This colouring/activity page is for you to print out and give to children - yours, someone else's or to use in a school or library. Not to be used for commercial purposes.
Simply click on the image and print.
Don't forget to follow my blog so you will receive the latest Kid's Page.
Toodles!
Hazel
Plastic shopping bags make great parachutes and our stuffies were feeling adventurous. We launched down the stairs and tried many different "jumpers". A fun rainy day activity but remember playing with plastic bags can be dangerous for little ones and requires supervision.
Sometimes you have to remember the simpliest things bring hours of entertainment... you don't need much, just a few colours of dough/clay and a small idea or two.
Look at this cute little bird, could even be part of an Easter decoration...
(Start evil music...) Add some eyebrows...
Make an army...
Assembly line - Beaks, Pom-poms (ping pong balls would be good too and for the pigs we used balls of green tissue paper), googly eyes and eyebrows
Make towers and forts for the pigs with cups, tupperware and supplies from the recycling bin.
Oh and the pig helmets are mini-muffin cups.
Thanks
Make and Takes for the inspriration and hours of crafting & playing (not in video game
Every week I post a colouring/activity page for you to print out and give to children - yours, someone else's or to use in a school or library. All I ask is that it is not used for commercial purposes.
Simply click on the image below and print for your children to colour.
Don't forget to follow my blog so you will receive the latest Kid's Page on a weekly basis.
Hazel
Every week I post a colouring/activity page for you to print out and give to children - yours, someone else's or to use in a school or library. All I ask is that it is not used for commercial purposes.
Simply click on the image below and print for your children to colour.
Don't forget to follow my blog so you will receive the latest Kid's Page on a weekly basis.
Hazel
Did you know a 2-litre soda bottle makes a great air traffic control tower? A covered cereal box is a great airport building. Parking paper airplanes was a problem. The boys came up with raised blocks to set them on as they arrive and depart.
Making and flying paper planes is so much fun, and adding an airport adds to the fun!
I didn't know what to expect at Seattle's Museum of History and Industry. I was a bit worried it would be full of precious, untouchable bits of history and on the dull side for 6 year olds. It was
Free First Thursday so we went anyway and I'm so glad! I was wrong about all my assumptions.
Here is what we found:
Beautiful murals
Hands on almost everything, everything breakable was protected from children.
It was very interactive and interesting.
A lot of things about Salmon.
First a great fishing boat, complete with fishing dress-up gear, jackets and boots, plush salmon, captains wheel, radio, etc. They spent a long time being fishermen.
While the boys were reeling in their catch and weathering hurricanes at sea, I read-up on the adjacent exhibit (housed in the same room)-
The Great Seattle Fire. I had heard of a big fire, but I didn't know that Seattle burned to the ground. It was interesting to read through letters and check it all out, all while keeping an eye on the boys. They also got a chance to check things out. One of their favourite things (safely behind glass I might add) was the windows of things recovered from the fire and trying to guess what they were (answers at the bottom of this post, if you'd like to play along). Also, what little boys doesn't like to check out some authentic firemen gear, even if it is from over 100 years ago.
The boys thought the boat was pretty great until we rounded the corner to the next set of exhibits and I don't even have pictures of half of it, the Cannery Bunkhouse, accounting office (with an old safe) an interactive game of the entire salmon canning process where you have to keep the ball rolling by pressing buttons at the different cannery stations. There is actually an interesting article in the NYTimes archives from 1896 about the process.
SALMON CANNERIES.; How the Delicious Fish Is Prepared for the Market.One thing I didn't expect was my six year-olds to be able to play with knives safely and practise butchering salmon. ("Only in Seattle," my friend Jenny said). The knives were anchored and encased in Plexiglas that went through the table. The object of the game was to butcher in time with the factory workers who would do this for 12 hours a day. There were different speeds for apprentise, skilled and expert butchers, you were to slice/push the knives in time with the three flashing lights on the wall in front of you. I thought it was exhausting to keep up, the boys had a great time trying over and over again. (Is this a little gruesome? I'm not sure). Next up in the cannery was a gang knife (the big one below with 10+ blades, then a game where you had to fit pieces of wooden salmon into cans, pretty cool. We had a really great time and spent a few hours there, I would definitely recommend this.
4 Comments on Field Trip Friday: MOHAI - Museum of History and Industry, last added: 2/9/2010
For my boy's friend's birthdays I love to be able to give something personal and handmade if I have my act together. The boys get excited about it and help a lot with design ideas. This last weekend we had 2 birthday parties to attend. Our first friend needed a super hero outfit...
The cape is actually cut from the bottom piece of the Emmeline apron pattern, it has just the right shoulder size, cape angle and nicely curved bottom. I roll-hemmed around the sides, using a lightweight cotton and lightweight iron-on webbing to add the appliqué pieces then stitched around each shape. I added a wide grosgrain ribbon to the top for a tie-on.
I saw this great idea and tutorial on Once Upon a Holiday. Surprise balls! My mom, sisters and I made these for a Christmas Eve surprise, but they would be fun for a New Year's tradition or birthday or just a rainy/snow day.
Click the link above for the great tutorial. I found it was great to start with something larger, I used the fake ice cube with the bug in it. Then you have something to build your ball around. My mum found some crepe paper streamers already in rainbows of colour which was fun to unwrap.
It was so fun to see the joy of discovery at each prize.
The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) is one of those things that is great about living in the city, but as a mom of active boys I've shied away.
Today, I guess I was feeling brave, the formula seemed right. Free Admission (every first Thursday) + Alexander Calder Exhibit + half-day Kindergarten + needing a little something different.
I thought the hammering man missing his arm was a sign we would fit in well today, then we found street parking within a block! It was a New Year's miracle.
The trip was a big success. After an initial meltdown reaction to the "Please do not touch" signs everywhere, C settled in to a sulk temporarily until he couldn't help but appreciate some things around him. 
Floating shapes and colours balancing, the Calder exhibit also has a kids activity guide with assignments for each gallery room like, "How many footsteps does it take to walk around this sculpture?"
Somehow balance becomes beautiful.
E thought everything he saw was "amazing" and "beautiful." From spiky armour to the Calder circus film.
This is a "Living Room" It had a great view for me to day-dream, where the boys could "create" with blocks behind me.
This was E's favourite installation with real cars, right at the ticket entrance.
In the end C agreed he liked it, with reluctance, and the cavet, "It wasn't fun, but it was interesting."
For today's activity we pulled out a couple Mad Lib books and got to work. Not only is this some great matching work, but some basic reading too! The best part is the laughing. Decorating the tree with cute, cuddly eggs! and flying with Santa in his boat! These things are hilarious to 5-year-olds.
(Note this post was NOT endorsed by Mad Libs or any seller of Mad Libs - I just love them anyway).
So I'm going to be posting some of our countdown to Christmas activities and some are kind of random like this one, a Christmas Bath...
I think you could do really fun things with this. I decorated the bathroom with Christmas lights around the door and mirror (nowhere near the tub), turned out the other lights, played peppy Christmas music like Rockin' around the Christmas Tree. Sprayed a vanilla scent and gave them a "snowball" to play with - small baking soda bath bombs.
Some other ideas for this -
decorate the shower wall with vinyl clings
bath confetti
bubble bath in peppermint, sugar cookie, or gingerbread scents
colour outlines of Christmas trees on the walls with soap crayons and let them decorate them...
Any other ideas? Since we should probably bathe again before Christmas...
In the tradition of last year's
pilgrim settlement we once again got out the Lincoln Logs and built some settler homes.
I have also dicovered a new favourite thanksgiving book, it tells the real story of the Mayflower, the Settlers and their Native American friends. It has interesting details and explains the different groups of people on the boat, why they were leaving England and what life on the boat was like and some of the perils of the new land. It keep my 5year olds' interest, and has been the subject of several conversations over the week.
The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh, illustrated by Helen Sewell ( I loved the illustrations and it included great diagrams of the boat and maps of the new land)
Would it be Halloween without scary sugar cookies? We made some pumpkins, bats and ghosts. So the secret to make your cookies literally scary is not great decorating, but because of the overworked, grubbiness of the dough that is licked, half-eaten, poked and prodded during the making process. I cannot recommend actually eating the cookies, but my kids don't mind. It is fun and we maybe have a repeat of this before Halloween, because this small batch of cookies didn't last long enough to get frosted!
What is it about acorns? I think it might be their dapper hats, but something about these seeds are so cool. We have been collecting...many, many acorns. What should we do with them? My boys want to trap a squirrel - me? Not so much. Anyone have a craft idea to share? I'll share some acorns...
A hot summer day and the blueberries are ripe, practically falling off the bushes. The picture of C top right is while we were weighing in (over 8 lbs of berries!). As he lay down in the shade on a cushioned bench, with a belly full of berries, he said, "This is what I call blueberry heaven." That pretty much sums it up.
Sometimes when you think U-Pick, you think, picked over. Not the case, these rows were LOADED with berries. If you are local...this is the last week U-Pick is open...
Black River Blues Blueberry Farm 17132 Moon Road S.W., Rochester, WA 98579. Phone: 360-273-3489. Open: Monday through Saturday 10am to 6pm Payment: Cash, Check. Historic 102 acre farm, 17 varieties of blueberries, riverside picnic area.
I (and my boys) would HIGHLY recommend what is being called the foamerator...
Originally from Aug. 2009 Family Fun Magazine - I actually got the idea from
My Little GemsIt does not matter how big the bottle is or how much you cut off. I put a dab of dish soap on each boy's hand to rub on the wet washcloth, instead of using a shallow dish. Really great results and lots of laughs. The junkiest looking cheap tub toy around with serious bang for your buck bubbles. Imagine the looks on people's faces as their child opens this and a mini bottle of dishsoap for their birthday. He he he.
My wonderful in-laws came over the other day to help me with some yard work (See my cute MIL in the back weeding?) (and without being asked)! As the boys were trying to move around some construction remnants into a fort, Grandpa got recruited. He was so patient with the boys ideas and made sure the structure was safe to play in. The boys are so pleased with their new shanty-shack. Thank you Grams and Gramps!
It's a hot day, so why not make a mess.
Mix about 1/2 cup water with 2 cups cornstarch. It's a solid and a liquid.
Cover your hand like a glove, it is weird and cool and best of all, it washes off easily at least the starch part (see below).
You can drip it then pick up the drips.
Cut it in chunks and watch it melt back together.
We had a lot of fun poking and prodding it, molding and melting it. It is so interesting and bizarre and kills a few boredom bugs.
Warning: The recipe I found called for food colouring - but I can't recommend it. We have some long lasting effects...and yes we scrubbed.
Make "tickets" - a post-it cut in half and partial-circle punched on each side makes a great ticket.
Practise writing - We wrote TIX and POPCORN on ours...
Invite friends and get ready for the movie, pop the popcorn, load up the room with pillows and blankets.
(by the way coffee filters are a great option for portioning popcorn)
Handout the tickets at the door or ahead of time, it is fun to play movie theater.
Warning this post contain no intellectual stimulating, nutritional ideas for children. In fact it is about microwaved marshmallows - beware.
Did anyone else do this as a bored child? We called it ghost gum. In the olden days, before microwaves, you had to knead the marshmallows with your fingers, now it is amazing what 20 sec in the microwave will do. I insist you must remain near the microwave and watch the effects, but I can't be held accountable for the radiation (or possible explosion of the marshmallows). This rubbery substance that comes out is why microwaves do not make good s'mores. Another warning if left too long to cool, it will become rock hard (luckly marshmallow dissolves in water). If eaten too soon you will burn your tongue. C mixed chocolate chips into his. mostly they just played with the stuff, tried to eat it, made a mess and cleaned it up.
Random, cheap, fun and a good boredom buster...
An easy activity, fun and interesting with free supplies - can you go wrong?
1. Gather your stems - expect overly excited looks from your children.
2. Pop off the tops.
3. Shapes - put the smaller end into the bigger end, bend where you like for triangles, squares, etc.
4. Curls - split the stem with your fingernails, this one is in the middle, which creates a strange effect. Split at the end for curls - the longer the split the more curl. Tell your kids to peel it like string cheese :)
5. submerge in cold water and WATCH! It will wiggle and curl before your very eyes.
E with his "tree".
My cute niece Josee with a combined creation of several pieces, shapes and curls together.
My sisters and I (probably my brother too, if he would admit it) used to play with stems for hours, we had all kinds of creations, our speciality being jewelry. Once, after a hard days work of 'jewelry" making we decided, of our own accord, to go door to door selling our curly creations. We earned several pennies and nickels, a few dimes and maybe a quarter or two. We were quite proud of our venture until we told our mother. She was mortified that we had traipsed around the neighbourhood selling weeds and made us take all the money back. I'm sure she didn't want anyone to think she had sent her children begging.
Somehow I still think the curls are beautiful, in fact I'm not so sure why dandelions get such a bad rap, Maybe this week I'll try a dandelion salad.
"Mom, when our friends come, I'm going to ask them if they want to eat dirt and bugs, then I'm going to say just kidding it's cake and candy!"
Topsoil - crushed Oreos, chunks of Devil's food cake, chocolate pudding, gummy bugs and worms.
Clay dirt (this is the colour of ours) - chunks of spice cake, butterscotch pudding, graham cracker crumbs, gummy worms and bugs.
Dirt is best served in a big pile, it may not look pretty, but it looks like dirt.
So our toy hospital (box with a red cross sign on it) was filling up and it was time to address our patients' needs. Basically the drill is, when I or the boys notice a toy in distress (broken) it goes in the box. **Note: if it is very beloved it might get priority service. I assess the repairability and some are thrown away. Those that can be saved go on a waiting list for surgery. What can I say, our funding is limited feel free to donate...
Today we set up the hospital in the dining room and got to work.
First up: simple dinosaur stitches...
The interns did very well after the instructions - they are sewing! I am such a proud mother!!!
We did some wood glueing together, but I kept the superglue to myself. That's all I need is the boys' glued to each other or some plastic and a real trip to the emergency room.
By: Hazel Mitchell,
on 7/31/2012
By: Kristin,
on 7/15/2011
I saw this great idea and tutorial on Once Upon a Holiday. Surprise balls! My mom, sisters and I made these for a Christmas Eve surprise, but they would be fun for a New Year's tradition or birthday or just a rainy/snow day. 
It was so fun to see the joy of discovery at each prize. 
Somehow balance becomes beautiful.
This is a "Living Room" It had a great view for me to day-dream, where the boys could "create" with blocks behind me.
This was E's favourite installation with real cars, right at the ticket entrance.
In the end C agreed he liked it, with reluctance, and the cavet, "It wasn't fun, but it was interesting."
For today's activity we pulled out a couple Mad Lib books and got to work. Not only is this some great matching work, but some basic reading too! The best part is the laughing. Decorating the tree with cute, cuddly eggs! and flying with Santa in his boat! These things are hilarious to 5-year-olds.
I have also dicovered a new favourite thanksgiving book, it tells the real story of the Mayflower, the Settlers and their Native American friends. It has interesting details and explains the different groups of people on the boat, why they were leaving England and what life on the boat was like and some of the perils of the new land. It keep my 5year olds' interest, and has been the subject of several conversations over the week.
You can drip it then pick up the drips.
Invite friends and get ready for the movie, pop the popcorn, load up the room with pillows and blankets.
4. Curls - split the stem with your fingernails, this one is in the middle, which creates a strange effect. Split at the end for curls - the longer the split the more curl. Tell your kids to peel it like string cheese :)
We are so doing this, rainy or not my kids would love it.
So you sacrificed the stuffies for a little fun did you? You say they were feeling adventurous, I wonder how they were really feeling?