Bubbles are such fun for kids! Make your own bubble solution to pour into a reused bubble container. Better yet, twist a bread/trash tie (or pipe cleaner) into a little bubble wand and start your own bubble kit.
1/2 cup water
1 TBSP light corn syrup
2 TBSP liquid dish soap
A great use for all of those eggshells that would otherwise just be thrown away:
Grind 6 dry eggshells in a bowl (mortar and pestal work great). Toss any large unpowderized pieces. Mix 1 TBSP eggshell mixture with 1 tsp flour, and 1 tsp hot water. Add a drop of food coloring if desired. Mix until a thick paste is formed. Roll into a chalk shape and wrap tightly in a paper towel. Allow to dry for 72 hours before removing from paper.
This is a great dough for kids to make scultures with. We especially like it since we live near the beach and have an abundance of sand! 
Mix 4 cups of sand, 2 cups of cornstarch, 1 1/2 TBSP cream of tartar, and 3 cups of hot water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat and stir constantly until it begins to thicken to the point that you can no longer stir. Allow the dough to thoroughly cool before handling. Mold the clay or use a flexible mold. Clay air dries within 1 week or may be placed in the oven at 350′ for approximately 15 minutes – allow to cool fully before handling.
I think every parent probably has a collection of broken crayons that they can’t bring themselves to toss. I’ve found a couple of uses for them:
1. Preheat oven to 400′. Line muffin tins with foil baking cups (or foil…) and place broken crayons into the foil. Place in the over for approximately 5 minutes or until the crayons begin to melt and mix. Don’t allow them to melt too long or they will overmix, resulting in an ugly crayon. Remove from oven and allow to fully cool. Once they are completely cool, remove the foil. You now have a multi-colored crayon.
2. Save these little wax gems – along with any other bits of wax (such as candles that have burned out). Once you have enough, place a wick in the bottom of an empty juice concentrate can, melt the wax in a microwave safe container, and pour into the juice can. Allow the wax to completely cool and harden. Peel away the cardboard from the juice concentrate can. You now have a recycled candle.
I always loved writing on the sidewalks surrounding my home as a child and thought I would share the recipe I am now using for my own son’s sidewalk chalk:
Mix 2 cups of water with 2 cups of plaster of paris. Add 2 TBSP of tempura paint in your choice of color. Covering one end with packing tape, stand empty toilet paper tubes on end (with packing tape down) on a piece of cardboard. Pour the mixture in slowly to fill the toilet paper tubes. Allow the mixture to dry for 2 hours. Remove and discard the toilet paper tubes and packing tape.
Today my little guy and I popped into a Goodwill. I was hoping to find some clothes for fall – which I did – I found tons of clothes actually. But thats a separate little story. What I want to talk about are these great TOYS we found!
Today we found this adorable little Winnie the Pooh chair. It’s foam with a washable cover and just my little guy’s size. The cover is currently in the washer and unfortunately requires air drying which means little man won’t get to sit in it until tomorrow. But it is going to be PERFECT for his pooh bear bedroom…or maybe in the reading corner. I priced this sucker online once I got home and found out that it is around $21. We paid just over $4. This is the one:
Now on to my next great find!! And this one is HUGE!! Just as we were getting ready to leave I looked over in the corner and spied this bright beautiful rocking airplane!! As if being big and beautiful and solid wood wasn’t enough, it turns out that this guy actually makes real airplane sounds as the child rocks on it. It even still had batteries in it!! Priced this one online as well – over $150!! We paid $12. What an awesome day!
Little man is taking a nap right now to wear off the excitement of his day…and it’s killing me. I can’t wait to watch him play on his new plane!!
Oh! And about the clothes…I walked away with 8 long sleeve shirts in absolutely perfect condition (some still with their original tags on them), a nice light sweater, and a great hooded jacket. Those alone would have been hundreds of dollars at retail. Grand total of my entire shopping trip (including tax of course): $56.37
WOOHOO!!!!
I used to envy those expensive soap crayons I would see in the children’s bath aisle. I knew my son would enjoy them if I could just figure out how to make them for cheaper. Well look no further friends!
Mix 1 cup of mild detergent flakes (Dreft is a mild choice) with 2 TBSP of hot water. Stir constantly – the mixture will be thick and hard to stir. Mix several drops of liquid food coloring into the mixture until a deep hue is mixed throughout. Make sure it doesn’t get too thin because this will increase the drying time!! Just a few drops! It should be about the consistency of white glue when you have added enough.
Spoon the mixture into candy molds, ice cube trays, or muffin tins and allow them to dry for several days until they begin to harden. Once they have begun to harden, pop them out of the molds and allow them to continue to dry for a few more days.
