Let's Explore

Adventures in Playful Family Living

DIY Gift: Detective Kit

I think I’ve mentioned before that my girls are into detectives, spies, secret codes, and all things mysterious (not scary!). They are reading Nancy Drew Notebooks, Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, Encyclopedia Brown, Jigsaw Jones, and Cam Jansen book series like crazy!

I’ve been gathering ideas for detective/spy kits for quite a while, so we decided to make them for Christmas gifts this year. I think the girls are going to love their detective kits!

I finally had a few daylight hours without the girls so I could take some photos – this secret gift-making and blogging is hard to do when the girls and I are home together every day! Here is a peek at what’s inside:

detective/spy kit for kids

Each super-sleuthing detective kit contains:

• Rearview Mirror Spy Glasses – I found these at Cost Plus World Market. Land of Nod has them as well.

• Invisible Ink Pen (with black light in the lid) – I also found a two-pack of these pens at Cost Plus World Market.

• Disguise – less than a dollar each at a local party store

• Small file folders – I made these from colored card stock.

• Stickers – I printed labels that say Top Secret, Confidential, Property of…, and Evidence.

• Two-Way Radio – The big-ticket item in these kits are the two-way radios. I know the girls are going to have such fun with these walkie-talkies. This set of Motorola Two-Way Radios was around $40 on Amazon. (We’ll use them for family hikes, too.)

I wanted a briefcase-type container for the detective kits and I found these Art Bin containers at the craft store. With coupons, they were under $5 each and seem nice and sturdy.

detective/spy kit briefcase

I had to fancy them up a bit, though, so I added some patterned paper and a name tag to each briefcase.

detective/spy kit for kids

We’re also including a few books for more detective inspiration:

I’d like to add a Walkie-Talkie Dictionary (@ Classic Play) and a few secret code accessories, like a cipher wheel or alphabet symbol code. We’re also including a small combination lock so they can lock their briefcases if they have secret evidence inside.

I’m planning to see lots of imaginative sleuthing play around here in the new year – hope I don’t end up as a suspect!

Taking Dictation: Crafting Stories with Young Kids

I’m sharing a few ideas for capturing children’s creative storytelling at Simple Kids today. Here is a sneak peek:

There is really nothing like the imagination of a young child. Long before they can write their own stories, children are ready and eager to tell their own stories. It is wonderfully empowering for a child to see her words written down as a “real” story. So, what are you waiting for? Grab some paper and get started!

Need a little inspiration to get the creative juices flowing? Head over to Simple Kids to continue reading and join in the conversation.

See you there!

Magnetic Menu

Both of my girls love to play restaurant, which usually involves creating some sort of menu. Sometimes we draw menus, sometimes we cut and paste pictures from grocery ads and magazines. We also have a collection of kids’ menus from restaurants we’ve been to.

I decided to give them another option for menu creating by printing out different food items on printable magnet sheets.

We have two small magnet boards to use, but you could just as easily use a small cookie sheet or even the fridge. For the menu items I used clip art from Microsoft Word and tried to choose foods that matched our play food collection.

The magnets are thin, but they seem to be holding up well. Fun and easy — and it gets used all the time.

Off to play with my chefs and servers!

{Originally published June, 2008. Our magnets are still being used and holding up great!}

Creative Pretend Play Props and Ideas

Pretend play is an important part of a young child’s life. Trying out different roles, replaying experiences, practicing social skills, and trying out new vocabulary are just some of the many benefits of imaginative play.

Creating an environment that supports pretend play is easy – kids just need some space to play, unstructured blocks of time, and a few simple props.

We usually do a combination of gathering things from around the house and creating our own props for pretend play. Making your own pretend play props is a great way to extend the playtime, involve older siblings, and incorporate real-life literacy and math skills. Keep your play props together by theme in plastic bags or bins and rotate them to keep things fresh and interesting.

I’m sure you have played your fair share of restaurant, house, and doctor. Here are three more pretend play ideas to add to your repertoire. Happy pretending!

Continue reading this post at Simple Kids….

Horse Catalog

One day (last summer), the girls were busy playing and thinking-up imaginary horses. Their herds of horses were getting quite large, apparently, and they were having trouble remembering all their names. They both brought out little notebooks, and I acted as secretary as they dictated their horses’ names to me.

This was a good start, but they really wanted to keep track of each horse’s color, as well. And maybe what each particular horse likes to eat. So, I invited them to help me create a fill-in form to keep track of their herds.

These little horse catalogs, as I call them, were quite the hit of the summer. We punched a hole in the corner of each sheet and kept them together on a binder ring. The girls wrote and colored and imagined and played – while I reveled in the great writing practice they were doing!

We have since done similar forms for fairies, fancy cakes, and birds (real and imaginary). If your kids are into this kind of play, maybe they would enjoy making their own forms and catalogs. Have fun!

P.S. If you know someone who would have fun creating horses, here’s the form we made (pdf): Imaginary Horse Catalog Form

The Wizard Costume

After compiling a list of twenty or so costume ideas, Natalie settled on being a wizard for Halloween. We haven’t entered the world of Harry Potter yet, so her idea of a wizard is pretty traditional. She knew she wanted a big cloak with moons and stars all over, a tall pointy hat, and a magic wand.

Her wizard cloak is more of a dress, made from royal blue fleece. I bought a big piece of fleece that was double her height (from shoulder to floor) – I think I ended up buying 2 1/2 yards.

With the fleece folded in half, I cut a rounded neck hole, using one of her t-shirts as a guide. Better to start small here, and make it larger if necessary. Then I had Natalie lay on the fleece with her arms stretched out to her sides and her legs slightly spread apart. I used a white crayon to trace out the basic sleeve and dress shape. I kept it big so it would drape a lot. Then I just had to cut on my lines and sew up the sides for the finished dress.  {For more info, I followed the basic instructions here, except left out the part about cutting up the front to make it into a robe.}

Here is Natalie showing off the basic shape of the wizard dress:

I added a cuff of sparkly star fabric to each sleeve and hand-sewed felt moons and stars all over the front and back of the dress.

For her hat, I used two sheets of stiff blue felt. I cut out two triangles using the full width and height of the felt and sewed them together along the sides. The hat turned out really tall and fits Natalie fine (and would also fit most adults, I think).  Again, I hand-sewed a few felt moons and stars on the hat.

One of the finishing details is a magic wand – a papier-mache wand from the craft store with some gold paint and glitter added to the star. She also wanted a cauldron to use as her trick-or-treat bucket. I just need to add a handle!

I am so giddy with how this turned out – and it was really so simple. Natalie is pretty particular about the comfort of her clothes (tags, elastic, seams, and scratchy fabrics are tough for her), so this is the perfect soft and comfy costume for her. She will be a very cozy wizard on Halloween!

We’re putting the finishing touches on Delaney’s costume – here is a sneak peek:

Tomorrow morning we’ll be carving pumpkins and keeping our fingers crossed for a rain-free Halloween night on Sunday!

Pretend Play: Birthday Party

We have put-together many pretend play kits over the past few years, but this one is still a favorite! We are always adding new odds and ends – we have some very spoiled dolls in our house who have birthday parties constantly!

{Originally published March 2008}

nat_birthday

Even though my girls’ birthdays are months away, they are already busy planning what kind of parties they want to have! To help fill that party-planning need, we are putting together a birthday party pretend play kit. We’re including:

  • party hats
  • paper plates, napkins, cups (maybe left-over from other parties)
  • play food cake, playdough cake, empty cake pan, etc.
  • invitations (again, we have some misc. invites from other parties – you could laminate them for extra durability)
  • gift bags and wrapped boxes
  • decorations, such as balloons, banners, streamers, etc.
  • tablecloth

Now, whenever the mood strikes, we can throw a fantastic birthday party for a favorite stuffed animal or doll. Sometimes we even make a real cake with candles — why not?

Happy playing!

Creating Zoo Maps

This is one of our all-time favorite activities!  Since we made our zoo maps, there have been maps of mermaid lagoons, five-story malls, fairy lands, and much more.  If you are stuck inside on a cold day, this is a great activity to work on with your kids.  Have fun!

{Originally posted June 2008}

Some of the most coveted “souvenirs” in our house are the maps we bring home from places we visit, especially ones from the zoo and Disneyland. My girls will look at these again and again, remembering things we saw, tracing their fingers on the little paths. I think this type of “real-world” reading (also called environmental print) is such an important part of literacy and reading development, which is why I also save children’s menus from restaurants, brochures, etc.

I thought it would be fun to learn more about maps and make our own. I decided to start with zoo maps. We have a full-color one from our local zoo, plus I printed about 5 more from various zoo websites. The National Zoo, San Diego Zoo, and Oregon Zoo had nice printable maps.

zoo_maps

Just looking at these maps was an activity in itself! The girls loved identifying the different animals, and we also had the opportunity to talk about legends and what the different symbols mean. They really enjoyed finding all the bathrooms!

Then it was time to get to work! We used large sheets of easel paper for our maps. Natalie drew her entrance & exit first, followed by all sorts of paths. Then she filled in with her animals and other attractions. Delaney started with a bus that brings everyone to the zoo, then added her animals, and finally connected them with a path.

zoo_maps2

They worked on these for close to an hour. I added labels or words if they wanted. Natalie drew a rectangle with a P on top to show all the “potties” in her zoo. She also put in a food court, a fountain, a farm animal petting zoo, and a place called “Kids Explore,” which is some sort of fantastic kids’ play area.

zoo_maps3

Delaney’s zoo had an armadillo, an octopus, a tiger, two bunnies, a pig, and a flamingo.

zoo_maps4

Of course, the fun is not over, because now they want to use toy animals to create these fantastic zoos. I can’t wait to visit!

I’m sure we will revisit map making soon — maybe we’ll make our own Disneyland!

Happy playing!

The Fairy Olympics

Okay, I’ve got one more round of Olympic fun for you!  Since my girls are really into all things tiny (i.e. fairies), we decided to do some itty bitty Olympic events.  Here’s what we did:

Wind & Clouds – The weather fairies have to blow the clouds away, so the sun can shine on Fairy Garden.  Use a straw to blow cotton balls across a finish line, into a bucket turned on its side, or off the edge of a table.  We blew ours off of a paper sun.  (This is *great* for strengthening oral muscles, by the way!)

fairyolympics2

Penny Toss – We tossed pennies (aka fairy money) into an egg tray (aka the Fairy Bank).

Fairy Soup – We carried pom poms and jewel beads on tiny spoons from our play tea set.  We worked together to carry one piece at a time until we filled a tiny bowl — mmmm, fairy soup!

fairyolympics3

Straw Javelin Toss – We tossed our little plastic straw javelins, then measured how far they went.

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Ah, this was fun — and all the fairies in the land came out to watch the events! :)  And, as an added bonus, the girls zipped off to create their own mermaid and princess olympics when we were done!

fairyolympics1

Have a wonderful weekend!