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Cut 1/4th of the apple out, and core the remaining portion.  Add something sticky – we used cream cheese and peanut butter, but I bet nutella would be great too!

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We made some with horns, some apple monster faces with worms crawling out of their heads, and of course, lots of crazy eyes.  These were a hit with my preschoolers..

Have you played with your food?  Or done an activity with monsters?  Let me know!  I’d love to feature you in an upcoming post!

1 -Gina of Play-Based Preschool brought a number of outdoor “treasures” into her class for her students to explore, bury, smoosh and otherwise enjoy.  Looks like they had fun.

2 – This is by far my son and his pals favorite thing to do outside.  I can literally give them a dozen different links of PVC piping, access to water, a dirt patch and not see them until it’s meal time!  If you have boys check out Becky of My Kids Make, she definitely understand the preschool “boy” mind!

3 – Do you have Rolly-polly’s at your house?  We do!  And big black beetles.  Both are among the favorite bugs to collect and “make homes for”.  In this post, Rose, of Walnut Acre, watched her kids make bug homes for the insects her children collected.

4 – Rachel of Sun Scholar made teraniums with her kids.  We have always enjoyed making them and these look really cute.  Does anyone have tips on how to keep them from getting moldy?  Ours never last for long.

5 – D.G. used recycled materials to create a cardboard tube windsock.  My daughter loves anything crafty – this could be a great way to get her excited about the weather!

6 – Another activity I wish we could do!  Alas, there is no space in my yard for a gravel pit, but if there were, we would totally make a “rock quarry” for the kids to have fun excavating!  Jena, of Happy Little Messes, can we come to your house?

Want to be featured one week? Link-up your favorite play-related post (please no printables!)
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Our weekly link-up is hosted by:

* Anna : The Imagination Tree
* Jamie : hands on : as we grow
* Rachele : Messy Kids
* Jenny : Let the Children Play

How to Play :

* Give us love, link back to us in your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly playdate!
* Stop by our blogs Thursdays and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It’s Playtime community.
* We will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you)

P.S. Printables, giveaways and reviews will be deleted, we are trying to keep this link-up party about playing with our kids.
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How to have fun playing and decorating a  cardboard box?

We used paint, yarn, a clothespin, diaper wipes, a cardboard box and some willing kiddos to help the paint fly.

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After tying the yarn to a nail we had hanging on a beam, we squeezed the paint onto a diaper wipe, pulled back and let it fly!  When that got boring we began throwing the wipes.  Could you believe that my two year old left to go play in a different part of the yard?  We were having too much fun for her – that and it was harder for her to reach/pull/throw the paint.   Poor thing.

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Many thanks to the other participants in the Cardboard box challenge.  Have fun browsing their submissions:

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Do you have a favorite, cheap kids meal?  Stop by and tell me about it in the SavvyLiving community!

Some of the things you can put into your sensory tub:

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This list was created in part during our last live chat, roughly 20 preschool bloggers and I had a great chat on MomLoop, we’d love to include you next time we host one!  Leave a comment if you want me to email you when we have another one.

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Cathy of Nurture Store contributed to this list and has a bunch of other sensory tub ideas on her blog – check them out.

Anna, of Imagination Tree added about a dozen of the suggestions above and her blog is full of imaginative activities for kids.

Nicole of Activity Mom, has a bunch of pre-made sensory tub “kits” available for sale at her “Time for Tots” store.

Shannon of Milk and Cuddles created a fun edible winter-themed tub for her daughter to enjoy.

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Do your kids enjoy sensory tubs?  What is their favorite “ingredient”?

I loved discovering Mindi’s site, B.A. Bookworm, we are bookworm wanna-bes over here and I love some of the ideas she has for ways to encourage reading in our kids!  She is an advocate for getting kids up and moving, rather than sitting in front of a TV (or computer – we love starfall and online educational game over here!)  All you need for these activities is a brown paper bag and some creativity!

Rule 1: Be Electronic Free All-Day

Yes, that means no electronics. No computers, no television, and no video games. I know, I’m a meenie. But honestly, those are the days when I see my kids get the most creative with their time.

Occasionally, it helps to give the kids a little something to do in order to jump start their creativity. So, here’s an idea to help get them motivated and moving in a positive direction.

Rule 2: Pick a Mystery Activity

Have your kids use a small note pad or several small pieces of paper. Write down one fun thing to do on each piece. Each activity needs to be written on a separate piece of paper. Remember also that these activities cannot involve electronics.

Choose specific board games, puzzles, card games, coloring books, or whatever it is your children enjoy doing.

Next, put all of these pieces of paper into a bag and let the kids take turns plucking out one piece of paper at a time. Each time a child picks an activity out of the bag then that will be what the kids play next.

Now, not only will the children be occupied for a while, but they wont be bothering you to help them find something to do! You can just occupy yourself with your own activities while the kids play.  But hey… just in case the kids are still bored, be sure to tell them you’ve got a few bathrooms that need to be cleaned. Then, like magic, I’m sure they’ll find something to do real fast!

Thanks to Mindi for the guest post and to tanakho for the photo

• Pick a 24hr period and try not to complain about anything during that time. Someone who is positive is more pleasant to be around!
• Go on a date together as a whole family! Is there a family event or place that your kids enjoy where you can be together?  We love going to play centers and the park if the weather is nice.
• Be quick to apologize if you have done something hurtful or inconsiderate. As a parent it is often hard to admit when we are wrong, and yet, apologizing can bring you closer together!
• Tell the kids one of the reasons that you fell in love with their dad, in front of him (even if you are separated from your child’s father, this is good for your kid to hear).
• Tell your family members that you love them – it is amazing how important those words are!
• Have a picnic as a family! As it is cold out we have our picnics on a sheet spread out on the Living room floor! The change of scenery makes the meal more exciting for the kids, the paper plates make clean-up fun for me!
• Encourage your kids do help you with a surprise for your hubby (or for another family member)! You can decorate a welcome home banner, decorate pictures, bring him something at work, be creative!
• Cuddle together as a family. If your kids are young, have a tickle-fest! My preschoolers love being with their mommy & daddy.
• Look for three things to thank each of your family members for throughout the day.
• Make an extra effort to actively listen to to your children and your spouse. Ask them leading questions to encourage them to talk to you.

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Thanks to Parvin for the image and to Aimee for inspiring this post.. Here is another site with top ten ideas.

1. Paint the fingers on a white glove different colors.
2. Finger paint with pudding, mix colors and see what happens.
3. Go on a scavenger hunt in your house to find all the red items (or blue, etc.)
4. Create spinning tops with a variety of primary colors. What happens when the two colors mix? What happens if there are lots of colors on the top? (http://www.thinkingfountain.org/t/tops/tops.html)
5. Make a window hanging by melting crayons between sheets of wax paper.
6. Make a coffee filter butterfly. Draw a black line(s) on it and dip it into water. Watch the black and how it is compiled of a mix of all colors.
7. Play with colorful foods.  Dye your mashed potatoes.  Mix them, what happens?  How about mixing food coloring into butter and “painting” your toast.
8. Blindfold your kiddos and have them walk to another room – if that was too easy tell them to retrieve something or put obstacles in their way.  Talk about their dependence on sight and empathize with what blindness is like.
9. Using a flashlight (or three) take a red, yellow and blue balloon and cover the light with the balloon. Shine them on the wall, what happens when the flashlights shine at the same area? What happens if you add a green balloon/light?
10. Have fun doing some optical illusions.  Discuss how the brain interprets what we see.

Videos with sight tricks:

Optical illusions:

more themes…

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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!

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Supplies needed:

• Felt, lots of colors!
• Shapes to trace (I used some blocks and lids to make patterns of the various shapes we included)
• Scissors
• Extras (beads, scarps of yarn, pipe cleaners, etc.)
• Your imagination

Instructions:  Cut the felt into various sized circles, squares, rectangles, ovals, triangles, crescents, etc. If you are really industrious you can make a felt envelope to carry your pieces in and use as a display – great for traveling!

Learning activities:

• Create a pattern
• Discuss big, bigger and biggest while comparing the sizes of the circles you’ve made.
• Think of an animal or plant and to re-create it with your shapes (ex: ant, cat, caterpillar, cow, butterfly, etc.).
• Use the shapes to create letters (Can your caterpillar be a “C”?)
• Can you make food out of your shapes?  What shapes look like foods?  My kids loved “grilling” and flipping their “food” with the kitchen spatulas!

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This activity is part of our Animal Learning Series.  For more click the link: