Painted Sneakers Craft for Kids

Give sneakers a special and personalized look with this super fun summer craft activity of painting old sneakers!

Fun Tip: Using chalk paint on sneakers is such a cute idea!  This gives kids more options to decorate!

TOOLS:

• Newspaper

• Clean canvas sneakers
• 
Fabric or acrylic craft paint
• 
Artist paintbrushes
• 
Fabric paint pens
• Permanent markers

HERE’S HOW:

1.  Cover a work surface with newspaper.
2.  Using fabric paints and paint pens, decorate sneakers.


3.  Let paint dry for 24 hours before painting another shade on top of the original color. 

CHECK OUT LE TOP CHILDREN’S CLOTHING AT
www.letop-usa.com

Chalkboard Paint Sneakers

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Time to play!

Last weekend was beautiful here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since the feeling of spring was in the air my daughter and I went to our local retailer for a few outdoor supplies. We arrived home and set everything up in anticipation of some friends coming over.

When they arrived there was a Slip‘n Slide, a couple of Hippity Hops and other toys for the kids, as well as plenty of snacks and refreshments for us all. I’m so happy it was a hot day because the kids played in that Slip’n Slide for over 4 hours. We would make them temporarily stop when their lips turned blue and they were shivering but minutes later they would be back at it. This time of year always brings me back to my childhood and now I get to create those memories for my little one.

Happy spring!

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Summer Fun on a Budget

If you’re like me and just don’t have the funds to go to Disneyland, Hawaii or even day camp, there is still many enjoyable activities you can do with your children all for FREE!

KIDS LOVE PARKS!

My children could spend hours at the park. They love to run around and get dirty. They never seem to get tired. Our park has a giant sand box. The kids love to bring their beach toys and build sand castles. Some parks have a water play area so when it’s sunny and hot, get the kids in their bathing suits and cool off. (TIP: Don’t go everyday, but maybe once or twice a week just to keep it exciting.)

CHECK OUR YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY

Keep your child busy by visiting the library. You can even get your child his/her own library card and teach them how to be responsible and accountable for books they borrow from the library.  Does your local library have a summer reading program? If so, sign them up (it’s free) and they can even win prizes. Best of all, you can listen to them become fluent with each passing day. Also, you may want to find out if your library has any upcoming summer events. Each week our library has free performances all summer long. We’ve seen Python Ron who fascinated us with his reptiles, Magic Dan who inspired us with his tricks, and a shadow puppet show that opened our imagination!

BACKYARD BUBBLES

I know I’m guilty of being too lazy and too hot to go outside, but sometimes the smallest things give children the biggest smiles. I bet you have a bottle of bubbles somewhere in the house. (There’s always some bubbles inside every birthday goody bag we get!) Spend a few minutes outside just blowing bubbles and watching your kids try to catch and pop them. It’s good exercise for all!

ART GALLERIES

Visit a nearby art gallery. It’s usually free to go in and browse. You can teach your child art appreciation, and we can learn a lot about our children, too. Ask them open-ended questions like, “How does this picture make you feel?” or “What kind of materials do you think the artist used?” For younger children, you can ask, “Let’s count how many colors the artist used.”

There’s still a couple more weeks of summer left. Make the most of it without spending a dime!

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County Fair Fun!

Every summer my family and I look forward to the County Fair. We love the rides, the shows, the animal races, the fireworks, and most especially THE FOOD! Corn dogs, cotton candy, snow cones, chocolate covered bananas, deep-fried Twinkies, and our family’s favorite… FUNNEL CAKES! We visit the fair at least three days per season. One day is devoted to getting there early, pigging out on all the food, watching animal races, riding a few rides, walking around to see the displays, seeing a concert, and staying late for the fireworks. (The two other days are to eat more fair food because it will be another year before we can consume such greasy, fatty goodness.)

This year was my son’s first time at the fair. He is only 3-months old, but we weren’t going to let his age stop us from enjoying this family tradition. Big Sister wanted to show him around to see why the county fair is so much fun. She took him to see a circus act and bought him his first clown nose. Daddy showed him every kind of food he bought before eating it so that he can admire the crazy shapes and sizes, such as footlong corn dogs and tornado potatoes. And I took him to his first rock concert: Night Ranger! I don’t know how much fun my son had or if he even understood what was going on, but we’ll be making sure he knows how important county fairs mean to this family.

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Kids’ Activities: Summer Day Camps

School’s out and it’s almost summer. You imagine sleeping in, having a leisurely, stress-free breakfast with your loving children, then taking them to the park on a beautiful, sunny day. Or, perhaps a trip to the beach or the zoo or the local museum. But then, the first school-free Monday morning arrives. The kids wake up earlier than usual. They’re cranky. They’re fighting. They’re yelling. And the first words you hear are, “I’m bored! There’s nothing to do.” Are your kids signed up for summer camp?

Last summer, I signed up my daughter for every camp possible (or as much as I could afford anyway) to give myself some relief from the “I’m bored” syndrome. Luckily for me, the community center where most of the preschool day camps were held was just around the corner from home! So I signed her up for Dinosaur camp, Cooking camp, Cheerleading camp, Circus camp, Space camp, etc. etc. etc. She had a blast, and I had me some “Me Time” – even if it was only in the morning.

In my town, the summer camp catalog is mailed out in the spring so that parents can sign up their children early for summertime activities. These day camps are usually half a day (either morning or afternoon) for a week or even for the whole summer. There are various activities and sports, such as soccer, cheerleading, theater, bowling, art, music, dance, basketball, gymnastics, science, math… the list goes on. Our church and our preschool also offer Vacation Bible School (VBS) which is a half day, week-long summer program where the kids participate in fun and educational activities while learning about Jesus.

If you don’t know where to go to find out about summer day camps, the first stop is your local library. They will usually have a catalog or a flyer that will give you information about what’s going on in your community. You can also try your child’s preschool or your local church.

So give yourself a little break and sign up your children for summer day camps. It’s a win-win situation.

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Summer Fun and Bicycling with Children

Happy cyclist!

We live in an area that has four distinct seasons. This lets us explore different outdoor activities. The summer season always makes me excited for bicycling. You get to see your neighborhood at a different pace when bicycling as opposed to driving your car. We began sharing our love of bicycling with our daughter at a young age. She first experienced bicycling as a bike trailer rider. We tried pulling the trailer on dirt roads near our house and quickly realized her little 10-month old head was bobbing up and down quite a bit! Maybe that type of road might not be the best for her age (as a licensed massage therapist by profession, I tend to be a bit protective of that central organ, the brain!). All was good as we biked the paved roads. She enjoyed being a passenger and sometimes would bring along stuffed animals and dolls to ride with her.

On her own energy she began to pedal a tricycle, then got the hang of a two wheeled bike with training wheels by the time she was two or three. When she was about three or four, we got a tag-along (trail-a-bike, third wheel – they have numerous names depending on the brands) attached to our adult bike, and she rode behind either my husband or myself. This bike attachment was pretty safe yet made the adult feel like they were riding with a drunk…as our daughter loved to lean from side to side as she pedaled! 😉 Most of the time we made it safely through our town doing errands or riding just for fun.

Dad and daughter bikers pulling into the driveway after a fun ride...

Sometimes my husband would create what he and my daughter called “the triple rig”: she would ride along on the tag-along which was attached to his bike, and the bike trailer would be attached to her bike. This way they could pedal to our local gardeners’ farmers’ market and bring home lots of veggies, fruit and other treats! We were amazed that the years passed so quickly and before long, she was pedaling her own two-wheeled bicycle along with us. It’s been a fun process that we hope becomes a life-long pattern of exercise and enjoyment for all of  us!

Where are you in the stages of bicycling with your kids – trailer, tag-along, tricycle, or 2-wheeled bike?

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