Here is a collection of two weeks worth of fun, fairly simple activities to complete with your kiddos. Over the last few months parents have had to step up their game. These 14 projects helped me get through some long crazy days of entertaining a 4 year old and 7 year old. Hoping these ideas help give you some ideas on days you need a little inspiration. YOU GOT THIS!

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1. Skittles Rainbow

Supplies: Water, White Plate, Paper, Paint Brushes, + Skittles

Use Skittles to create a rainbow pattern circle around the edge of the plate, leaving a slight ledge. Great chance to teach your little ones Roy G. BIV, or Roy G. I in this case. 🙂 Slowly pour a little water along the outside of your Skittle circle. Watch as the water penetrates the candies and creates a swirling rainbow. What colors blend together to create another color? After the excitement of watching the colors swirl, be sure to take advantage of the watercolors. Use a paintbrush and paper to create a lovely watercolor art piece. Note the colors are muted and eventually the water turns brown, but again another chance to teach about blending colors.

2. Triple Level Planter

Supplies: 3 Terra Cotta Planters of Various Sizes (Small, Medium, Large), Acrylic Paint, Paint Sealer, Paint Brushes, Soil, Seeds or Flowers,+ Glass Jars

Paint all three terra cotta planters with the acrylic paint, let dry overnight. Use paint sealer to seal the inside and outside of all three pots. Place one glass jar upside down in the largest pot. Add soil around the glass jar to fill the pot. Add medium terra cotta plan on top of the glass jar. Optional: glue the planter pot onto the glass jar. We did have had an unfortunate spill we had to rescue later. Complete the same process: place the jar upside down in the medium pot and fill with soil. Place the smallest pot on top of the jar, optionally glue. Fill small pot with soil. Add flowers or seeds and voila!

3. Water Gun Painting

Supplies: Liquid Water Color, Water Guns, + Paper

This activity is super simple but brings lots of fun. Fill water guns with the watercolor paint. Make sure to add water if you buy concentrated watercolor. Set up a piece of paper on an easel or fence outside. We started with placing paper on the grass and it made it difficult to get the guns to continually spray. Get to water coloring!

4. Tie-Dye Towels

Supplies: Tie-Dye Kit, Towel

Simply follow the instructions on the kit. This is the exact kit we purchased. I would recommend using every bit of the dye. Our towels didn’t turn out completely as we planned. We used duct tape to put a C on Claire’s towel, but it didnt show up because we left so much white on the towel.

5. Decorate Shoes

Supplies: White shoes + Fabric markers

Wal-Mart usually stocks unisex white little canvas tennis shoes year-round for less than $6. They work perfectly to decorate with fabric markers. You can wash them super easily as needed. Plus, if your house is at all like mine, getting kids to put on shoes can be a 30-minute process. Having decorated their own shoes, these two were a little quicker on the draw to put on their shoes for the first week. I consider that a win!

6. Cake Baking Challenge

Supplies: Cake, Frosting, Sprinkles, + Decorations (we used small kid toys we had on hand and washed them with soap and water before putting them on the cake)

Split up into two teams. (We made sure there was an adult on each team to help with the actual baking.) To prep, the kids let me know which frosting and cake mix they each wanted so I was sure to have them on hand the day of the bake-off. We have younger kids and lets be honest box cake and pre-made frosting is still a challenge to complete in this house, but of course making from scratch can be a better option for older kiddos. We made the cakes, and as they were cooling each team worked on drawing out a plan for the design. Then of course the decorating began! After 30(ish) minutes of decorating each team was allowed to present their cake design before cutting little pieces for everyone to have a taste test. Delish!!

7. Orbeez in Kids pool

Supplies: Orbeez, Kids Pool, + Water

Fill the kid’s pool about halfway with water, depending on how many Orbeez you plan to pour into the pool. We put in about 15,000. After just a couple of hours, you can already see some substantial growth. After 24 hours, the Orbeez slowed down and I thought they had gotten as large as they were going to. However, 72 hours later the Orbeez had gotten even bigger. Even parents are going to love this experiment. Try not to touch them? It’s just so therapeutic I couldn’t help myself 🙂 Have fun.

8. Frozen Yogurt Fruit Bark

Supplies: Greek Yogurt, Favorite Berries, Kiwi, Parchment Paper, Cookie Sheet, + Spoon

Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use a spoon to spread out your Greek yogurt with a spoon directly onto the parchment paper. We used plain Greek yogurt and it was pretty bitter. I recommend using a flavor, like strawberry. Sprinkle with whole berries and chopped kiwi. Be sure to press the fruit solidly into the greek yogurt, you don’t want the fruit just sitting on top or they will just fall off later. Once you have the yogurt covered to you liking with fruit, place the cookie sheet with your yogurt + fruit in the freezer for a couple of hours. Time will vary depending on how thick the yogurt was spread onto the parchment paper. Once fully frozen take out of the freezer and break the yogurt bark into smaller pieces by hand. Store in ziplock freezer bag in the freezer. Take out for a healthy sweet treat during the day. My kiddos referred to them as yogurt popsicles when they asked for them as their afternoon treat.

9. Chalk your walk

Supplies: Sidewalk Chalk, Painters Tape, + Sidewalk

Apply painters tape to sidewalks by making random intersecting lines. I used 2 full rolls and covered about 10 feet of sidewalk. Once all the tape is firmly attached to the sidewalk your design is complete. Start coloring in each shape that was made with tape using the various sidewalk chalk colors. After every shape is colored in completely, time to remove the tape. These kiddos LOVED this part. The art is amazing, turned out so much better than I imagined.

10. Paint and Hide Rocks

Supplies: Rocks, Paint, + Sealer

Paint a rock however your little heart desires. Then take to the town to find a hiding spot for your creation. There are usually Facebook groups for towns to post pictures of rocks people have painted and found. Just type in the name of your town followed by the word rocks in the FaceBook search bar to find your towns page. Being part of the FaceBook group makes it fun to track your rock, our kids loved seeing the pictures of the kids that found their rocks at the park.

11. Outside Reading Nook

Supplies: Hula Hoop, Shower Curtain, Shower Rings + String

I found all of these supplies at the dollar store. So it cost $3 per nook. Simply open up shower rings and place them in the shower curtain. Then attach the rings to the hula hoop and clasp them closed. Use string to hang hula hoop from a tree branch. We found a shady corner in our backyard to hang them in the apple tree. The kids brought out blankets and books immediately to set up their space.

12. Banagrams in Shaving Cream

Supplies: Plastic Bin, Shaving Cream, + Banagrams

Fill an empty bin with letters. We used Bananagrams which are perfect because they can be cleaned with water. Spray a can, or two, of shaving cream on top of the letters so you can no longer see them. Let the kiddos have fun digging out letters and spelling words. I made a list of words they needed to make. Next time I might use a timer and just let them spell as many words as they can in 5 minutes. Super messy, but worth it!

13. Going on a Bear Hunt

Get the neighborhood involved in a little bear hunt. Most towns have a local Facebook group or the NextDoor app is a great option to get the word out to your neighbors. I posted, “We live in the ____ neighborhood and will be putting bears in our windows today. If you want to participate simply put a teddy bear or two in your windows so families can go on a “bear hunt” while going on walks or drives. We will be taking our kiddos on a “bear hunt” later today!!” It was shocking the response we got from everyone. For a solid week, the post kept getting comments or more people placing bears in their window. We took several family walks finding all the new bears placed around our neighborhood.

14. Cellophane Wings

Supplies: Large Box, Painting Supplies, Various Colors of Cellophane, Tape, Scissors, Boxcutter, Dark Marker, + Ribbon

Draw an outline of the wings you want on a flattened box. Our daughter wanted to be a butterfly and our little guy choose to be a dragon, which he later made into a parrot. Use a box cutter to cut along the line. Draw the shapes to be cut out of the wings. These holes will be where the cellophane is going to be placed. Use the box cutter to remove the shapes. Paint your wings. While its drying cut out cellophane in the colors you want to fit the appropriate holes. When attaching the cellophane be sure to hold the cellophane tight and tape around all the edges. It needs to be nice and tight so the sun can shine perfectly through. Cut ribbon two times the length of the middle of the wings. Have kiddos stand with wings behind them and tie the ribbon around the center of wings and under their arms. Long enough so the kids are able to take the wings on and of, but tight enough of so the wings are supported against the kids back. Find the perfect spot to stand where the sun is shining through the cellophane and look at your shadow. It is amazing! I explained what were making throughout this project with my kiddos. However, the moment they saw their reflection was priceless. They were so impressed with their creation.

The last months have been a trying time for everyone. These activities have helped our little family have some memory-making moments. We hope you enjoy these projects too. Which one is your favorite? Share your comments and pictures. We want to share in the fun with you too!