Milestone Clothesline

Difficulty: Easy
Messy Rating: 1 / 5
Prep Time: 15 minutes


Great for all ages including adults.

The idea is to be able to hang important quotes, milestones, reminders, pictures, etc. to a place where you will always see them.  This may be a bedroom, hospital room, office, bathroom, or any place else.  Kids can cut out/decorate shapes and parents can write milestones on them, teens can write song lyrics, kids can draw important pictures.  This activity will likely be therapeutic for all involved, and a constant reminder of positivity in the space where you put it.


Ingredients:

Ribbon or String
Tape
Scissors
Construction Paper
Markers
Clothes Pins


Directions:

1. Tape or tie string/ribbon to a wall or between two objects.  Clothes pins tend to stay upright when ribbon is secured tightly to a wall.

2. Cut out shapes and write on/decorate them.  I personally wrote quotes that I want to wake up to every morning.  Another idea is to write a child's milestones and date them with a picture on each.

3. Pin the shapes to the clothes pins

4. ADD TO IT OVER TIME - this therapeutic activity does not have to be a "one time thing"!

Magic Bottles

Difficulty: Easy
Messy Rating: 1 / 5
Prep Time: 5 Minutes


Need a stress reliever for homework or a distraction for car rides?

These bottles are super simple and can create tons of entertainment.  You can choose how much water versus oil you put in and let the kids choose the food coloring they want.  I find these helpful for long homework assignments that require breaks or hospital procedural distractions.  For long term use, I recommend taping the caps shut.  You can also put in buttons, beads, sparkles, or other small objects to float around when they shake it.


Ingredients:

Bottles (any size)
Water
Cooking Oil
Food Coloring


Directions:

1.  Take labels off of bottles and wash any residue out of them.

2.  Fill the bottle about 1/2 way with water 
(Remember that you will need to put in oil, and leave some air at the top of the bottle as well)

3. Add food coloring (about 3-6 drops for a standard water bottle)

4. Add cooking oil to the same bottle, make sure to leave about one inch of air at the top of the bottle.

5. (Optional) Add small objects such as buttons, beads, sparkles, etc. to shake around in the bottle.

6. SEAL TIGHTLY! tape if necessary :)

Green Goop

Difficulty: EASY

Messy Rating: 4 / 5

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Want to make a mess?

It's actually relatively easy to clean up too!  And just as simple to make.

This "GOOP" is super cool, because when you move it quickly, it become solid, but when you let it sit or slowly drain it through your fingers, it is a liquid.  Put this in a bowl or on wax paper and you will get thorough entertainment out of it.  PLUS it is non-toxic (even better!).  To clean, I used a dry paper towel to wipe surfaces off, but you do not need anything more than a paper towel and water to get this off of surfaces.  It comes off of pretty much everything easily.  Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

Corn Starch (3 cups)

Water (2.5 cups)

Food Coloring (Optional)

Directions:

1.  Add 3 cups corn starch to a bowl

2.  Slowly add 2.5-3 cups of water to the same bowl

3. HAND MIX the water and corn starch until the two have blended.  You will notice that the mixture will be hard to blend if you are moving your hands quickly, try to slowly blend the mixture together.

4. Add a few drops of food coloring to make it look cool

5. Tape wax paper down to surface around GOOP mixture, I found that the mixture wipes off of granite and hardwood easily with a dry paper towel, however it was easier with the wax paper down.

6. Hand to kids and begin the things you need alone time to do :)

**Disclaimer:  I found this idea on Pinterest!

Welcome!

This blog is to share creative ideas I have tried.  These can be used to entertain children, cope with stress, express emotion, cure boredom, brighten up a space, or anything else you may need them for!  I will add pictures and explanations of different projects I have attempted.  Many of the ideas I have gotten off of Pinterest, a few I have found from books, and some I have come up with myself.  The hope is to share my thoughts and maybe make these a bit easier for you to do in your own time :)

Enjoy and PLEASE Comment!

Claire