Marshmallow Launchers

I grew up with three brothers and it still surprises me how much my boys love weapons of any kind. These marshmallow launchers were naturally a big hit in our household!

Balloon Badminton

This summer was spent mostly relaxing at home, but occasionally I found energy to engage the boys in fun activities, one of which was balloon badminton.

All you need are paper plates, popsicle sticks, tape, a balloon, and something to act as a net (we used kitchen chairs).

Tape the popsicle sticks to the back of the paper plates. Have your kids hit the balloon back and forth, implementing age-appropriate rules. This was a great, practically free activity that was easy to set up and left no mess :).

Thanks Pen & Paper Flowers for the fun idea!

I’ll be linking up to Works for Me Wednesday, Mom’s Library, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Share It Saturday, The Mommy Club, We Made That Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday.

Yeast Experiment

I’m not sure where my husband got the idea, but one day while making bread, he decided to experiment with the yeast while it rose…

My 6 year old sat entranced watching the yeast inflate the balloon slowly but surely and begged for us to do it again later.

We just used 2 TBS yeast, 1/2 C warm water and 1 tsp sugar in a glass bottle. Then we put a balloon on top and let the yeast do its work.

After the yeast had risen, my husband put it straight into our bread recipe, so nothing got wasted :).

Ice Spheres

It’s hot! Help your kids cool down with these fun balls made of ice…

Have them roll the balls to each other or kick them around the backyard barefoot!

Just fill a balloon with water, tie it off and freeze it. Once frozen, cut the balloon off and hand it over to your kids :). It’s fun to watch the patterns the ice makes as it melts and rolls all over.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks PreK+K Sharing for the fun idea!

Balloon Rocket

C and I are on our own during the day now that K is in kindergarten (how did that happen?!) so I’m always trying to figure out ways to keep us entertained. One day we made a balloon rocket and C loved it!

Take a straw and thread it onto a long piece of yarn. Tie the yarn to two chairs or across the deck. Blow up a balloon and while pinching the opening shut, tape it to the straw. Let go and watch the balloon fly…the first few times the balloon went clear across the deck but by the time I got a picture the elasticity of the balloon must have lessened considerably because it wasn’t traveling as far, but it was still fun to watch and C laughed every time :).

With older kids you can make it more interesting by researching the how’s and why’s of this activity.

I’ll be linking up to Mom’s Library, Mommy Solutions, Kids Get Crafty and What Are Little Boys Made Of?

Baby Gate: Volleyball Net

It’s hot and we’re all dying for ways to stay entertained inside…take out that old baby gate and make a volleyball net in your hallway. Add a balloon for soft spiking and you’re set ;).
My boys had a blast and got quite competitive with our little family match!

I'm linking up to Moms Library and the Mommy Club.

DIY Hovercraft

Here’s another craft I found thanks to PInterest, this time from Scribbit. This is a fun craft that older kids can assemble themselves and younger kids can have a blast chasing!

Just like an air hockey puck, your hovercraft will glide over your table or floor…for about 30 seconds. But it’s so easy and fun to make that everyone will love it.

Balloon Science

I have a bunch of extra balloons lying around and decided to do the activity found at Mama to 3 Blessings with baking soda and vinegar.

Supplies you need:

• Balloon
• 4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 c vinegar
• Water bottle

Pour baking soda into the water bottle: Add 3/4 c vinegar:

QUICKLY put the balloon over the mouth of the bottle and watch it blow up:

After the balloon was filled, we talked about obedience and how when someone asks us to do something, we need to listen. Because K listened, he was able to see a balloon fill up.

I do recommend using a bottle with a smaller mouth so it’s easier to put the balloon on, but this is such a simple activity, and a fun way to watch a balloon magically fill up. It’s also very easy to adapt the lesson you teach your child based on their age and comprehension.

Lampshade of Yarn

I’ve seen variations of this idea throughout the blogosphere, such as this Sisal Pendant Light or bowl, and thought it would be a fun activity with K. All you need is a balloon, flour, water, scissors, and yarn. And anything you need to protect whatever surface you’re working on.

Basically, you are making Paper Mache out of yarn. This is a great activity with little ones.

• Blow up your balloon and hit it around the room.
• Cut out lots of string. This is great practice for kids and it doesn’t matter how long the string is!

• Make a glue with about equal parts of flour and water. I usually add a little bit more water.
• Dip the yarn into the glue and spread half-hazardly (naturally for the best effect!) all over the balloon, which is balanced in a bowl.

The yarn can be made into a bowl by just covering the bottom half, or cover the entire balloon for a fun “ball” of yarn. If you do the second choice, and little ones are helping, draw a circle at the top of the balloon where yarn won’t go so you can pull the balloon out. Our balloon took several days because we only covered half of the balloon at a time, which is why K is wearing several different shirts in this post :)

• Allow the yarn to dry. It will become stiff and hold the shape of the balloon very well; for us it took over night. Poke a small hole in the balloon and allow the air to slowly leak out while gently pressing the balloon away from the yarn. Pull the balloon out, and voila!

If you like your ball of yarn enough, you can proudly display it in creative ways such as a lampshade!

It has this cool, modern effect, don’t you think?
PS Does anyone have a cooler name for this thing? My creativity went as far as making it and is now kaput.

Sensory Balloons

I had some balloons left over from another project and thought it would be fun to make K some sensory balloons. I think I have enjoyed them almost as much as he has!

These are so easy to make, and so fun to hold/squeeze/hoard/play with!

All you need are balloons and whatever you want to fill them up with.

I put one balloon inside another for extra durability and hopefully less risk of major messes…we’ll see how that goes :) To do so, I just used the end of a pen to push one balloon inside the other.

The ingredients I used in each balloon were salt, flour, oats, popcorn kernels and rice. The possibilities are as big as your pantry or whatever else you have lying around.

You can use a funnel or just pour it in. This is a great activity for developing coordination and fine motor skills for your kids if you want to get them involved and end up with oats all over your floor.

Tie them up and let your little one have a fun sensory experience.