Spring
fun with your kids
By Stephanie B Hayes
Adam, 2 year old, on a scavenger hunt in the backyard.
Do your kids
need to be continuously entertained and fast? They are jumping off the wall and
if you do not find them some serious entertainment soon, there will be a
meltdown… for all of you. You need fun
and you need it quick. Luckily, there is a ton of amusing and cheap do-together
kid friendly activities you can do at home.
Since spring weather might not always allow your kids to play outside
every day, here is an activity you can do with them in the house. Craft
projects are always good to do on a rainy day.
If your house is like mine, you probably have to buy crayons almost
every month because soon after you get a new box, all of the crayons break in
just a few days. It doesn’t matter the brand or the size of the crayons, my son
will easily break them. So why not recycle all of the broken pieces by creating
new crayons. You only need a large Ziploc bag, a hammer (a toy hammer works
fine), a few old cups, and muffin tin and baking cups. Preheat your oven to 250
degrees. Gather all broken crayons and peel
off the paper. Put the pieces in the Ziploc bag and with the hammer smash them
into smaller pieces. If you want uniform colors, use the cups to sort
colors. Line muffin tin with baking cups
and fill each section about 2/3 full of crayons. Put it in the oven for 10
minutes and let it cool. You now have new awesome crayons! The good thing is
that your kids can pretty much help you on all the steps besides putting it in
and out of the oven. Kids love to play outside, at least mine does and with
spring here, backyard activities are needed. Your yard is a very good class
room for activities and games that help teach skills and concepts and are fun
at the same time. The backyard offer
amazing possibilities you will not find anywhere inside the house, fresh air,
sunshine and, if your kid is like mine, a big open area where they can run as
much as they want. There are plenty of
games to do outside, like organize a scavenger hunt. With a little bit of
organization on your part, you can have your kid hunting for natural treasures
all over your yard. Make a list of a few
items in your yard. Give a bag or a basket to your kids and watch them search
for the objects and putting them in their bags. You just have to tell them what
to look for or give them the list if they can read. You can also make a kite
with a small paper bag. You will need three pieces of string the same length
and a small rope. Cut a hole at the bottom of the bag and attach one end of the
3 pieces of strings at 3 different areas at the edge of the hole. Attach the 3
other ends together. Attach the rope at the end of the 3 strings and you have
an easy and quick kite. To start the activity inside, you can have your kids
decorate the paper bag. If you plan on having a garden this summer, have your
kids involve in the project from the beginning. Toddlers love to help and they
will not mind helping removing all the weeds from the garden area. They can
also help to plant the seeds and water the garden through the entire summer. It
can also help if you have picky eater, since he might be more open to eat
veggies that he helps and watch grow over the summer. If you do not have a
space for a garden, you can always have your kids planting a few things in a
big pot, like lettuce or green onions.
Finally, here’s an interesting fact about babies. Did you know children
born in May are on average seven ounces (200g) heavier at birth than children
born in any other month of the year? Happy mothers, day to all the mothers in
the world!
