Building Block Puzzles

You know those blocks you have that you wish your kids would play more with, but end up just collecting dust? We have a few of those sets at our house but feel they are so important to have around to develop creative and imaginative play.

Sometimes all a toy needs is a new set of clothes. You know, dress them up a different way in order to get the imagination flowing.

This simple-to-set-up puzzle delivers this.


Start with some tape. We used the Kid Made Modern for Target tape but you could also use painters or washi tape.


Create shapes on your floor, table or even large piece of paper, using the tape. We made a square, triangle and an octagon.


The point of the activity is to use your blocks to fill the shapes.


Tayden (four years old) started out being very precise, making sure there were no gaps to be seen between the blocks (no surprise).


But he soon ran out of triangle pieces to fill those gaps so it was a good lesson in allowing things to not be "perfect". He filled the rest of the shapes as best as he could using the blocks we had.


Some other toys even made it in to the shapes, as well as placing the blocks upright to add dimension. Thinking outside the blocks ;)


Sedae (two years old) wasn't much in to trying to do the puzzle but had a blast using the round ones to create towers and knocking them down.


However you use them, I bet this activity will get the gears turning in your house to use the materials and toys you have to create new ways to play!

Busy Bag for Flying, Geometric Puzzle

See how small and compact this puzzle is? It's deceiving. This puzzle packs a brainy punch!


I took cue from all the geometric love out there, like this giant geometric puzzle, or these little wooden cubes, and made one out of thin cardboard so it doesn't take up precious cargo space.


I cut these into 2x2 squares then used painters tape corner to corner to get a straight line. Grab some acrylic paints then paint away, leave some blank, add a little silver bling, sky's the limit!


If traveling in the car, you could get a sturdier piece of cardboard and stick a bunch of little velcro strips 2 inches apart, and put the opposing side on each square so they stay in place on a bumpy car ride.


This project is great for color matching, fine motor skills and shape recognition. I'm super thrilled with it and hope it brings many miles of enjoyment.

Busy Bag for Flying, Color Matching Sticks

Need to work on colors with your kids? These slim little popsicle sticks will be a fun way to do the trick.


I wrote out the name of the color in its coordinating color (for word recognition), then made a set of painted sticks for them to line up and match.


From there, how about building a little stick house? By matching colors side by side. Or put them in a line, like a simple game of dominos. Popsicle sticks have so much unsung potential!

Flubber!

This year, for some of the older kids in our lives, we made them flubber for Christmas. You, know, the 1961 classic Absent Minded Professor and his tremendous invention? I mean, he made a car fly, people! I love that movie.

Now, I don't promise you flying cars, but I do promise at least a solid hour of play and discovery out of this recipe. And, if you read to the bottom, you'll find my discovery that is perfect for boys...

I originally stumbled upon the scientific concoction through Pinterest (if you haven't joined, you really need to get on board) to Frugal Fun Challenge's website.

I made a few alterations to that recipe, mainly halving the recipe, which made more than plenty for our needs. Here's the recipe for you!


1. Get 2 bowls.

2. In one bowl, mix up 3/4 cup warm water, 1 cup Elmer's glue, and food coloring (we used neon blue) real good.

3. In your second bowl, stir 1 1/2 teaspoons of Borax (found in the laundry aisle of your grocery store) and 1/2 cup warm water until Borax is dissolved.

4. Pour the Borax mix into the glue mix and knead with your hands until fully incorporated.

Watch as science flies around your kitchen! It is seriously so much fun, and weird, and easy! What more could you want?!

Like I said, we gave ours as gifts, so after enough playing, I put it into jars and made labels. What I discovered when putting them into jars is that it makes your very own fart maker! Kid you not. So, if you're looking for perfect entertainment for your tween boy, make this and stick it in a jar. Hilarious.

I digress, it makes a good gift, or party favors for a science party. Something to break away from play-doh.

Have fun!

Paper Activity Mat

The other week, while the kids were napping, I busted out a roll of butcher paper, markers, and a strong penchant for creating a super-activity-mat for the kids.


I knew it would need roads, a railway, airport and construction zone.


I also threw in some parking spots, a little lake for the animals to roam around, and greenery to fill the spaces.



Tayden loved it and straight away put his train on it. Then there were cars. Cars driving through the mud and on the railroad tracks! We had a few moments of panic, wondering if the cars would make it out of the way in time before the train came.


Happily there were no accidents to report, except the giant baby who thought it was funny to just run and stomp on it.

A Birthday for a Child's Friend

We've all had those friends. Stuffed in nature. The quiet type. You know the kind. Those that are just like real friends.

Our three year old has just that friend. Or two. Or three.

But I digress. The one he's always loved and always talks about is Doggie Bo. So one day, searching for something to engage the kids' minds and creativity, I blurted out "Did you know Doggie Bo's birthday is on Friday?" thinking we could do something fun with that.

'Crap' I quickly thought, 'now he's going to demand a party for all his animals.'

But the can was already opened and he jumped all over that idea. He was so excited to plan a party, we went with it.

Each day we did a new task in order to be ready for the big party on Friday night (once Daddy was home from work).

So that Monday we wrote out a guest list and he made an invite to all of Doggie Bo's friends. (Do you love how Sedae is thought of last? Ah, brothers.)



He wrote out all the party details like the time and date, then drew out what we'd be doing :)


Tuesday we had a lesson in mail delivery and dropped off the invite. We received the invitation the next day on Wednesday (our local mail is really fast) and he was so stoked.



On Wednesday Tayden made Doggie Bo a party hat. Because no good birthday would be complete without it.


Thursday was baking day. And both were in on it, and of course beyond hyped about the forthcoming party. I just loved how excited they got about something that could seem so trivial. Cupcakes were made and decorated. A special one just for the dog-of-the-hour with red icing that read "Happy Birthday" of course.




Friday morning arrived and it was like the royal wedding with play-by-play announcements on Doggie Bo's every movement on his very special day.

That evening the festivities began with Tayden arranging all the invitees on the couch to get the best view.


We treated this as a real birthday party because to a kid, this is real.


We set out the presents and cupcakes and then had Tayden help him open his gifts. Little Sedae had one thing on her mind: how to get those cupcakes in her mouth. She didn't take her eyes off them the entire time.


So we sang, (which Sedae thought was for her) blew out the candle, and moved on to the best part. Eating said cupcakes.



And Doggie Bo got his cupcake (which Tayden ate for him).


I've gotten a few hey mom, when is so-and-so's birthday's but for the most part, he still talks about how cool Doggie Bo's party was and he'll make up his own mini parties for us or his animals, all on his own. I think we'll be sure to celebrate ol' Bo's birthday every year.