Colorful Slime

I have seen many recipes for slime on the internet and in books so we figured we would try it out.  This was so simple and fun.  Just combine equal parts clear glue and liquid starch (found in the laundry aisle at grocery store).  Mix them together.  Then separate the slime and add food coloring to each smaller batch.  We only used one food coloring drop per small batch. 

We used our hands to mix in the food coloring and then it was squish time.  The children enjoyed squishing the slime through their fingers and trying to mix up the colors.  The longer you mix it together the thicker it gets.

This was a fun project to do that was a different consistency than gak, flubber and play dough.  

Target Practice

Here is one of the games my son set up at his recent birthday party.  He turned over a Styrofoam cooler, pushed 5 golf tees into the bottom and balanced 5 ping pong balls on top of each golf tee.  Using a water gun from about 5 feet away, we timed how fast each player could shoot off each of the ping pong balls.  All the boys gave this game a thumbs up!

The game encourages:

• fine motor skills
• eye hand coordination skills

Toddler Time: Bottle Bat

Here is a simple toy to make with recycled items from around the house.  You will need a two liter bottle, paper towel tube, duct tape and colored cotton balls or pom poms.  


Put colored cotton balls or pom poms inside the two liter bottle.  This is just to add some visual fun therefore you can skip this step if you would like.  Fold the paper towel tube in half and shove it inside the top of the 2 liter bottle.  Wrap duct tape around the bottle top and the cardboard tube.  This will secure it tightly to the bottle.  Now your bottle bat is ready to play with.

The toddler can bang it on the floor or try to hit a ball.  It makes great noise and is fun to look at.

If an older child wants to use it as a bat, head outdoors.  This bat hits balls pretty far so do not try it indoors. 

5 Games to Play for July 4th

Check out these 5 fun games to play on July 4th.  It does not get any easier than this - just print and play to start celebrating Independence Day.  You can download one game for free - Red, White, Blue, Flag. 

Small Hands Creating Hope

 

Small Hands Creating Hope is a project started by MaryAnne at MamaSmiles.com.  As a survivor herself she reached out to many bloggers to submit children's projects that symbolize hope in the face of cancer.  When I read her blogpost I knew I wanted to participate.

As a 10 year survivor myself, courage, hope and love is crucial to beating this disease.  I was diagnosed with lymphoma the same week I found out I was 5 weeks pregnant with our second child.  After refusing doctor's recommendations to terminate the pregnancy, I was followed closely by top oncologists from the NY metropolitan area.  At 20 weeks pregnant, I still was losing weight and sick.  My doctor wanted one more MRI before he started chemotherapy while I was pregnant.  Miraculously, my MRI showed that the cancer in my neck, chest and arm had become smaller!  The doctor's chose to hold off chemotherapy and I delivered a full term healthy baby girl.  Starting chemotherapy with an newborn and a 19 month old toddler was no picnic.  But prayers, courage, hope and love helped us all through it.  Now, 10 years later I have a wonderful, spirited 10 year old girl who God has great plans for in this life, a 12 year old daughter, 8 year old son, 6 year old daughter and a 21 month old baby girl.  My husband and I have been so blessed.  As the phrase goes "that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger"!!!!

For my submission to the ebook we created charms, keychains, bracelets or necklaces out of metal washers.  

Mamasmiles is sending the ebook version of this book out to anyone who donates at least $15 to the American Cancer society. An email with the download link, as well as a second link that allows you to purchase a hard copy of the book for an additional $10.52 will be sent once we receive your donation. There are close to 40 bloggers who have participated in this project.  The ebook is loaded with projects that young children can create to give to a loved one with cancer or in memory of someone who had cancer.   

Character Trait Report Card

Why not try letting your child be the teacher the next time you read a picture book or any book.  Download this character trait report card and complete it after reading a story.  You could also take the time to relate it to your child's life by discussing important character trait or people you know who display excellent character traits.


If your child likes pretending to be the teacher check out the Pretend Play School Packet.

Toddler Time - Water and Rock Sensory Play

 

I am all about keeping it simple with toddlers.  There are so many things to entertain toddlers that do not involve bells and whistles.  We all know water is probably the biggest entertainer of toddlers.  Here I just added a few rocks of different sizes, a small cup and an inch or two of water in a large kitchen container.   We headed outdoors with it and the toddler had lots of fun, motor skill practice and learning - scooping water, dropping rocks, splashing and exploring the weight and texture of the rocks.  

After this initial play phase we added in some small, play toy animals.  I thought she would enjoy this change.  Come to find out she just took all of the animals out and continued to play with the rocks and the cup.