Journalist Looking for Fun Kid Activities

I am an avid flower gardener. When my son had to do a science project at school, we heard about "Jello plants." You make Jello according to the package directions (yellow, green, or pink are best), and put it in the 'fridge to set in a clear container (glass is best). After it has set, you make a small slit in the top with a butter knife and drop in a flower seed. Pull the knife out, and the Jello closes over the seed. In a few days you can see the seed start to grow. You don't have to water the plant, or feed it, just stick it in a sunny spot, the Jello takes care of the rest. Zach was so impressed with his project that we've done it every spring. My twins (now 7) have fun mixing the Jello and finding new and different containers. This year, we have a bud vase, a glass ashtray with the seeds in a smiley face pattern, a glass ashtray with seeds that spell out IAN, a wine glass, a fish bowl, and a glass coffee cup. After the seedlings are about 4", we'll take them outside to plant them. The best part of Jello plants is that the kids have fun and learn at the same time.

My kids loved nothing better than building and playing in forts. Inside the house, a fort could be made by simply opening up the dining room table to it's full length and throwing a blanket over the table to cover it all the way to the floor. The kids would put toys in there, set it up like a fort, stretch it out by using chairs. In the yard, we made forts with anything we could find... the picnic table, lawn chairs, old bits and pieces from our basement, and always an old blanket stretched over the top for a roof. The kids called it the "fort blanket". I could play with them for a while, but I was always able to back off after a bit and leave them to play on their own, exercising their imaginations for countless hours over the years.

I used to make Tye Dye butterflies with my Kindergarteners...

You need:
- 1 coffee filter
- markers
- 1 clothespin
- spray bottle with water
- 1 pipe cleaner

Have your child color the coffee filter with markers. Tip: Use a variety of colors for the best effect! Spritz the coffee filter with water and watch the colors blend and bleed together - simply beautiful! Lay the filter out to dry. Once dry, accordian fold the coffee filter to make wings and pinch the middle with the clothespin (butterfly body). Add eyes to the clothespin with a marker. Bend the pipe cleaner in half and curl each end with a pencil to make antennae. Attach to clothespin. Voila =)

Optional: attach magnet to back of clothespin so you can keep it on the fridge.

We live on Lake Erie and my 11 year old daughter & I go hunting for "sea glass". Once we get home, we'll sort through the glass by color and she makes the most beautiful designs! She's made shadow boxes, cards, and even glues them on to clear vases. We also set them out in pretty containers throughout our house.

oops it sent by mistake- I am the 35 yr from Philly.
Chemistry- make soapy water mixture or use store bought bubbles...take food coloring and color each cup of soap and then the kkids pour the colors and measure the amount so we do a little math and they get messy wet with the soapy water.

baking: we make sugar cookie words...to save time...buy store bought dough. Use letter cookie cutters and have the kids choose the words first. line up the letters. then cut out the cookies and bake. We decorate them w/sprinkles or cream cheese that we keep in the house.

Good luck on the article.

My kids (13 and 15) like to play "This or That". It can be played anywhere for any amount of time and requires nothing but imagination. We simply ask each other to choose "this or that". It can be a moral question such as "Which is better: a friend that is popular, but mean or a friend that nobody else likes but is sweet?" It can be a question of opinion. Example: Which is better- no shoes at all or shoes that don't fit, or it can be a silly question, such as "mustard or ketchup"? It's a fun way to learn each other's preferences and ideals and can lead to teaching your child right from wrong. The best part is that it doesn't require any pieces and it can be played anywhere for any amount of time.
A. Z.
Clayton, NJ

I am trying to be a good recycler and the caps from all those water bottles and drinks are not recyclable. So what I did was, drill a small hole in the top (big enough for a shoe lace or yarn to fit through) and let my son use them to practice stringing them on and off and he also likes to sort them by color or size. It is a lot cheaper than buying the wooden beads and it is friendly to the envirnoment! I hope this helps.

I'm not sure about the age level you are looking for, but I have a 4 month old daughter. The other day, I put her in her high chair which has a little compartmentalized tray to set on top. I put a little water in the tray, a little dish soap, and got a straw to blow into the water. As I blew, bubbles started to form, and eventually, my daughter had a bubble mountain! She was able to pop the bubbles and look at all the pretty colors that reflected off of them. Also, another neat thing was that after her hands got soapy, the bubbles don't pop and you can put your fingers in the middle of them! She had lots of fun.

Hi
My 3 yr old autistic child and I just painted flower pots. We bought teracota pots with acrylic pant and I let him paint how he wanted. Then I'd paint his hands white (off color of what he painted) and press on the flower pot. Let dry and spray clear acrylic spray to set the paint.
I made one for me, pap pap for bday gift and one for grandma for mother's day.
Your kids are older so it won't take as long to do like my 3 yr old

N.