Terri Thompson

Rainbow Writing Spelling Word Practice

January 2, 2019 By Terri Thompson

Sometimes you just need a little color in your life. It makes everything so bright, cheerful, and fun – even spelling words.

Today we’re going to practice our spelling words with rainbow writing. This is a method I learned from my girls’ teachers over the years. They use it to learn everything from names and phone numbers to sight words and now spelling words.

It’s so easy and so much fun that your kids will want to use it to practice their spelling words all the time.

Let’s grab a few supplies and get started.

Add a little color to your homework with this fun way to practice spelling words, Rainbow Writing. It's a fun way to learn!

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What is Rainbow Writing?

Rainbow writing is a fun way to use repetition to help practice spelling words and sight words. It’s a simple process where you use multiple colors of pencil or crayon to create a fun rainbow effect when you write.

How to set up this rainbow spelling activity

You will need some lined paper and colorful writing utensils.

We used crayons, but you can also use colored pencils or colored gel pens. (If you use markers, beware! Your words may end up looking brown and not rainbow colored.)

You’ll also need your child’s list of spelling words.

Rainbow Write Spelling Words

Choose 7 or 8 colors.

Start writing your words with one color, then keep writing over it with each additional color.

When you get done, your words will look like rainbows.

Use this method to write each of your spelling words.

If you’ve got a kid who loves rainbows or just need to brighten a dreary day, try some rainbow writing the next time your child needs to practice spelling words.

Helpful Hints:

You’ll want to write your words bigger than normal to have room to trace with each color. Use two or three lines instead of one to write the words.

If you don’t want to use paper for this project, you can also practice rainbow writing with colored chalk on a chalkboard.

This method isn’t just for spelling words! You can use it to practice sight words, letters, numbers, or even math facts.

How have you used rainbow writing?

Rainbow writing is a fun and effective way to practice spelling words or sight words. Here's how to do it. It's so easy and fun!

Buy the 31 Ways to Practice Spelling Words Ebook

You can purchase a printable form of this book for $7.50 The book is designed to print and turn into a half-page size booklet. It’s perfect to keep at your homework station. Your kids can flip through and find a fun way to practice their spelling words.

The ideas will be convenient and ready to use. No need to turn on the computer every day for ideas.

Most activities require little to no prep time. And, if you make sure you have all the supplies on the Master Supply List (included in the book) on hand, you’ll be able to do any of these fun spelling word ideas any time.

Click here for my sales pages or on the image below to purchase for $7.50.

Snow Painting Art Activity

January 1, 2019 By Terri Thompson

What do you do when it’s too cold to go and play in the snow outside? You bring a little inside!

When I originally planned this snow painting art activity, we were going to suit up in the winter gear and do some fun outdoor art. But thanks to the recent polar vortex (Brrrrr…) and wind chills hovering around -50 degrees F, I was forced to scrap my original plans.

That’s when it hit me, we should bring some of the snow indoors!

Use snow as your canvas and use a simple DIY snow paint to get creative with this fun Snow Painting Art Activity for kids.

We created a simple DIY snow paint and got ready to create. It was fun and a great way to spend a cold and snowy day!

Are you ready to do some snow painting?

Set up your Snow Painting art activity

I mixed up a few colors of paint before I braved the cold to fetch our snow.

The paint is simple. To make it, I filled the cups of a muffin tin about 2/3rd’s full of water. I then added about 3 – 4 drops of food coloring in each.

We went with shades of blue and green only because I was completely out of red food coloring.

I cut up a sponge into small pieces to use instead of a paint brush.

After freezing my rear off fetching snow, I filled up two square baking pans.

We patted the snow down and tried to make it level. These were our painting canvases.

The girls were eager to get started.

Have fun creating!

The took the sponges and started painting.

And start they did. One painted stripes, the other opted for a more random design.

They giggled and they squeezed their sponges.

Then, they experimented to see what would happen if they pressed down hard or if they left their sponge sitting on the snow for awhile.

My girls used up every single drop of paint by the time they were done and we were left with some snow masterpieces.

Unfortunately, these masterpieces don’t last very long. It’s a good thing I was taking pictures!

Have you ever tried snow painting?

You may also enjoy one of these fun winter activities:

Snow Numbers Activity for Toddlers

Melting Snow Science Experiment

Winter Nature Books

Snow Science Explorations for Kids at Inspiration Laboratories

Homemade Snow Recipe at Red Ted Art

Are you looking for more kids activities?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Paper Plate Addition Game

December 30, 2018 By Terri Thompson

Practice makes perfect, right?

I know that’s true when it comes to math. Practicing addition, subtraction, and multiplication all help your child become proficient.

It always seems like the default way to practice math is with flash cards. But, today, we’re going to ditch those flash cards (for good) and practice math with this fun Paper Plate Addition Game.

It’s easy to make and you can play it over and over again.

This simple paper plate addition game is a great hands on tool to help your child practice math skills while having lots of fun.

Supplies Needed for Paper Plate Addition

Paper plate
Black marker
One or two dice
Small sticky notes
Small manipulatives, such as buttons, mini erasers, or coins

Make a simple DIY paper plate addition game to help your child practice math skills like addition and subraction. Fun for the classsroom and home.

How to Make This Math Addition Game

Use your black marker to draw a line across the center of your plate. Next, draw a line to divide the top half in half again. See the picture above for an illustration.

Write a plus sign on one of the sticky notes. If you also want to practice subtraction, write a minus sign on another sticky note.

Place your sticky note on the line dividing the top half of your paper.

Gather your dice and your buttons. It’s time to for some math addition practice.

How to play Paper Plate Addition:

Roll one die. Place that number of buttons in the first section of your plate.

Roll the die again. Place that number of buttons in the second section.

Add the two sections together and put the correct number of buttons in the bottom half of the plate.

Remove the buttons and play again.

You can play over and over again as much as you want!

More ways to play:

Practice subtraction: Roll two dice to find your numbers in the top section. Subtract the numbers and place the correct amount of buttons in your bottom section.

Add bigger numbers: Use two dice instead of one to add bigger numbers.

Practice specific math fact families: Are you practicing +2 facts? Always start with 2 buttons in the first section and roll a die to find the second number. Then add the two together. You can practice any set of math facts this way.

How would you use this paper plate addition game?

Fun hands-on math resources

When we practice math at home, we love to play games. These games are so much fun and a great hands-on activity. Plus, it’s a great way to combine a family activity with learning. Check out some of these awesome math games below:

Are you looking for more kids activities?

12 of the Best Winter Art Projects for Kids

December 27, 2018 By Terri Thompson

I love to decorate with kid art.

I know all parents say this, but I truly think my girls’ artwork is the best in the world. And, while best could be disputed, what can’t be disputed is that their art is more special to me than any other artwork I could hang on my wall.

If you’re anything like me (and I bet you are), you’re always looking for ways to inspire your kids to create.

All of these winter art projects would look great hanging on the wall. And, better yet, they’d all be tons of fun to create.

Explore all the sights, sounds, and colors of winter with one of these fun and beautiful winter art projects for kids. You'll want to make them all.

All of these projects are perfect for winter. They feature snow, ice, and all the colors you associate with winter. You’ll find projects perfect for every level, some are more process art and others are more detailed.

No matter which of these winter art projects you choose, they’re all fun to do and you’ll get a beautiful result.

Snowflake Art Projects

Use a water color and oil pastel resist method to make stunning snowflakes like these at Arty Crafty Kids.

Or, use a similar method to make this colorful and fun Snowflake Painting at Art Projects for Kids.

This Snowflake Blotto Art project from Fantastic Fun and Learning uses a fun method to make their snowflakes.

Beautiful Winter Art Projects

Buggy and Buddy shows you a simple way to use oil pastels to make beautiful winter trees.

Get out the glitter for this fun projects. Go to I Heart Crafty Things to find out how to make a Swirly Glue and Glittery Snowman.

Have you ever worked with bleeding tissue paper? It’s fun art method that can help you make some beautiful winter art like these Bleeding Tissue Paper Snowflakes from The Pinterested Parent.

Explore texture and the colors of winter with these art projects

Try some new methods of resist art. To Be A Kid Again shares four different resist methods that make great winter art.

Make some sparkly art like this Mixed Media Winter Art Project from Stay At Home Educator.

Nighttime in the winter can be so beautiful. Buggy and Buddy shows you how to capture that beauty with this Starry Night Sky art project.

Winter Process Art

Try your hand at painting with frozen paint. Teaching 2’s and 3’s shows you how to make these Frozen Sparkly Watercolors that would be so much fun to create with.

Have you ever tried to catch a snowflake in your hand? Capture the moment with this fun Mitten Art project at Teaching Fourth.

Make a sculpture. To Be A Kid Again used clay and sticks to create a beautiful Snowy Scene.

Which of these winter art projects do you want to create today?

Are you looking for more kids activities?

Hockey Science Experiment

December 26, 2018 By Terri Thompson

Have you ever watched hockey and thought about the puck?

How fast is it going? And how does it go so fast?

Those questions inspired a fun winter science project: Hockey Science.

What slides the best on ice? Experiment with friction and find out the answer with this fun hockey science fair project for kids.

Can you combine hockey with science? Of course you can!

We don’t have any hockey players in our family, but we definitely have hockey fans. Hockey is a hugely popular sport here in Minnesota for both girls and boys. We thought we’d have a little fun with hockey and turned it into a simple science experiment.

Or, if your sports loving kids are looking for a fun science fair idea, this project is perfect!

Our question: What will slide on ice?

Before we started our project, I needed to do a little prep.

I created a two-sided chart. The first side for our predictions and the second side for our results.

I also prepped a box of different items we already had on hand: glass marbles, muffin-tin crayons, milk jug caps, a rough piece of bark, a rough rock, puff balls, and small squares of felt.

Finally, I set a large sheet pan outside and filled it with water. Our sub-zero temperatures guaranteed that the water would freeze faster outside than in our own freezer. Brrrrrr! Stick your pan in the freezer if your day isn’t as cold as mine.

Make a prediction – form your hypothesis.

I showed my oldest (age 5 1/2) the items and asked her if she thought they would slide easily on the ice. I had her make her predictions by making an “x” in the appropriate box, “slide” or “not slide”.

Create your hypothesis by forming a statement: I predict ___________ will slide and ice and ____________ will not slide.

The hockey science experiment.

The experiment’s always the fun part, isn’t it?

It was time to see how well everything slid. We brought in our frozen sheet pan and started sliding our objects across it. My oldest marked our results the same way as she did our predictions.

We discovered that felt and pom poms didn’t slide like we thought they would. And those glass marbles, wow! They slid the best!

Our conclusion.

The item that were smooth and light slid better than the items that were rough or soft.

Why?

We were exploring friction with our hockey science project. The rough (or fuzzy) items had more friction which slowed the objects down. The smoother the item, the less friction which meant they slid more quickly across the ice.

By now, we had a good idea as to why a hockey puck looks like it does.

But, how fast do those things really go?

Hockey pucks generally travel over 100 miles per hour and the fastest hockey shot clocked in at 110.3 miles per hour. (Source: Guinness Book of World Records) Wow!

What slides the best on ice? Experiment with friction and find out the answer with this fun hockey science project for kids.

My Must-Have Resources for Science Fun

I don’t know about you, but I don’t always have time to prep a fun science project. That’s why I love Green Kid Crafts Discovery boxes. The boxes are packed full of projects that are fun and inviting. You can choose to get a subscription or a one-off box based off of a specific theme. Any one you choose would be a lot of fun!

Here are some of our favorites (you can purchase and find out more at each link):

Get a monthly subscription.

Kitchen Science Box

Physics Box

Find all their fun STEM and science boxes here.

STEAM Family Activities

Wouldn’t it be so much fun to get STEAM family activities delivered to your inbox? I think so! That’s why I’ve created this fun series, STEAM Family Fun, to be delivered to your inbox. After going through all the letters in STEAM each week with a fun activity devoted to each, you’ll start receiving a fun STEAM activity once a month. (And I’ll also pop up in your inbox occasionally if I’ve got other fun things to share.)

Fill out the form below to start receiving STEAM Family Fun in your inbox.

Terri Thompson

Rainbow Writing Spelling Word Practice

What is Rainbow Writing?

How to set up this rainbow spelling activity

Rainbow Write Spelling Words

Helpful Hints:

You may also like one of these spelling activities:

Buy the 31 Ways to Practice Spelling Words Ebook

Snow Painting Art Activity