Bug Snacks - No Not for You! For the Bugs!

Kids' Crafts

It's Summertime. There are bugs and more bugs and lots more bugs. They are tiny little beings that are easily squashed, overlooked, or swatted away in irritation. However, it's not a bad idea to teach your children the important role they play in our life here on Earth.

Yes, we don't like annoying, buzzy bugs, and some children are afraid of bugs. But here's an idea that will not only help to spark an interest in why bugs were created, but also may lessen the fear a child may have of the little creatures.

Talk to your child about the important role they play in keeping the Earth healthy. Help him or her understand that protecting and feeding a bug is beneficial to everyone. Bugs like to eat organic garbage. So, next time you eat an apple, instead of throwing the core away, show your child how you can place it somewhere in your garden or a corner of your yard. Have your child check the apple core everyday. Pretty soon it will be gone! Bugs eat mostly at night, so have her come out first thing in the morning to check the progress.

Not only will your child look forward to getting up, but it's fun for her to see the action of the tiny bugs as they devour the core.

It's a great lesson in Nature and why every creature definitely has a place and purpose in this world.
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Are you interested in showing you child how to make fun appetizers? There's a lot of joy in teaching your child to cook. Why not start out with fun food? Check out my Web site Easy Appetizer Recipes for lots of great ideas and recipes and another fun way to spend time with your child!
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Kids' Crafts
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Play Tag! Everyone loves it!

Kids Crafts

Kids have the most incredible way of entertaining themselves. Even in this day and age when there are so many options for entertainment. What I love is to see what happens when a child finds him or herself in a situation where there are no toys, no TV, no video games. For instance, my family and another family went on a picnic recently. The day was beautiful, we were outside away from most distractions and EVERYONE forgot a frisbee, ball, bat, etc...

So we played Tag. All of us. Kids and adults.

It was fun, exhilerating and exhausting! But the point is, fun can be had without anything at all but your imagination.

Here are a couple of great games of Tag you can introduce to your children. Play with them until you can't. The kids love it and it's great exercise.

Carry Tag
You'll need a ball or some kind of object like a hat or shoe. One person is chosen to be "IT". Everyone else passes the object around to each other. The person holding the object is the person "IT" will try to tag. So, you will want to get rid of the object (which always has to be in plain sight) to the next closest person in order to be "Safe".

If you are carrying the object and need to get rid of it, all you need to do is touch the person closest to you with the object. That person MUST take the object at that time. If a person is tagged by "IT" while carrying the object, then the tagged person becomes "IT" and must give the object to the former "IT".

The new "IT" must count to 3 to give the former "IT" a chance to run away and get rid of the object.

Any player who drops the object automatically becomes "IT".

Another favorite is Flashlight Tag.
You'll need a flashlight and play this game at twilight.

Make sure the playing area doesn't have a lot of holes or rocks that the players could trip over. The person chosen to be "IT" takes the flashlight and tries to tag the other players with the flashlight beam. Players are eliminated when "IT" tags you with the light. This goes on until there is only one remaining player.

The squeals of laughter and giggled protests you'll hear are like music to your ear.
Enjoy!

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Are you interested in showing you child how to make paper airplanes? Check out my Web site Easy Paper Airplanes and my blog too. Lots of great info and another fun way to spend time with your child!
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Fun with Action Words Activity

Kids Crafts

This is a fun activity to do with young children. It serves a few really wonderful purposes: 1) good bonding time with your child, 2) it has educational value, 3) and it gets you both MOVING!

All you need is your imagination and/or a dictionary, a little music and some time in your day...

First, come up with a list of action words like:

Leap
Slide
Run
Crawl
Fall
Stretch
Spin
Reach
Turn

Explain what each word means to your child - if they don't know - and show them the action associated with it. Then, put on some music and try out your words together in motion.

Call out each word to your child and the action together a few times. To make it a little more challenging, put a number in front of the action word the next time you call it out, like: "3 turns" and then perform the action together.

To take it up another level, you and your kiddo can make up dances using two or three of the words in a row, for instance, turn, run, and slide. Watch and see how much fun your little one will have (and you will too!)

For variations on the theme, you can vary the directions and levels by doing the action words backwards or sideways, lower to the ground or stretching up higher in the air.

Have fun with it!
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Are you interested in showing you child how to make paper airplanes? Check out my Web site Easy Paper Airplanes and my blog too. Lots of great info and another fun way to spend time with your child!
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Kids Crafts
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