Allison's here today helping us check off #14 on our family activity Advent list: easy and lovely paper snowflakes that everyone in the family will have fun making. There seems to be a never ending itch to craft this time of year. Whether it's at home or at school my boys seem to be crafting away! One of their favorite simple crafts is paper snowflakes. No snowflake comes out the same and they love seeing how their creations turn out. For them the projects that bring instant satisfaction are … [Read more...]
DIY Gratitude Turkey
With Thanksgiving coming up (here in the US) there are plenty of opportunities to talk about thankfulness with our kids. Here is a fun art project that adds a little more than just whimsy to the Thanksgiving table - the thankful turkey. This little paper turkey can be constructed in many ways. The fun thing about him is that each of his feathers has a thankful note on the back for each person at the table to read during dinner. … [Read more...]
DIY Outdoor Halloween Garland
My kids love having Holiday decorations outside our home. I love having homemade decorations. Unfortunately homemade + outdoors don't always mix well. A couple of years ago we started making these cute duct tape garlands and I'm happy to report that 2 years later our banners are still looking great. They are easy to make and look so festive no matter what the occasion. … [Read more...]
Dealing with Night Time Fears Through Play
One of my boys was blessed with my very over active imagination, which can be fun during the day, but not so much at night. We've battled our nighttime monsters in different ways. We talk about what good dreams he wants to have that night - where he wants to go, what he wants to do etc. I've also given him an old remote control so if he wakes up from a bad dream he can change his dream channel. Another way to battle those monsters is by melting them! This activity is fun … [Read more...]
Boredom Buster
I love activities that are cheap, easy, and entertaining for more than just a minute. This is one of my favorite "go to" activities to do with bored kids. All you need is a handful of completely random objects and/or toys from around the house and a bag. The objects in the bag can be used in SO many different ways. Lay them all out for your kids to look at and then take one away when they aren't looking. Have them try and remember what you took away. Dump out … [Read more...]
Letting the Kids Color on Fabric
Contributor Allison is back today with something very cool. DecoArt sent us some of their new Ink Effects fabric transfer ink and a bottle of basecoat to play with and I, in turn, sent it along to Allison to see what her and her boys could come up with. The results are pretty fantastic. I'm all about getting my kids involved so this project was their creation. I love creating (and getting) handmade gifts and I try to pass that love along to my kids as well. We decided to make a … [Read more...]
Life-Size Building Blocks
Happy Monday everyone. I'm pretty thrilled to be able to announce today that Allison of All for the Boys will also be joining the MPMK team as a regular contributor. If you've been paying attention, then you already know I'm a fan (featured her here and here). As you'll see from today's post, her ideas are spectacularly fun but also remarkably simple. You really won't be able to resist trying them out at home. It's no secret that we love forts, tents, and hideaways … [Read more...]