Easy Winter Puzzle

We love to make snowflakes to hang around the house each winter season. It is nice to have a decoration you can keep up even when you take the tree down.

Since we inked the edges of our snowflakes this year we went into overdrive with how many snowflakes we ended up making.

I had to find something else to do with them. Since they each had different colored edges they were perfect for making this fun winter puzzle!

Supplies for a paper puzzle

• Paper Snowflakes. The inked edges from this tutorial really help pick the different puzzles apart.
• Jumbo Paint Sticks.
• Mod Podge.
• Craft Knife. Parents use only.
• Tape. Scotch or masking.
• A Foam Brush.

How to make this winter toddler activity

Start by lining up your sticks for your puzzle. I used 6 for each puzzle. 

Use tape to secure your sticks together. 

Flip your stick over, tape side down, and use your foam brush to put on a light layer of Mod Podge.

Then line up your snowflake and press down. I like to tilt snowflake a bit to help the pieces look a bit different. 

Go over the top of the snowflake with Mod Podge. Try to get out any bubbles.

Some of the ink might bleed, but it gives the snowflake a light tint of the color which doesn’t look bad. 

Let them dry completely and then use your Exacto knife to cut between each stick. Be very careful. 

Remove the tape from the back and then add a bit more Mod Podge to the cut edges of the puzzle pieces. 

Allow to dry completely and then play!  

With the inked edges, you can mix all your winter puzzles together. These make a fun little busy bag to keep with you for quick boredom buster anytime you need it!

If you enjoyed this busy bag idea, please pin it to your favorite Pinterest board.

The post How to make an easy winter puzzle with craft sticks appeared first on Twitchetts.

Craft Stick Valentine’s Day puzzles

Is your child’s classroom requesting a non-candy Valentines to be sent to school this year? If you have little ones at home this might be the perfect idea to send.

These homemade Valentines are fun little craft stick puzzles that your kiddos can help create! Add them to your Valentine’s Day crafts for kids to-do list!

We usually send Valentines without candy each year, we have done beaded necklace Valentines, and glow bracelet ninja Valentines, but this is the first year it was actually requested!

I was happy when I figured out a fun homemade Valentine that V could actually help me create. She will be proud to pass them out to all of her little friends at school.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

What you need for your Homemade Valentines:

• Craft Sticks. (We buy these in bulk!)
• Permanent Markers.
• Washable Markers.
• Tape.
• Snack Size Baggies.

How to make your Craft Stick Puzzle Valentines:

Start by taping your sticks together. I used 8 sticks each.

Then flip over and draw a fun Valentine’s Day design using your permanent markers.

Hand it over to your little one to fill in your hearts and swirls. Or even the whole thing…

Washable markers will be a bit lighter letting your design show through.

Once they are all colored, take the tape off, and place the pieces in a snack bag. Seal and write on the front. “Love you to pieces!” and your To: and From:

These will be so fun for them to pass out. Make sure to make one or two extra to keep at home for your little one to play with!

The post How to make easy craft stick Valentine’s Day puzzles for the classroom appeared first on Twitchetts.

Whether you are expecting to be at an airport or have a few holiday dinners to attend, you can never go wrong with bringing a few boredom busters along. All of these fall busy bags were so much fun for my little one that I needed to come up with something for the next season. I made each of these Christmas themed boredom busters with just a touch of holiday fun to make them unique for the season. Not only are these fun, they are also full of play-based learning opportunities!

#1 Mini Christmas Tree Boredom Buster

Grab a piece of cardboard and cut 6 small slits down each side. Take 3 pipe cleaners, cut them in half, and fold one end in each slit. Next, start stringing on green beads. One on the top pipe cleaner, two on the second, and so on until you have six on the last one. Fold the other side of the pipe cleaners into the opposite slits. Then tape the back. Mix it up and hand it to your little one to create a Christmas tree! You will be surprised how many times your little one will do this. Or what kind of pattern they create on their own…

#2 Fine Motor Pipecleaner Boredom Buster

For this quick kids activity, you just need 2 supplies. An empty spice jar and Christmas colored pipe cleaners! Trim down your pipe cleaners to fit inside your spice jar. Let them dump them out and stick them back in through the holes. They can work on twisting the lid on and off and focusing on getting the pipe cleaners through the holes is excellent fine motor practice!

#3 Mini I-Spy Christmas Boredom Busters

Look around for pieces to use in a mini I-spy jar. Buttons, beads, trim some ribbon… anything will do. I stuck to Christmas colors, but you can make these in any theme. Make sure they are small enough to fit inside a spice jar. Fill your jar with a little bit of rice and then some of your pieces. Add more rice, more pieces, and then more rice. Leave enough space to move the rice around. Since they are young you don’t want to make it too hard. You can attach a key on the side so you don’t forget what all is inside.

#4 Pom Pom Sorting Christmas Boredom Buster

For this fine motor Christmas boredom buster, you need a spice jar, pom-poms (different colors and sizes), and tweezers. You want enough pom-poms to pack them in your spice jar tight. If you would prefer not to use your tweezers you can easily create your own using 4 pop cycle sticks and 3 rubber bands.  If you want a bit more instruction on these, check out our tongs video. These are the same concept only smaller. Using their tweezers have them take all of the pom-poms out of the jar. Once it is empty have them stuff them all back in! This part is equally fun for them.

#5 Fine Motor Pom Pom Boredom Busters

Grab the smallest pom-poms you have, a ziplock baggie, and coordinating permanent markers. Create two squares on the outside of the bag. Add in your pom-poms and seal the bag with as little air as possible. This way they can smash and move them around to try to get all of the pom-poms in their correct box. The older they are the smaller you can make the squares… or add a third color!

All of these Christmas boredom busters can be made in minutes and are easy to bring along with you anywhere you go. They are quiet to play with and shouldn’t make too much of a mess!

The post 5 Christmas Boredom Busters – Easy Kids Activities appeared first on Twitchetts.

Every year we display all of the lovely cards we get in the mail and every year they end up in a stack at the bottom of one of our Christmas bins. We always pick out a few to make greeting card boxes, but there are always so many leftovers! These craft stick puzzles the perfect way to use them up and make a great activity for your little ones.

What you need to make your Christmas Card Puzzles:

• Craft sticks.
• Christmas cards. (You could do this for any occasion)
• White glue.
• A box cutter or Exacto knife.
• Tape.

How to assemble your Christmas Card Puzzles:

Start by looking through your cards. Pick out ones with a good image to create your puzzle. Then cut the front off from the back. Trim the image if you like. Next, use a strip of tape to hold your craft sticks together.

Spread your glue on the back of your card. Place on your craft sticks, flip over and add some weight like a few cans to make sure the image doesn’t bubble up anywhere. Let dry.

Once dry, fold between the sticks, then cut along the created corner. Then play! V did them each separately and then mixed them all together and completed all 3. I used these colored craft sticks to make it easier for her to pick apart the puzzles. These are a great boredom buster to pull out at restaurants, doctors’ offices, or could even be done in the car on a cookie sheet! They also give a second life to those all of those Christmas cards.

The post Christmas Card Puzzles a Simple Kids Boredom Buster appeared first on Twitchetts.

This fine motor activity is perfect for hand-eye coordination and let’s face it… teaching them to button and unbutton is pretty important too. We created no-sew button snakes a while back if your little one isn’t a flower lover. My daughter loves to create flower crafts, so I wanted this project to be something that she loved making and working with. She can sit and create flowers for long chunks of time so that’s a win in my book!

What you need for your Button Practice Felt Flowers:

• A jar lid.
• Pipe Cleaner.
• A button. Size doesn’t matter too much. A larger button is easier for a younger child to manipulate.
• Felt. Green and any color for flowers.
• Scissors.
• Hot glue and a hot glue gun.

Making your Button Practice Felt Flowers:

Start by taking your pipe cleaner and threading it through your button. Twist off to attach. Using hot glue attach the pipe cleaner under the rim of the jar lid. Then bend and glue so that the button comes away from the center of the jar lid.

Next, make petals and leaves. Cut the felt into different sized squares. Fold into quarters and cut into a petal or leaf shape. Play around with different sizes and shapes to give them a lot of variety!
Then cut a slit in the middle of each shape. You want it to be about the size of the button.
The felt will stretch a bit. The older the child the snugger you want it to be. This way they have to actually button on the flower petals and leaves!

They look so pretty! You could even add a magnet on the back to keep them on your fridge!

You can even customize them for the holidays… anyone thinking about Christmas yet…

We like to hold onto random things to craft with… jar lids happen to be one of them!

See more crafts using jar lids here:

Diwali Light Holders // Sand in My Toes
Preserved Kids Art Magnets with Recycled Jar Lids // Views From a Step Stool
Button Practice Felt Flowers // Twitchetts
Easy Christmas Craft: Jar Lid Baubles // Arty Crafty Kids
Mason Jar Lid Crafts: Melted Crayon Suncatchers // Schooling a Monkey
Kids Christmas Craft Idea: Upcycled Photo Frame Ornament // Books and Giggles
Squeeze n’ Croak Frog Craft // Kids Craft Room

The post Button Practice Felt Flowers appeared first on Twitchetts.

Summer is beginning to creep up on us.  And with it comes the family vacations.  We look forward to all of the fun memories, the pictures, the Facebook updates, and the car rides…wait the car rides aren’t the fun part…  The car ride is the long part that leads up to the fun part…and the even longer part after all the fun and it’s time to go home!

Finding fun travel games.

It can be a challenge.  Especially if you’re traveling for hours upon hours to get to an amazing destination.  They’re anxious to get there and they are stuck.  We’ve shared some of our tips for traveling with the toddlers.  But what about the bigger kids?  Sure you can toss them an iPad…but what happens when the battery dies!!! I will tell you what happens… “I’m Bored” starts to become the go-to phrase for the rest of the ride.

So give them these free road trip bingo printables!

These bingo cards have been approved by J and are ready to hit the road.

There are several different pages so that you can have a little friendly competition in the car.

Plus, they are made with pictures so that some of the younger travelers can participate too.

How do you play travel bingo?

I’ve seen travel bingo played several ways.

There is always your traditional Bingo. First one to get a row of 5 Wins!

You can play in pairs. One person calls out what they see, while the other crosses them off the sheet. This might be helpful if you are traveling with a younger crowd.

The whole car can play together as a team.

Or it can be a race to the finish…who can cross off the whole board first.

No matter how you play, a fun round of road trip bingo will help to kill some of the time trapped in the car.

Get your Free Road Trip Bingo printables today!

Happy Travels!

The post Free Road Trip Bingo Printable appeared first on Twitchetts.

I started with a playdough recipe from Kids Activity Blog.  I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel, and I wanted a recipe from a site that I could trust to get it right.  I’m glad I did.  The recipe was perfect!

The best part of these playdough packs was the fun color surprise.  When I made the packs, I added the food coloring.  So when we added the oil and water, the colors appeared!

It was so fun to hear Little Miss shout out the colors.  Sometimes the colors came out as soon as the water was poured in.  Sometimes you had to wait until the dough was mixed up a bit.  Either way, the kids watched with eager eyes as they waited.

Ingredients for each Playdough Pack

• 1/2 Cup flour, divided
• 2 Tablespoons Salt
• 1/2 Tablespoon Cream of Tartar
• Gel Food Coloring
• Sandwich bags

Start by putting a sandwich bag inside of a cup.

Add 1/4 Cup of you flour, salt, and cream of tartar.  Give it a good mix.

Next, add your food coloring.  Make sure you’re using the gel kind.  This will help prevent the dye from running too much.  I used about 10 drops for each bag.  Don’t be afraid to mix up the dye a little too.  Create some fun purples or oranges.

Finally, add the remaining 1/4 Cup of flour and close up the bag.

How to turn your playdough pack into actual playdough.

• A smidge more than 1/3 Cup boiling water.
• 1/2 Tablespoon Oil.  (I used olive oil, but any oil will work)

Start by adding the oil to the bag.  Then, very carefully, add the water.  I know the water isn’t very exact.  I found that just at 1/3 Cup left the dough a little dry.  If I added a bit more, it was perfect.  Feel free to try it out.  Just remember, it’s easier to add more than it is to take it away.  So add just a little at a time.

Close the bag and knead the dough inside the bag.  The bag will be pretty warm.  But definatley managable.  It may be too hot for little ones to knead on their own.

Once the dough has stopped sticking to the sides of the bag, I finished kneading outside the bag.  Or I let the kids help.

That’s it!  Mix up a bunch of bags and pull out a couple for a fun boredom buster.

Or mix them all at once and let them have a free for all!

If you’re looking for more boredom busters.  Check out this great collection of activities!

The post Color Surprise Playdough Packs appeared first on Twitchetts.

Now, these definitely evolved. I started with shapes. Then added the numbers. This worked well, then when V was pointing out the colors I realized I could make that work too. I made a few changes and there we had it. The colors worked with the number of pieces used!

Let’s back up a bit…

What You Need to Make Your Toddler Learning Sticks:

• Popsicle Sticks
• Magnets
• Glue
• Markers
• Tape

Making Your Toddler Learning Sticks:

Start by gluing the magnet to the back of your popsicle sticks.

I prefer hot glue because it dries fast. Any glue will do as long as you give it ample time to dry.

Try to have some magnet close to the top and bottom of your sticks. That way they don’t pop off your fridge when your little ones touch the numbers and letters.

Next using a piece of tape to hold the sticks together draw on your shapes, numbers, & colors.

These are the combinations I came up with.

red-1,2,3-Square     blue-1,2,3,4-Circle     green-1,2,3,4,5-Triangle

She Loved putting these together over and over. They are perfect because while I am cooking she is playing in my sight, and she’s learning at the same time! Every time she finished we count the numbers, named the shapes, and colors.

I just love when they learn through play.

If your kiddo is too old for these learning sticks check out this post where we used pictures!

The post Toddler Learning Sticks – Shapes, Numbers, & Colors appeared first on Twitchetts.

Now if you are loving this idea and want to make an even prettier version check out this one from Happy Hooligans.

But if you just need something quick to throw in your purse or a busy bag this is for you!

Supplies for this No Sew Button Snake

• 1 Pipe cleaner
• 2 Buttons
• Felt (any or all the colors)
• Scissors

Making your No Sew Button Snake

Take one end of the pipe cleaner up through the button then back down. Twist the loose end until tight. Make sure to pinch the end down (so there isn’t anything to poke the little fingers). Repeat with the other side.

Take your felt and cut into any shape you like. I have seen a rainbow of colors, all one color, different shapes, and different sizes.

There can be 1, 2, 10, or 20. The important thing is to cut the slit in the felt just big enough to let the button slip through.

Hand it off to your little one and let them add the buttons on and take them back off.

These are perfect for restaurants or car rides when you need something to distract for a bit.

The post No Sew Button Snake – Fine Motor Fun appeared first on Twitchetts.

Pom Pom Poppers:

Here just cut off the end of a balloon and pull over the end of a toilet paper tube. Tie off and tape down the edges. Add a mini pom pom, pull back, and shoot! 

Window Paint Bag:

Fill a ziplock bag with a few squirts of paint… Pick a couple of colors that will mix well. Tape down well to a window and let them create!

Lego Faces:

This is as simple as it looks!! Use a sharpie and write on some faces. They can mix and match them any way they want!!

Magnetic Picture Puzzles:

Pick out a fun Picture lay face down and glue on popcycle sticks. Let dry completely then cut apart using an x-acto knife. IF you have magnets lying around you can glue some on the backs!

Quick prep kids activities are my favorite. They will play with them for a little time here and there. Then you put them away until another day. Pull them out and they are new again. The supply list is low so they won’t cost you much if anything to create. 

The post 4 Quick Prep Kids Activities appeared first on Twitchetts.