An Unplugged Holiday - A Mom's Perspective

EI Editor Posted On Dec 19, 2016 | UnpluggedPlay

The holidays are upon us! At our house, we’re all looking forward to our favorite foods (well, okay, the two of us who eat more than corndogs and dino nuggets are looking forward to the food), meet ups with friends, a few days away, and lots (and lots!) of family time. But for those of us with pre-preschoolers or students with 2+ weeks out of school, filling the days without resorting to hours of YouTube, MineCraft, or Roblox can be a challenge. (On a total side note, do any of your kids watch the Eh Bee Family on YouTube? I totally don’t get it. My kid’s real-life family is right in front of her but she’d rather watch someone else’s? We must be doing something wrong.)Anyway. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for zoning out, especially after a long day at school. And I’m the first one to share those Facebook posts about how Minecraft builds STEM skills. But with days off school and no plans in sight, an hour easily slips into two or three and then? Bring on the Mom guilt.To combat the guilt and make the most of our time off together, I’ve compiled a list of five of our favorite unplugged play ideas. Give them a go this holiday break. Your kids might have so much fun that they’ll beg to unplug and play a little bit more. Just maybe.

Bring a Story to Life – Kids love being read to – even big kids. So pick a favorite story or hit the library and find a new one (ooh – library picnics are another of our favorite unplugged outings!). Read it together, then find a way to bring it to life. Act it out with puppets, draw a few scenes on paper, come up with alternate endings, rename the characters. The fun doesn’t have to end when the story does! Educational Insights’ Once Upon a Craft™ kits make it easy to extend story time, with book and craft sets that include all the materials you’ll need to bring each story to life and fun ideas for extending the story time fun.

Indoor Scavenger Hunt – I love scavenger hunts. Indoors, outdoors, wherever. If winter weather’s got you trapped inside, uplug your kids and get them moving with a list of things to find in the house. Get creative and sneak in some learning – use foreign language words for older kids, list objects of specific colors and shapes for little ones. Or tie the list to family history – the sweater mom wore to the last piano recital, Johnny’s favorite stuffed friend, etc. Timing your competitors is always a hit. And try having the kids take turn making the search list for each other!
Obstacle Course – My daughter loves an obstacle course. In fact, she’s been dying to try Parkour ever since that one episode of Adventure Time with Shelby… but I digress. If you’re willing to risk your furniture – particularly your couch pillows – you’re way ahead of the game, but you can also create a course out of other objects. Weave your way through a string of shoes, limbo under a yarn pole pinned to the sides of the door frame, hop on one foot around a baseball cap. Get creative and be sure to let your kids help plan the course – that’s half the fun! And, of course, don’t forget the timer. Challenging kids to beat their time can be extremely motivating. EI’s Pancake Pile-up Relay Race game is another way to get your kids up and moving, with a relay style challenge to race to and pile up pancakes and toppings in precisely the right order.
Bake Something – We’re big time bakers. Nothing too extreme, mind you. At our house it’s more about frequency. But kids love to measure, pour, and mix and, let’s face it, I’m not going to turn down a lick of the beater, either. Whether you choose a time-honored family recipe or a mix-in-a-box, baking is good, quality, unplugged time together. Share stories from when you were a kid, take turns licking the spoons, heck, you can even teach your kids how to wash the dishes while you wait for your creation to cook.

You can find more boredom busting unplugged play ideas here. And if you live in a warmer climate, be sure to check out our outdoor unplugged play idea post What are your unplugged play plans for the holiday break? Let me know in the comments below!Amy Opheim is a mom, wife, and freelance writer based in Southern California.

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EI Editor | Posted on Jan 6, 2023

Must-Have Craft Supplies and At-Home Craft Ideas

Who’s ready to craft? We are always prepared for a quick craft, art project, or hands-on DIY activity. To help you get crafty, we’ve put together a list of the essential craft supplies you need for your next craft emergency. Plus, we’re sharing some of our favorite ideas for quick, simple, at-home craft activities for when the inspiration strikes! Check them out:

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Scratch Paper—If your kids are just looking to scribble or draw, give your single-sided junk mail or home printer mistakes a second life as scratch paper.
Construction Paper—A crafting staple, you’ll want to stock a variety of colors and sizes and save the cut-off scraps for future projects.
Card Stock—Heavier card stock paper is perfect for making stick puppets and other sturdy crafts. Go for matte versus gloss, as markers smear on glossy surfaces.
Foam Sheets—Soft and squishy, use cut-out foam shapes to give your 2D projects some dimension, attach them to magnet packs, or hang them from homemade mobiles.
Crayons—The cornerstone of every craft closet! Keep your broken bits to melt into multi-colored circle crayons in a muffin tin—just follow these instructions from our friends at MakeandTakes.com!
Markers—If you can count on your kids to recap the markers, this is one place you might want to splurge, as cheap markers can run out of ink quickly and often leave uneven strokes.Crayola Ultra Clean Washable Broad Line Markers are a great choice for younger kids; older artists might like the variety of Dual Tip Art Markers.

Kid-Safe Scissors—Another splurge item, higher-quality scissors will open and close smoothly and easily and fit little fingers without pinching.
Craft Sticks—Purchase a pack or save your Popsicle sticks—these are great for spreading glue and perfect for supporting puppets and making DIY picture frames.
Acrylic Paint—Acrylics work well on paper, wood, and canvas (and can be thinned with water if need be). Make sure to purchase a non-toxic paint that complies with U.S. government safety standard ASTM D-4236.
Quick Dry Clay—Sculpting with kids can be so much fun and a great tactile experience! Quick-dry clay allows kids to keep their creations and paint them when they’re dry.
Playfoam®—For non-permanent masterpieces, Playfoam is the perfect choice. Unlike dough, this squishy, squashy sculpting substance holds its shape, but never dries out, so you never have to replace it!
Washi Tape—Available in a huge variety of colors and patterns, the decorative tape is an easy way to add embellishments to a project without using glue.

Ribbon—Save those last pieces of holiday ribbon! They're perfect for weaving crafts, garlands, magic wands, and so much more.
Yarn—See some yarn in the sale bin? Grab it! Your kids can use it to add “hair” to their puppets and drawings of people or manes and tails to horses…whatever their creativity inspires!
Beads—Plastic beads are perfect for stringing, gluing, or even melting into suncatchers (break out your muffin tins and follow these instructions from HappinessIsHomemade.net).
Pipe Cleaners—String them with beads, use them to make butterflies, or add them as antennae to your kiddo's crazy creatures.
Pompoms—These fluff balls are perfect for making everything from caterpillars to gumball machines. Just make sure you've got enough glue and are sticking them to a heavier stock paper.
Stencils—Tracing and cutting around stencils are great ways to exercise those fine motor skills, so stock up on different shapes as you see them on sale.
Cardboard Boxes—Save those delivery and shoeboxes! They’re perfect for making dioramas. (Pizza boxes also make great easels.)

Cardboard Tubes—You can always have more of these! Save your TP and paper towel tubes and turn them into everything from telescopes to 3D self-portraits.
Egg Cartons—What do snails, jellyfish, spring chicks, turtles, and dragons have in common? They all started out as egg cartons—just snip, paint, and embellish!
Googly Eyes—As silly as they are, googly eyes bring every project to life.

DRILL DRAWINGS

Make awesome art for ages 3-5 using the kid-friendly drill and art supplies you already have!

Supplies: Paper, Design & Drill® Drill with drill bit, markers, tape.

Choose a marker and use your tape to secure it to the drill bit.
Attach the drill bit to the drill.
Turn the drill on and get ready to draw!
We're drawing a lion, so let's start with the mane. Set the marker down on the paper and activate the drill, creating a large, spiraled circle.
Next, switch to a different color. Let's try green so we can draw some trees.
Use your yellow marker to draw the outline of your lion's head, then color it in.
Use a brown marker to draw trunks for the trees
Use a black marker to add the lion's nose, mouth, and whiskers.
Add googly eyes to finish!

Make Your Own Cardboard Ring Toss

Recycle those boxes into a DIY game! Michael Sheridan, another one of our Product Managers and spearhead of sustainability, came up with this recycled-materials ring toss game (that also practices math skills) for ages 4 and up!

Supplies: Cardboard box, scissors, marker, tape.

Cut the short flap off a cardboard box.
Mark five even lines about 3/4 inch wide and cut them out.
Mark each cardboard strip with a number from 1-5. These will be the points for each peg.
Fold the strips in different lengths so that 5 is the shortest and most difficult. 1 should be the easiest. You can skip this step if you have little ones who might have difficulty getting the ring on a peg.
Tape the strips to the inside of the box at different locations. For example, two in the top row, one in the very center, and two on the bottom row.
From the remaining piece of cardboard, cut out two rings. If you have more than two players, use the flap from the opposite side of the box to make more.
Let the games begin! Game ideas: throw the ring around the pegs. Play first to 10 or 20 to build their math skills while they play. You can also play where only odd or even numbers count.

Beautiful Bubble Art

This simple activity requires a few simple ingredients and will have you and the kids creating beautiful art in no time. It's truly fun for all ages to create your own masterpiece!

Supplies: Cup or jar, water, straw(s), food coloring (tempera paint or watercolor paint are alternatives) liquid dish soap, card stock or construction paper

Directions:

Fill a cup or jar about 1/3 full of water.
Add a few drops of food coloring and stir. If you choose to use tempera paint, it may take some trial and error to get the right color saturation. My first attempt did not use nearly enough food coloring. I used watercolor paint on the second attempt and that gave much better results (see the final photo with blue bubbles).
Once the color is mixed evenly, insert the straw, and gently blow bubbles. Be careful not to send bubbles flying all over the table!
Bubbles should rise over the edge of the cup. Take your construction paper and press it to the top of the cup. This will leave a cool imprint on the paper.
Repeat blowing bubbles and pressing paper with other colors (or the same color!) for a fun pattern!
Try combining bubbles of different colors and see how the colors blend.

Rainbow Prancer Unicorn Horn Craft

Make a wear-with-flair Rainbow Prancer Unicorn Horn! What kind of unicorn are you? Show off your Prancer style in minutes, and be sure to share your dazzling creations with us on Facebook or Instagram!

Supplies: Fancy paper of your choosing (glitter paper, construction paper, or cardstock), washi tape or ribbon elastic cording, hole puncher, sticker gems, pom poms or other methods of bedazzlement, scissors, glue or double-sided tape, markers or crayons, our printable rainbow prancer horn template.

Download the Rainbow Prancer horn template. Print out on your favorite fancy paper, color to best reflect your unicorn style, and cut out the shape along the dotted lines. Fold into a cone, then secure with glue or double-sided tape.
Punch holes on either side of the cone as marked. Thread the elastic cording through and secure with knots.
Embellish your Rainbow Prancer horn with washi tape or by gluing colorful ribbon around the horn.
Bedazzle with sticky gems, pom poms, or glitter!
Wear your newly bedazzled horn with flair, and proudly prance with a fellow Rainbow Prancer.

Stock up on your craft essentials and get crafting!