Jul

29

This site to create a personalized adventure movie is something that kids of all ages will enjoy. You just upload a picture and their big adventure is created, including a trip in a hot air balloon, diving, water skiing, space flight and more! After you watch it, you can even share it with friends and family!


Jul

26

Finally the last book is out! It’s getting very good reviews and I’m sure it will be enjoyed by all fans. Here are 10 activity, craft, printables, recipe and activity sites for you to enjoy:

1. The Official Harry Potter Site - tons of games, downloads and activities

2. Printables4Kids - this post has lots of links to printable coloring sheets, word searches, etc.

3. Activity Village - this site has printable Hogwarts ties, coins, quizzes, party ideas and more!

4. FamilyCrafts.About.com - make your own edible magic wand, origami owl, wizard puzzle, costumes, and lots of other fun crafts and ideas.

5. TheBookHive - some Harry Potter quizzes

6. InfoPlease - more fun quizzes about Deathly Hallows and other Harry books

7. Budget101 - some nice low cost party ideas, including recipes, potions and spells! These include some neat science type activities like disappearing ink!

8. Surfing the Net With Kids - huge list of Harry Potter arcade, word and picture games

9. Scholastic.com - loads of activities, interviews, printables, message boards, wallpapers and more.

10. KidsReads - a Harrypedia and Spell Book, and some Deathly Hallows info


Jul

23

Elizabeth Dulemba is a wonderful children’s book illustrator, and she is now offering free coloring pages every Tuesday on her web site. The last picture was a cute dragon. If you scan and send back the colored page she’ll post it on her site for everyone to see!


Jul

19

If your family regularly buys plastic bottles of pop or juice, the recent post at MyEducationJunction, 10 Things You Can Do With Empty Plastic is one you’ll want to check out. I love the bowling play set, and cutting off the bottom of the bottle for use as a paint cup is an excellent idea!

Another fun way to use the bottles is in playing the “Bottle Ball Game” (rules found at FamilyFun.go.com):

HOW TO PLAY:
1. Set up the bottles (one per dodger) randomly but at least 15 feet apart. Draw a 4-foot chalk circle around each one.

2. While one child (the kicker) boots an inflated ball at the plastic bottle targets, the other players (the dodgers) put their best feet forward defending these targets. Dodgers must keep one foot inside their circle while using their other foot to deflect the ball. The kicker stands at least 6 feet from the closest player and can aim at any bottle.

3. Once the kicker succeeds in knocking a bottle over, he gets to change places with whomever was guarding that circle.


Jul

17

Even if you have oodles of toys, it can be difficult to come up with new and creative ideas to keep toddlers busy. I ran across a site that has a list of 70 games and activities to do with your child. It’s a great list, including ideas like playing “shadow tag”, wash the car together, and making a puzzle out of a cereal box. I’ll add one that I think I may have posted here before, but it worked so well, I’ll mention it again. Get out the collander and some uncooked spaghetti (works best if it’s broken in half) and show them how to put the pieces through the holes in the collander to watch it disappear. This kept my son engaged for half and hour, easily!


Jul

14

rat.jpgRatatouille looks like such a fun movie! I haven’t seen it yet, but hope to soon. The main movie site has a free printable activity book that includes mazes, dot to dots, what’s missing activities, puzzles and some beautiful coloring sheets!  Definitely one to check out and let me know what you think of the movie!

(Thanks to Printables4Kids for pointing me to this one!)


Jul

13

KidsHealth.org has an area on their site dedicated to recipes for kids that is worth a peek if you’re looking for new ideas on what to serve and easy recipes that kids can help make.  The great thing about this site is that there are recipes for kids with Diabetes, Cystic Fibrosis, Celiac Disease, Lactose Intolerance and also Vegetarian recipes, along with recipes for kids with no special needs.


Jul

10

crafttown

Via Heart of the Prairie, I found this amazing site by Canon where you can learn to make a zillion different things to play with out of paper. There are instructions to make animals and toys and even a “Craftown” with over 30 different buildings and vehicles! For each item, you can download both the pieces and the instructions for putting them together. It even comes with little people to cut out to populate Craftown! This looks like so much fun- I may have to go clear off my dining room table and start building!


Jul

7

groceryI posted recently about some free math worksheets to help keep kids from forgetting everything they learned during the school year. Now Printables4Kids has a fun way to practice math during your regular grocery store trips. From estimating how much the groceries will cost, to figuring the difference from the actual cost, this worksheet will teach your kids not only about math, but about life.

After you print that work sheet, you’ll want to follow her link over to WearyParent.com where there are even more ways to keep math alive during the summer.


Jul

4

Have you visited the Doodle Pad on Noggin.com yet? They have a seasonal drawing area that changes every couple of months, and right now the kiddos can make a cute summer creation with glitter pens, finger paint, stickers and crayons. Moose is there to give directions and help them along, and you never know when their drawing might be featured on TV!

BillyBear4Kids.com has a fun page where kids can draw and paint online, and make endless numbers of pretty pictures. There is a whole set of pens and brushes and even little pictures that they can include in their creations.

Thanks to Stephanie for sending the BillyBear site to me! Is there a site that you think I should feature here? Send me an e-mail at randa [at] randaclay [dot] com.


Home
About FreeStuff4Kids
Submit Free Stuff



Archives