Homemade Fun For Young Children

We here at the Mom Squad are big on crafts and activities to keep our kids busy! After all, as Stay-At-Home-Moms, we’re with them all day.

Here are some of our favorite things to make and do when you’re hanging around the house with the kids.

Cloud Dough

This is a staple in our house. I ALWAYS have a Rubbermaid bin full of this stuff. The recipe is simple:

• 4 cups of flour
• ½ cup of baby oil.
• Mix it together with a spoon or fork until it’s completely mixed. 

This gives you a great dough that feels like flour to the touch but will hold together if pressed hard. Throw a few toys, spoons, measuring cups, whatever you have on hand and the kids will be busy for a while! We keep ours in a big Rubbermaid bin with a lid and it lasts a long time.

Snow dough

This is similar to the cloud dough, but doesn’t last long. You have to make a new batch each time but it’s worth it.

• Take 1 box of cornstarch
• a bottle of shaving cream (the cheap cream kind, not the gel)
• mix it together.

It makes a cool dough that it similar to snow. This will definitely keep the kids entertained!

Oobleck

This is one of those projects that is JUST as much fun for grown ups as kids. I have a blast playing with this stuff!

• Take a cup of water
• 1.5 to 2 cups of cornstarch
• mix it together.
• Start with 1.5 cups and add to it if you need to.

The consistency is so cool, when you place your hand flat on it, it feels like a solid but if you stick your fingers in, it feels like a liquid! So much fun to play with!

Volcanoes

I have a gallon-size bottle of vinegar in my cabinet at all times because this project ALWAYS entertains my kids! There are plenty of ways to do this one, but I use:

• About a teaspoon of baking soda in a small plastic cup
• Let the kids pour in about ½ cup of regular white vinegar
• watch it EXPLODE!

This makes a big mess but it’s so fun and it keeps the kids really busy as long as you have plenty of the ingredients on hand. You can also add food coloring to give it some color!

Fort Building

Got a couple of kitchen chairs, some pillows, and sheets or blankets? Awesome, then you’ve got the makings of a spectacular fort!

Put the chairs together and toss the sheets or blankets over them, throw some pillows on the floor and you’ve got a super comfy place to read books, watch movies, or play games. We love doing this on rainy days!

Photo Scavenger Hunt

During the summer, we do this all the time outside, but you can also do it inside.

I’m beginning to teach my daughter to read, so I will write words on a paper and help her read it. Once she figures out the word, she finds the object and takes pictures with an old point and shoot camera. She loves doing this and has so much fun taking pictures!

Edible Finger Paints

This is great for those little ones who are constantly putting stuff in their mouths! You can make edible paints from many things but two of our favorites are:

• vanilla pudding
• applesauce.

Add a little food coloring and you’ve got some great fingers paints that sticky fingers and stick in their mouths if they feel so inclined!

Photo books

We did this for Valentines Day this year and it was a hit! I printed out pictures of my daughters favorite things (her family, her toys, her favorite foods, etc) and she helped me put together an album with construction paper and pipe cleaner (glue the pictures to the paper and punch holes in the paper, string the paper together with the pipe cleaner to make a book).

Let your child decorate it with stickers and markers and it will be a keepsake they love to look at!

Bath Paint

Shaving cream and food coloring and you’re done! These washable paints work great in the bath and you can mix all sorts of colors with the food coloring.

Use a muffin tin to mix and hold the paints.

The Naked Egg

If you put an egg in vinegar for 24-48 hours, the eggs outer shell will disappear but the egg will remain intact and see through, much like a boucy ball!

You will be able to see the yolk and hold it. It’s a very cool activity because the kids can watch it as it happens.

Rice and Beans (and other dry materials...)

Rice, beans, bird seed, dry pasta ... whatever you have on hand! If you put all of these things in a bowl you have a sensory activity that keeps little hands busy for hours.

You can use spoons, measuring cups, muffin tins, whatever you have on hand and the kids can use their imagination!

Tissue Paper Art

We love tissue paper art, especially to make special cards for people (birthdays, mothers day, etc).

• Cut out a shape from thick paper (regular paper works too, but thick paper holds up better),
• cut up little pieces of tissue paper
• let your child glue the paper onto the shape.

It turns out so cute and the kids love that they made it!

Salt Dough

You can do lots of things with salt dough. You can make ornaments, decorations, stepping stones, etc. The recipe is simple and you almost always have these things on hand:

• 1 cup of salt
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of lukewarm water.
• Mix the dry ingredients and slowly add the water.
• Kneed the dough until it forms a ball.

You can do anything with it at this point! You can let it air dry but you can also put it in the oven at 200 degrees until it’s dry.

After it’s baked, you’re welcome to paint it!

Writing on Balloons

This is a great way to teach kids how to write! All you need are balloons and dry erase markers (regular markers don’t work as well).

My kids love to draw and write on balloons. I taught her how to write her name this way after she got super frustrated with trying to write on paper, she loved it!

You can find more fun ideas like this on our Facebook Page, or look for our "Fun Activity Friday" blog posts right here on Campbell Patch!

You can also check out the Campbell Patch Mom Squad on Facebook or Twitter! We share our articles, community events, thoughts on parenting, parent related current events, and more. We also welcome your comments, suggestions, and questions anytime!

What are some of your favorite activities to do with your kids? We’d love to hear from you all! Please share with us in the comments below.