My Favorite Group Activities for Small Kids – Ages 2-6 Years

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Angela

Do you also find it challenging to find group activities for kids of different ages?

I do, specially when the weather is bad and we are stuck inside. Many times I wish for some great play ideas that would let my 6, 4 and 2 years old kids play together without getting in each others’ way (too much).

Group Activities for Kids of Different Ages to Keep them from Bouncing off the WallsSo I decided to start building a list of group activities for kids that I can come back to in time of need. And if you have kids of different ages in the house, this list might be useful for you too so read closely.

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Active group activities for kids to unleash the energy

On rainy days , the kids can’t go outside to play but they still need to unleash their energy. So here are some ideas to do just that!

Group Activities for Kids of Different Ages to Keep them from Bouncing off the Walls

      • Make an indoor slide from a mattress and let the kids take turns in going down the slide. If you want it a bit more adventurous, you can try this cardboard slide on the stairs.
      • Build a cardboard race track for cars from the table to the floor and have some time to relax and enjoy. It’s not going to be a quiet time, but it’s going to be a hands-off one 😉
      • Build a pool noodle marble race on the stairs, or in the living room. I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks like lots of fun and easy to make. So I definetly will thanks to m myhomespunthreads and buggyandbuddy for coming up with thee ideas!
      • Stick some paper tape on the floor in the shape of roads and invite the kids to take the cars out for a ride. For the older ones – more or less as of 4 years- they can  blow small balls of paper through a straw and try to keep them on the road. Lukas had lots of fun with this one and was very determined to improve his “accuracy blowing” 😉
      • Play balloon ping pong using as rackets paper plates combined with wooden sticks  or plastic spoons.
      • Challenge the kids to exercise their lungs and play with straws and napkins. The goal is carry pieces of paper from one place to the other by using a straw and the suction power of their lungs

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Arts and Crafts 

The arts & crafts group activities for kids are certainly my favorite. That’s because everyone can take part in the creation and the age is not that important. Everybody has fun and they will play with the same things in their own way.

Group Activities for Kids of Different Ages to Keep them from Bouncing off the Walls

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Sensory stimulation 

I find it wonderful to see my kids’s eyes sparkle when they discover and learn something new. There are loads of activities that fit here, but I limited myself to a couple of ideas that are easy to do.

Group Activities for Kids of Different Ages to Keep them from Bouncing off the Walls

      • Play with snow inside the house. Last winter I took a box of snow inside and added some toys. Later on I added also some paint and left the kids to experiment and play. They really had fun with this!
      • Prepare a bath with colored water. If you add some shaving cream to the mix, you’ll surely give them the coolest and nicest bath experience they ever had!
      • Play with colored spaghetti. It’s true that this one requires some. preparation, but my kids had so much fun with it that it’s now a regular activity in our house.
      • Make something. Play-dough is of course always good to entertain the little ones, but it’s a bit messy. Alternatively if you want something that involves less mess, you can play with corn starch noodles.

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Experimentation and investigation

Kids are natural scientist and love to experiment and investigate and that’s how they learn about the world around them. Whenever I say let’s try something out, you can be sure that I have their attention.

Group Activities for Kids of Different Ages to Keep them from Bouncing off the Walls

      • Learn about fire. My kids are playing with fire sometimes and I think that’s a very good way for them to experience this element and learn to be safe around it.
      • Involve them in a fun rescue mission to save their toys that have been trapped in ice and investigate how the ice is melting when they use the “mysterious powder”. Did you see how much fun we had with this kids activity?
      • Do some science experiments for kids at home. These are my 2 favorite ones, because they are so easy to setup and they put on a good show for the kids:

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Give them grown-up tasks

When I really need to get something done myself and I find that the kids are a bit too demanding, I try to involve them in whatever I’m doing. It does not always work, but it does most of the time. So if they are not tired or hungry then these are the things they are helping with.

Group Activities for Kids of Different Ages to Keep them from Bouncing off the Walls

      • Cooking with the kids. I would typically have my kids cut some (soft) vegetables and stir in the pots of pasta, soup or whatever I am making. They love it. At grandma’s place, they would often make pancakes together. If you haven’t done this yet and you’re not entirely comfortable with the idea of having your kids in the kitchen, check out this advice from PBS Parents and go for it!
      • Take them shopping…. and make it fun. Shopping with kids can be very stressful, but we try to be well prepared and then it can be super fun!
      • Asking them to help you clean the house and give them chores. Kids usually like to unpack suitcases, get the grocery out of the car, get clothes out or into the washing machine or drier and yes … they might even enjoy to vacuum clean and do some sort of window washing.

Now, no matter what activity you do, if you do it with kids of different ages, then read these 7 activity tips for toddler and big kids from “HandsOnAsWeGrow.com”. She gives some excellent advice there on how to organize yourself to avoid chaos 😉

Phew….that was a long read, but I hope you did find some inspiration along the way.

PS: If you have fun group activities for kids of different ages, let me know in the comments below. And do subscribe to the CreatifulKids mailing list if you want to read more of this.

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This is why my kids are playing with fire

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Angela

That’s right, in our family to have my kids playing with fire is very common. And both me and my husband are very fine with that!

kids playing with fire- Should children play with fire? I hear you thinking “here she goes again, she’s totally nuts!” But for those who have read more stuff on this blog, it won’t be a surprise that I like to question conventional parenting truths and do stuff a little different. I recall some of my closest friends frowning while reading my article on telling the truth about St-Nicolas to my kids. But hey, give me a chance to explain before you judge me too harsh 🙂

I bet you have heard before that kids should not play with fire. I know that I heard that a lot. And rightly so, as the National Fire Protection Association reports that kids playing with fire cause about 10.000 fires a year. So we conclude from here that kids need to be told that playing with fire is dangerous.

But that is exactly why I believe it is important for me as a parent to do some fire play activities with the kids. This way I can teach them the basics of how to deal with fire rather than letting them discover this element by themselves and get into trouble.

“A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.”-Mark Twain

My point is that kids play with fire out of curiosity. As a parents we can tell our kids not to play with fire, we can even explain them why. But I believe you can’t take away their curiosity. So chances are high that one day they will experiment with fire anyway. Just that they will do it in secret and unsupervised. And with a bit of bad luck you’ll make it into the fire accidents statistics. Of course it’s up to you to decide how you want your kid(s) to learn about fire. I decided to tackle their curiosity!

Kids playing with fire

By playing with fire in a controlled environment, I let my kids experience fire in a relative safe way. That’s why kids playing with fire is perfectly OK in our house, as long as I am with them! For my kids playing with fire means often that they get to play with candles. This requires some preparation but they have lots of fun with it.

As a preparation I put some sort of a cover on the living room table to protect it from wax. I use a big piece of wood or sturdy plastic. As well, I make sure to a plate close-by to put the used matches and a bowl of water …. just in case. Then I get out the candles and matches and make the room semi-dark so the fire play can start.

How are my kids playing with fie? I let them experiment in various ways to really get accustomed with candles and fire:

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Lighting matches: One by one, I let each of our kids try to light a match. It’s a little hard at first, but with some guidance they quickly learn how to do it. And for the kids it is super exciting to do this. Be prepared for some great looks of amazement and excitement on their faces.

Kids playing with fire

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Blowing out the matches: Once they know how to light a match, it is important to teach them how to put it out and not to panic. I let them feel how their fingers get hot when the match burns too far so they know that they need to stop it before it gets close to the fingers.

Kids playing with fire

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How to hold a burning match: I show them that if you hold the fire lower than your hand, the match will burn very fast and it might burn your fingers. So I practice with them to hold the match with the fire up and keep their hand down, under the fire.

Kids playing with fire

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Lighting the candles: Once they got it how they need to hold the match, I light some candles and then I invite them to do the same. This way they practice some more of the “how to hold a burning match” technique.

Kids playing with fire

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Blowing the candles: Of course that once the candles are lit, they beg to be put out! So blowing the candles, and then lighting them again is one of the things my kids like the most when they play with fire.

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Feeling the heat: I let them put their hand at different distances of the candle to feel how it gets hotter the closer they get. This way they get to realize the danger of the fire and that they should not get too close.

Kids playing with fire

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Color show: I discover together with them that fire can have different colors. from blue, to red and yellow.

Kids playing with fire

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Feeling the hot/warm wax: Once we blow all the candles and there is no more fire, I turn on the light and let them experiment a bit with putting some liquid wax on their fingers. They put their fingers in the transparent wax and then they watch it get solid and change colors on their hands. Then we examine the little wax molds they did ….. and then, they want to start over again 🙂

Kids playing with fire

Be warned, accidents can happen very fast. So as an adult you do need to stay around and be alert. 

During our play it sometimes happens that one of the kids panics and drops a burning match on the table. As long as you have a protective board, some water and you stay alert, there is no problem. I also do this always with 2 adults, so if there is any accident, one adult can deal with the mess, while the other can continue to supervise the rest of the kids playing with fire.  I believe that as long as you do this in a controlled way, big accidents are very unlikely to happen and these small accidents actually help the kids learn how to deal with fire.

Recent studies confirm that allowing kids to do risky play to some extend helps them in their development. It actually also helps them to better judge and manage risks in real life situations.

So what do you think now about kids playing with fire?
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kids playing with fire- Should children play with fire?

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Print this game next time you travel with kids!

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Angela

Will you travel with kids any time soon? If so, print this little game and take it with you on your next plane trip. It will be fun. I promise.

Travel with kids - airport game

I don’t know about you but for us, when we travel with kids things can get intense. There is always someone wanting something and having a different opinion or running in the wrong direction. Its like going to the supermarket with my 3 energetic kids. That’s why, when we travel with kids we use similar tricks as when shopping with kids.

What about tablets, smart phones or other tech devices? In my experience those are great but are only part of the entertainment we take along when we travel with kids. Think about it. You cannot use tablets when rushing through the airport or while the plane is taking off or landing. That’s why when we travel with kids we always have some non-tech entertainment with us.

For our latest travel with kids we prepared a new game: an airport treasure hunt.

It follows the classical treasure hunt format where they have to follow the path and they can advance by finding the different objects.

Travel with kids - airport game

I printed one version of the game for each of the kids and gave it to them when we arrived at the airport. In fact, using the same drawing, you can play the game in several ways:

  • The beginners level: Have your kids spot the objects without any obligation to follow the path. As soon as they have found all the objects, the game is over.
  • The intermediate level: They again have to spot the objects on the path, but this time they are obliged to follow the order, like in a treasure hunt. If the first object is a piece of luggage, then that’s what they have to find first. Even if they spot a taxi as shown further down the road, it doesn’t count if they haven’t found all the objects which come before the taxi on the path.

Travel with kids - airport game

You can have your kids compete, but when I travel with kids I personally prefer to have them play together and win as a team.

You can of course design your own path full of objects, but you can also subscribe to the CreatifulKids mailing list and download this game for free.

Once subscribed, you’ll receive the download link in your email and you’ll be the first to know when free printables and new posts are available.

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How to manage children lying? Positive parenting tips.

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Angela

How do you deal with children lying?

I’ve asked the question a while back on the creatifulkids facebook page and I learned that many people face the same challenge. So along with the positive parenting tips I’ve shared so far, I decided to also write down the approach I took when my 6 year old lied to me about some money she took.

I’m not going to write here about the small little innocent lies which often originate from the imagination and fantasy of toddler kids. Instead, I’m touching the serious topic of children lying and give – what I believe is – an example of positive parenting approach for managing these situations.

How to manage children lying - practical positive parenting tips

That day I went swimming with the kids. As usual, when going out of the swimming pool, I took the clothes from the locker, and put the coin I used back in my wallet. I didn’t think much of it when I saw Victoria (6 years old) fiddling with my wallet. I was busy dressing her siblings and I just reminded her to leave my wallet be and not to take money out. She said “OK”  and that was that.

However while getting out of the building, Victoria was stalling and when she caught up with us she was holding a small new toy in her hand.  It was the kind of toy you get from those machines where you insert a coin and get a random object in return.

Right that moment I suspected what happened, but I was not sure. So our next conversation went kind of like this:

Me: “Victoria, where did you get this toy from?”
Victoria: “From the machine over there.”
Me: “But you need to put money there to get a toy. Did you put money?”
Victoria: “Yes.”

From the look on her face, I knew my suspicions were true and I started to get upset. So I said: “I told you not to take money from my wallet! Did you take a coin from my wallet?”
I could see the expression on her face changing and the joy of her new toy fading away. Yet she still answered me: “No, I didn’t.”
Me: ” Are you sure?”
Victoria: “Yes.”
Me: “I don’t believe what you say. I think you took the coin from my wallet even when I told you not to and you bought yourself a toy with that!”

She was silent.  And I also didn’t know what to say or how to act next.

The only thing I knew was that I did not want to get physical because I wanted her to UNDERSTAND that what she did is wrong rather than FEAR my reaction. So I decided to buy myself some time: “We’ll continue to talk about this later. Now let’s get to the car!” I said in a firm voice.

Once everyone was in the car I started to reflect about what just happened and how I can deal with my children lying.

  • As a first, I wanted to give her the opportunity to come out and admit her mistake. Although, away from the heat of the moment, I realize now that I didn’t do a too good job here. Without wanting it, I went very fast into blaming and kind of set her up for failure with words like “I told you…” and “Did you…?”.  So indeed, she did not recognize her mistake and dug her whole even deeper. (I’ll write more about this later – now let’s get back to the story)
  • As a second I told her that I didn’t believe her. I deliberately avoid using strong language as “You are lying!” or “That is not true!” as I find it important to recognize the possibility that I am wrong.
  • As a third, I decided not to react immediately, but take a step back and make a break. I think this is very important for several reasons:
    1. It avoids too much negative emotions. I could have shouted, screamed or cried and this would have made it clear for her that she did something wrong. But I don’t think it would teach her much about WHY it is wrong what she did. She would likely start crying and as such not be much of a listener anymore, because her and my emotions would get in the way.
    2. Buying myself some time also allowed me to think my approach through. I believe in positive parenting and I do believe that you can use occasions as this one to help your child develop and strengthen the bond you’re having.

After keeping silent for 5-10 minutes till I figured out my approach, I started talking to her again.

Me: “Victoria, I am very disappointed by what you did and it makes me upset. I believe that you lied to me about taking the coin from my wallet. If you are lying to me, that means that I can not trust you and I don’t like that.”

I paused a bit and looked at her. She was silent but I could see she was listening. At this point it was me doing all the talking and Victoria doing the listening. I kept my voice down and stayed calm so she would not start crying but pay attention instead. So I continued.

Me: “I find it very important in our family that we are honest with each other and we don’t lie. I would like to raise beautiful and good kids that I can trust. But if you lie and steel, and you think it’s ok, you will become a bad person and I don’t want to have bad persons as part of my family.”

I could see on her face that she was getting worried and was concerned with what I was telling her.

And still I continued: “I am disappointed with you because I thought that you knew that it is not good to do these things … But maybe you did not realize just how bad the things you just did are. Maybe you did not realize that by lying and stealing you can become a bad person and a thief.  Do you want to become a thief?”

Victoria: “No…“

Me: “I will try not be upset with you this time, because you maybe didn’t realize that you were doing something so wrong. But it is very important to me that you understand now that you did something very bad and that you should never do that again. Because if you will lie again to me, then it means that I can not trust you anymore. OK?”

“OK” she said in a soft voice

Me: “OK, I am not upset with you any more because I know now that you understand it was bad what you did and I trust that you will not do it again. But I want you to tell to daddy this evening what you did.”

She started crying and we had some more discussion about why it is important for daddy to know (because we are a family and have no secrets towards each other), and why it was important for her to tell (because she needed to take responsibility for what she did) – but she kept on crying.

Me:“Would it help you if we tell it together to daddy?”

“Yes” she said and stopped crying and I stopped the car and we hugged and felt closer than ever.

That’s pretty much where I left it and I did not act upset anymore with her after this. This actual made her very kind and hugging the rest of the day. However I did make sure she got to talk to daddy that evening. This was hard for her, but I helped her with parts of the story, and made sure she felt I was on her side while she was telling daddy.

I find it important to explain my kid the impact of what their actions are on our relation because I believe this one of the most powerful ways to bring such messages across.

I also try to treat my kids with respect, so I will try as much as possible to explain my point of view. To explain why I believe it is wrong what they did and why they should not do so again in the future. I don’t want them to behave out of fear of my reaction, but rather for them to truly understand the impact of what they are doing.

For the same reasons I had this open conversation with Victoria in front of her brother and sister, because I believe this is a life lesson they can learn from as well. I made sure they understand that this is an important discussion and that they cannot interrupt. Instead they should understand why their sister did something wrong, and they should pay attention so that they know in the future not to do the same mistake. While teaching  a lesson in front of an audience, it is important tough to do this in a respectful way and not to bully one kid in front of the others.

I don’t always manage to parent as good as I’d like to, but the times I manage, I’m very proud of myself :-). Now time will tell if this approach I took will pay off.

How do you react when you see children lying?

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How to manage children lying - positive parenting tips

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Ice Summer Activity for Kids – Easy and Fun!

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Angela

For a  while now, I’ve been looking for easy to make summer activities for kids that don’t require too much space and can be done in a small balcony, small courtyard, or even inside.

So today I’d like to share with you one of our favorite summer activities for kids: playing with ice.

Summer Activities for Kids
It’s not the first time we play with ice, but this time I added a bit of drama to make it more fun for the kids. Did you notice how everything is better and more fun when you add drama? I sure did and I am using this tactic often with the kids.

So this ice play all started as a rescue mission to save Elena’s toys which were trapped in ice by the evil snow witch. Because the evil witch found them on the floor – as they were not put back in the cupboard – and she froze them. ALL OF THEM!

So if they wanted them back, they’d have to do their best to set them free.

To get them into the game I started with a loud “OOOhhhh”. So they turned to me and asked ” What is it mommy?” ….. “Something has happened, and I need to tell you about it.” I replied, and the game was on!

Summer Activities for Kids
They were immediately taken by the story and they all wanted to help rescue the toys! So while they were getting themselves comfortable at the table waiting for me, I went to the kitchen to prepare the activity.

I came back with plastic glasses that contained the magical melting powder, water spraying bottles and a big container that had the tower of frozen toys. The kids had to put some magic powder on the ice and spray with water over it. And they got really excited about this!

Summer Activities for Kids

Somewhere in the middle of the game Victoria turned to me and whispered in my year … “Mommy, I know it’s not the snow witch who did this, it was YOU who put the toys in water and then in the freezer”. But that was to stay our secret.

It’s nice to see their little minds working. She didn’t question the magical powder though, and I didn’t tell her. I figured that I can leave that for her to discover another day when we’re doing other summer activities for kids.

So how did we do it ?

  • I used the bottom part of a plastic bottle as recipient for freezing the toys. The nice thing with using a plastic bottle is that you can cut it to fit whatever space you have in the freezer.
  • I filled it 1/3 with water, added some of the toys and let it freeze. Once frozen, I added some more water and toys and let it freeze again. I did it like this to avoid the toys from floating and concentrating only on one part of the ice tower. I wanted them all over 🙂
  • The magical powder was a combination of salt and sparkling powder. The salt is all you need, so you can leave the sparkling powder out but I just wanted to make it more magical 🙂
  • Water for the kids. I used spraying bottles, but you can basically use any pot you have in the house. Once the glasses with the magical melting powder were empty we used them to simply pour the salty water over the ice.
  • A container/tray so you don’t make a too big mess. I used a shallow plastic box so all 3 kids could work together.

Although this is a perfect idea for hot summer activities for kids, we played with this indoors as at the time the weather was not that great. But that did not alter the fun at all! That’s why this activity is on the list of fun summer activities for kids that we tested and approved!

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If you want to see another nice ice activity for kids, have a look at this tower ice excavation from FunAtHomeWithKids.
Summer Activities for Kids

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Make a Fairy Birthday Countdown for Kids

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Angela

Birthdays … for most kids this is THE DAY, the highlight of the year. In our house the birthday countdown is a big deal and we started a tradition to make a themed birthday countdown for the kids.

Make a Fairy Birthday Countdown for Kids

10 days before THE day, a birthday countdown made of 10 fairies “magically” appeared on the wall of our living room, and that made quite an impression on my birthday girl.  Have a look at Victoria’s reaction when she first saw her fairy birthday countdown.

 I had the pleasure to write about how I made Victoria’s birthday countdown on  a favorite blog of mine, KidsActivitiesBlog.com. So hop over there to read the rest of the story and download the free printables so that you can also make your own fairy countdown!

And one last thing, if you liked these birthday countdown fairies, have a look also at how I used the  black and white version of the fairies in one of our favorite activities for toddlers. And while you’re there, you can also download some more free printables 😉

Make a Fairy Birthday Countdown for Kids

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Easy Activities for Toddlers: Make a Fairy from a Toilet Paper Roll

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Angela

If you’re looking for easy activities for toddlers or some easy crafts with toilet paper rolls that you can do with a little one, then check this one out!  Also, look out for the free printables inside this post!

Easy Activities for Toddlers: Make a Fairy from a Toilet Paper Roll

Lukas was having a play date. So it was me and the girls that afternoon and I was looking for a couple of easy activities for toddlers. The task was to keep my little Elena happy and give her older sister the time to draw a butterfly.

I thought to let Elena color the black and white version of the fairies we did for Victoria’s birthday countdown. But before we could start, Elena found a toilet paper roll and that’s when I thought to give it a try and let her do (more or less on her own) some crafts with toilet paper rolls.

As far as crafts for kids go, this is one of the easiest activities for toddlers that one can do.

This is what we used for this easy craft for toddlers:

  • A printer, to print the free template that you can download below
  • Scissors
  • Glue. I used this one and with Elena I try to avoid the liquid ones as they are messier with toddlers 😉
  • Coloring pencils. Anything goes as long as it’s washable 😉
  • Paper tape. This one is optional. I used it to stick the fairy to the wall.
  • Toilet paper rolls

First, we printed the fairy wings and body. Then I just put them in front of Elena, together with the coloring pens and I stepped out of the scene. I wanted to give her the freedom to do what she want, and I would only help if she’d want me to.

Since we’ve been talking about free printables, you can download our free printable fairy if you press on the button below:
[wpdm_file id=4]

Easy Activities for Toddlers: Make a Fairy from a Toilet Paper Roll

Once she colored the wings, she also wanted to  cut them. And so she did in the best way she could: She cut the A4 paper ( this took a while) and when she was done , she gave it to me and asked me to continue.

Easy Activities for Toddlers: Make a Fairy from a Toilet Paper Roll

So I did my best to cut out the wings, but if you look closer you might notice the signs the passion she put in this project.

Easy Activities for Toddlers: Make a Fairy from a Toilet Paper Roll

Can you see the whole where the coloring pen just went though the paper? What about the places where she did some extra cuts in the wings? …  Yeah, I also don’t see them 🙂

I praised her on how nicely she cut and draw the wings, pointing out and naming the different colors she used. She was very happy. And then I asked her if she’d like to color the fairy body also.

In her toddler-ish way she showed me a big smile and put arms forward: Her way of saying: “bring it on!”

Easy Activities for Toddlers: Make a Fairy from a Toilet Paper Roll

And once she decided that the painting was done I asked her if she wanted to cut some more. But she didn’t. So I did it, and she was happy to do the assembly.

Easy Activities for Toddlers: Make a Fairy from a Toilet Paper Roll

Once the fairy body was glued on the toilet paper roll, it was time to glue the wings …

Easy Activities for Toddlers: Make a Fairy from a Toilet Paper Roll

… and press really REALLY hard so that the fairy and the wings stay glued together (forever) 🙂

Easy Activities for Toddlers: Make a Fairy from a Toilet Paper Roll

So the only thing left (before putting it on the wall) was to admire the result of her hard work.

Easy Activities for Toddlers: Make a Fairy from a Toilet Paper Roll

Of course we could not put this fairy from toiler paper roll on the wall without playing with it a bit and makig sure that it can fly.

Easy Activities for Toddlers: Make a Fairy from a Toilet Paper Roll

And in our last step we used  the paper tape to put her fairy on the wall, at Elena’s height where she could admire and play with it whenever she wanted.

Easy Activities for Toddlers: Make a Fairy from a Toilet Paper Roll

What do you think was the first thing she did when Lukas and daddy came home?

She of course took them by the hand and proudly showed them her creation. Not only did she have fun making it, she’s also very proud of her work and on top she has a new toy to play with!

So that’s why this crafts with toilet paper rolls is one of our favorite activities for toddlers! What is yours?

By the way, I gathered some other easy activities for toddlers here, so if I need some inspiration I know where to go 😉

There will be more free printables here in the next weeks. Don’t want to miss out on them? Be sure to come back or subscribe to the CreatifulKids mailing list to receive notifications every time there is a new article or free printable.

Subscribe to the CreatifulKids mailing list and get notified when free printables are available!

 

Easy Activities for Toddlers: Make a Fairy from a Toilet Paper Roll

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Building a Car Racing Track from Cardboard

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Angela

This car racing track from cardboard saved my sanity on a Sunday morning not so long ago. It’s easy to do, fun for the kids and it gave me the one hour I needed to get my coffee and wake myself up.

For me and my husband, some of the hardest times we have managing our kids are weekend mornings. Those days the kids wake up way before we would want them to and are full of energy and ready to play. Unfortunately we are still sleepy, trying to pull ourselves together – with the help of a coffee – and making the best out of it. That’s also how that day started …

Group Activities for Kids of Different Ages to Keep them from Bouncing off the Walls

It was a Sunday morning and we (the adults) were still sleeping. I don’t know when the kids woke up, but I remember hearing them -like in a dream- playing downstairs. They were making increasingly more noise as they were playing in the living room. So I knew that quiet play wouldn’t last. That’s why I decided to go down before they would get into a fight.  

Like a disguised secret agent, in pajamas and with my hair in all directions, I sneaked into to the kitchen. The first mission: to make myself a coffee and have a sip from it before my cover is blown and they’ll notice that I am awake. So while waiting for my morning fuel to get ready, I was gazing over the kitchen window and enjoying the last moments of invisibility for the day.

DIIIINNNG! The coffee is done. My cover is blown anyway, so I step in the living room taking the first sip of my too hot coffee.

“Momy, Mommy! Elena is ruining everything we do!” both Victoria and Lukas turned to me complaining about their 2 year old sister. Elena, in her clumsy and stubborn toddler-ish way, was trying to be part of their game.

Elena loves to be involved in everything the bigger kids do. “Kikido” is her way of saying “me too” and it rolls of her tongue about a zillion times a day. There is nothing her older sister and brother can do that she doesn’t want to be part of. And why not – in her eyes she is as capable as they are and can do everything they do!

“Yes, I see that. But I’m sure she does not mean it, maybe she just wants to play with you,” was my first trial while I took my second sip of coffee.
“But we don’t want to play with her!”  said Victoria.
“She ruins our game!  … On purpose!” Lukas continues.
“I see that…Shall we try to play something else ” my non-inspired second try.
“NO!” Lukas and Victoria were screaming simultaneously.

At this point I wished I had a list of fun and easy to setup group activities for kids of mixed ages. Then I wouldn’t have to activate my sleeping brain so early in the morning. But I didn’t have such a list and I had to come up with something -the faster the better! So I took my third sip of coffee and gave it another shot, putting a little bit more enthusiasm in my own voice …

“What about making a slide for the toy cars and we do a race?”
“Oh YEAH” Lukas said, as anything with cars – specially when involving a race – can get him enthusiastic.
“How will we do that?” Victoria asked, being tempted by the race as well.
“Maybe we can use a big piece of cardboard and the living room table …” I continued.
“Oh YEAH” and Lukas was already off to the garage door to look for cardboard.

Of course Elena had to be part of all this excitement, dropped whatever she was doing and all of us went hunting for a big piece of cardboard in the garage.

We taped one end to the table and put a chair on the other end so it would stay in place. Their challenge was to aim the cars so they would go under the chair and roll as far as possible.

Group Activities for Kids of Different Ages to Keep them from Bouncing off the WallsThey all three joined and had fun, while I could sit back, make pictures and finish my coffee. The change to an activity in which they all three could participate, broke the tension between them. And it is so easy to set up that they didn’t have to wait long.

Once the car racing hype was over, Victoria ran to the garage to collect some more cardboard boxes because she had another idea. She made a car from two cardboard boxes. But later on, the car turned into a bed for the “sick” Victoria and her devoted caretaker Elena.

Group Activities for Kids of Different Ages to Keep them from Bouncing off the Wallsd

The kids continued to play for a while with the cardboard. Even when my coffee was finished, they were still playing quiet … what a bliss! My morning was saved!

Luckily we have quite some cardboard in the garage, as we often do kids activities with cardboard.

If you know other group activities for kids of mixed ages, do let me know as I’m thinking to make list of different group activities for kids, to refer to in moments when my brain is not up for the challenge!

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Free Owl Coloring Pages for Kids

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Angela

If your children like coloring, then these free owl coloring pages for kids are all yours to download.

They are perfect for 2 to 3 year old kids – when they are still working on their “drawing inside the lines” skills – hence the thick lines of these free owl coloring pages for kids.

Free Owl Coloring Pages for Kids[wpdm_file id=3]

This is the story behind these free owl printable pages.

Elena – my 2 year old – is learning about owls at preschool. At home she is putting her stamp on all the owl coloring pages for kids that she can find – or better said, all the owl coloring pages I can find and print for her 🙂

Free Owl Coloring Pages for Kids

So, since owl coloring pages for kids are such a hit these days with Elena, grandma (who draws all our free printables) made some special ones for her. As you can see my printer is getting low on black ink, but Elena didn’t seem to mind 🙂

Free Owl Coloring Pages for Kids

And since I have them anyway, why not share them on CreatifulKids so you can just download, print and enjoy these free owl coloring pages for kids.

Free Owl Coloring Pages for Kids

There will be more free printables here in the next weeks. Don’t want to miss out on them? Be sure to come back or subscribe to the CreatifulKids mailing list to receive notifications every time there is a new article or free printable.

Subscribe to the CreatifulKids mailing list and get notified when free printables are available!

 

And as a bonus, for you getting this far, these are other free owl coloring pages for kids that we enjoyed these days! 

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Free Printable Masks Templates for Kids

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Angela

We’ve been playing lately making masks, and I’ve got some of them in digital version for you to download.

Check out and download these free printable masks templates.

4 free printable mask templates for kids

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There will be more free printables here in the next months. Don’t want to miss out on them? Be sure to come back or subscribe to the CreatifulKids mailing list to receive notifications every time there is a new article or free printable.

Subscribe to the CreatifulKids mailing list and get notified when free printables are available!

 

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