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A stay at home mom raising 3 girls - twin 3 year olds and a little one under 2. We love to have fun with activities and projects. A former teacher, I believe kids learn through the process and mess. I also believe in saving money where I can and spending less while still having fun.
I cannot even tell you how good these are. I promise you will love them. While they are yummy, they are in no way good for you, despite my kidding myself into thinking that since there’s banana in them, they must be okay. So don’t be making these everyday - you will SO want to though!
You will need:
I saw a cool picture on Pinterest the other day of Raised Salt Painting done by One Perfect Day. I was looking for a simple art activity to do with the girls and this looked perfect. We did not have liquid watercolor paint so we just used food coloring mixed with water which most people already have at home. We had some unexpected results which I think turned out pretty cool. Judge for yourself.
Supplies you will need: Read the rest of this entry »
When you come to Mess For Less and get ideas for kids crafts and activities, you will see lots of photos of my happy and engaged children. If you don’t know us personally, you might think things are always like that at my house. That is far from the truth. We deal with our fair share of meltdowns and tantrums. If you have a child of any age then chances are you have dealt with a tantrum or two as well. My kids are prone to them and some days are worse than others. Sometimes it just seems like they just wake up in a bad mood. Ever feel that way?
Here are some tips and techniques we have used (in no particular order) to help stop a tantrum and restore calm to the household.
1. DistractionThis is a pretty easy one to employ and it works great for those times a child is upset because you won’t give them something they want. “I have to tell you/show you something!” I’ll say in a very excited voice. Often, that’s enough to stop the tears and pique their interest.
2.CountingWe used to think my daughter B could not control her temper and outbursts. I would often think “poor kid, she can’t help it.” When she would be having a fit about something (she didn’t get the color cup she wanted at lunch) we started counting to three and told her that if we got to three, she would go to time out. She did not want to go to time out and so she would stop crying. It would be pretty funny to see this kid going from full blown fit to quiet. It looks like maybe she could control her outbursts after all. Hmmmm…
3.Removing an item or privilegeIn the midst of a meltdown, we say that we are going to take away something the child enjoys unless they can calm down. For example, “If you don’t calm down and stop yelling then we will not go to the park later.” Often the fear of losing something enjoyable can get kids back on track.
4. Deep breathingSometimes my daughters get so worked up about something that they forget to breathe and need to be reminded to do so. During calmer times, I have taught my kids how to take deep breaths and we will often do them together during a tantrum. This usually helps stop the crying and screaming on the part of the child, and truth be told, helps the parent calm down as well.
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We love play dough at our house, but we sometimes get bored with using it the same way. I like to add different items to our play dough time to keep interest up. Today, we added some beads, which made the play dough look so pretty and also provided some great fine motor work for my kids.
About a year ago I got this mini donut pan from Crate and Barrel. We had gotten a gift card and most things there were over the amount we had on the card, so we ended up with the mini donut pan. I had visions of making freshly baked donuts all the time. Well, it’s been a year and I am packing up for our move and come across the UNUSED donut pan. So we made some donuts.
I found a recipe for baked cake donuts on Allrecipes.com. I made a few tweaks and they turned out yummy, especially just out of the oven. This will make approximately 48 mini donuts.
Ingredients you will need: Read the rest of this entry »
My twins, who are three and a half, have recently become interested in counting by 10s. Before I put away the plastic Easter eggs for the season, I made them a game where they could practice counting by 10. Here’s how you can make a Counting Caterpillar of your own.
Supplies you will need:
I used similar sized eggs for this game. I picked the sides that were more flat since it would be easier to write the numbers on them. I managed to find an egg that had a side with two holes in it, which were perfect for some cute antennae.
Simply cut your pipe cleaner Read the rest of this entry »
I have the kids home from school the entire week for Spring Break and have been trying to figure out what to do with them. We have some fun outings and play dates planned, but I need some activities to keep the kids busy, engaged, and learning. I bet some of you are in the same boat. Here are some of our favorite ways to spend Spring Break.
Finger painting with Q-Tips
Most kids enjoy finger painting. Try adding some q-tips to finger painting. Kids can spread the paint around and mix colors with their hands, then make designs and “write” on it with a q-tip. This is a great way for children to practice their letters.
Plastic Bag Painting
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Believe it or not I actually had a life before Mess For Less. Today I am going to be sharing a fine motor activity we did last year BB (before blog). The best thing about this activity is it will only cost you $1-2 depending on what supplies you already have on hand.
Supplies you will need:
You can find all of the supplies in the dollar store. The cheese shaker is just like a sugar dispenser except it has many holes on the top lid.
Give your child a cup of toothpicks and an empty cheese shaker and have them insert the toothpicks into the holes. I was proud that the twins were able to take turns. This is great for multiple kids to work on Read the rest of this entry »
Last month at MOPS we made some cute personalized totes using stamps and paint. I made a library bag with the kids initials and various princess stamps. I had so much fun and thought this would be a perfect project for the kids. I found some tote bags at Michael’s but they weren’t the size I wanted. Luckily, the MOPS craft leader was selling the extra bags for $1 each at our next meeting.
Supplies you will need:
I had some farm animal stamps at home so we used those. If you don’t have stamps, I think this bag would look really cute just painted by hand. You child can make a design or paint their name if they are a little older. For younger kids, hand prints would be very cute.
I spread some paint around on paper towels Read the rest of this entry »
