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Thanks so much for posting with us Sam!  I love your little Alphabet Gems!  I might just have to make a special set as a gift for my niece.  For more great ideas like this one, visit Sam at Thrive 360 Living and let he know you saw he post on Housing A Forest.   We all love comments and I know Sam would love to hear from you:)

Here are a few of my favorite post from Thrive 360 Living to get you started:

• Train Rocks for Teaching Colors
• A Fun Way to Teach Counting
• Turn a Cardboard Box into a Train and Car Tunnel 
• Fun Color Matching Game

If you don’t want to miss out on any of the fun we are having at Housing A Forest, make sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Google + and Twitter.

Tammy

The post Alphabet Gems appeared first on Housing a Forest.

• Flick and Fling Physical Art ~ We love creating large process art.  This is on our summer bucket list for sure!
• Mud Day ~ Kids love mud, Squishing, playing and creating.  This simple activity that is perfect for your backyard.
• 12 Activities for Chalk ~ we love chalk, it is our go to medium for playing outside. Lots of great ideas for playing and learning.
• Happy Birthday Adam Rex ~ I love how he makes the books come alive for his kids.  Check out his amazing whale creation, complete with an active blowhole.  My kids would love to try this!
• Recycling Deodorant Bottles for Fun ~ Recycling and art “rolled” into one.  I remember doing this with water on the sidewalk as a kid, even better with paint!
• Creating with Flowers, Twigs and Leaves ~ We love creating with nature.  I can’t wait to create these simple nature people with my kids.

If you were featured this week, feel free to grab a Housing A Forest button.

Come back every Thursday to see if your creative ideas were featured and link up any new ideas! (I will be using one image and a link back to your blog.)

If you don’t want to miss out on any of the fun we are having at Housing A Forest, make sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Google + and Twitter.

Tammy

The post 6 Fun Outdoor Play Activities appeared first on Housing a Forest.

To kick off our series, we are both sharing ideas all about Painting with Balloons and creating engaging process art that your kids will love.

Balloons are one of those things that you never grow out of.  They are perfect for indoor games, creating paper mache, launching as balloon rockets  and seeing who can make the best ear piercing squeaky noise.  You know the sound I’m talking about.  The one that most parents cringe when they hear:)  Check out how much fun we had painting with balloons.

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Painting with Air from a Balloon

My kids had a blast painting with the air from a balloon.  For our first balloon painting activity we tried our hand at Balloon Blow Painting.

Materials needed for Balloon Blow Painting:

• Cardboard
• Paint ~ we used acrylics
• Balloons
• Straws
• Tape

The kids squirted paint onto a thick piece of cardboard.  We used ours straight from the paint tube and layered it on nice and thick.  Having a thick layer of paint, makes it easier for the air from the balloon to move the paint.

Next the kids placed a straw inside the balloon and secured it with tape.  Once they made sure they had a good seal and no leaks, they blew the balloon up with the straw.

Now all you have to do is aim the straw at the paint and let the air out.  The air will blow the paint around and create amazing swirled patterns.  You can either just let the air escape through the straw or squeeze the balloon and “forced” the air out.  The kids found both techniques to work well.

It was so fun to watch the paint swirl and mix on the cardboard.

The kids also tried blowing the paint with just the balloon and no straw.  Also a fun technique.  I love all the tiny waves of paint it creates.  We will be trying this again soon.  The kids loved painting with air!

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The next activity we tried was Balloon Drip Painting.  This took a bit more setup, but the process was just as fun!

Materials needed for Balloon Drip Painting:

• Film canister or similar container
• Nail
• Balloon
• Large sheet of paper or cardboard
• Paint ~ we used Acrylic

We used a film canister to contain our paint and poked a hole in the bottom of it with a nail.   Any container would work, as long as the balloon will stretch over the opening and you can poke a hole in the bottom of it.

Make sure to hold your finger over the hole when you fill it with paint, or you will end up with a huge mess:)  Each paint we used was a little different consistency  but you want your paint thin enough to drip out, but not run straight out the hole.  However, if your paint is too thick or it won’t drip at all.  We found that about 70% paint and 30% water worked the best for us.  We used acrylic paint, but I’m sure that tempera paint would work great too:)

Once you have the canister full of paint, stretch a blown up balloon over the top of the canister.  This may require 2 people.  One person to keep their finger over the hole so the paint does not drip out and one to stretch the balloon over the canister.

When you are ready to start painting, simply remove your finger and let the drips begin.

The kids loved this process!  We did ours indoors because of the weather, but I think this would make a fun backyard art project.  If you have a number of film canisters laying around, one of our favorite art projects so far has to be our Exploding Art.  It is a fun summer art project with a little science thrown in for good measure.

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Don’t forget to hop on over to  Growing A Jeweled Rose and check out all the amazing fun they had creating with their balloons.

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We had so much fun Painting with Air!

Make sure you stop back in next week for more Play and Paint!

If you love process art like us, then check out my Painting Without Brushes Pinterest board.  It is packed full of fun ideas.  I would love to hear how you have used balloons to create or play with your kids.

If you don’t want to miss out on any of the fun we are having at Housing A Forest, make sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Google + and Twitter.

Tammy

The post Painting with Balloons appeared first on Housing a Forest.

Finding creative/fresh content can feel like a shot in the dark.  I love having my feed packed full of inspiring images that make me want to click though, however finding those “must follow pinners” can be challenging.  If you are a parent, teacher, homeschooler, or caregiver, then you will love that I compiled a list of my Top Pinterest Boards for Kids.  Each of the boards are packed full of the best activities to play and learn right along with your kids!

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   Top Pinterest Boards for Kids

• Growing A Jeweled Rose ~ Crystals board is packed full of fun and educational activities for kids.  Her 2 girls are always having fun and enjoy learning though messy play.  She has some of the best Play recipes that I have seen.  

• In Lieu of Preschool ~ Genny is a former teacher who enjoys engaging her two kids in fun Preschool activities at home.  Her board is packed full of exciting activities for little ones that you won’t want to miss.

• Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas ~ Bern’s Pinterest board is a wonderful resources for crafts, learning and parenting activities.  Being a teacher, she is always creating and finding fun educational activities to do with her 2 lil divas.

• B-Inspired Mama ~ Krissy is a former art teacher and busy mom of 3 kiddos.  She loves bringing moms simple ideas for crafts, recipes, learning fun and creative parenting ideas.

• Train-Up a Child ~ Allison’s board is packed full of play, parenting and learning.  She loves playing right along with her kids and gives them plenty of opportunity to do lots of hands on learning and messy play.

• Housing A Forest ~ I love inspiring my kids to spend time creating, experimenting and playing.  You will find lots of inspiring ideas all about creating though play and discovery.

• Mess For Less ~ Vicky is a former teacher that loves creating her kids.  Her boards are full of engaging crafts and activities, fun food, parenting tips, and making memories on a budget.

• Fun at Home with Kids ~ Asia is a fun loving mom and former teacher.  She loves encouraging her 2 little ones to be creative with lots of fun open-ended play activities.  Her photography is beautiful and I love scrolling through all her wonderful images.

• Coffee Cups and Crayons ~ Megan’s board is full of fun and useful ideas for modern parents.  She shares lots of engaging ideas for fun and easy learning activities, kids crafts, party inspiration and acts of kindness for families.

• Fantastic Fun and Learning ~ Shaunna is a homeschooling mamma that shares lots of engaging learning activities, play ideas and crafts that are perfect for preschoolers.  Her board is packed full of wonderful resources for preschoolers

• Plain Vanilla Mom ~ Jennifer is on a mission to make every “plain vanilla” day special.  Her board is full of fun learning ideas and yummy baking recipes.  I love her photos as well, makes me want to jump right in a play along:)

• Twodaloo ~  Stephanie is fascinated by natural learning philosophies and creates lots of open-ended play, process art, and nature posts. Her board is packed full of early childhood activities, parenting, and post all about living a creative life.

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Another one of my favorite Kid focused Pinterest boards is our PLAY group Pinterest board.  It is packed full of great ideas to keep your kids busy, having fun and learning.

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I love finding new Pinterest boards to follow.  Feel free to share a link to your favorite kid focused board in the comments.  I can’t wait to check out what you are pinning!

If you don’t want to miss out on any of the fun we are having at Housing A Forest, make sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Google + and Twitter.

Tammy

The post Top Pinterest Boards for Kids appeared first on Housing a Forest.

Materials needed to blow big bubbles with your hands:

• Sink with water
• liquid hand soap.
• and your hands:)

To make your bubbles you will need to:

• Wet your hands
• Then generously rub your hands with soap
• Place your hands back in the running water, like you are about to wash them
• Rub them together until you have super slippery and soapy hands,  Make sure that you don’t wash all the soap off, you just want to wet your hands until they are slippery.
• Place your hands in a circle (you can either use one hand or both hands)
• Create a “soap skin” (like when you use a bubble blower) and gently blow
• You will need to keep re-applying soap every few bubbles to keep your hands slippery.

It can take a bit of practice to get the bubbles to float off your hands, but the kids got super excited when it worked.

If you blow really gently, you will be able to make a bubble almost as large as your head.  They also discovered that they could also get the bubbles to stretch between both their hands.  Eventually the bubble would divide into 2 large bubbles, one for each hand.

I love that these simple bubbles can be made anywhere, and really need no special tools or materials.  No fancy bubble solution needed, just regular soap.  Love it!

If you don’t want to miss out on any of the fun we are having at Housing A Forest, make sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Google + and Twitter.

Tammy

The post How to Blow a Bubble with Your Hands appeared first on Housing a Forest.

• Simple boats that are sure to be a hit ~ Tinfoil River and Ice Boats
• Create a catapult to launch marshmallows ~ Clothespin Catapults 
• Embrace their curious side ~ Tinkering
• Add a fun spiderweb trellis to your garden ~ Spider Web Trellis 
• Create building pieces, you are only limited by your imagination  ~ Cardboard Building Boards
• Take the cars outdoors and construct some roads ~ DIY Outdoor Roads 
• Fun game that your boys will love ~ Ping Pong Fish Bowl Toss
• Boys of all ages love sticks~ Sticks ~ Natures Perfect Toy
• Worms are great for fishing and composting ~ DIY compost Bin with Worms
• SImple science experiment that your boys will love ~ Shooting Water Experiment 
• Create a spiderweb masterpiece ~ Catch a Spider Web

If you were featured this week, feel free to grab a Housing A Forest button.

Come back every Thursday to see if your creative ideas were featured and link up any new ideas! (I will be using one image and a link back to your blog.)

If you don’t want to miss out on any of the fun we are having at Housing A Forest, make sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Google + and Twitter.

Tammy

The post Engaging Activities For Boys appeared first on Housing a Forest.

All you need to amaze your friends with this simple trick is:

• 2 plastic water bottles ~ empty and dry
• 2 pencils or chopsticks
• Dry Rice
• Funnel ~ to fill the bottles with rice

Before you preform your trick, you will need to do a little behind the scenes work.  Fill one bottle with dry rice about 1″ from the top.  Fill the 2nd bottle to the top and gently tap it on the counter.  Pack the rice in the 2nd bottle as much as possible (you may need to add more rice and keep packing).  You could also push the pencil into the bottle a few times to pack it further.  Make sure that when you are done, both bottles appear to have the same amount of rice in them.

My kids had so much fun setting their trick up.  They set the 2 bottles on the table along with the pencils and called their friends in.  If you are looking for a fun way to perform your trick, check out how Steve Spangler explains lite and regular rice.  My kids loved this part:)

Have your friend push a pencil into bottle #1 (unpacked rice) while you push a pencil into bottle #2 (packed rice).  Your friends pencil will just slide in and out easily.  However, you will be able to pick up your bottle of rice with only just the pencil.  Your friend will question what he did wrong or if you did something to your pencil.  You can offer to switch pencils and try again.  You will find the same result.  Bottle #1 stays on the table while bottle #2 is easily lifted.

You are able to lift bottle #2 with a pencil because of friction and density.  Make sure to click on the above link to check out the full scientific reason why and how it works.

If you are up for revealing your secrets, dump each bottle of rice into their own measuring bowl.  You will be able to see how much extra rice was packed into Bottle #2.  You might be surprised at how much it will hold.

I hope your kids have fun amazing their friends with this simple friction trick.  If you are looking for more scientific inspiration  then check this list of our favorite experiments (just click on the red link)

If you don’t want to miss out on any of the fun we are having at Housing A Forest, make sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Google + and Twitter.

Tammy

The post Floating Rice Bottle appeared first on Housing a Forest.

• Add Some Color to Your Sidewalk ~ Easy Sented Sidewalk Paint
• Dance, Run and Jump ~ Water Blob
• Use Weather to Create Art ~ 5 Ways to Paint in the Rain 
• Create an Imaginative Small World ~ A Fairy Garden
• Learn Math While Jumping Around ~ Gross Motor Addition Game
• Gross Motor Games ~ Pool Noodle Play Date
• Moving and Learning Letters ~ Sidewalk Chalk Phonics Games
• Splash, Squish and Play  ~ Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud
• Create Simple Art ~ Chalk Rubbings
• Playing with Discarded Items ~ 5 Ways to Play with Tires

If you were featured this week, feel free to grab a Housing A Forest button.

Come back every Thursday to see if your creative ideas were featured and link up any new ideas! (I will be using one image and a link back to your blog.)

If you don’t want to miss out on any of the fun we are having at Housing A Forest, make sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Google + and Twitter.

Tammy

The post 10 Fun Backyard Activities appeared first on Housing a Forest.

Hi! I’m Alex, from Alex Nguyen Portraits, and I’m honored to be guest blogging here at Housing a Forest. I love Tammy’s blog, and all the activities she posts and researches! Science has been a passion of mine since childhood, and it is something I thoroughly enjoy sharing with my children. My boys ask me why, why, WHY constantly about things all the live-long day. It’s incredibly fun for me to figure out a way to get them to answer the “why” themselves (usually through some sort of experiment).

If your kids are anything like mine, one of their favorite games to play is Angry Birds. If you aren’t familiar with the game, birds are shot through a slingshot at pigs protected in houses. The setup sounds hokey, but the appeal is tremendous. The boys and I set up to build our own catapults with things we had around the house to see if we could create our own trajectory lobbing devices.

What You’ll Need:

• piece of scrap wood
• wood glue
• rubber bands
• craft sticks
• clothes pins (I suggest wooden ones over plastic)
• plastic spoons
• bottle caps (I used the ones from our OJ container)

Projectile Ideas (these are all edible/safe for toddlers and preschoolers):

• marshmallows
• blueberries
• grapes
• cherries
• dandelions (just the flower part)

Some questions the boys had, which we were hoping the experiment would answer:

• which would go farther, heavier things or lighter things?
• does a longer catapult fling the object further?
• which catapult would work better, the spoon or the popsicle stick?

A top view of our two different catapult set-ups, one made with a craft stick and a bottle cap; the other made with just a spoon.

For the left catapult, we glued two clothespins together, then glued them to the board. (you could use one clothespin, but we wanted more leverage). Then, we rubber banded a spoon onto the top clothespin.
For the left catapult, we glued a bottle cap to the craft stick, then glued the stick halfway onto the clothespin.

Since my preschooler was involved, I chose to use edible things to catapult, hence the marshmallows. For older kids, I would suggest using rocks, marbles, pennies, or anything else they can think of!

They were super excited about launching the marshmallows!

Just ah, don’t leave them alone or else you’ll end up with a preschooler who’ll look like this. And an empty container of projectiles.

Overall, this was a pretty fun and successful project!

Remember our questions from earlier? The boys were surprised that the marshmallows flew the farthest, since they were the lightest. Their guess was that the grapes would go the farthest, since they were the biggest and heaviest. We talked about weight affects how objects travel, and is it easier to throw a heavy ball or a lighter ball (they both realized the lighter ball is easier to throw, much like the lighter marshmallow.)

They also correctly guessed that the spoon catapult would aim better, since it created more of an arc, and get “inside a pig’s house”. The popsicle stick catapult had more force, but didn’t go as far. I hope you enjoyed reading about our catapult science experiment, and go forth and built some of your own!

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Don’t forget to check out Alex Nguyen Portraits to see what else they are creating!  She is a natural light child photographer, and has a passion for doing photo shoots outside.  Her photos are amazing!

You can also find her on Pinterest!

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Thanks for Posting with us Alex!  My kids can’t wait to make their own catapults and they already put marshmallows on our shopping list.  Don’t forget to stop on by Alex Nguyen Portraits and tell her you saw her post on Housing A Forest.  We all love comments and I know Alex would love to hear from you:)

Here are a few of my favorite post from Alex Nguyen Portraits to get you started:

• Garden Plant Markers
• Bridge Building 101
• Upcycled Rubber Bracelets

If you don’t want to miss out on any of the fun we are having at Housing A Forest, make sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Google + and Twitter.

Tammy

The post Clothespin Catapults appeared first on Housing a Forest.

Mud, Muds Glorious Mud ~ Mud Play Recipes

5 fun ways to paint in the rain ~ Magical Princess Puddle Play

Nature Prints ~ Nature Inspired Texture Paints.

Nature Stick Garden Sculptures ~  Nature Play Garden

Like I said we have been having a blast! Today we are introducing you to some of natures best toys!  Crystal is sharing an exciting Magic Mud Recipe and we are introducing you to the Stick ~ Natures Perfect Toy.

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An Airplane, a fairy house, a sword, a magic wand, a fort, an alligator, a fishing pole, a paint brush…just a few of the things that your child sees when they pick up a stick.  It may not be what you or I see, but to a kid the stick is magical   Kids have amazing imaginations, that can turn everyday objects into something wonderful and magical.  Sticks fall right into that category.  They are readily available, come in every shape and size and my favorite part…they are free.  All that combined easily makes sticks ~ natures perfect toy.

Yep that is me as a little girl determined to carry a HUGE stick!

How many times have you gone on a walk with your kids only to return with your child dragging a stick home.  I promise that you are not alone.  Like peanut butter and jelly, kids and sticks just go together.

While most of us are cringing inside at all the possible injuries that could result from our kids playing with sticks; the kids are being imaginative, playing, problem solving and having fun.  All things we would normally be encouraging our kids to do, however when it comes to the simple stick we often have a different opinion.

Seems backwards.

So why do we cringe when our kids pick up a stick and zoom it around like an airplane, or use it to draw something fun?

I have no answers  but I do know that I have heard myself more than once tell my kids to “put down the stick” or “be careful, you might poke someones eye out”.  The funny thing is, I let my kids use the electric drill and hot glue gun, so why does a stick seem so dangerous?  Like anything, stick can cause harm when miss used.  I’m not saying remove common sense, but with supervision in wide open spaces lets encourage our kids to embrace what they already know is simply wonderful!  While we are at it, surprise your kids and join in on the fun as well:)

This is us at the apple orchard playing one of the kids favorite games… Rotten Apple Baseball.  What is Kaleb using for a bat?  Yep, it is a stick!

I love these simple stick self portraits my kids did.  

Even creating art from simple sticks is fun!

No need for blinking lights or plastic parts.  All you need is a little imagination and some good old fashioned fun!  How do you view stick play in your house?  I would love to hear your thoughts.

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If you don’t want to miss out on any of the fun we are having at Housing A Forest, make sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Google + and Twitter.

Tammy

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