Great Crafts for Boys

*Disclosure: My boys love toys that let them use their imaginations and create new and different things. That is why I accepted the free IDO3D product and I am excited to tell you about it. All opinions are my own. 

Great Crafts for Boys 

 My boys could not wait for the IDO3D to get here! They rushed to the door when the box arrived. The items were easy to get out, so the boys were able to start using the kit right away. The only thing we had to provide was 3 AAA batteries.
  

The instructions are very easy to understand. Just make sure to also follow these tips: 

• Make sure your IDO3D spotlight has fresh batteries. (Note: The light may appear to be working, when the batteries are in fact weak.)
• The spotlight should be held as close to your project as possible (about .5 inches). You can also cure your pieces from the bottom of the plastic tracing sheet by holding your light directly under your artwork. This is helpful for thicker lines and larger areas of ink.
• The tip of the pen can be adjusted to create thick or thinner lines.
• Trace small sections of your project pieces and then quickly hit it with the light. You do not need it to fully cure; a couple of seconds will prevent the ink from spreading and allow you to achieve finer detail. Repeat this process until you are finished with your project piece.
• We have found that alcohol based hand sanitizers help to easily remove any sticky residue left behind by the ink.
• You can place your plastic tracing sheet in the sun to cure any unwanted ink. (You can also place your art in a windowsill and use to sun to help finish curing your projects.)

The boys each picked a project. My 8 year old wanted to try to make a ball using the enclosed plastic dome shaped item. My 12 year old decided to make a skateboard with a ramp. 

The 8 year old got frustrated trying to make the ball by himself, so he decided to work with his older brother.  My 12 year old was able to make the skateboard and ramp in about two hours. He really likes working on projects on which he gets to build or put things together.

My older son said that he wished the kit came with pens of a bigger variety of colors instead of the 2 red pens, 2 green pens, and 1 yellow pen the kit included. But he also said, "It is so cool that I can make my own toys. I cannot wait to think of my own ideas and create toys from my imagination."

Learn With Play - A New Book to Encourage Family Memories

Learn With Play: 150 Activities for Year-Round Fun & Learning

I continue to be amazed at all the wonderful memories we can make with our children through play.

*This post contains affiliate links.

This great new book provides hours of ideas to use so you can play and make wonderful memories with your child.

Take a peek inside the book.

I am so excited to be able to bring you this book filled with over 100 fun, hands on activities for kids from birth to kindergarten. It has been tested by kids so you can be assured these activities are fun and they work. 

The book is divided into various categories:

General Play/ Arts & Crafts Activities

 Early Childhood Education

 Life Skills

Organization

Seasonal/Holidays.

It has been written by over 90 of the greatest bloggers from The Kid Blogger Network and I am honored to be one of the authors!

You can buy the eBook which is available for a special launch discounted price of  $9.95 for July 7-14 only!

The printed book is available on Amazon for $29.95.

The Kindle edition is available on Amazon for US$14.95.

It would make a great gift for baby showers, birthdays, preschool teachers, and moms. 

Outdoor Fun- Safe Swords

 

We have been having weeks of rainy, soggy, cold weather. I am so ready for my kids to get outside and play in the warm sunshine. One of the first things I am sure they will do is gather sticks for a "sword" fight.

 

 

 

If your kids are like mine, they love pretending that sticks are swords or lightsabers. Although I want my boys to be active I would rather them play with something safer than a sharp stick. These foam swords were a great answer.  They will spend hours outdoors playing with these "swords."

 

 

The easiest way to make them is to use pool noodles. You just cut the pool noodles in half with scissors, and then use duct tape to make the handles. To be more creative, use markers or colored duct tape on the handles to make them look more like lightsabers.

What if you can't find pool noodles?  When we went to buy ours, the store did not have pool noodles in, yet; so they gave us pipe foam insulators that were being used for a display. They worked just as well as the pool noodles.

You can have a traditional sword fight, or you could also make up a more advanced game. You score points based on where the sword touches you--1 point for the leg area, 2 points for the arm area, 5 points for the stomach or back. However you decide to play with them, they will provide hours of fun. They even make a great craft idea for a boy's birthday party.

 

I am excited to be a part of The Outdoor Challenge with 30 other bloggers who are giving us great ideas to keep our kids active and to enjoy the outdoors. Check out the rest of The Outdoor Play Challenge at Building Blocks and Acorns.  

 

Homemade Costumes

This is one of my favorite blog post that I have done. I love thinking of all of the memories that we have made while making costumes. I also cannot wait to share with you our costumes that we made this year!
Check out our past costumes at The Multi Taskin Mom.

Growing Up In God's Word (Bible Curriculum Review)

 (Disclosure: I have received this product for free in exchange for an honest review. These opinions expressed are my own.)

We have been studying Exodus this year for a Bible quiz we will be participating in at church. The opportunity came along for me to review a Bible curriculum  that focused on Exodus. I thought that this would be a great help in our studies. 

This book has been wonderful!!! Each lesson is designed to be used for 5 days of the week. It is suggested that you use it for 30 minutes to an hour each day. 

One of my favorite things about the curriculum is that both my kindergartener and 5^th grader are using it together and both are gaining a tremendous amount of Bible knowledge. 

We have really enjoyed the lesson text and discussion. My 5^th grader commented one day, “Whew!!! That is detailed stuff!”

They have also enjoyed being able to use their Legos with some of the lessons. One day they created a diorama of the parting of the Red Sea.

 Another day my younger son used Legos to show the three signs that the Lord enabled Moses to perform. He was able to present his sculptures later that night and explain to his dad what he learned during our family Bible study. 

The activities really help make the lessons come alive and increase our understanding of the Bible. I loved the discussions that we had while making unleavened bread. 

 

The boys were able to understand what leaven does and why the Israelites were not supposed to use it. When my older son asked if we could add pepper to the unleavened bread, we  talked about obedience and how when God told the Israelites to do something, they were supposed to do exactly as God commanded.

It is great that not only are my children learning, but my understanding of Exodus has increased as well. 

We are really excited that we found these books and cannot wait to purchase more!Click here to order this wonderful Bible curriculum for yourself.  Click here to find  Pryor Convictions Media on Facebook.

Boy Craft: Action Figure Mini Pillows

My boys really love Life of Fred. We were working in our math books one day and Mr. History said, “I wish I had a Fred toy.”  Mr. Science said, “I wish I had Kingie toy!” So not unlike the boys on Phineas and Ferb, they knew what they were going to do that day. They decided to make Fred and Kingie mini pillows. 

I realized while making these you could draw anything on the material you wanted. Boys could make various kinds of action figures. They could also write their favorite quotations on the material.  The ideas are limitless. 

We used flour sack towels because we had some lying around, but any white material would work. Here are the steps for making the mini pillows:

1)      Fold over your material so you will have two pieces to sew together.

2)      Draw an outline of your favorite character on the material.

3)      Cut out your drawing. I had the boys cut it out in a more circular shape and not worry about cutting in on the line. This made it easier to sew.

4)      Make sure the piece with the picture is face down.

5)      Sew the two pieces together with a basic stitch. Make sure to leave a hole big enough to turn your material inside out so you can see the drawing.

6)      Turn your material inside out.

7)      Use the hole to stuff your pillow.

8)      Then sew the hole up and your mini pillows are done!

I try to get the boys to do all the steps themselves. It will not be perfect when finished but they will be proud because they made it!