Crafts

10 Awesome Ways To Think Outside the Brick With Legos

January 26, 2021 by Jessica Moore Leave a Comment

There is no doubt about it… we are a proud Lego household! From my 14-year-old to my 7-year-old (and Mom and Dad too!), you’ll find Legos in bedrooms, the play room, on backpacks, playing on video game consoles and tablets, on t-shirts, ringing alarm clocks, on the wrist, and just about anywhere else you can imagine. But while building new sets with the instruction manual is fun enough, there are so many other ways to enjoy these amazing toys as well. Here are 10 totally awesome ways to think outside the brick with legos!

Halfpintpeeps.com just gets kids. Find countless ideas that will be fun for you AND them! Keep your kids busy and creative around the house with these original Lego ideas!

Ways To Think Outside The Brick With Legos

1. Run, Lego, Run!

Develop those engineering skills by designing a vertical Lego run maze. Challenge Little Builders to think of ways to incorporate moving parts and levers. Frugal Fun 4 Boys and Girls offers some great tips to get you started.

Ways To Think Outside The Brick With Legos

2. Zip Zap

Look out below! This Lego zip line is such a perfect building project to teach your Little Adventurers about gravity and the laws of motion. Who said Sir Newton couldn’t come along for some fun and laughter!? Source.

3. Bridge the Gap

Bridge the gap with this STEM activity. See if your Aspiring Engineers can defy the laws of gravity by constructing a bridge worthy of it’s heaviest foes. This is another perfect activity for teaching about forces and simple machines as well. Read more here.

4. Monster Mash Match

Grab your toddler for a game of Monster Match. Start by having your child create colorful paper bag monsters with open mouths. Then, learn all about colors by placing color-matching Legos in the appropriate monster’s mouth. Cookie monster has nothing on these monster friends! Read more from Toddler Approved.

5. Non Dispensable

This great activity is non dispensable for sure! Teach Young Builders all about simple machines with this candy dispenser project. Get the how-to here.

6. AlphaLegos

Keep Little Learners busy mastering their ABCs with this Lego activity. Have them replicate the Lego letters shown on cards by building one themselves. How many words can you think of to spell with that letter while you’re constructing what you see? Get the free printable letter cards here.

7. Count On It!

Little Mathematicians will have no problem mastering their counting skills with the help of Duplo Lego bricks! SHOW them representations of each digit by counting them out and stacking them in order. Similarly, 7-year-old and above can master their times tables by stacking Lego arrays and seeing how multiplying two numbers gives you a new product. Such a more exciting way to learn math than with worksheets!

8. Car Racers

Channel extra energy onto the racetrack for the afternoon. Have your Mini Mario Andretti’s design race cars to duke it out in some epic car races. Use balloons to give the racers their acceleration. Don’t miss the opportunity to teach about forces and motion with this fun activity!

9. Foosball

Athletes and competitors will enjoy this Lego build. Have them construct a DIY foosball game and then play for additional hours of more fun. Get a kick out of this activity here.

10. Weigh Your Options

Kids won’t need to weigh their options when it comes to building a neat Lego balance. What a cool way to learn about measurement and different metric scales. Get the instructions here.

Can you come up with other ways to think outside the brick with legos? Leave a comment below.

Christmas Gift Ideas for Your Kids’ Friends

December 16, 2020 by Jessica Moore Leave a Comment

If you’ve ever reached the last day of school before Christmas break, only to have your child announce that he needs some gifts to give his friends, you know how frustrating that last minute shopping trip can be! So today’s post is all about helping you be prepared for little emergencies with Christmas gift ideas for kids friends.

Christmas Gift Ideas For Kids Friends

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Get your craft on and help your kids make felt ornaments for their friends. It’s always nice to give and receive a homemade gift, and that goes for kids too. Teach them how to make something new and learn the art of giving gifts with heart.

No one would complain about receiving a gift bag of chocolates, of any kind! My kids also like to buy giant sized bars of chocolate, wrap them in cute wrapping paper, and attach a cute tag. Their friends love it!

If you are planning to make homemade cookies for the neighbors this year, just make another batch or two while you’re at it. Let the kids help decorate the ones that they’ll give to their friends. It’s a tasty gift that took just a little bit of thought and effort.

Purchase giant mugs and fill them with all the things needed to make a really great cup of hot chocolate. That could include hot chocolate mix packets, marshmallows, peppermint sticks, and chocolate chips. This is a fun gift for your kids’ friends that they can enjoy all winter long.

Tween and teen girls love to make and give homemade bath bombs. It’s also a great teacher gift idea! You’ll find some good bath bomb recipes at Sunlit Spaces.

For gifts for your kids’ friends on a budget, don’t be afraid to check out Dollar Tree. They’ve got fun stuff for kids’ Christmas gifts, including 300 to 500 count puzzles, sets of Army figures, bubble bath and body lotions, and more. Give your kids a set amount and let them do the shopping!

A Lesson in Gratitude: Thank You Letters for Santa

December 11, 2020 by Jessica Moore Leave a Comment

How many kids write letters to Santa asking for the stuff they want for Christmas? We all know it’s a lot! But how many of those kids write thank you letters to Santa after Christmas? Probably not nearly enough.

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You might be saying, “But what does it matter?” It matters because it is an opportunity to teach children a lesson in gratitude. Teach children how to write thank you letters for the gifts they receive and the kind acts done for them because it is a worthwhile task. Raising grateful children reaps dividends as they grow older. Gratitude positively affects attitude and behaviors for everyone!

Here are some tips to help you teach your children how to write thank you letters. It really doesn’t even matter if your children are pre-school age or teenagers. There are tips to help with every age:

No matter how old your children are, explain that receiving thank you letters makes other people feel happy.
Write the thank you letters as soon as possible, but skip out just because you think it might be too late. Later is better than not writing one at all!
Spend a little time with your child talking about the gifts he received and why he feels thankful for them. Help your child translate those thoughts into his thank you letters.
Keep fun, colorful craft supplies on hand for creating and writing thank you letters. This helps make it more fun so that your child will want to participate.
If your child isn’t writing yet, allow them space to draw or scribble on the thank you letter before adding the words. Try to write down your child’s own words about the gift. This makes those thank you letters more special to the recipients.
Let your child do as much as his age allows, including applying the stamps and dropping thank you letters into the mailbox.
Allow older children to come to the store and pick out their own cards if it helps create interest in the project.
Play music and drink hot cocoa while writing thank you letters to Santa to keep it fun!

Make writing thank you letters a regular part of your child’s upbringing. It’s worth the lessons in gratitude he will learn and apply for the rest of his life!

For more tips on thank you letters, see Emily Post.

12 Days of Christmas Activities for Kids

December 10, 2020 by Jessica Moore Leave a Comment

This year, make amazing memories with 12 days of Christmas activities for kids. With something to look forward to each day, the kids will remember the 12 days of Christmas with fondness for the rest of their lives. And if you prepare ahead of time, it doesn’t have to be a big deal. Check out this list of suggested activities the kids will love!

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Use paper plates and construction paper to create paper wreaths. You can also get the whole family in on creating a more permanent wreath for the front door.
Talk about the needs of the homeless population in your area. Look for a clothing, gift, or food drive where the family can purchase or donate goods this Christmas.
Bake and decorate Christmas cookies. And to make it extra meaningful, decide as a family who to share them with.
Have a Christmas movie night and watch a favorite show everyone can agree on.
Create some fun 12 days of Christmas popsicle stick puppets. If you’re really motivated, make some to match each verse of the 12 Days of Christmas song. “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me….”
Challenge the kids to go about their day today doing secret acts of kindness for others around them at school or at home.
Time for Christmas cards that the kids design and make for their friends. Here are some fun ideas to inspire you!
Get out the Legos and have a 12 days of Christmas Lego challenge. On slips of paper, write down things featured in the song, or other Christmas-themed objects. Everyone has to draw a paper and try to build that item out of Legos in a specific time limit you set. Have fun with it!
Craft some paper Christmas ornaments for the tree. Check out our post featuring 10 Christmas Tree Crafts for Kids.
Cut out snowflakes and hang them from the ceiling over the kids’ beds. They make going to sleep more magical every night!
The kids will love playing with glitter slime! Add sparkly colors to make the slime look like ice, or make white snow slime. It’s all fun for kids!
Time for a holiday light tour to get everyone really into the spirit of Christmas. Check out spots in your area where the lights are irresistible. In my area, the zoo is one place to go!

These are just some of the possible 12 days of Christmas activities for kids. Do you have some activities you love that aren’t listed? Please share with us in the comments!

Fun And Easy Thanksgiving Crafts For Kids

October 13, 2020 by Jessica Moore Leave a Comment

During November when you’re busy with Thanksgiving prep, you may need some fun and easy Thanksgiving crafts for kids to keep them busy and out of your hair. Or if you’re in charge of your kid’s Thanksgiving class party, just snag a few of these ideas to help you put together a class party they’ll love. Either way, check out these awesome Thanksgiving crafts for kids!

Fun & Easy Thanksgiving Crafts For Kids

Take advantage of those beautiful Fall leaves!

Before you do any Thanksgiving crafts with your kids, send them outside to collect their favorite Fall leaves. The reason is because a lot of these craft ideas feature those leaves–there are just so many fun things you can do with them!

If you're looking for something to do with the kiddos during Thanksgiving, check out these Thanksgiving crafts for kids. They will love them.

Fall Leaf Art

Use those Fall leaves as the main component in works of art. Fall leaves are easily glued to paper to make a myriad of fun designs. Just let the kids use their imaginations.

Want to keep the kids entertained during Thanksgiving? Check out these Thanksgiving crafts for kids. They will love them!

For long time preservation of those Fall leaves, let the kids brush their designs with Mod Podge. It dries clear and keeps their artwork pretty and fresh for a long time. The Mod Podge can also be used as the glue to firmly affix the leaves to paper.

Toilet Paper Tube Figures

How adorable are these toilet paper pilgrims? Have the kids make these for your Thanksgiving table. They’ll be thrilled to have their crafts included in the festivities!

There are so many fun crafts that kids can create during the fall. Check out these Thanksgiving crafts for kids and keep them entertained for hours.

Pine Cone Turkeys

We’ve all seen paper turkeys kids make from their own hand prints. Take that craft idea a little further by letting the kids collect pine cones to glue their hand print turkey feathers to.

You don't have to spend a lot of money on craft supplies with these Thanksgiving crafts for kids. Just go outside and grab some of what Mother Nature supplies you with.

It’s also fun for the kids to glue craft feathers to a pine cone turkey. Add a pom pom nose and googly eyes for a silly Thanksgiving craft for kids they’ll love to create.

Need more craft ideas for the kids? Check out these Fall popsicle stick crafts!

Popsicle Stick Crafts For Fall

October 5, 2020 by Jessica Moore Leave a Comment

Looking for fun crafts and activities to do with your kids this Fall? Popsicle stick crafts and engineering projects are the answer! Read on for some fantastic ideas to STICK it to boredom.

Gobbling Fun

Gobble up some fun with these friendly popsicle stick turkeys. Use sticks for the body and feet and construction paper for the face, head, and feathers. Source

Stuffed of Fun

This scarecrow project will stuff your afternoon full of creativity and fun. Use permanent marker, wiggly eyes, and craft paper for the hat and hair. Candy corn makes a cute nose and a perfect treat to snack on. Scare up some more details from Activated Nest.

Jack Be Nimble

Jack be nimble. Jack be quick. Jack jump over the ~~candlestick~~ crafting-stick. These cute Jack-O-Lantern popsicle stick crafts are great for more Halloween fun after you’ve already carved your real frightful gourds. See the original ideas and more here.

Caught Up In Fun

These popsicle stick spider webs will have your kids all caught up in fun. Simply paint popsicle sticks black, orange, and white before winding yarn of the same colors around the sticks to make spider webs worthy of the best eight-legged arachnids. Source.

Boo To You

Boo to you with this ghostly view. Buttons and wiggly eyes bring these haunted apparitions to life using eight black popsicle sticks to frame out a window. Orange paper is used as a background to make the white ghosts pop into sight. Take a peek at The Pinterested Parent for more information.

A House of Sticks

Even the Big Bad Wold will agree that this house of sticks will scare up some Halloween fun! Older children in particular will really enjoy putting their engineering skills to use with this one. Source.

H Is For Haunted House

If younger kids are too little to build a 3D popsicle house with their older siblings, this alphabet inspired haunted house is a boo-tastic solution. What other house designs will they be able to spook up? Source.

Picture Perfect

For a non-holiday Fall project, this popsicle stick schoolhouse frame is picture perfect! What an educated idea for sharing all your kids’ best back-to-school photos. Get schooled on the project here.

He’s Alive!

This Frankenstein popsicle craft is electrifyingly amusing. What a perfect way to shock some fun into this Halloween season! Source.

Something To Crow About

This happy scarecrow craft is something to crow about. The body is made almost entire of popsicle sticks while the head and hat are made of paper, straw, and wiggly eyes. Source.

R.I.P

Rest In Popsicle with this creative haunted graveyard project. Paint small popsicle sticks black and wrap them with thin wire to make the fence. Dig up some more info from Lil Blue Boo.

Up It With Puppets

Up the fun with these simple Halloween puppets. Use different colors of paint, wiggly eyes, sharpie, pipe cleaner, and more to create your spooky starring cast. Source.

Popsicle Pilgrims

Teach your kids about the Mayflower Voyage and First Thanksgiving before making these cute popsicle Pilgrims. Source.

Look No Feather

Here’s another turkey craft to help you count your blessings. After making a body and head from craft paper, use colorful popsicle sticks to make a full tail of feathers. Write one thing you’re grateful for on each feather to celebrate Thanksgiving in true holiday spirit. Cluck out the idea from Preschool Alphabet.