12 Outdoor Letter & Word Activities: Kid's Co-op

Have you seen all the school supplies out in the stores? Like it or not, school is starting soon. But that doesn't mean the kids have to come inside just yet. Kids can practice letter recognition and word skills outside with these outdoor literacy activities from The Kid's Co-op.

Easy Butterfly Feeder

This butterfly feeder is easy for kids to make and looks great hanging from a tree. All you need is a plastic planter, some string, and butterfly food and you're ready to do some butterfly watching.

Frozen Marbles

This is basically just ice chalk in a ball shape. We froze some of our chalk bomb water balloons, peeled off the balloon, and had a new way to play outside. I didn't have a specific activity in mind when I made these, but I knew the kids would come up with something fun. They're like giant frozen chalk marbles. Just a few ingredients, an old pump bottle, and some water balloons are all you need to keep the kids busy on a hot summer afternoon.

Little White Owl Paper Bag Puppets: Book Activity

Usually we do book activities as an extension of the book, so we do the project after we've read it. This time we did the craft first so we could use them to dramatize the story. We went old school with some paper bag puppets, but I love how they turned out because to make them fit with our book, The Little White Owl, we had to make them as sparkly and glittery and flowery and as beautiful as possible.

15 Ways to Combine Art & Movement: The Kid's Co-op

My son is pretty reluctant when it comes to arts and crafts. It's not that he refuses to do them - he just wants to finish in a hurry and move on to something else. He likes to move. These 15 activities that combine movement and art from the Kid's Co-op are perfect for kids like him who don't want to sit still for too long.

Feature: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Necklace

We are huge fans of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and my three year old daughter loves to make necklaces. This adorable craft combines both. You can find the complete tutorial for a Very Hungry Caterpillar necklace over at Buggy and Buddy.

Chalk Bombs: Water Balloon Fun

Last year we painted with water balloons, and I wanted to do it again this year, but filling up the water balloons was a pain. This time I had a new trick up my sleeve though. Also, instead of regular paint, we swapped out sidewalk chalk paint to make "chalk bombs". With our new method of filling them up, we were smashing chalk-filled water balloons in no time. (I'm sorry. I just lied to you. It was still a pain to fill up all those balloons, but slightly less work than usual and totally worth it.)

 

12 Ice Activities: Kid's Co-op

Welcome back to another week of the Kid's Co-op. It's been HOT here, and one of our favorite things to do when it's hot outside is to play with ice. You really can't go wrong - it's cheap, easy to make, a great sensory experience for kids, and there are so many ways to use it. Here are 12 ice activities for kids you're sure to want to try this summer.

Frozen S'mores and Camping Books for Kids

My husband's not big on camping. In fact, I don't think he's ever gone in his entire life and he's not about to be talked into it this late in the game. My poor children had never had a camping experience until we visited my sister's family while they were camping. Of course, they loved it and one of their favorite parts was the s'mores.

He may not like camping, but my husband has a sweet tooth and he came up with the idea of making frozen s'mores at home. (The man will stop at nothing to get out of sleeping in a tent.) It was a great idea - these s'mores are made using the broiler so you can make them any time of year, but because they're frozen, they make an especially good treat for a hot summer day.

 

10 Ways to Have Fun in the Sprinkler

It's not like an ordinary lawn sprinkler isn't fun all on its own. Set the sprinkler up, put some sunscreen on the kids, and send them out hoping they'll be entertained long enough for all the grass dragged into the house to be worth it. But if you find your kids have grown bored with the sprinkler, you want to encourage some summer learning, or you have a group to entertain, there's sure to be an idea or two here for you.

Paper Plate Duck Puppet: Virtual Book Club for Kids

The featured author for this month's edition of the Virtual Book Club for Kids is Jez Alborough. Link up your Jez Alborough book projects and find more ideas below.

Many of Jez Alborough's books feature the hapless and zany Duck as the main character. We chose two of the books in his Duck series to read this month. We also made a simple puppet from a paper plate to retell the stories.

25+ Beach & Ocean Activities: Kid's Co-op

Nothing says summer like a trip to the beach, or if you're really lucky the ocean. Who doesn't remember building sandcastles as a kid? Whether you're looking forward to a beach vacation or recreating an ocean experience at home, the Kid's Co-op has been full of great ideas for ocean and beach activities:

Find beach and ocean activity ideas for sensory play, crafts, literacy, learning activities, and printables. If you're actually headed to the beach be sure to check out a fun way to countdown to your vacation and the ideas for playtime when you're actually there.

Science for Kids: Ice Experiment

This science experiment is easy to do and requires few materials, all of which you probably already have on hand. It can be done with kids of any age. My preschoolers really enjoyed it, but it's suitable for older kids too.

Kid's Co-op

I apologize for the Kid's Co-op being so late this week. I appreciate everyone who comes to share their ideas and I'm sorry it wasn't up at its usual time. Also, no features this week but I promise to have some great ones next week.


Thanks so much to everybody who linked up great ideas for kids last week.  Can't wait to see what you've got this week!

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Pony Bead American Flag

This American flag is easy to make with kids and it's a fun way to use beads. It also makes a cute patriotic refrigerator magnet in honor of July 4th.