Five crafty activites to keep kids busy these school holidays

Our school holidays here in SA have just started. Two whole weeks to try and not hate my kids company by the end of it! If the weather is crap I need to be prepared with things for them to do.

All you need to do all of these crafts is a printer stacked with a lot of paper, colouring pencils or textas, glue and your blinders on to the mess that might ensue! 

Busy kids are happy kids I say! Here's a few of the things I am preparing and printing out, so I am ready for when they say "I'm bored". Or in the case of my lovely girls, before they start picking on each other, hair pulling, or stage a fight bigger than last weeks welterweight world title bout. 

LET'S GET READY TO MAKE SHIIIIIIIT! Yes I did just slide that in... or in the case of my kids, who love cutting and making stuff with paper, replace shit with mess. Same diff really.

Fold a doll's house from Kate at Picklebums. I know my girls are going to love this one. This was Isabel's effort over the weekend.

Flextangles from Ana at Babble Dabble Do. This may be the very thing to keep those idle fingers busy these holidays, a certain rival for fidget spinners. It is amazing they way that they work. If you're kids are keen Pokemon fans they will love these  Pokemon evolution flextangles!

Toilet Paper tube puppets is one of my go to holiday activities. Toilet roll tubes are something we have a never ending supply of and there are tons of different designs. How do you like my toilet roll tooth fairy?

Twirly fish by Piikea Street. They really twirl when dropped from a height. If you have a few paper plates handy, these paper plate fish are EASY to make too. 

Over the last christmas holidays I printed out a christmas themed bingo game for the girls. They love it and still play any old time of the year. I have laminated the cards so they last longer. DKTK  have a Bingo card generator so you can let the kids design and print out their own game, which will hopefully keep them busy so you can sit down with a nice cup of tea.

I had forgotten all about the game of paddicks I posted back in 2014, so you get a bonus to keep the kids occupied. 

It involves each person take turns connecting the dots on a page with a line. When a box is formed, the player puts their initial in the box. When the page is full of 'paddicks', the player with the most formed is the winner.There is a printable page available to save you having to draw all those dots!

How do you keep your kids happy in the holidays? I might need some extra ideas!

An InLinkz Link-up

Biding my time with gardening and art

As I gardened yesterday morning, I had thoughts of some smug little bastard looking down on me, smiling and nodding, all Mr Miyagi like. He'd be all happy I was learning some patience. Not that I need teaching. I think hubby needs that lesson. The lesson for me was to slow down, to live in the present, I am sure of it.

You can't get more down to earth and living in the present that doing some gardening. I deadheaded roses and cut back some perennials that had had their moment in the sun. Their flashy show of colour. Instead of wishing my present away, waiting for the keys to our new holiday house, I was tending to the house we already had. A garden that needed tending to, before it is neglected in the excitement, of a new house, that will steal our attention for a while.

I have been busy making my own art to hang at Casa Pelicano. We really can't afford to go all out and buy all the stuff. I have seen the stuff, even pinned it. I've just gone out and made it myself, for much less. It's the only way I can have said stuff!

I bought two canvases, two picture frames, brushes and paint for $23, from the cheap shop. A sheet of MDF for $10, and learnt to use(not very well) hubby's jig saw. 

The two canvases

The two frames with free chalkboard printables

rainbow fish made with old wood offcuts, painted and glued to a sheet of MDF.

A pelican for the front door and a sign for kitchen

I am suitably impressed with myself, even though they are not perfect, they are me. They are folk arty, like the way peasants have decorated their homes for centuries.  I like them and that is all that matters. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Colouring in and paddicks

Izzy has been really getting into colouring in lately, and mazes, she loves mazes. I love it that she can sit in one spot quite happily for a while. 

I've been going to websites like ABC4kids, you know, the Giggle and Hoot channel, and Nick Jr, for printables of all her favourite TV characters. The printer is almost out of ink! 

I have a folder in the filing cabinet labelled 'kids printables', where I put all the extra ones I print out for a rainy day.

Back in my day, in the dark ages, when not every household no one I knew, had a computer and printer, my mum used to just do scribbles on paper and we would colour in the spaces. Turns out Izzy loves doing this!

Colouring in is quite addictive, you will get sucked in.

I did notice that one of the things on the four year old health check, that she will be doing in a few weeks, is colouring in a shape. I reckon she'll shit it in!

Refrigerator d'art nouveau 

I remembered this game too, that we called 'Paddicks'. Is that a word, or is it just paddocks? Maybe it's an australian thing. 

Anyway, the page is gridded full of dots. Each person take turns connecting the dots with a line. When a box is formed, the player puts their initial in the box. When the page is full of 'paddicks', the player with the most formed is the winner. My brothers and sisters would play this 'til the cows come home. The worst bit is putting all those dots on the page to start with.

I have made a printable game of 'Paddicks' to make the work easy, if you are looking for something to keep kids amused for hours! You can download it here. It could possibly be a good travelling game for older kids, or a game for rainy days to keep them occupied, besides screen time. 

Does your fridge look like mine? 
Remember doing any of this in your childhood?

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