Archive for the 'Seasonal play' Category
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August 12th, 2010
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Traveling unsettles children. They are out of their routines and everything is just different. We can’t always bend enough for their needs and that inflexibility leads to conflict.
We’ve just had one of these periods of traveling. Things are not as we expected, which is fine and normal. How would we really know how things would be? We’re adjusting and reformulating plans. Hence my absence from Twitter, Blogging and Podcasting. Trying to get back on track for next week.
One day at a time……….
This is a post I had started for July .
Here are a few toys and ideas to keep them encouraged and positive about the future.
1. World puzzle
Showing them different places in the world.
2. Balls
3.
Only One You
4.pretend play
5. spinny critters
The boys have taken a keener interest in maps now that their dad is round the other side of the world. So we look at different map types every chance we get. Who can find dad the quickest etc?
Balls are a great way to burn off energy.
I need to talk about Only you another time. But it helps when you feel like another fish in a big pond and you know noone.
Kids act out and play through new situations. What better way than through a pretend play set from the region.
Laughing helps …………..we couldn’t have survived this move or traveling without having lots of opportunities for laughter. While the makers of spinny critters probably wanted matching parts. I know this was a super ice breaker and mood lifter when you showed a mixed up animal. “Horse-o-lion”. OK we loved the jokes 
These are some of the things we have done recently. What do you do to prepare your child for long distance travel or moving? Would love to hear.
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July 7th, 2010
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| This is a guest post by Jaime-Ann Laidlaw of Crafts for Kidlets. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here. |
So I was thinking, when was the last time I let my kids go outside and just have fun playing with things that were not store bought? I mean when I was young the highlight of my week was gathering up cardboard boxes from anything and everything and uses those to make toys. Yeah, cheap thrills! Hehehe!
Here are some fun and purposely messy crafts for toddlers and kids. Oh yeah – and a lot of this stuff is pocket friendly!
Sheet Painting – ages 4+
We all have old mangy looking bed sheets, admit it– time to finally drag one out and let the kids use it for some fun. Grab some spray bottles and fill them with acrylic or tempera paint diluted with water.
Lay the sheet on the ground or grass. If you are able to hang it on a clothesline it could even bring a bit more fun spraying a moving sheet. Let them spray that sheet until their hearts are content!
Once completed the kids can turn this huge art piece into a tent for camping or whatever kids want to use it for. Try not to limit their imaginations or give them instruction on how to express themselves. When it comes to art especially messy projects like this the less direction the better!
Drop-and-Splat Painting – ages 2+
This is an incredibly messy but fun and easy outdoor activity for kids. This is a project for a warm summer day when you can put those little ones in an old bathing suit or clothes that are OK to get messy.
Items:
- Plastic cups
- Water
- Food coloring
- Old clothes to wear (staining WILL happen!)
- Newspaper>
- Paper
- Rocks
- Straws
Fill old yogurt cups with water (or plastic cups) and set them outside.
Add a few drops of food coloring to each cup to make different colors.
Lay out a sheet of newspaper or paper on the ground. Idea: add rocks to the corners of the newspaper/paper to keep it from flying away!
Put a straw in a cup of colored water, and show your kiddies how to place a thumb or finger over the top end of the straw. This will keep water inside the straw when you remove it from the cup.
Next, lift the straw out of the cup and over the paper and uncover the straw end so the colored water drops onto the paper.
Try experimenting by raising straws full of water to different heights and observing how the height of the drop changes the resulting splat.
Variations: Try soaking cotton balls in the mixture and letting the kids splat them on the paper. You can also experiment with foil balls, rubber band balls, pinecones, and whatever else you can think of.
Some more quick and easy ideas:
Got Extra Kool-Aid?
Painting with Golf Balls
Cut out a large piece of paper and put it in the bottom of a plastic pool. Place golf balls dipped in different paint colors on the paper. Together the children can hold the edges of the pool and roll the golf balls around. This makes a great design when you are done.
Bored with the sandbox?
Give the children spray bottles with colored water. When the children spray the sand it will change color until they shovel it up.
Look for more fun kid crafts ideas at Crafts for Kidlets!
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June 26th, 2010
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Welcome KMGH-TV Channel 7 Denver viewers! Thanks for watching this morning and stopping by for more information about the products I featured on TV.
While you’re here, you can learn more about me and my work on my profile page.
Featured products
Sport Brella
At the park, beach, pool or campsite, the SKLZ Sport-Brella gives you instant protection from the sun, rain, and wind with its domed shape, side flaps and 125 SPF. Its umbrella action open mechanism allows it to be set up in just three seconds and fits the whole family. Includes top wind vents, side zippered windows for efficient airflow and additional visibility, internal pockets for gear and valuables, convenient carry bag and tethers/ground stakes for use when necessary for additional stability. $69.99, sklz.com
Thermacell Outdoor Lantern
The ThermaCELL Outdoor Insect-Repellent Lantern is the best option for keeping mosquitoes and other insects in any outdoor setting. The Patio Lantern is both a powerful insect repellent device and a functional and portable, long-lasting outdoor LED lantern, with both functions being usable separately or together. Providing a 15×15 ft mosquito-free zone, it is 98% effective (tested and used by the Department of Defense and the United States Army), making it the most effective insect repellent device on the market. It is also non-toxic, safe and non-intrusive, being DEET-free, silent, portable and odor free. Rather than a harmful toxin, ThermaCELL utilizes allethrin, an artificial version of a natural insecticide found in chrysanthemum flowers. Weighs only 13 ounces. $31.99, mosquitorepellent.com
Pottyflip
Pottyflip is a full size, clean, safe, portable, disposable and biodegradable child potty that folds out from a palm-sized package. Easy to carry several in any purse or handbag, it is also easy to use. Just unwrap, flip open and it is ready to go. After use, fold it back up and dispose of the whole potty. No mess, no fuss. No more dirty public restroom seats or trying to find some hidden corner for a child to go to the bathroom. Also environmentally-friendly, it is fully and rapidly biodegradable. $24 for a pack of 12, pottyflipusa.com or at stores throughout North America.
Snack-Trap
The Snack-Trap is a child feeding product (designed for toddlers/kids ages 1-5) that minimizes wasted snacks and saves associated clean up time while promoting the development of self-feeding skills among infants. Consists of an attractive, colorfully imprinted, tip-resistant, handled cup that allows toddlers to grasp and hold the cup themselves with a unique, patent-pending lid with slits that allow toddlers to see and retrieve food with ease themselves but automatically closes when the toddlers remove their hand. 4.99, snacktrap.com, or at retailers throughout North America.
I’m giving away these 4 items. All as seen in the TV segment.
- Green Sport Brilla
- ThermaCELL Outdoor Insect-Repellent Lantern
- Potty Flip (2) unopened.
- Green snack trap with a dinosaur.
Four winners will be randomly chosen, each person winning one item.
To enter, leave a comment and tell me which two of these products you’d most like to win and why.
Please leave your e-mail address so I can reach you easily if you win.
For bonus entries, you can do one or more of the following – be sure to leave a separate comment for each extra entry:
- Follow me on twitter at @playactivities and tweet “@playactivities is giving away awesome outdoor products at http://tinyurl.com/2wqqazq . Enter today! “
- Subscribe to the RSS feed for play-activities.com
- Subscribe to the Play-Activities newsletter
- Subscribe to the Raising Playful Tots newsletter found here
- Post an entry on your own blog about this giveaway and link back ( trackback)
- Subscribe to Raising Playful Tots, the play activities podcast through iTunes. Come back and leave a comment here.
Contest details ( closed)
The contest will close at 11:59 p.m., MST, Friday 2nd July 2010. Four winners will be chosen using random.org. I will do my best to match the item to the person’s first or second choice, however I cannot guarantee that. If a winner does not want the assigned item, another item will not be offered, they will forfeit their win and another person will be chosen. After e-mailing the winners, they will have 48 hours to respond before I draw another name. I will publish the winners first names on my site after they have confirmed. Continental U.S. Entries only.
Disclosure: I was not paid to appear on TV or review these products. I did receive free products so I could show them during the segment. I was given the option to keep all of the products, however, I am choosing to share the love and give them away to readers. I will personally pay shipping fees to mail products to the winners.
Good luck
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May 17th, 2010
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Before summer driving season kicks off I wanted to share how we roll.
We’re going on a [tag}road trip[/tag] but what do you bring?
This is a recurring theme with us because we’re a Military family. Currently we live in the US but with family all around the world and tours lasting three or so years we’re used to travelling by plane, train or car to move our family.
Just when I think we’ve got it down the ages and expectations of the children change so we end up tweaking our list. This year will be no exception.
Here are our top ways to keep sane and limit the boredom blues.
8 things to do when stuck in traffic with the kids
Going on a car trip?
5 fun ways to make it through a road trip
What’s in the bag?
Check out the comments for some more suggestions.
Audio and Video
Since we’re all in the car together you want something that will have universal appeal or everyone has separate sets. I know I’ll have to endure Superheroes as we travel but everyone gets a vote on what to bring and there will be Science is real by They might be giants because we all love to sing a long.
We have some chill out music that will be great during the hyper times or just to change the atmosphere in the car.
How about buying the soundtrack to a recent movie release? The kids will relive the movie and soundtracks are full of differing tempos and styles. There’s likely to be something for everyone.
Listen to your favourite stories by downloading an audiobook or making your own.
Try Smories for iphone, ipod touch and soon to be ipad users.
During all the times we’ve traveled I’ve found that have a variety of things work the best. Also not showing all your hand. Keeping things secret and bringing out surprises.
We search for parks and the Frisbee isn’t far. We limit the DVD player and ration out the content. It was only a few years ago we first had a DVD player in the car and unlucky for us we bought a few DVDs without appreciating the FAST play option. Those kids were wired and they were just overtired. We learnt our lesson and like all new things we learned that for us we need to mix up the media.
- Outdoor play
- Seeing new places
- Imaginary play
- Art and crafts
- Reading
- DVD
- Music and singing
- Food
Works well in the house and in the car.
The question now must be……………. What audiobook will we listen to on the journey? Please leave suggestions of books that kept you hanging that you could have read in one session if you had the chance.
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