15 Easy Things to Do With Your Kids… Today

Date posted: June 5, 2012

Summer is (finally) here. And I am so, so (did I mention SO) excited to not be driving back and forth between every corner of Austin with the baby in the carseat. We can finally stay home. Of course, that leaves the question: What do we DO at home? Here are 15 easy kid-friendly and mom-friendly activities that you can do…with things you have on hand at home today.

1. Do chain drawings. Draw a tiny picture in the corner of a page, then pass the page to another child and have them add something to the picture. Keep going until the pages are filled.

2. Make homemade lemonade. Experiment and create new flavors: Strawberry lemonade, nectarine lemonade, basil lemonade.

3. See how quickly your kids can get completely soaked by standing in the sprinkler. Time them.

4. Make cloud dough– Mix 1 cup flour with a few tablespoons of baby oil until it’s soft in texture. Give them measuring spoons and cups to play with it.

5. Go bug hunting.

6. Go online and plan your dream vacations. (So what if it costs $10,000 a night to stay at the Princess resort your daughter wants to visit…she can dream, right?)

7. Bake cookies.

8. Look through cookbooks and plan your next feast.

9. Make Letter Pictures. Draw your kid’s names in bubble letters and have them draw pictures of things that start with those letters. So, if your kid’s name starts with a J, he can draw jelly beans, a jar or a jump rope.

10. Build a playdough cafe.

11. Have a picnic. And yes, PB & J on the back patio totally counts as a picnic.

12. Send your kids on a rainbow scavenger hunt to see if they can find one thing in every color of the rainbow. Then up the ante and see if they can find turquoise, magenta and chartruse.

13. Or have a letter scavenger hunt and see if your kids can find one thing for every letter of the alphabet. Bonus points for X, Y and Z.

14. Draw Mandolas. Fold a square piece of paper in half, then in half again. Then, have your kid draw a picture that is identical in all four squares, starting from the center X.

15. Have a pajama party read-in and snuggle on the couch while you read every book on your bookshelf.

Seeds, Life, Herbs and Spaghetti

Date posted: May 1, 2012

Advice from my mom: “Your kids may be too young to learn about S-E-X but they’re definitely old enough to learn about the birds and the bees.”

Her point? If kids start learning young about God’s plan for life– in an age-appropriate way– then when the time comes to have “the talk”, they won’t be surprised, but instead will be ready, haven been given a framework on which to hang these ideas. Plus, she also says that as a parent, you have to become the “expert” to your kids– so that when they hear something at school, the first thing they’ll think is “Well, my mom knows a lot about this, so I’m going to go home and ask her.”

My mom’s pretty smart, isn’t she?

So, how do you teach preschoolers about the birds and bees? You teach them about life!

This Spring, we’ve been growing our own patio herb garden. We started out by going to the store and buying pots and seeds. I let my kids pick the pots they liked and the seeds they wanted to grow (my daughter picked the packet that had the prettiest pictures, my son picked the biggest seeds). When we got home, we talked about how God can take a tiny seed and with proper conditions, turn it into a plant. We planted and fertilized the seeds and diligently watered them. A few weeks later, the plants sprouted. More water, fertilizer and sunshine and they started to grow. And now, two months later, we have beautiful, thriving herbs– herbs that we can use for spaghetti sauce, salads, pizzas and more.

But the fresh herbs are just the added bonus. The best part of this little family project is the questions it has brought forth. Here are a few of the things my kids have asked:

From Kate (age 4): Mommy, if I didn’t water my plants, they would die, wouldn’t they?

From Joey (age 6): Why does it take so long for God to make plants grow? Why can’t they just pop up overnight?

And, the doozy, from Joey: Do animals and people grow from seeds just like plants do? (I admit I had to call my mom before I answered this one… but I did come back to Joey and tell him that yes, in fact, God does take a seed from a man and a seed from a female and join them together to create a life. Glad my mom helped me with that one!)

Anyway, this has been such a great project that has helped my kids to ask great questions… and has started great conversations.

Question for you: What do you do to teach your kids about God’s creation of life?

The 20 Minute and $8 Skirt (Really)

Date posted: April 16, 2012

I’m not a seamstress.

I AM, however, a see-something-I-like-and-try-to-replicate-it kind of girl. So, when I saw a cute two-layer skirt at the mall that cost $46 (!) that I really, really wanted for Kate, I decided to try to make my own. And here’s the thing: It cost me less than $8 to make and took me less than 20 minutes AND anyone could make this even if you’ve never sewn a thing in your life. I promise. My four-year-old helped me.

What to buy:

* 1/2 yard of cotton calico fabric (I bought mine at Hobby Lobby. It was 30% off and cost $5.99/yard to begin with)
* 3/8 yard of a coordinating but not matching calico fabric (Again, Hobby Lobby)
* 3/4 yard of 3/4 inch wide elastic
* 1 pkg single fold bias tape (that matches the fabric) or 1 pkg ric-rack (2 yards total)

How to Make it:

1. Measure your child’s waist. Take fabric #1 (the one you bought 1/2 yard) and cut it into a rectangle that’s width is DOUBLE your child’s waist size. The length is up to you. Kate’s skirt in the picture above is 12 inches. You can go longer or shorter. Kate’s rectangle measured 35 inches X 12 inches.

2. Take fabric #2 (the one you bought 3/8 yard) and cut it into a rectangle that’s double your child’s waist in width and 3 inches SHORTER than the rectangle you already cut. Kate’s second rectangle measured 35 inches X 9 inches.

3. Carefully sew bias tape or rick rack onto the hem of each piece of fabric.

4. Once both fabrics have a hem, place the SHORTER rectangle on top of the LONGER rectangle (both print-side down) and sew them together along the top edge.

5. Turn the fabric around and iron them out flat so the shorter layer hangs neatly over the longer layer.

6. Fold the ironed fabric in half width-wise right-side in and pin the hems so they match.

7. Measure one inch from the top of the skirt, then stitch along the edge down the open seam, leaving an inch at the top open for the elastic.

8. Then, go back to the top and sew a casing for the elastic, 1 inch from the top of the skirt.

9. Use a safety pin to thread the elastic through the casing. Stitch it to the desired size and then close the hole with a zig-zag stitch.

Easy, peasy, right?

Some more photos to inspire you to get sewing!

Kid Activity: Tye-Died Cards How-To

Date posted: April 9, 2012

What you need:

- 2 cans shaving cream
- 1 large plastic bin
- 1 box gel food coloring
- Toothpicks or sticks
- cardstock
- Squeegee

Steps

1. Spray a large stream of shaving cream into the plastic bin. Add dots and streaks of food coloring on the shaving cream in whatever colors you want to use.

2. Use a stick of toothpick to swirl the shaving cream and food coloring together.

3. Take a piece of card stock and fold it in half. Carefully smash the card stock into the shaving cream, wiggling it around to make sure the entire card is covered.

4. Remove the card stock from the shaving cream and move it onto a solid surface (we use the plastic lid from the bin).

5. Use the squeegee to remove shaving cream from the card, leaving the colors.

6. Let cards dry for 1 hour before using.

Kids Activities: 15 Things Your Preschoolers Can Help You Do in the Kitchen

Date posted: April 3, 2012

2012 is all about intentionality at the MacPherson house… and this month, we’re focusing on intentional DOING. And that means instead of just being, I’m going to focus on intentionally doing things all month. Playing. Talking. Reading. Cooking. Working. DOING things together. So, as part of DOING month, I’m going to be putting together a series of lists that give you easy ideas on how to intentionally do things. Enjoy!

15 Things Your Preschoolers Can Do to Help in the Kitchen

1. Cut and chop. Yes, I let my kids use knives. My 4-year-old cuts strawberries using a plastic cake knife and my 6-year-old cuts things like green beans and tomatoes using a regular paring knife.

2. Fetch ingredients. Send your kids to the fridge to get milk or to the pantry to get sugar.

3. Read recipes. If they can’t read yet, have them find letters, point out numbers and guess at what ingredients the dish calls for.

4. Grow herbs. Plant basil, oregano, parsley and cilantro in small pots and let your kids grow and water their own herbs. Then send them to go pick what you need for recipes.

5. Crack eggs. Yes, it can be precarious to let little hands crack eggs, but if you have them practice in a separate bowl from your other ingredients… and are okay with throwing away a few eggs if there’s an accident, cracking eggs can be a lot of fun for preschoolers.

6. Empty the dishwasher. Let them sort silverware or put away everything that’s unbreakable.

7. Add spices. Who cares if there’s a little extra cinnamon in your Snickerdoodles or vanilla in your pancakes? Let your kids add spices at their own discretion.

8. Decide on optional ingredients. Let them decide if you add mushrooms to the soup or corn to the salsa.

9. Wash produce. Pull a chair up to the sink and let your kids help you rinse lettuce or wash apples.

10. Choose menus. Give your kids cookbooks with photos and let them pick recipes that they’d like to have for dinner.

11. Put away the groceries. Have your kids arrange the cereal on a low shelf or put all of their snacks in an easy-to-reach snack basket.

12. Make sandwiches. Let them spread peanut butter or stack their favorite toppings on a sandwich.

13. Toss Salads. Give your kid the official title of “salad tosser” and you’ll be assured a well-mixed salad.

14. Clear the table. Again, it can be a bit risky to put your dishes in the hands of a four-year-old but if you coach them on how to be careful, they can become excellent at moving dishes from table to sink.

15. Wrapping things up. Let your kids wrap corn in tin foil before you put it on the grill or put leftover fruit salad into baggies after dinner is over.

Question for you: How do your kids help in the kitchen?

The Attack of the Crafty Preschool Mamas

Date posted: September 7, 2011

Everywhere I look on the blogosphere, everyone is doing these elaborate, gorgeous and amazing projects with their kids. And, I have to admit I start to feel a bit subpar when I see a mom making Disney character cake pops with her three-year-old or watercolor masterpieces with her two-year-old twins.

That said, I decided to get crafty.

Okay. Not really. My sister made me get crafty. She literally printed out instructions to a tissue paper craft and put ALL of the supplies in a bag and brought it to my house. So, I got crafty by default.

The gist of the craft is this: Take white paper. Take tissue paper. Let your kids tear the tissue into tiny pieces and cover the white paper. Then spray the tissue with water and the colors will bleed and create art.

One problem: It didn’t work.

So, there’s a slight chance I did it wrong (a.k.a. let my kids pile wet tissue onto the paper so it looked like mountains) but I swear… the tissue didn’t bleed at all. The paper below is still white as white can be. And all I have are a bunch of tissue paper mountains floating on drenched white paper. *sigh*

So, there you have it. My crafty masterpieces. Stupid cake pop moms. (Kidding!)

Question: Do you craft with your kids? Tell me about it so I can copy your idea (and screw it up.)