Fun Family Activities

Each pin will take 9 safety pins and you can use either all gold or silver. Make four of the pins with 5 blue beads on first then add one white then red then white then red then the last bead will be white. Close each finished pin and slightly crimp the head of the pin to prevent the pin from opening.

Make the next four safety pins starting with a red bead then white alternating until you have ten beads the last one should be white. Close each one of those pins and crimp. The last part will take an adult to help you because the 8 safety pins will have to go on the backside on the 9th pin. In order to do this you will have to take the needle nose pliers and slightly pull apart the bottom end of the 9th safety pin – only far enough to slide each of the beaded pins around the loop to the other side. The beaded pins will hang from the bottom loop of the pin. You will start with the red and white beaded pins first. One at a time slide to the other side of the pin. Make sure that the beads face out instead of the inside of the pin. If you slide the beaded pins facing out they should end up facing out. Then slide the remaining blue with red and white pins on and then crimp the holding pin back into place. You can now proudly wear your United States of America Pin. May God Bless America!!

Choose a day that the kids can wear their clothes backward. Most likely a day that you’ll all be staying home or near home. Be creative but not too tacky as to how to look. At dinner, you should serve a backward dinner to top off the day. Start out with dessert first, and then the main course, then the salad and veggies last if you have any room left. See if you can plan out any other ideas for the day.

Find some large boxes to play in. You can either use those leftover large present boxes or acquire a few large boxes from a nearby store. Have the kids figure out how they want their fort to look with passageways to the other boxes. What type of windows? Windows that open up, open down, or open out. Have someone that is knowledgeable with scissors cut out openings, use caution when doing so. Use duct tape or shipping tape to keep the boxes together. Kids can decorate their fort with markers and other ways. Discuss with kids different types of forts that were built in America, Canada, and other countries. Have them do some research on the Internet as to these types of forts. For younger children have them think about different types of habitats that animals use for protection. Whenever your children try a new activity or game, this is your greatest opportunity to tie it into a learning experience. Games can always be a learning process for kids and adults; you’ll learn many things in the process. – R. Scheel, Fun-Attic Inc.

Have kids go through magazines and newspapers looking for interesting things to cut out. Instruct them to have a theme or story in mind for this project. Once they have cut and laid out their piece in the order of their story, have them glue them on plain paper in a line or several lines. Make sure they leave room for the caption and storyline. If they have a great story that goes on and on, encourage them to use several pieces of paper. After they have glued pieces in order, have them work on writing the story out based on the pictures above. This exercise will help some children learn to frame their thoughts.

Defrost bread dough in a large greased bowl with a towel over it to prevent from drying out; this takes up to 2-4 hours so plan this activity out ahead of time. Once the dough has risen, punch down and separate into large chunks for each child. Provide a lightly floured work area for them and aprons if they tend to be messy. Have them make something out of the dough like animals, plants, cartoon characters, or objects that interest them. Place the shaped artwork on a greased cookie sheet and have them paint with desired food coloring mixed with a little bit of water. Let the finished artwork rise for about 1-2 hours and then bake for about 20-30 minutes at about 350 degrees. For the holiday season, even the parents can do unique bread designs like a braided loaf or braided wreath. You’ll be surprised how creative you really can be if you would only try.

Once in awhile when mom’s in a good mood and looking for something fun to do with the kids, I’ll plan a unique meal. The meal will usually take place the same day that I’ve mopped the kitchen floor. A good fun meal could be a taco salad or something that your family would enjoy. We’ll pull away all the chairs and sit cross-legged as we enjoy a special time together. Warning, the kids will totally enjoy this and they will bug you until you do it again.

Safe Toys for the Whole Family – Even Grandpa Can Play!

Send out the troops on a fall leaf hunt. Have them collect different colors and shapes. Each bookmaker will sort through the collected leaves looking for the best and most unique. You can also make one big book that all can share.

There are two ways to put together a fall leaf collection book.

One way is to purchase clear contact paper and cut it into uniform pieces. Peel back part of the protective paper and place one or more leaves on one half of the paper. Once the leaves are placed peel back the rest on the protective paper and fold over the other half.

Another way is to use wax paper and an iron. If you use this method take several precautions not to damage your iron or other items that might come in contact with melted wax. When using an iron make sure that it never comes in direct contact with the wax paper or you will spread out the melted wax on your iron. (It will come off but you don’t want it on any of your good clothes.) Lay a large enough piece of aluminum foil on your ironing board or ironing surface. Cut out uniform pieces of wax paper and place a leaf or two on one half and fold the other half on top of the leaf. Place another piece of foil to separate the wax paper from the iron. Iron the page together with a medium heated iron. Be careful not to get burned on the aluminum foil. Peel back the foil to check your work; making sure the waxed paper has fused together. Instead of aluminum foil, you can use scrap pieces of cotton material or paper towels.

Once you have all your leaves sealed by some method you can take strips of colorful construction paper to frame each leaf page. This will also provide an area to label each type of leaf. Punch a hole through one corner of each completed piece and tie with a piece of string to form a leaf book.

Photo by Alex Holyoake on Unsplash

Purchase cake decorating bags and cake decorating tips. The decorating tips that you might want would be the star tip, leaf tip, petal/flower tip, and writing tip. You can make your own bags with wax paper formed into a cone but the reusable plastic decorating bags are your best bet. Mix one box of confectionary sugar with one cup of shortening, separate into two-three containers, and add desired food coloring. This recipe is for practicing your cake decorating talents over and over again it but must be refrigerated.

Take 9 inch round cake pans and turn upside down on wax paper. Get the kids to decorate these pans over and over. To make a rose, push a toothpick halfway through the flat side of a miniature marshmallow to use as a handle. Use your petal tip and while slowly spinning the marshmallow, add frosting to the top edge of the marshmallow with the tip angled sideways. The first petal should look like a mountain peak or roof with the top of the marshmallow closed off. Then for your next petals add an upside-down half moon shapes on both sides of the marshmallow. Turn the marshmallow ¼ turn and add 2 more of the same petals. You can also do this with large a marshmallow and once you master the idea this can be done without marshmallows but they are helpful for beginners. To learn how to make Baby Bootie’s go to our Baby Shower Ideas page for instructions.

Created by R. Scheel, Fun-Attic, Inc.

Place a precut paper onto your paper plate. Pour tempera paints into small containers and place marbles into the various colors. Spoon out marbles one or several at a time onto the paper plate and while using wrist action allow the marble to roll around leaving a very colorful design. You might want aprons on the participants or you can do this project outside to prevent making too much of a mess.

Cut an apple in half so that you have a top and a bottom half and you will find something special, a star. Find different shapes, sizes, and types of leaves that will make unique patterns on paper but make sure you don’t touch plants that could cause you harm. Pour different colors of poster paint into small plates and dip the items one at a time into the paint, then press onto paper. You can add different types of glitter and this artwork can be also used for special napkin designs, table decorations, or homemade wrapping paper for a holiday or special occasion.

Have Fun! ?