Homemade Puffy Paint

I found the recipe for this online.  It's cheap, easy to make, and B loved it!!  To make it, you'll need an empty squeeze bottle (I used one from dishwashing liquid).  Mix equal parts of salt and self-rising flour.  Then add enough water to make the consistency of pancake batter.  Try to mix enough to get out most of the lumps so they don't clog the top of the squeeze bottle.  Then, let the creativity flow (no pun intended!).

I cut out hearts and snowflakes from construction paper and let B drip the pain on to the cut-outs.  Older children could make designs with the paint on a card.  My suggestion is to use paper a little thicker, like cardstock.  The construction paper is a little thin to hold the weight of the paint.

The best part of this is that is drys SO quickly!!  After your little artists are finished with their creations, pop the artwork in the microwave for 30 seconds.  It puffs up when it "cooks" and comes out dry.  Be careful though, as it is a little hot taking it out of the microwave, but it cools very quickly.  B loved to feel the puffiness of his creation when it was all done.

Circles, Circles Everywhere!

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Who knew some colored circles cut from construction paper would be so much fun!  My son, B, loved playing games with these circles today.  We used them in a variety of ways, such as:

Hopping like a kangaroo from circle to circle, naming the colors as he went.

Playing "Mommy Says" (like "Simon Says") - Mommy says put the blue circle on your head, Mommy says put the orange circle on your knee, Mommy says jump on the black circle, Mommy says crawl over to the red circle, etc.

Stepping  on each circle, and counting how many there were.

Handing him the circles, letting him name each one, and put them out around the room.

Collecting the circles, counting them as we picked them up.

There are so many fun things we can do with these circles, and it's an activity that cost practically nothing!  It is so windy outside today, yet this activity got us moving - jumping, crawling, hopping, etc.  It helped B to practice his counting and color recognition, but was fun, and he probaby didn't even recognize he was learning!

Have a great weekend!

"Make each day of the week like Friday, and your life will take on more enthusiasm." ~ Byron Pulsifer

Cards for Local Nursing Home

My son, B, who is 2, loves to make crafts that involve gluing.  The funniest part is that he hates to get messy!  I have to keep a wet paper towel next to us every time we make a craft, because if he gets any glue, paint, marker, or whatever on his hands, we have to wipe it off immediately to avoid a meltdown.  Even with the mess, he still loves, loves, loves craft time.

There are only so many places I can hang up this artwork in our house, so I was trying to think of a way that he could make these crafts, but we could give them away.  I thought, why not bring some joy to others!  So, today, we made cards that involved a lot of gluing and stickers, B's 2 favorite things.  Inside the cards, I am going to write nice quotes like, "There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all," and in the next few days we are going to take them to the local retirement home, in the hopes that they bring a smile to the faces of others.

Have a super day!

"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up." ~ Mark Twain