How to Make Peanut Butter Play Dough

2013
Leave a Comment

We love homemade play dough recipes!  Homemade play dough is a lot less work to make than you would think, lasts a really long time, and can be customized to fit your kids’ needs and preferences. 

For example, if you have a toddler you may have asked yourself, “How can I make play dough that is safe for kids to eat?“  As long as your child has no allergy to peanut butter recipes then peanut butter play dough would be a great choice!

How to Make Edible Peanut Butter Play Dough

Edible Peanut Butter Play Dough Recipe

1 cup of creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup of nonfat powered milk or 1 cup of powdered sugar

3 tablespoons of honey

Kids can help with this edible play dough recipe since no cooking or heating is required.  They can measure and add the ingredients and help mix it up.  If the play dough is too sticky or oily just add a little bit more of the powdered milk or sugar.

Edible Play Dough Invitation to Play with Food

We had some semi-stale candy in the pantry so I set up an invitation to play with food for the kids! 

Homemade Peanut Butter Play Dough

 They had lots of fun creating bakery items and marshmallow creatures.  When they were done we put the peanut butter play dough in the fridge for another day.  They plan on making peanut butter cupcakes and monsters next time!

More Play Dough Fun:

Red Hot Play Dough

Gingerbread House Play Dough People

Thanks for sharing!!!
Filed Under: Crafts Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Frog Jump: Measurement and Gross Motor Activity

2013
6 Comments

We have have been having fun learning about frogs and the frog life cycle.  On a recent day I decided to extend the frog learning with a measurement and gross motor activity…Frog Jump!

Frog Jump! A math measurement and gross motor and activity for preschool.

To play I marked a starting line with painter’s tape on the floor and gathered a frog cut out and a measuring tape.

The kids took turns standing at the line and jumping forward as far as they could.  I had my oldest demonstrate how to bend her legs and jump and then we marked the spot where she landed with another piece of tape.

Frog Jump Non Standard Measurement Activity

Then they measured how far she jumped with the frog. 

Using something other than a ruler to measure an object or distance is called non standard measurement.  It’s a great way for young kids to begin to understand the concepts of length, width, and height. 

Frog Jump Math Measurement Activity

After we determined how many “frogs” she jumped we then measured the distance in inches with the tape measure. 

They took many turns jumping and measuring and got in lots of gross motor and math practice!

Frog Jump Preschool Math Activity

When the floor was covered in tape pieces the kids pretended the pieces were lily pads.  They were quite engaged in their pretend play adventure and had lots of fun!

Looking for simple ways to add movement and learning into your day makes it much easier to accomplish!  Kids can practice non standard measurement almost anywhere with whatever you have on hand, like sugar packets at a restaurant or crayons in a doctor’s office.

More Frog Themed Activities for Preschoolers:

Frog Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Frog Life Cycle Books for Kids

Art Activity for Children: Frog Foot Prints

Thanks for sharing!!!
Filed Under: Math Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Art Activity for Children: Frog Foot Prints

2013
5 Comments

Learning all about frogs has been so much fun!  My kids have been totally intrigued by the frog life cycle and have spent a lot of time reading different frog facts.

Big Art for Kids Frog Feet Prints

One day while they were looking at the differences between frog feet we decided to turn it into an art project, so we made big frog foot prints!  And it has turned out to be one of our favorite big art activities for children!

How to Make Frog Foot Print Paintings

   The kids each looked at photos of frogs in our frog life cycle books and drew a set of frog feet onto Styrofoam plates.  They cut them out (I helped my 3 year old) and stapled a strip of construction paper to the top of them.

Big Art for Kids: Frog Painting

Then they slipped the frog feet onto their hands (our plates weren’t big enough to make foot size ones) and started painting!

Frog Print Big Art for Kids

All three of them had a blast printing with their frog feet!  This big art project developed their gross motor skills and forced them to work together as a team.  Plus, now we have some really cool frog themed wrapping paper!

If you liked this Frog Life Cycle Activity you would also enjoy:

Frog Life Cycle Books for Kids

Frog Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Frog Jump: Measurement and Gross Motor Activity

Thanks for sharing!!!
Filed Under: Crafts Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Frog Life Cycle Books for Kids

2013
3 Comments

We are having fun learning all about frogs at our house!  The kids have loved learning about the life cycle of a frog and have been pouring over the nonfiction books we checked out of the library.  It has been so cool to see them grab a frog life cycle book to look up a tadpole or frog fact while they are pretend playing!

The Frog Life Cycle Books for Kids

There are tons of frog children’s books out there, but not all of them teach about tadpoles and the life cycle of a frog.  If your kids or class in interested in understanding how the frogspawn turn into frogs and seeing awesome photos and illustrations then here are 5 books for you to check out!

Frog Life Cycle Books for Kids

(all photos below are affiliate links)

 

A Frog’s Life by Nancy Dickmann was a favorite for the clear, large photos and the simple text.  This was one they reread many times.

 

 

Starting Life: Frog by Claire Llewellyn has fun, different-sized tabbed pages so you can quickly turn to whichever stage of the frog life cycle you desire.  This one contains a lot of interesting frog facts and information and has beautifully detailed illustrations.

 

 

The Life Cycle of a Frog by Bobby Kalman is another one with great photography.  The text is written in paragraph form and reads like an elementary school textbook.  This would be a great choice for young students who are doing a science report or project.

 

 

 

Scholastic Reader Level 1: From Tadpole to Frog by Kathleen Weidner Zoefeld is a great non-fiction early reader.  It has simple texts and close up photographs and is another one conducive to repeated readings.  My oldest reports this is also a favorite in her first grade classroom.

 

 

 

The Life of a Frog by Claire Hibbert is well organized and easy to peruse.  It packs a lot of info into each page and makes easy to read with graphics and text boxes.  My kids must have looked at the wheel-like illustration of the life cycle of a frog at the beginning of this book dozens of times.

 

 

 

I’d recommend all of these books about frogs for anyone interested in studying the life cycle of a frog.  Are there any other frog life cycle books you would add to the list?  Leave them in the comments for us to look for!

If you are studying the life cycle of the frog then you may also be interested in our Frog Life Cycle Sensory Bin  Frog Jump: Measurement and Gross Motor Activity and Art Activity for Children: Frog Foot Prints.  They are great, hands on activities for kids!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Thanks for sharing!!!
Filed Under: Science Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Frog Life Cycle Sensory Bin

2013
10 Comments

My kids have been obsessed with learning about the life cycle of a frog.  We have read lots of books about frogs and even tried to find a way to raise our own tadpoles.   That didn’t work out so we decided to create our own small world Frog Life Cycle Sensory Bin!

The Frog Life Cycle

The kids love it and have been having a blast playing with the frogspawn, tadpoles, and frogs! 

Life Cycle of a Frog Supplies

To make the sensory bin we searched to see what we could find around the house for our frog pond.

Here’s what we came up with…

(affiliate links below for anyone who needs them!)

1.  Water beads for the frogspawn

2.  Pony beads tied with plastic cord for the tadpoles

3.  Foam cut out into plant shapes for the pond section

4.  Plastic frogs and fake plants and rocks

5.  Tree stump blocks (that we collected when we got our Christmas tree) for the logs

Life Cycle of a Frog Sensory Bin

The kids set it up themselves in our water table.  They set up a water section for the frogspawn and tadpoles…

Life Cycle for a Frog Kids Activity

and a dry land section where the frogs lived!

I loved to see how much about the frog life cycle they remembered from our library books!  As soon as they saw some of the colored frogs they exclaimed they were poisonous.

The Frog Life Cycle Activity

They have spent hours playing together with the frog life cycle small world sensory bin. 

I’d definitely recommend making one, especially if you can’t find tadpoles in your area!

For more fun Frog Life Cycle Activities check out:

Frog Life Cycle Books for Kids

Art Activity for Children: Frog Foot Prints

Frog Jump: Measurement and Gross Motor Activity

Linking to:

Thanks for sharing!!!
Filed Under: Science Tagged With: , , , , ,

Screen Free Week Activities: Busy Bags!

2013
7 Comments

Are you looking for some fun Screen Free Week activities to do with your kids next week? 

Then you’ve come to the right place! 

A bunch of kid bloggers have gotten together for a Screen Free Activities and Resources Blog Hop.

Busy Bag Activities for Screen Free Week

If you are used to letting your kids watch a TV show here and there for some downtime then the thought of going screen free for a whole week might seem a little intimidating.  None of us can be “on” all day long! 

Busy bags are little activities that you prep in advance that your kids can play and learn with independently…the perfect way to get the downtime you all may need without turning on the TV!

Here are 10 fun busy bag activities to get you started!

1.  Three Craft Stick Busy Bags from Making Boys Men

2.  Clothespin Flower Matching from Toddler Approved

3.  What Time is it? A Telling Time Review Game from Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

Busy Bag Fun

4.  Number Wheel Busy Bag from Money Saving Mom

5.  Pom Pom Tong Transfer from The Princess and the Tot

6. Lego Duplo Building Inspiration Busy Bag from All Our Days

7.  Bottle Top Calculator from Learn with Play at home

8.  Broken Heart Puzzles from Coffee Cups and Crayons {me!}

Sticker story bag

9.  Sticker Story Bag from The Pleasantest Thing

10. The Little Inquiry Bag from Childhood 101

…and if 10 ideas are not enough, here’s our Busy Bag Pinterest Board!

Busy Bags for the Kiddos Pinterest Board

Ready to join in?  Check out the other screen free activities in the blog hop!

The Educators' Spin On It

Linking to:

Thanks for sharing!!!
Filed Under: Crafts, Learning Activities Tagged With: , , ,

Kids Craft Acts of Kindness for the Earth

2013
2 Comments

In honor of Earth Day, on this week’s Acts of Kindness for Kids series we shared kids craft and project ideas that double as act of  kindness for the Earth!

Acts of Kindness for the Earth: Fun Kids Crafts

This week’s guests were +Carolyn Elbert from The Pleasantest Thing, +Erica Momandkiddo from What Do We Do All Day? and +Jackie Higgins from Ready-Set-Read.  I loved their kids crafts so much we already have plans to make them all this weekend.

Check it out!

For more information on the Earth Day crafts for kids in the video make sure to visit the links below!

Make Your Own Regatta from The Pleasantest Thing

How to Help Birds Build Nest from What Do We Do All Day?

DIY Garden Markers from Ready-Set-Read

Upcycled Soda Bottle Planter from Coffee Cups and Crayons

So grab your supplies (or dryer lint!) and get crafting! 

Kids crafts are a great way to do acts of kindness for the Earth!

Linking to:

Thanks for sharing!!!
Filed Under: Acts of Kindness, Crafts Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Easy Kids Craft: Upcycled Pencil Holder

2013
4 Comments

Looking for an easy craft for kids this Earth Day?  Then try this upcycled pencil holder made from supplies you can find in  your recycling bin!

Easy Upcycled Pencil Holder Kids Craft

How to Make an Upcycled Pencil Holder:

1.  Look through your recycling bin or craft stash for a plastic or glass jar and a newspaper, magazine, or catalog.

2.  Cut the catalog into small pieces.

3.  Apply the paper pieces to the jar with watered down glue and a paint brush.  Brush a layer on the jar, stick the paper pieces on, and then paint over the pieces with more of the glue mixture.

4.  Let dry and fill with pencils, markers, toothbrushes, or whatever you would like!

Some of our very favorite kids crafts are made with materials you can find in your recycling bin.  Here are three more easy upcycled crafts that are easy enough for kids to make!

Upcycled Soda Bottle Planter

Egg Carton Jelly Bean Game

Upcycled Gingerbread House

Linking to:

After-School-Link-Up


Thanks for sharing!!!
Filed Under: Crafts Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Caterpillar and Butterfly Finger Play Songs

2013
9 Comments

It’s spring in the northern hemisphere and that means it’s time for caterpillars and butterflies!   My former students and own kids love to sing and act out caterpillar and butterfly themed preschool songs, they are perfect for circle time at school or play time at home.

Caterpillar and Butterfly Songs for Preschool

 

Where Did My Caterpillar Go? Finger Play Song

by Megan Sheakoski

(Sung to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb)

Where, oh where, did my caterpillar go?

Caterpillar go, caterpillar go?

Where, of where, did my caterpillar go?

Oh look! It’s a butterfly!

As the students sing the beginning lines of the song they cup their hands around their eyes as if they were looking for something. When they sing the last line of the song they point their fingers up to the sky at the pretend butterfly.

Caterpillar and Butterfly Hand Motion Song

by Megan Sheakoski

(Sung to the tune of Are You Sleeping?)

Caterpillar, caterpillar,

In my hand, in my hand,

Soon you’ll be a butterfly.

Soon you’ll be a butterfly.

And fly away. Fly away.

The kids cup their hands and swing them gently back and forth in front of their bodies while singing about the caterpillar. They hook their thumbs and flutter their fingers like wings during the third and fourth line and then move their butterfly fingers up into the air for the last line.

Caterpillar Life Cycle Song

by Megan Sheakoski

(Sung to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb)

A caterpillar has 12 eyes

Has 12 eyes, has 12 eyes,

A caterpillar has 12 eyes

So that he can see!

A caterpillar chews on leaves

Chews on leaves, chews on leaves,

A caterpillar chews on leaves

To get some energy!

Now he rests in a chrysalis

A chrysalis, a chrysalis,

Now he rests in a chrysalis

And becomes a butterfly!

Singing and acting out finger play songs is a great learning activity for kids. Preschoolers and toddlers can practice following directions, using memory skills, and learn about the life cycle of a caterpillar while singing and having fun.

If you are studying about the caterpillars and butterflies you may want to make our 12 eyed caterpillar puppet to go with the life cycle song!

Linking to:

 

Edventures with Kids
Thanks for sharing!!!
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

No Bake Dog Treats Book and Cook Activity

2013
12 Comments

This month’s Virtual Book Club for Kids author, David Shannon, was completely new to us so we went to the library to check out of bunch of his books.  Good Boy, Fergus! was the house favorite and we had a lot of fun doing a dog themed kids activity to go along with it.

Homemade Dog Treats: Good Boy Fergus! Book and Cook Activity

The kids really enjoyed Fergus, the canine main character, because he reminded them of our dogs and how they sometimes act…especially out in public!

We love book and cook activities and decided to make our dogs some homemade dog treats for when they are “good girls”!

Homemade No Bake Dog Treats Book and Cook Activity

No Bake Dog Treats Recipe:

1/2 cup of dry dog food

1 c of oats

1/2 c of creamy peanut butter

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

1 tablespoon of honey

Mix the first three ingredients together and then stir in the cinnamon and honey.  Once everything is blended roll into small balls and place in the refrigerator for an hour to chill.  Makes about 14.

The treats smelled so good that my three year old kept wanting to try one and the dogs loved them!  We’ll have to make some again soon!

What is your favorite David Shannon book?  Do you have a post about it?  Make sure to link up to the blog hop!

There are a few rules for this blog hop so make sure to read them:

  1. Link up only posts inspired by David Shannon that share children’s book inspired crafts, activities, recipes, etc. Any other posts will be deleted.
  2. Visit other blog posts on the linky and comment on or share the ones you love!
  3. Add our Virtual Book Club button to your post if you’d like.
Here’s the button you can grab if you are participating!

Linking to:
After-School-Link-Up

Thanks for sharing!!!
Filed Under: Food, Reading Tagged With: , , , , , ,
«Older Posts