#UnpluggedPlay – Outdoor Activity Ideas Your Kids Will Love

EI Editor Posted On Nov 7, 2016 | UnpluggedPlay

#UnpluggedPlay – Outdoor Activity Ideas Your Kids Will LoveYou’ve seen the data. You’ve set the screen time limits. But getting your kids to turn it off and do something – anything! – else isn’t always easy. It’s likely going to take a little engagement on your part – so clear those calendars and get ready for an afternoon of #UnpluggedPlay for all! The experts at Educational Insights are here to help, with 10 awesome ideas for outdoor #UnpluggedPlay activities that will have your kids turning off their tablets and racing for the backdoor. Give them a go today! Outdoor1

1. Invisible Basketball (Or Football or Soccer…) – You don’t need a hoop – or even a ball! – to tip off this terrific, imaginative play session! Just face off, arms up, and let the games begin, exercising both your body and your mind. Outdoor2

2. Build a Backyard Obstacle Course – Transform your yard into an obstacle course, American Ninja Warrior style! You can go big by building everything from a balance beam, rock wall, and rope walk – together! – or you can use what you’ve got lying around. A hula hoop makes a great bean bag toss target and a 2x4 is the perfect balance challenge. Use your creativity – setting up is half the fun! And definitely don’t forget your timer. Outdoor3

3. Make Pet Rocks – Hard and fast friends, pet rocks are a great way to spend some time at #UnpluggedPlay. Simply collect some specimens, paint them to look like the members of your family, aliens, farm animals, pets – whatever!, let them dry, and voila! Dig them a home in the dirt, collect pine needles for a mattress, build them a backyard see saw with a branch – the possibilities for pretend play are endless. Outdoor4

4. Take a Listening Walk – Turn traditional scavenger hunts upside down with a listening walk! List 10 things you might hear in your neighborhood on a sheet of paper and set off to “hear” them, using your best listening skills. From an airplane overhead to a lawnmower, birds chirping, or dogs barking, you’ll be honing attention and focus while having fun. Outdoor5

5. Get Dirty – Giving your kids the go ahead to play in the mud will make their day. Simply supply a bucket or hose, find an unused dirt patch in your yard (or dump some dirt on the grass), and watch them go wild. Adding water a little at a time teaches the scientific concepts of density and resistance. Watching mud pies dry introduces the power of heat and the magical concept of evaporation. And, from baked goods to entire villages, mud play easily slides into imaginative play. Now that’s worth the mess! Outdoor6

6. Go Buggy – Nothing says “unplugged” like an afternoon of bug collecting! Surprise your kiddo with kid-cool tools, like the GeoSafari® Jr. BugWatch™ set, to capture and study the critters in your yard. A hands-on introduction to the incredible world of insects could spark a lifelong love of life science! Outdoor7

7. Blow it Up (With Bubbles) – From bouncing bubbles to colorful Kool-Aid bubbles, bubbles have come a long way, baby! Mixing your own bubble solution is a great first chemistry lesson and what could be more fun than blowing bubbles! Try string, straws, and berry baskets as bubble wands – then build your own, big and small. Test different solutions and study which ones make the biggest, longest lasting, most colorful, or most catchable bubbles. You could even capture your data in a chart… Outdoor8

8. Create a Monster Truck Track – Use parts you’ve got lying around your garage to set up a temporary monster truck track in your yard. From ramps and straightaways to curves and mud pools, you’ll also be giving your kids a glimpse into Newton’s Laws of Motion. Supplement your course with sidewalk chalk spectators for an added, creative, twist. Outdoor9

9. Speaking of Sidewalk Chalk – Even older kids can get into artistic expression with sidewalk chalk! Trace their bodies and have them color a crazy outfit. Create your house, street, or town. Go wild with a graffiti-like design. Trace the shadows of plants or trees projected on your driveway. With a little encouragement, sidewalk chalk can turn into hours of unplugged, creative play. Outdoor10

10. Make – and Fly – a Kite – Take advantage of the gusty fall weather to make and fly your own kite! It’s easy and all it takes is a piece of printer paper, a bamboo skewer (or a pencil!), and some string. Plus, you’ll be providing a crystal clear demonstration of the concept of lift.

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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!