Combine play sand with cornstarch and you get lots of sand fun!  What is great about this mixture is that unlike regular sand, it cakes together when slightly damp.  Almost becoming hard, but smashes back into sand.  All of my kids enjoyed playing with there new “outdoor only” tub!  I will warn you though, they were covered in sand when they were done!  The “clumping qualities” exist on clothing too – haha.  This was messier than regular sand, it didn’t just brush off until it was bone dry (aka when …

This is a super simple activity I remember playing when I was a kid.  Basically, we created a stop/go sign and one person got to be “in charge”.  When the sign said go we ran around like crazy banshees!  When it said stop, we’d stop.  Super simple!  Kept them entertained for quite awhile.  I even got a morning “quiet time” as a result of all our running!  I have some resting preschoolers this morning.
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What you need to make your sign:

Paper towel roll (I think we used the insert from our …

These were originally going to be bugs, but then my daughter began naming them after her pretend friends.  At least her pretend friends now have “faces”.  Maybe you can have fun creating pet rocks, pretend rock friends, or paperweight bugs.
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Needed:
Rocks
Old Toothbrush (to clean the rocks)
Paint (acrylic is best)
Embellishments (pom-poms, eyes, etc.)
To do:  Scrub the dirt off of your rock, paint them and embellish.  Have fun creating a world of rock creatures.
Have fun!

If your kids are like mine they are obsessed with birds.  The cooling winds of fall bring lots of birds, mostly crows, through our yard.  Z loves watching the birds congregate on our fence.  Today we created pine cone bird feeders to feed the birds on their southern trip.
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Materials needed:

Pinecones
Ribbon (we used strips of fabric)
Peanut Butter
Wild Birdseed

First you lightly coat the pine cone with the peanut butter.  Next you roll the pinecone in the seeds till it is coated.  Intertwine your ribbon around the pines of the pinecone and hang …

We love our town and it’s yearly street fair.  The kids and I are looking forward to next weekend using the festival as a way to engage and interact with my preschoolers.  Here are ten ideas that we are planning to use to interact with our youngsters at Celebrate Roanoke, or any other local fall fair:

Play where’s Waldo, only pick a clown or someone in costume.  Have your children tell you whenever they spot him or her walking around.
Count the number of people you see dressed in historical garb.  How …

This activity is appropriate for a wide variety of ages and offers lots of opportunity for learning.You’ll need: tray of some sort (ice cube tray, baby food freezer tray, egg carton, muffin tin etc) colored paper.
Put a small piece of colored paper in each section of the container.  Make sure that colors match things that your child will be able to find outside.   Children then get to hunt for various colored things to match.
Learning opportunities:

if you include multiple shades of the same color in your activity you can talk about …

Shaving cream is a great idea for any rainy day. My kids love it when I spray some on the kitchen table and make shapes in the foam.
Ron and his family have a great idea for summer outdoor fun with shaving cream.
What you need:

Tarp
Balloons
Shaving cream (the foaming kind, not gel)
Goggles
A hose to wash off with afterward

Fill the balloons with shaving cream, blow them up the rest of the way and let the kids try to pop them.  The balloons are hard to grab hold of when you are covered in the …