Rick Quatraro asked:


fun activity to enjoy with your kids? How about an activity that will teach them some valuable cooking skills? Try baking. Kids love to eat desserts and baking is similar to making crafts, except in the end you get to eat the finished product. There are many sweets to choose from such as easy to make cookies, cupcakes, but today we will try something that will really get our kids’ creative juices flowing: candy sushi.

It really does look like actual sushi and that’s the best part to the kids: playing make believe. Just like playing “house” they can pretend to make actual sushi rolls. They’ll want to take the candy sushi to their teachers. They’ll want to show it off to grandma and grandpa. They’ll phone all their relatives and announce to the world about their culinary adventure. This will begin a tidal wave of opportunity of more fun things for you and your kids to make and do together. And let’s face it.

Isn’t it getting harder to find new activities to do at home with the kids?

As our kids get older they easily get drawn to play with all the high-tech games and devices that are available now. Cooking with kids provides more face-to-face,human interactive activies.

So what exactly is candy sushi?

It’s a combination of rice crispy treats that represent the real rice, gummy worms (you could also add red string licorice) to represent the fish, and all wrapped in a fruit roll up (or fruit leather) which represents the seaweed. It is the candy equivalent of makizushi rolls.

How do you make it?

The technique of making candy sushi is not complex. There are only a few ingredients and no baking involved. Just a little prep work, mixing melted butter and marshmallows with crisped rice cereal, adding some gummy worms, making some rolls and wrapping them in fruit roll up. Sushi candy rolls are colorful, fun to make for your kids and the taste is addictive. Don’t forget to take a ton of pictures to send to your friends and family.

Don’t let them sit too long in the fridge or the gummy candy will begin to harden and crack. Give them away as gifts or eat them yourself. Find a decorative Japanese dish on which to serve them. And for added taste set aside some chocolate dipping sauce to represent soy sauce. Pretend that you and the kids took a night out at a local sushi bar.

Robot & Collectibles

Mike Sexton asked:


Most kids I’ve come across including when I was a kid love to draw, doodle or paint; it seems like we’re all born with this love for the most part and as we grow up, sometimes that love dwindles, goes away all together or remains with us. The reasons for the different aspects of art leaving our lives as we grow up are many and varied; they can range from just plain losing interest, becoming frustrated enough as we get older that we’re not happy with our work and we move onto something else that we’re better at and sometimes it’s simply due to lack of encouragement by the grown-ups around us including parents.

I will tell you though why I think it’s so important to keep encouraging a child’s artwork, whether it’s painting, fingerpainting,drawing,doodling, etc. It’s a huge boost to their self-esteem; you don’t have to be great at art and let’s face it, there’s only so many child prodigies out there that are exceptionally gifted from the onset; art is about so much more than having something you can tell what it is or define in a nice little niche. Art is about the soul; it’s where a person’s creativity sparks and is allowed to express itself without any hindrance or fast set rules.

Another wonderful reason to encourage a child is something we might overlook on occasion. Children, no matter their age, have a hard time expressing themselves verbally- let’s face it MOST adults aren’t exactly great in this area either; hence why so many arguments are started, divorces happen, etc. Now if something is really bothering the child or is worrying them, how do you think they might express it? You guessed it right!! with their Art! Art is a wonderful way to express your emotions and children do this all the time; now am I suggesting that you start to analyze each piece your child draws, paints or sculpts out of play-dough? Of course not! What I am saying though is that if a child is open to art, enjoys creating, this is another outlet for them to use when they’re troubled about something rather than locking it up inside where it can do real damage. Personally, I think that’s something a lot of adults need or should realize as well.

Personally, I like to use myself for an example on this sort of situation; I always enjoyed drawing & doodling for most of my life but was never into it enough to pursue it passionately till a few years ago; this wasn’t due to my parents lack of encouragement; they always thought my work was the greatest even when it really wasn’t. I hate to say it but I just was never interested enough in it to pursue it continously although I always did add a touch of art to most things I did, whether it was designing my folders I used for school to even one time painting a pair of my shoes partly gold to make them unique hehe. Look at me now, I’m a graphic designer/digital painter and rarely go an entire day without trying my hand at something creative unless I’m in a tremendous creative block in which case I do take a breather so as to keep the frustration from building up.

Naturally, not every child who dabbles in art will become an artist, writer or what have you but by allowing them the opportunity to explore their creativity, their imagination throughout their life through art, no matter the form, you will be helping to raise a human being who will be open to new ideas, explore new paths, never lose their sense of wonder and no matter what career they pursue as they grow up these sorts of qualities will be of a tremendous boom to them and will give them both an edge & an outlet for when things get tough and seem overwhelming.



Inflatable Toys

Paul Banas asked:


If you play golf, one of the great joys in life will be playing golf with your son or daughter. It’s a game both can play at completely different levels and a sport everyone can enjoy throughout their lives.

If you are active in a golf club, ask your pro for advice on getting your child on the golf course and special lessons. If not, here are some ideas for dads interested in developing golf skills early.

1. Miniature golf is for babies! But you should wait until age six before teaching “real golf.” Just like music lessons, kids have to have a basic learning ability to understand the concepts of the game, as well as basic rules

2. Buy used golf clubs. There’s no reason to buy expensive clubs for little kids. If you already know a pro, you should also ask him if he has any extra clubs for kids. Especially if you’re going to take lessons, many pros will cut down an old putter and 7-iron for a child.

3. Try Qolf. A fun lawn golf game for the family is Qolf. Instead of holes, young kids hit through arches like in croquet. More advanced golfers can try to chip through targets.

4. Provide Lessons. Pros say to teach distance first, and accuracy later. Consider lessons early so you have an idea on how to instruct your son or daughter.

5. Find a kid-friendly course near you. Most courses have special timings when playing with even a young child does not bother other players. Make sure to always observe proper etiquette and let faster players play through. Many par-3 “executive” courses are the perfect length for young players.

6. Search for a family-friendly golf course near you. These courses add shorter range tees so total yardage is 2200 and 3750 yards, rather than the usual 5000 plus yards found at most courses. Here’s a list which is in development; so a course near you might not be available.

7. Encourage your little duffer to tee it up in the fairway. It’s a great ego boost and will help keep play moving.

8. Walk if you can. It’s cheaper and it’s fantastic exercise for both of you. Kids will always want to drive the cart, but it’s a better habit to walk.

9. Go Camping. If your child is older, consider a golf camp, like the Ledbetter Schools. They cater to kids and adults. Camp is an intensive experience, but can be a great bonding opportunity for you and your child, as well as a solid base to build a great golf game.

When it comes to dads and their kids, often the simplest activities give the most joy. Making toys together is a fun activity that stimulates kids’ creative faculties. Find more about kids activities to spend time with them.



Hobby Tools

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


Designing Halloween arts and crafts is a good way to get children interested in arts and crafts making and discover their creative talents in the process. One can come up with easy ideas for the decorations by searching on the internet and then explain the methods to the children so that they can be creative and have fun making these items themselves.

One of the easiest art and craft Halloween decorations is the creepy balloon ghost, which is very easy to make. All you need is white balloons and plastic grocery bags. The bags should be plain with no writing on them. Here is how to create a spooky ghost: Cut off the handles of the grocery bag. Leaving the bottom of the bag intact, with the help of scissors, cut the bag into dangling strips up to about an inch from the bottom seam. In the same manner cut up another grocery bag. Fill up the balloon with air and knot it up. Tape the seam of one bag to the front and the other to the back, leaving the knot on top. Paint a scary face of the ghost on the balloon and tie a string to the knot. Hang up these creepy balloons to trees in the yard. You may also put a few bells at the end of the strips, so that they make a sound with the movement of the wind. Enjoy the haunting chimes of the ghosts moving in your yard!

Kids can easily make a decorative garland with bats, ghosts or pumpkins. These garlands can be hung around the house or the classrooms. The materials required will be either construction paper or fun foam, depending on your choice. The colors could be orange for pumpkins, white for ghosts and black for bats. If foam is being used, patterns will be needed for all the three items. Take care to leave a tab of paper that can be folded over the string and secured with a tape. Cut out the shapes and paint the faces on them. You may need to make several of these craft items so that you can have a long garland. String up pumpkins on green string, bats on white string and ghosts on black string. If you have all three patterns, then you could use any color string that suits your fancy.

Helping kids with their Halloween crafts projects will make you very popular with them. There are varieties of craft items that can be made, be inventive and creative and let your imagination soar. There is no limit to what you can achieve in the world of art and craft.



Rag Dolls

Brittney Jackeline asked:


Does your 5 year old wait for you anxiously when you come back from work, wondering what gift would Mum bring?

Kids love presents and gifts, especially if it is a surprise gift. And the best thing about them is that they sweetly give you a hint on what they are expecting or what their desires are. But what happens when you have to buy gifts for other children? Do you run short of ideas?

If purchasing gifts all the time does not come across as a good idea to you, and yet you want to present something that is beautiful, then here are some excellent tips on presents for children that would not just save you the money but would also tickle your kids’ creative bones. And what you have at the end is a wonderful gift – handmade – and that too by your own child.

Presents for children have to be as creative as they are. There should be ample use of colours. The patterns, motifs and designs and most importantly the presents for kids should be something that they love and something that they can use on a regular basis. For example, a wall clock with the kids’ favourite cartoon characters, or a colourful face mask, or photo frames with cute designs and jewellery box for little girls.

There are many websites which offer complete kit with all the things that you need in order to make presents for kids. For instance if you want to make a wall clock, then they offer kits that have clock face, clock mechanism with the hands, battery and numbers. Then there are the things that you need to decorate the clock with, like paint, glue and decorative pieces.

The kits can be usually completed within one to two hours time which also teaches the child the importance of time management. Besides this, such activities are good learning sessions which help a kid grow into a complete individual and you into a successful parent.



Dolls Playsets