Tag Archives: play

instagram challenge winner #2

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Firstly, I’m terribly sorry I’m a day late with this announcement however we have only had intermittent internet all week – not ideal for an internet based business, but anyhooo, we are all fixed now!

Once again, it was a terribly tricky choice with lots of gorgeous images of your little ones living a rudy and the dodo life – creating, exploring, painting, playing and using their imaginations! This week’s winner is tarsh97 for this fab entry showing her girls building a cubby and preparing for predicted rains.  I used to LOVE doing stuff like this as a kid!

insta winner 2

Please contact us to claim your $50 gift voucher to spend in our store.  Yay you!

There are still 2 more chances to win so keep the entries coming. Entries from the first two weeks will be reconsidered in future weeks but we’d love you to add to the collection. Just remember to tag your instagram photo with #rudyandthedodochallenge

Thanks for playing!

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diy nature scavenger hunt game

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I have lots of clever clogs friends.  One of them is Jo.  She throws the best kids parties with games, craft, themed food and activities she has researched for months.

She’s probably done 99% of the craft activities I have listed on here along with a bazillion she has found on pinterest.  She is a doer.

So when we arranged to meet at the park for a play date this week it should not have been any great surprise that she rocked up with a homemade scavenger hunt game for the kids. 

Between us we had eight boys (aged from 2 to 9) and one little girl aged 3.  We all played.  We all loved it.

To play you need a list of goodies to find for each player.  Super Jo personalised ours for each child, (of course!) but this is optional.  You can make the lists the same for everyone, or tailor make them to be more age appropriate or even include images rather than words for pre-schoolers.  Toddlers will need adult supervision and assistance.

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To collect the listed items we used brown paper lunch bags but a basket, backpack or any other kind of bag would be fine.

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Allocate a certain amount of time, half an hour is great, for everyone to collect as many items on the list as possible.   Everyone then gathers around to show off their treasures. The winner is the one with the most treasures in their bag. 

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This game is soooo simple and so much fun.  We LOVE that it gets the kids outdoors but it can be modified for indoor play in case of rain.  Happy days.

craft express – foil me a river

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This will only take a sec!  Grab your roll of aluminium foil, let the kids unroll a loooooong strip, shape it to accommodate a stream of water, add kids and some small boats, animals or cars and off you go!  Easy peasy.

image courtesy of amoandbows.com

fun stuff – crochet playground

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I can’t crochet.  I can’t knit, and I can’t really sew unless we count the turtle cushion I made in Year 8 Home Economics class (yes, I am that old).

If I could crochet, this would totally (like, totally) be my next project.  A crochet playground!  How amazing is it?

images courtesy of playscapes.com

Terribly talented Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam is the artist behind this incredible Rainbow Net playground at the Hakone Sculpture Park, Japan. The idea for the crochet playscape happened by accident, after Toshiko observed two little kids interacting with a crochet art installation she had on exhibit.

For the moment, I might just try a crochet square coaster … or maybe a scarf …

 

water play for spring

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With the weather warming up here, it’s a great time to get the little ones outside and soaking up some fresh air and sunshine.

Here are some fab ideas to get you started, just in case you are having trouble coming out of hibernation.

courtesy of handmadecharlotte.com

OK, so this home made kids car wash is the deluxe end of DYI but we have lots of easier projects too.  All you need for this one is some chalk, a spray bottle of water and a suitable surface.  Chalk keeps my kids entertained for hours.

courtesy of playcreateexplore.com

These water walls are both fun to make and use.  You can find the tutorial for the first one here.  Such a cool way to explore with water!

courtesy of teachpreschool.org

And last but not least (because these two are the absolute easy peasiest ideas you will find!), these recycled milk or drink bottles will keep little ones happy AND they can help water the garden for you.  Everyone’s a winner!

courtesy of childhood101.com and journeytodream.blogspot.co.uk

Whatever you do this weekend, soak up Spring (or Autumn for our northern hemisphere friends) and enjoy. x

 

rock (and roll)

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Whether your little one has their very own collection of special rocks accrued over time or through adventures, they grab a handful from the backyard or buy a pack of shiny river rocks from your local nursery, we have some fab ideas of rock creations and games.

Help kids develop their imagination and storytelling with these ‘story rocks’.  Paint a range of pictures onto your rocks then varnish for protection.  Kids then randomly pick a rock out of the box or bucket and have to tell their part of the story based on the picture they select.  Suits one on one or group play. Courtesy of modernparentsmessykids.com

For these bright sparks you’ll need to grab your brightest paints and a black markers.
The new pet rock – Monsters.  To create these crazy monster rocks there are absolutely no rules!  (courtesy of minimatisse.blogspot.com)

Hide N Seek – paint rocks however you like and hide them in the garden.  Numbers and letters work really well if you are playing with just one child (eg find me numbers 1-10, or find me all the letters in the alphabet) or colours and patterns are great for group play where the goal is to simply find the most number of rocks. Courtesy of http://www.athomewithali.net/

Rock creatures – some tips! Be sure to glue rocks together before painting them, attaching small stone features such as eyes, feet, or beaks to body parts before joining larger parts.  Attach whiskers and tails after painting. Cement glue makes the strongest bond but should be used only by parents working in a well-ventilated area. Kid-friendly glues are less durable and are best for rock crafts that will sit on shelves. Image courtesy of marthastewart.com

Footprints – this is a cute way to show who lives in your home!  Pop them in your garden or at the front door.  Image source unknown

Tic-tac-toe game – use a slate tile with chalk lines as the board.  You’ll need a selection of noughts rocks and crosses rocks.  These can be painted or also written in chalk however this is, of course, more temporary.  Image courtesy of realsimple.com

We included these just because we love them and they are soooo terribly sweet!
Birds – courtesy of http://www.inspirebohemia.com
Sweet little birdy – courtesy of jenniferpaine.tumblr.com
Little owls – courtesy of thecarolinejohansson.com

 

 

imagination + paper = fun

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Got a roll of  butchers paper or kraft paper handy?  This great play mat not only provides hours of play once completed but uses lots of imagination to create.

Kids can include whatever scenes they like – city, farm, seaside, river – the list is endless.  You can also add 3D elements (think cotton balls, corrugated cardboard, boxes for building and rocks) if you like!

If you don’t have large sheets or rolls of paper simply glue or tape A4 sheets together.

Image courtesy of tokketok.com

may the (noodle) force be with you

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Here’s a super dooper quick crafty idea that if, like me, you are constantly stuck in the middle of a battle of some kind between little people.  It might be a friendly pillow battle, a jumping battle on the trampoline, a food battle, a Lego battle, a REAL (mean) battle of wills, or a good ole light sabre battle!

If you don’t want to spend a mozza on a Light Sabre with all the bells and whistles, you can whip one up with the kids using a pool noodle and some electric tape.  Easy peasy. Done.

are we there yet?

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After taking a little road trip solo with my three boys this week, I felt it was high time to share our favourite activities that keep everyone in our car happy (enough) and keep that burning question “are we there yet?” at bay.

Eye Spy With My Little Eye
This one has been a good ole favourite for decades!  When catering for younger kids who can’t yet spell, we adapt the game to spot something of a particular colour and introduce letters in due course.

50 Things To Do On A Journey
We don’t leave home without this little pack of cards full of fun games and activities.  Our favourites are;
– Who Lives There? (this one is great if you are stuck in slow moving traffic!)
Someone spots a house and then everyone adds their thoughts about who lives there including the owner, their pets, what they like to do etc

– In My Backpack
Start with “In my backpack I have …” followed by an object, then the next person repeats the first sentence and adds another item.  Eg, “In my backpack, I have a soggy sandwich, then “In my backpack, I have a soggy sandwich and a teddy bear”.  The sillier the better.  We usually have something slimy, something smelly and something dirty in our stories – one of the joys of an all boy family.

CD Books
I have a friend who swears by Paul Jennings CD books for her boys.  She says it keeps them quiet from Point A to Point B and we are LOVING that!  There is a huge range of CD books available for kids of all ages.  You can even get them personalised.

On our way home yesterday, with three tired little fellas in the back seat I put on our Sleep Stories CD and they were sound asleep within minutes.

I have also learned the hard way on solo parent trips that everyone must take a “wee stop” before departure and that everyone has their water bottle and some snacks handy.

Oh, and don’t forget your sunnies!

for lego lovers (and their mamas)

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Mama of three boys = serious lego collection.

Take into account we also boast a substantial “vintage” collection that my in-laws saved from my hubby’s childhood (that’s another story) and I am always looking for clever clogs ideas that use these timeless coloured blocks in any way other than the norm.

Here are my three favourites;

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Lego Key Chain Board Thingy
This is one of those “why didn’t I think of that?” ideas.  Simply attach a piece of lego to your key ring and a lego board to your wall and you’ll never need to scream “where are my keys” again.
(Image courtesy of pinterest)

Lego Maths
If your little one is not that interested in Maths, this is a great way to get their attention.  The dog wont eat their homework ever again …
(Image courtesy of thesixkents.wordpress.com)

Lego Play Table
We have done this using a cheapie bedside table (ours is IKEA but I have also seen them at other department stores for under $20).  Glue lego board onto the table to assist little ones to play at a suitable height, and (here is the best bit) keep the lego contained in one area. We have storage tubs under the table. Suitable for duplo through to lego.

(Images courtesy of skiptomylou.org and meetthedubiens.blogspot.com)