Naptime=Playtime 4 Cloud Dough

Brayden and I are having so much fun with our naptime=playtime activities. 

As I was searching pinterest for new ideas for my Indoor Fun and Games board, I came across one of my new favorite blogs for fun ideas, Kara's Classroom.  I first found her post on cloud dough and then searched through her blog and I cannot wait to try more of her ideas.

Cloud dough was easy to make, and Brayden had lots of fun playing with it. 

To make cloud dough all you need is 7 cups of flour, 1 cup of vegetable oil and a big container to put it in.  *I wish we would have had a bigger container, but our little one worked just fine.

To start, we gathered our flour, oil, container, and a towel to sit on.  Brayden helped me count and measure out the cups of flour and then mix in the oil. 

He played for awhile with just the dough till we were interrupted by Paisley who wanted to join in the fun.  She started off in her bouncer, but she did not want to stay there.  I put her in the bumbo and gave her a cookie cutter to play with.  Brayden loved trying to make the cookie cutter shapes in the dough.  Next time, I want to come up with more things for him to play with in the dough, even though his hands and the cookie cutters worked just fine. 

After the big girls got home from school, Brayden told them what he had played with and they wanted to play too.  Even my girls liked it, and this is why I want a bigger container.

Overall, the cloud dough was a HUGE success and I cannot wait to get it out again!

Any suggestions on what else to play with in the cloud dough?

Letter Obstacle Fun

It has been very cold here for a few days and the kids really haven't been able to go outside.  Thursday it was snowy (and I kept the girls home from school) and I wanted to do an activity to keep their bodies and minds active but that was also fun.

I found this post from pinterest, and thought I could do something similar.

I used small and colorful sheets of paper and wrote a letter on one.  Then I taped them all over the floor, chairs, bench, and table.  Then I had the kids jump to each letter.

For Brayden (3), we started with saying what each letter was.  For Ella (7), I had her tell me a word that started with the letter.  For Maddi (9), I had her tell me a word and spell the word for each letter.

The next time through, I had Brayden count the letters, Ella made up an addition problem with each number, and Maddi made up multiplication problems with each number.  Ella did lots of +1's and +0's, and I am ok with that.  Maddi did some x1's and x0's, but for the 20's, she tried to figure out what two numbers multiplied together would make that number (ex:4x5=20).

The kids loved getting to climb on the table since it is something that is normally not allowed.  We also changed it up and did different exercises over the letters.  They did jumping jacks, high knees, bear crawl, crab walk, going backwards, and so on. 

They laughed, worked their brains, and their bodies.  I would say it was a successful indoor activity!!

 

Dollar Store Chalkboard Placemat

I love a cheap and easy craft!  That is exactly what this is!  This is a dollar tree craft, so this will only cost you $1 each for the placemats and then the cost of the chalkboard paint.

I started with one placemat to do a test, but I will be going back to get more and make one for all the kids to have at the table. 

This is a simple craft that I found here at dollarstorecrafts.com.  This website is dedicated to cute cheap crafts made from dollar store items!

Gather your materials, and start by painting your placemat.

It is best to use a sponge brush.  Completely cover your placemat painting in one direction (left to right or up and down).  Let the paint fully dry, then turn your placemat and paint in the opposite direction.  Let the paint fully dry.

As the website suggests, after the paint is dry, fully chalk the placemat then wipe with a dry cloth.  This will help with wiping off the chalk once the kids are ready to use it.

That's it!  You are ready to chalk on your placemat.  I used my placemat as decoration in my kitchen.  I am thinking of adding chalk paint and making it my weekly menu planner.  When I am ready to make more, I will make one for each child to have their own for table time fun!

What would you use your chalkboard place mat for? 

Naptime=Playtime 2 Foam Fun

Brayden and I are loving the fun things we are finding to do.  Since he is 3 1/2, I am wanting to do a mix of academic things, fun messy (sensory) things, and arts and crafts. 

Brayden loves bubbles, so I knew he would get a kick out of making his own foam.  I got the idea for foam from the blog, Fun at Home with Kids, and I have it pinned on my Indoor Fun and Games pinterest board.  

Things needed:

2 tbsp. of dish soap
1/4 cup of water
A mixer


I let Brayden help with measuring out, and I let him do all the mixing.  You want to add the dish soap to the water, and mix for a good 2 minutes.  If your foam is creating some peaks, you are done.

 

 

I put down some towels and some fun kitchen gadgets (whisk, spatula, ect.), and I let Brayden play how ever he wanted.  At first, he did not want to touch the foam, but he eventually opened up to the idea of messy, and had a ton of fun.  One of the good things about the foam was how easy it was to remix it if it started to deflate.

 

We played for a long time and we were covered in foam, as well as my kitchen.  Another good thing  about the foam was easy clean up.  I took a wet towel and ran it across my kitchen floor, and I ran a bath for Brayden.  He loved having all the kitchen gadgets and foam in the bath.  I loved that he played till his water went cold.  All of the foamy bubbles disappeared, then it was easy to throw the kitchen gadgets in the dishwasher to get them clean.

 

 

This was a great playtime for both of us!  It was cheap, quick, easy, and lots of fun!  I can't wait till we do it again!

 

Do you have any fun ideas for playing with kids at home?