{Tuesday's Tip} Waste Not

Recently I had a lot of leftover bread pieces from several different loaves of bread (for some reason my family doesn't always eat the loaf ends).  It was time to either give the bread away or throw it away, so we opted to go feed it to the ducks!

Feeding the ducks is a great summer time activity.  It gets both you and yours kids out of the house and enjoying nature!  We are lucky to have a couple dams near by that always have ducks.  But if you have trouble finding some, look for the little canals, streams, or ponds that ducks would love.

To be honest, it took me a few days before we actually went and fed the ducks.  But I had my bag of bread already to go so that I'd be able to grab it and go when I was ready.

This is a cheap and easy activity too because you can either use leftovers (as long as their safe for birds to eat) or sometimes there are bird-food dispensers that only take a dime or quarter.

Felt Animals

Today we're having more fun with flannel boards and making felt animals.

To make my animals, I found simple animal shapes online and in coloring books.  Then I printed or copied the picture and cut out the animal outline to use as a stencil.  Then I simply traced the animal outline onto felt using a permanent marker and cut it out.  You can be finished at this point and just use your animals as silhouettes.  Or you can add faces, hair/feathers, feet, arms/wings, etc.  I like adding a little something to each animal to make them come to life.  Here are a few different felt birds that I made:

I like using lots of different colors and shades of felt to make my animals, but you don't have to.  For example, on most of the birds I cut out a wing in a different color, but the swan is layered white on white and it looks just as good!

As you can see, I also like cutting just outside the black outline rather than just inside or on the line because I like the way the animals look with the outline.  But that is totally up to you, whichever you think looks best--outline or no outline.

To make my animal faces (like eyes, nose, mouth, etc.), I mostly drew them on using permanent marker.  To add other features and body parts (like the horns and tail on the bull below), I used fabric glue.  I also used googly eyes, ribbon, and yarn to add more texture to some of the animals.

This is a craft that you can make with your kids, and you don't have to make a whole bunch all at once because there are only a few supplies that you have to get out and put away.  So you can keep adding to your felt and flannel board collection later by making new characters or objects.  Plus, they last a long time.  I actually made some of these animals a few years ago and they haven't lost their "fuzz" and stick to the flannel board.

Having felt animals are not only fun to play with, they can help teach a lesson or tell a story.  They also can be a great quiet time activity during afternoon naps or church, and can be easily toted with you on your travels.

If you haven't made yourself a flannel board yet, check out our previous post here for some ideas.

Oodles of Noodles

Today I'm sharing a few fun games my family likes to play in the backyard using swim noodles.  If you like swimming, then you probably have a few of these noodles just lying around.  If not, you can get some pretty cheap at the dollar store or Walmart.

Foam swim noodles are fun because you can hit each other pretty hard with them but not get hurt...usually.  You may still want to set a few ground rules before playing these games, like avoid the face, etc.    

Oodles of Noodles games:

{1} Use the noodles as swords (or light sabers) and fight! 

{2} Cut one noodle in half and use it to play tag.  For instance, you can only tag the other person by tapping them with the noodle.

{3} Play "lawn hockey" by setting goals on either side of the yard and using the noodles and a ball.

{4} Make your own croquet game using noodles instead of mallets.  The balls just need to touch different places in that yard rather than going through hoops.

{5} Blow up a balloon and hit the balloon back and forth to each other without letting it hit the ground.  You can set up a net to make this game more challenging.

{6} Put the noodles on the trampoline and pretend they are poison.  If a noodle touches you while jumping, you are out.

{7} Make an obstacle course using noodles.  For instance, you may have to jump over them, limbo under them, etc.

{8} Throw the noodles like javelins to see who can throw them the farthest.

{9} Play the Name Game. Everyone sits in a circle while one person with a noodle is "it" stands in the middle of the circle.  Someone sitting in the circle starts the game by calling out another player's name.  Then the player who is called must call out another player's name before getting wacked by the "it" person in middle For instance, if I yell..."Brian," then Brian has to hurry and call someone else's name.  If Brian gets hit by the "it" person, then he is now "it."  Players cannot call on the person who just called you and cannot call on the person standing in the middle.

If you like the idea of using swim noodles, checkout this book for more involved or team building activities: 50 Ways to Use Your Noodle.

 

{Tuesday Tip} Happy Harvesting

One of my favorite things about summer is being able to harvest fresh produce from the garden!

Early in the spring we posted about gardening and how gardens not only promote good well-being and health, but they are also a great way to create family bonding time. 

This is my first year gardening in my own backyard and it has been a bit of an adventure.  Our garden is far from perfect.  Our soil is mostly hard clay and super rocky.  Plus we almost planted (or transplanted) too late in the spring.  But miraculously, despite these odds, our garden has started to produce, and it's fabulous!

This year we were able to plant a few onions,

squash and zucchini,

peas, tomatoes, bell peppers, 2 cucumber plants, and 1 bean plant (that's all that survived).  We also planted a few marigolds along the front (they seem like a traditional garden flower) and we were lucky enough to inherit a raspberry bush from the previous owners. 

We haven't harvested everything, and we have yet to find out if all of our plants will continue growing and producing.  But so far we have harvested lots of squash and zucchini plus some cheery tomatoes, peas, and...

 raspberries (my favorite!).

Even if we don't yield as much as we anticipated, harvesting is still so rewarding because you have a great feeling of accomplishment AND you get to enjoy the fruits of your labors, literally! Yum!

Even if you don't have your own garden, you may know friends or neighbors that are willing to share their abundant produce with you.  Or you can always stop by the local gardeners market.  

A couple other fun ways to create the "harvesting" feel for you and your family is to find a local farm that allows you to pick your own fresh produce before you buy it, like this local U-Pick farm.  It's a great way to get the kids involved, and is way more yummy than buying produce from the grocery store!

Another way to get your fresh produce is to find out about local co-ops in your area.  One great website is Bountiful Baskets.  This organization is largely volunteer-based and seems to keep growing and adding new locations.

Whichever way you get your fresh produce, we wish you a Happy Harvest!

Felt Paper Dolls

Remember the flannel boards we made? Well, here is another fun project you can make to go with them:

Felt Paper Dolls.  

This is a great craft project for the kids to make right along with you.

To make the paper dolls, I started by cutting out a body-shaped stencil using card stock.  I made a few paper doll stencils that were different shapes and sizes.

Then I used a marker to trace the doll outline onto felt and cut it out.

Next, using the same doll stencil, we traced and designed the clothing for the dolls using different colors of felt.

This was the fun part--it's fun to be a designer!  It was so much fun that we ended up creating an entire wardrobe for our paper dolls.  We made dresses, pants, swimming suits, pj's, etc.

Afterwards, my kids filled in the paper doll faces and other accessories using markers.  But in the future, it would be fun to add little embellishments to the dolls or outfits like ribbons, buttons, sequins, jewels, etc. 

 When you are done designing your dolls and clothes, you are ready to start accessorizing and using your imagination!  These felt paper dolls are perfect to use with a flannel board.  I have both a large flannel board and a small travel-size flannel board, and they both work great!

These felt paper dolls are also easy to make and the clothes don't fall off or rip easily like they do on regular paper dolls.

"Minute to Win It" Competition

We have a lot of summer birthdays in our family so we decided to have a combined 4th of July/Birthday party this year.  For the party, I was in charge of the games and I decided to host a mini Minute To Win It competition, and it was a blast!

I'm assuming that most of you are familiar with the game show Minute to Win It.  But if not, the main idea is that contestants win a cash prize if they complete a given challenge in 1 minute or less.  I didn't include time limits or even play for prizes (although that would be fun too), we just had fun playing together!

So, the first thing I did was come up with the challenges.  I browsed a list of Minute to Win It challenges on Wikipedia and chose six that I liked.  There are a lot of challenges to choose from on this list, but each one rated on the level of difficulty which makes the list easier to sort through.

Below is the list of the six challenges I chose along with a brief explanation for each.  I ended up tweaking some of them a little to fit with our own resources and abilities.  So be aware that some of the explanations vary from the actual game show.

Minute To Win It Challenges:

{Card Ninja} The contestants must throw a playing card into a watermelon from 2 feet away.  We used one deck of card and split it between to players.  We allowed the players to move closer/father depending on how easy/hard this challenge was for them.

{Face the Cookie} The contestants, using only their face, must move an Oreo cookie from their forehead to their mouth.

{Spare Me} The contestant must drop marbles down a pool noodle to knock over ten upright markers from 3 feet away.

{Wet Ball} The contestant must use a spray bottle of water to move a balloon across the ground into a hula hoop 6 feet away.  We had three contestants do it each round and we used little squirt guns instead of spray bottles.  Afterwards, we let the kids take a squirt gun home as a party favor.

{At the Market} The contestant must place an orange (or small ball) in-between their knees and then, without using their hands, walk/hop around and over different obstacles and deposit them in a hula hoop on the ground.  Our obstacle included going around a chair and hopping over two foam noodles while moving from one end of the yard to the other.  We had four contestants go at a time and used balls instead of oranges.

{Blow Up} The contestant must blow bubbles through a hula hoop from 3 feet away.  We had three contestants do it each round and afterwards, we let the kids take a small bottle of bubbles home as a party favor.

All of these challenges were easy and fun to do for both the kids and adults.  Plus, most of the supplies we had on-hand.  For most of the challenges we took turns instead of everyone doing it at once, except for the "Face the Cookie" challenge.

Now you're all set to have your own competition.  Let the games begin!

{Tuesday's Tip} Make a Splash & Cool Off

We have been having one HOT summer this year where we live.  You literally start melting as soon as you step out the door.  So we've been trying to come up with some activities that can help us keep cool without spending a lot of money.  

One great way to cool off on hot summer days is to find a park with lots of shade or...a splash pad!

If you've never been to a splash pad park, you need to go!  The one closest to where we live is about 15 minutes away.  But it is great for kids of all ages and it's actually a really popular spot!

Each splash pad is a little different.  Some have sprinklers that spray up from the ground, others have pipes that spray like a shower.  Our splash pad is located at a park, so it has all the typical park amenities: nearby parking, playground, grassy area, covered pavilion, and bathrooms.  There are also a couple benches on the perimeter of the splash pad to help parents keep a close eye on their kids.  The sprinklers are activated by pressing a button.  There are several sprinklers in a circular, cement area that spray in different patterns.

It's the same idea as running through the sprinklers at home...but tons more fun!  Dress your kids in swimsuits or clothes that can get wet in (and you too!).  We make sure to pack towels, sunscreen, and snacks so that we can play as long as we'd like. 

If you don't know if there is a splash pad near you, here is a list of local splash pads from EnjoyUtah!.org. 

So, go on and make a splash!

Felt Shapes

Today we're go over how to make colorful felt shapes.
 
To make my shapes, I decided to cut out a variety of shapes including circles, squares, rectangles, stars, etc.  So I grabbed my stash of colored felt and scissors and went to work.

I cut my shapes so that some were the same size and color and some were different sizes and colors.  With the circles and stars you could print a pattern and trace it first before cutting them out, but I liked doing some free-hand too so they were each a little unique and not quite perfect.  You could also trace cookie cutters or other household objects for your shapes, whatever is easiest for you.

 Felt shapes and a flannel board can be just as fun as plastic shapes or building blocks.  Shapes are fun because you can use your imagination and build all kinds of things: people, cars, houses, large buildings, bridges, etc.  Every time you and your kids play with the felt shapes, you can make something different.

Felt shapes can also be a great teaching tool for children.  For a toddler, it can help them to identify different shapes and colors or illustrate difference between little and big.  For school-aged children you could cut some of the shapes into halves, thirds, fourths, etc. to be used as part of a simple math activity.

DIY Flannel, Chalk, & Magnetic Boards

I love crafts.  But I particularly love craft projects that are quick and easy to finish, otherwise I might lose my ambition.  That's why felt is perfect for not-so-ultra-crafty mom's like me. :)  With felt you can make something cute that's quick and easy, and often times no-sew!

So, I actually have a few felt projects up my sleeves that I'll be sharing with you over the next couple weeks.  But first, you'll need to make yourself a flannel board (if you don't already have one). 

The good thing is that flannel boards are simple and inexpensive to make yourself and they are so versatile.

{DIY Flannel Board Tips}  For flannel boards I like to use the particle board.  You can pick up a piece at any hardware store in different sizes, or they will help you cut down a piece as needed.  Your flannel board doesn't need to be that big, and actually smaller boards are more portable and easy to store.

Next, you'll just need to get a piece of flannel or felt that is big enough to cover one side your piece of particle board and a little extra length to wrap around the edges.  Then simple secure your fabric to the particle board by using a staple gun, spray adhevise, hot glue, etc.  It doesn't really matter and it doesn't take much to keep the fabric in place.

Then I used tape (duct tape works well) to secure the edges and make a "frame" around my flannel board.  However, if you want to make yours look more "cute", you could add a strip of ribbon around the edges or on the back side to cover the edge of the fabric and secure it in place.

I've also included a few tips on how to whip-up your own chalk and magnetic boards while your at it because these boards are really useful to have.  Plus they are just as easy as the flannel boards to make yourself.

{DIY Chalk Board Tips}  For the chalk board, you simply need a can of chalk spray paint.  You can use this paint to spray on nearly any surface you want: glass, wood, etc.  Mini chalk boards are all the rage write now, so now you can make your very own, any shape or size you'd like!  Hooray!

{DIY Magnetic Board Tips}  Now for magnetic boards.  The quickest magnet board is using a flat metal baking pan or cookie sheet.  You can find these at lots of stores.  I'd check out dollar stores or good will stores first if you want a better deal (especially since you probably won't actually use these pans for baking).  

One word of advice when shopping for metal pans: take a magnet with you when you go to the store.  Looks can be deceiving.  Many inexpensive pans are made out of aluminum and are not magnetic.  So this way you can make sure that it's magnetic before you purchase it.   

You could also find a piece of sheet metal at the hardware store and place it in a frame.  There are all types of decorative, DIY magentic board tutorials out there.  Again, make sure to take a magnet with you to the hardware store to avoid picking up aluminum instead of sheet metal. Then it will be magnetic and a fun chalkboard.  With the metal piece you could frame and hang on the wall as a decoration in any room.

{Notice the dual felt & magnet board all-in-one}

Another great idea is to combine these ideas and make a dual purpose board.  For example, you could cover one side of your magnetic pan with felt or chalkboard paint and...voila!  You now have a double-sided board with double the options.  Plus, less mess to clean and less to store = big bonus for mom!  In fact, if you covered one side of your pan with felt and the other with chalkboard paint, you'd really have all three boards in one because one side would be both chalk and magnetic.  

As you can see, DIY flannel, chalk, and magnetic boards are really flexible because you have so many options.  So, get creative and make a board! That way you'll be set for more upcoming crafts and lots of playtime in the future. ;)

Pressed Flower Bookmarks

Before I get started with today's post, I wanted to remind you that today is Free Slurpee Day at 7-Eleven (because the date is 7/11). So, go and get yourself a free, refreshing slurpee!!

Now onto today's post...pressed flower bookmarks!

Last week I posted about our family picking wildflowers (read about it here).  Well, I saved the wildflowers we picked and made them into pressed flower bookmarks! They turned out so cute! Here's what we did.

First, to press the flowers we wrapped them in plastic wrap and set them under a heavy book for an entire day.

{Wildflowers being pressed in plastic wrap}

The next day I cut out pieces of card stock for the bookmarks.  You can make the bookmarks pretty much any size you would like.  I made enough for everyone to make their own pressed flower bookmark.  To decorate and label the bookmarks we used regular, washable markers.  Then we carefully placed the flowers on the card stock and laminated them.  You could use a little piece of glue or adhesive to keep the flowers in place if needed, but I recommend only using a little. 

This was an easy and educational craft.  And now it is a fun momento from our summer vacation.  We had enough flowers to make a few extra to give as gifts to grandparents.  Homemade gifts can be some of the most precious.

Trip to Hawaii

If you remember last week my daughter and I "flew" to Scotland.  You can read all about it here.  Well, my daughter liked it so much that she wanted us to fly somewhere else.  So this week we are going to Hawaii as a family.

 
Similar to our Scotland trip, I printed boarding passes for the flight and set up the living room like an airplane.  We boarded the plane and watched video clips of hula dancing and listened to Hawaiian music.  When our plane "landed" we put on our flower leis and headed off to "Honolulu" to go shopping, of course!

In case you've never been, there's a big outdoor market/swap meet held frequently near Honolulu city.  In our town they were having an outdoor arts festival for local artists and craftsman to sell their merchandise, so that's where we went shopping.  It was fun to have our own little "outdoor market and swap meet" nearby.  Be sure to check out any upcoming arts festivals in your community, they are so much fun!

We enjoyed our shopping trip and made some fun purchases.  We relaxed and watched the music performances.  When it was time for dinner, we headed back home for a Hawaiian meal of Teriyaki  chicken, Kailua pig, macaroni salad, and sticky rice with soy sauce.  We also made tropical smoothies with fresh mango's, banana's, pineapple, and nectarines.

While we ate dinner we enjoyed watching Lilo and Stitch together.  What a wonderful day we had in Hawaii!

If you want to take your own "trip to Hawaii" but don't want to go shopping, another fun alternative would be to set a swimming pool or sprinklers in your own backyard! 

Slushies

Slushies...

They are perfect for the hot summer days we've been having!!

To make these simply scrumptious summer treats, you'll need the following:

Ingredients 

Kool Aid

Sugar

Ice cubes

Water

Blender

 Add a Kool Aid packet and 1 Cup of sugar to a quart jar.  Fill the quart jar with water and stir.  (You don't need the full amount of water shown on the Kool Aid instructions because there'll be additional liquid from the ice cubes.)  

Then add the Kool Aid liquid to the blender, add a tray of ice cubes, and blend to your desired slushie consistency.  And, voila!  Your slushies are ready to pour and enjoy!  It's really that easy!

This is one of my favorite treats to make with my husband once the kids have gone to bed.  Slushies and games makes a quick and easy date night. ;)

{Tuesday's Tip} Stop & Smell the Wildflowers

On the way home from our vacation a couple weeks ago, we were driving through a canyon and we kept seeing lots of wildflowers.  Finally we had to stop and take a closer look at the beauty around us.  We went on a short walk and examined the flowers and wildlife.

Later, when we got home, I pulled out our book on wildflowers so we could discover more about our flowers.  I like using everyday events as teaching opportunities, especially during the summer when school is out.  It makes learning fun and interesting for me and my kids!  What have you been learning about this summer?

While we walking around seeing the wildflowers,  I had everyone pick a few and saved them in a bag for another little craft I'll be sharing with you. Here's a sneak peek:

Mommy-Daughter Trip to Scotland

My daughter has really been wanting to see the new movie Brave.  So I thought it would be a perfect activity for our Mom-Daughter Date.  But, instead of just going to the movie, I planned a "trip to Scotland" to make our day more memorable.  Since the movie takes place in Scotland and all the previews show the main character (Princess Merida) doing archery, that's what I planned our activity around.

First, we had to fly to Scotland.  I set up our living room to look like an airplane by simply arranging my daughter's stuffed animals as the pilot, flight attendants, and other passengers.  Then I printed off our tickets to Scotland and we boarded the plane headed to Scotland!

While on the plane we watched some You Tube videos of Scottish musicians and dancers and snacked on peanuts, fruit snacks, and a cup of water.  

When our plane landed in Scotland our first activity was to make our own Scottish plaid table cloth.  I had a large piece of butcher paper and we made a plaid pattern by drawing lines across and down.  Drawing the plaid pattern was also a good practice in following color patterns too.  

When the table cloth was done we set the table for a Scottish lunch.  We had traditional UK fish and chips served cabbage (or coleslaw), berries, and biscuits and mugs of cream soda.

I also hung the Scotland flag in the dining room to make it more authentic (and because the Scotland flag is so simple to make).

After lunch we did our second activity -- archery!  We made these cute bow and arrows with popsicle sticks, floss, and Q-tips.  I found the tutorial from the blog The Brooding Hen.  

The tiny bow and arrows shot really well and we had a lot of fun practicing our archery skills.

 I made a LARGE bullseye so we would be sure to hit it. ;)

Finally we ended our day in Scotland by going to the movie Brave.  Now my daughter and I are world travelers, can't wait for our next adventure