Bouncin' Off the Walls

Bouncing and Bouncing and Bouncing...I think it's very fun for toddler-9yrs old, hey it's even fun for me! I see lots of parents (parents are free) jumping around and showing their kids a good time. Kids are $5/per child (site says $7, but they've only charged me $5 cash or $5.25 if all you have is a debit/credit card-I think the web prices are old). Open Bounce (anyone, not a bday party/reservation, etc) is Wednesdays 10am-4pm (sometimes til 1pm I think, but I've never stayed that long). Their website is:
http://www.bouncinoffthewalls.com/home.php

Theatre Room fun at the Great Gerbers!

Hey, I'm going to do this, let me know if you want to. Invite your kids to join me at my husband's parents' house in Cedar Hills, UT for a movie and fun. They built a very nice and amazing theatre room that's modeled after Lake Powel. See pics below of some of his work (some of the pictures are the current theatre room, some are previous projects):

Play dough Activity

Make Your own! Kids can help!

(from "Feed Me I'm Yours" By Vicki Lansky

No-Cook Playdough:

1 cup white flour 1 tsp alum

1/2 cup salt food coloring

2 Tbls vegetable oil 1/2 cup water

Mix first four ingredients. Add food coloring to the water. Gradually add small amounts of water until mixture attains the consistency of bread dough. You may not use the entire 1/2 cup (I did and it was a little too wet, but just barely less than 1/2 cup would probably be better). You can make different colors by mixing them in the water. Store in an airtight container or plastic bag. It lasts a long time.

Stove-Top Playdough:

1 cup whi9te flour 1 cup water

1/4 cup salt 2 tsp vegetable food coloring

2 Tblsp cream of tartar 1 Tblsp oil

Mix flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a medium pot. Add water, food coloring, and oil. Cook and stir over medium heat 3-5 mins. Mixture will look like a globby mess and you'll be sure it's not turning out, but it will. When it forms a ball in the center of the pot, turn our and knead on a lightly floured surface. Store in an air-tight container or plastic bag. Edible but not very tasty.

Peanut Butter Playdough:

18 oz. peanut butter nonfat dry milk

6 Tblsp (or milk plus flour to the

cocoa or carob (optional) right consistency)

Mix. After shaping, decorate (try raisins) and eat!

Another edible playdough can be made from one can of frosting, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter.

Random Kitchen Ideas

-Grind Wheat-if you have a grinder and need to grind some anyway, let them help!

-Make Popcorn & watch a movie (pop old style and let them help)

Valentine's Day Thumbprint Heart

Instructions:Make this fun keepsake on Valentine's Day! Supplies: paper or blank note cards sponge red or pink paint frame if desired child's hand or feet Instructions: Sponge paint onto child's thumb. Press down on paper/card. Repeat with other thumb, overlapping the bottom of the thumb to create a heart shape. Frame if desired. Makes a great gift for parent or grandparent or wonderful Valentines Day cards. (From their website.)

Fazoli's Kid's Night!

Instructions:On Tuesdays from 5 to 8pm (check your local Fazoli's for day and time), we reserve an area of our restaurant just for you! You can make fun craft items and enjoy great Italian food like Lasagna, Spaghetti Marinara, Pizza, Ravioli, Ziti, and Fettuccine Alfredo. There are coloring sheets and a friendly Fazoli's associate to help you! Fazoli's Kid's Night gives parents the opportunity to help their child with a craft, or relax and watch their kids have fun. There's something for everyone!(from website) Please check your local Fazzoli, not all locations have kids night. If your local Fazzoli does, it is a great time at a gret price!
http://fazolis.com/kids/
Kids Only

Kid’s Night
Hey Kids! Fazoli’s is the place to go to have fun with your family and eat all the yummy breadsticks you can. Parents, check out your local Fazoli’s to find out if they offer Kid’s Night, a fun night of activities with special deals for kids.
Friendly Reader Program
For all you young readers out there, ask your local Fazoli’s about our Friendly Reader Program. Participating restaurants will present you with a Fazoli’s bookmark. Read five books and fill out the information on the bookmark, and you will receive a Free Kid’s Meal!
Coloring Sheets
Bring in your parents and have fun at Fazoli’s! In the meantime, you can start having fun of your own at home. Ask your parents to print out our coloring sheets and get out your crayons. Make sure to bring in your piece of art to show your friends at Fazoli’s!
Kid’s Night

Hey kids! Head over to Fazoli’s for Kid’s Night! Enjoy crafts, games, food, and fun! On Tuesdays from 5:00pm to 8:00pm, we reserve an area of our restaurant just for you! You can make fun craft items and enjoy great Italian food like Lasagna, Spaghetti Marinara, Pizza, Ravioli, Ziti, and Fettuccine Alfredo. There are coloring sheets and a friendly Fazoli’s associate to help you!
Fazoli’s Kid’s Night gives parents the opportunity to help their child with a craft, or relax and watch their kids have fun. There’s something for everyone!

Paper Snowflakes Activity

Instructions:This is a simple and quick craft and very effective and long-lasting. You can make a huge stock of these in no time and they will last for ever! You can hang them on the Christmas tree as ornaments, tie them into garlands or mobiles. Lacy white paper doilies Scissors Clear contact paper (Silver or white thread) (Paper punch) (Silver or white glitter, or tiny pearlescent stars) Instructions The size and shape of your snowflakes will depend on your paper doilies. Aim to cut out parts of the doily to create snowflakes varying in size from about 1inch to 3 inches in diameter. Use contact paper, arrange the snowflakes on the sticky side of one piece as above, decorate with glitter if required, then carefully lay a second piece of contact paper over the top. If you are going to use the snowflakes as window decorations, all you have to do now is cut around them and attach them to the window. If you would like to use them as hanging decorations, punch a small hole with a hole punch and thread each snowflake with a short length of silver or white thread. (From their website)

Little Hands Wreath

Instructions:Make an adorable wreath from your child's handprints. Supplies needed: green construction paper A piece of red construction paper or ribbon Pencil Scissors Glue Optional: Glitter or glitter glue Trace the child's hand on a piece of green construction paper. Cut out the hand print. Make about 10 paper hands for each wreath. Glue the hand prints together in a wreath shape, with the wrists overlapping a little bit. Glue on a red ribbon bow (or make one from red construction paper). Optional: Decorate your wreath with glitter or glitter glue. (From Enchanted Learning Website)

Five Little Snowflakes Activity

Still need a rhyme, but could go to 5 little monkeys?

Instructions:Bring a snowflake story to life with this idea from Shelley! --HERE'S HOW-- Shelley (a viewer) sent in this great rhyme and I put together a few templates to go with. You can use the rhyme with the templates a few ways. Shelley suggested giving each child one of the templates and letting them hold theirs up at the appropriate time in the rhyme (you can tape a straw or popsicle stick onto the bottom to make them like puppets... the kids seem to like waving puppets around more than just holding up pieces of paper). You could also make the templates as felt board characters. Simply glue a small piece of coarse sandpaper or felt onto the back of each template so it will hang on the felt board. Place the pieces onto the felt board as you do the rhyme. OPTIONAL: cover the templates in clear contact paper (bought as a roll from your local office supply store for under $5) to make them last longer. The kids can help make it!! :D See the pictures for templates! :) Good Luck!

Ice Cube Racers

Instructions:Ice Cube Racers Use food coloring to make different colors of water. Place the colored water into ice cube trays. Set up an ice cube race track by placing a smooth board against a chair diagonally. Set out the ice cubes. Let the children choose their ice cube, put it at the top of the race track and watch it race down to the bottom. Place newspaper at the bottom, with a large tray to catch the ice, or it is possible to do this outside, using a board against a bench. The colored ice cubes would especially show up in the white snow! This is a great activity to do with toddlers.

I'm a Little Snowman Song

Instructions:I'm a little snowman, Short and fat. Here is my broom (pretend to hold broom handle) Here is my hat (pat top of head) When it's cold and icy, (hug self and shiver) I will stay. But when it gets all hot (wipe brow) I melt away! (shrink down to floor) Sing this to the tune of "I'm a little teapot".

Different Sounds Dance

Instructions:This is a great way to engage your toddler in music and movement on a wet winter day. Play favorite snatches of music that lend themselves to particular actions...something with a big, loud beat so your child can stamp like an elephant, or something quiet so she can pretend she's tiptoeing past a sleeping lion. Marching to music is also great fun and easy enough for most toddlers to manage. These games will stretch her imagination and develop her sense of rhythm.

Winter Nature Walk

Instructions:Nature walks in the winter can be quite different from walks in the summertime. Talk to your toddler about the winter seasons. Point out bare trees, ice or snow, wet plants, etc. On your walk together, take a bucket with you. Collect small objects that interest your toddler like stones, leaves, pine cones. Your toddler will want to carry the bucket, but don't be surprised if he also dumps its contents and starts again. Toddlers this age love to fill containers just so they can empty them again. Meanwhile, he's practicing his hand movements and developing dexterity.

Christmas Tree Garland

Instructions:What you will need: *Yarn *Fruit Loops Cereal *Masking tape Cut a length of yarn as long as you would like your garland. Put tape around one end of the yarn to make a "needle". For little ones it is easiest to tape the other end of the yarn to the table. Have the children lace the fruit loops onto the yarn. When the yarn strand is full tie it off at both ends. Hang the garland on your Christmas tree. **As a bonus: Once Christmas is over you can take the garland outside and hang it on the trees because the birds will eat the cereal. After the cereal is eaten you can go out and cut the yarn into small pieces and hang it back on the tree. The birds will be able to use it for their nests.

Jingle Bell Project

Instructions:What you will need: *paper cup *aluminum foil *Small Jingle Bell *String or Ribbon Very Simple Project! Wrap a paper cup in aluminum foil. Poke a small hole in the top of the cup and tie a jingle bell inside the cup with either string or ribbon. Can be used as simple decoration or as an ornament.

Learning Placemats

Instructions:With holidays and birthdays come lots of presents - and lots of cards filled with well wishes. Put those cards to use by creating a placemat with your child that can be used daily and then put away for a wonderful keepsake. Also makes great gifts! Materials * Sheet of poster board * Birthday cards and photos * Glue * Scissors What To Do: Cut the poster board to your desired mat size. Cut, place and glue the cards to the poster board on both sides. Have the mat laminated at a local copy store. When you put it in front of your child, talk about what your child sees on the cards and who they are from. What color is Grandma's card? What animal is on Aunt Dorothy's card? Take this idea one step further and make placemats out of other things. Wondering what to do with all that artwork Baby makes? Whether it's a finger painting, a collage or crayon scribble, you can laminate these pages and make placemats for year-round use, or gifts for friends and family.

Indoor Fishing...

Instructions:Young kids will love catching fish in the comfort of your home! This fun activity requires: plastic fish bowl or small tank sponges fish net fish bath toys that squirt towels!! Cut the sponges into fish shapes. Fill the bowl or tank with water and put the sponges and toys in. Kids will see some items sink and some float! Give them the net and encourage them to catch the fish. Squeezing out the sponges and squirters adds to the fun! Make sure you keep towels close by because this can get messy!! Close supervision is required when playing with water.

Flour Drawing

Instructions:Materials: Cookie Sheet Flour Sprinkle surface of the cookie sheet with flour and then show your child how to draw letters, faces and words in it with his fingers. You can also have him "follow the leader" by having him draw a repeat shape of whatever you make.

Paper Garden

Instructions:Paper Garden in the Winter Straws, scissors, construction paper, tape, vases(I use old starbucks cups, which I have many) or flower boxes, markers to decorate the 'vases'. My son likes to chew on straws so I started making little flowers/animals/bugs on the end of them, which gave him visual stimulation, a chance to chew! The garden was filled with all sorts of fun stuff! And the animals/bugs/flowers can be used as puppets. All of this made him laugh!

Bearhunt

Instructions:A great way to bring the drama of Helen Oxenbury's "We're Going on a Bearhunt" to life is to stage a simple play with your children after finishing the book. Examine each of Michael Rosen's wonderful illustrations as you read, then color pictures of each scene - the swishy grass, the squishy mud, the wooshing river - and tape them around a room, leaving room between each for "travelling." Each page can be reenacted at the appropriate location, having children make the accompaning sound from the book. When you get to your last picture (an appropriately dark cave or a bear!), scream and run around the room in reverse order, swishing at last through the grass and running to bed (or the couch) and hunkering down. Great way to enjoy a wonderful book and release some energy at the same time!

Home made Maracas

Instructions:It's easy to make these rattlers for your kids that are fun to shake to the beat of their favorite music. There are two fun ways to create maracas: (1)The first is to fill plastic easter eggs with either rice or beans and close. Kids will have fun helping you fill the eggs. If you're making this for a baby, I suggest taping the two pieces of the egg together so the beans don't accidentally come out and pose a choking hazard. (2)The second way is to take 2 paper plates and use a stapler to staple the two paper plates together at the edges. Leave a two inch opening to fill the maraca with rice or beans. After filling the maraca, finish stapling the two plates together. get out the crayons or magic markers and let your child decorate their new instrument!

Winter Sun Catcher

Winter Sun Catcher!

Ages: 8+ years
Instructions:What you will need: Shoe Lace Water 9" Disposable pie pan Things from nature: pinecone, pine needles, berries, etc. First, fold the shoelace in half, and place across the center of the pie pan. Next, fill the tin pan with water. Then, add things from nature in an arrangement in the pan. Leave it outside to freeze. When it is frozen, carefully remove the ice from the pan. Hang the ice circle from a tree in a sunny place! Enjoy.

Bowling for Snowmen!

Instructions:There's no snow required for this friendly snowman. Use as a decoration or make a whole snow family, set them up and play bowling with a soft ball. Age Ages 5 and up (younger if children have help cutting) This project is rated EASY to do. What You Need 16 oz. bottle with label removed (water bottles work well) White tissues or cotton balls Pencil Black, orange and green felt pieces Red sock Green and red rick-rack or other narrow sewing trim Green pom-pom Scissors White craft glue What You Do Use the pencil to stuff the soda bottle with white tissue. Cut a one by 12-inch strip of green felt for the scarf. Cut fringe on the ends and trim with rick-rack or other narrow sewing trim. Tie the scarf around the middle of the bottle. Cut a face for the snowman from the orange and black felt pieces. Glue the face to the side of the bottle above the scarf. Cut the toe from the old sock approximately four inches from the toe to make a hat for the snowman. Roll the cut end of the sock up twice to form a brim for the hat. Glue rick-rack around the brim. Slip the hat on the snowman over the top of the bottle. Glue the pom-pom to the top of the hat.

Winter Treasure Hunt

Ages: 3-8
Instructions:Create a fun treasure hunt for the winter. Make a list of things for your child to find outdoors. Here are just a few ideas: Deer Fallen leaves Pine cones Bark A sled Other children Snow Squirrels Additionally, you can make your own treasure hunt with a treasure box to find at the end. Put in it: Packet of hot cocca marshmallows A fun book Crayons A coloring book Give them hints on where to find the treasure, and help them find it. It will be very rewarding treat at the end of their journey. Snuggling up together with their prize can be another fun and warm activity for after your hunt.

Winter Beach Party

Instructions:Do the kids (and you!) feel stuck indoors in the cold? Are you longing for warm summer days? Trying throwing your own Beach Party! Bring that fun-in-the-sun feeling into your home with a winter beach bash. Spread beach towels on the living room floor. If you have a beach umbrella, haul that out of the garage! Let everyone wear their swimsuits and a pair of flippers. Put some Beach Boys music on the stereo. Play games with a beach ball. Feast on hot dogs and lemonade. Make castles out of clay and play-dough. And don t forget to take pictures!

Pom Pom Necklace

Ages: 4- 8 years
In: Arts & Crafts
Time to complete: 40 minutes Dress up for the Holidays with this colorful soft pompom necklace and bracelet.

What you need: Colored pompoms (multi-colored package) , dull embroidery needle , elastic thread , and scissors.
Instructions:Cut a 25" piece of thin elastic thread. Knot one end so the pompoms won't slip off. String pompoms on elastic thread with an embroidery needle -- younger children may need help. Add as many pompoms to create desired length of the necklace. Knot both ends of elastic several times to secure. A Bracelet can be made from a 12" piece of elastic thread. A bag of 100 pompoms will make a necklace and a bracelet.

Cooking in the Kitchen

Let kids help mom cook in the kitchen!

Balloon Play

Balloon Play
Ages: 1-8
Instructions:My girls like most kids love balloons. I blow up about 20 of them put on music and we kick and dance our hearts out. They love it and we all get a work out!

Alphabet Photobook

Alphabet Photobook:
Ages: 1-4
Instructions:Create an alphabet photo book that will help your child with alphabet recognition, phonics and learning to pronounce each letter, using photographs of familiar objects that begin with a particular letter of the alphabet.

Rhythm Dancing

Rhythm Dancer

Ages: 1- 5 years

Instructions:learning how to go fast, and slow and how to stop and go, this activity requires a radio with a volume button and assorted songs..first we say go..and start the music. Encourage child to listen to the rhythm if it is fast move real fast...if it slows move real slow with embellished slow motion movement...then randomly yell stop and turn off music..continue doing this and mix it up with all different music, foreign language songs make great music for this game and kids love it

Pudding Paints

Pudding Paint

Ages: 1- 5 years

Instructions:This is a fun texture & taste toddler activity. It's great with very young children because you don't have to worry about them eating it or putting it in their mouth. They have a ball being able to eat and paint at the same time. Materials: Instant pudding, food coloring, small containers for pudding, long sheet of bulletin board paper or heavy craft paper, soap and water. Description: Prepare pudding and tape paper to a table. Parents can pre mix food coloring with the pudding or let the children do it. Give each child their own container of pudding, then let them use their fingers to do the rest. Talk about how it feels between their fingers, about the taste, and the smell.