Messy Kids: create

Showing posts with label create. Show all posts

Monday, June 24, 2013

100 Days of Play Presents: Ice & Lava Sensory Baths

Have you been following the 100 days of play? If not, it's not too late to start. This terrific blog hop has been put together by Sun Scholars and Life at the Zoo in order to inspire and challenge you to spend more time playing with your child(ren).

For my day of play I'm sharing one of my son's favorite activities: shaving cream in the bath. He would do this every day if he could. Our last round consisted of creating an ice bath one day and a lava bath another.

All you need for either bath are shaving cream and food coloring. The shaving cream I purchased at the dollar store.

For ice, mix blue food coloring with the shaving cream.

Add some blue coloring to the bath water then let them go wild with the water and the shaving cream.

My son, splashed around in the "cold" water. He often wears goggles so he doesn't get water in his eyes.

After playing with the shaving cream, the residue floats around in the water. My son thought it looked like snow. He's pretending he's "frozen".

My son does his own thing but you could add Arctic/Antarctic animals to your bath. If you have easy access to foam sheets, cut some irregular shapes from white foam, creating icebergs for the animals to float on. If it's a hot day, add some ice to help them truly cool down.

Of course after taking a "cold" bath, the next night my son wanted to take a "hot" bath. He asked me to make him some lava. I mixed red and yellow food coloring into the shaving cream. More red, then yellow.

I also added red and yellow color to the bath.

It wasn't long before he painted himself with the lava.

He had some dinosaurs join him in his lava bath, but my son is a fickled one. He wouldn't let me take any more pictures. His dinosaurs got very clean that night though.

Now go, have a bath! What will your kids imagine the shaving cream to be?

And don't forget to check out the 100 Days of Play Blog Hop! Take the challenge. There's still plenty of time.

100 Days of Play Blog Hop

Sharing simple ideas on how to connect with your children through play!

New ideas shared each day from 4/1 - 7/20.

Help us spread the word!

Grab a Button to Share on your Blog!

100 Days of Play is brought to you by these wonderful bloggers

SunScholars . Frogs, Snails & Puppy Dog Tails . Playful Learners . Train Up a Child . Fantastic Fun & Learning . Scribble, Doodle & Draw . Learn. Create. Love. . Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas .Nothing if Not Intentional . My Little 3 & Me . Buggy & Buddy . Sun Hats & Wellie Boots .Twodaloo . True Aim . The Educators' Spin On It . Blog Me Mom . Life At The Zoo . Putti's World .Kitchen Counter Chronicles . Triple T Mum . Busy Kids Happy Mom . Crystal's Tiny Treasures .Rainy Day Mum . Momma's Fun World . My Little Bookcase . Craftulate . One Perfect Day .MumCentral . Artchoo! . Creative World Of Varya . Simple. Home. Blessings. . JDaniel4's Mom .NurtureStore . Me & Marie Learning . Child Central Station . Mamas Like Me . Mama Miss. Making Boys Men . Powerful Mothering . Craft to Art . 3 Dinosaurs . Domestic Goddesque .Lessons Learnt Journal . Royal Baloo . Smiling Like Sunshine . Adventures at Home with Mum .B-Inspired Mama . PragmaticMom . Eazy Peazy Mealz . Gluesticks . TheBoy&Me . Learning is Messy . My Nearest & Dearest . Growing Book by Book . How to Run a Home Daycare . Here Come the Girls . Think Magnet . Dandelions Picked . 123 Homeschool 4 Me . Our Ordinary Life .Parenting with Professor Poppins . 2 Little Hooligans . Fun-a-Day! . The Non-Martha Mamma .Angelique Felix . My Very Educated Mother . Creative Playhouse . Go Explore Nature . Zing Zing Tree . Sense of Wonder . Childhood 101 . Crayon Freckles . KZ & Me . Serenity You . This Mumma's Life . Leapfrog & Ladybugs . Blue Bear Wood . Growing Together . KC EDventures .Mommy Lessons 101 . Nature & Play . Like Mama Like Daughter . Mums Make Lists . From Wine to Whine . Messy Kids . Babble Dabble Do . Sugar Aunts . Teaching @ Home . Preschool Powol Packets . Clothed in Love . Curiosity Creates . The Magnolia Barn . Strong Start . Stay-at-Home Mom Survival Guide . Learn with Play at Home . Mummy... Mummy... MUM! . Science Sparks. Toddler Approved . Thrive 360 Living . Rockabye Butterfly . Mud Hut Mama . Coffee Cups & Crayons . Playing with Words 365 . My Lil Love Bugs . Creative Connections for Kids . LalyMom .Love, Play, Learn . Kindergarten & Preschool for Parents & Teachers . The Pleasantest Thing .Teach Beside Me

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Playing with Nature on It's Playtime

Although the weather has been wacky EVERYWHERE, for most it's a great time of year to get outside and explore nature. This week on It's Playtime I'm featuring two ways to include nature in your play and learning time.

Kids pick flowers. It is what it is, it'll never go away, deal with it. Of course we don't want them rummaging around the neighbors flower beds but there are plenty of wild flowers to go around, especially those pesky dandelions. What do you do with them after they've been shared with you? Throw them? Stick them in your hair smearing dandelion goo all over (I've had to explain this to my son who insistis every flower he picks should go in my hair). Attempt to keep them in a vase? There's never a vase small enough....until now. The genius PlayDrMom shared how she created the perfect Upcycled Dandelion Vase to hold her child's treasured flowers. It's easy and it's recycling! DO IT!

Do you have kids who love to cut EVERYTHING? Do you have a lawn? Check out how Raise a Boy uses Cutting Grass to develop fine motor skills. Even if you don't have a lawn, it's easy to plant grass seeds; bring some nature indoors. Your child will love this activity whether they are toddlers just learning to use scissors or 5 year olds practicing for Kindergarten.

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."

These activities plus more can be found over on the It's Playtime Pinterest Board. Happy Pinning!

Now, on to this weeks play date!
It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Rachel & Holly : Quirky Momma
* Jillian: A Mom With a Lesson Plan

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

By linking up you give us permission to grab a picture and feature you here, on a site we write for, on FB or Pinterest. If we share your link, we will always credit you, send people to your original post and use only ONE photo.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Chalk Art on It's Playtime

Today I'm off to play with my kids in the mountains. It's all about exploring nature with hiking, waterfalls and maybe some wild animals. So in an effort to keep things short and sweet here is my fabulous feature for this weeks It's Playtime! It's all about the mess....

Creative Playhouse shared their Crushed Chalk Art. Simple, open-ended, and messy; just the way I like it! Your kids will enjoy crushing the chalk as much as creating a colorful piece of art.

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."

These activities plus more can be found over on the It's Playtime Pinterest Board. Happy Pinning!

Now, on to this weeks play date!
It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Rachel & Holly : Quirky Momma
* Jillian: A Mom With a Lesson Plan

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

BabbaBox Review: Fun & Learning Delivered to Your Door

Occasionally I have the privilege of reviewing products. I reviewed a great scrapbooking software back in February and I'll have another product review in the the next month or so. It's a blogging perk that I enjoy. I LOVE trying new products and sharing how I feel about them. The BabbaBox by BabbaCo is no exception. I was so excited to review this product I could hardly contain myself! It fit fantastically with my blog plus I've developed and taught curriculum in the past, so I felt comfortable reviewing this product. I wasn't disappointed!

We were so excited to get our BabbaBox in the mail. It was like Christmas! The theme for the month was "Sprouting Seeds". The box included everything we needed to sprout and explore our own seeds, make flower pens, read and learn about seeds, plus a treat of yummy caramel chocolate (which being pregnant, I ate right away), and some coupons for babysitting sources and such. It was quite the treasure trove.

Amongst the crafts and science fun, was a Curious George book, actually two books in one. My son, not being crafty, immediately grabbed the book to read. He loves books! After looking at it on his own, he asked me to sit and read the stories to him. Both the stories related to seeds and planting, corresponding with the BabbaBox's theme.

Once we sat down to play with our BabbaBox, my son became very interested. We used one of the charts to do a quick review on parts of a plant.

After our plant review, we pulled out the "explore" pack. It included a guide and a sturdy magnifying glass. Michael loved looking at everything with the magnifier before checking out our seeds.

One of the "create" packs included a packet of herb seeds needed for both that project and the "explore" project. I placed some of the seeds on a towel for my son and my daughter to examine.

The "explore" guide had a lovely picture of the different seeds in the packet along with the corresponding herb plant. The kids sorted the seeds they wanted to grow in their own pots.

After sorting, they each got a small bowl to soak their seeds in before planting.

Both "create" projects came with enough supplies for two children. For our planting project there were two pots, 4 dirt pellets, and a box of chalk. The kids used the chalk to decorate their pots.

Once the seeds were ready, my daughter added two dirt pellets to each pot. Then we added the water...

The kids loved watching the dirt "grow" until it filled the pot. My son may have added a bit too much water...

Time to plant the seeds and place them in a sunny spot.

The other "create" project in the BabbaBox were Flower Pens. We pulled out that packet and the included scissors to get started. The project included a guide, two silk flowers, two pens, two leaves, a vase, and green floral tape.

I had to start wrapping the tape for both the kids, but then they took over...

creating two unique flower pens. My daughter has decided this is what she wants to make for Christmas gifts.

So now, what do I think? I think the BabbaBox is a well thought-out product. It has parents in mind who want to provide fun and educational activities to their children at home without all the work of downloading and "pinning" ideas, plus shopping for supplies. This box can be spread out throughout the month or completed in a couple of days where a parent can add their own corresponding theme ideas. I love that everything you need is included: the instructions, the supplies, reading material, and even a parental treat! I didn't have to use anything of my own!

You can sign-up and join BabbaCo at anytime. There are 3 great membership options to choose from; you can also give the box as a gift! If you use the following code, you'll receive 20% off your first box: MK20OFF

Messy Kids

Pages