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Craft crafts Infant/Toddler Learning Toddler and Preschool Age Fun Toddler and Preschool Age Learning

Tear Art – Little Red Riding Hood

This tear art based on the book Little Red Riding Hood was so much fun for my daughter! It was easy, allowed her to be creative, and can be done over and over again with different books. Before I get into the details of that craft, let’s catch up!

I hope you are all having an amazing summer! I know things are a little different this year since lots of things are closed/canceled. Plus, the things that aren’t canceled or closed likely have new rules and guidelines to follow.

It definitely takes some getting used to, but we’re still enjoying all of our favorite activities! We’ve spent a lot of time at the Lake (Lake Michigan is our favorite), and spent time exploring places we’ve never been before.

The kids have loved it and they haven’t even complained about missing out on things we would normally do.

It’s been rainy here lately, though, so we have been stuck inside a little more than we’d like. That’s been fine, though, because it gives us plenty of time for reading stories and making crafts.

Little Red Riding Hood Tear Craft

My daughter is obsessed with wolf stories, which has been a theme for her for more than a year now. Lately, we’ve been reading Little Red Riding Hood over and over again.

So, when she wanted to read it for the fourth time in a row the other day, I came up with a better idea. We decided to make a craft based on the book! I love to do that anyway, so this was a perfect time.

My little lady is currently grounded from scissors (a few too many mishaps with her hair, her Barbie’s hair, and now her toy horse’s hair… along with clothes and anything else she found). I wanted to stick to my guns on this one, so we settle for tear art.

Tear crafts are awesome anyway because they help with fine motor skills and using pinching skills. This one was even more fun because we had to copy the book while tearing our paper.

Plus, when you do a craft based on a book, it will help the child remember the book better. That means, if there are any lessons involved in the book, the child will remember those better, too.

Materials:

Directions:

  • Read the book
  • Choose a part your child wants to re-create
  • Gather the necessary colors of construction paper
  • Begin tearing out the shapes
  • Glue them to the paper
  • Use crayons, a pen, or a marker to add final details if necessary
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Use Tear Art to Occupy Kids While You Work From Home

So, I’ll be completely honest here. One of the reasons I’m trying to get my kids to enjoy tear art based on books is because I often work from home. As many of you are probably realizing, working from home when you have kids is incredibly difficult.

I did this craft with my daughter, but I’m hoping that it’ll help her stay occupied on her own when I’m working. Since the materials are basic, you’ll be able to feel comfortable that your child won’t hurt themselves without your guidance.

They can choose any book they want, even ones they haven’t read before. This opens the door to so many ideas and possibilities. You’ll be able to suggest tear art next time your kids are bugging you while you are busy with work.

Your kids don’t have to only create the characters in the book, either. They can re-create the scenery or any other aspect of the book. I think rainbows and other nature-related themes would be so much fun to re-create!

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Final Thoughts on Tear Art – Little Red Riding Hood

This is a craft that kids of all ages can do. They get to use their creativity to create what they are seeing in the book.

It doesn’t matter how close your child (or yourself) gets to an exact re-creation. Just going through this process will help them remember the book and the lessons it has taught.

It’ll also keep your kids busy for a while, and they can do this craft without scissors.

What book would you want to recreate with your child? Tell me about it in the comments!

Check out this similar craft:

Big Bad Wolf Paper Plate Craft

Categories
Big Kid Big kid fun Family Activities Holiday How To Infant/Toddler Learning Sensory Play Toddler and Preschool Age Fun Toddler and Preschool Age Learning

DIY Easy Christmas Sensory Bottle

Sensory bottle (also known as discovery bottles, calm down bottles, quiet time bottles, and many other names) are a must-have in our house. We make one for almost every holiday, and we pack them away with that holidays ornaments so that we’re sure to have them when the holiday rolls around the following year. Somehow, we have never made a Christmas sensory bottle, however.

I believe that we have at some point… but it must not have been worthy of saving or even taking pictures of. This year, though, our easy Christmas discovery bottle is perfect. So perfect, in fact, that I HAVE to share it with you!

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Materials Needed for a Christmas Sensory Bottle

  • An empty, clear bottle
  • Lukewarm water
  • 2 Containers of glitter glue, any color (I used silver and gold that I bought HERE)
  • Christmas glitter (I found mine in the dollar spot at Target or you can buy some HERE)
  • Hot glue and a hot glue gun, or just super glue

This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.

Directions to Make a Cute Christmas Sensory Bottle

  1. Peel any paper from the bottle
  2. Fill the bottle just over 1/2 way up with lukewarm water
  3. Add the 2 bottles of glitter glue, put the lid on, and shake it up.
  4. Open the bottle and add the glitter. Add as much of it as you want!
  5. Fill the bottle the rest of the way up, leaving enough space for the water to still move.
  6. Put hot glue around the ridges where the lid goes in order to keep it closed so your kiddos don’t accidentally open it.
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Final Thoughts On Easy Christmas Sensory Bottle

Christmas activities don’t have to cost a ton of money, and if you’re doing Christmas on a budget or just want an easy Christmas activity for kids, a Christmas sensory bottle is the perfect way to go.

What are your favorite holiday activities to do with your kids? Tell me about them in the comments!

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Categories
Family Activities Free Activities Infant/Toddler Learning Toddler and Preschool Age Fun Toddler and Preschool Age Learning Toys

Rubber Band Character Rescue – Easy Fine Motor Activity

This rubber band character rescue was a HIT with my kids. It kept them busy and having fun while fine tuning their fine motor skills. Some days, keeping them productively busy is hard to do when they just want to watch YouTube and Netflix or play video games.

I admit, my kids get a little too much screen time. I try to balance it out with activities that work their hands and minds at the same time. As a busy mom, that’s sometimes difficult when so many activities take just as much time preparing or cleaning up as your kids will spend doing the actual activity. Because of that, I’m always trying to find new ideas that don’t require much preparation, clean-up, or supplies.

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This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.

This easy fine motor activity was perfect because:

  1. It required less than 5 minutes of preparation.
  2. I was able to pick random toys that we already had and that I didn’t have to search for. You can literally use ANYTHING.
  3. My kids loved it.
  4. They spent quite a bit of time taking rubber bands off (rescuing) and putting them back on (re-trapping).
  5. They spent time sharing toys and trading fairly.
  6. Helped develop fine motor skills.
  7. This can be done anytime and anywhere. If you throw a pack of rubber bands in your diaper bag or purse you can always count it. I bought *these* rubber bands (click for link) because the rubber bands are sturdy, stretchy, and affordable).
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Fine Motor Rubber Band Character Rescue

Choose their favorite characters, or do a variety of different characters. I chose PJ Masks characters, a Paw Patrol, and a dinosaur… mostly because those toys were some of the first ones I found, but also because my kids love those ones and play with them daily.

This activity is so easy. You can just grab a couple characters that your child loves and throw some rubber bands on them. Be creative and add more fun by using multiple colors of rubber bands and wrapping the rubber bands different ways.

Your child will then get to rescue their favorite character from the rubber bands while fine tuning their fine motor skills.

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Take Activity a Step Further

Once your child has rescued their character from the rubber bands, challenge them to wrap the characters back up in the rubber bands.

My kids were excited when I told them that they had to tie the character back up so that we could see if I could rescue them, too.

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Final Thoughts On Rubber Band Character Rescue – An Easy Fine Motor Activity

I love doing fun developmental activities with my kids, but life gets so busy that it’s hard finding the time. It took me too long to figure out that fun stuff doesn’t have to require tons of prep or clean-up. A quick bit of time after work/school can make for just as much fun as the more complicated activities.

Since trying out different easy fine motor activities, this rubber band character rescue has become a favorite for my family. From “trapping” spider man to PJ Masks toys, we spend time rescuing pretty much everything.

**What character would your kids love to rescue?! Tell me about it in the comments! **

My kids love this one and ask to do it all the time. It’s become my go-to activity in the car, in restaurants, and during any other “boring” wait times. Give it a shot and tell me how it goes for your child!

Do you have a favorite easy activity for kids that you like to do when you don’t have much time? Let us know!

Categories
Infant/Toddler Learning Kindergarten Age Learning Parenting Toddler and Preschool Age Fun Toddler and Preschool Age Learning

9 YouTube Songs for Kids to Have Fun While Learning and Moving

I’ll be the first to admit that my kids love YouTube. From watching other kids play with toys to practicing Spy Ninja skills, my kids are obsessed. While I don’t always love the things they watch, I’m pretty open to letting them watch whatever they enjoy, as long as it’s age-appropriate. I also require that they watch at least some content that enforces brain development, learning, or movement through songs for kids.

YouTube can be a great learning tool when it comes to researching new things and reinforcing things that have already been learned. You can find good ideas on YouTube and watch funny videos when you need a laugh. Plus, you can find any song you want on YouTube, which is what I use it for the most. When I’m cleaning at nap time or writing a blog post in the living room, I turn on quiet music for myself. Before lunch, however, we use it for toddler songs and dance.

My kids LOVE the songs we find on YouTube. Josie is my dancing queen and could literally sing and dance to YouTube videos forever. I put songs for kids on the TV and we go through our favorites a few times before lunch. These songs get kids moving, and they are fun and easy to learn and remember.

The Best YouTube Songs for Kids

My kids remember these songs long after the TV is off, too. They sing them when they are laying in bed, playing with their toys, and even at the dinner table. Music is a big part of our everyday life, and it is a great developmental tool for young kids. Singing songs promotes memorization and language skills, amongst many other benefits.

Songs for Kids

What are your favorite songs for kids on YouTube? We would love to check them out so post the title or a link in the comments!