Click here to read 8 Messy Play Ideas for Kids & Why You Should Let It Happen on Hands On As We Grow® I’ve got some messy play ideas to get you started on some fun with the kids! They’re going to absolutely love you if you allow it to happen! Yes, messy play. Oh… it’s such a mess! I don’t want my kids to make a mess! Noooo!! Sound familiar? I just had a similar freak-out not too long ago when I challenged my newsletter subscribers with a messy activity. But wait! Give it a chance and your kids might just change your mind about the mess. Just remember that messes can be cleaned up ..read more

Click here to read 27 Tin Can Crafts & Activities For Kids! on Hands On As We Grow® Turn your recycling into cool art projects and crafts for kids to make! Try these fun tin can crafts and activities for kids! Upcycling is free and versatile.  Upcycling can be done with things you have on hand. Tin can crafts and activities are a great way to upcycle! Tin cans…I have a lot on hand, at all times! 27 Tin Can Crafts & Activities For Kids! Since I always have so many tin cans on hand at all times, I decided that we might as well put them to good use as crafts and activities! My kids l ..read more

Click here to read Ways Kids Can Use a Slide (Other Than Sliding Down It) on Hands On As We Grow® I am relieved that lovely weather is arriving so my preschoolers can move their gross motor activities outside. The snow was fun in November and December, but come January (not to mention February, and March) I was over it. We managed to find some fun indoor gross motor activities to get us through the coldest of the winter days, but now we can take those activities where they really belong – Outdoors! I was thinking of some of my favorite outdoor gross motor activities for preschoolers and realiz ..read more

Click here to read Painting with Nature Starts With a Nature Walk on Hands On As We Grow® Experience painting with nature in a different and fun way! Use items collected from hiking adventures in a painting project your kids will love. My little ones LOVE to paint and I am always looking for new and fun ways to enhance their painting experience. One main way that I accomplish this is to find alternatives to your everyday, standard paint brush. I love turning to the outdoors and incorporating natural items in our play whenever possible. Using the variety that nature has given us is an exc ..read more

Click here to read Lemon Battery Experiment (This One’s for the Girls) on Hands On As We Grow® As the mom of a beautiful little girl, I am always on the lookout for ways to make sure she has a foundation to succeed. I want her to feel smart. I want her to be curious and excited to explore new ideas. My daughter has always been drawn to science activities. I couldn’t be happier! I’ve made a point to provide her with the materials she needs to explore science on her own as well as offer activities that challenge her. I teamed up with Green Works to help the next gen ..read more

Click here to read Easy Easter Egg Craft to Make Use of Your Ribbon Stash on Hands On As We Grow® A simple ribbon Easter egg craft that surely brightened up the room and added a Spring touch to decorate for Easter! George and I spent a morning making Easter eggs to put in the window! Take a look at these! Aren’t they pretty? And they’re so simple to make. I started by cutting out several egg shapes from scrapbook paper (or heavy card stock, an affiliate link for you to help support hands on : as we grow without any extra cost!). I have a bunch of pastel colored paper, so that worked perfectly ..read more

Click here to read Activities for 2 (or More) Kids Under 4 on Hands On As We Grow® This is often the most asked question I get from readers, especially newsletter subscribers when I ask them what they’re looking for help with. Often as parents of young children, we have more than one child under the age of 4… And juggling them can be super tough when you want to do an activity. How do I do it? First of all, before setting up any activities, I ask myself these three questions. And that usually gets me in the right direction for success. But… what are some actual activities that you can do when ..read more

Click here to read Toy Color Scavenger Hunt to Make a Rainbow! on Hands On As We Grow® Go on a color scavenger hunt around the house for what’s already all over. The toys! Find them in every color of the rainbow! We’re going on a color toy hunt! A hunt for toys in the colors of the rainbow. I started with drawing a rainbow on a large sheet of butcher (art) paper. (That’s it! Not much for prep!) I sent Henry on a scavenger hunt for small toys of each color of the rainbow. We had a fun time searching around the house for each color. Henry arranged the toys onto the rainbow I drew to make a rai ..read more

Click here to read Rainbow Suncatcher Made with Just the Primary Colors on Hands On As We Grow® I mentioned in my last newsletter that I was out of contact paper (a shame, since its one of my must have craft supplies). Well, this was the rainbow suncatcher that I’ve been waiting to make! And it was definitely worth the wait! I love seeing this in the window (scroll down to see how it turned out)! Of course, you could make a rainbow suncatcher with all seven rainbow colors and have it turn out just as pretty. But we did it minimally, with the three primary colors to add a twist of learning ..read more

Click here to read Rainbow Rice Sensory Bin + Letter Learning on Hands On As We Grow® A rainbow rice sensory bin is great for toddlers, and we added in letter learning for preschoolers! Plus, learn how to make colored rice for hours of fun! Farah is sharing a fantastic sensory bin for learning letters today! She’s a fellow Huddler, will you join us too? I have been using rainbow rice to create innumerable learning opportunities. How to Make Colored Rice We have more rainbow rice activities that also goes into detail of how to make colored rice. It’s very simple and the kids can help do it! Al ..read more