Are feathers the googly eyes of November? I think so! This Fine Motor Turkey Activity is the BASTE way to play while prepping for Thanksgiving.
Another huge positive for this activity is you only need two things: feathers and a colander.
You can make a turkey face too if you’d like.
You can find feathers at any dollar store for only a dollar and you get a ton of them. You can use them for so many other crafts and activities throughout the year too. They also make for a great sensory object.
For this Fine Motor Turkey Activity, all I instructed Mila to do was make a turkey out of those materials.
Mila had fun sorting the colors and making the turkey look ‘silly.’ It gave me time to make dinner and it would be a fun race for the kids on Thanksgiving Day.
I truly believe the simplest activities make the biggest impact.
As usual, Mila did an amazing job and I know other kids would like this activity too.
I love how this activity could be used for little kids too. It’s a great sensory activity that works on motor skills!
For older kids, you could do a timed activity where they either need to put all the feathers in OR take them out the quickest. It’s simple for kids of all ages.
What sort of activities do you do during Thanksgiving? Or does your family play any fun games?
This week was my first time ever sending in a preschool snack with Mila. It was an exciting mom moment for me! Of course, I made sure it was a nut free mix that everyone would enjoy. Then we came up with the Fall Scarecrow Snack Mix.
Here’s everything I used to make this nut free Scarecrow Snack Mix:
Pretzels
Chex Cereal
Caramel Corn
m&m’s
Candy Corn
Candy Pumpkins
Rollos
The best part of this mix is it’s super easy to put together. All you have to do is find a big bowl and pour everything in.
Unfortunately, my big bowls weren’t big enough, so I had to keep making the mix over and over again. Good thing it’s easy and doesn’t take a lot of time to do it!
One thing I wish I would have gotten more of was the caramel corn. When I went to Target, they were almost sold out of the ‘monster mix.’ The monster mix just have chocolate drizzle and sprinkles. Some of the other caramel corn had pecans and other nuts. Obviously, I didn’t want to send any type of nuts to a preschool classroom in case of allergies.
Mila loved this mix, but she was definitely picking out all of the chocolate and Chex cereal!
I loved making this Fall Scarecrow Mix for Mila’s preschool party… and keeping the extras at home for us to share too. Here’s the little Tik Tok video I made to show how I made it all. Even though it’s pretty self explanatory, I loved how it all came together.
The end result is beautiful too!
What is your favorite snack or food item to share at classroom parties? I’d love some Christmas suggestions.
Mila and my’s favorite part about this October was her Tiny Ghoul Gang Party. It was a fun way to get all of her friends together and celebrate Halloween!
She had been asking me for weeks about having a party. For some reason she was convinced that her birthday was this month… and not six months away. Instead of fighting that battle for six more months, we invited her preschool and dance friends over and had a Tiny Ghoul Gang Party.
When I first decided to throw this party for Mila, I came up with a pumpkin painting party idea. She loves painting and crafts and I figured her friends would too.
I had a ton of Halloween activity ideas pinned and saved on Instagram. There’s so many creative people in the world, I’m so thankful they share their ideas! It was easy to find things for the kids to do.
Thankfully it was minimal prep too!
The Activities
Pumpkin Painting:
The main party activity was pumpkin painting. We literally laid down an old blanket and table clothes, set out paint and brushes, then let the kids have at it. Honestly, they went right to wanting to paint pumpkins which took me by surprise. If I would have known that, I would’ve got the paint out beforehand. Thankfully, there was a great group of parents who immediately jumped in and helped out!
Besides paint, we also let the kiddos put googly eyes on their pumpkins to decorate too! They all turned out adorable.
This activity is messy. Obviously. If I were to do this again, I’d have found more tables or gotten pallets for the kids to use. Just to stabilize the pumpkins and keep the brushes and paint upright.
Witch’s Brooms:
I just talked about these in another blog post. They’re one of my favorite Halloween activities and went pretty well with a big group of girls. The hardest part was finding the letters of all the girls’ names.
Before the party, I made all of the brooms. If I would do this activity again for kids, I would have their name beads already set out or put in a bag.
Again, there was an amazing group of parents their with us that helped out!
Sensory Bins:
Technically I had three sensory areas set up, but we only got to two. The one sensory play idea that wasn’t used was a potion making station. I think that was fine because it ended up getting cold, which is never good mixed with wet clothes.
The one bin that was used the most was the spaghetti bin. There were eyeballs, fingers, and spiders that the kids could find. But, a couple of them (mostly Mila), ended up just eating the spaghetti… yum. They all did seem like they loved playing with this sensory bowl.
Maybe for the next Halloween party, I’ll do multiple cold spaghetti bowls.
In the other sensory bowl was ‘monster soup.’ It just had torn up tissue paper, Halloween colored sensory items (balls, pipe cleaners, etc). The girls really enjoyed this too!
Bobbing for Apples:
Like I stated above, the cold and water don’t really mix, but the girls really enjoyed trying this. It’s just your classic bobbing for apples game. The ones who participated did really good… the others volunteered to just eat the apples.
Halloween Egg Hunt:
Mila helped prep this activity. I found Easter eggs that looked like jack-o-lanterns at Target. We filled them up with candy and Mila spread them around the yard.
I’m not sure how well she hid them… but the kids loved running and finding them. It was an easy activity and got them playing independently.
Throwing Games:
We also had a few throwing activities that I didn’t get pictures of. One was to throw rings around pumpkin stems. Again, easy set up and fun! Then my mom found this game where you throw a ball in pumpkin styled cups. What kid doesn’t like throwing?
I think all the kids loved what we had set up. There was Halloween music playing in the background, so we got to see some dance moves too. When the kids didn’t have a guided activity, they just ran, talked, or played on the play equipment too. I don’t think any of them were ever bored during the party.
It was so much fun to see Mila’s favorite groups of friends come together.
The Food
I promise I had every intention of making this party have more food than dessert. It just didn’t manifest that way.
The food spread was mostly a dessert bar full of Halloween treats. To be honest, I bought all the desserts. I did not have time to make everything, besides adding extra Halloween sprinkles to the cake. Still, I loved how it turned out!
For the food, we had fruits, veggies, cream chicken, mummy hot dogs, and a skull meat and cheese plate. Plus, there were buckets of chips and a sweet Halloween mix too.
I was actually surprised with how much food was eaten. Of course I still had leftovers, but the majority of it was gone!
We also started a fire and had s’mores too.
The Goodies
To make it a little more special, I made Ghoul Gang shirts for the girls. I think they turned out adorable and even made myself a sweatshirt.
It made for really cute pictures and I love getting shirts, so I knew Mila’s friends would too.
We also made baskets for the kids to take too. It was just a trick or treat bucket filled with goodies for them to take home.
The best goodies for me was watching all of the ghouls having fun. Their smiles and laughs are the reason why any parent does what they do for their kids. I love that this group of girls get to grow up together. Just knowing Mila will have friends going into school and through life brings me so much peace for her.
I am so thankful for all the parents that let their kiddos come. Mila has talked about it almost every day since.
Throughout the madness of the day, Mila and I didn’t get a single picture at her party. This isn’t too crazy. We rarely remember to get pictures together.
Once we got home, she thanked me for her party and gave me a big hug. That’s when we got the picture.
I love being her mom and having the ability to do these types of things for her. Something tells me she’s going to be a kid that wants a party for all occasions. Fingers crossed we’ll be able to do it!
Even when life is crazy, it’s party days like those and the hugs after that make the hard parts worth it.
I can’t wait to see what we come up with for next year’s Halloween party.
Have you ever threw your child a Halloween party? What was your favorite activity at yours or Mila’s?
There’s no better time to celebrate Halloween and little girls than with a Ghoul Power Boo Basket. This yearly tradition is a fun way to get your child ready and excited for Halloween.
Boo baskets were originally secretly left for neighbors and friends, but they’re fun for kids too!
Another amazing part of Boo Baskets is supporting small businesses. There have been so many things from Instagram and Etsy that I’ve been eyeing. Gifting them to Mila in such a fun way made them even more special for her!
Now it’s time to unpack all the ghoul power items inside Mila’s Boo Basket this year.
Activities
All Boo Baskets need some fun activities for kids to get excited for Halloween. Mila’s is packed with some of her favorite things:
The best part of these activities are they can be done inside. Halloween is a weird transition time for kids from being outside in summer to staying inside more from the cooler weather. These are all great options for kids to play safely inside and have fun. Mila is obsessed with all of these. The bubbles are so much fun for her. The seek and find makes for great scavenger hunts. Stickers are always a hit too.
Accessories
Girls love accessories, even at three!
Our favorite shop right now is Sloane and Daisy. Both of the bracelet and pin are from there. They fit so many outfits and Mila has worn both of them multiple times since she’s gotten them. If you’re interested in a bracelet or a pin set from Sloane and Daisy, use GreySkies15 for 15% off!
Mila also got plastic spider rings, which are always so much fun during spooky season.
Bow and Wand
Mila loves playing with wands. This month she used this one to pretend she was a witch. Of course, her wand has to have pretty pink on it! I also topped it off with one of her Halloween bows from ACT Crafts and Creations.
You can easily make one of these wands that your child will definitely love.
Halloween Pajamas
My favorite part of Mila’s Boo Basket is her new Halloween pajamas from Harlee Bee and Co. I love the rainbow print on it and Mila loves the flower crown on the ghost. The fabric feels so nice and it’s well made. I wish they came in my size!
This year’s Ghoul Power Boo Basket was so much fun to make for Mila. I hope she loved it as much as I did putting it together.
Do you give your child a Boo Basket? If so, what’s something you’d suggest adding in one.
Halloween crafts and activities do not have to be complex. My preschooler’s favorite Halloween Craft are these Googly Eyed Monsters! Not only did she have a spook-tacular time making them, she loves making sure everyone sees them when they come in our home.
The best part about these monsters, you only really need to go buy googly eyes. Everything else are pretty common household items.
To set up this craft for Mila, I cut some squares from old cardboard boxes. We love to upcycle and reuse items. If we can make memories by doing that, I’m all for it!
Then, I put out the colors of paint she wanted to use. I tried to persuade her to use more Halloween colors. She insisted on blue though, but I think it turned out super cute even though it’s not a traditional color.
I let her free paint and do whatever she wanted. They didn’t start off as monsters, just as big blobs.
If you have older kids, they’ll be able to do this next part on their own. I went in and drew outlines of monsters with her blobs. She might be able to do it now, but I just follow her interest and patience level with these types of activities. There’s no right or wrong ways to outline them. Just let their artwork speak to you!
When the monsters were finished and dried, Mila put the eyes where she wanted them to be. Let your child pick out how many eyes and the eye color they think they need. It’s so cute to see how they end up seeing their monsters.
Then, you can hot glue a pipe cleaner on the back of the cardboard pieces to hand them. This is an optional step, but I love it.
I love this little progression picture. This activity came out so adorable and I’ll definitely be hanging these up throughout future Halloweens. At first, Mila was afraid of some of her pictures. Now she thinks they’re cute. She’s really getting in the spooky mood!
Another day, another fall activity! Today’s play is a Pumpkin Washing Sensory Bin.
We love sensory play for so many reasons. To summarize all of its benefits, it helps children’s brains in a ton of ways! It also gives me a minute to do a chore or task that needs done around the house too.
Now that it’s spooky season, I’m finally letting Mila pick pumpkins from our pumpkin patch on the side of our house. It led straight to this activity.
Before we paint or decorate these pumpkins, I thought they needed to be cleaned off. Instead of me just doing it, I thought it would be so much fun for Mila… and I was right. All I had to do was set up this station.
The only thing I told Mila was that the pumpkins needed cleaning and she could use more water and soap if she needed.
Let’s just say… she went to work right away!
This activity is so simple and Mila had came up with a big story of why they needed washed. She pretended they came from a different farm and not just outside our home. I always love listening to how her mind works.
That’s what makes sensory play so fun for everyone.
I actually left this activity out for the next day and she kept on playing. Lets hope painting or carving pumpkins goes this smoothly too.
Do you paint or carve pumpkins?
I’ve done both, but I’m thinking Mila may like painting more than carving this year. I’ll keep you all updated when it happens!
Today we’re celebrating October with Monster Rolls for a fun boo brunch. It’s not really a DIY recipe, but a way to make food festive for Halloween. Either way, you’ll love it.
Even though I’m SHOCKED it’s October, I’m so excited to bring you fun activities, crafts, and treats all month long. I absolutely love Halloween and everything that goes along with it. Let’s just say, Mila and I have a lot planned for you.
These Monster Rolls are really simple, which are perfect for fall mornings.
First, cook the cinnamon rolls as directed. Since everyone has their own different recipes or favorite brands, I’ll just leave this up to you!
Next, divide icing in different bowls. Add food coloring and mix. Mila absolutely loved helping with this step. As always, you can make it educational by talking about colors and it’s a great way to work on motor skills.
Then, set out the eye sprinkles and sugar to decorate.
Once the cinnamon rolls are done, I suggest dipping them into icing instead of spreading. It’s less messy and just is was easier in my opinion. Mila also helped with this step too!
After they’re all iced, it’s time to be creative.
I promise you eye sprinkles are a MUST for spooky season. They make any food or treat extra special for halloween. Mila loves them too and I think all kids would think they’re fun too. The ones I bought actually taste pretty good too.
Anyways, I just put the eyes in a little bowl and let her use the sugar dispenser. I let her know we were making monsters and she just went for it!
They were so fun to make… and eat too! I loved how quick they were to bake and that it gave Mila some creative time in the morning. We’ll be making these again this month because we both enjoyed them so much.
What did you think of our Monster Rolls? Do you have any Halloween classic breakfast foods, snacks, or treats that you make every year?
This weekend, Mila and her friends were transformed from their fabulous, preschool selves to beautiful princesses. Atwood Lake Park hosted Princess in the Park for area girls and it was a fairytale for everyone involved.
Naturally, Mila took the afternoon napping and getting ready for the event.
There were two sessions for it, but we went to the later one at 5:30. Thankfully that nap came in handy. To get her ready, she got her hair curled, put a little bit of makeup one, and was dressed in her favorite princess dress.
She was too excited to take pictures before we left, even though she made me and my parents dress up for the occasion.
It only made sense since we were going to be in the presence of a ton of princesses!
When we got there, the girls were divided into four groups: red, purple, silver, and blue (or maybe pink, we weren’t in that group). You could tell their group by the necklaces they gave them when they were registered. Mila was in the purple group, so that’s the timeline of the night I’ll be following.
There were four different princess activity stations: craft, carriage ride, story and snack time, and nail and hand painting.
The first station Mila went to was the crafting one. Here, all the princesses decorated a frame and a princess wand. Mila absolutely LOVED the wand and it turned out so cute. She held it most of the night and pretended to have magic powers too.
They had all the craft supplies ready for us. There were wooden skewers, stickers, ribbons, stars, and the frame. I think Mila tried to put everything on her wand. It turned out adorable.
It seemed like all the other princesses enjoyed their craft too!
After craft time was the carriage ride.
Cinderella brought her magical carriage with her beautiful horses for all the little princesses to ride. Of course she joined in too! They had six girls at a time join Cinderella and they took a carriage ride around the Atwood Lake Park. It took about fifteen minutes, but it probably seemed a lot quicker for the little ones.
Honestly, this part was just as magical for the parents as it was the kids. The carriage was breathtaking and I hope it made Mila feel so special. Her smile was radiating.
When the carriage ride was over, the other half of the group of kids went on and Mila’s got to meet Mrs. Ohio from 2011. Her name is Mrs. Melanie Miller and she did amazing with the little ones. Mila was so happy to meet another real life princess for the night!
She instantly wanted to give her a hug and sit and talk with her. I think Mila was a little awe-struck because she didn’t say a lot, but kept looking at Mrs. Miller and her crowns. I think she loved her sparkly dress too. They discussed how their favorite letter was “M” and how Mila should always follow her dreams. It was so adorable. Mrs. Miller also gave Mila an autographed picture that she talked about and showed us on the way home.
Mrs. Ohio, if you are reading this, thank you so much for being patient and so caring. It truly made an impact on our girls. I know Mila enjoyed meeting and talking with you.
Next it was story and snack time!
They had cupcakes there for the kids to ice and decorate. Although they didn’t have tea, they had apple juice that were perfect for princesses.
As the kids decorated their cupcakes and ate them, a man (whose name I didn’t catch) read a story to the kids. He let them name the princess and unicorn. Mila came up with the name Aveena for the princess and another girl names the unicorn Sedine. They really gave him tricky names to remember. It was pretty comical.
It was a really cute story and gave the kids time to calm down after all the carriage and Mrs. Ohio excitement.
I love watching Mila decorate her cupcake too! She gets better at it every time.
The next and last station was the nail and hand painting. Although a lot of girls sat and got theirs done, Mila had other plans. She’s not the “let’s get our nails painted” princess. Instead, she decided to play.
Since my parents went with us, she had my dad play on the playground with her. They had so much fun on the equipment and the swings.
It also was nice that she got to get really tired before we left!
I love watching her play and interact with other kids and her grandpa. I swear every time I look at her it looks like she’s grown up more. It’s one of the most bittersweet feelings that all parents (I think) feel.
After the last station, we could leave. Instead though, Mila got to meet up with her friends. They, again, went to see Mrs. Ohio and took pictures with her. It was so cute watching them listen to her and wanting to see her crowns. I swear us parents looked like the paparazzi taking a ton of pictures. It was just so exciting.
The princesses took more pictures and played for some time after too. I loved seeing them all dressed up. They’re usually beautiful, but they looked extra cute all dressed up.
I am so thankful for everyone at Atwood Lake Park and the princesses that made this happen. Mila and the rest of their kids really enjoyed themselves. I know she will be talking about this event for days, especially when we go and print pictures out!
Since we live in such a small, tight community, it’s amazing to get our kids together and interacting. It’s truly special and amazing.
If you live local, what are some events you’re looking forward to this fall? If you don’t live local, what are some fall events that you think Mila and I should do? Let me know in the comments.
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.
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!
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!
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.
Ahoy there mateys! If you’re looking to celebrate pirates or how they talk, your toddler or young child love this Pirate Sensory Treasure Hunt.
Recently, Mila has been watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates. She loves all the adventure and when they find treasure. What little kid wouldn’t want to live on a boat and find coins buried in the sand?
I think she is still obsessed with mermaids too and the ocean reminds her of them!
Anyways, I thought it would be fun to bring the buried treasure to Mila… with some sensory elements mixed in too. Let’s just say this little activity was a hit.
Here’s all you’ll need:
Rice
Kinetic sand
Sensory bin
Seashells
‘Pearls’
Coins
Other little pirate/ocean toys or stickers
I actually used my resin seek and find from Beags and Bubs as Mila’s treasure map. So, some of the items in the seek and find, I put in the bin. It was another cute way to use it!
To assemble this bin you’ll first need to put the items in the bin.
I probably could have added more coins and probably will next time. It just depends on how long you want this play to last. By the way, the ‘pearls’ were under the seashell!
Then, add rice for the sand and blue kinetic sand as water. I put the fish and mermaid under the ‘water.’
Personally, I put the kinetic sand down first. It helped me cover the fish first. BUT, the rice is way easier to spread than the kinetic sand, so it was just easier to do it this way.
After it was set up, I got out some pirate accessories and resin letters to set it up for her.
She had fun finding all of the treasure. It was so cute to watch her just dive in there. I think the hardest thing to find were the coins. They moved around in the rice.
After she did find everything, she prepped it for me to find things!
It was fun to play along with her.
Then, she used the bin for some pretend play while she warched Jake! Anytime she extends play makes the work behind it well worth it!
I personally love this bin and can see us doing more treasure hunts in the future. Mila’s down every time she gets to put money in her piggy bank.
Do your kids like pirates? What are some ways you’ve used them in your play? Let me know in the comments.
Grey Skies & Rainbow Highs 