One of the best things I ever bought was a bag of colored Poms.  I had no idea what colored Poms were before I had kids, but now I just love them.  If we are ever in a bind for something to do, I know we can always get out the colored Poms and invent a game.  So, if you're looking for something to do with your kids and you want to use stuff you already have around the house, here are some ideas:

Sensory bowl:  Seriously.  Just put them in a bowl and see what your kids do with them.  They will probably start making soup or throwing them up the air.  You'd be surprised what kids can come up with.   Child expert Susan Case says giving kids opportunity to use their imagination and create their own fun is one of the most important things we can do for our kids.  I remember one rainy afternoon my kids spent 48 minutes playing happily with Poms, 2 kitchen pans, and 2 spoons.  I know because I timed it.  Just out of curiosity.  I'm weird.

Sorting: Give your kids several bowls and show them where to put the yellows, the greens, the blues, etc.  Did you know that when kids sort objects, they are actually practicing early math skills?  I didn't know that either, but according to child expert Susan Case,

"When children sort and pattern, they actually learn mathematical skills. Children begin sorting things at an early age. In fact, according to some researchers, young children spend over 40 percent of their time sorting objects into sets, counting objects, or exploring patterns and forms."

Play "Hide the Blueberries":  Kids need exercise.  What better way to do that than a modified Easter Egg Hunt?  Put your kid in one room and tell them to count to 10 or 20 or whatever they are capable or doing.  Then you go in the other room and throw the Poms all around, under chairs, in the corner, etc., but make sure to make it easy for them to find or they will get frustrated.  Then they can take their bucket around and search for all the "blueberries"!  They get the exercise and they also have to practice delayed gratification while they have to wait for you to be finished hiding everything.

The Counting Jar:  Use any old jar and put all the Poms inside.  Glass jars are preferable because the colors look vibrant and appealing from outside.  Then simply ask your child to pull out the Poms and help them count as they go.  Your child will likely automatically sort them into her own piles, and again, this reinforces the skills she will need to learn math later in life.

Make a Rainbow: Draw a simple rainbow pattern and show your child which colors go where.  Then she can fill in the rest!

Use Tongs to Sort: For some reason, kids love this game.  If you are doing this with your Preschooler, make sure to put the Poms on the left side so they have to go from left to right.  It is good for them to get in this habit since all reading and writing goes from left to right.  Just give them a cookie pan or something to empty the Poms into.  This is great for fine motor and muscle strength and even toddlers can enjoy this game!

If you liked this post, you will LOVE my new book (which is currently ranked#4 on Amazon in the category of Motherhood!).   If you have ever asked yourself questions like, these, then this is the book for you!

                     

Why this one?  Because in this one Strawberry has long hair.  Seriously, she won't even consider reading the versions with short hair so this gave me an idea.  My favorite crafts are always based on books and I always prefer cheap crafts.  All I needed for this was paper, yarn and contact paper.  For this, I traced out a flat paper doll and asked her to cut it out.  Honestly, this was the hardest part since I'm not super artsy.  For anyone else challenged in this department, I included a printable below so you can just use it instead of wasting your time on it like I did.

Once she was ready, we put Strawberry onto some contact paper on the table.  Then I have her a bunch of red yarn for "Strawberry's hair".  Notice how long it is!  Then I also cut out some little hearts and polka dots and let her choose how to decorate Strawberry. 

She ended up putting the hearts above Strawberry's head, which wasn't exactly what I intended, but hey, it's her craft, not mine!  I initially intended to cover the top with more contact paper so she could keep it as a sort of "flat doll".  With the way it turned out, we hung it on the wall instead, but she sure does love it!  I think it would work either way, but the contact paper underneath works really well for holding all that hair in place.

Later that night, she told this was, "My most favorite activity we've ever done!"  We even did it again later when her BFF from next door came over.  They had a blast doing it together and this time we used blue yarn for "Blueberry" and yellow yarn for "Lemon" and they used stickers and markers to decorate Lemon and Blueberry.

Here is the printable that you can use for your "Strawberry".  This should be all set up to be 8.5x11 so you should be able to just click on it and print it out.  This was a very easy craft so have fun and let me know how you did!

Add caption

If you enjoyed this post, you will love my book!  It was released in July, 2012 and I wrote it with Susan Case, a Kindergarten Teacher.  If you have ever tried to cook dinner while your kid clings to your leg and cries, this is the book for you!  We worked together to give a Mom's point of view and a teacher's point of view, so that we could give you activities that not only keep the kids busy, but also keep them motivated to learn and develop their natural curiosity.  Kids behave better when they are given challenging projects to work on, which will in turn give you more free time to do the things you really need to do, like washing dishes, paying bills, and relaxing so that you can be a better Mom!
Did you enjoy my post?  Don't forget to vote for me by clicking the banner below.  You can also enter your email address below to receive all my updates!  I really appreciate your support!!


Want to see all my posts?  Put your email address here to become a subscriber!

Enter your email address: