Summer boredom busters
Now that summer vacation is in full swing, you are probably starting to hear refrains of, “I’m SO bored!” or “There’s nothing to do!” How can we entertain the kids without breaking the bank or spending hours planning projects? Here are a few ideas to get those little ones off the couch and having fun…
Summer Boredom Busters!
Make Your Own Dough
Basic Non-Toxic Dough- To make a very basic dough, you only need a few ingredients. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, blend together 1 cup of
flour, 1/2 cup of
salt, and 1/2 cup of
water. If you want to make a larger amount, simply double or triple the recipe according to how much dough you want to make. If you find that the dough is a bit too sticky to work with, just add a small amount of flour until the consistency is to your liking. Likewise, if the dough seems too dry and crumbly, add water (a teaspoon or so at a time) to make it more workable.
If you’d like to color the dough, separate it into balls and knead food coloring in until the color is blended in. When you are done with the dough, store it in a sealed bag or air-tight container to prevent it from drying out.
Dough Activities- Make art pictures on large pieces of white paper. Use cookie cutters to make different shapes. Make rainbows with strips of different colored dough. Use rubber stamps to punch out designs. Make a matching game by using small toy animals to imprint a design on flat circles of dough. Make letters and spell out words. Create little people by adding googly eyes, pipe cleaner arms, etc. Use your imagination!
Create a Sweet Treat
Quick & Easy Fruit Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of strawberries
- 1 cup of raspberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 cup of grapes
- 1 cup of diced apples
- 1 cup of sliced bananas
- ½ cup of yogurt (strawberry or vanilla)
- ½ cup of cool whip
Instructions:
- Place all of the prepared fruit in a medium bowl.
- Stir in yogurt and cool whip.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate before serving.
Celery Flower Stamping
You will need:
- a celery stalk
- paper
- a knife
- paint
- paintbrushes
Instructions:
- Ahead of time, cut the celery almost to the bottom. You will need to make sure they are all the same length so it’ll print better on paper.
- Now, with paintbrushes or by dipping the celery into paint, get the whole top covered.
- Press it firmly on the paper and carefully lift it up.
- Once your celery stamping is done you can paint a pretty picture including grass, stems, and leaves!
Get the visual and even more ideas for
celery art on Pinterest!
Catch Some Rays With These Suncatchers:
Materials Needed:
- Contact paper
- Embroidery hoop
- Pressed flowers
- Suction cup for hanging
Instructions:
- Cut out two squares of contact paper a little bigger than your frame.
- Decide on the layout for your sun catcher.
- Peel the backing off one of your contact squares and secure (sticky side up) in your embroidery hoop.
- Gently place your pattern of flowers onto the contact paper.
- When your design is complete, carefully remove it from the frame.
- Peel the backing off your other square of contact and press it on top of your design.
- Place it back into the hoop.
- Cut off the edges around the hoop.
- Hang in your window and enjoy!
Get Flying With This Newspaper Kite
Materials:
- newspaper
- string or ribbon
- glue
- straight sticks about 2-3 feet long
Instructions:
- Look for and collect sticks. (Pick up some dowels the next time you’re at the lumber yard!)
- Use your string to tie the sticks into a cross. You'll want the horizontal stick to be slightly shorter than the vertical stick.
- Wrap your string around the ends of the sticks. You may have to cut small notches in the sticks to help the string stay in place
- Unfold your newspaper and cut a pattern to match the shape of your kite frame. Make it an inch or two larger than your frame, all the way around, so you can fold the edges over.
- Spread the newspaper over your stick frame, fold the edges over your string and glue in place.
- Tie a long string to the kite where the sticks cross.
- Grab the string and you are ready to fly your kite!
Basic Non-Toxic Dough- To make a very basic dough, you only need a few ingredients. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, blend together 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of salt, and 1/2 cup of water. If you want to make a larger amount, simply double or triple the recipe according to how much dough you want to make. If you find that the dough is a bit too sticky to work with, just add a small amount of flour until the consistency is to your liking. Likewise, if the dough seems too dry and crumbly, add water (a teaspoon or so at a time) to make it more workable.
If you’d like to color the dough, separate it into balls and knead food coloring in until the color is blended in. When you are done with the dough, store it in a sealed bag or air-tight container to prevent it from drying out.
Dough Activities- Make art pictures on large pieces of white paper. Use cookie cutters to make different shapes. Make rainbows with strips of different colored dough. Use rubber stamps to punch out designs. Make a matching game by using small toy animals to imprint a design on flat circles of dough. Make letters and spell out words. Create little people by adding googly eyes, pipe cleaner arms, etc. Use your imagination!