Activities Category
Celebrating Your Child’s First Birthday
Celebrating a 1st birthday with a mix of tradition
It may seem like yesterday you were waking up every few hours for feeding or soothing your new baby, but a year has gone by and it’s time to celebrate your child’s first birthday! There are all sorts of ways you can celebrate your child’s first birthday from themed parties to special traditions including the popular “smash cake.” One first birthday party that caught our attention was thrown by a co-worker (you may remember Hyon from our interview back in May.) We loved that she had so many traditions from her Korean heritage at her daughter’s first birthday party.
Olivia picking her future career in medicine?
One tradition is to lay out certain objects for the child to grab. This is supposed to represent their future path in life. You can see from the photo that Oliv grabbed a stethoscope. Looks like Mommy and Daddy better start saving for medical school! 
You will also notice Oliv is in the traditional Korean dress Han-Bok. Besides adding to Oliv’s insane cuteness factor, Hyon has found a wonderful way to teach her children about their heritage through the symbols they have incorporated into family celebrations.
Combining old and new birthday traditions
There are many ways you can bring your family traditions and heritage into your celebrations. You can even start new traditions that your children can pass on to their children!
What ways do you share your family heritage with your children? Have you incorporated any of these traditions into first birthday celebrations?
Teach Your Toddler the Colors of the Rainbow with a Tasty Treat
Rainbows can be magical for children and adults and they are also a great opportunity to teach your child his colors! Our fruit-filled fun Friday activity will bring rainbows right to your kitchen! (This activity received 5 stars from Kolcraft. Our office loves it when we try out our recipes on them! )
What you will need:
- Fruit representing each color
- Sponge Cake (bundt shape)
- Cool Whip (or make your own whip cream!)
- Spatula to spread Cool Whip
- Knife to cut fruit (to be used by adult only)
- Optional – crayons or markers and blank piece of paper
Some fruit suggestions:
RED: Red raspberries, cherries, strawberries, red apples slices
ORANGE: Mandarin orange slices, cantalope, peach slices
YELLOW: Bananas, pineapple
GREEN: Kiwi, Green Grapes, Green apples, Honeydew Melon
BLUE: Blueberries
VIOLET: Purple Grapes, plums
We didn’t use indigo because the color is so close to purple, it is hard for a toddler to distinguish
Directions:
Talk to your toddler about rainbows. Tell her about the different rainbow legends such as the leprechauns and a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Have your child draw a rainbow. Explain the different colors of the rainbow and ask your toddler if they know any fruit that is that color. You can have the fruit out in case they need a little visual reminder.
Very simply explain the color order of the rainbow. Have your child hand you the fruit that matches that color. Cut up the bigger fruit into small slices and have your toddler help you “frost” the cake with Cool Whip. Arrange the fruit on cake in rows or columns.
Tips
Start with the inner or outer ring or place one of each fruit at one end of the cake. This will help you plan if you need to adjust size of fruit. It will also serve as a guide for your child for what color fruit to place where.
You will have to stand a few of the fruit up to fit all the colors. We found this was easiest to do with the slices of fruit like apple or orange slices.
What ways have you taught your toddler his colors?
Lost Sock Activity for Kids
I truly believe there is a sock heaven, because every time I put in a load of laundry socks go missing. How is it that when you put 8 socks in the wash, only 7 come out? I neatly pile my unmatched socks in the back of the sock drawer hoping that one day the sock’s mate will reappear. It never happens. I hate throwing out perfectly good socks and have recently found a good use for them – sock puppets!
Making sock puppets and putting on a sock puppet show is not only fun and easy, but helps your child develop his imagination. And the best part? They are easy and inexpensive to make.
What you will need:
- Socks
- Googly eyes or buttons*
- Non-toxic markers or paint
- Felt or yarn
- Non-toxic fabric glue, glue gun or needle and thread (to be used by adult only)
Easy Assembly:
- Attach the buttons or googly eyes so your sock puppet has eyes and a nose
- Use the markers or paint to draw a smile along the seam of the sock or paint other things on the puppet like a collar or tie
- Glue or sew hair on the puppet or make a little hat from felt
Once the puppet is assembled you can put on a puppet show! Reenact your child’s favorite bedtime story or favorite movie scene. Invite their friends over to put on a sock puppet play or put on a little production for Grandma and Grandpa. The sky isn’t even the limit as you watch your child’s imagination grow.
What fun ideas for matchless socks do you have?
*These items are not recommended for small children
Enjoy Your City’s Museums and Arts for Free!
Most of our cities have museums, theaters and cultural centers housing treasures of art, history, science, nature – you name it. It’s so important to instill in our children a sense of wonder, awe and appreciation for these treasures. It can get pricey though to bring your entire family to a museum, but from July 16-18, Target is footing the bill so your family can enjoy these great attractions!
Check out Target’s Arts and Wonders website, click on your city and the special free or reduced price Target attractions will be listed.
Free is hard to beat so get out and enjoy a day of the arts with your entire family. And don’t forget to bring your Kolcraft stroller in case little feet get tired.
Thank you Target for making the Arts family accessible!
Will you be participating in Target’s Arts & Wonders event?
4th of July Activites for Kids
4th of July holiday means picnics, fireworks and time with family. We thought today’s fun Friday should focus on some easy and fun red, white and blue activities and crafts for little and big kids.
Glitter Fireworks
What you will need:
- Black or very dark construction paper
- Glitter
- White glue
- Old tablecloth or covering for work station surface
- Straw (optional)
Directions:
- Spread glue on the paper in different shapes. If the glue is soft enough, you can put a small blob of glue on the paper, and then blow some air through a straw to spread it into interesting shapes.
- Sprinkle glitter onto the glue. Slide the excess glitter off your picture and back into the glitter container.
- Let dry
- Hang up your child’s decoration near your 4th of July celebration spot!
4th of July Star Centerpieces 
What you will need:
- Thick paper (construction paper or paper plates)
- Markers
- Scissors (used with adult supervision)
Directions:
- Draw 2 stars and cut them out
- Decorate stars
- Cut a slit through point of star to the start of that “arm” of the star
- Cut a slit in base of other star
- Connect the two stars at the slit so star stands on its own.
- Put down center of table for decoration
4th of July Relay Race
What you will need:
- 6 Red, white and blue balloons
- 2 teams of people
How to play:
- Divide into two teams
- Give each team 3 balloons
- Let teams know that the object is to pass the balloons player by player to the end of the line by using only their heads and legs.
- First team to complete this without the balloon touching the ground wins!
Guess the Candy
What you will need:
- Clear jar
- Red & white peppermint candies or red, white & blue M&M’s or any 4th of July colored candy
- Piece of paper and pen
- Blue and red ribbon
Directions:
- Fill jar with candy and decorate it with blue and red ribbon.
- Have people guess how many candies are in the jar (which of course means you count as you place the candies in the jar).
- The person who comes closest to the number without going over, gets the jar of candy.
My mother-in-law does this at our family picnic. Everyone from age 2 to 92 loves this game. Our tradition is that whomever wins the jar has a “celebratory lap” by sharing the contents with everyone at the picnic.
What 4th of July activities do you have to share with us?
Celebrating 4th of July with Kids
Who doesn’t love holiday BBQ, picnics and fireworks? Since the 4th of July weekend is coming up, we thought our Wednesday Wonder should have some fun kid recipes. (Check back on Friday when we will have 4th of July activities for kids!)
Healthy Fruit Kabobs your kids can make!
What you will need:
- 1 apple
- 1 banana
- 1/3 c. red seedless grapes
- 1/3 c. green seedless grapes
- 2/3 cup pineapple chunks*
Utensils:
- knife
- 2 wooden skewer sticks
- large plate
*substitute your child’s favorite fruit for any of the above
Directions:
Prepare the fruit by washing the grapes, washing the apples and cutting them into small squares, peeling the bananas and cutting them into chunks, and cutting the pineapple into chunks, if it’s fresh. Put the fruit onto a large plate.
Let your child slide pieces of fruit onto the skewer and design their own kabob by putting as much or as little of whatever fruit they want! Do this until the stick is almost covered from end to end. Makes 4 fruit kabobs.
No-bake cookies your kids can make!
What you will need:
- 8 whole-wheat graham cracker squares, finely ground
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons honey
- 4 teaspoons unsweetened coconut
How to make cookies: (so easy it’s ridiculous!)
Combine ground whole-wheat graham crackers, raisins, peanut butter and honey in a small bowl. Pat into 8 cookies and press lightly in coconut. Yields about 8-12 cookies depending on size.
Add some more healthy flair to your BBQ with a salad and dressing. Your child can help make the dressing. He or she will love shaking the ingredients in the jar and seeing the ingredients swirl around. Our favorite easy-to-make healthy salad and dressing comes from the kitchen of Jamie Oliver.
What kid friendly recipes do you have for a holiday BBQ?
Bonding with Your Baby While Meeting New Parents
You spend most of your day making baby talk with your baby and you cherish the time you have with her because you know soon enough she will be going to school, graduating…you get the picture. In the meantime, however, you are craving a little more communication with adults. You could try a meet up group, but maybe that’s not your thing.
Here are a few ideas where you might find other moms and dads like you who would like to meet other understanding parents and don’t mind if the conversation is interrupted with a diaper change or feeding time.
- Parenting Yoga Class - get fit and meet other parents!
- Park District Activities - experience new adventures (most of them for free) while you meet other parents!
- Movie theaters with Kid Friendly Movie Times – enjoy a movie in a cool theater and meet other parents!
- Gym Classes - help baby develop basic skills while bonding with other parents!
If you need a break from baby babble but don’t want time away from baby, meeting other parents can be the perfect solution.
What tips do you have for connecting with other parents?
Three Fun Summer Water Activities for Kids
With temperatures crawling over 90 degrees across the US, a little water fun can help active kids keep cool and entertained. Today’s Fun Friday features three quick and easy water ideas you can try out this weekend!
- Water Coloring – get some bathtub crayons and head outside. Go wild drawing on your child’s arms, legs, feet, face and tummy. Let them do the same to you. Run through the sprinkler, wash off & start again!
- Marco Polo – remember this game from your childhood days? Teach your children an old favorite. Head to a pool or lake, play a few rounds of Marco Polo. Whomever manages to be “it” the least, becomes King Poseidon or Queen Ariel of the pool. You can even buy a crown from the Dollar Store to crown them for the day. The crown can get passed to the new King or Queen in the next round.
- Water Tag - bring cooling off to a new level with super soakers! Play tag, but instead of tagging each other with your hand, tag each other with a stream of water. It is a fun way to cool off and get your exercise. We noticed that our local grocery stores have super soakers available for as little as $4.00!
What ways are you keeping cool this summer?
The Great American Backyard Campout!
Join Us for the Great American Backyard Campout!
Ready to have some summertime fun with your kids that won’t break your bank account? Join the National Wildlife Federation for their Great American Backyard Campout this Saturday! Just think – you and thousands of other families will all be celebrating an event that helps kids appreciate the outdoors and healthy living. You can campout as a family, you can organize a campout with friends, neighbors – the sky is the limit!
Register at backyardcampout.org. Once you sign up you get resources such as camping tips, campfire songs, packing lists, activities, etc.
We love how camping promotes children having the opportunity to be “unplugged” and connect with nature. To celebrate the Great American Backyard Campout, we are giving away a Jeep Wrangler All Weather Umbrella Stroller. All you have to do to enter is post your Great American Backyard Campout photo in our Magical Moments online photo album. We will pick a winner on Monday, June 28th. We think our Jeep strollers are perfect for the outdoorsy family who is on the go and fit hand in hand with the Campout!
Will you be camping under the stars on June 26th?
Traveling with Kids
It’s Memorial Day weekend and for some that means vacation or a trip to visit friends and family that entails a long drive. Sometimes it’s hard to keep your cool when you are asked for the millionth time “Are we there yet?”.
We love all the great travel tips at My Mommy Manual. They have practical, inexpensive ways to keep your travel time peaceful. Read the full article here.
And don’t forget to enter our contest to win a Kolcraft Tour Sport Reclining Umbrella Stroller!
