With your child, cut out pictures from magazines of your child's favorite things - foods, toys, colors, etc. Give your child a glue stick and then help your child paste pictures onto a large sheet of construction paper, card stock, or poster board. Laminate your finished product and voila! - your very own customized placemat. A few other options: * Instead of using ... Read More >
Help younger children understand how their aunts, uncles and cousins are related to them by drawing a family tree together. Cut out pictures of relatives and place them next to their names, connecting the pictures together with lines to show the relationship. This is a great activity to do before a big family gathering. Read More >
Start by drawing a big outline of a letter on a piece of paper and let your child color or paint inside the lines. Then cut it out and stick it up or you can join it to other letters in an alphabet garland or a special word or name. Read More >
Each night before you put your child to bed, set aside a few minutes to reflect on the day. In a spiral notebook, ask your child what the best or worst part of his/ her day was and have them draw a simple picture. You can then write what your child says about his/her picture on the same page. Date this and you will have memories ... Read More >
Cut out a tree trunk with several branches. Then cut out leaves in various colors -- for a spring tree, you can use lighter shades of green; for an autumn tree, use reds and oranges. Have your child write each letter in his or her name on a separate leaf and then glue the leaves on the branches to spell out their name. Lots of fun and ... Read More >
Your child can make a simple but pretty family tree and learn about familial structure. Draw a large tree with many branches. Cut out leaves from the green construction paper or use leaf rubbings. Each leaf will represent a person in the child's family and should be big enough to write that person's name on the leaf. Cut enough leaves for each of the child's siblings, parents, ... Read More >
Here's a great idea for the next time you're looking for a creative gift. Paint your child's hand with fabric paint and apply to a clean t-shirt or apron. Write your child's name and the year in paint or permanent marker underneath the hand print. You can also create a shirt or apron with hands from more than one child -- siblings, cousins, or classmates. Read More >
Every six months, trace your child's foot to see how much his or her feet have grown. As your child grows older, he or she will have fun painting the toe nails, drawing happy faces on each toe, or just being creative. This is a fun art project for the kids, and you can turn the drawings into a nice keepsake for you. Read More >
Give children spools and pieces of wood and glue. Let them glue the wooden pieces onto a wooden board (the size of a game board). They will glue both tall towers and little neighborhoods. Older children might want to paint or decorate the pieces of wood before beginning. You will use lots of glue and have lots of fun! If you have an older child, you can ... Read More >
Cut a three-foot long piece of bulletin board paper for each child. Spread the paper out on the floor. Have the child sit on the edge of the strip and stretch one leg out as far as possible over the length of the paper. Use marker to trace the outline of his leg; then write the words "my leg" above the outline. In the same fashion, make and label an ... Read More >
There is just something magical about the cadence and content of Eric Carle's books. My kids loved Brown Bear, Brown Bear so much that we have made several book adaptations in our house. One is a book of friends and family members: "Katie, Katie, who do you see? I see Aunt Deb looking at me!" This is a great way to remember family that you ... Read More >
Write your child's name on a piece of paper in large block letters. Have her use safety scissors to cut several colors of construction paper into small pieces (you can do this part for younger children). Next have her decorate her name by gluing the scraps of paper onto the block letters. Let your child help you choose a special place to display her name mosaic. This ... Read More >
Write each letter of your child's name on a separate clothes pin. On a piece of paper, write your child's name. Mix up the clothes pins and have your child find each letter in their name, match it to the letter on the paper, and clip it on the paper. For an added challenge, add extra letters on clothes pins that your child will have to eliminate ... Read More >
This is a good activity for kids who are starting to learn their city, state, and address. Print up a map of your neighborhood or town with your child; if you're a pretty good artist, you can create a map yourself. The map doesn't need to include all of the streets -- just a general idea of where things are (schools, post office, library, bank, grocery store, friend's ... Read More >
This simple arts and craft activity is not only fun for your child but also provides you with a keepsake. Put out some art supplies such as crayons and markers and a sheet of white paper, and ask your child to draw a picture of herself. When she's done, make a note of the date and your child's age on the back. Have her do this periodically, ... Read More >
Have each family member bring a small object that's important to them to the dinner table. It can be a toy, a picture, anything. Take turns talking about the importance of each object and why you wanted to share it. Listen patiently to each person without interrupting. Read More >
Take a long piece of butcher paper and have your child lie down on top of it (his or her entire body needs to fit within the edges with a good margin around the sides). Trace around your child's body with a Sharpie. When your child stands up, you will have an outline that you and your child can dress and decorate however you wish. My daughter ... Read More >
A specialized game of questions, 'Favorites' is a great way to pass time. Simply take turns with your child asking to hear each other's favorite whatever - color, animal, cereal, drink, sport, book, etc. It passes the time and children of all ages usually enjoy sharing with you their secret and not-so secret favorites. We play again and again. Read More >
Every preschooler loves to talk about and praise themselves! Take a small photo album or scrap book, and let your preschooler choose his favorite photos and mementos to put into the book. Then he can share the pictures and stories with friends and family. This is especially nice to do in advance of a new sibling arrival. Read More >
This helps kids learn directionality in forming letters and can help reinforce name writing. On a piece of construction paper write the first letter of your child's name with a dark marker. First have your child trace the letter with her finger, using the correct formation sequence. You can draw direction arrows if you wish. Have a rainbow array of crayons for your child to trace ... Read More >
Purchase a large United States or world map, and a box of colorful thumbtacks. Place the map where your child can easily see it -- either on the wall or on a bulletin board. Talk with your child about where all of your family members live, and place a thumbtack over those cities. You can also attach names and a small photo of the relatives under each ... Read More >
This is a neat exercise to do with or without a video camera, although a recording of this would make a great gift when your child grows up. Explain to your child that you would like to interview him or her (you can talk about what this means and why people give interviews). Ask questions like: 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' 'Do ... Read More >
Take a picture of your house and paste it on a piece of construction paper (older children can help with this). Cut out a picture of your state and paste it on the paper as well. Then write out your full address, city, state, and telephone number. If you have space, include a few emergency phone numbers. This will help your child learn important information that they should know. Display ... Read More >
In our house, this activity started with all those Christmas and birthday wish lists my sons like to keep. Help your child make a list of anything that interests her: friends, favorite animals, most delicious ice cream flavors, songs, likes, dislikes. Decorate the list with drawings or magazine pictures. Tie the pages together to create a book - your child will enjoy watching how her tastes and ... Read More >
You can make a great family collage by cutting out pictures of family members and gluing them to poster board. Cut a variety of pictures of family members from photos or copies of photos. Then glue the pictures onto the paper or poster board. This is the fun part: Get our your markers and crayons and help your child to decorate the collage. Older children ... Read More >
Create a "book" about your family. Take pictures of the people in your family, your pets, your home, your cars...anything that your child feels is a part of your family. Cut white paper into 4x6 sheets. Arrange the photos into a small 4x6 photo album, leaving a page between each photo. Show your child each of the pictures. On a separate sheet of white (4x6) paper, ... Read More >
This is the grown-up version of the Who Loves Baby book that both my kids adored. Take photos of family and friends who don't live nearby and adhere them to card stock or have them laminated. Then either use them like flashcards or punch a hole in the corner and fasten them together with a ribbon. Either way you choose to do it, you can sit and ... Read More >
Let your child decorate a piece of construction paper in whatever manner he or she wishes -- using bingo dabbers, markers, crayons, stamps and stamp pads, stickers, etc. Then find a cute picture of your child and place a piece of double stick tape to the back. Let your child tape her picture anywhere she wants on the decorated construction paper. Next, type and print the following questions for ... Read More >
This is a fun way to encourage letter recognition and spelling of your child's name: Have your child write down her name on a piece of paper or if they are still learning to write their name, write it yourself in bold, capital letters. Then, using alphabet flashcards, which you can either purchase or make yourself, show each letter, one-by-one. When a letter matches ... Read More >
Have your child put together an album with pictures of their family and friends. I like to start with many pictures and allow my daughter to select the ones she would like to include in 'her' album. While we are selecting the pictures, she also tells me a story about the picture that I include in the album. This activity makes her feel like a BIG girl! Read More >
Too often, when our little ones ask us to draw a picture of them, we resort to the quick stick figure. As an alternative, a fun activity can be to sit opposite your little one as you each draw a picture of the other. Your child will bask in the attention, and it is a nice chance to study his or her adorable little face. Read More >
Compare pictures of your child with pictures of his/her mommy & daddy. We like to point out which attributes match who (e.g. you have daddy's eyes and mommy's nose). We then put them all together in a picture frame to make a collage and hang it on the wall. Every time my child sees the collage, she comments on having daddy's eyes! Read More >
Personalize your child's very own t-shirt by painting it to make it his or her own. To begin, support the t-shirt with piece of cardboard and place wax paper between the cardboard and t-shirt so the paint doesn't stick. Next, let your child decide on a design -- a rainbow, a self-portrait, an abstract design...the sky's the limit! Then you and your child can create a t-shirt ... Read More >
How did they know?! Do you know someone who clings to her Filofax like Linus to his ... Read more >
"One stormy autumn night when my nephew Roger was about twenty months old, I wrapped him in ... Read more >
We are delight to share the perspective of Nora, author of the engaging parenting (and more!) ... Read more >
