Tag Archives: activity

Preschool Activity: Halloween Activity Box.

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October is right around the corner and we’re gettin really excited for Halloween! To prepare Mila and to give her some activities to do when she’s not at preschool, I made this Halloween Activity Box.

It’s full of fun, but I’m saving a lot of activities we’re doing for the month of October. You’ll have to keep coming back for more.

I actually love Halloweven! It’s probably my favorite holiday besides Christmas. You get tk dress up and just feel magical for the month. Plus I love all the outdoor activities and the yummy treats.

This year seems just a little extra special because Mila is so excited and knows what’s going on.

I know she’ll be happy to see this box too!

Halloween Books

There are a TON of cute Halloween books out there, but I love these three! By the way, if you have any Halloween book recommendations, please let me know in the comments.

My two favorite classics are The Nightmare Before a Christmas by Tim Burton and Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson. Yeah, I know The Nightmare Before Christmas is a controversial book on whether is Halloween or Christmas, but we read and watch it during both holidays!

Tim Burton is one of my favorite creative minds. So, we have some activities around this particular book and I want to introduce Mila to some of his movies this season too. Room on the Broom is fun for Mila at this age because she tries to follow along and does a great job! I have an activity for this too!

Our newest Halloween book is All Hallows’ Eve in Salem by Kristian James. I found it on Instagram and knew I needed to get it for Mila. The characters are adorable and I already want to plan a trip to Salem for Mila and I!

I promise, you’ll want to get this book for your kids too!

Play Doh Monsters with Eyes

Mila loves to play with play doh in her activity boxes, that’s why I include them!

This time, I added craft eyes for her to make monsters and to practice counting. It’s really cute to see all the creations she comes up with!

It’s such a simple activity, but she literally plays with it for a while. When there’s multiple ‘monsters,’ she pretends to do different voices and have conversations. It’s so much fun.

Plus, we use these craft eyes all the time! They make projects cuter and they’re perfect for Halloween!

Spooky Worksheets and Stickers

For this activity box, I didn’t use worksheets from Mila’s normal preschool workbooks. There’s none quite that spooky. I did find some cute worksheets that are perfect for the preschool and toddler level, coloring pages, and stickers!

I found the foam stickers and sticker book at Joann’s Fabrics, but this pack is cute from Amazon.

Stickers can be used for telling stories, counting, or making collages. Your child will lead you.

The little coloring page was also from Joann’s!

I found two printables that will have multiple uses. They’re both so cute and Mila really liked how they both looked.

The monster letters are from The Letter Vee. They’re so adorable and I’ll have Mila color them in first, then practice letter recognition with her resin letters.

I also had to print out this Halloween Countdown from Celebration Stylist! They have SO many cute Halloween printables. The Boo Banner hanging over the activity box is from them too! Plus a few other things that you’ll see in October posts.

Anyways, this countdown can be used as a countdown or to practice counting in general. I’m sure Mila will be using her stickers to do the countdown!

Potion Kit and Ghost Friends

You’ve definitely seen this fizzy ball before! They’re seriously such a hit with Mila. This month, we’ll be using them to make a witch’s potion. She loves using her ladle with our new bowl, so I’m excited for her.

I’m doing a post about a different witch’s potion next month too.

Mila and I also made these little stuffed ghosts out of an old sweatshirt. We had a lot of fun with them and Mila liked drawing their faces (not pictured). It was so easy to do! I’ll post a video or blog about how to do this too!

These are just some fun ways for Mila to play and pretend. It’s always nice to have a little brain break.

Miscellaneous Tricks

As always, we love using resin letters in all of our activity boxes. I cannot wait to show you my new set from Beags and Bubs. It’s in the mail right now, but they’re ADORABLE!

Not pictured in this post were face masks. I decided to add them in there because masks are associated with Halloween snd the characters on the packaging are our Halloween costumes. Plus, anytime I can make time for Mila to practice self care, I do!

There were also crayons, markers, and some other tools to play with the play doh too.

This is probably my favorite activity box so far. I love letting her discover different holidays. This can easily be converted and customized to more boy themed too. All of the elements are perfect for both boys and girls though!

I can’t wait to start doing more spooky crafts and activities and share them all with you.

What are some of your favorite Halloween activities to do? Or what are your favorite Halloween books you enjoy reading this time of year? Let me know both in the comments.

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Toddler Activity: DIY Nail Salon

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Mila can be such a girly girl.

One thing that she absolutely loves is painting nails. No matter if it’s her nails or someone else’s, she always asking.

I saw this activity last year and figured now was the perfect time.

All you need is:

  • Cardboard
  • Marker
  • Paint
  • Paint brushes

I had everything had home and used old cereal boxes to draw the hands. To hold the paint, I used the caps of milk containers.

Next, I traced my hand and then drew finger nails.

To get her used to seeing her name, words, and numbers, I wrote them on the cardboard too. Before she painted, we counted all the fingers, told her which one was right and left, and spelled her name. She tells me her name is ‘la,’ which always makes me smile.

Then, I let her paint these nails.

She enjoyed mixing the colors and practicing painting nearly, at first. It switched from near to a little wild soon after.

This is a quick activity to put together, but it gave me enough time to do some work on the computer. Sometimes you just need five minutes of peace and this did the trick.

I will continue doing this activity with Mila. To help her with her pre-writing, I’ll make dotted lines that she has to trace for bracelet and rings. It would also be fun to do color recognition or teach the order of the rainbow here too.

Either way, this is DIY nail salon is fun and toddler approved.

Toddler Activity: DIY Countdown to Midnight Clock

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To make the New Year’s Eve day a little more special, I made a countdown clock for Mila. It took a little bit of time, which is why I’m posting today.

You can definitely get help from your kids with this activity, but it’s mostly for adults or older kids to make. Kids of all ages can enjoy when it’s done.

Like most of our activities, I had everything at home. If you don’t, all of these items can be easily bought at a variety of stores.

The supplies:

  • Poster board or craft paper
  • Marker
  • Balloons
  • Confetti (I used scrap paper)
  • Tape
  • Candy or other fillings

The idea of this activity is to celebrate NYE all throughout the day. As each hour passes, kids can pop the balloon and have confetti and whatever else you stuff it with.

If they don’t stay up until midnight, then at least they get some excitement throughout the day!

This project was a little more longer and in depth than our usual ones, but I think she’ll love it when the day comes.

First, draw a big circle on your poster board or craft paper. Then, add the numbers around the circle like a clock. I wrote in the middle of it, but you can personalize it however.

Once that’s done, it’s time to stuff and blow up balloons.

You’ll only need twelve balloons and some come with confetti already in them. That would have been way easier, but I just made confetti by cutting up scrap pieces of paper. This takes a little time, but it looks cute all mixed.

If you are making your own confetti, have your child practice their cutting skills and help you out!

Next, stuff the balloons!

This can be a tricky task. I used a funnel, but there are others ways to do it too.

In addition to the confetti, I added chocolate hearts to the balloons. Mila loves them and she’ll be shocked by the surprise.

After this is done, blow your balloons up and tape them to your clock.

Hang your clock to a wall and enjoy popping them on New Years Eve! Kids who love messes will be excited to make one every hour.

I hope you enjoy this way to celebrate bringing the new year in! If you decide to do this activity, comment your experience. I’d love to hear from you and see pictures.