A Magic Wand - Rainy Day Fun

First off, I'd like to suggest an idea for active play on a rainy day.  My community has a recreational program - a leisure guide that comes out from the Parks and Recreation Department.  I noticed there are some drop in activities and today we will be going to one of them. It's a tot play activity where they take one of the gyms at the rec centre and pull out the mats, some gymnastics equipment, balls, hockey sticks, ride on toys etc. and the kids - all little ones - can go wild.  They can slide down the big slide made out of triangle mats, walk the balance beam, ride a toy, run, jump, play ball.  It's a great way to burn off energy indoors for the price tag of $4.50.

We are having a 'Mommy Day' where my toddler and I are having some one on one time and I know he'll love this.  We'll head over to Boston Pizza for 'bugs and cheese'  after (I'll just have a tea) and then off to play a little more together.  We don't get a lot of time for just the two of us, and I think this will make it a special day.

The other day he wanted a magic wand.  He was using a long stick that has a string/feather on the end for the cats.  Not such a great thing as he was nearly poking everyone in the eye.  So I checked the recycling bin, pulled out some cardboard, added a wooden spoon and voila!  We now have a star, stapled (and then taped as he kept pulling the staples, off, lol) to the top of the spoon.    It might say cheerios on one side - but he choose the writing side out and is happy with it like that.  It's been working it's magic ever since!

Egg Carton Caterpillars

This project is a classic.  I remember making them as a kid, too.  The concept is simple and easy for any age.  You just adjust your decorating objects according to the age and ability of your child. I've posted a picture here for you to see one of our recent examples. 

Supplies

• Egg carton - preferable cardboard  (if you re-use styrofoam, it doesn't colour/paint properly but glue works great)
• paints, crayons, felts (any or all)
• glue stick
• bits of feathers, paper, scraps of material, pompoms, string, buttons, beans, pasta - anything you can glue on
• stickers if your child is a bit small for easily using glue
• pipe cleaner (a twist tie will work if you don't have a pipe cleaner)
• scissors (for you to cut out the egg carton - safety scissors for older children to cut bits and pieces)

Cut the egg carton lengthwise to create a body.  Poke two small holes at one end at the top. Cut your pipecleaner in half, fold a little 'knot' at one end and thread through from underneath to create an antenna.  Repeat for the second hole.  (see picture for placement)

Let your child use their imagination to decorate their caterpillar.  There are no limits to how fancy they can be.   This little project is a great way to use up all kinds of recycled objects.

If you have a few children and only one carton, make the caterpillars little by cutting the long pieces in half - a three 'cup' caterpillar instead of a 6 'cup' one.  Just tell them they are baby caterpillars.

Little Mice are Nice!

Every child loves to get their hands dirty (ok, just about all of them, I do know some who prefer to be clean, lol) and this is perfect for that.  Not too messy, but fun.

For this project you will need the following:

stamp pad or paint on a plate
paper
pen, pencil crayons

Use the paint or stamp pad to ink up their thumb and press it on to the paper.  Do as many prints as you like, but leave space around them to finish the picture. Once the stamp/paint is dry enough, use the pen/pencils to draw tails and little ears, a nose, whiskers etc. and you've got thumbprint mice! 

If your child is interested - see what else you can create from thumbprints and fingerprints.  A puppy with a thumb body and fingerprint head?  A butterfly with four prints together for wings?  Let their imagine take hold and see where you go with it.

Welcome! - Supplies for Fun-Making

Welcome to the Toddler Times and Preschool Play Blog!  In order to help you get ready to have fun, I'm going to start a list of things to hang on to in order to have supplies on hand for 'fun-making'.   Having a bin of 'stuff' can really help on those rainy days when you want to create with your children.  This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I will add to it as I think of things so feel free to check back to this first post whenever you like.  You will also get a supply list when we share projects.

Things for your  FUN MAKING BOX:

toilet paper and paper towel rolls
empty jars with lids
the lids from frozen juice containers (round, no sharp edges)
egg cartons
bits of string
odd buttons
coloured tissue paper (great when you have leftovers from gifts)
wrapping paper
glue sticks
white non-toxic glue
safety scissors
tape
stapler (they make stapleless ones now, too) - good for little things
crayons/felts/colouring pencils/chalk
boxes of different sizes
scrap paper
charms, pretty threads, elastic string etc. - often comes on  packages like candy, card boxes
ribbon bits
construction paper, scrapbooking paper bits (your leftovers)
punch out shapes from coloured paper
cardboard pieces - both corrugated and inserts from packages are great
foam trays - washed in hot water with soap.
stickers, foam shapes  ( I keep a lot of the junk mail ones that you get - address, name, picture ones)
popsicle sticks
toothpicks
small plastic containers with lids if possible
coffee cans with lids
old cards
used stamps
stamp pads and ink (or paint  pads for littler ones)
sponges
paint and paint brushes
dry beans, peas, lentil etc.
dry pasta
string
shoelaces