Pretend Play
This is cool science ! There were no real instructions for this pretend play just a buffet of fun things safe to mix in experiments. My son got into this right away taking on the serious personality of a chemist as he dove into his imagination. This is so easy to do because all you really need is water and a few kitchen tools, everything else is just icing on the cake.
- Gather your materials. For our science lab we used a handful of glass jars -if you are really keen you can put graduated measurements up the sides, but remember kids imaginations don’ need every detail done for them. You may want a few absorbent place mats, turkey baster, eye droppers, small measuring cups, mini whisks, some shampoo or dish soap , some baking soda , water and food color. Also eye protection and an apron or lab coat is a must!
- I added a few drops of food coloring in jars of water and set everything out – something I learned years ago is if everything is at arms reach fewer things spill . If I was doing this with multiple kids I’d ditch the chairs and have them stand at a low table.
- Start concocting!
- The baking soda mixed with the shampoo made a nice ( not overly) fun fizzy foam, clearly the shampoo was acidic. This made me remember doing a science experiment in grade 4 with all sorts of things and mixing them with baking soda to see which was the most acidic. If you want you could incorporate that too.
- Keep going! He had a blast.
- I got a tub ready to soak everything in after playing.
- We had so much fun I had to dump out his beaker and get him some new yellow water.
- Popped them all in the water – we let them soak and came back later to scrub. See this activity includes practical life and water sensory play too.
I have made many a tutu in my day, but this is the first for my daughter. There are tutorials all over the place and they may use other methods but this was how I learned years ago and it’s fast , easy and worth sharing. I love the silly fun frills that come with girls and know that once she can voice her opinion about clothes, hair clips and tutus my reign supreme will be done. She loved feeling the texture of the tutu but really it’s a fun prop for pictures at this age, in a year or so it will be good for play. The nice thing about these easy tie tutus is that you can add or remove tulle as needed as long as the ribbon is long enough. As with any object with string/rope/ribbon these are NOT to be used unsupervised, slept in or any other activity that isn’t directly supervised.
- Gather your materials. You will need tulle ( I used a roll of 6″ wedding tulle from Wal-mart), ribbon for the waistband, thinner ribbon for contrast and scissors.
- Measure your child’s waist with the ribbon, double it and cut.
- I am not one to measure mostly because I am impatient with everything other than small kids but also because my son turned my yard stick into a lance to go with his Knight’s Shield. So instead I use my arms. For the tulle I did 2 arms lengths and cut. I like longer pieces because once you pop them on the ribbon they will be poofy. Tutus should be poofy! I did 30 of these. Not all at once.
- Then I folded the tulle 4, made a loop around the waistband ribbon, pulled it through and tightened. At the bottom you will see a loop , just snip it.
- Keep going after 9 I popped on a contrasting ribbon in gold. These were only one arms length and I added it on the same way.
- Once all the tulle is on ( test it on your child a few times) make a spot in the front middle and using the same ribbon as the waistband is made from tie a bow on. This gives the illusion that the tutu is tied in the front but stops your child from being able to untie it themselves.
- Tie it on and take pictures
I am saving this for when she is a little older although she had fun practicing pulling up in it. 
We love to pretend! Dramatic play isn’t just practice for future actors it’s practice for future adults. It gives children a chance to play out scenarios , engage in cooperative play and even problem solve. It also gives the imagination and kid’s natural creativity a great outlet ! This camping play is so easy and offers lots of situations to act out, from traveling to the camp ground, hiking, fishing for dinner and telling bedtime stories. Of course those were just our ideas your child will come up with their own.The campfire craft is a great opportunity to drive home fire safety rules and procedures too !
Campfire Craft
- Gather your materials. You will need a long paper roll or a few shorter ones. We used a roll from wrapping paper. Also some orange , red and yellow tissue paper, some double stick tape , scissors and a brown marker. You may also want some clothes pins.
- Start by coloring the roll.
- Next cut in 3
- Rip your paper. Random ripping works best.
We were out of red so I cut some red cellophane that I had. - Add tape to your rolls in the middle and have your child add the paper. This is why I like using double stick, that way I can place the tape and it’s sticky and ready for him to add the flames.
- Next tape the rolls together. This is where I used the clothes pins. I used double stick tape then held it together with the clothes pins for 30 minutes before playing.
While that sat we made some snacks for the camping trip!
We made some trail mix ( cereal, dried cherries and pumpkin seeds) 
Then we packed some other favorites into our “cooler” aka my son’s lunch box.
We popped a sheet in a back pack, grabbed a lantern and made a car out of the kitchen chairs. Packed our stuff in the trunk and got buckled in.
Then drove for 51 hours to the campsite.
Unpacked.
Got settled with a snack 
Then told ghost stories by the fire. 
Time for bed!
It took 5 minutes of gathering items to have a fun morning of pretend!
What is your child’s favorite pretend play activity?
“This is the best craft EVER.” I wasn’t even sure it was going to be a post until he said that. But let’s be honest when your child declares that and then stays busy playing with it, it’s got to be shared. This was really fun and helps clean out my art closet that is in a sad sad state. I will be doing crafts inspired by my “Spring Cleaning” ( really cleaning before listing our house for sale) on my other blog so check them out! Also please remember any crafts with ribbons. yarn and strings should be closely supervised and only played with while supervised.
- Gather your materials. You will need a dinner sized napkin, clear tape, a hole punch, yarn, scissors and a wee paratrooper ( we used our playmobil ambulance driver).
- Start by cutting 4 pieces of yarn all the same length ( we did about a foot).
- Next open your napkin all the way.
- Reinforce the corners with clear tape. I did the front and the back. This will make it sturdy and resist ripping.
- Punch holes in about the same place in each corner.
- Tie the yarn to the holes. I also taped the ends down.
- Now tie two strands on each side together.
- Make two more knots close together, these will be the arm holes.
- Pop them in it.
- Drop!
Aliens are super cool and combining a craft with pretend play is even cooler. We love dress up at our house ( and preschool) and this alien headband craft was created to use as a pretend play prop. I suggested my son glue eyes on the band but he was very adamant that they needed to be up high on antennae. Even though I have directions you can follow this is the sort of craft that is best used as inspiration for your own unique creation.
- Gather your materials. You will need some paper, paint, glue, sparkly pipe cleaners, sticky back sparkly foam, googly eyes, tape and glitter!
- Start by having your child paint the paper. This will be cut in two strips to make the headband. Tell your child you will be cutting it, this can really upset young kids if they aren’t warned. I like using either a foam paint brush or paint markers like these when we want the paint to dry fast.
- While they paint, trace a circle 6 times on the backing of the sparkly foam.
- Cut out.
- Glue the googly eyes on. Let dry.
- Next cut the paper in half.
- Add glue and glitter. You want to do it after your cut not before so that you aren’t cutting into glue and glitter. Trust me glitter is messy enough, but cleaning it out of scissors is no fun. Let dry.
- Cut your pipe cleaners into different heights.
- When eyes are dry ( or at least dry enough not to slide, peel off the backing of the 3 foam circles that do not have googly eyes on them. Press the pipe cleaners into them.
- Peel the back off the circles with eyes , press into the circles with the pipe cleaners so they are sandwiched.
- When the glitter is dry tape the pipe cleaners with eyes on the front of one strip. You will want it near the end because you are going to tape the other strip on top to sandwich them.
- Size it to your child’s noggin’ and secure the two ends with tape. I like using tape for 2 reasons. It’s forgiving and it’s fast, so kids can play right away.
Books
The Way Back Home 
Hush, Little Alien
Moon Man
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