together to make boat

shape.

3. Cut out a triangle from a folded piece of paper. Stick a

straw in between and then add glue and press together.

4. Tape the straw to the side of the inside of the boat.

Done!  Let your child 

enjoy playing with the 

Mayflower! 

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn Tree 

Here’s what you’ll need: leaves, a piece of cardstock

paper or cardboard, glue, and a toilet paper or paper

towel roll.

1. Let your little one go outside and choose his leaves.

2. Draw the background of the tree on a piece of cardstock. You could also paint it if you

wanted to.

3. Let your little one add the glue…

…and then the leaves.

4. Keep gluing and adding leaves. The cut a slit on each side of the toilet paper roll and slide

the cardstock into the slits.

5. I had to add a cardboard brace on the back because our leaves

were too heavy.

   

  Enjoy! 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaf Bracelet I absolutely love fall–the cooler temperatures, beautiful colors, and all of the fun family

activities.

So, here’s what you’ll need: duct tape. Yup, that’s it.

And did you know that Duct tape now comes in colors

and patterns??? We’re sporting the leopard print but,

who knows, maybe next time we’ll try the tie-dye. :)

1. Tear off a piece of duct tape large enough to fit

around your child’s wrist.

2. Turn the tape sticky-side-out and wrap around his

wrist.

3. Encourage your little one to begin sticking various colors of leaves on the tape as you walk

around outside. Talk about what colors you see.

Big Brother’s bracelet was full, but he insisted on adding more!

Winter 

   

DIY Sensory Table that looks like a Manger This past summer our church adopted a new curriculum and completely (and permanently)

transformed an entire wing of the church to look like Ancient Judea. It is incredible. Our small

group was assigned the two and three-year old classroom with the theme “Away in a Manger”.

My very talented friend Kristen came up with the room design and the rest of us just pitched in

here and there.

Our family signed up to provide the sensory table (which was supposed to look like a manger)

along with a few other things. We debated purchasing a pre-made table and then altering it to

look like a manger, but ultimately decided to make our own using some weathered wood and

two restaurant busing tubs.

❏ Materials:

❏ 2 — 4 x 4 x 6 pieces of lumber

❏ 2– 2 x 4’s

❏ Miter Saw (for angled cutting)

❏ Circular Saw (to cut out notches in 4 x 4’s)

❏ Package of 2 1/2″ screws

❏ Drill

❏ 2 Plastic Heavy Duty Bus Boxes (we purchased ours at Sam’s Club near the restaurant

supplies–they were $12 for a package of two)

❏ Sandpaper (for sanding rough edges)

1. Determine the desired height of your table. Based on these measurements, cut the 4 x 4

posts using a miter saw at a 45-degree angle to create

4 angled pieces of equal length.

2. Determine the center of your “x” and set the depth

on the circular saw to cut half the depth of the 4 x 4

post for each of your four pieces. Once the cuts are

made, take your hammer and tap the loose pieces out.

3. After this is complete, you may need to

sand or file to make a surface that can be

interlocked with the identical piece.

4. Create a frame using the dimensions of your tub(s) and attach using screws and/or nails.

Once complete, screw the frame onto the interlocking “x” legs.

5. To make the divider, measure the inside width of the tub and cut the board to fit. This

board will act merely as a spacer. Below the board, screw a longer board to it, allowing an area

to screw the board to the frame from the underside.

6. Insert your tubs and your manger sensory tub is ready!

Fine Motor Christmas Trees 

After Christmas last year, I scored some great deals that I tucked away until this year.

Unfortunately, the holiday season has flown by and I have hardly had a chance to break them

out…until today! Little Brother and I used the pre-cut foam Christmas trees for a little fine

motor practice (and a cute decoration). These fine motor Christmas trees would make great

ornaments or gift tags!

Here’s what you’ll need:

❏ Craft Foam Christmas Trees

❏ hole punch

❏ pipe cleaners

❏ tape

❏ beads or sequins

1. Use the hole punch to make holes in the foam Christmas trees.

2. Tape one end of the pipe cleaner to the back of the Christmas tree.

3. Thread the sequins and/or beads through the pipe cleaner and through the holes in the

Christmas trees.

Fill the Snowman Fine Motor Game for Toddlers

It’s Day 14 of our 31 Days of Indoor Fun for Toddlers and today we created a

Snowman Fine Motor Game for Toddlers! This is something your toddler can use

over and over again all winter long! It takes a bit of preparation initially, but the

use it receives afterwards will be well worth it!

Safety Note: If your toddler still puts items in his/her mouth, please skip this

activity or use larger balls (like ball pit balls) that cannot fit inside a child’s mouth.

This simple activity is great for fine motor control (fitting an object through a

hole) and you can also add one-to-one correspondence practice by counting every

ball that your child puts in the snowman. Later down the road, you can even add

letters or numbers to the ping pong balls for additional practice!

Here’s what you’ll need:

❏ A container with a wide-mouth large enough to fit a ping pong ball

❏White spray paint (optional)

❏ A small piece of fabric for a scarf

❏ Sharpies

❏ Ping Pong Balls

1. Start with a jar that has a wide enough mouth that a ping pong ball can fit through the top.

I used a Pace Picante bottle, but would encourage you to use a different type of bottle as it will

continue to smell like salsa both now and forever more (blech!). I had some white spray paint

on hand, so I decided to spray paint it. You can skip this step if you want and just remove all

the labels. Once the white ping pong balls are inside the container it will look white.

2. Grab some ping pong balls and let your little one start filling the snowman!

 

 

For More Amazing Kid’s Activities, visit: 

ICanTeachMyChild.com 

I Can Teach My Child offers tons of resources to help you be your

child’s first teacher. Founded by Jenae, a former first grade teacher and

mother to two rambunctious boys and one baby girl!