Are you looking for new things to keep your kids busy these days? Well, here are a few ways to entertain your kids at home! Simple, creative and easy things to do when everyone is tired of watching the same old shows on tv, right?
I can almost guarantee that you have everything you need for these activities right in your own home. These fun ways to entertain your kids will provide at least a few hours of creativity and amusement. My girls have spent many hours keeping busy with two of these crafts, the other one being a new idea that we came up with. Exciting! Let’s get rolling!
Activity number 1. Making homemade play dough!
We’ve been making play dough at home for twenty years now, and it never seems to get boring. Although our girls are getting older, and I don’t make it much anymore for them, it is a great gift, and a fun activity for when we can have little friends over again.
What you need to make play dough at home.
- 1 cup of flour.
- 2 tbsp of cream of tartar, found in the spice aisle. Also found here, at a little cheaper price than the local grocery store.
- 1 envelope of unsweetened Kool-aid, or I used Crystal Light. I couldn’t find powdered Kool-aid at the grocery store, so I tried Crystal Light, and it worked just as well.
- 1 cup of water.
- 1/4 cup of salt. All I had was sea salt, so, that’s what I used.
- 1 tbsp of oil. Just plain vegetable oil is best.
Combine the flour, cream of tartar, salt and Kool-aid together in a heavy pot. Add the water and oil. Stir over medium heat for one minute, and you are done. It will thicken quickly in the pot, so after one minute, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times. So simple, quick and fun for the kids. The kool-aid or Crystal Light really make it smell yummy, too! Don’t forget to store it in a ziploc bag, otherwise it will dry out.
Activity number 2. Making a scrappy fabric and bead garland!
This lovely garland is really easy to make, so those little hands can for sure help an older sibling to put it together. It is a nice touch to a bedroom wall, or even in a playroom. Kind of a shabby-chic look!
What is needed to make a garland.
- Some sort of string. We used a thin hemp. This worked great for stringing the wooden beads.
- Wooden beads. You really only need a couple of handfuls, but that depends on how you want your garland to turn out. More or less beads, etc.
- 18″ fabric strips. As many as you like. We used around twelve.
How to assemble your scrappy garland.
- Choose a length of hemp string to suit the length you want your garland, plus an extra foot for hanging.
- Tear strips of fabric by cutting into the fabric about an inch, and tearing the rest of the way. Don’t worry, your fabric will stay the same width all the way when you tear it this way. See my spring wreath post for more detailed instructions.
- Fold the length of hemp in half to find the centre.
- At the centre spot, tie a strip of fabric on by folding the fabric strip in half lengthwise, and laying it on top of the hemp string. There will be a loop on one side of the hemp and the tails on the other side. Bring the tails around the hemp and up through the loop. See my video on YouTube if you get stuck. Pull the tails to tighten the loop and you’ve got a nice neat tie.
- Add beads to either side of the tied fabric.
- Add another scrap of fabric to either side of the beads, and keep going until your garland is complete.
- Admire how cute it turned out!
Watch on YouTube!
Activity number 3. Last but not least, learning to finger knit!
Use some yarn to tie a knot around your finger. Like the photo below.
Take the yarn in your left hand, if you’re right-handed, and wrap it around the finger with the knot.
While holding it tight with the fingers on the right hand, pull the first loop OVER the last loop.
Keep going with the previous steps over and over until you have a long snake!
Pin it for later!
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