The Crafty Crow

Nature Weavings

I love these weavings made at By Sun And Candlelight!  What a beautiful addition to your nature table :)

Ribbon Kite

Mother Rising's ribbon kite (scroll down) is a wonderful way to celebrate a breezy day, or any day for that matter!  This is a parent-made project but kids can get involved in different parts of the process too.  Lovely colors and the acorn top is precious!

Dried Apple Slices

As things are warming up here (I'm in Idaho), we are starting to plan our river outings and easy picnic food to take with us.  I think Salt and Chocolate's dried apple slices sound perfect so we'll be giving them a try soon!

Soft Patchwork Balls

Tiny Happy has a great tutorial and free pattern to make these sweet soft patchwork balls that are perfect for the youngest babes but also a fun inside ball for the older kids. 

Geodesic Newspaper Hut

The kids and I are really excited to give this geodesic newspaper hut a try.  It's a brilliant idea from Pepper Paints and once we master this we might just see what else we can build :)

Sink or Float Experiments

The whole family can get in on this activity - go to Let's Explore to see how they did it :)

Rainbow Cookies

Rainbow cookies!  How fun!  Details at Plum Pudding.  I wonder if you could do the colors in red, white and blue for the 4th of July?  They'd look like pinwheels :)

Flower Fabric

Spring Thinking shows you how to have fun printing this fabric with flowers from your garden :)

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Isn't it nice when a cooking activity can be described as quick, simple, and delicious?  That's exactly how I'd describe these white chocolate-dipped strawberries!  Go to Full Circle for details.

Personalized Wood Doll Family

I'm in love with peg dolls and the idea of doing a set of your family is crazy fun!  See more from Colorfool  and her idea of doing different backgrounds - brilliant!

Bookmarks

Two great bookmarks to make! This first one is made with watercolors and you can get the details at Let's Explore. So pretty!

This photo strip bookmark is adorable!  See how to do it at Make And Takes.

Child-Drawn Pot Holder

What a great gift idea!  Sycamore Stirrings has a wonderful tutorial to make this potholder using your child's drawings. 

Cake In A Jar

Simply Stork shows you how to do this wonderfully simple and fun idea - Cake In A Jar!

Exercise Game

I think this is a great idea from Make and Takes - an exercise game!  I'm planning on customizing it for my kids karate camp this summer and using different karate moves. 

May Day Baskets

Skip To My Lou has several wonderful ways to celebrate May Day! Try these decorated drink holder baskets from last year or print out a free cone template and tag for this year.  Great job Cindy!

 

Lookie Loos

This would be a great project to make ahead of time and take on a trip!  Ten Ten shows you how to make this Lookie Loo here.

Filhos (Portuguese Donuts)

Who can resist a homemade donut?  Simple, Ordinary Lives has a photo tutorial showing how she and her kids made these for a special occasion.

Secret Messages

Another way to have fun with crayon resist drawings is to write secret messages!  Sugar City Journal explains how they did it here. 

Taste Testing

This is a great family activity: taste testing!  Scribbit gives the details on their vanilla ice cream taste test.  We've done this with jams and honey - always fun and interesting too!

Fruit Kabobs

For a fun breakfast or anytime treat try fruit kabobs!  Details at Full Circle.

The Attribute Game

I love this game - it's great for all ages (even adults), it's easy to put together, can be carried with you, can be played with any number of people or even by one person, and is a fun - and quiet - activity for the restaurant table.

*Gather a variety of objects that have different attributes. 
*Put the objects in an open container so everyone can see.

*The first person picks two objects that have something in common and lines them up next to each other while saying what they have in common. (In the example: both things are yellow.)

*The next person picks an object that has something in common with the last object in the line and places the new object next to it announcing the attribute. (In the example: the last two objects are men.)

*The next person picks an object that has one attribute in common with the last object and places it next to the previous object. (In the example: the orange man and the caribou are both mammals, the caribou and the hippo are both animals, the hippo and the tree are both found outside.)

*The simplest way to play the game is in a straight line but you can also choose to play it like Scrabble or a crossword puzzle so the objects would have to meet more than one attribute.  (In the example: the white bottle cap is round like the round #1 and made of plastic like the yellow tee; the golf ball is white like the bottle cap and a sphere like the pompom.) If you play this way it helps to make a large grid on poster board and have the objects able to fit within the grids.

*The game is over when all the objects have been connected.

*You could also match up the objects without saying what they have in common and have the other players figure it out.

If you give it a try I'd love to hear
what you think!

Monkey Bread for Your Little Monkeys!

Doesn't this look yummy?!  All Dressed In Blue talks you through a simple recipe made with refrigerator biscuits - perfect for letting little ones join in the cooking or letting the older ones give it a try on their own. 

Texture Stones

Write Mama Write created these beautiful texture stones from Sculpey and items picked up during a walk in the yard.  The Artful Parent and Plum Pudding had great results too! 

Easy Wet Felting

I can't wait to try this method of felting with my kids.  Kleas has a nice tutorial that couldn't make it easier!

Watercolor Flowers

A beautiful watercolor project that would be fun for all ages.  Details and photo tutorial are at Bookhou Baby.

Homemade Stickers

Salt and Chocolate has an easy little tutorial on how to make homemade stickers!  These are the kind that are like postage stamps so you can make a bunch ahead of time and have a whole stash available whenever you need them.  Think of the possibilities!

Quick and Easy Scavenger Hunt

I don't know about you but my kids love scavenger hunts.  This is a quick and easy way to put one together and also challenge your kids creativity.

Make a list of things you want them to find but keep it open-ended. For example:
•something blue
•something with flowers on it
•something smaller than a tennis ball
•something bigger than your head
•something stretchy

You can adjust the list according to your child's ability.  So for an older child it could be:
•something square and bumpy and smaller than your fist
•something silver that moves
•something soft on the inside and hard on the outside

For a younger child try:
•something round
•something heavy
•something scratchy

You don't need to have a particular object in mind - that's part of the fun, seeing what your kids can come up with!

P.S. To Betz, this was written with you in mind!

Mmmmmm! Homemade Bread & Butter!

Is there anything better than homemade bread and butter?  Mom In Madison shows an easy way to make homemade butter that even your littlest ones can participate in.

Berlin's Whimsy has a Crunchy Daily Bread recipe that can be made in a bread machine and an Irish Soda Bread recipe that is handmade - give 'em both a try!

Wilding Sticks & Nature Bracelets

These are nice activities to get out and enjoy with the spring weather! Pictures and instructions for the wilding sticks, above, at Full Circle. The easy nature bracelets are great for the younger ones in your group. 

Colorfool has another version of the nature bracelets that would work well as bookmarks too!  Check her site for pictures and instructions.

Homemade Chia Pet

Great idea from Mayfly to make your very own Chia pet!  A fun way to celebrate spring :)