Baseball Lacing Activity for Kids



Here is a very simple and fun activity for your little one to practice some fine motor skills!
You can do something similar with any shape at all, but since we're beginning Baseball season, I decided to make a baseball!

Supplies:

Prep Work:
1. Trace a small circle (about the size of a cup) onto a piece of white cardstock. You don't want it to be too big, because you need to be able to get your hole punch to reach into it to punch the holes..... :)

2. Draw 2 curvy lines on each side of the circle with a marker.

3. Using a hand-held hole punch, punch holes on both sides of each of the lines:



4. Cut a long piece of yarn and put a small piece of tape around one end. This will help your child lace the yarn through the holes. Then tape the other end onto the back of the baseball so it stays in place. 





Activity Time!!

Show your child how to lace the yarn through the holes so that it looks like the stitches on a baseball. Then let them try it.


Then you can unlace it and do it again!

LB(4) did really well with this! After he was done, he carried it around all day by the end of the string and pretended it was his "kite". haha.


Have Fun!



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Basketball Craft for Kids



We did this craft in the height of March Madness and the kids loved it.
But if you've got little ones who enjoy sports, this is a fun craft for any time of the year!

Supplies:

Prep Work:

1. Tape a small piece of bubble wrap onto your TP tube. Or if you have 2 little ones, cut the tube in half and then tape the bubble wrap on.




2. On white paper, draw a simple Basketball shape: Circle. Line from top to bottom. Line from side to side. Then two curvy lines on each side. Draw as many as your kids want to paint!




Craft Time!!

1. Have your child dip their TP tube bubble-wrap into the orange paint and roll it over the basketball drawing. The bubbles kind of mimic the bumpy texture of a real basketball. :)



2. Let it dry....



3. Then cut them out!


HAVE FUN!


*P.S. The best finger paints around are by Crayola. They are the perfect consistency. Not too runny and not too thick. And best of all they are completely washable--and so easy to wipe off tables, fingers, and wash out of clothes. I HIGHLY recommend them for painting crafts with kids. 
And there is a great deal on Amazon right now to get a nice set of 12 different colors. In big bottles that you can use for a LONG time! Check it out!




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Basketball Memory



Here is a fun little matching game you can make for your kids!
Also a fun way to review COLORS! You don't need many supplies and all it takes is 4 easy steps!


Supplies:

Prep Work:

1. Use a small cup and trace 2 circles on each piece of construction paper. (**OR--Just trace the circles on one of the papers and stack the others underneath to cut!)

2. Cut out the circles.




3. With a black marker, draw the following lines on each circle to make it look like a basketball: A line from top to bottom. A line from side to side. Two curved lines on each side.



4. Cut your white cardstock into rectangles big enough for the balls to fit on, then glue them on.


**(Optional: If you want these to last a while, go ahead and laminate them, or cover them with clear contact paper).

TIME TO PLAY!

  • Lay all the cards face down.
  • Take turns with your child picking 2 cards and see if they match. This is also a fun way to review COLORS with your little ones. Whenever they flip over a card, have them name the color.
  • Whoever makes the most matches wins! :)



HAVE FUN!



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Baseball Spelling



A fun activity for Spring Baseball season, or ANY time of the year!
Here is a great way to practice letters, spelling, and reading with your little ones.

Supplies:

Prep Work:
1. Trace 6 circles onto the white cardstock. You can use a cup to trace. Then cut them out.





2. With a red marker, draw 2 curvy lines on the side of the circles, and small straight lines going through the line, like the stitches in a baseball:




3. With a black marker, write the letters A, B, C, H, M, T on each of the balls:



4. Draw a bat shape onto the brown construction paper. Cut it out and trace 3 more on the paper, so you have 4 bats.



5. On the bats, write the words: BAT, CAT, HAT, MAT:



6. Trace a bat shape, and 3 circles onto the green construction paper:



7. **Optional: If you want this activity to stand the test of time, go ahead and laminate it with these self adhesive laminating sheets! Then you can enjoy it without worrying about pieces getting ripped and wrinkled. :)

 All done, ready to play!


Play Ball!!

Have your child place one of the bats onto the green paper. Read the word with them and then let them find and place the baseballs with those letters into the circles. Have them sound the word out again and read it to you.



I decided to keep it very simple and just use a few -AT words so LB(4) could hear how they all sound and practice basic reading skills. You could easily add more bats and baseballs to this activity as your child progresses with their reading!



HAVE FUN!



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Easy DIY Easter Egg Garland




Here is a super simple way you can decorate for Easter this year!
And best of all, it's simply re-using the eggs we already cut out from our Egg Patterns Activity we did a few days ago. :) Score!

Supplies:
Make it!

1. As I mentioned above, I first cut out these Eggs as a simple Egg Pattern activity I did with my little ones They had a lot of fun with it, so if you're going to cut out the eggs, maybe you can do that activity first before you string the eggs up to decorate. :) Multi-purposing at it's best!! Click the link below to see the post about the Easter Egg Patterns activity:


http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2014/04/easter-egg-patterns.html


2. As described in the Pattern activity, first you need to cut out a bunch of easter egg shapes from your craft foam. I folded a piece of paper and drew half an egg shape, cut it out and unfolded it. Then I traced that onto the craft foam. :)


3. I cut 3 eggs out of each of the 4 colors I chose:


 ***(This is where you can stop and do the Patterns Activity if you want!) 



4. Next, put 2 holes into the top of each egg with a Hole-Puncher:




5. Cut a long piece of yarn or string, and lace it through each of the holes on the eggs, stringing them all together. You can even have your child help you with this part. They can follow a pattern as they lace. Great skills practice!




6. When they're all on, space them out evenly. Tie small loops into the ends of your string and put it wherever you want it to hang, using Push-Pins if needed. 


HAPPY EASTER!



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Easter Egg Patterns!




Here is a super duper easy learning activity you can do with your little ones this Easter.
Check it out!

Supplies:

Prep Work:

1. Grab a piece of paper and fold it in half. Then with a pencil, draw half an egg shape on the folded edge. Cut it out and unfold it, you've got yourself an egg! 




2. Trace this egg onto your craft foam and cut them out.



(I used 4 different colors of craft foam, and I cut out 3 eggs of each color):



How to Play!

  • Make a simple pattern with the eggs. Leave off the last 2-3 eggs and have your child finish the pattern!




You can use all the colors in your pattern. Or just 2 or 3. :)
Have them name the colors as they walk through the pattern--to help them see where the pattern begins and ends. 

Happy Easter!



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8 fun & easy Easter Activities for Kids!



Here are a few of our favorite Easter Activities!
Click on a picture below to see that post!
Happy Easter!


http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2014/04/easter-egg-shape-hunt.html


http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2013/03/feed-bunny-game.html


http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2013/03/easter-egg-puppets.html


http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2013/03/egg-carton-match.html


http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2012/03/paper-roll-egg.html


http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2011/04/cotton-ball-bunny.html


http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2012/03/easter-egg-match-up.html


http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2014/04/easy-easter-egg-craft-for-kids.html


Easy Frog Craft for Kids

Summer is in full swing....and ending all too quickly! If you're kids have any bored days where they are jumping off the walls l...