What better way to entertain your kids for the day than a carnival?  But instead of spending tons of money, we decided to get creative and make our own carnival at home.

To get started, we made a costume for daddy to wear as he ran all of our carnival games, which included a hat and a cane.  All you need to make your own is black construction paper or card stock, scissors, and staples or tape.

For your hat, cut out a top hat shape, then cut several 1-2 inch strips of paper.  Tape or staple the paper together, measure the person’s head, and connect the two ends together.  Tape or staple the top hat to the band.

To make a cane, we simply cut a piece of paper in half, rolled the paper up and taped it.  Then we taped the two smaller canes together to make a longer one.

Clara wanted to play her carnival games outside.  It was pretty wet, so we decided to play on the sidewalk.

First in our lineup was mini golf!  I loved watching daddy try to help Clara learn to swing the club.  All the pieces are made of foam so they are soft and safe.  And it is really easy to assemble and disassemble.  Clara loved the circus theme and colorful designs and had a blast trying to hit the ball by herself.  This game is also great for development of eye-hand coordination!

Next was ALEX’s bean bag toss game, Monster Toss.  Clara was so cute with this game.  She immediately ran up and gave each monster a kiss! Clara was a little young to understand the throwing concept, but had a blast placing the bean bags into the holes.  The monster board includes three fun monsters, worth 10, 20, and 30 points.  It also comes with a removable stand and 6 bean bags. It’ s also great for development of eye-hand coordination, as well as ball skills.

Our last game was a homemade one.  In an attempt to replicate the fish bowl carnival game – you know the one where you have to throw the ping pong ball into the fish bowl to win a fish – I gathered 6 disposable cups and filled them halfway with water.  Then we placed a few of Clara’s bath toys in some of the cups.  This game was tougher than I thought, even for daddy, but everyone had a blast with it!

For prizes, I simply got a shoe box and filled it up with dollar toys from the local dollar store.  After each game, we let Clara pick a prize for her awesome effort!

After our games were over, it was time for a snack.  We chose to make popcorn, a traditional carnival snack, to munch on.  And for a healthier option, we also made frozen yogurt pops.  The frozen pops are simple to make.  We used popsicle molds but you could also use ice cube trays.  We mashed up our favorite fruits, mixed them with our favorite flavor of yogurt, and froze them the night before our carnival fun.

This was an easy way to get Clara outside and away from the television!

It was also great family fun and a wonderful way to spend some quality time together!

Between all the BBQ’s and thirsty kids running around this summer, don’t let all those empty bottles caps go to waste!

Recycled materials make great craft supplies. Turn those bottle caps into cute little bugs and have a leaf party! Mix and match to create all sorts of neat looking bugs!

ALEX printables are designed for toddlers and preschoolers and inspired by our Little Hands line of products made specifically for kids that age. If your little one is a bug lover, then you might also like Paper Plate Bugs, five totally adorable bugs are created by layering, stickering and glueing.

Have a buggy summer!

Bottle Cap Bugs Instructions

What You Need:

• Safety Scissors

• Glue

• Bottle Caps

• 2 Page Printable – Download HERE

How To Make It:

My youngest child just turned four years old, and has embarked on a new journey of independence. It’s been happening for quite some time, but I noticed an increase right around his birthday.

All of a sudden, he doesn’t need my help doing all sorts of things that I normally do for him, the most notable being washing him up when he takes a bath and helping him brush his teeth. He is now convinced that as a four-year-old he is very capable of taking care of his own hygiene.

There comes a time in every child’s life where they begin to take over their own hygiene responsibilities. I still remember clearly when my oldest daughter started washing her own hair and I was convinced that her hair would fall out within the week from lack of proper washing!

As a mom, we feel the need to take care of our children in excess sometimes. It’s important for them to learn these skills, but hard for us as moms to let go.

Learning proper hygiene habits, and being able to do them independently are important life skills for every child.

Here are a few tips for making this transition easier on your little one and you:

Start early: As moms we are often guilty of “doing it all” when it comes to our children. Picking up their toys, getting them dressed, and cleaning up their face and hands after they are done eating are just a few of the many skills that they need to learn, but we continue to do for them long after they are able to start doing them themselves.

I’ll be honest, sometimes it’s just quicker and easier to do it myself. But starting at a young age, I have forced myself to give some of that responsibility to my children. They may not be ready to completely brush their own teeth at two or three, but I start letting them try, and guiding their hands in the proper technique so that when they are a bit older, they already know what to do and are able to take over the reins. Starting to teach hygiene habits at a young age is essential. The more practice and repetition, the more confident they will be when it’s their turn.

Make it fun: Buy them a fun toothbrush or their favorite brightly colored toothpaste. When it comes to teaching them the proper steps for washing their bodies and hair, make bath time even more fun than normal. It will make your children excited about doing these skills themselves. We use bathtub finger paints to add some artsy fun to wash-up time, and tub fizzy tints to make our bath water a variety of colors!

Bath time is also a great opportunity to sprinkle in a bit of learning! ALEX has these great bath tub numbers and shapes stickers that make bath time so much fun that the “learning” part isn’t even noticed and it makes Luke even more excited about being a big kid in the bath!

Be age appropriate: Remember that every child is different and not every four or five year old will be ready to start washing their own hair, or even brushing their own teeth. Good hygiene is essential to your child’s health, so be sure they are ready before you completely hand over the responsibility of these skills to them. Also remember to check in often with them. I still sit and watch my son wash up in the bath tub to make sure he hits all the right spots, and that he’s good and clean before he gets out of the tub. I want to give him his independence, but as his mom, it’s still my responsibility to make sure it’s getting done.

Do you have any tips to share? How did you teach your little ones about good hygiene? Were there any particular hygiene skills you found easier or harder to teach them?

Whatever your approach to teaching your preschooler good hygiene habits, just remember that in essence you are teaching kids independence and how to be happy and healthy children!

Check out ALEX’s collection of bath toys to find something perfect for your little one!

My six-year-old, four-year-old, and three-year-old mastered color matching quite a while ago, but they still really enjoy putting together the color matching focused button art game from ALEX. Since it’s fairly easy for them at their ages, they’ve gotten creative and made up new ways to play the traditional button color matching game!

1. Each person draws seven buttons at random from a bag. If none of your buttons match the template, you have to draw more buttons until you get one that matches. The person with the fewest buttons when the picture is complete wins.

2. Take turns putting together the scene, and see who can do it the most quickly (would be easiest for the six-year-old, but since my three-year-old spends the most time playing with the toy she knows exactly what colors she needs for each scene)

3. Make up a story to go with the scene as you put it together.

4. The fourth version they have is slightly less traditional: build the scene correctly first, and then swap in “wrong” pieces. They especially enjoy using the two eye buttons – here they have made raindrops with eyes:

As big kids, I love that they have found a way to keep this toy interesting, even though the initial challenge (color matching) doesn’t really apply for them. In a year or two, my baby will be ready to learn matching with this game – but for now, I’m happy to see it played with creatively.

And I love that all the pieces store neatly in the base when the kids are ready to put it away!

Do you ever change games, either by simplifying them or by making them more challenging?

My daughter recently found a new passion – baking cupcakes.  The benefits of children baking in the kitchen surprised me.

I noticed that the process of figuring out a recipe and making it all by herself gave my daughter:

-  a sense of accomplishment

-  pride

-  a new interest

-  expanded problem solving skills

It started when she discovered a free app for the iPad, Hello Cupcake!, from the popular book of the same name.

In the Hello Cupcake app, there are twelve recipes with clear directions, perfect for children to follow. I really liked that the app used real photographs, not cartoonish animation. Annika choose the flower cupcakes to bake first.

It was fun to watch how she used technology, which we know can be great but also problematic for kids if it’s not used wisely, for something so beneficial.

Of course, I’m really hoping what every parent hopes that she’ll start expanding her food palette!

This morning Annika made scrambled egg tacos – her own recipe, which included spinach, bananas, and apples. Unfortunately she wouldn’t eat her creation. It was quite interesting, too.

But I have hope.

Can I also admit I have a secret wish? Wouldn’t it be great if she didn’t just expand her palette, but took over cooking the meals several times a week?

But even if she doesn’t, I’m so happy that she’s cooking.

Think of the lifelong skills she’s building, the pride she’s feeling, and the help to the family. A practical and delicious activity, to be sure!

Plus she can make some of the yummy dishes pinned on the Kid Approved Food Pinterest board!

I’ve been thinking a lot about teaching kids independence lately. With four children aged seven and under, I need my children to be as self-sufficient as possible – and I know that they are happier being able to do more on their own as well.

I’ve learned that we have to start with the basics – you can’t learn how to tie a shoe without knowing how to lace it:

Organization is also key. I can’t expect my kids to put away their clothes and toys if they don’t know where everything goes. I set up a very simple toy organization system, and I put sticky labels on their drawers to help them learn which articles of clothing go where.

I’ve learned to allow space for my kids to practice a little trial and error along the way. A big roadblock to getting out the door for school in time was that my kids would start to play and then be reluctant to stop playing to get ready. So we changed the rule: no playing until you are completely ready for school. Now they can play right up until it’s time to get in the car.

Sometimes my kids use learning tools a little differently from the way I envisioned – which is just fine, so long as we get to the same end result!

Learning to tie shoes by lacing up your foot is fine. Wearing toy bins on your head instead of cleaning up the playroom? Not effective!

Some things my kids learn quickly such as putting clothes away — my three-year-old, four-year-old, and seven-year-old were all putting things where they went within a couple weeks. We were able to remove the structure (sticky notes), and they remembered what they learned. Then they got lazy about putting things where they went, so I had them help me re-organize their drawers and the notes went back up for a week. The notes have been gone for about a month now, and so far so good.

Some things are hard – and what is hard is different for different kids. For my kids, learning how to tie shoes has been a real challenge. So we got a little outside help (cute shoe-lacing tools), and we’ll keep practicing. They’ll get it eventually. Buttons are also a challenge – maybe a Button Bot is on the horizon…

How do you help your kids develop independence?

 Are you planning a June birthday party for your son or daughter? Not sure what to do with the 20 little ones who will be running circles through your house? Let us help! We’re excited for another month of our Birthday Club giveaway!

Each month ALEX will select (1) lucky winner to receive either an activity or party favors for up to 20 kids that will help make their child’s birthday party even more fun! The birthday boy or girl will also receive a birthday present from ALEX, chosen just for them!

If your little one is lucky enough to celebrate an June birthday? Enter through the entry form below!

*Entry is only valid through Rafflecopter. Commenting on this post is mandatory. In addition, there are also ways to earn bonus entries.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mother’s Day is one of my favorite holidays! It’s a chance to celebrate the joys of motherhood, a chance to truly reflect on the blessings we receive when we have children, and the opportunity to take a moment to thank our own mothers for the incredible love they’ve shown us over the years.

This Mother’s Day, the kids and I wanted to show some of our friends who are mothers that they are special not just to their children, but to the other children in their lives as well.  When I saw the new Tape All Day set from ALEX Toys, featuring six rolls of fun and funky designer tape, I knew just what we could craft with it!

We gathered a few inexpensive supplies including the Tape All Day tape, a plain flower pot, a small flowering plant, and some potting soil.

Then the kiddos went to town using the designer tape to create a colorful flower pot. His craft is so easy that almost any child can do it! Will it look perfect? Probably not, but what a cute gift!

Next we added the plants and soil to the pots, and they were adorable.

Luke took his to his Sunday School teacher, and she almost cried she was so touched. He was super cute, holding it behind his back. “I’ve got a surprise for you,” he says as he whips it around to show her. She knew that much love went into her gift, and isn’t that what Mother’s Day is all about?

Craft your own colorful flower pots at home and give them to your children’s teachers, or their friend’s mothers. It’s an inexpensive, quick and easy gift that will put a smile on the mothers in your life!

Want more fun with the super cool designer tape? ALEX Toys also has a fun Tape & Make playset!

April showers bring May flowers…just in time for Mother’s Day! Give beautiful flowers for Mother’s Day that will last forever. Its a gift your little one will be proud to hand over to Mom, Grandma or their favorite Aunt! Choose a flower for each of the flower pots and add your choice of colorful leaves.

Add some special touches to each of the flowers to make them unique.

Add a special note to the flower pot or glue it onto a piece of construction paper to turn your May flowers into a beautiful homemade cards.

Get creative by adding puffy paints or glitter to make your flowers stand out.

Not just for Mother’s Day

Use the flowers as place settings for a garden themed birthday party!

Count how many pieces are needed to make each flower.

Find the patterns and colors that match the most between the flower pot, flower and leaves.

What You Need:

• Safety Scissors

• Glue

• 4 Page Printable – (Click  images to download)

How To Make It:

For extra practice cutting and pasting, try Ready, Set Cut! and Ready, Set, Paste! Find out what other skills you can build with the ALEX Ready, Set collection.

There are new ALEX Printables coming out all the time so make sure to check back and follow us on Facebook so you don’t miss any of the action! You can get all of the ALEX Printable Crafts by visiting our Printables section.