Name Garden

Your kids will love seeing their names grow out of of thin air {or thick dirt} with this fun project. Just follow these simple steps:
1. Fill a tray or cookie sheet with a layer of garden soil.
2. Have your child trace their name in the soil and then fill the letter-shaped trenches with grass seeds.
3. Cover lightly {careful not to distort the design} and water very often {soil should never ever dry out}.
4.Watch your child's excitement peak as they see their very own name growing out of the soil.

Paper Garden

Have some dirt-free garden fun with your kids by making a fun paper garden!

1. Let each child decorate their own flower pots {paper cups} and then fill their "pots" with beans or rice.
2.Then, simply cut out lots of different colorful shapes and petals with different colors and prints of craft paper and let the kids use glue sticks to create flowers and bugs for their paper gardens.
3. Finally, attach Popsicle or craft sticks to the bottoms and "plant" them in the bean-filled pots.

Dino fun with the kids.

Themed play-dates are a great way to add a little structured {and hey, maybe even educational} fun to your summer days! With a few simple items you have right around the house, you can turn your kitchen, dining room, and back yard into a prehistoric wonderland.

Dinosaur Eggs:

This fun and simple project gives you a reason to dye eggs that have nothing to do with a fuzzy white bunny.Trust us, your kids will love this one!
1. Hard boil some eggs.
2. Bang them up and make them crackle-y all over, but DON'T peel them.
3. Mix up egg dye using food coloring and vinegar {Follow the instructions on the back of the food coloring box.}
4. Put the crackled eggs into the dye and let sit for a few minutes.
5. Take them out, peel, and enjoy! They are perfect for your dinosaur theme, and are a healthy snack to boot!

Fossils:

To make your fossils, you're gonna need some Play-dough. It's totally fine to use store bought "Play-Doh" but if you wanna get your cheap on, feel free to mix some up with a few simple ingredients.
We have a fantastic home made play-dough recipe here. 


Once you've got your play-dough situation figured out, make little balls, smash them down into pancake-y patties, and then let the kiddos mush dollar store dinosaurs into them.


They can also smash larger-sized dino feet into them.

 Put the "fossils" on a baking sheet and bake them at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Take them out and let 'em cool. They will look something like this:







Now that you've had fun MAKING the dinosaurs, the kids can enjoy playing with them too! Take all of your fossils and bury them in your sand box and let the kids excavate with paintbrushes/toothbrushes/whatever you have handy and see how many fossils they can dig up.

If you don't have a sand box, one variation is to hide the fossils and/or the dollar store dinos all over your house/yard and let the kids go find them. Let everyone take a bag-ful of dino-goodies home with them.

Other Activities:

1. Learn all about dinosaurs, or read fun and funny dinosaur themed books together.
2. Have smaller children act like dinosaurs. What do the meat-eaters act like? What about herbivores?
3. Watch a dinosaur movie.
4. Make and decorate a volcano cake together.

Squishy Fishy featured on Fresh Living.

Squishy Fishy

Looking for a simple summer project to do with the kids? Well, we have a project that you can make using ONLY items found right in your home!

Introducing:

The Squishy Fishy!

{Translation: a no-sew bean bag... that is much cuter/quirkier than a bean bag.}

To get started, you'll need:
Socks {new or used}
Rice
OR
Dried beans
OR
Pea sized gravel
...and that's it!

We'll make a few decoration suggestions as we go, and you can pick and choose projects based on what other supplies you may or may not have.

The most important thing is to have fun with your kids! At the end of this post, we have a few easy suggestions for games you can play with your squishy fishy bean bags.


Simply fill a sock with your filler of choice, tie the end off into a little tail {cut off the excess if it's a tube sock} and voila! You have yourself a bare-bones squishy fishy. Now, if you want to give it a little flair... read on!

One step above bare bones, would be to bust out a few sharpie markers and give your squishy fishy a face, or some scales, or any fun design you can dream up.

Another option is to draw designs with a black sharpie, then use Crayola Washable Watercolors to create a tie-dyed effect. {Simply take a paint brush, dip into the water and then the paint, and then blotch random patches of color into the white sock. The sock readily soaks up the watery-paint.} 

For this squishy fishy, we used:
A black sock
Acrylic paints
The eraser on the back of a pencil

Just dip the eraser into the paint and use it to make the polka dots. Be sure and re-dip the eraser for each dot so the paint will show up nice and dark. Then glue on some googly eyes or buttons, and your fish is complete!


This Fishy? {Above}
Old white sweat sock
Acrylic Paint
Paint Brush
Googly Eyes


And this fishy?
Funky sock {Walmart}
Silk flower
Rhinestone
Funky buttons



Now, to have a little fun with your squishy fishies, try one of the following simple games:

Toss Game

*Round up laundry baskets, pots, tupperware bowls and anything else you can think of.
*Spread them out over the lawn.
* Write different point values on paper plates and attach them to the "targets". {Higher point values should be assigned to smaller targets that are further away, while smaller point values are assigned to easier/larger targets.}
* give each child a certain number of fish and then see how many points they can earn!

Hot Potato

*Pass a squishy fishy around in a circle as fast as you can to music.
*When the music stops, the player stuck holding the fishy has to run a penalty lap around the circle.

Fish Out Of Water

*Set a small blue object out in the yard, or at the far end of your living room. This object represents a pond.
* Stand behind an established line on the opposite end of the yard or room.
*Have each child take a turn tossing a squishy fishy across the room in an attempt to land it as close to the "water" as possible.
*The child who lands their fishy closest to the pond wins.

Any bean bag game your kids like to play will work just as well for your squishy fishies.
So make some fun memories with your little ones today!

Artsy Summer Fun

VIP Plate on Fresh Living

Summer Bucket List.

 

Today we are putting together a 

Summer Bucket List. 

Have you heard of these?

It's where you make a big old list about all of the awesome things you definitely want to do this summer, cut the list into strips, put the strips into a BUCKET, and draw out an activity a couple of times a week.

Then you go and do whatever activity you pull!
How genius is that?
Love, love this idea.

(If you aren't exactly the spontaneous type, and you need some extra time to pull your activity together, you can always pull the activity the night before so that you can plan for it. It's always fun for kids to have something to look forward to.)

Here is the list of things that our family came up with:

ALL DAY ACTIVITIES:
Go to the Zoo
Go to Discovery Gateway
Go to the Aquarium
Go to Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum
Go to the Bean Museum
Go to Seven Peaks Water Park
Go to Lagoon

HALF DAY ACTIVITIES:

Go Bowling
Miniature Golf
Go on a picnic
Go to an outdoor movie
Go out for ice cream
Visit a new playground
Visit a new playground
Visit a new playground
Go to the Art City Museum
Go to an activity day at the library
Visit Krispy Kreme
Fire Station Tour
Go to yard sales
Camp
Go berry picking
Have an art party
Roast marshmallows
Have a backyard camp out
Make popsicles
Make s’mores
Make wind chimes
Go to the duck pond
Go to the Reservoir
Go to a fun Swimming Pool

What activities are YOU going to be adding to your summer bucket list?

VIP Plate

Enter to win a FREE marker plate kit!
Update: And the winner is... Rayburn Memories!
{we will be contacting you via email for mailing information.}

{Details at the bottom of this post.}

As two VERY busy moms ourselves, we know that parents today are swamped. So our goal here at ifamily is to bring you simple, creative projects and ideas that are achievable within small increments of time while also using supplies that are easy to access.

In keeping with that theme, today we’re going to share a wonderful family tradition in the making, and all you need to get started, is a plate!

These days, parents are busier than ever. We have jobs, errands, sporting events, dance classes, birthday parties, school projects, and “TO DO” lists that are NOT for the faint of heart. With all of this hustle and bustle, we sometimes struggle to find time to connect with our kids and make sure that they feel special and celebrated when they experience even the smallest victories.

That’s where the VIP plate comes in. But how does a simple plate serve to bring your family closer together?
The VIP plate provides a daily opportunity to celebrate your child’s accomplishments, and reminds frazzled, busy parents everywhere to slow down and celebrate the small things.

The premise is simple. When one of your children accomplishes a goal or makes a good choice, they get to use the VIP plate that night at dinner. From being a good sport at their ball games, to working hard in school, or even showing kindness to a sibling and completing a task the first time mom asks, there are dozens of small things to celebrate every day. And take it from us, this small gesture WON’T go unappreciated.

We wanted to share this tradition with you because both of us have nostalgic, happy “VIP plate” memories from our childhoods. The VIP plate truly is a tradition that your kids will remember fondly for years to come.

And the best part is, it’s so simple that many of you can start this tradition by dinner tonight.

There are no rules when it comes to acquiring your family’s VIP plate. If you’re an avid crafter, you can easily design and create your own!

Glass Etching
You’ll need:
a clear glass plate
a paintbrush
contact brand vinyl {but we have a cheat if you want to use a stencil you already own}
a jar of glass etching cream

Cut out the stencil letters and any designs you plan to use, then use Elmer's Glue {our "cheat" item}to secure them onto your plate. {You don't need to let it dry AT ALL! In fact it need to be wet so you can rinse it away after the etching process is complete. We just didn't want to splurge on contact vinyl {because we're cheap}so we used the Elmer's Glue as a sealer to keep the etching cream from bleeding outside the lines of the stencil.

Once your stencil letters and designs are secure, take your paint brush and stroke a heavy layer of etching cream over the stencil.

Let it stand for five minutes, and then rinse with regular tap water.

{Don't touch the cream with your bare hands! It will eat the skin right off of your fingers!}

As always, follow the specific instructions on whatever bottle of etching cream you purchase.

Marker Plate
Another great idea is a marker plate. This one is so simple and safe that your kids can help. {That is, if you're the carefree sort...} You can find kits for these at just about any craft store. Draw, design, and let it dry, and you’ve got a one of a kind celebration plate for your family.

Another fun take on this theme is to let each child design their own plate, OR have mom and dad design special plates for each child with hand-drawn images of their interests and favorite things.

Thrift Store
And if you don’t have a crafty bone in your body – don’t sweat it. You can still have a special V.I.P. Plate ready by dinner time tonight. Just visit your local thrift store and pick up the brightest, funkiest plate you can find. That way, it will be different from the rest of the dish sets you have at home, and shouldn’t cost you more than a dollar or two. You can even use something unique out of your own kitchen cupboards.



Online
You can also purchase a "You're the Best" plate here. 

Zoom (2)

So try incorporating the VIP plate into your family traditions today.

And  you don't  have to call it a "VIP" plate either.

“You’re the Best!”
“You are Special.”
“Good for you!”

or any other encouraging saying will work great!





Enter to win a free marker plate kit!
*For ONE entry, leave a comment complete with your email address.
*For TWO entries, become a follower of our little blog.
* For THREE entries, share this post on facebook. {It's super simple, the little "f" icon thingy is right below!}
*Leave a separate comment for each entry.
*Don't forget your email address, and good luck!

neurotic.

I noticed that I was a WHOLE lotta fun to dye Easter eggs with the other day. So I thought I would share the parental wisdom gleaned from our little dye sesh so all of y'all can be a fun mom like me. So, without further ado, I give to you:

Ten things 

you can say to your child 

to help make egg-dye-ing 

much less fun.

"Hold on bud, it's not ready yet."

{Because kids love to wait.}

"Not yet.... Not yet..."

{More waiting. JUST what a seven year old wants to do!}

"Wait! Not like that!"

{Because there is only ONE way to dye an Easter egg. Obviously.
Besides, art should be restrictive and anal...didn't you know?}

"You're dyeing your fingers. Put on these gloves."

{Because, yeah, purple-y blue fingers practically ='s end of the world. Who's with me?}

"You're dripping! You're dripping everywhere!"

{Again, end of the world. You have to... *gasp* ....wipe. drips. up.... and stuff!}

"Don't mix the colors."

{Cause kids shouldn't make their own colors... heavens no.}

"Be patient. Just let it soak in there for a minute"

{Cause arts and crafts time? ALL about micromanagement. That's what makes it creative... and fun.}

"It's getting all over the table."

{If you care so darn much about the table, then maybe you should have put newspapers down on said table. It is a table, woman. A TABLE!!}

"Don't get it on your clothes!"

{Maybe you should have had him change into clothes that could get messy. Just a thought.}

"If you keep dropping them in all of the different colors, your eggs are just going to be poop brown."

{So?}

"Hold on. I need to wipe this up."

{Yes. Right now. In the MIDDLE of our project, I need to wipe this up. Who cares that it will just get dirty again? Who cares that there are at least a million more drips to come before this egg dye-ing process is complete? I sensed that you were having fun for too many consecutive minutes and might even be getting into some sort of happy groove. So we need to pause and get the table all sorts of spotless before you continue to make your mess.}



Yeah, we ONLY like the good CLEAN kind of fun at our house.
{Does clean fun constitute an oxymoron? Perhaps.}

I think we need a do over.
Yep.

So, this weekend,
I'm gonna take a xanax,
and we're gonna try this again.

And I'm gonna let that kid
take a gall dern BATH
in egg dye if he wants to.

Because I'm a fun mom, dang it!
A FUN MOM!!!!