Paper Plate Pumpkin

This is an easy and cute craft that is perfect for Halloween-time! All you need is a paper plate, some orange paint, and paper. Start by painting the plate orange. You can paint either the inside or the back. My toddler wanted to paint the inside because she said "that is how plates go" :). After the paint is dry, draw and cut out pieces for a jack-o-lantern's eyes, nose, and mouth. Let her child glue them on. Then just add a green stem.

No Mess Painting--Fall Leaves

Put a piece of wax paper on your table or work area. Put a piece of construction paper on top of that. Squeeze small amounts of paint onto paper.

Put a second piece of wax paper on top of paint. Press and smoosh paint with fingers. Kids enjoy the sensory experience of feeling the paint and watching it blend, and parents love this mess free version of finger painting :)


Carefully remove the top piece of wax paper and look at how beautifully the colors mixed together!


Once dry, cut out into fall leaf shapes.


We then displayed ours in our window. So fun! :)

All about colors

Here is an activity for each day of "color week". With each activity, emphasize the color you are practicing. Point out anything you see in the color. Write the word down so your child can see it in print. It would also be fun to wear clothes of that same color during the day.

These activities were designed for a 2-yr-old. Adapt as needed if your child is older or younger!

DAY 1: Green

Since we are still close to summer, most things outside are green. Walk around and collect anything green your child can find. Glue them onto green construction paper to make a collage.

DAY 2: Red

Lunch! Choose 2-3 foods that are red and serve them together. For example, we had spaghetti with marinara sauce, raspberries and roasted red peppers.

DAY 3: Yellow

Choose as many different art mediums as you can find in yellow--crayon, marker, colored pencil, paint, chalk...then let your child go wild with them all!

DAY 4: Blue

Pictures can be a very fun thing now in the days of digital cameras. Walk around your house (or neighborhood) and take pictures of anything blue your child sees. If you have a cheap camera, you may consider letting your child take the pictures themselves--they'll love it! Pull them up on the computer to practice the color again later.

DAY 5: Purple or Orange

Go through your child's toys and find all the toys of one color you choose (choose a color that will give you a good selection of toys). Take them into an area that usually isn't used for playing, such as the dining room or mom and dad's bedroom. Then just sit down and play together!

Bike Wash

The above picture was found from google. Unfortunately I did not snap my own pictures of this :(

I wish I had my own picture for this activity. Sorry! Sometimes we just get too wrapped up in an activity to remember to pull out the camera and I guess that's OK :)

I got this idea from my sister-in-law. The adults had some yard work and organizing in the garage to do and the kids needed something to keep them entertained. My super smart SIL got out all their bikes and a big tub with soapy water and sponges, rags etc. She told them to have a bike wash.

The kids thought it was a blast! They had so much fun covering their bikes with soap and then spraying them off with the big hose. When they were finished, they ended up covering themselves with soapy bubbles and rinsed off by running in the sprinklers. They were enjoying themselves so much that they didn't even realize they had helped their mom by washing the dirt of summer off their bikes :)

I totally recommend it!