5 minute creative ideas for Moms
Most parents try to control the clutter and mess when it comes to their kids toys. At times we may even feel like our kids toys and books have taken over the whole house! We go to make pasta and find an Elmo doll inside our pasta pot! We go to put on a pair of shoes and find a mini dinosaur inside. Often we try to deal with this problem by bringing home bins, baskets, buckets and anything we can find to keep all the toys in one place. The only problem is that over time, the toys sitting at the bottom of some of those baskets become forgotten about. Theres often a mound of little cars, balls & dinosaurs (and quite often stale bagels, cheerios and other bits of unidentifiable snacks), trapped at the bottom. Most of these are piled under all the big fire engines, airplanes and tool sets. You may even find an old sippy cup thats been in there for so long that you would sooner throw it out then attempt to clean it!
You are not alone in this. This is a common problem for any household with kids. How can we get our kids excited about the same old toys and books that they have become bored with or have forgotten about? How can we make them want to play with the same old toys so that they are not inclined to want to sit in front of the T.V watching the same Blues Clues video over and over again?
My very creative friend Tammy thought of an idea that can be a great solution to this problem. It requires 5 minutes of your time at the end of the night before you go to bed. I call it "reintroducing your child to their toys."
One night last week I sat down and wrote down a bunch of themes. ie. aquatic life, dinosaurs, tea party, alphabet, animals, food groups and transportation. I realized that for every theme I came up with, my son had dozens of toys or books that fit that theme. So each day I set up a play area that was focused on a particular theme. My son loves to have tea parties with all of his animals. So Sunday night I set up his craft table with a tea party. I had all of his animals and dolls sitting around the table, each with a cup, plate and cuttlery in front of them. Then in the center of the table I put a platter with all the toy food I could find. The next day, he was so excited about "The really great tea party" that he insisted on having breakfast at the table with all of the dolls and animals.
The next day I took all of his fish, turtles, frogs, snakes and any other water life toys I could find, and set up an aquatic area with books of the same theme.
I set up a "Dora The Explorer" table with all of his Dora and Diego toys and printouts from the computer for him to color.
On Tuesday I pulled out his train set and put it together. All around the train set I put out cars, airplanes, trains, trucks and any other form of transportation I could find.
My friend Tammy's idea was brilliant. Her daughter Lola loves to play dress up with her dolls. Over time however, even a 3 year old doesn't want to dress her dolls in the same old boring cloths! So one morning while Lola was at school, Tammy dug out all of Lola's newborn baby clothes. She then dressed each doll in a new outfit and set them all up on her bed for her. When Lola came home from school she was super excited. "This is so great Mommy, these clothes are beautiful!" She loved the idea that her dolls could wear HER old baby clothes.
Some other great ideas....
*Set up an office with phones & pads of paper
*Arts and crafts center with paper cutouts, sprinkles, markers and glue. Watch how creative they can be! Dollar stores often carry a ton of arts and crafts supplies.
*"Family Day" Put out photo albums with family pictures. If you have any old photos you can part with, cut out the faces and glue them onto popsicle sticks to make puppets of family members.
*For older kids learning to read and write* Use masking tape and label common household items and toys. This will help them to become familiar with how to identify and spell words they know.
*Keep old food boxes and containers and set up a little Grocery Store so they can shop like Mommy and Daddy!
*Letter of the day. Pick a letter each day (or each week) that you will focus on and create activities around. Post that letter magnet on the fridge, help them identify objects around the house and in books beginning with that letter. Pull out all of your alphabet books and flashcards for them to look at. Repeat the letter throughout the day, making sure to teach them the sound that letter makes. Cut out magazine pictures of of objects beginning with that letter.
*Look through old magazines with your child. Ask them to identify pictures they find that are a particular color or theme. Choose a different color or theme each time. Help them cut out the pictures and make a collage out of them.
*Pull out all of their playdough and accessories and set it up at a table or on a mat.
*SPRINGTIME FUN. Put out toys and books that represent spring ie. flowers, bugs, garden etc.. Plant seeds with them in a little paper cup (grass is an easy one to grow). Teach them about how plants grow when we water them, feed them and take care of them. Watch how excited they get when they see their flower or plant begin to grow. Then have them help you transplant it into your outdoor garden.
Another idea I like is to have an area in your basement or storage where you can store toys. Every week, switch the toys up. This way, you will be removing the stale, "already been over played with" toys and replacing them with a fresh batch of "haven't seen in a while"toys.
There are thousands of creative ideas. Sometimes just asking your "Mommy Friends" how they keep their kids from getting bored, can inspire great ideas. Unfortunately our kids (as creative as they may be) can become tired of the same old toys and books and run out of ideas.
Now, I find my son enjoying toys that he never looked twice at. He comes down in the morning wondering what exciting activity is waiting for him. I am also able to limit his time in front of the T.V. which I think was a cure for boredom for him.
MOMS, let me hear about your crafty and creative ideas.
Let me know how some of these ideas worked for you. I love to hear new ideas and pass them on to other Moms. We all run out of ideas!
Thanks Tammy!
You are not alone in this. This is a common problem for any household with kids. How can we get our kids excited about the same old toys and books that they have become bored with or have forgotten about? How can we make them want to play with the same old toys so that they are not inclined to want to sit in front of the T.V watching the same Blues Clues video over and over again?
My very creative friend Tammy thought of an idea that can be a great solution to this problem. It requires 5 minutes of your time at the end of the night before you go to bed. I call it "reintroducing your child to their toys."
One night last week I sat down and wrote down a bunch of themes. ie. aquatic life, dinosaurs, tea party, alphabet, animals, food groups and transportation. I realized that for every theme I came up with, my son had dozens of toys or books that fit that theme. So each day I set up a play area that was focused on a particular theme. My son loves to have tea parties with all of his animals. So Sunday night I set up his craft table with a tea party. I had all of his animals and dolls sitting around the table, each with a cup, plate and cuttlery in front of them. Then in the center of the table I put a platter with all the toy food I could find. The next day, he was so excited about "The really great tea party" that he insisted on having breakfast at the table with all of the dolls and animals.
The next day I took all of his fish, turtles, frogs, snakes and any other water life toys I could find, and set up an aquatic area with books of the same theme.
I set up a "Dora The Explorer" table with all of his Dora and Diego toys and printouts from the computer for him to color.
On Tuesday I pulled out his train set and put it together. All around the train set I put out cars, airplanes, trains, trucks and any other form of transportation I could find.
My friend Tammy's idea was brilliant. Her daughter Lola loves to play dress up with her dolls. Over time however, even a 3 year old doesn't want to dress her dolls in the same old boring cloths! So one morning while Lola was at school, Tammy dug out all of Lola's newborn baby clothes. She then dressed each doll in a new outfit and set them all up on her bed for her. When Lola came home from school she was super excited. "This is so great Mommy, these clothes are beautiful!" She loved the idea that her dolls could wear HER old baby clothes.
Some other great ideas....
*Set up an office with phones & pads of paper
*Arts and crafts center with paper cutouts, sprinkles, markers and glue. Watch how creative they can be! Dollar stores often carry a ton of arts and crafts supplies.
*"Family Day" Put out photo albums with family pictures. If you have any old photos you can part with, cut out the faces and glue them onto popsicle sticks to make puppets of family members.
*For older kids learning to read and write* Use masking tape and label common household items and toys. This will help them to become familiar with how to identify and spell words they know.
*Keep old food boxes and containers and set up a little Grocery Store so they can shop like Mommy and Daddy!
*Letter of the day. Pick a letter each day (or each week) that you will focus on and create activities around. Post that letter magnet on the fridge, help them identify objects around the house and in books beginning with that letter. Pull out all of your alphabet books and flashcards for them to look at. Repeat the letter throughout the day, making sure to teach them the sound that letter makes. Cut out magazine pictures of of objects beginning with that letter.
*Look through old magazines with your child. Ask them to identify pictures they find that are a particular color or theme. Choose a different color or theme each time. Help them cut out the pictures and make a collage out of them.
*Pull out all of their playdough and accessories and set it up at a table or on a mat.
*SPRINGTIME FUN. Put out toys and books that represent spring ie. flowers, bugs, garden etc.. Plant seeds with them in a little paper cup (grass is an easy one to grow). Teach them about how plants grow when we water them, feed them and take care of them. Watch how excited they get when they see their flower or plant begin to grow. Then have them help you transplant it into your outdoor garden.
Another idea I like is to have an area in your basement or storage where you can store toys. Every week, switch the toys up. This way, you will be removing the stale, "already been over played with" toys and replacing them with a fresh batch of "haven't seen in a while"toys.
There are thousands of creative ideas. Sometimes just asking your "Mommy Friends" how they keep their kids from getting bored, can inspire great ideas. Unfortunately our kids (as creative as they may be) can become tired of the same old toys and books and run out of ideas.
Now, I find my son enjoying toys that he never looked twice at. He comes down in the morning wondering what exciting activity is waiting for him. I am also able to limit his time in front of the T.V. which I think was a cure for boredom for him.
MOMS, let me hear about your crafty and creative ideas.
Let me know how some of these ideas worked for you. I love to hear new ideas and pass them on to other Moms. We all run out of ideas!
Thanks Tammy!
Hand made glass beads
I couldn't help but to post something about these fantastic, hand made, glass lampwork beads I just purchased. I have been seeking out artists from all over the world who create these beautiful beads. I will be introducing an awesome collection of them on my website over the next few weeks so this is your SNEAK PREVIEW!!
I found artists in the US and France who have created these to my specifications. Each one is a one of a kind. If you are interseted in purchasing a necklace or bracelet with these hearts, send me an email. I have many more which I have not yet posted so please enquire if you have a color preferance. Quantities are limited as I only have one of each of these. Get em while they're HOT!!
Stay tuned to www.allisoriginals.com to see this new collection.
Thanks for visiting!!
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