Cardboard Mobile

Some times just doing a regular art project a little outside of the box :) sparks a kid's imagination

1. Cut tabs off both ends of a small cardboard box. I used a Mac & Cheese box and a fruit snacks box.

2.  Cut down the side to open the box.

3.  Lay the box out blank side up.

4.  Decorate!  I cut shapes out for my toddlers as they requested them and let them glue them to the box.  (I have found that liquid glue is actually easier for toddlers than a glue stick.)

5. Cover the back completely.  My girls wanted to  do a rainbow but didn't want to stick to Roy G. Biv.  

6.  Use a hole punch or staples to attach string.

7.  Hang!!

Poka Dot Party

For Hanna's 2nd birthday party we had a poka dot/ball theme party.  I didn't really get pictures of the decorations but the kids cared more about the activities any way.

1.  Balloon Faces:  We decorated balloons with lip and eye stickers I found at the craft store as well as some random silly face print outs I found on google.

2.  Punch Balloons:  I bought a bunch of punch balloons at Walmart in a four pack for a dollar.  The kids loved and they each got to take one home with them!

3.  Ball Toss:  It is fun to have several ball tosses of different sizes such as with a cupcake tin, box, and basketball hoop.

4.  Ball Pit:  We filled a large kiddie pool with ball pit balls and balloons. They LOVED it!  (I actually do this in our kiddie pool all the time in the winter, keeps the kids entertained, and is easy to keep up)

Silly birthday girl

Baby version with a smaller pool

5.  Photo booth:  We made a frame on one wall using circles cut from colored paper.  We had each person at the party stand in the frame at least once.  We took their picture with our digital camera, printed them right a way and gave them to them to take home!

Here is an example of a cute simple poka dot invitation.  I've even included a full resolution 6x4 blank poka dot boarder invitation you may download for free!  Your welcome.

Mountain Climbing

The simplest things always seem to keep my kids entertained the longest.  Added bonus, this really wears them out right before nap time :)

Baking Soda

I kept seeing this on pintrest so I decided to try it.  Yeah, huge it.  It kept my 1 1/2 year olds and the 3 year olds busy until we ran out of baking soda.  The first time I posted this my mom claimed that we did this and many other fun activities like it when I was little and I should need pintrest.  Sorry mom, next time I need an idea I'll ask you first.

Baking soda

Vinegar

food coloring

We just put the vinegar in little medicine cups and 

used spoons but droppers work better if you have them.

Lunch Time!

Take art time right into lunch time.  Or just make lunch time fun!

I got the paper roll and holder at Ikea.  I liked these products because I didn't have space for a whole easel.  Some times we put the paper on the table and some times we just tape it right to the wall, as long as your kid is old enough to stay on the paper!

Mirror Road

   

I'm all about the super easy.  Toddlers love mirrors and anything that rolls.  So I grabbed the tall mirror from my closet, laid it on the floor and pushed a car across it then bounced a soft ball on to demonstrate then just stood back.


I only got pictures of the twins but 2 year big sister loved it too!