Five For Friday - It's Raining Again!

Instead of complaining about the rain (since it seems we're going to be stuck with it anyway), why not choose projects, crafts and activities to Celebrate the Rain ?

Links to five pages of ideas to get you inspired:

Preschool Educations Arts and Crafts for any weather

A to Z Kid's Stuff - Rain

Preschool Express with Jean Warren (my hero!)
The Magic of Rain

For Older Children (grade school) a unit on Weather and Rainbows

Step by Step Childcare has five pages of their own ideas for a rain and umbrella theme including a related books list!

Five For Friday - Five More Ideas To Start Your Child's Collection

Buttons- you can use buttons to make patterns and shapes the same way you can with caps and lids -
there are also lots of button crafts. A quick google search for button craft ideas will show you button picture frames, button mobiles, button ornaments and our favorite, tiny button dolls.
Bookmarks a little harder to find, these are a good challenge for an older child. The local library is likely to have an assortment as give-aways, bookstores have them as give-aways and for sale (they don't cost much). Making your own is a lot of fun. This collections is likely to accelerate an interest in books and reading and that is a Good Thing!
Menus take-out menus, advertising menus that come as inserts in the newspaper, many restaurants will let you have a menu for your collection if you ask them. Ask friends, grandparents and other relatives to pick up menus for you when they dine out.
Pennies finding pennies is a hobby in itself.
"Find a penny, pick it up;
All the day you'll have good luck.
Find a penny, leave it lay;
Bad luck will come to you that day."
or
"I found a penny here today,
just sitting on the ground.
They say that it's a sign that
my Guardian Angel is around.
They toss them down from Heaven
whenever we are down
just to make us smile
and wipe away our frown."
Greeting cards lots of creative possibilities here. Collect an assortment from every holiday. Cut images from the cards to make collages, dioramas, paper dolls or handmade greeting cards. Open them out flat, sew the folds together and make your own book...

Five For Friday

A Great Deal for Summer Reading!

Five For Friday - Neat Stuff for Kids ! Under $10 !

Water Powered Calculator

Tickle Your Fancy With Tickle Bee


Forest Animal Nesting Dolls

Mount Fuji Amazing Garden

Puzzle Alarm Clock

Five For Friday - Super Surfing for Kids

Played all the games? Told all the stories? Sang all the songs that you know? And the kids are starting to drive you (just a little) crazy?
Give them a turn on the computer with these fun, family safe links- some of them are even educational!(sshhhh)

National Geographic for Kids
I had a great time looking around this site from National Geographic magazine(fascinating article on polar bears....who knew....?) The pictures are fabulous, and there are games, activities, experiments and homework help. I loved it.

Seussville- The Wonderful Dr. Seuss!
Click and play games, print and play activities and the Seussville storymaker.

Marilee's Paper Doll Page
Lots of dolls to print and play, houses and furniture too.
I still love paper dolls!

Funology.com - The Science of Having Fun!
Here’s what they have to say about their great site:
Welcome to Funology.com!
Funology.com is the best place on the Web to find things to do. Not just while you’re sitting at the computer, but anywhere. Things to do by yourself or with your friends, your parents, your pets, anyone. We’ll teach you a million and one ways to make things, explore the world, and discover skills you never knew you had. It’s one place where you’ll never be bored!

Games Kids Play
Hundreds of good old fashioned (non computer!) games and the rules for how to play them. The folks there say that the reason for their site is two-fold:
One- to let you remember some of those old games we used to play and to bring a smile to your face and Two- to try to catalog a fascinating piece of oral tradition and make sure none of these games are ever lost forever.