Today we met a group of friends at our local art gallery and after enjoying the art on display (well the moms enjoyed it – the kids enjoyed the long ramps which they were running up and down) we went next door to a park to create our own masterpieces. The medium we chose was PAINT. Messy, yes. But oh so fun!

Today we just gave the kids long sheets of paper off a big roll and let them do whatever they wanted. But in the past I have done some fun painting crafts that I thought might be perfect “un-bore your kids” summer activities:

• Have the child lay down on a large piece of paper and trace around him/her.  Then get out the paints and have fun creating a lifesize portrait.

• Add lots of fun things to the paint such as sand for texture and glitter to add a sparkle.  This makes painting extra special fun and allows the kids to create some very interesting effects.

• Put different colored drops of paint on the paper and then use a straw to blow them around to create unique patterns.

• Spread out a rectangle of playdough or modelling clay the size of an 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of paper. Carve out an interesting picture in it. Then roller paint over the entire surface and press down a piece of paper to create a print from the carving.

• Think of different objects that you can paint with and test them out to see what effects you can create.  Try running toy cars through paint and then on to your paper, cut open vegetables such as potatoes and green peppers to make interesting stamps, use bird feathers and toothbrushes to add texture to the paint.

Hope you have lots of fun and make lots of messes (after all, that’s what being a kid is all about!)

Did you know that in 1984 Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and made the third Sunday in July National Ice Cream Day? I didn’t know that either (well, until a few days ago that is). Now that I do, I plan on celebrating in style.

For our fun activity this week the kids and I will be making our own ice cream.  There is lots of information I’ve found online about how to do this. Here are a couple of my favorite resources I wanted to share…

Homemade Ice Cream in  a Bag – This looks so easy that even little ones can participate. In only five minutes you have ice cream!  And the recipe is for a single serving which means everyone can make their own so they will love that.

Ice Cream in a Can – This one is a craft, exercise and snack all in one!  Put the ingredients in a can and kick it around until you have a pint of homemade ice cream.

Go ahead and try different flavors when you are making your ice cream. Adding chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, cocoa powder, flavor extracts (such as vanilla or lemon), chocolate chips and nuts can all produce some really awesome results.

Want to make it even more fun?  Put out all of the ingredients and have the kids each make their own flavor. When it’s ready have a taste testing and determine who created the one. The only downside is that you may never be able to recreate the flavors again! But it will be fun trying.

Hope you have a sticky, delicious ice cream day.

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already Tuesday and I’m just getting this week’s “un-bore your kids” feature up.  Summer is flying by.  (Oh right, it’s only July 6th. Maybe I should pace myself or I’ll be burnt out before the first of August.) This week we’re planning on being very daring at our house and trying tie-dye. My kids are (almost) 3 and (just) 4 so I don’t know if this is a good idea or not. My husband is, of course, firmly planted on the NOT side of this debate.  But I have always loved to live on the wild side so I am going for it! I did some research and there are two techniques we’ll be trying. One uses squirt bottles of dye and the other uses submersion in a bath of dye. Checkout that second link from MarthaStewart.com for different patterns to try.

To make this even more fun (and much, much messier) I have invited a couple of my friends and their preschoolers to join us.

Does anyone know how badly fabric dye stains the skin?  Will the kids be normal color again by the time school starts?  Here’s hoping!

So whataya say, are you willing to be daring with me?

Summer vacation is here and for many families that means a long trip with lots of  ”Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?”  Here are some ideas (other than music, movies and video games) to pass the time before you get “there”.

1.   Turn your vehicle into a pirate ship and become the Pirates of the Caravan.  This is such a great idea, especially if you make yourself the Captain whose orders must be followed!
2.  Help your kids anticipate the journey by planning a scavenger hunt of things they will see on the way.
3.  Let you kids follow their imagination and use their creativity by making finger puppets and putting on plays.  You can use the templates found here or design your own.
4.  I absolutely love this idea.  Have your kids write postcards or letters to friends, family or even themselves during a long trip.  When you finally do get home, your kids will have great souvenirs waiting in the mail.
5.  Playdough is a lot of fun, but not during trips where it can be smeared on all sorts of surfaces.  I think aluminum foil is a great alternative.  Kids can mold and sculpt to their heart’s content without needing to wash up afterwards.
6.  Another great, no mess, creative material is colourful paper clips.  Your kids can try making this bracelet or just play around and see where their creativity takes them.
7.  Kids love to unwrap presents!  Keep your kids entertained by occasionally offering them an inexpensive toy or snack to unwrap.  It doesn’t really matter what you give them, just that you are giving them them a surprise gift.  Check out these inexpensive ways to wrap presents.  Just a reminder, if you are traveling by plane, you will need to wrap the presents after you have boarded.
8.  Spend some family time together by playing some of these classic road trip games.
9.  When you need some quiet time let your children try these printable activities like cryptograms, mazes and sudoku. Cryptograms, especially, are a lot of fun and once your kids understand how they work, they can create their own.
10.  This a great craft activity that helps your child remember the trip.  Make a personalized suitcase to keep souvenirs.
11.  In my family, no trip is complete without someone getting car sick.  Here are some tips to help prevent and treat car sickness.

Today my friend and I sat down and planned activities for every Tuesday and Thursday during the summer. We did this last year too and really enjoyed having a schedule (she’s a teacher so she’s all about the schedule!) This year we’ll be meeting up with our mom friends and their little ones at the local zoo, a beach, the firehall, a wading pool, for bowling and for LOTS of nature walks. One of the activities I am most looking forward to is having the kids decorate their bikes and then go riding in their own parade. We’re lucky to have a great park with a paved trail that runs through it. If you have a neighborhood with a good spot to ride this could be a fun activity to get everyone on your street involved in. With Canada Day and Independence Day both coming up this week this would be a great addition to your holiday celebrations.

Our plan is to have all of the supplies out and give the kids half an hour to do the decorating. The supplies we’ll be using are:

• Paper triangles and poles so they can make their own flags
• Cardboard rectangles with holes that they can turn in to license plates
• Foam stickers (letters are fun so they can personalize their bikes or helmets with their names)
• Streamers and garland
• Playing cards with clothespins (to create an engine sound)
• Large artificial flowers
• Tinfoil (because you can create so many neat things with tinfoil)
• Small balloons
• Chenille straws (growing up we always called them pipe cleaners)

For some other ideas, I found these fun suggestions for bike decorations:

• Handle bar bling
• Instant engine (more advanced than the playing card and clothespin)
• Spirited bike spinner
• Personalized number plates

All of these items are available at the dollar store so it won’t be expensive.  If you’re going to do this don’t forget several rolls of tape (masking tape works best), kid friendly scissors and twist ties or zip ties to attach flags, license plates and tinfoil creations.

At then end of the parade route we will be putting up bunches of balloons so they know when it’s time to turn around.

This is a great summer time activity whether you’re entertaining just your own kids, or including their friends.

Hope you have fun with it!

Friday marked the end of nursery school for my kids and although at 2 1/2 and 4 they don’t yet whine “mommy I’m bored”, I want to make sure I have lots of activities to keep them busy this summer.

So I’m adding a new feature to Parents Only Zone. Every Sunday during the summer I’ll post a new activity we’ll be trying that week.

The first activity has me so excited. My new friend Janet who has an awesome parenting blog at JanetLansbury.com made this suggestion that I LOVE:

I knew my kids would have a great time with this idea so I got more details from Janet and drew up a set of cards for our scavenger hunt. You can get creative and draw your own or download and print these ones.

One word of warning from Janet, be prepared that their “something that smells bad” may be a little piece of dog poop!  Oh well, at least they’re having fun.

Be sure to visit Janet’s parenting resource blog for informative articles on how to elevate your children.

Thanks so much Janet for a great idea and for being the inspiration behind this post.