School is almost out and many of us are busy putting final touches on plans for summer vacations and other family activities. “Staycations,” however, are also projected to be quite popular this year so perhaps some of you could use some ideas for in-home activities for your little ones. Quiet-Time Busy Books by Michelle Van Tassell may just be the creative solution you are looking for. These handmade soft scrapbooks are easy to make and have tons of personality. Projects can be customized with all sorts of pockets, flaps, and embellishments and act as a playground for your child’s active imagination. As Michelle says, “Children love to see themselves, loved ones, and their favorite things on the pages.”
For a chance to win a copy of Quiet-Time Busy Books, post a comment here before Monday, June 8, 2009 telling us one of your own tricks for keeping the kids busy when school is out but their energy is everything but. We’ll randomly pick one winner to be announced on Monday. Good Luck!
*Comments will be closed at 9am PST on MOnday, June 8, 2009
Related posts:
32 Comments
I usually save all my magazines such as family circle and have paper and stick clue. My granddaughter loves to make collages and that keeps her occuppied for a long time. Also I have scrap fabrics and she puts them in color groups.
I have each of the kids help me make a meal once a week. It gives them an opportunity to make what they like as well as learn how to plan and shop for it.
My boys really enjoy writing their own stories. I make little paper books using cardstock for the covers, copy paper for the inside pages, and then I “bind” them with embroidery floss. They can spend hours with their little books, writing stories, drawing in the books, etc. We also have several “learn to draw” books by Ed Emberley, and these are perfect for ages 4+. They can spend hours with those too. And remember that a child doesn’t have to be a reader in order to “write”. Just let them do whatever they want in the books – pictures, lines, scribbles, words, stamps.
My oldest is just 4 and desperately misses going to preschool every day! To keep her entertained I got her a new big box of crayons and a blank drawing pad and she’s been drawing and practicing her letters a lot. We also made a big trip to the library and got a few bigger books that we’ve been reading a little at a time and also a kids cooking book that we have cooked a few things from together.
My niece and nephew definitley need things to occupy them!! They have short attention spans; we can do a lot of things in one hour!:)
My 4YO enjoys hand sewing. She designs shapes which I cut from felt and punch around the edges. She uses yarn and a large needle designed for plastic canvas to sew them into purses, pillows and such. Her 2YO brother then gets into the act by “stuffing” them, either with polyfill, leftover bits of quilt batting, or sometimes just toys. At night, the “sewing fairies” often unsew the pieces and rearrange shapes, to help her find new ideas and new projects the next time. We recently added plastic canvas shapes to the assortment, giving her pieces to “embroider” and embellish before she puts them together with the felt pieces. All the extra holes takes a lot more concentration from her — buying me a little more quilting time!
I think that the revival of the old sewing cards concept is the greatest! Plastic needle with yarn (brightly colored of course) to push in and out around basic designs thru punched holes. You could make your own for children to learn the basics of hand sewing and improve eye- hand coordination.
Oh my goodness! If I won this, I would give it to my niece. She has two children that she homeschools and their passion is scrapbook-ing! She would cherish this. I hope I win :)
WOW…this is just what I need. I’m writing an article about crafting with kids and this would be a wonderful resource! Thanks for the chance to win!
I always have fun when we get a little group of neighbor playmates together on a sunny hot day and have the kids dress in bathing suits, set up the picnic table covered with new dollar store shower curtain liner and set up a sprinkler. Then the kids get larger sheets of white butcher paper and cups of different colored puddings ( you can use natural colors or food coloring) I let the kids have fun finger painting wonderful paintings, with safe paint (pudding) they can lick their fingers, etc. when they are completed they run through the sprinklers tiill they come clean. ;-) great inexpensive fun! With older children think mono prints!
Fantastic site!
Dare I say I kick them out of the house when they’re full of energy? YES! They love playing in the yard. And it gives me quiet time to get crafty!
Looks like fun!
I have a very active 6 year old boy. He goes full-steam from the time he wakes up until he falls alseep at night. To help him focus his energy, I give him free reign of tons of art supplies and he creates collages, 3D scenes, room decorations, and dioramas. It’s amazing what he has created.
I think you can teach every subject, to a degree, thru art. And, quilting works into this quite well. It is easy to teach counting, basic letter recognition…move it up a knotch and you can teach basic reading skills. Grow it a bit and you can teach kids math, as they design and create their own quilts. They can also learn about the world and express it thru the form of quilting & art. Opportunites are endless.
SewCalGal
http://www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com
PS – If I were to win, I’d like my prize to go to:
Young Piecemakers Quilt Guild
P.O. Box 77113
Corona, CA 92877
(951) 277-4577
http://www.ypqg.org
I think they do a fantastic job teaching children to express themselves through art, and to learn & appreciate the art of quilting.
I would try to get outside and plan a game that involves lots of running around. This would make sure they burn off a lot of the extra energy so when the come in the house they can either help make lunch or do a craft project.
Our kids are busy with baseball, swimming and tennis and then head back to school mid July. So they don’t get much time to get bored…lol…
running through the sprinklers while on always does the trick and mid day bath fun time too!
My kids are grown now, 19 and 21, but when they were small, I would find ways to sneak in my sewing, while occupying them. If I was putting a quilt together, I would lay it out on the floor, then let them rearrange it. Sometimes their solution was better than mine, sometimes not, but it gave us time to be together and have some laughs. I would try to teach them the value of making something with their hands, a painting, a story, etc.
There was always the overflowing scrap bag to play in, the button box, etc.
I do miss those days!
letting them ‘help’ while I cook is always fun!
I have mine help me with watering the flowers and garden. They each have their own plants they are responsible for keeping healthy. We also go on nature walks. On rainy days, I hide things around the house for them to find, a sort of treasure hunt.
my son love play dough
I have always encourged lots of reading over the summer. We had reading contests and would keep charts on who and what each chlid was reading. Please include me in your giveaway.
Thanks
carlene
iluvreading(at)verizon.net
I make sure my kids are outdoors for at least 3/4 of the day in the summer running around, riding bikes or going on nature walks. It keeps both them and me sane!!!!!
I always try to do something different each day- crafty let them make something after they do their work around the house- clean their room take care of their pet – then we play
I have four children aged 3-8 to keep occupied in the school holidays, so we go to the local library, do lots of craft activities which they all love, and play games. Last Summer holidays I set up a big ‘I Spy’ jar full of dried lentils, beans and rice where they have to find the dozens of things hiding in there and mark them off the list… there are still some things that they haven’t found! They also love to delve into the ‘useful’ box full of carboard boxes and plastic containers, scraps of paper, and lots of other stuff and they make buildings, vehicles and all sorts of things. It lets their creativity run wild and keeps them busy for a few hours!
My home is a nexus for keeping kids busy. Whenever kids of friends have gone astray their parents will march them into my backyard to the barn. Moving manure takes time and eases the parents desire to murder. I also will host “Sewing Camp” set up 5 machines and let the kids shop my stash for the project for the day. Pillows, Bags, Shorts, PJ’s.
Having the kids take out all the family photographs and write on the back of them who the people are, what was the occasion and when the picture was taken. This is how they learn family history and get to enjoy being seen in pictures.
Almost every year the local stray cats drop a litter in my yard that I capture as young as possible and will foster the kittens. Kids love helping to bottle baby kittens.
Getting fresh produce out of my garden or off of Freecycle.com the kids have to find a recipe for canning. We have done lots of chutneys, apple butter, apple sauce, lemon curd, pickles, tomatoes.
I bought an Ice Cream ball off of Amazon.com so the kids have to mix the ingredients, put them into the ball freezer and then it takes about 30 minutes of rolling the ball around the yard to get the ice cream to soft serve texture.
Paint the bathroom seems to be a favorite activity at my house. Kids LOVE picking out the colors, prepping the room and then making a mess. This typically is a 3 day project as every kid believes themself to be a “designer”. .
I could really use this! My current method of keeping my 3 year old from driving me insane is to send him out to the back patio with a basket of chalk, a bucket of water, and a broom. It entertains him for oh, at least a half hour. If I’m lucky. Whee!!
When my kids were little, we planted a garden. I bought seeds sure to sprout quickly and to make lots of flowers or fruit. Our favorites were sunflowers, zinnias, any herb, especially mints (only in pots!), tomato seedlings, especially cherry tomatoes and marigolds which keep most bugs away from our tomatoes. A garden keeps children busy all summer here in North Carolina! My fondest memory is of my little ones eating cherry tomatoes – also zinnias and mint – right off the plant!
I spent many warm, wet summer mornings in a garden with my Grandmama, Dad and children making sweet, sweet memories.
This year, my 20-something kids sent their little niece and nephew a garden of seeds to plant for their spring birthdays.
Suzanne G in NC
~where a bunny was spied nibbling at the blueberry hedge just this morning
One of my favorite activities to do with my kids was to get the county Fair exhibit book and go to the children’s exhibits section. They had arts and crafts, sewing, cooking, etc. We would do all the arts and crafts and enter them in the county fair for ribbons and monetary prizes. Now I have grandchildren and still do projects with them to keep them busy. I would love to win this book for my daughter!
Besides videos, I take the kids to the park and let them run around. Letting them help me cook is also a fun activity.
We walk down to the river and throw rocks into it. It’s calming yet active, and cool in the summertime!
Thanks for the giveaway!
adennispac@yahoo.com