Whenever I’m on a website looking for a product for my kids, I always try to take a few minutes to check out the clearance page.  You never know what you might find.  Today, I found one of those unique items that I don’t need right now but would be great when my kids are older.  I have to share!
Check out the Paint Your Own Soccer Ball from Crayola.  I love this idea.  It sounds like a fun activity to do with your son or daughter.  Alternatively, I love the idea of buying a bunch of these for a young …read more

After looking at different lists and posts last week about daytime activities, I thought it would be fun to try sock puppets with the kids. We have all kinds of scraps and bits and pieces to use in a throw-together craft project. And besides, I had a pair of socks that were really uncomfortable to wear!
Here are the supplies we had:
socks
scraps of yarn
fabric markers
scissors
google eyes
glue
ribbon
little colored pompons
We started by cutting two slits into the tops of the socks. The hair was then made by putting through pieces of yarn and tying them in knots at …read more

Next year, i think I’ll just get Bald Man a new Lego set for Father’s Day. I think his favorite part of the whole day was a bit of the time we spent at his parent’s house. His parents have just moved back in town and had come across the Lego collection that they’d had from his youth. So, on our Father’s Day visit, out came the bin of Lego. Bald Man, the kids, and his parents were all in various parts of the living room arranging, categorizing and building with bunches of little Lego bricks. …read more

Did you know that Lego has a magazine? I didn’t, but I’m looking forward to seeing copies of it. However, not nearly as excited as Bald Man, I’m sure, being that he is, in fact, a Legomaniac. Anyway, head on over and you, too, can get signed up for your free 2 year subscription to Lego Magazine!
And, while you’re waiting for it to arrive, you can check out this photo of the largest ever Lego tower, and figure out how you will beat that record! It’ll only cost you the price of about a half a …read more

My son’s favorite toy of late is Kid K’nex. In this podcast, he talks about the different things he makes with the building sets. I think I’ve created a podcasting monster!
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Tags: kid knex, kid k’nex, building sets, toys, children, kids, podcast, parenting, family

These are two of the creations that my kids made using the Play-Doh EZ 2 Do Zoo. (Pink Giraffe and Green Elephant, in case you weren’t sure. )
I like sets like these. I’m was never very good at coming up with something creative with just a lump of clay or a pile of Lego, and I always felt so lame watching other kids come up with the coolest sculptures and such while I sat there staring at the lump. I do have fun, though, replicating something while giving it my own little spin. …read more

I can only imagine that this little creation came about after a morning of me telling my oldest son, “Please find something else to do besides bang on that drum!” Well, when you’re asked to stop playing one instrument, it’s best just to find another, yeah?
Actually, I don’t remember what prompted this activity; probably just the curiosity of a three year old. Jake wrapped this rubber band around the knobs of our side table (can any parent of a preschooler read that last phrase and not think of Side Table Drawer from Blue’s Clues? ), and …read more

Who says character toys are evil and stifle imagination? They can be trustworthy friends in play. Here’s a town my four-year-old made for his Disney Pixar Cars vehicles complete with parking spaces, roads, towers, and bridges.

Inspired by Hsien’s post on paper cranes, Bald Man surprised me with a flock of cranes as part of my Valentine’s Day gift. They were so beautiful, and I hear he had some help from cupid finding the right paper for the job (thanks, cupid ).
After folding eight of these cranes, he had all of the moves down for memory, and so he showed the kids and me how to fold our own cranes. We used construction paper for ours, and I could see why you would want a stronger paper for these …read more

One evening, my four-year-old decided to build himself a race track out of printer paper sized pieces of cardboard I had saved with no particular purpose in mind. At first, I was simply amazed at how proficient he was at wielding the very large kitchen shears when just a few months ago he could barely even hold children’s scissors properly. Then I was bowled over by what else he had planned.
For the track, we cut strips that were approximately two inches wide and 12 inches long. After he finished setting the track, he took the scissors and started cutting out …read more