Make your own bug buddy

Look at this cute little bug! This simple craft will allow your children to use their imaginations and build an army of bug buddies!

To make the blanks all you need is some plaster of Paris ( you can pick this up at a craft store) and a few plastic spoons. You can do these up ahead of time for your children or let them make the blanks with you. We used 2 parts plaster to 1 part water. We dripped the plaster into the spoons which we propped on the edge of a paper plate to make them level.

Wait 30 minutes before turning the blanks out.Once the blanks are dry they should just pop right off the spoon. If they don't, bend the spoon a little. Now all you need is to bust out the paints and wiggly eyes! Since this is plaster it will suck up the paint and dry fast which is great since you know the children are so going to want to play with them asap!

This craft is now on Tip Junkie!!

Argh! Need to keep your pirates busy?

Summer be upon us and the wee ones may be planning a mutiny! What be we to do? Keep em busy with these here pirate activities!

Make your own pirate ships!


 We used a plastic plant tray (the kind you put under your pot to catch water) as our form for our pirate ship. Using tape we placed a bendy straw near the middle. After adding water we paced our ship in the freezer over night. The next morning we cut a triangle for the sail and put a skull and crossbones on it. After punching two holes in the sail, it was ready to go on the straw mast. Now to launch our pirate ship in the pool... Success! She floated!!!!

While your ships be freezing we have even more pirate ideas for ye! Why not go on a nature Pirate treasure hunt or ye can color a sturdy Pirate Ship!

Dog days of summer!?!? How to beat the heat!

With the temperature breaking 100 all over the country, what is a parent to do!?!? When there are heat warnings, you can only send them outside for brief and I mean BREIF flops in the pool. So what are you to do? Here are some simple ideas for indoor fun….

1.) Movie day! Pop some popcorn and start a movie/cartoon marathon. Keeping the curtains closed will help with them temp and give a theater feel

2.) Swim in the tub. It’s wet and a few toys can keep them busy for a bit

3.) Play-doh! Set them up at the kitchen table and let them be creative

4.) Board games. Try something new. We here at MAD are learning to play checkers

5.) Have an art gallery day! Look at the “Masters” online then have your children draw pictures. Hang them around the house and ask them to take you on a tour. Ask question like “how were you feeling when you made that” or “Does this picture have a special meaning to you”

If you must be outside for any period of time, keep an eye out for warning signs like profuse sweating, weakness, muscle cramps, headache, and nausea and vomiting. These can come on quickly in children and are signs of heat exhaustion and stroke!

If you have pets, keep an eye on them as well! Do not let your dogs play outside (poo and back in) and please keep them off hot cement which can burn their paw pads. If you have outdoor pets like chickens or bunnies, provide 2 litter bottles of frozen water for them to lay against for relief.

Be it animal or human, make sure everyone has cold water and lots of it on these crazy hot days!

Have fun but be safe!

"Lava Lamp" Oil and water don't mix

Here is a neat craft/experiment where not only will your child end up with a fun item but they might just learn something in the process, like the fact that some things don't mix! All you need is a bottle, vegetable oil, water and some food color.

First put in the vegetable oil about half full in your bottle. Next mix food coloring with the water in a separate cup. Carefully add the colored water to your bottle. A funnel is very helpful for this and you can usually pick up a set of funnels at the dollar store.

Now for the science! Once the lid it tightly on, have your child gently lay the bottle on it's side. What happens? Slowly move it back and forth to see how the oil and water stay separated. Next shake the bottle up hard! What happens? Let the bottle sit to see how the oil and water separate again. Now just let the kids have fun watching the "lava" flow!

What do you call a group of......

Yes this is a barrel of monkeys (well orangutans to be exact.) But did you ever wonder what a group of monkey's was called? A barrel! I kid you not. Now when someone says "more fun then a barrel of monkeys" I no longer thing of the game but a group of monkeys, which honestly makes soooo much more sense!

The USGS has a wonderful list of all sorts of animals and what a group of them are called. Check it out and you might just learn something. Have fun with the list by asking your kids what they think a group is called before telling them. I know I giggled a little when I learned what a group of hippos is call!

Make your own activity vest

This summer, we here at MAD are traveling the world, learning about other countries through learning, food and making crafts related to those areas. We are also attending Micheal's Passport to Imagination where the kids are making pins like this Australian flag on his vest. So of course he needs a vest to show off those pins, right? Right!

So here is how to make a cute activity vest and not spend too much. All you need is a t-shirt and two sheets of this really cool duck tape (aka duct tape in neat colors and patterns.) Simply slit the shirt up the front. Take off the sleeves. Next cut strips of duck tape and fold them around the edges. Ta-duh! A vest.

Sand Art

I picked up this sand art kit at Dollar Tree and it has sparked a sand art craze at our house! This kit is awesome in the fact it has three activities in it for just a buck! There are two sand pictures you can make and a sand art bottle (like at the carnivals.) 

We are having so much fun with sand art they we have hit Micheal's craft store for more bottles and a supply of various colored sands! And even though this could get "messy" with sand on the floor, a vacuum cleaner makes it like it never happened.