Showing posts with label indoor fun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label indoor fun. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Make-It-Yourself Marble Launcher


Today we decided to get a little goofy and bring out the foam noodle for some indoor fun; I figured there had to be a way to turn it into some kind of marble track. So, I rigged it up with some neon green duct tape to the edge of our kitchen counter and propped the end up on a chair. Then we set up a Sponge Bob dixie cup to see if we could catch the marble upon launching it through the noodle's center hole. I knew we'd have to get the angle just right to defy gravity and get it to go up at the end...
\
Little Biscuit couldn't wait to give it a shot!

 
Whoo-hoo, here comes the marble! The first few tries we defied gravity with no problem but took a while to get the cup in the right spot. Then, ...

Ta-da, we did it!! Yipee! The marble launcher worked AND we caught the marble in the cup!
So after our first success, we decided to get even more wild and crazy...

We made a marble "monster truck" course! Can our marble jump the stack of cars and land safely in the farm wagon? The suspense was killing us...

 
Indeed it could...way to go Little Biscuit! Then we had a great time experimenting with the angle of the noodle and seeing how high we could make it jump. This one made quite the evil kenevil leap into the air...but alas, we missed the mug at the bottom :)

If you have a marble and a noodle, why not give it a try? It was an entertaining way to spend a cold a morning and made for one happy little boy :)


 

Monday, January 18, 2010

Alphabet Soup Activity

It's warming up outside, woo-hoo! But still a little too wet to go to the park or play much outside. In the meantime we passed some more indoor time today making some "alphabet soup" out of magnet letters just for fun.

First we found a nice soup pot and some water...







(Chef Smiley had to approve of course!)

Then he went "shopping" for his ingredients.

After he had his ABCs, he added them to the pot...

Then he stirred it up and let it simmer...
 
Time to add some seasoning...salt and pepper for sure.

Time to test the temperature to make sure it's just right...
 
When it's just right, he's ready to serve up a big bowl of alphabet soup!

MMMMM!! Yummy ABC soup!



Monday, January 4, 2010

DIY toddler wall storage solution for play area



We just got home from a wonderful Christmas travel tour to visit both sets of Little Biscuit's grandparents. He didn't get spoiled in the slightest (yeah right!) Today we spent a lot of time removing Christmas decor and trying to find places for all the new toys. The biggest order of business was to make a special spot for his new fire house and gear. I decided to keep it really simple and instead of buying an expensive coat rack for the fire jacket and hat, we'd stick with Command strips. Besides, the extinguisher and hatchet wouldn't have worked on a coat rack. Those I just attached using the super-techy hair tie nailed to the wall with a  photo frame nail :)  The extinguisher and hatchet both store and come out really easy...and should hold up well too since they're stretchy.

I may use the same hair tie system to store some other stuff in his room too...



Of course it's not about the storage...the fun is getting it all out to play with!




here he is all decked out...


we call him "Captain Spaghetti Face!"
(On top of Old Smoky...lol... :)


Thursday, December 10, 2009

Plush Alphabet Project


So, a friend I met through MOPS had a set of super-cute felt alphabet toys for her toddler son. She couldn't remember where she got them and I couldn't find any the same size to buy in a store or online (I wanted them stuffed-toy size not magnet size) so over a vacation I decided to try to wing it on my mom's sewing machine. They turned out passable - not as cute as the originals but they'll do for letter games and early phonics and reading lessons...and just plain imaginative play, which is what little Biscuit likes them best for right now :)


We use them to make some of his favorite words...
CAR, of course!

FROG...


and just for fun, a little rhyming lesson using the "at" words...





All you have to do to make your own set of plush ABC's is get 26 full felt sheets (8.5 x 11) in fun colors. Fold each sheet in half and draw on a big bubble letter to fill each half sheet using sewing chalk or washable marker (a template for the letters adds more hassle...just hand draw them, it makes them "yours!").  Cut out any holes in letters like A, B, D, P, etc. Then sew carefully around each letter outline leaving an inch hole for stuffing (consider leaving two holes on complicated letters like M, X, W); cut each letter out; stuff 'em with fiberfill (use a pencil or dowel to stuff hard-to-reach areas) and sew up the loose ends. Trim any loose thread and there you are...all done! Have fun!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Playroom Makeover

With colder weather coming up fast, we needed to make some adjustments to the playroom so there'd be plenty to keep us occupied indoors this winter. The big room of toys didn't have much organization to it, so I gave it more structure and hopefully now it's more practical to use.

Here's the book nook...it features a fun new lounge chair and ottoman we got on clearance at big lots,  a cozy bear for snuggling up for reading, ABC foam playmat, a bookshelf full of newbery medal books, puzzles and word cards and alphabet/phonics posters, a basket of lil biscuit's favorite stories, and of course, the plush icons of children's lit, Corduroy (biscuit's best bud!), Brown Bear...and Clifford, the best-read dog on the block ;) As you can see, lil boy has already made himself at home in his new toddler chair!

Next there's a center for playing cars, where all the radiator springs and hot wheels heroes cruise around. It has a playmat, race track, wooden parking garage and bin for storage. And beside it sits a small red table for building with blocks
 

The playroom playground has his pop-up tunnel (he loves pushing his cars through it), bounce house and slide; it's sitting on more foam playmat and carpet remnants.

Then there's the music center for pounding away at his keyboard; the box holding it doubles as storage for his ball pit balls; and the bins hold more toys that he doesn't play with all the time.


The last area is the art center, which has his new craigslist easel (it has dry erase/chalk board/roll of paper for painting) and toddler table/chair. The little drawers hold his crayons, colored pencils, markers and chubby chalk; the sand pail is play dough and accessories; the clothesline with pins for displaying his masterpieces; and the bin is for coloring books, aquadoodle, magnadoodle, sticker books etc.

Here he is, trying out his hand at watercolor...or, more accurately, trying to put his hand in the cup of water...


Anyway, clearly it's a low-budget production, but it should keep us a little more organized and occupied when the frigid air hits later on! In the meantime, it's "something different downstairs" and is already working as a nice boredom busters. So maybe we'll just keep re-arranging as needed to keep things interesting ;)

Friday, July 24, 2009

Awesome Indoor Water Games

Today it was so insanely hot that we wanted to play in the water, but the sun was so bright and the air so humid we didn't really want to be outside...instead we brought the waterworks inside!

We started pretty simple...good old fashioned spray bottle mister. Filled it with cool water and let him decide what to do with it :D

Hmmm...how do you work this thing?
I think he figured it out ;)
A water park without the puddles :)
He can't get enough!Who needs a shirt? Time to get really wet!Now time to try a great idea we found in Family Fun magazine...make your own "bubble snakes" with the Foamerator!! :DThis was so cool we're going to use it at VBS in a few weeks! We'll probably have races...who can make the longest bubble snake without its tail falling off?Ooops...the tail fell off! We used a straw and soapy water to make this bubble soccer ball.And a giant bubble in a bowl :DSuper easy, super fun! Happy summer, everyone!