Have you heard of Pandora before?  It's internet radio, and it's very fun.  If you haven't already, you should try it out!

In Pandora, you create your own personalized radio stations based on certain criteria.  You could type in "Mozart" or "Metallica," and Pandora will play music by those people -- as well as music related to those terms.  You can even type in the name of your favorite song (for instance, I like "El Rancho Grande"), and Pandora will play your song and what it thinks is similar.

If Pandora or the concept of internet radio is not for you, no big deal.  For today's free, fun activity for your kids, you can use the regular old radio -- or your CD's or iTunes collection.  (A lot of cable and satellite providers also offer "radio" stations as part of their free packages -- you could use those channels, too!). . .

 

Today's activity is very easy and very fun.  It involves both following instructions and being creative.

 

Grab some crayons, some blank paper, and some children at loose ends.  

 

Start the activity off by thinking of a simple shape you could draw, such as a cube or a house.  Don't tell the kids what you have in mind, but rather begin drawing the shape slowly, line by line.  The kids should copy your every line on their pieces of paper, so when you guys are all done, you will all have the exact same (or extremely similar) shapes.  . . .

 
My kids love pinball, and I think because of the same reasons that I am not a fan. 

Essentially, pinball is loud.  There is a lot of racket and often a lot of flashing lights.  My kids were given a small pinball contraption as a gift, and well, I'm ready to re-gift it!

In order to better satisfy the pro- and anti-pinball contingents in my home, I have invented a new, more mellow version of the game:  super olden days pinball.. . .

 

This one is very easy, and it makes for a very fun activity for your kids.

Today, you and the kids are going to be changing the dimensions of your house.  All you need is some masking tape.

Put the masking tape on the floors in your house to create new "walls" and "rooms."  Of course, your kids should definitely contribute their thoughts as to where new walls and rooms should be.. . .

 

Today's activity is very simple, but sometimes the best things in life are very simple!  As you know, my kids really enjoy making "set ups" with their toys.  (A "set-up" is when the kids take a selection of their toys and, well, set them up.)

Today, we'd like the kids to make a special kind of set up.  Tell your kids to combine two toys they've never combined before . . . and then play with them.

For instance, your kids have some toy cars.  They also have some Star Wars figures.  Have the Star Wars figures ever ridden on the toy cars?

Your kids have a bunch of plastic plates and plastic foods.  They also have about a hundred stuffed animals.  Has the herd of animals

You get the idea.  Now go turn the kids loose!

Oh, but there are some rules.  The idea here is to combine only two sets of toys.  At least at first.  The idea is not to  have a hodgepodge of toys every which way.  Instead we are focusing on carefully considered combinations.  What two sets can be combined for maximum fun?

And if the kids have successfully set up two groups of toys, we'd also like them to clean those up before experimenting with two other sets.

Combining is fun!  We hope that this makes for hours of free and relaxing fun for your family this weekend.