DIY Mermaid Stress Balls

If you need a fun activity for tweens and teens this summer, you will want to make these DIY mermaid stress balls! This craft is so much fun, and it is easy too.  You can make these with super simple supplies that you may have on hand. If not, grab them at your local dollar store.

 

If your kids are anything like mine, they have an insatiable love of fidgets. Harper had a ton of fun making and squishing this pretty stress ball. Even teenage Rolf was caught playing around with one. Can you guys believe that cute little blond haired boy is 14 now? Harper is 10, and we have been filling our days with little projects, as her brother has his own social life and agenda this summer.  From ipad stands to 3d Ladybugs, we have been getting super crafty. This stress ball craft might be our favorite yet.

Supplies:

 Balloons

Water beads *we used blue, green and purple beads.

Faux pearls and glitter if desired.

Directions:

Soak water beads until they are activated. To make this easy peasy, use a water bottle to activate for easy transfer.

If you want to add any beads, confetti or glitter, add it to the bottle now.

Stretch your balloon over the water bottle.

Empty the water beads directly into the balloon.

Remove and tie the balloon off.

Happy squishing!

Find more favorite craft ideas for kids here:

Easy butterfly craft

Birthday cake sensory bin
Minion puppets

Mud Ice Cream

This mud ice cream station is so much fun for kids! It is easy to set up and is the perfect use for those leftover ice cream cones from summer, while serving up a bunch of good old fashioned fun!

I am always looking for great ways to keep my kids playing without turning to their video games.This mud ice cream activity kept them entertained with dramatic play all day. They naturally got filthy dirty which is half the fun! If you do this with your kids, opt for old clothes and shoes and do it outside!

Supplies:

Ice cream cone

Sprinkles

Old dishes like a bowl and spoons to scoop with

Mud

Directions:

Fill up a bowl with mud.

Offer your children spoons and scoops , sprinkles and a few ice cream cones.

You might like to add a few old bowls to the mix for variety.

Allow your child to scoop mud into the cones and dishes and add a generous amount of sprinkles!

Both of my kids were enthralled with this idea. It might have been one of the best activities I have ever set up for them. They laughed, they mixed up mud, served it to each other and got so incredibly dirty. It was wonderful fun!

Both kids agreed that this would be fun to try with snow too! Should we be so lucky this winter to have enough snow to play with!

When playtime is over, simply spray the tools your kids used to play with the hose, and toss the ice cream cones! I love easy clean up activities! If the weather is warm enough, your kids might enjoy a splash in the sprinkler, or the garden hose to clean off a little bit before going inside.

You can find more kids activities here

Play Doh Fine Motor Rainbows

Pine Cone Rescue

Play Doh Food Themed Puzzles

Do you need an easy way to keep the kids entertained? This play doh puzzle idea is perfect for challenging them with items you already have on hand!

It is no secret that we LOVE play doh! Homemade versions, ideas to play with it, and just the joy of squishing it in your hands! No matter how you do it, it is fun with play doh.

The kids have been out of school for a long time now; 6 weeks and counting. Keeping them learning, playing and happy has been a challenge. I have had to get creative in my efforts, but some of the best ideas are born out of idle time and basic supplies.

This play doh puzzle can be as challenging or easy you want it to be. We used play food because we have a lot of that.

Affiliate links are used in this post. If you make a purchase, I will earn a small advertising fee at no cost to you.

Supplies:

Play Doh

Several Play Foods

Directions:

Roll a can of play doh out until it covers about a 6 to 8" area

Press assorted play food into the play doh, leaving a little room in between the food to create impressions that you can match up.

After you have filled the play doh with imprints of play food, lay all play food around the play doh and invite your child to match up the play food to the imprint that the food left.

Repeat with more play food, or even other objects from around the house.
Make more imprints for more challenging puzzles, or fewer for an easier play experience.
We loved that we could make this fun for both kids without having to buy anything!

You can find all of my play doh ideas here

Reader favorites include:

Play Doh Flower Counting

Play Doh Multiplication

Easy Ghost Window Cling

Halloween is near, and this cute little ghost will add a touch of fun to your windows without spooking your wallet! This is economical, adorable and easy to make!

We can't get enough Halloween crafts. Both of the kids and I enjoy creating frighteningly fun projects to get us even more excited about any holiday!

We were short on time one afternoon and wanted to make a cute and easy craft. This is what we came up with, a fun ghost for the window! This only took a few moments to complete and we loved it for a few reasons. The kids got to practice their scissor skills, which is an important skill for all kids, and they got to experiment with textures.

You will need {per 1 ghost}
 one square of white paper
4 small circles of black paper
2 slightly larger circles of black paper
A section of contact paper, transparent, to accommodate the size of the ghost you wish to make
Scissors
3 glue dots, school glue etc

Begin by placing your contact paper sticky side up
Add 2 black dots to the contact paper for eyes
Add one larger black circle of paper for a mouth
Cut the white paper to look like a ghost
Add the ghost shape over top of the eyes
Add 2 remaining eyes and mouth to the ghost
Stick it on a window for a spooky fun addition!

And there you have a super economical, fun and easy ghost craft for kids!

Find more Halloween DIYS here
Reader favorites include:
Glam Pumpkin Make Over

Itsy Bitsy Spider Craft

If you spend a lot of time listening to preschool music like I do, you are going to LOVE this easy Itsy Bitsy Spider craft that I made with my kids. This was so easy to assemble and so much fun to make. This is suitable for preschoolers and my 8 year old enjoyed it too... even though that is a baby song.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider House

You will need one full sheet of colored paper 
one 4x6 inch square of paper in another color
one triangle in another color (to make a roof)
2 2x2 inch squares of paper that are the same color.
One 2x2 inch square of paper in another color
One 1x3 inch strip of black paper
One Straw
One spider ring
2 strips of tape
Glue Stick

First Glue your 4x6 inch square of paper onto the full sheet.

Then glue on the triangle for the roof, and the 2 squares of paper that are the same color for windows.

Next add your door and your chimney.

Tape your straw to the side of the house on the bottom.
Slide the spider ring onto the straw from the untaped top.
Tape the top of the straw.

You can sing the itsy bitsy spider song with your kids, and have them move the spider up the spout! How cute right?

We had a lot of fun with this super easy Itsy Bitsy Spider Craft. I love that with such simple supplies we were able to create something so entertaining. 

This is not the only craft we have that  makes use of straws . You can give used straws a hot water soak and reuse them too to help reduce waste!

You might also like

Straw Necklaces; bling made for kids, by kids.

Straw Flutes; hey, why not?

In the Carrot Patch Activity

This easy activity for kids is fun and it uses their fine motor skills!

My kids are too cute. In the warm months, they attack my flowers with the cutest dramatic play sessions. The flowers are carrots and they are farmers, anxious to share their crops!

With that kind of imagination, it is hard to get irritated over it. I thought maybe we could keep the carrot patch fun going, long after they had picked every stem.

This activity comes together fast! All you need is a box, some orange and green cardstock and some glue. A utility knife or box cutter will be handy as well.

Cut carrot shapes from the orange paper.

Glue green bits to the top, to resemble a fresh carrot.

Cut slits in the box, making them a tiny little bit wider than the carrot shape.

Slip the carrots into the slits and let the kids pick them and plant them.

This is great for fine motor and dramatic play, and it just might save the flowers, but I am not counting on it!

Apple Tree Window Cling

Fall days are the perfect time to find inspiration from nature and create fun crafts with the kids. This easy DIY window decal comes together within a few moments and adds a colorful touch to your windows. The kids will love displaying their artwork for the world to see!

This is such a simple project you guys! For $2 you can make a dozen or more window decals to add a festive fall touch to your windows! Best of all, this imaginative craft is perfect for the kids!

To make an apple tree window cling you will need:
Transparent contact paper, cut to the size you wish to work with. We used a 6'x4" section.
Tissue Paper Squares in dark green and yellow
One strip of brown construction paper
Scissors

First peel the backing off of the contact paper and lay it sticky side up. Add a strip of brown paper for the tree trunk.

Cut several circles from your yellow tissue paper, place around the tree trunk.

Next lay your squares of green tissue paper over the yellow dots, forming the leaves of the tree. 

Finally, find a window that gets a lot of sun and smooth the sticky side to the window. It will peel off without mess or residue whenever you are ready to take it down.

I love this craft for kids because it introduces them to a sticky texture to work with, and manipulating the paper into the right placements is great for fine motor skill development.

You might also enjoy this Fall Tree Silhouette Placemat Craft for kids.

Paper Plate Witch Craft

This paper plate craft is perfect for toddlers and school aged children. This one requires simple supplies you likely already have and comes together in a flash!

We have been crafting up a lot of Halloween fun! The kids are really excited about spooky fun and awesome costumes, so I have been indulging their interest and excitement with easy crafts! 

To make this fun witch craft all you will need is:

A paper plate

Green Paint or Markers

2 fun googly eyes

Glue

Black Construction Paper

Orange Construction Paper

Scissors

Color or Paint the Paper Plate Green

Cut a triangle from the black paper, then cut a strip slightly longer than the triangle, glue these onto the paper plate like a witch's hat.

Tear a few strips of orange paper for hair. Tearing instead of cutting will give kids a chance to use fine motor skills plus make the paper curl slightly, which is just fun! Glue the hair onto the witch. 

Next, add eyes and draw on a nose and a mouth. We gave our witch a cute smile.

There you have a cute, friendly and fun Paper Plate Witch craft! This is great for little ones because it is creative, it gives them the opportunity to use their scissor skills and work their fine motor skills too. Additionally, it offers your home a touch of personalized Halloween decor!

You might also like this cute Angry Bird's Pig Craft.