Christmas Everything

A coloring project where kids take anything and draw it as a "Christmas thing!”

ADDED December 07, 2009

 

 

Length:  A few minutes to half an hour.

Parental Involvement:   Explain the concept -- admire the results.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Draw with colors.  Use their imaginations.

Christmas is coming, as you might have heard.  Somehow there's only a little over two weeks left until that most exciting of holidays.

Holiday spirit is definitely in full swing with holiday displays in the stores, lights up on houses, and cards making their way through the mail.

(Today's activity was created by my five-year-old son, I'm happy to report.  I'm happy to report this, because the more fun ideas he has for kid's activities, the less work it is for me.  He's welcome to take over my blogging duties any time.  And I really can't wait until he's ready to take over the rain-gutter-cleaning and oil-in-the-car-changing chores, too.)

Today your kids should grab some paper and a handful of crayons and create some Christmas art.  This art will "Christmas-ize" anything that your child wants to draw.  You guys can make Christmas houses, pirates, princesses, Batmans, cars -- you name it.

The trick?  It's just a matter of color-selection.  The kids should just draw each item using red and green.  (They could mix in a couple other colors -- brown, black, purple -- if they absolutely need to.)  Limiting the color selection isn't just appropriate for the holidays, it also can lead to some interesting artistic results.  What does a princess look like using only red and green?  How does a house look made up of only red and green parts? 

(White is also an official Christmas color -- and we encourage your kids to work it in where possible -- but that one, for obvious reasons, is kind of tricky.)

Of course, if you guys celebrate Hannukah, this activity works well, too.  Just use blue and silver instead.

My son drew the photo accompanying these words.  As you can see, he used more than just red and green.  That's okay, too.  Truth be told, the picture started out in only red and green . . . but he decided he needed to add some color.  The activity was still a big hit and a great use of time.

We'd be delighted to see your kids' efforts.

Thanksgiving Travel Maps

A beautiful drawing to show how everyone arrived

ADDED November 24, 2009

 

 

Length:  Fifteen to thirty minutes.

Parental Involvement:   Discuss travel, help with actual distances the kids where needed.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Draw and imagine.

 

Thanksgiving is our nation's biggest travel day, as you probably know.  While the roads and airports might get a little clogged at times, you have to admit it's nice for people to get out and see friends and family.

If people are coming to your house this Thursday -- or if you're going to someone else's house, that just might make for a fun activity for your kids.

Get out some paper and crayons, and have your kids make a map or two of everyone's journey.  Grandma's coming in from Riverside?  Aunt Jolene is driving in from the next city over?  Bobby and his girlfriend are visiting from college?  Have your kids draw a rough sketch of each person's journey.  The maps don't need to be particularly accurate or at all to scale.  Any correct details that can be included -- such as rough locations or landmarks like oceans and rivers -- would be great to include.

In our house, the kids made the journey a bit more exciting.  They added sea monsters and volcanoes.  That's okay by me, too.  A little imagination never hurt.

The kids can show all the guests their work.  We hope that all the attendees might be a bit flattered by the thought that was put into them and their journeys.  Each guest can describe the journey they took and add details for future maps.  And they can also admire any sea monsters or volcanoes that they completely missed while they were on the road.

Hide the Thankfulness

But make it easy to find!

ADDED November 16, 2009

Thanksgiving is coming, and TIF is your go-to source for daily Thanksgiving activities every day over the next two weeks.

We all know that the best part of Thanksgiving is in the name -- it's about being thankful.  For today's activity, you will need some pens, sticky notes and thankfulness-thinking caps.

Here is the idea:  we are all thankful for those around us.  However, sometimes we get a little lazy when it comes to telling them how exactly they make us feel thankful.  So with your pens and sticky notes ready, have your kids brainstorm a few specific things for which they are grateful for each person.  For a favorite aunt, things could come to mind such as tickles, lunch, reading, smiles, helping and even bike riding.  Then turn these things that your kids are thankful for into little notes.  For example, " I am thankful for Dad's tickles" or "I am thankful for Mom's hugs".  Once the notes are complete, you will need to move to phase two of the activity:  hiding the notes.  Have your kids hide the notes around the house so that in a day or a week the person that the note was written for will find it.  If you are going to a grandparent's house for Thanksgiving, don't forget to bring your notes for them;they will enjoy finding the notes in their medicine cabinet, on their pillow, or taped to the milk.

Have fun!  What are you thankful for? Use the comments section and let us know.

(Thanks to winterofdiscontent for the photo)

Traveler Memory

A print 'n' play game from TIF

ADDED November 06, 2009

 

Here at TIF we like adventure and going to new places is one of our favorite activities.  This weekend however we can not afford to go to anywhere exotic so we created a memory game with some famous world and U.S. locations.  This game will help teach some very famous world locations, practice reading some potentially tricky words, create interest in the wonderful world around us and most importantly have fun while doing it.

Here is how you play, the rules are like those of tradational memory, all cards are placed face down, you pick two, if you get a match you get to go again if you do not pick a match the turn moves to the next player but the twist with this game (and we like twists) is that to make a match you need to match the picture with the words identifying the location.  For example if you pick the card with the words "Mount Rushmore, Keystone, South Dakota, United States" to have a match you must pick the card with a picture of Mount Rushmore. That's it have fun and don't forget to print n play.

Do you play any other types of memory with you kids? Use the comments section and let us know!

(Click to download page 1)

 

 

(Click to download page 2)

 

GIANT MENU

It's really that big!

ADDED November 05, 2009

 

Here at Today is Fun, we toil night and day to bring you the very best in free crafts and entertainment for your kids.  But sometimes an idea is so easy and right in front of our faces that we ask ourselves why we didn't think of it sooner -- and today's activity is just one of those times.  The "Giant Menu" is simple, obvious, and just might keep your kids occupied for a few minutes while you put the finishing touches on the rack of lamb you are preparing for dinner.. . .

Oct, Nov, Dec Holiday Memories

An activity every month . . . and some handsome art to boot

ADDED November 02, 2009

There are a lot of holidays coming up, and we have a perfect post-holiday activity for each one.  After every holiday, have your kids draw a picture of a special memory that they made of the day.  Halloween just ended so if you have a few minutes that need to be filled today or later this week, grab a pad of paper, review with your kids a few of the events that happened on Saturday (getting free candy was popular at my house), and then set them free to draw.  Anything special is fair game, and the more detailed the better.

It's a fun way to relive the day's events and a perfect way to spend some time today.  Then, one day down the road when your child comes home from college with their sweetheart, you will have a collection of art from 2009 to embarrass them with (along with some tasteful bathtime photos.)

 

Halloween Costume Design

Wherein your kids get to be top fashion designers. Of really crazy costumes.

ADDED October 26, 2009

 

Length:  30 to 60 minutes.

Parental Involvement:  Explain the idea and help guide the activity, if needed. 

Kids Should Be Able to:  Enjoy Halloween.  Think up outlandish ideas.  Draw a bit.

 

Please don't be too frustrated with us.  Please don't roll your eyes or shake your head.  We know that it is a little late in the season to be talking about designing Halloween costumes.  We definitely hope that your family has already pretty much committed to a Halloween costume and that it's more or less ready to go.

So the costume designing that we're encouraging here isn't for your kids.  It's for them to think up some ideas for the *other* people in their lives.

My kids have a Gran and a Grandpa.  Gran and Grandpa -- while great and devoted grandparents -- choose not to dress up for Halloween.  (Can you believe it?)  To be  honest, Gran and Grandpa are pretty darn mellow about the whole subject of Halloween.

That's fine.  That's their choice.  But that's also an opportunity.  An opportunity to design some fun, outlandish and outrageous costumes for them. 

Really, why should the kids hold back?  Gran and Grandpa aren't going to wear the costumes anyway.

For Gran, my kids chose fish-body arms, a spider for a neck, and a jack-o-lantern for a head.  (Gran will be thrilled to hear about this, no doubt.)

For Grandpa, they chose 15 heads, including Frankenstein's head, a werewolf's head, a mummy's head, a black cat's head, and Superman's head.  (I hope Grandpa has been doing shoulder exercises.  He might get tired out after carrying the weight of all those heads to the first trick-or-treat house.)

As the kids thought up each detail of the costume, we drew it on a piece of paper.  There was a lot of excitement (and quite a few giggles) as the costume designs came to life on the paper.

In case you didn't notice, this activity is all about thinking up fun and creative ideas, not being realistic.

There is no limit to the designs you can do.  Not only can your kids think up creative costume ideas, they could design exterior house decorations, car modifications, even a costume for the dog.

And since you won't ever be saddled with actually making any of this stuff, well, you win, too.

A Halloween Prank for Kids: I See A Real Ghost

And it's a baby

ADDED October 23, 2009

Today we have a fun Halloween prank that is sure to get your kids talking.  We don't really like to "trick" kids -- here at TIF, we think tricks and pranks are too often mean -- but for this, we will make an exception.  The trick part is mostly fun and not scary.

First, you need to make a ghost out of a napkin.  You'll need one paper napkin, a small piece of yarn or thread and a magic marker. 

This trick requires a rather diminuitive ghost, not a big one.  So tear the napkin into quarters, four roughly square shapes.  Roll one of the napkin pieces into a ball and place it in the center of another one.  Wrap this second one around the ball, twisting to form a head for the ghost.  Some yarn under the "head," add a face with the magic done, and you are done.  It's very easy, and you have created a standard-issue napkin ghost.  (Well, a standard-issue baby napkin ghost.)

Your ghost should be about this big for the trick to work.

Once you have your mini-ghost made, it is time for the trick to start.  Grab a few inches of thread  and tie one end around the baby ghost's head.  Tie the other end to your kid's toothbrush, fork, or anything that your kids pick up.  When the mini-ghost is attached, hide it so it is out of view.  When your kid picks up the fork or toothbrush, everyone will be astounded and delighted by the sudden appearance of the floating baby ghost!  A hilarious and spooky trick all in one! 

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is our kind of Halloween prank!  We hope you all enjoy it.

 

This place is haunted

And that chair is looking at me

ADDED October 22, 2009

A few weeks ago, we told you about a great activity to do with your kids in which you guys find faces in the everyday objects around you.  If you missed the post, here is the link (we think its great).  Since Halloween is coming, we are taking this activity one step further and encourage your kids to make their own spooky-faced objects. What could be more spooky than all the furniture in your house looking right back at you?  Here are the simple instructions.

Gather some construction paper, tape, pens, and scissors. Have everybody gather all of their imagination to envision faces on everything in your house.  Then set your kids free to create bloodshot eyes to put on the piano, razor-sharp teeth for the side of the tub, or happy jack o' lantern eyes for the kitchen garbage pail.  Finally, tape the eyes, teeth and noses on anything that needs to be gussied up for Halloween.

Have a great time, and don't worry the furniture won't really bite.

 

 

 

The shape of Halloween

Is a spoon

ADDED October 21, 2009

 

Length:  Half an hour or so.

Parental Involvement:  Help the kids find objects to trace.  Help with tracing where necessary.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Trace a bit.  Think up imaginative Halloween stuff using the traced shapes as a starting place.

 

 

Most crafts we do here do not require technically advanced pens, fancy paper from France, or an art degree.  In fact, we always try to use what you have on hand to create something new and awesome.  We know that some of the best home craft ideas come from using things you already have and just re-purposing them.  And that's where the idea for this craft came from.  We call it "The Shape of Halloween."  We guarantee your kids will look at everything in your house differently once you have finished with this one...

Here is what you do:  first, spend a few minutes looking for interesting objects around the house that your kids can trace.  These objects can be of any size really, but to make it easy (and avoid somebody trying to trace the dog), the chosen objects need to easily fit on a piece of paper.  Here is what we chose.

 

Second, have your kids trace the things you found around the house.

Third, use the interesting items you traced as inspiration to create some unique Halloween characters.  Make ghosts, skeletons, bats and scary jack o' lanterns and . . . an evil duck? Anything is fair game, and here is our finished art. Can your kids find the shapes we traced to make these haunted pictures?  When the art is done, create a mini-art gallery on the refrigerator for all to see.  That is, if they dare!

 

 

The Draw-A-Thon

A fun drawing, thinking, and guessing game for kids. And it's pretty easy, too!

ADDED October 13, 2009

 

 

 

Length:  30 minutes or so.

Parental Involvement:  Explain the idea.  Tear up paper to make "cards."  Draw and guess.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Think of words starting with different letters.  Do basic drawings.

My kids absolutely love today's activity.  It is requested very frequently (as in daily) by my five year old.

Please don't tell my kids, but this activity actually involves a lot of brainwork.  Participants use letters, thinking, and creativity.  And they do some drawing.

There are a number of steps to follow, but they're all very easy.  (These steps are for two people -- such as you and your child -- to play.  You can adjust for more participants.)

(1)  First, make some "cards."

Tear or cut two regular, blank pieces of paper into eighths.  You'll wind up with sixteen "cards."  Fold each in half.

Once you're done with the preparation, eight cards will be for you, and eight will be for your kid.

(2)  Next, have your child call out a letter of the alphabet.  Any letter will do.

Write the letter on the "outside" of one of your kid's folded cards.  And write the same letter on the "outside" of one of your cards.

Repeat this seven times, so that there are two matching sets, each with a total of eight letters.

 

 

(3)  Now you guys have to think up a category.  The most popular category in our house is "Halloween Stuff."  (My kids love Halloween.)  Other suitable categories would be:  foods, animals, characters from TV and books, and many more.

(4)  For each card in your pile, you guys have to draw something in the chosen category that starts with the card's letter.

For example, with Halloween as the category, we had the letter "W."  My boys drew Witches and Werewolves.

For M, they drew Monsters and "Moldy Milk."

Creativity is encouraged.  For U, a scary unicorn would be allowed.  Or even a U-shaped bat.

We play with the rule that "not every picture needs to be fancy or perfect."  Everybody needs to just draw enough to convey the idea at hand.  (We're not making masterpieces today, we're thinking about categories and letters and all that good stuff.)

(5)  Don't show the other person your drawing, instead fold up the card and throw it into a pile on the table.  Then, move onto the next one. 

 

(6)  When everyone is done drawing, we switch piles of cards.  So I get my son's pile, and he gets mine.

Then we go through, letter by letter, and compare ideas and drawings.

"Oh, look.  For 'N' you drew a nightmare."

"Daddy, I drew a headless horseman for 'H!'"

"For Q, we both drew yucky, scary quilts!"

 

Comparing (and admiring) is always a big hit in my house, and a necessary conclusion to this game.

We hope that this is fun and entertaining brainwork in your family, too.  And next time you're walking alone at night, we hope you don't bump into a scary unicorn.  Or any moldy milk!

 

Super Point!

Kids have fun wracking their brains. And without realizing it, they're quite nicely occupied.

ADDED September 28, 2009

 

Length:  A good amount of time.  Fifteen to thirty minutes-ish.

Parental Involvement:  Explain it.  Make marks on paper as your kids think up ideas.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Think of stuff in given categories, such as animals, fruits, etc.

As you surely know, sometimes parenting is like a sales job.  Salesmen and saleswomen have to convince customers to buy a product.  Salespeople can't *force* customers to sign on the dotted line.

Well, parents have to convince their little customers, too.  True, parents *can* force their kids to do things with the threat of punishments (and following through with punishments.)  But wouldn't you persuade your kids to get them to do what you want, rather than threaten and punish?

Super Point is designed to keep kids occupied and entertained.

So without further ado, here's what you do . . .

1.  Grab a blank piece of paper and pencil

2.  Tell the kids you're going to make one mark (or one line) on the paper for every correct answer they say.  Each mark on the paper is also a point.

3.  Think of a category, and ask the kids to name as many things in that category as possible.  The categories we've used include fruits, animals, and aliens from Ben 10.  We want big, "broad" categories that contain a lot of stuff.  Because the kids need to name all of it!

(For fruits, for instance, the kids named bananas, peaches, apples, pomegranates, avocados, and so forth.  They got a point -- a mark on the page -- for each one.)

I choose a very high number, such as 150, and tell the kids that when they get that amount of marks on the paper, they get a Super Point!

Oh, and what exactly is a Super Point, you'd like to know?  Um, I don't really know.  I just make a big thick mark on the paper, over and across all the other lines.  I hold it up above my head triumphantly and yell out, "Super Point!"

My 5-year-old enjoyed doing Super Point so much that he didn't want to stop.  He asked me, "Daddy, can we please fill not just one but two pages with lines?  That would be a Super Duper Point!"

As Few Lines As Possible

Conserve your energy -- and have a ton of art fun with your kids!

ADDED September 15, 2009

 

 

 

Length:  Fifteen to forty-five minutes.

Parental Involvement: Explain the idea and give a quick demonstration.  Play with the kids and guess it up!

Kids Should Be Able to:  Draw.  Count lines.  Interpret drawings and be creative.

 

Look at the picture above.  Do you know what it is?  If you guessed a cat, I thank you!  Every artist appreciates being understood and recognized.  Now have a look again, please, and count how many lines are up there.  If you counted five, good job and congratulations.  I used only five lines to create that kitty.  And that's the idea here today:  how few lines do you and your kids need to depict common objects and animals? 

When we do this one, everybody in our house starts with their own paper and pen and five lines. 

We all take a minute or two and, when a drawing is ready, yell "Done!"

Everyone shows their drawing, and we all try to guess what it is.

(For the record, we call it a "line" that someone is drawing until that person lifts their pen up off the page.  So one line could be wavy, squiggly, a spiral, etc.)

 

 

 

Sometimes we also start drawing and counting lines.  We try to draw in a way that people can guess the subject of the drawing by using as few lines as possible.  Believe it or not, my fine, bright kids correctly guessed a shark and a chess king after I drew only two lines!  We're all very proud.

 

 

(One of my boys has somehow invented an opposite of this game.  He is very proud that I have not yet figured out his drawing.  He keeps adding lines each day -- were up to about seventy now -- and I still don't know what it is.  He's delighted.  I'm confused -- but we're both busy and having fun.)

 

 

It's fun for kids and adults to see how much can be communicated with as little information as possible.

With this fun activity, kids will be *lining* up to participate again and again!

Little Tiny Bits Collage

You might have to squint a little, but it's there!

ADDED September 11, 2009

 

Length:  30 minutes to an hour.

Parental Involvement:  Provide old magazines, catalogs, etc.  Help with cutting and gluing as necessary.

Kids Should Be Able to:  See color and spaces imaginatively and re-purpose them!

 

Grab some old magazines, scissors, paper and glue. For today's craft, we will be making a collage, but the trick is to use small pieces of paper and glue them together so that they form a larger image. 

In testing this out, we decided to make a banana, so the first thing we needed was the color yellow.  We searched a few magazines for little bits of yellow, making sure they were small but not too small. We found a street sign, flower, pillow, shirt, chair and table cloth -- all yellow.   We noticed that a banana has a brown part on the top, so we looked for some brown and found a lady with brown hair and a brown lamp.  After that, we were ready to glue.  Together we worked slowly, piecing and gluing our parts until we had a banana. Here is what it looked like.

 

This craft is a great imagination booster because you are forced to look at things differently.   You need to use imagination to form an image.  And you also have to deconstruct the image down to its smallest parts and re-form it into its final form.  Personally, I thinks it great all around.

Today's activity might be a little abstract, but that's okay, because art speaks to people in different ways.  The beauty of being an artist is you only need to make something that you like, and if others find it beautiful, all the better.

And speaking of which, we hope you all have a beautiful weekend!
 

Grid Drawing

Some minor constraints can lead to some great creative results

ADDED September 03, 2009

 

Length:  Half an hour or so.

Parental Involvement:  Explain the concept, admire the results.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Draw.  Have coordination enough to fill in small boxes.

 

Give your kid some crayons and blank paper, and they'll be able to whip up something creative and beautiful.  But sometimes staring at a blank page can be daunting.  What to draw?  There are so many possibilities.  Ironically, limiting the possibilities a bit and adding some constraints can be very freeing.  A whole new artistic, creative product will result!

Today we'd like you to encourage your kids to draw within the lines -- many lines.  Have your kids use graph paper and fill each box with a different color, in order to create a beautiful and artistic masterpiece.

If you don't have any graph paper handy, just download ours here for free and print it out.  Easy!

Museum-quality kid art is just a few filled-in grid squares away!

Tribute to Color

Kaleidoscopically good times!

ADDED September 01, 2009

 

Length:  All day long!

Parental Involvement:  Explain the concept and participate where you want.  Also, planning some color-coordinated meals and outfits in advance would help.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Use their creativity while appreciating our colorful world.

Today we continue with our "wrapping up Summer break" series.  For a more detailed explanation of what this week's posts are all about, click here.

I think we've all seen Sesame Street, where they cleverly dedicate each day to a letter.  "Today's letter is Double-U," they say, and it's simple, fun, and -- frankly -- brilliant.

Well, we're not here to try and compete with Sesame Street.  Isn't there enough room in everybody's hearts for both Today Is Fun and Sesame Street?

But if that show wants to celebrate letters of the alphabet, well, we'd like you and your kids to celebrate colors.  For the next week or so, celebrate a color each day.

For example, tell your kids that Monday is "International Purple is Pretty Day."  (Or possibly, "Green is Great" day.")

Try to work the color into your day as much as possible, for instance (if you were doing "Orange You Glad It's Orange Day?"):

•  Everyone should make some orange artwork.  Use crayons and color a subject that is mostly orange, such as the sun or an orangatun or an orange monster or . . . whatever!
•  Eat foods of the chosen color:   oranges, cheddar cheese, carrots, carrot muffins, and of course, carrot cake!
•  Wear clothes of the special color.  Everybody in orange!
•  Use Google to search for any of your kid's favorite things.  Then click "images."  Just under the Google logo on the left, click "show options."  On the bottom of the option columns, you'll see small squares with each color of the rainbow.  Click on the day's color, and you guys will see only favorite images in the special color.  (We searched pirate and clicked the purple square to great effect.)
•  Work the color into your conversation whenever possible:  It's almost time for dinner, I pink.  I reddy love you.  Good night, my purple kid!  Silly, yes, but colorful.

Add a little color to your end of summer days, and have fun!

(Many big thanks to the very generous and talented Pink Sherbet Photography for the outstanding colorful photo above!)

House of cards

DIY game and building kit

ADDED August 28, 2009

Length:  20 minutes

Parental Involvement:  Cut cards and play along

Kids Should Be Able to:  Have a bit of dexterity

Building a house of cards can be just plain hard. I have tried and believe me, it's impossible.  Building a true house of cards is therefore not a great activity for kids, but today's craft has a cheat that makes construction not only easy but a pleasure.  A game similar to this was created in 1952 by Charles and Ray Eames.  It was fun then and still can be fun today especially when you make it yourself.

You will need to sacrifice a deck of cards for this craft.  Please make sure you don't cut up Grandpa's cherished deck of cards from the Navy.  (The 99 Cent store is a great place to pick up a pack.)


First, you will need to cut six slots on each card so the cards can lock together (I have noted where to cut in sharpie so its easy to see).  Try to cut in the same place every time this will make your structure more solid and we also have found that cutting one card at a time will yield better results.

 

When you have done that to all fifty two cards you are ready to build.  The six slots on each card enable you and your kids to lock the cards together to build fantastic structures.

Sturdy, easy, and fun!  What more could you ask for?  (We would like to ask everybody to have a lot of fun with their kids this weekend!)

Own Home Library

Check it out! (Get it?)

ADDED August 27, 2009

 

Length:  20 minutes

Parental Involvement:  Print and play

Kids Should Be Able to:  Play and have fun

 

We have a bookshelf that is quite full, and my kids really like to read books from it whenever they get a chance.  They also like going to the library and checking out books; it is a very "big kid" thing to do.  So my wife and I turned the library into our very own home library.

Every library has a few important qualities:


Really, that is it.
 
I made some very simple library cards and check out slips (you can download these popular items here.)  And once they were printed, our library was open for business.

This is a great activity to encourage sharing, working together, creative play and reading.  Needless to say we are big fans.

Remember, every library has different rules about returning books late;  at our house returning books late means you have to eat all your vegetables, even if they're brussels sprouts.


Click to download!

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Paper Plate Party Hat

And really, shouldn't every day be a party?

ADDED August 21, 2009

 

 

Length:  Thirty minutes or so.

Parental Involvement:  Explain the concept.  Help with some cutting where necessary.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Participate in hat construction.  Offer opinions on nice hats.  Test the hats out!

 

Here's a fun and memorable kids' activity for you guys to enjoy as Summer winds down...

And here's what you'll need for this one:

• A paper plate
• A paper grocery bag -- or any paper bag.  A paper "party" bag also works (as you can see from the photo.)
• A pair of scissors
• Some tape
• A kid who enjoys headwear

First, grab the largest paper plate that you can.  This will wind up being the rim of the hat, so make sure that the plate is larger than your child's head.  (Most regular-sized plates are just big enough.)  

Grab a pair of scissors and cut a hole out of the plate that is just slightly *smaller* than the size of your kids' head.   (We want the hat to sit on top of your kid's head.  If the hole is too large, it will slide down over your child's face and cover eyes, ears, and mouth.  Not that much fun for the hat-wearer!)

Now insert the "open" part of the bag into the hole you just made in the paper plate rim.  We found it helped to make two slits in the bag. Use the resulting flaps of paper to curl part of the bag up under the rim.  Tape the bag to the rim . . . and you're done!

If you don't have a paper plate handy, you can also make a hat using only the bag.  Just roll up the open part to make a rim. 

(For what it's worth, we want to be good custodians of the environment.  At the same time, we think it's okay to use paper products occasionally.  Don't go crazy, but everything in moderation.  Kids' birthday parties are, in our opinion, the perfect occasion for paper plates!)

Please have fun and please enjoy your weekend.  (One nice way to spend the weekend would be . . . showing off your fancy new paper party hats!)

 

(A special thank you to our extremely precocious and very charming models pictured here today!)

 

Flap Art

Kids' art taken to the next dimension!

ADDED August 20, 2009

Length:  About thirty minutes.

Parental Involvement:  Explain the concept.  Help with some cutting where necessary.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Draw, color, and possibly use tape.

 

We here at Today is Fun are all about providing the most fun for you and your family at the lowest possible cost.  (There are worse passions for people to have, you have to admit.)

We keep suggesting different crayon-marker art activities because they are inherently cheap.  Once you've bought some inexpensive crayons, your family can use them for hours and hours!

Today's crayon-marker activity, "flap art," does indeed add another dimension to the fun.

The trick here is simple . . .

Give your child a blank piece of paper and request a scene to be drawn on it.  For example, ask your kid to draw a house with a bunch of windows.  And just to make this interesting, a different animal should be peering out of each window and possibly waving or holding something interesting.

Once that's done, it's time to make some flaps.  Choose one of the windows to start with; you guys will need to cut out a a bit of paper that's approximately the same size as the chosen window.  Make the bit of paper just a little big bigger to accommodate the fold you'll need to make.  

If your young one needs some help with scissors, please take the cutting responsibilities on yourself!

For the example above, have the kids make something that could cover up the animals in their drawing.  They could draw:  closed shutters, curtains, part of an exterior wall, old boards, and so forth.  

Next, using clear Scotch tape, affix the flap to the drawing, making the window closed.  Now you've got an exciting  new dimension to the piece of art  -- and your child can move the flap around to admire the results.  Open the flap, close the flap!  Hooray!

Have your child carry on until the art is of masterpiece quality.  

And encourage your kids to use some creativity to come up with other "scenes" to depict and cover with flaps.  How about a farm yard, a forest, or a fiesta?  (Sorry, I just got on a 'f' roll there.)

Have fun flapping it up.  And if possible, please send us photos of your kids' masterpieces.  We are big conossieurs of the arts!

Fun with Graphs and Grids

Sorry, it's educational, too

ADDED August 19, 2009

 

 

Length:  Around thirty minutes.

Parental Involvement:  Explain the concept and demonstrate graphs to yoru kids.  At first, graphs can be tricky for children to grasp, so hang around and help them get it!

Kids Should Be Able to: Count and draw. After this activity, they will have an idea how to represent numbers and counting visually!

 

Here we go with some learning again.  Yes, we know it's still officially Summer break, but remember . . . we think learning is fun!  New knowledge is great for kids; it gives them more to think about!

Today we'll be working with some grids and graphs.

Graphs are a way of explaining stuff.  Sometimes seeing information on a graph makes it fast and easy to understand -- and we're talking about for both kids and adults here.

So today, have your kids make some graphs.  We've provided some downloadable and printable paper for you guys to use.  Click here to get it.

To make a graph, you need to choose things or qualities that you can count or measure.

Here's an easy example:  graph the number of beds, chairs, and people in your house!  Here's how it turned out for us:  



So, once you guys have chosen the two things you're going to graph, write each in a space on the graph paper, in the special area we've created.  By thing, we mean the "broad" category, such as "Day of the Week" or "Kind of Furniture" or simply, "Number."

Next, fill in the next to the individual rows and columns.  (If your child doesn't know what a "row" and a "column" are, now would be a great time to demonstrate!)

You will be filling in the actual days of the week, or the kinds of furniture or the numbers.

(This concept might be difficult to explain with words.  But use the actual graph paper to show what you mean -- and what we mean!)

Once the two sides have been named and filled in, it's time to count stuff and make the graph.

To carry on with our example -- numbers of furniture and people in your house -- have your kid count each item.  Once the count is completed and a number has been decided upon, your kid should fill in that number of boxes in the column.  

Again, have a look at our example if I'm  not doing a great job explaining here!

Graphing really can be a fun activity, and there are so many things you guys can decide to represent on a graph.   There is also an opportunity for learning when your kid suggests things that aren't nicely or properly represented by a graph.  Part of this activity can be discovering what graphs can do and what they can't.

Here are some other ideas of concepts for you guys to graph:

Number of bugs seen each day of the week
Times we went in the car each day this week
Books read each day of the week
Number of chairs, beds, tables, and people in the house
Pieces of mail received each day of the week
Amount of fruits and vegetables eaten at each meal today
Number of vowels in the names of people in the family

Would you like to suggest other ideas that can be graphed?  We'd love to hear.

And if you'd like to graph the exciting and fun kid's activities suggested each week here on Today Is Fun, well, have at it!

Homemade binoculars

What will you see?

ADDED August 12, 2009

Quick craft today that will pair great with yesterdays activity.  Make some binoculars for your lunch on a lifeboat.  We are big fans of recycling and this craft accomplishes what we try and do everyday here at TIF, take something that is mundane, even useless and transform it into something entertaining, enchanting and educational.  What better way to help your kids spot pirates, sea monster or the dreaded land shark than with some binoculars?  Here is how it's done (if you need directions).

All you need is some tubes from T.P. or paper towels, rubber bands and string.  

Bind the tubes together using the rubber bands. Thread the string through so the binoculars can hang comfortably around your kids neck.  And use!

That is it! Simple, easy and makes use of something your would otherwise throw away.  Happy spying!

 

A Whole Lotta Dots (a.k.a. Up with Pointillism)

A fun art activity . . . that's the whole point!

ADDED August 07, 2009

 

 

Length:  Thirty minutes to an hour.

Parental Involvement:  Explain "dots-only."  Let the kids have at it.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Use markers or crayons. 

 

This is such a great idea – if you'll excuse a brief moment of self-congratulations -- that we're surprised we haven't suggested it before.

Thank you again for bearing with our tooting of our own horns.  And now, down to business:

If your kids are anything like mine, they draw and color practically every day.  My kids just love their markers and crayons!  They also love it when I give them a specific activity to do with their art stuff.  And they even like when I give them some "rules."

Today's rule is:  dots only!  No other type of drawing will be permitted.

What kind of art can your child produce while doing just dots?  Well, quite a bit, actually.  (Check out the work of Seurat, the acclaimed French master of "dots-only" art.

You can challenge your older kids by asking them to produce "complicated" images using just dots.  Also, you can "commission" specific works of art.. . .

Cookie Cutter Coloring - so much fun

The results are not edible, but the fun is rather palatable

ADDED July 30, 2009

Length:  30 to 45 minutes

Parental Involvement:  Help with tracing

Kids Should Be Able to: Trace and color

My wife is an avid baker, and around Christmas she always makes a large batch of delicious sugar cookies.  Using her collection of cookie cutters, she makes all kinds of creative, edible treats.  But I did notice the other day that the cookie cutters were sitting idle in the middle of the summer, so we took them out and created a little fun of our own.

Starting with the cookie cutters, crayons and paper, we traced the shape and created some cookie inspired art all our own.  Of course you could add some stickers, glitter or other mixed media items to make your art work really pop.  For us though crayons worked just fine.

Try it today and the result of your labor just might be some real cookies to complement your art! (Hint, hint)

 

 

***UPDATE***  MommyinLA (here is a link to her twitter page) sent us these pictures of her boys enjoying some Cookie Cutter Coloring craft!  Thanks and keep the photos coming!  

 

 

 

 

 

The Two-Minute Daily Diary Journal Record Book

Two minutes a day and you'll have a budding writer on your hands!

ADDED July 22, 2009

 

Length:  2 minutes a day.  Every day!

Parental Involvement:  Explain the concept and let your child do the rest.  Maybe gently remind and encourage during the week.

Kids Should Be Able to: Write down their thoughts.

 

During the months of summer, kids have some extra time, and their beleaguered parents scramble to keep the activities coming.

Well, here's a great way to fill some time -- and it's vaguely productive, too:  the Two-Minute Daily Diary Journal Record Book.

(You're certainly welcome to choose another name for this thing, other than the Two-Minute Daily Diary Journal Record Book.  We chose that name because we never really know what to call them and would welcome any suggestions.  A diary sounds like something Jan Brady would write and hide from the rest of the Bunch.  A journal sounds so advanced, like something a journalist would write.)

What's great about today's idea -- if you'll pardon some tooting of our own horns -- is that there are very few requirements.  Basically, your kid takes a piece of paper and writes whatever he or she wants for a total of two minutes.

The writing could be about their day or about something on their mind.  It could also be a story, a list of things your kid likes -- anything.

There are some rules, though, that we'd like to propose:

(1)  No writing in the journal for hours on end.  Two minutes.  Those words mean business.

(2)  Doodling and other forms of drawing are allowed, even encouraged.

(3)  Grammar and spelling should not be a consideration.  Self-expression is what matters here.  (This one was very difficult for me to type.  We are  very much pro-proper spelling and grammar, especially for kids.  But this activity -- just this one -- can sacrifice "correct" for just writing words on paper.)

(4)  No special "journal" or pad of paper is required.  Trying to find the perfect book or journal is a reason to delay writing.  We want your kids to jump right in and get going.  Your kids can write on the back of envelopes, as far as we're concerned, and keep these collected in a large manila envelope.  Truly, any blank paper will work for this daily activity.

(5)  It should be done every single day -- but as a fun activity, not as a chore.

(6)  None of these rules are written in the stone.  You guys may break any one of them, if you think that would be better.

This activity is meant to teach kids that the act of writing should never be extremely difficult or anxiety-inducing.  It's just a way of getting thoughts down on paper -- and should be almost as carefree as thinking.  With this exercise, we hope that writing anything -- in school or out of it -- will be easier for your kids.

This activity is also meant to help kids express themselves and record their thoughts.  At the end of the summer, your child will have a collection of two minute writings.  Your kid can review everything they've written with you then, if they're so inclined.

Get your kids writing -- and having fun while they do it.  It'll only take two minutes!

We'd like to acknowledge that large parts of this idea were inspired by Julia Cameron from her book The Artist's Way.  It's a very good book with tips on being creative; it and could benefit kids and parents alike.  Thank you, Julia!

 

Thanks also to barnaby for the diary photo up top, and to lecates for the darling girl writing down her thoughts in a Daily Diary Journal Record Book!

Paper Bag Monster Masks

Very easy and fun. If you don't get too scared.

ADDED July 21, 2009

 

Length:  30 to 45 minutes

Parental Involvement:  Cut holes for scary eyes and mouth.

Kids Should Be Able to: Do some basic decorating.  Enjoy scary monsters.

 

Halloween is still a ways off, right?  We've still got a few months, do we not?  Therefore, Today is Fun should not be posting activities that entail monsters and masks, don't you agree?  That type of scary stuff should be relegated to the week before Halloween.

I wish someone would please sit my kids down and read the preceding paragraph to them.  Because my children are simply enchanted by monsters.  When they are not talking about monstrosities, my kids are acting like them.

So in honor of my little monsters, today we present a time-honored, classic activity:  paper-bag masks.

(As diligent recyclers, we're trying to bring our own canvas bags with us to supermarkets.  Inevitably, though, we wind up with one or two paper grocery bags, and that's okay.  Especially when they take on a new life as kids' masks.)

Making such a mask is quite simple, we're glad to say.   All your kid needs to do is flip a brown paper bag upside down and wear it as a head- and upper-torso- covering.

Of course, eyes and a mouth will need to be cut out, and an adul should probably be in charge of the scissors.  (Cutting a hole out of the middle of a paper bag is a bit tricky, especially for kids.  A sharp pair of scissors works better than a dull, safety pair.)  Though you are the designated cutter, please discuss with the artist-in-charge as to what kind of eyes and mouth need to be cut.  Your kid could draw the outlines for you.  (And if your kids like monsters the way mine do, they'll want to draw squinty and angry, "bad" monster eyes!)

Make the eyes and mouth large enough so that the mask-wearer feels comfortable and not claustrophobic!  You may also need to cut large holes on the sides of the bag for arms to stick out.

Apart from the scissors-work, the kids are in charge of decorating their masks.  (Please don't use the word "decorating" in front of my kids, though.  Monsters don't decorate.)  For decorating the mask, you guys might want to use:

•  crayons, markers,
•  felt
•  string
•  glitter
•  stickers

You guys could also make some very odd creatures by using saved toilet paper tubes (horns, anyone?) or egg cartons (scaly bumps?).

Because we at Today is Fun are pro-reading, here are two of my boys' favorite monster books that they've practically memorized.  (This one has a lot of pictures and words in it.  It's good for older kids and for hours of poring over.  This other one is simple and fun for younger kids, too.)

 

This craft is easy, a lot of fun, and — if you live in my house — kind of scary.  Just don't count of these masks lasting until Halloween!

Race Car Paper

Because your kids draw it, they get to rule the road!

ADDED July 19, 2009

 

 

Length: 20 minutes to an hour or two

Parental Involvement:  Explain the idea. Help line up the pages and possibly help tape the paper together.

Kids Should Be Able to: Do some basic drawing.  Be imaginative!

 

Boys love race cars and trucks, right?  My kids certainly do.  (You better keep your eyes open when you visit my house -- there's always a danger of being smacked by a speeding toy car or truck.  Please be careful.)

At our house, we have some plastic tracks for our fleet of toy vehicles, but there are two problems with toy roads and tracks.  First, toy tracks get very expensive very quickly.  To have a sizable track for your kids' cars to use, you've got to spend at least fifty dollars, and possibly much more.  That's not so fun.  Secondly, kids tire of driving on the same old tracks.  Variety is more fun.

We're proud to announce an awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping solution to both those problems:  Race Track Paper.

It's so easy, too.  Today, why not take a bunch of blank paper and have your kids draw their own tracks?  We put the paper on the floor along with some crayons . . . and off the kids go!

This activity, making Race Track Paper, is also very creative.  Kids can draw all sorts of curvy or straight roads.  They can create bridges, tunnels, dead ends, one way streets -- whatever they want.  And along the route, they can draw houses, horses, forests, fairies -- anything!

We have the kids draw the roads on one piece of paper and then link it up to the roads on another page.  We scotch tape them together because everything can get scatter once the Matchbox or Hotwheels hit the crayoned road.

Creative, inexpensive and fun!  This activity is great, but in my house, it's still dangerous when the toy cars are in motion.  Let's just say my boys aren't too concerned with the safety of pedestrians who get in the way.
 

Emerge

A coloring activity that will make the fun come out. And come forth. And just generally emanate.

ADDED July 10, 2009

 

Length: About 20 minutes

Parental Involvement:  Explain the idea.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Follow directions.  Create art!

 

Here is a fun art activity that comes with a free, bonus vocabulary word.  That word is "emerge."  Do your kids know it?

("Emerge" means 'come out of' or 'come into view.' We like when a smile emerges from a frown, for instance.)

For this activity, you will need the following:

(1)  a nice box of crayons
(2)  some blank paper, and,
(3)  a paper clip or two.

Now, the activity we're describing here is nothing groundbreaking, we hate to inform you.  I did it myself when I was a kid.  But we're hoping that reading this post is helpful to you one way or another.  We hope you can use it to keep your little ones busy.

Take a relatively light colored crayon and rub its tip on a blank piece of paper, creating a big blob of color.  It will look like this.

 

Next, take the black crayon and color on top of the color.  The idea is to blot out the color with the black.  It's easily done, and it will look like this.

 

 

 

Finally -- and here's the real fun and magic -- have your kids take a paper clip and bend it so one end is protruding.  With that protruding tip, they can scratch some letters or drawings into the black blob of crayon.  The results will be quite exciting, because art will . . . emerge! Voilá!

If your family is in the mood to try some new crayons, here is a passel of them that we recommend.  And here are some paper clips. 

Please leave a comment below to let us know how the emerging goes in your house!

Guess the Picture

Your kid draws. You admire. Everybody wins.

ADDED July 08, 2009

 

Length: About 30 minutes

Parental Involvement:  Explain the idea, admire the artwork.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Draw reasonably well.

 

Your child will largely be "in charge" of this one.  You get to go along for the ride. 

(This activity definitely doesn't require full-time supervision or participation, so you can have a couple of minutes here and there to send an email or to get dinner ready.)

First, have your child choose a book with pictures in it.  Next, they should select one of the pictures in the book -- without telling you which they've chosen.  (You should take your leave from the room at this point.)

Now it is your young artist's task to draw the picture they've chosen.  They should try to keep it pretty faithful to the original version.  Once the drawing is completed, the artist should call you back into the room.  You now must find the image in the book that matches your kid's art.

We really hope that you can find the right image, for the sake of everyone involved.  Make your best effort at finding the correct picture!

And definitely discuss the experience with your kid.  "Oh, I knew that it was the frilled lizard that you drew, because of the beige-brown you used, and because of the curved shapes you drew around the head."

When you review the drawing together, you can help your kid identify the important visual cues used to get a point across in any depiction.  You know, when you're drawing something, you don't have to draw every line, every tiny detail.  Real artists pick and choose what aspects they need to represent in order to convey the idea.

Once you've successfully passed "round one," have your child choose another picture to draw.  Or . . . you take a turn, and sketch a picture from the book for your kid to find.  Or, make the activity a bit trickier for older kids by choosing a book that contains only photos or maps.

Have fun (and we hope we're not accidentally training any counterfeiters here.)

(The book used for the frilly lizard images here was Scholastic Children's Encyclopedia.)

Kids' Activity: The Paper Potluck

A smorgasbord of coloring fun

ADDED June 23, 2009

Kids' Activities: Little Lines Cleaning Sketch

When your kids need some motivation to clean up a big mess, little lines will do the trick!

ADDED June 12, 2009

 

 

Length: As long as it takes to clean the house up!

Parental Involvement: Supervising and encouraging the clean-up.  And a little drawing.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Follow through, clean up the mess the made. 

 

Being a parent is definitely the best experience I've ever had.  My kids are constantly challenging and amazing me.  And one way they both challenge and amaze me is with their ability to make giant messes.

 

"How did all these toys get out?  In such little time?"

"Has any room in this house been spared the toy tornado?"

"Your mom put me in charge of clean-up time.  And you guys got more toys out just now?"

 

Yes, children are truly amazing.

What's more, if you ask young kids to pick up a large mess, they get easily overwhelmed and/or distracted.  You'll find yourself demanding and pleading that they continue picking up.  And sometimes you'll just give in, and pick up the mess yourself.

Well, we've got a suggestion that might help:  our Little Lines Clean Sketch.

When your house is so messy that it's in danger of being declared a federal disaster area, get out some paper and crayons.  Tell your kids that for each item you see them put away, you will draw one little line on the paper.  When everything's all clean, they'll get to see what drawing all the little lines have made.  So, one object picked up, one line made on the paper.  It's simple.

And what can you draw with lots of little lines?  Well, pretty much anything.  In our house, we've drawn a face, or the first letter of our son's name.  You could also draw a house, a tree, a maniacal monster from outer space -- anything.

You're saying, "But wait!  Shouldn't my kids clean up because they know it's the right thing to do?"  Or, "Shouldn't my kids clean up simply because I've told them to?"  Our answer is:  well, yes.  Yes, they should clean up because it's the right thing to do, or because you told them.

We also think that you all should earn much more money, be given many more compliments, and be the toast of the town.  Oh, and we think that we should get those niceties also.  But in reality, that's not always the case.  You've got to be practical, and do what works.

The Little Lines Clean Sketch does indeed work!  I've got the sort of spotless, kind of well organized house to prove it!  So next time the kids have left your house looking sloppy, get out the pens and paper!

What do you think?  What kind of results did you get with this?  Please let us know!

Kids' Crafts: Make Your Own Place Mats

It's fun, it's art, and it's something you and your kids can admire each and every day

ADDED June 10, 2009

 

Length: A couple of hours

Parental Involvement: Supervision and assistance with art materials.  Driving the kids' work to Kinkos to be laminated.

Kids Should Be Able to:  Make art (draw, cut pictures a bit, etc.)  

Honestly, people, this just might be the most expensive activity we'veever suggested here on Today Is Fun.  Before you get all riled up andstart throwing things, hear us out.  This activity might just cost fouror five dollars.

You'll need some old magazines for the kids tosnip up.  Or, if you don't have those handy, you could have the kidsdraw with markers or crayons.

Take two blank pieces of paper and tape them together, side by side. You'll now have a nice canvas for your kid that is 11 x 17.  (You canput a lot of tape on the back side, because your kids won't really beaffecting that side.)

OR,instead of two pieces of paper, you could use a brown paper grocery bag(or wrapping paper, if you save that from gifts.)  Either way, it's anopportunity to recycle paper here.

Have the kids find picturesthey like in magazines and then glue them to the "canvas."  Have themdraw pictures with crayons, or they could affix stickers.

When we did this activity with our kids, we supplied them with some old National Geographicmagazines, and they created place mats for themselves that featuredvarious dangerous animals.  The collage work took them most of anafternoon, and our two boys were very proud of the finished product.

Insteadof magazine pictures, you could also use family photos.  (Such as yourchild with your family pet.)  In case you haven't noticed, there are alot of options here and a lot of room for creativity.

When theart is done, and your kids have signed off on the beauty, the placemats are ready to take to finish.  Drive the place mats to your localFed Ex Kinko's Office (or whatever those places are called) and havethem laminated.  It doesn't take long, and it doesn't cost much atall.  And your kids get to enjoy their masterpieces at each familymeal!  Everybody wins!

We'd be delighted to see your kids' place mat art.  If it's not too much trouble, please email us a photo.  We will post everyone's efforts on our Facebook page.

Kids' Craft: DIY Rag Doll

Easy to make, easy to love

ADDED June 03, 2009

For today's fun DIY activity, we are going to make a rag doll.  (Boys may call them "action figures," if they prefer.)  Rag Dolls are simple to make will provide your kids with hours of entertainment.

All you will need is eight strips of fabric about eight inches long.  Eight and eleven -- easy, right?

Length: Construction for 15 minutes . . . and hours of fun!
Parental Involvement: Lots of teaching opportunities for knot tying, braiding, cutting, etc.
Kids Should Be Able to:  Be safe with scissors

First hold the eight strips in your hand so the ends are even.

 

Next step: give your doll a name.

 

Finally, give your doll a lot of love! (Or give your action figure a lot of love, as the case may be.)

 

Leave us a comment below and let us know what you child names their doll!  Have fun!

Kids' Craft: Creature Creation

A DIY Craft and Toy

ADDED June 01, 2009

This week we are featuring Do It Yourself crafts and games!  Each activity will involve some sort of recycled or re-purposed item.  We will be posting three fun games and two great crafts all guaranteed to make sure that Today Is Fun.

We begin with a simple craft activity that all kids will enjoy for many hours.  (We have found that the best crafts end up being toys.)

Length: Construction for 10 minutes
Parental Involvement: Verbal instruction, participation
Kids Should Be Able to:  Be safe with scissors and color

To create your own creatures you will need an empty egg carton, some pens and pipe cleaners.


First cut the round bottom off of an egg carton, it should look like this. 


Next, with a paper clip or sharp pencil, poke one, two, three or fifteen holes on each side of your creatures.  It should look something like this. We chose four legs, so two holes on each side.


Third thread the pipe cleaner legs in one side and out the other, like this.


Fourth, use a pen to draw a face on your creature.  (This would also be a good time to give your creature a name.)  Add some flair, and they are ready to go.
Let your kids' imaginations run wild.  My daughter made this great vehicle out of the left-over egg carton for all the creatures to ride in. Have fun!

 

Line Drawing Practice Session

Get your lines in shape . . . and have fun doing it!

ADDED May 27, 2009

 

In case you haven't noticed, we think paper and markers are all the tools you need for hours of creative, learning fun with your kids.  Do you disagree?  Would you like to argue?  Go ahead and try!  Challenges can be entertaining.

 

(Please take a moment to check out our favorite, recommended drawing implements here and here.)

 

Today we're going to do some exercises to keep your drawing team in shape!  So get out some paper and pencils and start the drills.

Begin with swirls.  Tell your kids to draw as many swirls as they want.  Can everyone make swirls?  (Swirls are a personal favorite, I must admit.)

The next drill, zig-zags.  Followed by...

Wavy lines
Parallel lines
Dashed lines
Dotted lines (what is the difference between dashed and dotted?)
Curves and curvy lines
Squiggles and messy lines

In this post we've listed eight different types of lines for your kids to draw.  Can you guys think of any other ones?

This activity will get your drawers warmed up and ready to create.  So get creating, people!

If You Name It, I Will Draw It

Easy, fun, get-them-talking drawing game

ADDED May 26, 2009

 

My kids just love this one.  They request it constantly, and I'm not exactly sure why.  (The constant requests are not because they admire my drawing ability.  I don't have much of that!)

When you say the name of this activity to your kids, you're telling them what's going to happen here.  Tell them, "If you name it, I will draw it." 

So get out a piece of paper and markers.  Sit down with your kids and see what they say.  What will they name?  As they call out things, you draw it.  (And seriously, don't worry about the art!  This is all about getting your kids thinking and talking.  And about you listening to what your kids say.)

It certainly works well to give your kids a category or two to focus on.  My kids like space aliens, monsters, foods, toys, and more.  What do your kids like to think about?

We hope that this activity is as popular in your house as it is in mine.  And I hope that your drawing ability is better than mine, too!

 

--S

Make your own comic strip

Get those imaginations going!

ADDED May 08, 2009

For today's print 'n' play activity, we will all be creating a comic strip.

This comic strip is a very simple way to tell a story. Here, we're using pictures in four frames.  The beauty of comic strips is they can be anything your kids' imagination can dream up. (And if the story their imaginations dream up requires more than four frames, print out more sheets!)  As you probably know, some comics have words and others don't, so this can be a fun activity that you do with kids of almost any age.

To start, show your kid a few comics from the newpaper (if you get one) or share this classic Charlie Brown comic. 

Explain how the story has a beginning, middle and end and then let their imaginations run wild.  Let them know that anybody can be a character in their comic: a teacher, a favorite stuffed animal, a family pet or even a little brother.  The best part is anything can happen in the story: people can fly, rocks can talk and cows can play the cello.

 

Email a photo of your kids comic to info@todayisfun.com and we will post it in our art gallery.  And if you can train a cow to play the cello, please send pictures of that, too.

 

(click to download)

 

Thanks to Charles m. Schulz for the comic inspiration!

All About You

Well, it's all about your kids. And it's all about fun.

ADDED April 26, 2009

 

Here's a fun activity for you, your kids, and some crayons or markers. (Here are links to the crayons and markers that we like to recommend.)

You know your kids extremely well. You know all about them. You know your child's. . .

• Favorite color
• Favorite dessert
• Favorite animal
• Favorite book
• Favorite movie or TV character
• Favorite dinner
• Favorite sport
• Favorite friend
• Favorite game or activity
• Chores or favorite ways to help around the house

And so on.

So . . . sit down with your kid, and start to draw each item than you can think of. Even if you're not a great artist, no big deal. As long as you can represent these things fairly well to your child, well then, you're in business.

Don't tell your kid each item as you draw it, but instead, wait until they make a guess. Your children know themselves well, too, so it shouldn't be too hard for them to guess.

When you're done, you'll have a sheet full of drawings all about your child. Hooray! If your kid approves, hang it up in their room.

If your child wants, allow yourself to be the subject of an "All About You" sheet done by your kid. Or, you could ask your child, "Did I miss anything important about you? Why don't you make an 'All about Myself?' sheet."

We promise: you'll have your kid's full attention as you do this. It will be bonding time, and it will be fun. All about you!

No Cut Kite

Get some Spring fun a-flyin'!

ADDED April 22, 2009

For today's fun activity, get out the crafting supplies and make a kite!  It's a perfect outdoors activity to get some creativity pumping and legs running. 

Kite construction can be as easy or difficult as you want. And if you want to be technical about it, a kite -- or deltoid -- is a quadrilateral with two disjoint pairs of congruent adjacent sides.  (I copied that from Wikipedia). With your "deltoid," be creative and let inspiration strike with different shapes and colors.  In our opinion, the funkier the better.
 
A traditional kite has a construction that looks like this.

 

 

 

We made a few kites the other day that did not require any scissors (they did, however, require a little parental folding).  Our kites had a nice, classic kite shape and very easy to make.

Here are the folding steps we used (but as I said earlier let inspiration stike because we want to see photos of crazy kites!)   First, fold the paper in half like this. 

 

 

 

Then fold down the top third like this.  Next fold each of the corners in toward the middle like this (this part might require some parental help). 

 

 

 

 

Tape the four folds down and your finished product will look like this. 

 

 

 

Now you are ready to color.

 

 

 Use markers, crayons, glitter, or even pictures cut from old magazines. If your kids are stuck for decoration inspiration, share with them the meaning of kite decoration in Chinese culture:  the pictures on kites convey certain wishes—a crane or a tortoise for a long life, a dragon for prosperity, and a carp for strength.  All kites are considered to be good-luck charms.

When the decoration is done, tape some string onto the kite and see if it will fly.  We have found that most homemade kites don't fly very well so worry not, use your kite as a decoration for a few days and then recycle it.  Have fun!

Color Blind

See what happens when you combine crayons with a blindfold

ADDED April 15, 2009

 

(In case you can't tell -- and we wouldn't exactly blame you if you can't, the pictures here on today's post are a horse and a monster.)

 

As you might remember, we enjoy taste tests in our house.  It's easy!  All you need is a blindfold and some different foods.

Well, one day after finishing a breakfast taste test (strawberry jelly vs. grape jelly, regular cream cheese vs. strawberry cream cheese), the kids wanted to do another activity using the blindfold.  So we decided to do some coloring.

This one's pretty easy to explain:  put a blindfold on your kid and decide on something to draw.  Your child will have fun with the challenge (it is very challenging, as you might imagine) and you guys will get some pretty interesting results!

Try more simple subjects for this kind of drawing.  A face is funny to try -- also a house, a sun, a monster, a snake, and so forth.  More complicated subjects (a flock of zebras nibbling grass while lions prowl in the nearby grass) might not work so well. 

Have fun and tell your kids this is how Michelangelo got  his start.  (Not really.  But maybe Jackson Pollack?)

(Your family may already have some crayons handy, but check out some of our favorites to use here and here">here.  Our favorite markers to use are here.)

Major League Geography

Here comes baseball season (and another excuse for learning!)

ADDED April 03, 2009

 

Professional sports offer a fine opportunity to teach your children about American places.  If your kids love sports, wouldn't they be interested to see all the cities and states from which competing teams hail? 

For the new baseball season, we've created this handy map.  Print it out and pass it over to the kids. 

First have your children make a small X to show your city or town. And then, do you guys cheer for a certain team?  If you do, locate it on the map, and have the kids spruce it up with some colors.  Next, if your kids know and remember other teams, find those on the map.  Have your kids color each in as you go along.  And have them color each state you discuss.  For each baseball team, it's not enough to mention the city--we want to know states, too.  What state do the Boston Red Sox come from?  How about the Cincinnati Reds?  (And if the team already provides the name of the state, well then, we want to know the city.  Yes, we mean you:  Arizona Diamondbacks, Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies!)  Try to discuss all the teams and have your kids color the whole map in.

 

 

Baseball team names offer an opportunity for more interesting conversations and possibly some vocabulary learning.  What exactly is a Padre?  Why was the San Diego team given that name?  Why were the Twins given that name?  What is a Marlin?  If you don't know any of these answers, simply turn to trusty ole Wikipedia.  (My kids were particularly interested to hear how the Houston Astros got their name.  If I'm not careful, my boys, with their love of all things space- and rocket-related, might just switch allegiances on me.)

 

You can hang your kids' colorful map up.  When the baseball team your family follows is playing an opponent, the kids can be in charge of finding the opposing team on the map.

 
Play ball!  (And go Dodgers!)

 

--S

 

(Thank you, DeusXFlorida, for the use of the baseball photo above!)

Family Cloud Dangle

It’s not a family tree -- it’s a family cloud. And it dangles!

ADDED March 31, 2009

 

Today you and your kids can turn all your family members into a fun activity!  There are two ways to play this one, and we’ll explain both.

First, sit with your kids and make a list of every person in your family.  No need to get into ancestors and great-great-grandparents, just stick to people your child knows.  Distant, rarely seen relatives don’t need to be included here.

Next, your kid should take a piece of paper and cut out a shape for each family member on your list.  They can try to make the shape represent the person in question. (For instance, Grandpa loves dogs, so one kid cut out a shape that vaguely resembled a dog’s head.  Aunt Bea bakes cakes, so another kid cut out the shape of a birthday cake.)  If no shape comes to mind, then any shape – triangle, diamond, flower, bean, etc. –- is fair game.

Once the shape has been cut out, your kid should write the person’s name on it.

Have your kid keep cutting shapes and writing names until every family member on the list has been taken care of.

Then grab some Scotch tape and tape the family together.  You can assemble the family in really any way that you’d like: you could try to keep siblings together, or put kids near their Moms and Dads.  Or it could be kind of random.  Whatever works.  It’s a cloud!

Finally, use the tape to hang the family up.  A wall works well for this, of course, but it’s also fun to dangle the family cloud from a door jamb.  Everyone can look at it as they pass through (ducking if necessary.)

(As mentioned above, there are two ways to play this.  The second is a reduced version:  do a family cloud but only use the people who live in your house with you.  This is simpler and quicker, of course.  But please have your kid include all the pets who live your house, too!)

Having your kids create their very own Family Cloud Dangle will be quite enjoyable.  In fact, we think you guys will even have fun saying the words “Family Cloud Dangle” quite a bit.

 

--S

My very own alphabet book

Cut n paste fun!

ADDED March 13, 2009

Today we have a fun activity that you can do with your kids to get rid of those old magazines and catalogs.  Work together to make an alphabet picture book.  This is an activity you can do over a few days (or even weeks), but when you are done you will have a handmade book filled with pictures and letters that your child has chosen.

Get out some scissors, glue, a notebook of any size and those catalogs and magazines.  This is a good opportunity to review the letters of the alphabet and when the review is done start thumbing through the magazines looking for photos of exciting things that start with the letters of the alphabet.  Since A is at the beginning of the alphabet we started with A.  We found a beautiful photo of some apples in Bon Appetite and some awesome close up Ants in National Geographic. When the A was completed we moved to B and found some pictures of blue sky, burritos and beluga whales.

We have only made it to the letter J so far but slowly are making our way through the alphabet.  It is fun too when the new magazines arrive because the kids are always on the look out for old magazines that can be replaced. Of course when we are done with magazines its off to the recycling bin.  Have Fun!

Letter Rubbing

Pop-art

ADDED March 11, 2009

For this activity, you will need some Legos, scissors, crayons, and white paper.  It also is a good idea to know you alphabet, if your child is still learning today is a great day to review!

 

To get started, have your child create their initials using the Legos; it should look something like this.

 

  We found that if you use skinny Legos to create your letters it works best.  But any size letter will do.

Also, if you can attach your letters to a bigger Lego like this, it makes the coloring easier.

Next, cover the Legos with a piece of white paper and gently rub over the letters with the crayons.

 

That should result in something that looks like this.  As your kid rubs with the crayons, the raised letters underneath will slowly be transferred to the paper. 

 

If your child likes this activity, move on from initials . . . to full names! Have fun making your own pop (and pop out!) art.

Top to Bottom

Fun from head to toe

ADDED March 05, 2009

 

Here’s a fun and interesting way to look at the world:  divvy it up into a top part and a bottom part.

Start by choosing a topic to explore with your kids.  You could talk about a forest, an ocean, a restaurant, their school, or outer space.

Once you’ve got your topic, it’s time to make a list with your young one.  Or rather, make two lists:  one for the top of the “thing” and one for the bottom.  For instance, let’s say that you guys selected a forest.  What stuff (animals, plants and others) would you find at the bottom of the forest?    Rocks, fallen acorns, beetles, snakes, worms, and certainly much more.  What can you find at the top of a forest?  Birds (what kinds?), leaves, pine cones, treetops, bird nests, chipmunks, and so forth.  With a little thought, your kids could come up with quite lengthy lists.  

Top to Bottom would be a great game to pass the time in the car, when you’re stuck in traffic.

And if you’re at home and have some crayons handy, your kids could create depictions of their top-to-bottom lists in picture form.  You (or they) could draw a dashed line through the middle of the image, to further help everyone see the top and the bottom.

Once you’ve explored one area of the world, repeat this activity with another!

Have fun looking at everything from top to bottom.  You may have seen this wrap-up sentence coming, but:  we’re sure that in your house, this activity will be tops!

Little Cereal Box Pickup Trucks

A Bonus From Breakfast

ADDED March 03, 2009

 

You know those little cereal boxes that come in packs of eight?  We used to get them for camping trips, but most markets sell them now, and we know some parents buy them for ready-to-go, individual-sized breakfast portions.  (If you don't get them, you might want to, after you see the craft possibilities.)

Here's a previous use we devised for these boxes:  little cereal box puppets.

My beautiful wife came up with this new use for two little cereal boxes:  little cereal box pickup trucks.

Turn the boxes inside out to get some blank canvases, and tape them back into box-shape.  Tape the two boxes together, one upright for the cab, the other horizontal for the rear cargo area.

Cut holes in the cab for windows.  Cut off the top of the one in back, for the cargo area.  Using these extra, cut-off bits, make some wheels and tape them on.

Finally, load the pickup trucks up!  Find small toys to be the drivers.  And, of course, you'll need to find some stuff to haul in the back.

Please obey a 5 mile per hour with these things.  Cardboard doesn't hold up so well in high speed impacts.  Have fun, and keep those kids eating balanced breakfasts!

 

Flag Drawing

A fun way to learn about the world at large

ADDED March 01, 2009

 

We love the flags of the world.  Here's why:

1.  They're interesting to look at and interesting to compare.  Which flags have red stripes in them?  Which have blue stripes?  Why do some flags have horizontal red, yellow, and blue (Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia)?  Why do so many flags have the flag of the United Kingdom in the upper left-hand corner?  Why do some countries have similar crosses (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Faroe Islands)?

2.  Flags are a great starting place for learning about other countries.  Seeing an interesting flag often leads us to the atlas, where we look up the country's location and some information about it.

3.  Flags are two-dimensional, and therefore somewhat easy to draw.  Flags are also always rectangles, and it's interesting to see all the variations that people have created in those rectangles.

To check out all the flags of the world, please click here.

That site shows all the flags of the world on one long page.  

Here's an activity with that site:  Grab some crayons and some blank paper.  Tell your kid to choose a flag - but don't tell you which one -- and to draw it on the piece of paper.  Once the depiction is done, you come, study the flag that's been drawn, and try to figure out which it is.  (You, too, of course, can look at that website - we don't expect you to memorize all 248!)

You can draw a flag, too, and have your child guess which it is.  

While you're doing this, you can talk about where the country is (Asia?  Africa?  Oceania?) and maybe even what the country is like (Switzerland is cold! Peru has a lot of llamas.  The pyramids are in Egypt.  And so forth.)

For some more information about flags (and some answers to the questions we asked above), look at the first comment in the section below.

What do you and your kids think about flags?  Let us know, please, in the comment section below.

Finally, we highly recommend that you give extra credit (thirty points, perhaps) to any child who can draw the flag of St. Pierre and Miquelon.

This Land Is Your Land!

A colorful and informative print-n-color activity

ADDED February 25, 2009

Everyone's colored a map of the United States at some point or another. It's  always fun and sometimes messy.  But here at TIF, we are fans of art with a purpose.  We're talking about coloring that tells a story and provides deeper meaning.

Today we have a cool map of the USA to download and color.  The map includes a fun and informative key that your little cartographer can use to enhance the experience.  

Have your colorer use one color for your home state, another color for states where you guys have family or friends, and yet another color for states that you have visited. Finally, find states with names that tickle your funny bone, and assign them a "funny name" color.

Of course, for little kids, this map can be a great introduction to our States and to maps in general.  For both younger and older kids, this activity could serve as the starting place for some nice one-on-one, parent-kid time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have fun making your own infographic today!

 

(And remember, you can upload your infographic artwork to our Facebook page.  If you are not a Facebook fan of TIF, join on up!)

 

Click images to download 

 

 

Monster Names

A spruced-up way for your kid to write a name

ADDED February 16, 2009

 

Welcome to Variation Week here at Today is Fun.  What's Variation Week?  Well, this week we'd like to live by the famous old saying:  if something's fun and educational once, why not do again a little different?  

Okay, okay.  We haven't heard that saying before either.  In fact, we just made it up.  But the fact still remains:  it is a good idea to vary something good and to come up with more good things!  Each of our ideas this week will provide an opportunity for you and your kids to have fun with variations.  

 

 

Last week was full of Valentines and love.  Great.  Now let's change it up a bit.  It's time for monsters.

Take out a sheet of paper.  Write your child's name in large, thick letters across it.

Now pass the paper over to your kid, and say, "Turn your name into a monster."

Your young artist will have to somehow take the lines and shapes made by the letters and use them as parts of a monster.  The letters will need to become mouths, eyes, paws, tails, scales, spikes, etc.

(In our house, we have boys who happen to like monsters.  If your child is interested in something else, by all means let them express this with their name-art today.  Names could be turned into gardens, pets, firefighters, princesses or whatever!)

Once the name has been creatively transformed into a monster, do some variations.  Change the name into a different monster or a fancy house or into a completely different thing altogether!

The final step is to hang the art up on the wall or the fridge and admire!  Variation!

 

 

--S

Red Hearts

It's like musical chairs . . . but more fun!

ADDED February 13, 2009

 

Here is a fun and rowdy game you can play today.  All you need is some red construction paper, scissors, and kids.
 
First have everyone cut out a heart and write their name on it.  Then place the hearts around the room.  Next, have everyone hold hands.  Finally -- and this might be the most important part of the game -- play some Valentine's music (we like Dean Martin or Frank Sinatara).   As the music plays, everyone should rotate in a circle. Then, when the music stops, everybody needs to run and grab a heart.  Read the person's name on the heart and give that person a hug!

Then spread out the hearts again and repeat!

This is the perfect game to play outside: with a large group or with your extended family (grandparents love hugs).  And if your kids don't want to give hugs, then just have them say "Happy Valentine's Day!"
 
Oh, and I just found a heart with my Beautiful Wife's name on it.  I think I'll go get my hug right now!  Have fun.

 

Thanks to tekmagika for the photo

 

Valentine Heart box

A great color-n-cut activity

ADDED February 11, 2009

Today we present a fun craft that you can do with your kids. Once it's colored, cut, folded, and taped, you will have a unique Valentine's Day craft that is a special way to say "I love you."

First, print one of the crafts we're including here.  We have three levels:  Level One is the easiest to cut and looks like this. (click on each craft to download)

 

Level Two requires a little more scissor skills and will look like this. 

 

 

Level Three is the most difficult and will look like this.

 

Color the boxes, adding any Valentine's messages you guys want. Then cut out the box, following all the way around the edges.  Next fold the paper along the dotted lines, and place a small strip of tape on the grey tabs, forming the box.

Try this activity with a group and let everybody encourage each other and help  with the coloring and cutting.  Remember, these Valentine's boxes can be a little delicate, so just like love:  handle with care!

 

 

****UPDATE crafting action photos****

 

 

 

 

Trace and color!

The game with two activities in one!

ADDED January 29, 2009

To play this game and make the craft you will need a few things that every house with kids is guaranteed to have.  First you will need some paper, any kind of paper will do but is should be at least 8.5 x 11. Second you will need a small basket of toys, these toys should be small enough that they will fit easily on the paper.  Lastly you will need a pencil and of course at least two people to play the game.

Once you have gathered everything, here is how you play.  One person will be the Tracer and the other person will be the Guesser.  First the Guesser should leave the room, next from the basket of toys the Tracer needs to select one toy and using the paper and pencil, carefully trace around the outside edges of the toy.  They really want to just get the silhouette outlined.  Once the outline of the toy has been transferred to the paper the Tracer should put the toy back into the basket.  Then call the Guesser back. Now it is the Guessers turn to guess what toy the Tracer traced. For older kid the guessing is usually rather easy but still fun. Once the toy is guessed the Tracer and Guesser switch each doing the others job.

After a few rounds of tracing and guessing grab some crayons and the Guesser and Tracer now both become the Artists and they can color their master pieces.  Have Fun!

Copy King (or Copy Queen)

A fun, additional way to play with art and drawing

ADDED January 22, 2009

 

 

Okay, your child has just completed another drawing.  Great!  We like art, especially kid art.  But does the art and the fun have to end now that the drawing is complete?

Here's a way to have even more fun with crayons and markers:  make a copy of the masterpiece.

(This is actually one of the ways people copied pictures before computers.  Remember that time?)

(Neither do we.  How did people send emails back then, anyway?)

Here's what you do:  With a pencil and a ruler, lightly draw a box around the picture.  (If you don't have a ruler handy, use the spine of a book or the side of a Kleenex box.)  Then draw two, nicely spaced-out horizontal and vertical lines across the picture.  This shouldn't take very long, and you've now made a grid.  You've broken the picture up into nine small boxes.  Next to the boxes, we like to write A, B, C on one side, and 1, 2, 3 down the other side, so we can easily refer to them as A1, A2, A3, and so forth.

Now take a blank paper and duplicate the 9-box gird, complete with letters and numbers on the side.

Okay, you are (or your kid is) ready to start copying.  With the lines and boxes you've drawn, you can focus on what needs to be drawn in what area.  Instead of taking the whole image and needing to copy it, you can focus on small chunks.  See how your child's drawing fills each box.

Now as far as we're concerned, the copy does not have to be exact.  In fact, the copier might just want to intentionally change or enhance the second version.  Change the color of the grass from green to purple.  Whatever fancy strikes you.

Copy one of your kid's drawings, and then create a drawing to be copied yourself.  Take turns!

 

Instead of using kids' art, you could also do this activity with a scenic from a magazine.  The copy will never be exact, but it can be an interpretation and a fun way to get those little landscape artists inspired.

 

The whole point here, in addition to it being a fun activity that really works, is also to show that when you take something big and break it into smaller pieces, it becomes manageable.  Hmmm....there might even be a life lesson there somewhere.

 

Story Cards

Edge of your seat fun!

ADDED January 09, 2009

 

 

Today we celebrate writers and storytellers.  And today you and your kids will play a game to create some fun stories of your own.

First you'll need to make some cards.  We take two pieces of blank paper and fold-and-tear each into eight pieces.  (To do this, fold the paper in half, then in half again, and then in half again.  Tear along the folds, and when you're done with both pieces of paper, you'll have sixteen identically sized cards.)

Make three stacks of cards; five cards in each.  Have your kids choose a color for each stack.  Have them color one side of all the cards in the stack with their chosen color.  (You'll wind up with a stack of red cards, a stack of yellow cards, a stack of blue cards, etc.)

Now, one stack of cards will be the "doer stack" – the person or animal in the story who does something.  Ask your kids to come up with different "people" (a policeman, a chef, a princess, Grandma, Darth Vader, etc.)  or animals (bear, squirrel, bunny, etc.) to be in the story.  They should draw one person or animal on each card in the stack.

The next stack will be the "what the person or animal does" stack.  Have your kids list some actions on these cards – and try to encourage very different and active verbs:  cook, break, jump, dance, kick, smoosh, etc.  (For "kick," your kids could draw a foot kicking, for "dance," two feet dancing, and so on.)

The final stack will be the "something you can touch" stack.  These will be the items affected by the people or animals in the stories.  For this activity, they really can be anything that can be touched:  a puddle or a poodle, a zipper or a zucchini. 

Once you've got all your stacks ready, it's time to create a story.  Shuffle each stack and then have your kid choose a card from each. 

Help your kid make a story with their selections.  For instance, if they've pulled a princess, a kick, and a zucchini, you get this story: "A princess kicked a zucchini."  (We think extra points should be awarded for funny or creative stories.)  You can also ask your kids follow-up questions for the stories, such as:  "Why did the princess kick the zucchini?"  And of course:  "What happened next?"

Encourage creativity and have some fun.  Hopefully the story at your house today will be:  the kids and the parents (people or animals), laughed a lot (action), while playing this Today is Fun game on the computer (something you can touch.)

 

--S

 

Make-Your-Body-Like-This Cards

Can your kids position their bodies like this?

ADDED December 22, 2008

 

We are proud to announce a week of Great Gargantuan Giving here at Today is Fun.  In honor of Christmas, we will have fabulous give-aways each day!  Please, tell your friends!

We're kicking off the week with our patented and popular Make-Your-Body-Like-This Cards.

Download these PDFs and cut the cards out.  Have your kids choose cards and make their bodies like the positions depicted.  It's that simple.

 

Batch #1            Batch #2            Batch #3

The body positions on the cards are intentionally a little abstract.  It's up to your kids to use their creativity and ingenuity with their own bodies.  They can interpret the positions any way they want; they can do the positions standing, sitting, or lying down.

Some more ideas with these cards:

• Your kids can color the drawings in.  They can also draw faces on them.
• On a rainy day, do a 'speed round' with these cards to get the kids' bodies moving and exercising in the house.
• Do you have kids who like princesses?  Pirates?  Ballerinas or bandits?  (Or in our house at the moment:  bad guys.)  Have your kids do the positions as a pirate or princess or whatever their favorite character is.

If you like these cards, please by all means email us and let us know.  We'll make more... (Also, we happen to think that one of these body positions definitely looks like a sumo wrestler.  Another like a zombie from the Thriller video.  If you care to take a guess as to which number is which, please email or make a comment!)

--S

Handmade Mistletoe

Crafting and kissing.

ADDED December 17, 2008

My son the decided he was going to make some mistletoe. I am not sure if he has someone in mind to use it on but his ingenuity and enthusiasm for this craft was so sincere how can I not pass a great idea along.

First he created the leaves, this was accomplished by folding a green piece of construction paper in half lengthwise.  Second he drew three half hearts on one side of the paper with the point at the bottom and the curved top pointing down. Third on a white piece of paper he drew three small circles these are the berries.  Fourth he cut all the pieces out.  Fifth he unfolded the hearts glued them together to make the leaves and added the berries. Sixth he tied the mistletoe to a string and started kissing!
 
Here is the final result. It's great.

It was fun to see him create this truly unique craft, try it today.  Because Today is fun! And I am sure you’ll get some kisses out of it.

 

Cereal Box Puppets

Along with the whales, Save the Socks!

ADDED December 09, 2008

 

What's something around your house that you can use to make puppets with your kids?  Socks come right to mind, but there's a problem with them:  if you make sock puppets, you can't wear those socks anymore!  (The eyes, noses and mouths make for pretty uncomfortable footwear.)

So today we present . . . little cereal box puppets!  Little cereal boxes are often found on camping trips, but these days they're also available on the shelves of almost any grocery store.  If you buy these multi-cereal samplers, you should know that they are just the right size to make brilliant puppets with your kids.

First, cut open the boxes to flip them inside out.  Use the "blank" side as the canvas for your puppets.

Second, use markers, construction paper, glue, tape, and whatever you've got handy to make fun and funny puppet faces.

Finally, tape up the puppets back into their original box shape -- ready for little hands to use.

(Here's a couple insider secrets on making these things:  (1)  Make the puppet faces first and then tape the boxes up.  It's trickier if you reverse the order of these steps.  (2)  When you tape the boxes back up, start with a couple pieces of tape on the inside.  This will help in the sturdiness department.  (3)  Make similar faces for the front and back of the boxes, but with different expressions.  That way, during a puppet show, a happy character can suddenly switch around to be a completely shocked one!)

If you don't buy those little cereal boxes, you can save and use big ones over time.  Other kinds of boxes will probably work just fine, too.

After the puppets are done, you guys are ready for a spectacular, cereal-box-puppet presentation.  Everyone will have fun and will be able to say, "No socks were harmed in the production of this show!"

 

--S

Place Cards

A time-honored Thanksgiving tradition can be a fun and helpful activity for your kids

ADDED November 26, 2008

 

 

(Just so you know, I don't very much like place cards.  I like to be in control of my seating location, and I like to sit wherever my fancy strikes.  And I don't want to be stuck yet again with Aunt Nancy, who always regales me with stories about cats.)

That all being said, place cards do sometimes seem to show up at Thanksgiving dinner.  And making place cards can be a good thing to do for young kids.

First, it's an activity, an opportunity to do and make and to be creative.  Also, it's a good way to review with your kids all the people who they will encounter at the Thanksgiving festivities.  It's a good excuse to talk about all the guests at Thanksgiving beforehand, so they won't point and say "Who's that guy?  Why is that person here at dinner?"

If you don't like place cards (did I mention that I don't?), then change this activity from place card to a "gift card."  Have your kids make a postcard-like item for each person, and hand them out before the meal.  Each card could include a drawing and a stylized representation of the recipient's name.

And fine, if you must, you and the kids just go ahead and make place cards for the table.  It could be fun for them.  Just please don't sit me next to Aunt Nancy!

(All persons listed in this post are fictitious.  And I am always kind to seniors and will listen to cat stories!  That business was joke.)

Secret Holiday Gourd

Toy and decoration all in one

ADDED November 19, 2008

Most houses around Thanksgiving have those little holiday gourds for decoration. They are festive, but really serve no purpose beyond that.  But we have figured out a way to make them festive and fun all at the same time.

Wheel of Fun

Round, random, and lots of fun

ADDED November 12, 2008

 

Sometimes it's all in the presentation.

If you suggest to your child, "Why don't you do eighteen jumping jacks?", they'd probably refuse.  But if a paper plate makes the same suggestion, well, to a kid that kind of presentation just can't be argued with.

Pat Sayjak and Vanna Williams, eat your hearts out, because today we are yukking it up with the Wheel of Fun. 

Draw lines on the face of a white paper plate in order to divvy it into ten equally sized segments.  In each, write a fun or silly activity for your child to perform.  Some examples:

1.  Spin in a circle while singing a song.

2.  Take three towels from the linen closet and make some funny clothes for yourself.

3.  Draw something very fast, then make people guess what it is.

4.  Call somebody in our family on the phone.

5.  Do eighteen jumping jacks.

And so on. 

After you've filled in the activities, punch a small hole in the middle of the plate.  Either insert a spinner from one of your family's board games (we used one from Chutes and Ladders in the photo) or find a wall with a protruding nail on which to hang the wheel.  Each child spins the wheel, and then gets to perform the task.  Repeat as much as you guys want.

This is a lot of fun.  It makes for a great rainy day activity. Kids love the excitement of getting random results, and they love spinning the wheel.

If you're feeling particularly cheeky, you can sneak a couple of activities onto the wheel that will benefit you alone.  You could try adding "fold the laundry" or "wash the kitchen floor" to the wheel to see what results you can get!   Have fun, and get spinning!

Fun with Flickr

And with funny buildings, too

ADDED November 11, 2008

 

Most of you have probably visited the website Flickr.com.  If you haven't, it's definitely worth checking out...for a few hours.

Flickr is a site where anybody and everybody can upload and share their photos for free.  There are millions and millions of photos there, some of them dreadful and some quite amazing.  Simply put, you (and your child) can find anything there.

In fact, here's the first part of today's activity:  if you and your child are so inclined, try to think of something that Flickr can't show you.  An unusual jar? A funny race car? A chocolate bar?  Your child's favorite movie star?  Do a search for any of these:  Flickr's got pictures of them.  A skating rink?  The kitchen sink?  Things that are pink?  Englebert Humbertdink?  Yep, they're on Flickr, too.

And Flickr is great to use as reference, too.  Here's the next step of our activity today:  type "building" into the search field at Flickr.  You and your kid will find thousands of results.  Have a look at some of the different buildings people across the world have built.  Now type "weird building" in.  You'll find many, many very interesting and sometimes very weird constructions there.  

After you guys have enjoyed those sights, take out your trusty paper and markers.  It's time for you guys to create weird buildings of your own.  As you guys draw talk about what makes buildings "normal" or "regular," and what makes them different and strange.  Also ask, because it adds to the fun, "Would you like to live in this weird building?"

Have fun exploring Flickr and the wonderful world of weird buildings.  

(Today is Fun is not affiliated with Flickr in any way.  We think they're cool, though, and hopefully vice-versa.)

Extremely Spooky Baby Ghost Decoration

Made out of newspaper. Oh, and did we mention the word "spooky?"

ADDED October 28, 2008

 

Alright, we're not promoting this as ground-breakingly new or anything.  It's a craft, and it may ring a bell in your brain somewhere.

But it's fun, it's good for Halloween, and it's both cheap and easy.  Come on, people: work with us here!

Here's what you do:  Step One. Grab the newspaper and remove one "sheet."  This is one piece of paper, two full pages connected (and separated by a fold.)  This will be the ghost's body.  Spread it out on the table or floor.

Step Two. Have your child crumble up other pages from the newspaper.  Amass a certain number of them (let's say seven pieces, and let's say that your child is in charge of counting to make sure that number is what's there).  These will be the 'stuffing' for the head.

Step Three. Now, in one smooth, graceful move, gather the 'sheet' up around the 'stuffing' to create the head.  The rest of the sheet will droop down and become the ghost's body.  Use a piece of string or a rubber band to keep the stuffed head separate from the body.  Have your child draw some eyes and a mouth.  Use another piece of string to hang the ghost from an appropriate ceiling light or chandelier.

Will you have created something that you and your child will treasure for years?  Is this something that will become the envy of your neighbors?  Hmmm, probably not.  But will it be a fun way to pass some time for you and your child?  And something that your child enjoys?  Yes, it will.  

And you will enjoy your new spooky baby ghost as a beloved additional family member for the rest of the week!

Send Your Kids a Postcard

Use the post to tell 'em they are the most!

ADDED October 24, 2008

Everybody likes to get mail, but kids don't seem to get that much outside of birthdays and holidays.  So today, pick up a few cards or postcards and drop 'em in the mail.

Make each parcel special by adding stickers, writing in colorful marker, or adding stamps of their favorite animals.  You can also put on some lipstick and give it a kiss (Moms only), or add lots "X's" and "O's." If your little one has a nickname address, it to their cute little alter ego. Use your imagination to make the envelope and message fun.

Your child will love to get this special piece of mail, so try it today!

One more thing if you are feeling really adventurous: try sending a piece of mail from the dog.  That is sure to get a big laugh!

Super Shape Doodle Art Game for People of All Ages

Make-it-yourself game with a funny name and artistic results

ADDED October 22, 2008

Today why not make your own game?  With a name like "Super Shape Doodle Art Game for People of All Ages," everyone will want to play.  This game is sort of like Miscellaneous Squiggle , but with a lot more super shapes and doodles.

First, take ten small pieces of paper and draw a shape on each:  a square, a circle, a triangle, etc. or even a silly shape or two.  (I drew a glove, lollipop and a rocket.) These are your cards for the game.

Then take a blank piece of paper.  Make sure everyone has a pencil.

Place the cards face down and have everyone take a turn selecting a card. Each person draws the shape depicted by their card onto the blank paper.  This will be your artistic picture.  The shape can be added anywhere in the picture as long as it is touching another shape.

This is a really great for a rainy day.  You can play for as many rounds as you want, just turn the playing cards over and keep drawing.

In the end, you'll have a Super Shape Doodle Art masterpiece to be admired and cherished by People of all Ages!

Here are what our cards looked like…

And here is one of our finished Super Shape Doodle Art masterpiece to be admired and cherished by People of all Ages!

Miscellaneous Squiggle

A creative and fun drawing game

ADDED October 16, 2008

 

 

So easy, so fun, and yep . . . totally free!

First, have your kid take a crayon or marker and make a squiggle or line on a piece of paper. 

Well, that was easy.  Now for the more challenging part:  you have to take some crayons and your child's squiggle and turn it into something recognizable.  You have to look at the squiggle and say, "What could I make from that?" 

It's not hard, actually.  You'll have a look at the squiggle and see that it's actually smoke curling out of a chimney, or a leopard's paw, or a fairy princess's toothbrush, or whatever.

You don't have to be an amazing artist by any stretch.  Just try to make it clear to your child what you're drawing.

Now comes the fun part:  you make the squiggle, and your child has to create something from it.  (This is a bit more enjoyable, because you get to sit back and be entertained by your child's creativity.)

We think this is good, addictive fun, and in our house, kids and parents keep trading turns for quite some time.

And just as grandma used to talk about turning lemons into lemonade, you get to turn miscellaneous squiggles into fine art!

 

(In case you're interested, the above squiggle was drawn by a kid, and an adult made the art.  The squiggle below was drawn by the adult, and the beautiful art was created by a kid.)

 

Characteristics

Quirky Coloring Fun

ADDED September 29, 2008

Occasionally when you suggest that your child spend some time coloring or drawing, you will hear this response:  "Yeah, but I don't know what to draw" or "I don't feel like coloring anything."

Try this activity then, which we call "Characteristics."  It is one of our absolute, all-time favorite kids games.  We think it's fun, do-able, and creative.

Step One.  Have your kid choose a 'thing' to draw.

This thing could be anything that captures your kid's interest: a princess, a pirate, a monster or Mommy.  A supermarket or a superhero, a garden or a gargoyle.  Really, anything!

For example, let's say your kid wants to draw "a funny monster."

Step Two .  You and your kid(s) take turns thinking up characteristics of the "thing."  Write down each.

Here are some characteristics we came up with for "a funny monster:"

1.  Has long pointy hair
2.  Big pointy things coming out of his toes -- the same as a T. Rex
3.  Ears that stick out
4.  Curly curvy horns on his head.

 

Step Three.  Once you've made a list of ten characteristics or so, go back through and read each one out loud.  Have your child draw each characteristic you read until the 'thing' takes shape.

We play this almost every day in our house and find it an enormous "crowd pleaser."  It gets the kids' brains thinking and their fingers conjuring up art.

And there's an added benefit: you can show off around the pre-school by having your kid explain to other parents the meaning of the word 'characteristic.'

 

KIDS ENTERTAINMENT -- STICKY NOTE TREASURE HUNT

Follow the Squares to the Fun

ADDED September 23, 2008

In most houses you can find those free pads of sticky notes from local realtors or doctors' offices. They are helpful for love notes, shopping lists, and doodling. But here at TIF we have created another use for them. Why don’t you turn your kids loose with a stack and let them create a Sticky Note Treasure Hunt.

All that your kids need to do to create an awesome Sticky Note Treasure Hunt is write a short note guiding you from one location to the next until you reach the Treasure.  If they are too young to write you can help with the directions and then go on the hunt with them.

Here are a few things that your kids could make a Sticky Note Treasure Hunt for:

Dinner. Make a map that starts at the front door, goes into the bathroom and finishes at the dinner table.

A bike ride. Make a map that starts in the bedroom goes to the backyard and finishes on a bike in the garage where you can go for a ride.

Your brother (or sister). Make a map that starts on the dinning room table, goes into the bedroom, outside to the mailbox and finishes on your brother (or sister) if you can catch them.

We really like this idea because all that is needed is a pad of sticky notes and a little imagination.  Here are a few highlight photos from several hunts that took place at my house the other day.

info@todayisfun.com.

Sidewalk Chalk Maze

Tricky, a-mazing fun!

ADDED September 18, 2008

Last week we reminded you of a tried-and-true way to entertain kids:  hopscotch.  Well, if you've got some extra sidewalk chalk handy, here's another fun way to keep the kids busy outside.

Making sidewalk mazes is pretty easy, and doesn't require too much forethought or planning.  You can do it on the fly.  Just be sure to draw "corridors" that are wide enough for kids to navigate, with clear lines for the "walls."  

To make the maze more tricky for older kids, be sure to create a lot of crossroads and dead-ends.

To make nice, straight lines, use a long piece of string tied to two rocks.  Use the rocks to keep the string tight, and draw along its length.

And really, this site is about things for kids to do, not about more work for their parents.  So to the extent they are able, have your kids help in the construction of the maze.  Older kids can plan and draw the twists and turns.  Younger kids can have input as to where the corridors should go, whether or not there should be a dead end, and what color chalk should be used.  

(It doesn't take long to make a maze.  We made one that covered our driveway and sidewalk, and it took one adult and one little kid about 30 minutes.)

Have fun walking in the maze.  Please don’t email us if you get stuck in a dead end—have one of your children help you out!

One Year Time Capsule

Some patience required

ADDED September 17, 2008

 

A year is a big chunk of time, especially for younger kids.  To them, a year feels like a decade.  Here's a way to make the passing of time into a fun activity for kids and parents alike:  create a one-year time capsule.

The concept is pretty straightforward:  you and your child should put aside "some stuff" and review it in a year.

You'll need a box, of course.  A shoe box would be perfect.  A big tupperware would work well, too.

Now, it would be an obvious dumb move to take your kid's favorite things and put them beyond reach for a year.  That would not please your young constituents.

Instead, it might be a better idea to take pictures of the favorite things, and put those into the box.  So, as part of this activity, ask your child what five (or ten) things he or she would like pictures of, to remember and review in a year's time.

Also, we've created a special Time Capsule Questionnaire for you to fill out with your kids (with questions like "What is your favorite thing to do inside?" and "What is your favorite food?")  Download it by clicking here, then print it out, interview your child, and add it to the Time Capsule.

Put the Capsule aside for a year.  Make yourself a note so you'll remember the day when you can open it.  

In a year, you and your child will be able to review similarities and differences.  And you'll both be able to reminisce a bit.

(We'll give extra Today Is Fun points out to any parent who actually buries their child's Time Capsule in a yard.  If you are up to this extra step -- one that is sure to excite your kids -- place the contents of the Capsule in a sealable plastic bag, and then wrap the outside of a box in a sturdy bag, too.)

Have some fun.  All year long.

How to Entertain Kids -- Free Fabulous Signs

Coloring and communication fun

ADDED September 15, 2008

 

Coloring is a fun and easy activity. And it is good exercise for your childrens' creativity . . . so why not work it into every day?

As you may have noticed, many of our daily ideas involve a twist on coloring and drawing.  We think this kind of artwork enhances any other kids' activity.

Here are some signs for you to print and for your kids to color.  These coloring pages are meant to be fun for your kids, and they're supposed to add to other fun activities around your house. 

During reading time, hang up the colored "Reading Quiet" sign.  When playing with stuffed animals, our "Animal Area" sign could add to the fun.  And our "Big Show" sign will help for any puppet show, play, or spectacle your kids want to present.

 

Click below to download the signs:

 • Science Experiment Area:  Look out we're learning!

 

 • Please try to be quiet.  Some READING is happening.

 

 • Cooking in Progress.  If it smells good, that's why.

 

 • Careful!  Workers are working and this area is very dangerous and possibly wet.

 

 • Careful.  You might get tickled in this area.

 

 • Sit down and watch!  This is the Big Show.

 

 • Animal Area.  Some of them might be wild.

 

So color them up and hang them up.  And please, as a wise Mom once said:  "Make art, not messes."

HOW TO ENTERTAIN KIDS -- Make a card for someone

Turn boredom around by making a card for someone else

ADDED August 25, 2008

What I like to do when I hear, “but I have nothing to do” is get out the art supplies and let my kids go to town making a card. It sure is hard to be bored if you are making something to give away.

So I will look on the calendar and see who's birthday is coming up and we will make them a birthday card, handmade cards are always the best. Just paper, stickers, markers and crayons are all that are required to say “Happy Birthday” and chase the boredom away.

Try it today if you don't have any birthdays coming up create a holiday card, a thinking of you card or even a Happy Tuesday card.  I am sure it will be a big hit.


Commenting is easy and fun so let us know who you made a card for info@todayisfun.com don't forget to tell a friend about us. Today is fun!

How to entertain kids -- Quarter Collectors

More fun with money

ADDED August 06, 2008

 

Turn your kids into Quarter Collectors. This activity will make trips to the store more fun, and it will teach your children about all our American states.

As you may have noticed, quarters these days don't just have the traditional eagle on the "tails" side. Lately these coins have been showing up with representations of each state on them.

Here's all that you need to do get this activity going:

First, find a container to hold the quarters. Second, print up a map of the U.S. You can get a free printable map here or download a PDF one here.

Now you guys are all set to go. Have the container, the printed map, and a handful of quarters from different states on hand to help you explain this new activity to your kid.

Each time your child adds a new state to the collection, he or she should color the state in on the map.

With every new quarter, you and your kid should talk about the state and review the images depicted there. The Indiana quarter has a race car-why do you think that is? You can see a Scissor Tailed Fly Catcher (it's a bird) on the Oklahoma quarter. And what is that very long, boxy looking thing on the North Carolina quarter?

You can choose to give your kid a new state each day, or you both can review the change you get back from your errands.

Have fun learning with your Quarter Collectors!

And when you've got all fifty states, please mail the collection to us here at Today Is Fun. We also will accept any other forms of currency in your collection.

Sticks and Stones

And leaves. They make for a fun, free art project for little ones.

ADDED August 04, 2008

 

Go for a walk with your child around the block, bringing along a grocery bag. Your kid can be in charge of choosing some free souvenirs from the walk, which you will put into the bag. These items include leaves, sticks, stones, seed pods, blades of grass, and so forth. Bougainvillea leaves can be especially nice. The only guidelines here are: don't take too much of any one thing, and don't take anything that belongs to somebody else! (A neighbor's mail, for example, is not available for this project.)

Back at home, take out some glue and construction paper. Help your little one glue the souvenirs to the paper.

Voila! It's a masterpiece! Your child is an artist. And it's fun for everyone. (Except possibly for the neighbor, if your child disregarded one of the above guidelines!)

Popsicle puppets.

An easy educational craft.

ADDED July 15, 2008

Today’s craft is part one of a three part summer fun activity.

 

 
All you will need to make a really fun puppet is a popsicle stick, a small toy and some clear tape.  If you don’t have a popsicle stick you could use a straw or chopstick.  This stick will be the part that your child holds on to use the puppet. Once you have chosen a stick have your child find a small toy that can be taped to one end of the stick. When the toy is attached the puppet is done.
 
Now show your kids how the puppet can come to life!  It can walk along the edge of the table, behind the couch and along the edge of the tub.  This is a great activity to encourage creative play and something that kids can play with on their own once the puppet is built.
 
Have fun and look for part two tomorrow!
 
Leave a comment or send us an email to let us what you are making info@todayisfun.com!

4th of July Parade.

Hooray for the Red, White and Blue!

ADDED July 01, 2008

This Friday is the 4th of July and I am sure everybody that reads this blog will be relaxing poolside with a cool beverage all day, with no kids to take care of. If this pipe dream is not a reality for you and your kids are saying, “I am bored what do we do now?”  Why not organize a parade?

At my house usually there are many kids from several different families so organizing a parade is rather easy. However if you find yourself short on participants even a family of four can create a very entertaining parade.

First, think of a theme for the Parade.  Something inspirational like, Freedom, Liberty or Today is Fun.

Second chose a Grand Marshall. Someone who is inspirational like a baby or a pet.

Third make an order for the participants. Youngest to oldest usually works best.

Fourth turn the kids loose into the garage to collect skateboards, bikes or really anything with wheels to be in the parade.

Fifth have the kids spend a few minutes decorating their bikes and bodies for the parade.

And sixth sit back and enjoy the parade.

Drop us an email and let us know what you think info@todayisfun.com and remember Today is Fun!

4th of July party hat.

Make it, color it, wear it. Fashionable entertainment.

ADDED June 30, 2008

Since 4th of July is this Friday here at Today is fun we want you to look your best. What better way to show your patriotism (and entertain your kids) then by having them make and wear their own stylish and festive hat?

Using 1/2 sheet of newspaper follow these directions...

The hat is very simple and in 5 minutes you can fold several hats. Then have the kids decorate the hats using markers and crayons. Not forgetting to add stars, stripes and even fireworks. Don’t forget to make one for Dad or Mom, Grandparents, friends and even the dog.

Then send us an email with a photo of your kids in their party hats to info@todayisfun.com. We will be wearing our 4th of July hats all week and it would be great to see yours!

Coloring Shape By Shape

A fun new twist on coloring and drawing

ADDED June 25, 2008

 

Kids love drawing with crayons and makers. But what happens when the coloring book is all filled in? Or when your child says, "I don't know what to draw now."

Here's a fun way to make a new activity out of drawing and coloring.

First, think of something that your child can draw, something that can be segmented into shapes.

We'll use the example of a tugboat.

You and your kids can draw a tugboat, shape by shape. Here's how: You draw a triangle for the bow and then your child colors it in. Draw a rectangle right next to the triangle to form the main body of the boat. Again have your kid fill it in. Keep adding and coloring parts, shape by shape (a triangle for the stern, a rectangle for the smoke stack), until the boat (or whatever) is done.

The mystery for the kids is a big part of the fun. Don't tell your children what it is they're working on. My kids like to make a guess after each shape. And there is a great deal of excitement in our house when the kids realize what it is they've been so busily coloring.

Here are some other things you and your kids can draw, shape by shape:

a truck
a house
a castle
a teapot
a chef
a monster

If you think of other shape-by-shape coloring items that work well, by all means please let us know.

You and your young artists will have quite a bit of fun on this one, bit by bit.

Sticker Story.

An activity that is sure to stick.

ADDED June 16, 2008

This is a fun activity for a lazy summer afternoon. Take some stickers and one piece of paper. Have you child put all the stickers on the paper. They can be upside down, on top of each other and all over. When all the stickers are applied to the paper now the fun begins.

Look over the page for little scenes or still life portraits that have happened accidentally on the page. Point out how it looks like two of the stickers are having a conversation or how one sticker is standing on its head in a tree. As these scenes begin to develop you and your child can start to make up a story about the action on the page. They usually are short and at my house definitley silly, but Mom always loves to hear all about it.

Yesterday I heard one about a puppy who liked to ride dinosaurs to go camping. When the puppy and the dinosaurs got to the campground they made friends with a family of hamsters and roasted s’mores. Now that’s what I call a story.

Water Painting

Part of our Summer activities series

ADDED June 15, 2008

A great way to pass an afternoon is to head outside and give your little ones a small cup of water and a paint brush. Sit down on the sidewalk you are now ready to paint. The water will make the cement dark, this is your paint and sidewalk is the canvas. Help you child practice letters, numbers or even words if you are fast enough. Explain how evaporation works and before you know it a whole afternoon has done just that. Have Fun!

Free Father's Day Signs to Color

You print, your child colors, and Dad gets teary-eyed at how thoughtful you guys are

ADDED June 08, 2008

Yes, another major holiday is upon us. Father's Day is this coming Sunday, June 15. Now we know you've dedicated yourself to shopping for this event for months now, you've fought the crowds at the local mall, and now you have many, many presents all lined up. Or maybe not.

Either way, why not add these coloring pages to the celebration? It's a fun activity for your kids during the week, and it will help the house look great on the big day.

 

Festive Sign #1
Festive Sign #2
Festive Sign #3
Festive Sign #4

Simply print the pages and turn them over to your home's resident artists. Once suitably beautiful, you might want to tuck these away in a drawer until Sunday, and then have your young ones help tape them up where Dad will see them.

We'd be happy to see some of your creations if you could email us pictures. You can also email us at fun@todayisfun.com if you need more Father's Day suggestions.

Have a Happy Holiday!

Portable Game Books

Print out these handy games for anytime fun.

ADDED June 04, 2008

The other day I was looking for a simple organizer that I could print out and fold into a small pocket size to do list. I happened upon this very handy little organizer at
http://www.pocketmod.com/v2/
and as I looked thru the options for coordinating my life I found you could make little books of Tic-Tack-Toe, Dots and Boxes or a Blank Page for Doodling even little frames to make your own stories in, all you have to do is print, fold and cut to create a little portable game book to take anywhere. I immediatley printed some out and put them to use.

They really are a lot of fun and super simple to make. We have been playing a game of Dots and Boxes after dinner for the past 3 nights (this game can be very long) and the Tic-Tac-Toe book really came in handy during a recent Doctors visit and I can’t wait to use the Doodling book at a restaurant very soon.

I made five little booklets to print and take. I really like them. Let me know what you think!
Click link below to download in pdf format and print!

1) Tic-Tac-Toe
2) Dots and Boxes
3) ½ Tic-Tac-Toe & ½ Dots and Boxes
4) Blank pages for coloring
5) Make your own story

If you are having trouble folding the paper look here for a quick primer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAb31rIeGZo
and if you forgot the rules of Tic-Tac-Toe look here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tic-tac-toe
also if you are not quite sure how to play Dots and Boxes look here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dots_and_Boxes
and of course you can always email us here to let us know how it’s going.
info@todayisfun.com

 

The Eggs are gone, but the fun has just begun

Make recycling items into toys

ADDED June 02, 2008

 

The other day my beautiful wife was cleaning out the refrigerator and putting away some groceries.  She set aside and empty egg carton for recycling.  Our daughter asked if she could have the carton.

 

“I could paint it and make it into a ride for some of my toys," she said.

 

“Great idea," I said.  And that is exactly what she did.

So that got me thinking about what else we have that can be recycled for fun. With a little cleaning and some tape, paint or stickers, all sorts of things that were heading to the recycling bin but could be put into the fun bin.

So over the next few days, we were playing with empty water bottles in the tub, stacking tin cans left over from a pot of chili and making tunnels for hot wheels from tubes of empty toilet paper rolls. It has been fun to try and see something else in what we would have just thrown away.

We do this all the time!  And now this is not a parent guided activity. My kids are always on the prowl for new things to reuse and play with.

And when the fun is done you can still recycle, of course. We would like to hear what recycled toys you come up with. Be safe and have fun.

You are here

Draw a map of the room for your kids and off they go

ADDED April 26, 2008

 

 

On a piece of blank paper, draw a map of one of the rooms in your house, ideally a larger room that your child feels comfortable in, such as a living room or play room. Try to draw the map roughly to scale (without hurting yourself in the process). The map should show the bigger, immovable features of the room (don't try to include every book and toy, but do draw the furniture). Show your kid the map, and explain how everything in the room is represented on the paper: "Here are the windows, here is the door, here is the sofa, here is the chair, etc."

Have your child choose 'markers' to represent the people (and pets, if you have them) in the room. These markers should be toys small enough to fit on the map without covering much of it up. There should be a marker for each kid and adult--including you.

Now have your child move around the room, and move the marker accordingly. You might want to narrate--"The red Lego piece is moving close to the table, moving closer. Oh--now the red Lego piece is stopped, and is sitting on a chair. Look, now the red Lego piece is on the move again."

When my kids were younger, they were intrigued--and a bit baffled--by this activity. They loved to try to "outsmart" the map by running around the room quickly and crazily. As they got older and figured out how a map works, they liked to see all the places they could make their marker go. We also made a marker for Mommy, who was hurriedly packing them up for school, and the kids loved to watch as the tiny girl from the Lincoln Log set appeared in one doorway, moved across the room to get something out of the cabinet, and then disappeared off the map, out another door.

In the summer, you could draw a map of your backyard.

It is possible that famed travelers Lewis and Clark started their great explorations using a map of the living room.