Tie Dye

Before all the COVID-19 craziness happened, my mom and I planned a fun activity for my nephew Henry.  He is in kindergarten and it all started when I wore a new shirt (similar to this one) and he complimented it, which was super cute. 

So we found the perfect tie dye kit at JoAnn Fabric with three colors in it that could work for a boy or girl and we also bought t-shirts there for Henry and his two younger sisters.

For this Project you'll need:
Tie Die Kit  - linked above (it comes with powder, mixing bottles, rubber bands and instructions)
white t-shirt(s) (you might as well do several, because the die, once mixed, doesn't last very long)



This is Henry's shirt - he did such a great job!!!

He concentrated and worked very hard on making his shirt.  He was careful not to over saturate - he dropped drips on each section and so he has a lot of white in his end design.

To make the "swirl" - lay the shirt flat, then pinch the spot where you want to be the center of the swirl, while still pinching, rotate your hand clockwise and the shirt will start to twist into a swirl.  Keeping that flat, swirled disc of t-shirt, wrap rubber bands around it in intervals like the picture below.  This will keep the swirl in place and give you a guideline of sections.  You then drop dye of each color onto different sections and then leave the areas under the rubber bands white.  Once you've gotten it as saturated as you want it, flip the t-shirt disc upside down and do the same thing on the back side.

My mom made this one for Marlowe - center swirl, medium saturate - it turned out great!

I made this one for Gia - mine is unique because I started the center of the swirl off-center - in the bottom right of the t-shirt and because I fully saturated my sections, which didn't leave much white.

Tie-Dye is super on trend and really fun to make your own - order a kit and make your own!

Lava Lamp Science Experiment

I invited my nephew Henry to come over and planned a really cool science experiment for us to do together and it went GREAT!  I definitely recommend this activity - I think kids of any age would enjoy seeing this.

For this Project you'll need:

an empty jar

vegetable oil (to fill your jar 3/4 full)

food coloring

1/2 cup water

original Alka-Seltzer tablets (broken up into a few pieces)

foil covered tray to contain mess (optional)

Step 1:  Fill jar 3/4 full of vegetable oil

Step 2:  Get 1/2 C water and let your helper add food coloring to it, then let them mix it up.

Step 3: To make this a learning experience - at this point, ask your child to form a hypothesis - ask what they think will happen when they pour the colored water into the jar of oil.  That helps them understand the scientific method and develop critical thinking skills.

Step 4: Pour the colored water into the jar of oil.

Step 5: Let your helper add pieces of the Alka-Seltzer tablets into the jar.  

The result is so cool!  

Henry was 3 at the time, and kids that age don't have a very long attention span, but he was very interested and engaged in this experiment and even wanted to do it a second time.  I love the time we spent together and the memory we created.

Creative Toddler Activities

Do you have a toddler in your life?  Your own kids, a niece or nephew, a grandchild, a sibling, kids you babysit or the child of a friend?  If so, you might be looking for some new activities to keep them entertained, challenged, happy and learning!

My niece Hadley came to visit last weekend and although she would be happy to spend all her time playing with toys and her grandparents, I wanted to plan some creative activities for her.  I searched the internet and tried some of the ideas out.

1.  Pipe Cleaners

The idea I found said to put pipe cleaners through a colander, but I just bought a small pack of colorful pipe cleaners and opened them and then set them on the floor.  That drew her in!  Hadley loved picking up bunches and throwing them in the air, like confetti!  I picked one up and made a circle (shape learning) and she loved that and started bringing me more to make into circles.  I tried asking her to bring me certain colors (color learning). 

2.  Play-Doh

I don't think explanation is needed - kids love play doh!  Hadley liked it best when it was rolled into a ball.

 

 3.  Contact Paper Face

This was my favorite idea.  You tape a big piece of contact paper to the wall, sticky side up.  Then you gather random things from your craft supplies and put them on a tray and then let the toddler stick things to it!  The only thing I bought for this was a pack of googly eyes.  I gathered some strips of paper, pieces of yarn, fabric remnants and buttons.  (I learned jingle bells don't stick.)  Hadley liked sticking the googly eyes on.  I also like that you can do a lot of variations with this idea.  You could give them a tray of colorful cereal and let them stick it on.  You could gather items that are part of a theme - leaves for fall or green items for St. Patrick's Day, you could draw a sheep and let them stick cotton balls on it.

What fun and creative toddler activities have you tried lately?