The Artful Parent

Happy St. Patrick's Day! (+ 4 Rainbow Scavenger Hunt Ideas)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Maia surprised us yesterday afternoon with this St. Patrick's day poster, complete with a rainbow drawing, a pot of gold, and a couple of four leaf clovers. It's now hanging next to her big rainbow painting in the living room (don't double rainbows mean good luck?).

13 Fun Indoor Activities for Kids

 In

February, as during much of the winter, I am always looking for fun indoor activities for kids to keep them engaged. I seek arts and crafts, educational ideas, simple science activities, and anything with a bit of wow factor. Sure, my kids do plenty of pretend play, building, drawing, and other low-key activities on their own. But sometimes we need projects that are extra interesting and extra FUN.

Like those on this list of fun indoor activities for kids:

8 Sensory Activities to Fill the Witching Hour

The Power of Sensory Activities

The other day my kids and I came home to a sink full of dishes, an art table that was hit by a tornado, and a living room that had been turned into fort city the night before.

In short, my home was a mess.

When we walked in the door my girls, ages 2 and 4, each wanted my attention—one asked me to help her with a Valentine-making activity and the other wanted me to play a mermaid game.

And me...

I had one eye on the dishes and another on the clock that was ticking closer and closer to dinner time, and I wanted to help my girls find something that they could work on together, without my assistance.

Do you have moments like this?

Mama May i :: Handmade Learning Toys for Little Kids

We like wooden toys in our house. We like colorful. We like our fun and learning rolled into one.

The toys and products at Mama May i are all that and more. They are an excellent alternative to all the cpc (cheap plastic crap) out there. A bit more spendy, but then that's what you'd expect with beautiful wooden toys that will last and last and are a joy to handle.

Melting Ice Science Experiment with Salt & Liquid Watercolors

Melting ice with salt and then adding liquid watercolors is a simple kids' science experiment that we've done before. But sometimes you have to try something more than once to really get it right. Last time our melting ice science experiment was so much of a salt and watercolor free-for-all that we couldn't see what was happening to the ice under all the salt.

This time we got it right. And it truly is a beautiful and fun learning experience.

Make Patriotic Flowers for 4th of July Decorations

Who needs a mixed bouquet of red, white, and blue flowers for the 4th of July when you can get all three colors in one flower? These patriotic flowers are the perfect artful science experiment for kids and a fun and educational 4th of July activity to boot.

Plus, you still have time to make them; they start changing color within an hour!

Typing Away...

We've had a resurgence of interest in the typewriter since school has let out. Even Daphne has joined in to bang away at the keys.

I had put it away for several months, but brought it out and set it up again on Maia's homework desk with a fresh ribbon. Now I hear the girls click clacking away on it at least once a day.

Thought Bubbles for Creative Thinking & Writing Practice

We go through waves of use with our chalkboard. We'll use it nonstop for a couple of weeks then not at all for another couple. Right now we're using the chalkboard every day. Maia and I are taking turns drawing mazes for each other. And I've been making these thought bubble writing prompts for her as an easy-going, summer-vacation kind of writing practice.

It's based on an idea I found in Jennifer Hallissy's The Write Start (you can read my interview with her here, btw).

Placing Morocco on the Map

We received a surprise package from some friends yesterday. They had just returned from a trip to Morocco and sent us a postcard of Marrakech, some fragrant soap, and a couple of fun changepurses with Moroccan coins in them for the girls. The first thing we had to do, after figuring out how to open the changepurses, was to talk about where Morocco is in the world and what kind of country it is.

Guest Post: Use Explorer Notebooks for Location-Inspired Art

I am excited to share a series of guest posts with you by other Artful Parents and teachers while I step back from the blog a bit this month! I hope you enjoy the new perspectives, different ideas, and fresh energy that each brings to this space. And I encourage you to leave a comment to continue the discussion, add your own viewpoint, or simply say thanks!

Guest Post by Katie Watson

Hello Artful Parent readers, and a big thanks to Jean for taking a shot on letting a new blogger share this space!  I’d like to share a project my son and I have been playing with recently—his Explorer’s Notebook.  We recently moved from the Midwest to Washington, DC, and we’re loving all of the exploring that comes with resettling.  I find all the new settings inspiring to my own creativity—and I’d been thinking about how to let my son express some of what he’s discovering, too.  Then I attended a DC Public Library Creative Class workshop where I made a little book using old maps and photos, and Toby was fascinated by it.  So we created his kid-sized Explorers Notebook together, and now he’s filling it with little scraps and scribbles of our life here.