Project 7: Yarn painting.

Painting with yarn. It's a great trade-up of paintbrush painting. Plus it gives some great designs.

Cost: Free.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Play time: up to 15 minutes.

Materials.
Paper
Paint
Yarn

Take a piece of paper. I cut mine out in number shapes. Add a dollop of paint to the side. Dip your yarn into the paint similar to paintbrushes. Then run it, drop, or plop it on the page. Different movements make different patterns.

*Tip: cut the string 6-18 inches long.

Fall fun: pumpkin patch!

Every year I hit the pumpkin patch a few times. This year I think I started earlier then any other year. But it's so much fun now that my son is getting older. The local pumpkin patch gears the whole place to being a great family fun environment. We can check out the displays, play on the playground, pet some animals, and even watch a magic show. Here's a great website I found for information on fall events all over the US. http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/index.php

Here are some snapshots from our first trip.

Project 6: Baked dough art.

This is a great project when you don't have a lot of money, but what to get a lot out of it. This uses some staple on hand items, flour, salt and paint.

Cost: Free.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Play time: up to 30 minutes.

Materials.
Flour, salt and water, mixed in to playdough.
Cookie cutters
Microwave oven
Paint
Paint brushes

First mix up some simple play dough. I take about a cup of flour, 2 tbs or salt, and mix in water until it's a thick dough.


Then help your child roll out the dough, and cut shapes out with a cookie cutter.


Bake the cut-outs in the Microwave for 30 second intervals. They are done when the middle is no longer doughy.

When they're cool you can set them out and let your child paint them.


These make great gifts, and are adorable Christmas tree decorations. You can also make shapes with them, but baking thicker items can be difficult. This stuff doesn't smell very good when it burns.

Project 5: Shrinky Dinks

Shrinky Dinks are an awesome activity from when I was younger. If you can find them, get them. I got these for work a while ago, and made sure to stop by and buy a pack for myself too. They come with 6 sheets, I usually use 1 sheet a time and get 4 things out of it.

Cost: less then $5.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Play time: up to 20 minutes.

Materials.
Shrinky dinks
Oven
Permanent markers (Sharpies work best.)

Preheat your oven to the temp suggested on the package.

Then plop down a cut-out shape, and your markers.


Use an oven with a window. Have fun watching them shrivel up in a funky way. Make sure you don't take them out until they're flat. They will be very hot.

After they cool it's fun to compare how much they shrink. The Liam card on the right started out the same size as the big blank piece.

Lunch 9/12

This is one of my favorite ways to make lunch fun. All you need to do is cut the bread out with a cookie cutter. Then make your sandwich as normal. My son think they're the best ever.

Free tours.

Check if there are any factories or processing plants in your area. Some of them have free tours. Jelly Belly factory has a great train tour at our local factory. They also give out free candy!

Go find a park!

One of my favorite ways to find a new park is to take a drive. We hop in the car and explore. Today it brought us to this great park. Lots of slides and equipment, a huge area to run and almost no traffic. I am only sad I found this park so late in the season. In Wisconsin it's already cold.

Ideas for grandparents day. Gifts on a budget.

Happy grandparents day! Today is a day to thank grandparents for being awesome. I know my kid is pretty darn lucky to have some amazing grandparents. I hope your kid is too.

Here are some ideas for your kids to show their appreciation, without breaking your wallet.

1) Make a video. Record your child saying why they love grandma & grandpa. Share it via e-mail or social media.

2) Make a work of art. There are several go-to options here for you to use.

3) Make a collage with pieces of the artwork your child has recently done.

4) Bake a treat and deliver it.

5) Make up a silly song about grandma & grandpa, then sing it for them.

If you're wondering what my munchkin is doing, you'll just have to wait and see. His grandparents read this blog. I wouldn't want to spoil their surprise.

Project 4: Painting with food.

This is a great project to do with things you have on hand.

Cost: Free.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Play time: up to 20 minutes.

Materials.
Sturdy raw fruits or veggies (i.e. apples, carrots, potatoes, radish, celery, or onions)
Paper or cardboard.
Paint (washable and non-toxic.)

Chop up the food. It needs to be pretty dry, so you may want to wipe it with a towel. Make sure your child has a place to be messy.

Hand over the paint, and tell your child to use the food as a stamp, or paint brush.


Don't be surprised if the work area looks like this after a while. My son ended up with paint in the hair, all over his tummy, and on his face. This is why non-toxic washable paint is your friend.

Today we are hanging out at brightonwood apple orchard. We love this place. You can get great apples and cider and butter. Plus there's an awesome tree house. My son thinks this is the best orchard ever. An added plus for the adults, there's a winery on the property.

What's for lunch 9/5

Left Overs. I love serving leftovers. It's healthy and quick. Today we had antipasta, pizza and fruit.

Quick fun 3: Hair play.

Grab a brush and some hair accessories or whatever you can find around the house. Let your child brush and "decorate" your hair. I've known many kids who have loved this. It's great when you're trying to make a blog post. Just be prepared to brush your hair for 10 minutes to get all the knots out.

Sorry no photo with this one....

Project 4: Paper bags.

This project is great to use for decorating, sorting, and organizing. You might want to assemble the bag if your child is younger then 7. I'm also including a downloadable template.

Cost: Free
Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Play time: 20-40 minutes.

Materials:
piece of paper
Scissors
White school glue

Click on this photo. When it comes up, right click to save it. This is made to fit a regular piece of paper.

Cut along the dotted lines. There is an outline around the entire image, plus two small lines on either side.

Then fold along all the solid line. This should be 4 folds total.
Apply glue where the blue circles are.

Then you need to fold everything back together. Make sure the glue adheres to the other pieces of paper. Your final image should look like the one below.
Then let your child fill them, decorate them, or let them sort. I made a few of different sizes and patterns.

Quick fun 2: Stick it.

We've been doing this since our son was little. Just hand over a sheet of stickers and a piece of paper. My son will happily stick for half and hour.

Project 3: Paper Mache basics.

These are the basic steps for any paper mache craft. There are TONS of things you can do with paper mache. And it's made with things around the house. A wonderful project for parents on a budget.

Cost: Free
Prep time: less then 5 minutes
Play time: about 10-20 messy minutes.

Materials:
Flour
Water
White school glue
Newspaper
You also need a bowl and mixer.


I craft like I cook. Without measuring. So I don't have a great recipe for the goop. I throw in some flour, then add water until it's a creamy consistency. Then I add in a couple swirls of glue.


Sometimes there's still clumps. Which little fingers are perfect for. My son loved squishing them.

Cut or tear strips of newspaper. Dip them in the goop, and run your fingers down the sides. This helps cut down on the extra goop, and the drying time.

Lay the strips on whatever you use for a mold. Make sure they overlap. You want 2-4 even layers. I used a cake pan. I just turned it upside down. It makes a great half circle.
This will take 5 hours to 2 days to dry.



Tips: Make sure you put something under your work area. This is washable, but it's not an easy clean up.
You can place plastic wrap over your mold to make an easier cleaner removal.

What's for lunch 9/2

Today we had pizza! I like getting plain cheese single serve pizzas. Then I can add whatever we're in the mood for. It takes 3 minutes in a microwave. I paired it with a V8 fusion, which gives him a serving of veggies.

Quick fun: 1. talking hand.

Glue some google eyes to yours and your child's hands. Instant puppets!



You can also draw on the face if you don't have google eyes.

Project 2: Pom pom animals.

Pom poms are wonderful to have on hand. There's a ton of things you can do with them.


Cost: $1-$3
Prep time: Max. of 5 minutes
Play time: 15 minutes of making, hours of playing.

Materials:
various sizes of pom poms.
google eyes
glue (school glue will work. I just like using the thicker tacky glue)
Optional:
pipe cleaners
stiff felt material.

Set out various pom poms and google eyes. I you wanted to use the optional materials this is when you would want them ready. Either cut shapes out of the felt, or twist the pipe cleaners to the shape you want.



Hand over the glue, if you trust it won't end in a puddle.



Press the poms together. Let these set while you pick out what's next to be added.



Your last step is to add on the eyes.





Let these animals sit over night so they can dry completely. Then have fun playing with your new creatures.

What's for lunch?

I know lunch time can be difficult. Sometimes I feel like I have nothing to make, or no idea what to make. So I wanted to share some things I make for my son.

Today we had breakfast for lunch. He loves pancakes. I added some veggie bacon, and grapes. Have some milk to drink and you've got 4 different food groups.

Local Library

Cost: Free.

Your local library is a great resource. You can get great books for story time, and wonderful resources for activities. Some libraries even have kid play centers. My son loves the touch screen computers.