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The Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Monterey Bay Aquarium Education Programs

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Explore Like a Scientist (Grades 3-6)

Have you ever wanted to know more about what scientists do? In this course you will practice observing and thinking like a scientist. Then try out different scientists' roles by exploring ocean habitats.

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Have you ever wanted to know more about what scientists do? In this course you will practice observing and thinking like a scientist. Then try out different scientists' roles by exploring ocean habitats.

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The sun salutation

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Visit to the Metropolitan Museum of NY (new!)

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Visit to the Metropolitan Museum of NY (new!)

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, United States - Google Arts & Culture

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The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in three iconic sites in New York Cit…

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ᴴᴰ1080 Mickey Mouse Gentleman with Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Chip and Dale

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Check out this great idea Anja shared with her 3rd graders. It's simple: you choose a book that you like. Then you find a shoe box and decorate it to look like a scene from your book. You can use any materials you can find, just have fun!
Here a video with instructions (in German): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpSvRR1cQts

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To make the edible Cinderella wands, you’ll start by just making a regular batch of rice crispy treats (cut in stars). Then, you’ll dip them in white chocolate/white candy coating and cover in sanding sugar!
Ingredients:

· 1/4 C butter

· bag mini marshmallows

· Rice crispy cereal (about 6 cups)

· blue & white sanding sugar;

· white candy bark/coating;

· large star cookie cutter;

· long lollipop sticks– ribbon

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Egal ob zuhause oder im Urlaub, Hörspiele und Geschichten lassen die Zeit wie im Flug vergehen.

Deshalb haben wir für euch Kinderhörspiele und Geschichten heraus gesucht, die ihr gratis herunterladen oder mit den Apps von SWR2 und der ARD Audiothek anhören könnt.

Abenteuer, Detektive, Freundschaft

Bei diesen Kinderhörspielen ist für jede*n etwas dabei:

Eine unentdeckte Welt hinter einem Wandschrank, mit Opa ins Weltall reisen oder mit zwei Kindern das Fliegen lernen, einen mysteriösen Bücherdieb ertappen und vieles mehr.

Geeignet sind die Hörspiele und Geschichten für Kinder im Alter ab sechs Jahren.

Hörspiel-Tipp vom ARD Kinderhörspieltag: Der Tag, an dem die Oma das Internet kaputt gemacht hat

Unglaublich, oder? Die Oma hat mit einem „Klick-klick" das Internet kaputt gemacht. Und zwar das ganze. Komplett, auf der ganzen Welt!

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Ferien-Hörspiele für Kinder zum Streamen und im MP3-Download

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Egal ob zuhause oder unterwegs, Hörspiele und Geschichten lassen die Zeit wie im Flug vergehen. Wir haben Hörspiele und Geschichten herausgesucht, die ihr anhören und herunterladen könnt - natürlich kostenlos.

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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This breakfast or snack idea requires just a spread of peanut butter or almond butter, or Nutella,  or cream cheese. Then you top it with fruits and raisins to make fun and creative animal faces. This adorable animal toast is also healthy and cheap to make with simple ingredients.
Here we go:

1. Sandwich bread

2. Nutella, peanut butter or cream cheese

3. Fruits, such as. strawberries, blueberries, bananas etc.

4. Raisins

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Parental assistance necessary!

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Grow your own crystals with salt and water. The experiment includes the creation of a supersaturated solution in which the solution (liquid) contains more salt than water can usually hold. When the heated water cools, it makes conditions very unstable, so the dissolved salt will leave the water and grab onto the string. As the water evaporates, the salt stays behind, making it even more unstable and encouraging the crystal to grow.
What you'll need:
* ½ cup (120 ml) of tap water or distilled water

* ½ cup (120 ml) of salt (table salt, Epsom salt, or alum salt)

* One small pan

* String

* Pencil or popsicle stick

* Food coloring dye (optional)

* A helpful adult
Directions:
1. Have an adult heat a pan of water just until it begins to bubble.

2. Choose your salt. Different salts produce different crystal results.

* Table salt takes a few days to grow. "Iodized salt" won't work as well, but will still form crystals.

* Epsom salt grows into smaller, needle-like crystals and faster than table salt. You can buy it at a pharmacy.

* Alum salt grows quickly, sometimes making visible crystals within a few hours. Find it in the spice section of a grocery store.

3. Stir in as much salt as you can. Take the pan off the heat source.

4. Pour in about ¼-½ cup of salt and stir until the water is clear. If you don't see any salt grains in the water, stir in another spoonful. Keep stirring in salt until you see salt grains that won't dissolve when stirred.

5. Have your adult slowly pour the hot water into a clean jar or another clear, heat-safe container. Stop before the salt grains fall into the jar. If there are undissolved salt grains in the jar, the crystals might grow around those grains instead of your string.

6. Optional: Add a couple of drops of food coloring to change the color of the crystals. This might make crystals smaller or lumpier but not by much.

7. Tie a string around a pencil or popsicle stick. The string should have tiny grooves and rough edges so that the salt can latch on. A braided string is ideal instead of a fishing line. The pencil or popsicle stick should be long enough to lie across the top of the jar.

8. Cut the string to the correct size to dangle in the water. Only a portion of the string underneath the water will grow crystals. Cut it short enough to avoid touching the bottom of the jar or the crystal will be lumpy and small.

9. Balance the pencil on top of the glass jar. The string should hang inside the jar and extend into the water. If the pencil won't stay still, tape it against the jar. Try not to have the string touch the side of the jar as it will make smaller and lumpier crystals grow against the side.

10. Move the jar to a safe place where it will be undisturbed.

* To grow a lumpy mass of crystals, keep the jar in the sun or a fan blowing near it on the lowest setting. These crystals might stop growing at a small size.

* To grow a single, large crystal, keep the jar in a cool shaded place. Keep it on Styrofoam or a similar material to absorb vibrations.

* Epsom salt will grow faster in the refrigerator instead of in the sun.

11. Wait for crystals to form. Check back regularly to see if salt crystals have grown on the string. Once you see little crystals growing on the string, they will usually keep growing bigger over the next couple of weeks.

* Epsom and alum salt crystals can start growing within a few hours but could take a couple of days.

* Table salt takes a day or two to start growing and sometimes up to a week.

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Grow your own crystals with salt and water. The experiment includes the creation of a supersaturated solution in which the solution (liquid) contains more salt than water can usually hold. When the heated water cools, it makes conditions very unstable, so the dissolved salt will leave the water and grab onto the string.

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For those that want to try weaving, but don’t want to spend money on a loom before they know if they’ll like it, this is your post. And this post can also be used for those that want to make a temporary large loom or just have a second loom. Making a loom out of cardboard is pretty simple!

Here we go!

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LOONEY TUNES (Best of Looney Toons): BUGS BUNNY CARTOON COMPILATION (HD 1080p)

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Forget takeaways - you can't beat a homemade Margherita pizza topped with fresh tomato sauce and melted cheese. Here's how to master this everyday classic...

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Virtual trip to the NY Guggenheim (new!)

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Virtual trip to the NY Guggenheim (new!)

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Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Storylines: Contemporary Art at the Guggenheim, New York, United States - Google Arts & Culture

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Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.

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Create a chain reaction to do a simple task. Crazy example: https://tinkerlab.com/engineering-kids-rube-goldberg-machine/

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Build a Rube Goldberg Machine with Kids

So, are you interested in building a Rube Goldberg-style machine with little kids? This post will give you a few tips and ideas to make your own complicated machine.

This project has long been on my to-do list with my kids. We are long-time fans of marble runs (see the resources page for recommendations), and extending our love for rolling balls and ramps into the world of Rube Goldberg was a no-brainer. And triple hurrah for projects that celebrate STEM and STEAM learning. We were on the hunt for easy Rube Goldberg ideas, watched a few videos, and came up with this fun solution that works for young children.

About Rube Goldberg

For the uninitiated, Rube Goldberg was an American Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor, and his work is a classic example of the melding of art and science. Goldberg began his career as an engineer, and later became a cartoonist who drew elaborate illustrations of contraptions made up of pulleys, cups, birds, balloons, and watering cans that were designed to solve a simple task such as opening a window or setting an alarm clock. Interestingly, Goldberg only drew the pictures, and never built any of his inventions. However, these pictures have since served as inspiration for makers and builders who want the challenge of making wild inventions to solve everyday problems.

And apparently, Rube Goldberg is a now an adjective in the dictionary! You can read more about Goldberg here.

Step 1: Get Inspired

First things first, you'll want to watch some Rube Goldberg contraptions in action to get inspired. My kids and I LOVE this video from OK Go. It's incredible complicated, but oh-so-amazing, so don't think for one hot second that you'll be able to replicate this with little kids. I'll add more inspiring videos below.

Step 2: Solve a Problem

Next, come up with a simple problem that you're trying to solve. For example:

Once you have a problem sorted out (and don't worry - you can change this later if you want), gather supplies...

Step 3: Gather Supplies
You can print out the following list here.
Collect a bucket-full of supplies and then lay them out so they're easily seen. These can largely be found in your home or classroom - start with what you have! You will most likely start with some of these basics, and then forage your home or classroom for more supplies as you go. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Things that Roll

Marbles

Balls: Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, etc.

Toy Cars

Dominoes

Skateboard

Roller Skate

Mousetrap

Things that Move

Ramps

Recyclables

Household Materials

Step 4: Build Your Machine!

Once you have the supplies ready, start building. While the OK Go video (and others like it) includes some pretty complex machines and concepts, keep this simple for preschoolers. The basic concept that we're exploring is that of a chain reaction, so anything that tips something else over (and so one) is what you're going for. Don't worry too much about building things like pulleys and levers for young children.

Take a look at our machine to get a sense of what's possible.

Our Rube Goldberg Machine in Action

5 Tips for Success

1. Success breeds enthusiasm, so keep the steps to a minimum. You can always add more as you go.

2. Keep your expectations low

3. Ask your child for ideas and input

4. Work collaboratively

5. Aim to have fun

A Note on Failure

As you test and try out different set-ups, you'll undoubtedly fail a few times. I could have filled a 20 minute video with outtakes from all our misses (the balloon is a good example of that). But this is great news! Failure is an intrinsic piece of the invention process, and without these mistakes we won't learn how things really work. So embrace failure and celebrate it as part of the learning process.

Next Steps: Full STEAM Ahead

Ask: What other simple problems could we solve?

Ask: What materials could we use?

Ask: Why didn't that work? How could we fix it or try it again?

Encourage your child to problem solve by seeking out materials and moving objects.

Did you enjoy this project? Join the semi-secret Club TinkerLab on Facebook to swap and share more ideas like this.

Inspiring Rube Goldberg Machines

Watch this one light up a Christmas tree

Learn about Rube Goldberg Machines on Sesame Street

Easy Rube Goldberg Example

More Projects like this one
DIY Paper Tube Marble Run Fort Building Kit DIY Water Wall, it's like a marble run, but with water! Build an easy light table Make Gumdrop Sculptures
Activate Learning with STEAM

If you've been a loyal TinkerLab fan (thank you! you mean the world to me.) you'll know that I'm happiest sharing projects that live at the intersection of disciplines. Too often we're quick to separate science from writing or math from art, but when we seek out ways to make interdisciplinary connections, learning can be more meaningful and novel discoveries can be made.

In that vein, you may also enjoy these projects that circle around STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) ideas. This week's theme is REACT, and you can see the other reaction-related ideas here:

Stixplosions | Babble Dabble Do

Smoosh Painting | Meri Cherry

Color Changing Chemistry Clock | Left Brain Craft Brain

Zoom Ball | What Do We Do All Day?

Glowing Hands | All For The Boys

Rainbow Reactions | Lemon Lime Adventures

Colorful Chemical Reaction | Frugal Fun for Boys

STEAM on Pinterest

You might also enjoy following my STEAM + STEM Activities board on Pinterest for more ideas like this.

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Engineering Kids | Rube Goldberg Machine - TinkerLab

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How to build a Rube Goldberg machine with little inventors, ages 4 and up.

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A fine selection of the best of the best!

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Welcome to the world of fairy tales. Here you will find the best selection of fairy tales list, that will enchant the young minds with positivity of the most popular fairy tales. These fables and fairy tale characters have been collected from different cultures, and you will always find something new for the kids,including the ubiquitous king, prince and princess fairy tales. So, just scroll down and enjoy these English fairy tales. Happy Reading!

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Fairy Tales for Kids | princess Fairy Tales list | Popular Fairy Tales

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Famous Fairy tales - A large collection of kid's fairy tales.This is one of the most famous and best-loved fairy tales of all.Learn abut the most popular fairy tales for kids, including Grimm fairy tales, to read your kids.

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Barbara Hepworth was a key figure in the British abstract art movement in the 20th century. She often created sculptures which were inspired by nature. She lived near the seaside in St Ives, Cornwall and often used the shapes of shells and rocks to inspire her work.

She loved to work with wood and stone and, later on, in bronze. Her sculptures seem to be growing and look very natural.

Take a look at her sculptures! Can you see all the different shapes and forms Hepworth uses? Which one would you like to make?

Let's make a soap carving

You will need:

Some cheap bars of white soap

A pencil

Scrapers and peelers - use teaspoons, potato peelers, scissors, a paperclip and similar objects

Ready? Let's start ...

Why not try other shapes?

Or design a background?

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Barbara Hepworth was a key figure in the British abstract art movement in the 20th century. She often created sculptures which were inspired by nature. She lived near the seaside in St Ives, Cornwall and often used the shapes of shells and rocks to inspire her work.

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10 Board Games for you to do at home (new!)

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10 Board Games for you to do at home (new!)

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10 Best DIY Board Games for Kids in 2020 - That You Can Make at Home!

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In the mood for a board game but tired of the ones you have lying on your shelves? Well have no fear, because there are plenty of DIY board games you can make at home! In this article I am going to be sharing with you 10 DIY board game...

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Friendship bracelets with cardboard (new!)

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Friendship bracelets with cardboard (new!)

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How to make a friendship bracelet with a cardboard loom

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Create a butterfly snack for your kids using fresh fruit, cheese, and carrots. It’s refreshing, healthy, and so fun for them! My girls loved this butterfly snack.

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Butterfly

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Have fun with this quiz little game from the Tate gallery!

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Quiz: Which Art Animal are You? | Tate Kids

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Play a Tate Kids quiz and find out which art animal you are on the best art website for kids

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The funniest you ever knew!

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Make this cornflake cake for a fabulously easy family dessert that uses simple ingredients. With a pastry case and jam base, it's delicious served with custard

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Step 1: Material and Tools

What you need:

Print from a laser printer (ink jet printers don't work) or a black and white laser copy from your copy shop

Essential/ethereal lavender oil (I bought a cheap one from a local drugstore)

A shirt or fabric bag in a bright color

Parchment paper, to avoid oil stains on your table and backside of the shirt

Some tape to fix your print

A stainless steel spoon

A hot iron

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Fandom Contest

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Step 2: Transferring the Print on Your Shirt

Yes, I know, you want to start immediately, but it's better to give it a try first, than to ruin your shirt.

1. Print some smaller images with the same printer for a pre-trial. If you have the chance use different printers (your own, that one at the office, the one at your friends place) It took me two trials, until I realized that the printer from my office is somehow not working.

2. Take a scrap piece of fabric or a similar fabric to the one you want to print on. I realized that for me a knitted jersey worked much better, than a stiff woven fabric, but maybe it was also because of the laser toner.

3. Follow the steps below :-)

Now you are ready for the real game

1. Laser print your chosen image in black, make sure that you flipped it horizontally (if it contains letters, double check that it is flipped before printing)

2. Set a piece of parchment paper inside your shirt, this avoids the oil and the color to be transferred to the backside of the shirt

3. Fix your shirt on a hard underground

4. Fix your print upside down on the shirt

5. Gently drop some oil on the paper. Smoothly spread it over the paper until everything is oily, but there are no "lakes" on the paper, I used a scrap piece of paper for that, but you could also use a brush

6. Rub gently with the spoon over the printed areas, try not to move the paper, otherwise the toner will leak and your print will be fuzzy.

7. Repeat for a while and have a careful peak view.

8. If there are areas which aren't transferred in a satisfying way, you can add a drop more and rub again

9. If you think you're finished lift the paper and have a look :-)

10. Yeah, it worked :-)

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Step 3: Fixing the Toner

Now you need to fix the color on the fabric

1. Place the parchment paper below and above your print.

2. Hot iron for 3 min with the recommended heat for your shirt.

3. The leftover ethereal liquids in the shirt will vaporize due to the heat, so please make sure you're ironing at a good ventilated place (or directly outside)

4. If there are leftover oil stains, you can treat the printed area with some extra soap before the next washing. The color will also be a little bit lighter after washing and drying, but it is a really nice effect :-)

Actually I only wanted the print on the front side of the shirt, but since this technique is so much fun, I took a smaller print, cut out the words and transferred it to the backside of the shirt. Now I need to find the next print and shirt, because there is still so much ethereal oil left... :-)

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Step 4: Explanation How It Works, Try and Error

Unfortunately I'm not a chemical engineer, and therefore I can't explain the real chemical processes that happen during this ethereal lavender oil print. But the explanation I made to myself would be that some components in the oil are dissolving the toner, which is actually a powder activated by heat, and therefore transfer it to the fabric.

The hot ironing process fixes the loosened toner to the shirt and vaporizes the leftover ethereal components from the oil until only the "oily" part is left, but this part will disappear in next washing.

This didn't work out for me:

color printed picture on canvas - somehow either the color doesn't dilute or the fabric is too coarsely woven

black and red print from my office printer on jersey

Add Tip Ask Question Download

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Lavender Oil Printed Shirt: Do you have a nice black and white print that you wish to have on a shirt? For example on the sleeve or at the left lower corner, but your preferred shirt print company doesn't print in this areas?Just do it yourself. Without screen printing (yes,...

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Mindful Minute: Quick Mindfulness Meditation Exercise for Kids by GoZen!

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Bubble made without glycerin

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We've been mixing up bubble solution for decades, and even set a World Record for biggest free floating soap bubble back in 2005. See our record published in the 2008 and 2010 world record book editions. Many customers, clients, artists, entertainers and educators consider us bubble experts! Although we do make a living selling professional grade big bubble solution ( beeboo is our flagship product), that doesn't mean we don't know how to mix up a mean batch of homemade bubbles.

You can find lots of recipes online for homemade bubble solution that call for glycerin or Karo syrup. Those recipes work great, but we have one big problem with them: most people don't keep glycerin in their cupboards! And when you're faced with a hot summer day and playful kids, you want to be able to mix up a batch of homemade bubbles right away without running to the store or placing any special orders.

That's where this bubble recipe comes in. It is incredibly easy and uses ingredients commonly found at home. No glycerin required for this homemade bubble solution - instead we use HONEY!

Here's the recipe:

4 cups clean water

1/2 cup dish soap (Dawn, the blue stuff, works best!)

1/3 cup honey

Combine lukewarm water with the honey and stir completely to dissolve honey. Slowly pour in the dish soap and gently stir to combine. Try not to create foam during this step; too much foam prevents the solution from working well. You can use this solution right away to blow big and small bubbles, and the solution works even better if you let it sit and age for a few hours or overnight.

All these pictures were taken about 1 hour after mixing up the homemade bubbles recipe. We are using the WhatABubble Wand and a regular kitchen mixing bowl. We had great luck blowing some beautiful big bubbles, though they did not last as long or float as far as bubbles we've created using our professional grade solution or bubble kits.

We were thrilled to find that the small bubbles we made with this homemade solution landed on grass without popping! How cool!

We made small bubbles using the new 8-1 wand from Magic Bubbles. We love this wand so much - it's one of the best small bubble wands we've ever used.

Give this homemade solution a try! It really works, and it's so easy. We would love to see your pictures of this homemade solution in action. Please send them to us at customerservice@ExtremeBubbles.com or post them on our Facebook page!

Extreme Bubbles, Inc. #usabubbletoys

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We've been mixing up bubble solution for decades, and even set a World Record for biggest free floating soap bubble back in 2005. See our record published in the 2008 and 2010 world record book editions. Many customers, clients, artists, entertainers and educators consider us bubble experts!

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Create some fun stamps using potatoes! Make shapes, numbers, alphabet letters, funny faces or any other image you have in mind!

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Paper or fabric

Potatoes

Knife

Chopping board

Tempera or poster paint (for paper)

Fabric paint or acrylic paint (for fabric)

Plastic plates

2Make the potato stamps.

We made our potato stamps using two methods. Both are described below.

a.) Method 1 - cut the potato in half. Carve out the desired shape on the potato's cut side.

Carve out some details, if you like.

You can even make a handle by carving out the top of the potato stamp.

b.) Method 2 - cut the potato into 1-inch thick cross sections. Carve the entire cross section into the desired shape.

Cut some wedges and keep small potato trimmings as well. These are great for stamping smaller shapes and other details on your picture.

3Prepare the paint and paper.

Prepare the paper or fabric that you plan to stamp on.

Place different colors of tempera or poster paint on plastic plates or shallow containers. Add some water and mix well. If you plan to stamp on fabric, use fabric paint or acrylic paint.

Four potato stamps were used to make this garden picture-a flower stamp, a smiley face stamp, a heart stamp and a potato wedge.

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Potato Stamps | Kids' Crafts | Fun Craft Ideas | FirstPalette.com

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Paper or fabric Potatoes Knife Chopping board Tempera or poster paint (for paper) Fabric paint or acrylic paint (for fabric) Plastic plates 2Make the potato stamps. We made our potato stamps using two methods. Both are described below. a.) Method 1 - cut the potato in half.

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Growing up, my mom wouldn't allow any sugary cereal into the house except for the exceedingly rare box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which we ate right out of the box like candy. Because it is candy. I was otherwise opposed to cereal. I never liked my mom's choice of cereal-the healthy, fortified, fiber-rich stuff.

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Virtual Tour in the Museum of Natural History of London 

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Virtual Tour in the Museum of Natural History of London 

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An amazing digital journey of exploration and knowledge

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Google Arts & Culture: Natural History Museum

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Google Arts & Culture: Natural History Museum

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From the Big Bang to the most recent discoveries, journey with the Natural History Museum and Google Arts & Culture through a story of natural history breakthroughs. #PreviouslyOnEarth

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Three lovely audible tales

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The Sun looks down on the earth and sees all the human folly. He tells three tales or "fables": The Milkmaid, Juno and the Peacock, and The Sun and the North Wind.

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Relax and dance!

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Indoor Recess 10: Empire Kitty Wipeout Yo | GoNoodle

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The video includes historical facts about each site and also about the general history of Pompeii.
For the second part of this tour click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoXIbF4etSw
For further info on the importance of Pompeii see also here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRFaypb60NM and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-XgP14P__c

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Time to get just a little bit fancy with our set of printable bug paper rings for kids.

We are back with another set of printable ring templates, this time with a nice set fitting for spring (and summer).

*this post contains affiliate links*

Bees, Butterflies, Ladybugs and Flowers

Since you loved our printable bunny, chick and egg rings so much, we decided to continue the series! Next in line are these absolutely adorable printable bug paper rings.

As with the previous set, these were really fun to design as they feature 3 of my favorite bugs. Well pretty much the only bugs I am a fan of. Bees more a fan from a far.

If you are a fan of our craft ideas for kids you probably already noticed we have a thing for ladybugs (only a ton of craft ideas to be found on our website) so when it comes to bug printables (and printable crafts) a ladybug is a must! The pre-colored version is cute on it's own but we really hope your kids will want to color in their own with our black and white craft template. There is absolutely no need to limit yourself with black and red - the possibilities are endless!

The set naturally had to include a butterfly too, not just because it's one of our favorite bugs but also as it is just so colorful. Again we hope your kids will go color crazy if you print the black and white template. Glitter glue will make this one even nicer!

Next we have the bee (or a bumblebee if that one is your kids favorite). As my grandfather was a beekeeper I am fond of these little cutie pies for more than one reason. But also know how "nicely" they can sting you.

As some bugs need their flowers to rest and recharge (and grab some food while at it) we also included a flower ring in this set.

Excited? Let's make some paper jewellery!

How to Make the Printable Bug Paper Rings for Kids

What you need

our printable template (you can grab it at the end of the tutorial)

scissors

coloring medium if you decided to print the black and white paper ring template

paper

printer

Watch the Video Tutorial

Follow the Step by Step Instructions

Print one or both of our craft templates.

We printed on heavier print paper (120 gsm) but regular print paper will work out nice for this project.

If you printed our black and white template it's best to color the rings before cutting. Sot his is the best time to unleash your creativity. We think markers work out nice but crayons will work as well too. You can always go a step further and decorate with some glitter (we are fans of glitter glue here rather than glitter powder that gets everywhere).

Cut out the ring.

Cut all the way round.

To actually make the ring you have to cut halfway at the end of the "gray" ring strip on each end of the strip - on the opposite sides.

All there is left to do is to assemble the ring.

Make a loop and slide the cuts you made in the previous step one into another.

The ring should look complete, if it's off, un loop it and make the cuts a bit longer.

These cute Printable Bug Paper Rings are ready to be worn on your hands.

Get the Printable Bug Paper Rings Templates Here

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Become a member of Easy Peasy and Fun membership and gain access to our exclusive craft templates and educational printables. With brand new resources added on weekly basis you will never run out of fun things to make with your kids (either as a parent or as a teacher).

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Printable Bug Paper Rings for Kids - Craft Template

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Time to get just a little bit fancy with our set of printable bug paper rings for kids. We are back with another set of printable ring templates, this time with a nice set fitting for spring (and summer). *this post contains affiliate links* Bees, Butterflies, Ladybugs and Flowers Since you loved our printable bunny, [...]

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Join Joe for his daily PE at 10 AM CET or enjoy the workout later!

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Check out this video to get ideas how to create your own marble run.

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How to Make a Lego Maze | Another STEM Challenge from Sophie's World

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I am a kid of the 80s. No shame...I have pictures of bad hairstyles, crazy fashion (hello, Jelly shoes and jean jackets with buttons?) and there isn't a hair band or Madonna song I don't know.

I took a break from all the St. Patrick's Day/Easter crafting crazy for a Kit-Kat break. More like a Pac-Man break. There is no other video game I am master of than Pac-Man. The boys try to beat me whenever we head to the arcade...oh silly children. They think their fancy multi-player/shooter games have anything on the simplicity of a little yellow wedge and blinking ghosts.

When Kelly of Studio DIY made her conversation heart rings with hot glue and a silicone mold, I said to myself, "Self, you have a ridiculous amount of molds...why don't you make some hot-glue fun too?" Then the wheels started turning, and I thought, why not create a 3-D version of my favorite game?
What You'll Need:
Pac-Man ice cube tray
hot glue gun
nail polish
white paint pen
black permanent marker

So, I'm not going to reinvent the wheel; Kelly did a great job outlining the directions to make the hot-glue shapes and painting them with nail polish.

After they dried, I used a white paint pen and black marker to color in the eye details on the ghosts. Seriously cute, right? You can totally make them funky rings as well, to match your rockin' 80's party ensemble. Or...

...you can to download my free game board and make a night of fun! Want to keep it around awhile? Just laminate it!
How To Play (2 - 4 players):
1. The object of this game is to get Pac-Man to all four power pellets (each corner) before a ghost catches him.

2. With Pac-Man starting first, each player will roll two dice for their number of moves (counting along the pac-dots).

3. If a ghost catches Pac-Man, game over.

4. If Pac-Man gets to all four power pellets, game over.

FREE PAC-MAN GAME BOARD - Download link: (click the link below to download the high-res pdf. ENJOY!)
Game board link
Be sure and check out the Retro Arcade Game Truck Party I originally bought the mold for!

YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT...

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Tuesday Tutorial - DIY Pac-Man Game - Revel and Glitter

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I am a kid of the 80s. No shame...I have pictures of bad hairstyles, crazy fashion (hello, Jelly shoes and jean jackets with buttons?) and there isn't a hair band or Madonna song I don't know. I took a break from all the St. Patrick's Day/Easter crafting crazy for a Kit-Kat break.

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One fine collection of their best adventures!

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Tom & Jerry | Jerry and His Friends! | Classic Cartoon Compilation | WB Kids

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In this step-by-step tutorial you learn the different knots and techniques to create beautiful wall hangers.

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Once you know the different knots and techniques from the previous video, you can now start with your wall hanging.

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How to Make A Stress Ball (Easy Peasy DIY!)

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Here's how to make your own charming origami Tyrannosaurus rex.

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Tip: Fold a firm crease at the model's foot (step 18) so it stands up well.

You will need:

Two sheets of 15cm (6in) square paper

We have provided PDFs of the patterned paper featured in the images for you to print and cut out, but you can also use plain paper and decorate it at the end.

2. Fold over the left-hand side so that the two edges align, then fold the left-hand side over again, using the line where the two edges meet as the fold line.

4. Fold the top flap up to the right so that the left-hand edge runs across the top of the piece, then turn the point down so that the top edge now runs down the central crease.

5. Open out the two folds and repeat the previous step, but start by folding the bottom point up to the left.

6. Open up the top flap, then fold the short diagonal edges in to meet along the central crease. Lift the right-hand flap, open it up and reverse the diagonal crease, pushing the fold of paper underneath the top flap.

8. Fold the model in half along its central crease.

9. Lift up the model and open it out, then reverse the diagonal creases at the right-hand end and carefully refold to create an angled neck. Pull down the end point and flatten at an angle to create the T. rex's mouth.

14. Lift the main flap on each side opening out the smaller triangular flaps. Refold the main flaps, reversing the diagonal creases so the smaller flaps now point out over the sides of the model.

16. Lift the top corners of the model and push them inside, reversing the direction of the creases and refold so that the top of the model is now a single, central point.

17. Turn over the paper and fold down the upper flap from the top of the model. Next turn up the bottom edge so that it runs along the widest horizontal edge. Turn over the outside points using concertina folds.

18. Fold over the two flaps at the top of the model so that the vertical edges run horizontally. Fold over the outside diagonal edges of these new triangles so that they also run horizontally.

19. Lift the last flaps and open them out, then refold into the same shape while reversing the direction of the creases so that the flaps are on the outside. Turn these flaps up to the vertical.

20. Fold the opened-out second sheet around the body of the dinosaur and tuck the front corners of the second sheet up inside the body to hold the two pieces of paper together.

These origami instructions are from the book How to Make Paper Dinosaurs and are reproduced with kind permission of the authors Mari Ono and Hiroaki Takai and the publisher CICO BOOKS.

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Tip: Fold a firm crease at the model's foot (step 18) so it stands up well. Two sheets of 15cm (6in) square paper We have provided PDFs of the patterned paper featured in the images for you to print and cut out, but you can also use plain paper and decorate it at the end.

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Check out this beautiful DIY blog with step by step instructions (in German).
by wlkmndys

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DIY Blog und Ideen: Basteln, Deko und Geschenke - WLKMNDYS

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Entdecke die schönsten DIY Ideen für Basteln mit Kindern, Dekoration für deine schöne Wohnung und Geschenke für Geburtstage sowie Weihnachten und Festtage.

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Grab some bits and bobs from around the house and create an art-inspired robot

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I've tried many playdough recipes over the years with my four kids and I always come back to this one. This homemade playdough recipe is soft, lasts a LONG time, doesn't stain little hands, and uses common ingredients you probably already have.

Plus it's super quick and easy to make (you can make a batch in about 5 minutes) and much cheaper than buying ready made playdough.

And it's just plain fun to have the kids help you make their very own playdough recipe!
This post has a lot of information so use this list to skip ahead for easy navigation:
I love doing fun things with my kids, but I don't do DIY stuff as often as I'd like because of time and the mess. Honestly, I have enough messes to clean up as it is without purposefully adding to it!

Yes, I look on Pinterest and see all these cute craft projects and ideas for kids. Then I pin that glitter project that's momentarily caught my eye. For a fleeting moment, I contemplate actually attempting it. And then the realist in me takes over and I know it's not going to happen.

Can any of you relate? We'd all love to be those fantastic crafty moms but the simple truth is most of us are just too tired and busy.

If that's you - or even if you are an amazing crafty mom (my hat's off to you!) - then this DIY playdough recipe is for you.

Homemade Playdough Video Tutorial

Why DIY play dough?

In my experience, this play dough recipe doesn't crumble and make as big of a mess as the store bought "Play-Doh". It also lasts longer - we have a batch from well over a year ago that's still going strong!

Store bought playdough can get expensive especially if you have multiple kids as I do. Those containers are small and if your kids leave the lids off those tricky to snap on lids, it dries out.

Homemade play dough is easy to make and super easy to store. Just drop it in a ziploc bag and it will last for months!

I found this recipe a long time ago and after a few modifications, it's truly become the best homemade playdough we've ever tried. And with four kids, we've gone through a lot of playdough!

Natural Homemade Play Dough

Of course, homemade play dough is non-toxic too.

If you prefer knowing exactly what ingredients your children are playing with, this play dough is for you. The ingredients are simple, common household ingredients you probably already have around your house. This makes this playdough a perfect natural play option.

Because this recipe is preserved with salt, it will taste very salty, meaning your children will probably have no desire to eat it. (Of course, you should always supervise young children playing.)

How to Make Playdough

This homemade playdough recipe is so quick and easy to make, you can make a full batch in less than 10 minutes and your kids will love playing with it for hours!

I often make 4-6 batches in just 30 minutes because once your pan is heated up, you can whip up batch after batch very quickly.

Homemade Playdough Ingredients:

One batch of this homemade play dough makes a large amount, about equal to 2-3 storebought containers.

Tip: you might want to halve this playdough recipe if you want to use different colors. I made 6 batches of the full recipe because my four kids wanted multiple colors, plus it's nice to have more dough to go around.

*I highly recommend buying a large container of cream of tartar, such as this one; it's much cheaper than the tiny ones from the grocery store!

**I highly recommend using gel food coloring; not only does it last a LONG time (a little goes a long way), but you'll need gel food coloring if you want the vibrant colors you see in this post.

Step by Step Directions

1. Add flour, cream of tartar, and salt to a saucepan

Add 1 cup of flour, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, and 1/3 CUP of salt* to a 2-quart saucepan.

*Yes, that is 1/3 cup of salt. If you use 1/3 teaspoon or tablespoon, you'll end up with very sticky play dough. The salt works to keep your homemade playdough from sticking and also helps preserve it, so you definitely want the full amount.

2. Add water, vegetable oil, and food coloring.

Add a few drops of food color to 1 cup of water, then stir into the flour mixture along with 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil.

Tip: I've adjusted the original recipe to include adding the food coloring in this step as it's even easier to evenly blend the color into your playdough compared to waiting later. Thanks to the readers who suggested this! (This update is why the photo instructions aren't colored yet.)

3. Cook and stir until your playdough starts to solidify.

Heat your burner to medium/low and stir.

It will be a little lumpy. That's okay.

Keep stirring until it starts getting a little solid. If there are still a few lumps, that's ok - you can work them out later.

If your stove is already hot or you have a gas stove, this will only take 20-30 seconds, but it may take 2-3 minutes if your electric stove is still heating up.

4. Keep stirring.

Keep stirring your play dough mixture.

As you can see, I USED to add the food coloring at this point - and you can too - however it IS easier to add it along with the water.

Now the dough will start becoming thicker and a little lumpy. Just keep stirring.

Once the dough starts gathering together around the spoon you know it's done. This may be 20 seconds or 2 minutes; it depends on how hot your stove is.

My first batch of easy homemade play dough took a bit longer, but once we got going, it literally only took a few seconds and a total of 2 minutes from start to finish for each batch.

5. Remove from the saucepan and cool.

Remove your homemade playdough from the saucepan and put it on some waxed paper or a plate to cool.

6. Squish and knead your doh to remove lumps

Once it's cooled, I like to knead the play dough for a minute or two to get out any lumps and to get it to a better consistency. Then again it could just be my excuse to squish it myself before handing it over to the kids...it is kind of fun.

That's it! You've made homemade playdough!

Don't you want to just squish this soft playdough?!

Common Playdough Questions

What is the best playdough recipe?

It seems almost every blog has their own play dough recipe these days and it's no surprise - homemade playdough is generally easy to make and so much fun! It's a perfect DIY activity for kids.

How do you decide which play dough recipe is the BEST?

It comes down to consistently getting good results. Sure you can try variations. like no-cook, but does it last as long? Is it as soft? Is it low-mess as my soft homemade playdough recipe here?

Some may be, but in my experience of trying MANY different versions of DIY playdough, this one here in this post has consistently been the best. Other moms agree - I've received hundreds of emails from moms praising this recipe since I posted (and regularly update with tips and new info) this recipe a long time ago.

Can I make homemade playdough without cream of tartar?

A common question is: "do I have to use cream of tartar for making homemade playdough?"

The short answer is yes, you can make playdough without cream of tartar. However, it won't be as good in my opinion. Cream of tartar is recommended for a reason.

This brings me to the next question...

What does cream of tartar do for playdough?

Cream of tartar does a couple of things to help your playdough.

1. Cream of tartar helps make the playdough more elastic and stretchy. Best of all, it helps minimize crumbles and mess!

2. Cream of tartar also helps act as a preservative, allowing your homemade play dough to last a LONG time without going bad

But I don't have cream of tartar...
I thought this originally too, but trust me when I say that the cream of tartar is worth it.

Tip: it's NOT worth it to buy those little bottles of cream of tartar from the baking section, like this:

Instead, I recommend one of these larger, better value containers from Amazon. It will last a long time and allow your kids TONS of the best playdough batches!

How much playdough does this recipe make?

One batch makes just under 2 cups. A standard size container of store-bought Play Doh holds approximately 1/2 cup.
One batch = about 4 containers of store playdough.
How to store play dough

In order for your playdough to last for a long time, I recommend storing it in a sealed ziploc bag. We use sandwich or quart bags.

Make sure your play dough is completely cool before you put it away. If it's not, your playdough will become musty and even mold.

How to Make Playdough Soft Again

If your play dough is left out and becomes dry, you can often revive it with this simple little trick for fixing dry playdough.

Work a little vegetable or canola oil into the playdough. The best way is to pour about a teaspoon of oil onto your hands, then work it in. Add a little more gradually as needed until the playdough is soft again.

Your playdough may not be quite as smooth and pliable as before, but this softening trick really does help.

Occasionally a chunk of playdough can't be revived if it was left out for a really long time (good thing this recipe is SO quick and easy to make!)

How do you fix sticky playdough?

Using less flour or salt will result in sticky playdough. If you used the correct quantities in this recipe and your play dough is still sticky, it probably needs to cook a little longer.

Add it back to your pan and reheat for another 1-3 minutes until it is no longer sticky.

How do you get playdough out of carpet?

Messes happen inevitably with children. If your kids do get playdough in the carpet, luckily it's not too difficult to remove it.
Here's remove play dough from carpet:

1. Allow the playdough to dry completely first. Do not try to clean it before it's dry! This is very important!

2. Pick out any bits you can by hand.

3. Use a firm brush, like this one, to brush the carpet gently but firmly. This will help remove any stuck-in bits

4. Vacuum

5. If there is a stain left behind, use a carpet-safe stain remover, like Oxiclean (follow instructions and test in a small spot first)

How do you remove playdough from clothes?

In my experience, playdough does not get stuck on clothes too often ( homemade slime is the worst culprit for that!) but if your child does manage to get it on clothing, try this:

1. allow it to dry completely first.

2. Use a firm brush, like this one or a clean toothbrush, to gently but firmly work the playdough out of the fabric

3. Soak the clothing in COLD water with a small amount of dish soap for 20-30 minutes

4. Put a little more dish soap on the area, then wash as you would normally

5. The stain should be removed!

Can I substitute other oils in this recipe?

While I typically use vegetable oil (it's cheaper and what I usually have on hand), my readers have claimed over and over that other oil varieties work just as well as vegetable oil. Some of those include canola oil, coconut oil, olive oil, even baby oil! If you've tried it, let me know!

Does this play dough recipe use boiling water?

Nope.

There may be some varieties that do, but this recipe does not involve boiling water. I've had comments from people saying that boiling water makes it faster, etc. That may be true, but this variety works well without it.

It's also safer when you have small children around. Of course, your pan will still get hot so you'll still need to be careful.

My 9 and 6 year olds often help make a batch of homemade playdough. They've gotten quite good at stirring. In fact, even when the playdough is at it's hottest, you can still touch it. I usually dump a batch onto a plate and knead it to get the color worked in straight off the burner. It's very warm (my kids don't want to touch it at that point) but it doesn't burn us.

What type of pan should I use?

I've made this recipe using nonstick and regular stainless steel pans. It is MUCH faster, easier, and cleaner to use a nonstick pan. The playdough will stick to regular pans, making it more difficult to stir together and also require you to stop and clean it out between every batch.

I got rid of my nonstick pans a couple years ago. I wish I had kept just one solely for making playdough. Now I'm keeping an eye out in thrift stores for a cheap one just for this purpose.

Tips if you do NOT have a nonstick pan: add a little oil to the bottom of the pan. You may also need to work an additional 1/2 tablespoon oil into the playdough once it's fully cooked because the non-nonstick pans tend to dry it out more.

Will the food coloring stain my child's hands?

As long as you mix it up well before you give it to them, there is no staining. That's even if you use Gel Paste Food Color

which results in bright, vivid colors.

I highly recommend Americolor by the way - it's well worth the money because you will use it for so many things - from many batches of playdough to cupcakes and more. It's my favorite food color ever.

Tip: this food gel brand is cheaper and appears to work well too. I have not tested it personally (my Americolor has lasted for years!) but it's worth checking out.

Here you can see, I just finished kneading a fresh warm batch of bright red playdough and there is no color on my hands at all:

The one caveat? I have not tried black food coloring, so no promises there! And of course, you have to use a reasonable amount of food coloring - if you try using an entire bottle of Americolor food gel? You'd have to let me know how that one turns out.

How do you make playdough more fun?

Kids love play dough and will often spend hours with it. But sometimes they can get bored and you might be looking for some fun play dough add-ons for more fun and direction.

For a fun play dough variation, try this scented playdough with essential oils. It's great for relaxing sensory play for kids with autism or ADHD. It's also great as a calming activity for any kids.
Try a holiday twist with one of these fun options: Printable playdough mats can help kids learn while they're playing:
SIGN UP HERE - your FREE mats will download immediately after confirmation:
Pin the image below to save the recipe for later.

Easy Homemade Playdough

Copyright © Living Well Mom. All content and images are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you would like to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words or you may link back to this post for the recipe.

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The Easiest Homemade Playdough Recipe {Lasts for Months!}

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This homemade playdough is soft, takes 5 minutes to make, doesn't stain little hands, and uses common ingredients you probably already have.

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Please watch and get inspired!

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The Pink Panther | 20 Minute Bugs Compilation