Anyone else’s children really into rainbows right now? My daughters are all about the rainbows. They want to eat rainbow food, make rainbow crafts, and paint their nails in rainbow colors. Even some of their Barbie dolls have rainbow colored hair. FYI, those barbies didn’t come like that. My daughters used markers and gave them a makeover. Better the barbies hair than theirs I suppose. So today I thought I would give them a special treat and make them rainbow pancakes and take them on a rainbow themed scavenger hunt.
Rainbow Pancakes
I’d love to say I made these pancakes from scratch but I didn’t. After being woken up at 6:30am (my daughters are early risers) I was way too tired to make anything from scratch. My eyes were barley open when we entered the kitchen. I just grabbed some Bisquick, and food coloring, and made pancakes the easy way.
We didn’t have all the colors needed to make a full rainbow, so my daughters mixed some colors together to create orange and purple. They told me that they learned all about mixing colors in camp last year so they didn’t need my help figuring out which colors to mix together. They are becoming so independent. I can’t believe they are almost in 3rd grade! I digress, back to the pancakes.
If you are not afraid of a mess, and you think your child is ready for this job, transferring the pancake batter into separate cups and mixing in the food coloring is a lot of fun. My daughters helped out with this today and only got some of the batter on the countertops. It used to stress me out when they helped me in the kitchen because of the inevitable mess, but I eventually learn to embrace the chaos that comes along with children helping out in the kitchen. It also helps that they are old enough to help clean up the mess.
When the pancakes were done cooking, I piled them on a plate and placed them in front of my daughters. They both grabbed one of each color, stacked them in rainbow order, and took a big bite! These were so much fun to make and eat. We will definitely make these again.
Rainbow Scavenger Hunt
After breakfast we got out some paint and paintbrushes and began painting our rainbows. I was a bit apprehensive about giving them paint after last weeks painting project went downhill fast, (they decided to paint each other instead of the paper) but it’s not like I can keep paint from them forever, so I crossed my fingers and handed over the materials. Thankfully all the paint stayed on the paper this time. Do your children do things like this, or is it just mine? Comment down below.
So anyway, while our rainbows dried, we took a walk around our neighborhood and documented everything we saw that was the same color as the colors of the rainbow. I have to say, it was a lot of fun. My daughters were so excited whenever they found something, and loved writing everything down.
Once our list was complete, we typed it up, cut out each word, and glued them to our rainbows. We realized we had some extra space on our rainbows so we looked around the house and found more things we could include. This was such a fun little project. My daughters loved the way their rainbows turned out. Comment down below if you give this a try. I’d love to hear how your scavenger hunt went.
*Adult supervision is required*
Lately, I have been thinking about how I let things slide during quarantine. The majority of people I spoke to about this said they have given up on keeping their homes clean and no longer restrict their children’s electronics. For me it wasn’t either of those things. It was something else.
I couldn’t let my house get messy because I became a complete germaphobe during this quarantine. Did this happen to any of you? Whenever I get a spare minute I’m scrubbing something. Everything must be clean! I am sure I will calm down about this… one day. For now it is what it is. The cleaner the house, the safer I feel.
I also didn’t give my children unlimited access to their electronics. This isn’t because my children are so well behaved that I don’t need to distract them with television and iPads. Not at all. It is because they have become obsesses with yodeling. Yes… YODELING.
Every time they turn on the television, the sound of someone yodeling ( and the sound of my daughters yodeling) fills the house. It’s cute, I will give them that, but how much yodeling can two little girls listen to? Too much, the answer is TOO MUCH! There is such a thing as too much yodeling, in my opinion, not theirs. It was going on ALL DAY LONG! Thanks but no thanks. Electronics will remain on lockdown.
What I did let slide was my appearance. Day one of quarantine I changed from my nighttime pajamas into my daytime pajamas (yes, there is such a thing as daytime pajamas) and kept that up for a good two weeks. It was wonderful. I was so comfortable and I was eating whatever I wanted because I couldn’t feel my pants getting tighter. My pajamas were very forgiving. I did continue to wear make up though, (which made absolutely no sense since I was in pajamas but there you have it). I figured, at least I was somewhat put together.
Then one day, I showed up in the background of my daughters ZOOM call in my pajamas (and ROBE) and I decided getting dressed in the morning would be a good idea. That said, I did stop wearing makeup. Something had to give. It’s not a quarantine if you’re fully dressed with face full of make up. Am I right?
I was enjoying this new phase of quarantine until my daughter’s teacher asked me to sit down and talk to her on ZOOM. It wasn’t scheduled, it was random. She was giving my daughter a lesson and asked for me to come on screen for a chat. So there I was, no make up (ok, no bra either) and a teacher waiting for me to sit down to speak with her. I couldn’t ask for her to wait for me to put on some make up and and a bra so I did the only thing I could do… I stood by the computer, never showed myself, and had a full on conversation. I didn’t give an explanation. Who knows what she thought. Couldn’t be as bad as what she would have thought if she saw me!
Now, I get dressed (bra and all) and I put on make up… Thanks ZOOM! What did you let slide? Comment down below.
Press’n Seal art is something I did with my daughters when they were younger. I used it to teach them shapes, colors, and counting. They really loved it, especially my one daughter who is more sensory seeking. She loved sticking her hands to the Press’n Seal more than she liked sticking the tissue paper to it. Whatever keeps them busy, right?
So today, I decided to set this up for them again, but to make it age appropriate (they are 8) I asked them to cut out the tissue paper shapes themselves and create a scene. They made beach scenes (which included mermaids of course) and a neighborhood. This held their attention for such a long time. I was able to eat breakfast AND put away some laundry while they occupied themselves with this activity. Mom win for sure!
If you give this a try comment down below and let me know what your child created.
*Adult supervision is required*
I don’t know about you, but this three day weekend is just what my family needs right now. Being locked in our house (ok, we can get out, but you know what I mean) and homeschooling, has been interesting to say the least. Trying to get my girls to complete their assignments while they are surrounded by their toys has not been simple. This long weekend could not have come at a more perfect time.
The weather is getting nicer, and we have been able to go outside this weekend and enjoy each other’s company without interruption. No schedules and absolutely no ZOOM calls! Just us four spending some quality time together.
To start off our long weekend, I did a couple of Memorial Day themed crafts with my daughters. It was so nice to sit down with them and just have some fun. Ok, I am a teacher, and I did sneak in ONE educational Memorial Day themed game. Just one! I couldn’t help myself. Scroll down to see what we did.
Flag Themed Flower Pot
These flag themed flower pots were so simple to make and will be something my daughters can enjoy for months to come. We can’t wait to see what grows! (You can paint stars instead of dots if you prefer)
Uncle Sam Craft
This Uncle Sam craft is another easy and quick craft for kids to make. All you need are some craft sticks, paint, googly eyes and some hot glue and you’re good to go!
Memorial Day Themed Memory Match
Every holiday I like to come up with one educational game to make sure my daughters understand why we are celebrating. Memory match is one of my daughters favorite games, and so I made it Memorial Day themed and they were more than happy to play. Scroll down to see how to make this memory match game.
Materials
Wood circles (any shape)
Paint
Paint brushes
Mod Podge
How To
Paint one side of the wood circles, red, white and blue.
While you are waiting for the paint to dry, type up, print, and cut out some questions and answers relating to Memorial Day.
Paint the unfinished side of the wood circle with mod podge, place the questions/answers down and paint over it with another layer of mod podge. Let it dry.
Flip the wood circles back over to the painted side and paint a layer of mod podge over it to give it a more finished look. That’s it. It doesn’t take too long to make and it is a fun way to talk about Memorial Day with your children.
I hope everyone has a fun weekend! Comment down below and let me know how you celebrated?
*Adult supervision is required*
The end of the school year is fast approaching and I have begun preparing some review games for my daughters to play during the summer. Memory match is one of my favorite games to use to review skills. My daughters don’t even realize they are learning, they think they are just finding matches. You can use this game to review so many skills. I decided to create a sight word memory match game.
Materials
Wood circles ( any shape)
Mod podge
X-ACTO knife
Scrapbook paper
How To
An adult should make this activity.
Cut your scrapbook paper into squares.
Paint a layer of mod podge to one side of the wood circle and place the scrapbook paper square on top. Gently press and smooth out the paper to prevent wrinkles. Set them to the side to dry.
While you are waiting for the paper to dry, type up and print out all the words you would like to include in your game. Cut them out and place them to the side for later.
Flip your circles over and carefully cut off the excess scrapbook paper using an X-ACTO knife.
Paint a layer of mod podge to the unfinished side of the circle and place one of the words you printed out on top. Paint another layer of mod podge over the word.
Once everything is dry, flip your circles back over to the side that shows the scrapbook paper and paint a layer of mod podge over it. This will give your game a finished look while protecting the paper.
If you give this game a try, comment down below and let me know which skill you reviewed.
*Adult supervision is required*
It’s that time of year again. The weather is getting nicer and the children are able to get outside and get their energy out. We’ve been outside most days enjoying the sunshine, but I knew at some point it would rain, as it often does in Spring, and I would need indoor activities to keep my girls entertained.
A sensory path is something I always have in my back pocket. It is quick and easy to make, and gives children hours of entertainment. This morning when I saw it was raining, I quickly searched the house for painters tape and construction paper and got to work. I wanted the sensory path down on the floor before my daughters could look outside, see it was raining, and say, “I’m bored.”
They were so excited when they woke up to find the sensory path. They didn’t even comment on the rain. They just started jumping around down the path. If you’d like to make one too, scroll down.
Materials
Painters tape (optional)
Construction paper
Scotch shipping packing tape
How To
Before putting anything down on your floor check to make sure it won’t damage it!
Make boxes on your floor using painters tape. (This step is optional, you can just tape down the handprints and footprints on the floor without making the boxes)
Cut out handprints and footprints out of construction paper and place them in the boxes. Using heavy duty packing tape, cover each print fully and tape them down to the floor.
Thats it! It is quick and easy to make and gives children something fun to do on a rainy day. It is also a great way for them to work on their motor skills and hand & eye coordination.
What are your favorite rainy day activities? Comment down below.
*Adult supervision is required*
My daughters and I have been seeing these chalk mosaics all over the place. Every time we take a walk around our neighborhood, a new one pops up on someone’s driveway.
Today, we decided to give it a try. Let me tell you what, it is not as easy as you would think. Maybe, unlike me, you never thought it was easy. I can not tell you how much painters tape I went through to create this little mosaic for my daughters to color in. I really hope my husband didn’t need that tape for another project … there’s none left!
While it didn’t come out exactly the way I envisioned, perfection was never the goal. Having fun was, and we really did have a great time creating this mosaic.
Have you tried creating one? If so, comment down below and let me know how it turned out.
*Adult supervision is required*
The weather is becoming nicer, (thank goodness guys, being quarantined with children when it is cold outside is not ok) and we have been enjoying all that Spring has to offer. We’ve been riding bikes, going for long walks, and searching for rainbows on rainy days.
I think seeing a rainbow is one of my daughters’ favorite things. It is always such big deal, even though they have seen over a dozen. There’s a magical quality to a rainbow that even adults enjoy.
We won’t be seeing any rainbows in the sky today, so we thought we would make some to put in the house. We searched on Pinterest this morning and found an adorable rainbow coffee filter craft and just had to try it out. We love a good coffee filter craft.
What I love about this craft is we had all the materials needed to complete it in the house already. We didn’t have to order a single thing! I love when that happens. Scroll down to see how we made them.
Materials
Coffee filter
Markers
Spray bottle filled with water
Scissors
Googly eyes
How To
First, you will need to flatten out your coffee filter. And FYI, coffee filters DO NO like to lay flat, so do the best you can. Now you can start coloring your coffee filters. Go around in a circle in rainbow order.
Now it is time to spray your coffee filter and watch as the colors blend together. My girls love this part! Make sure to protect the table underneath the coffee filter.
Set them aside to dry and start working on your cloud. We cut ours free hand and hoped for the best. We glued on some googly eyes, drew on a smiley face and they were good to go.
Check on your coffee filters and see if they are dry. If they are, cut them in half to form your rainbow. Glue the cloud to the coffee filter rainbow and you are all done!
Comment down below if you gave this a try. I’d love to hear how they turned out.
*Adult supervision is required*
My daughters love writing notes to each other. I find little notes all over the house. Today I thought, wouldn’t it be better if we had a designated place for them to leave each other notes?
We decided to make mailboxes for them to place by their bedroom doors to help keep all of their notes organized. We looked online at different options and chose one of the easier mailboxes so they could make them on their own. Well, almost on their own. I handled the hot glue gun and exacto knife.
Scroll down to see how we made their mailboxes.
Materials
Cereal box
Scrapbook paper
Hot glue gun
Exacto knife
Scissors
How To
Cut the cereal box in half. Use the bottom half of the cereal box for this project.
Trace the front, back, and sides of the cereal box onto scrapbook paper and cut them out. Use the hot glue gun to secure the scrapbook paper to the outside of the cereal box.
Cut a U shape into the front of the cereal box.
Trace the back and sides of the cereal box onto scrapbook paper and cut them out. Use the hot glue gun to secure the scrapbook paper to the inside of the cereal box.
That’s it! You’re all done. Now it’s time to get out a pen and paper and write a letter to your child. I love slipping letters into my daughters’ mailboxes at night so they get a letter first thing in the morning. Last night, I wrote them a note reminding them to make their beds! LOL.
*Adult supervision is required*
Today I didn’t feel like cleaning up a major mess, but I really wanted to do a Memorial Day craft with my daughters to go along with some of the lessons they are learning in school. Virtual school that is.
I decided on a no mess painting project. It didn’t end up being “no mess” the way we did it, but don’t worry, I eventually realized why paint splattered out onto my wood table. The table I said we could paint on without a table covering because it was a NO MESS project. Way to go mom!
To be honest, I wasn’t sure my daughters would like this project. We haven’t done a no mess painting project since they were five. They are eight now. Would they think it was babyish or would they love it? Turns out, they still love it!
Materials
Gallon Size Zip Lock Bag (This is where I went wrong. We used a plastic sleeve and I forgot to seal it!)
Paint
Tape
Poster Board
How To
Draw a picture on your poster board (cut to fit the zip lock bag) and add globs of paint within the lines. Carefully insert the poster board into the zip lock bag. SEAL the bag well.
You can place this on a table and let your little one get to work. All they need to do is squish the paint through the bag with their fingers. My daughters love when I tape these to our sliding door. For some reason it is even more fun if they get to stand while painting.
If you do not want to draw a picture, you can simply cut a poster board to fit into a zip lock bag, place globs of paint onto the poster board, carefully insert it into the ziplock bag, and let them squish the paint around. They can trace shapes into the paint or letters. Whatever they would like. Either way, it is a fun and easy project.
Comment down below if you give this a try. Can’t wait to read about what your little ones created.
*Adult supervision is required*