Creative Family Fun

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Crafts

Sun and Rain Sensory Bottles

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I’ve long admired sensory bottles and have been wanting to make a few of my own.

There are so many incredible versions, but this time, I opted for a simple glittery bottle.

We used sunshine and rain as our inspirations to make these gorgeous Sun and Rain Sensory Bottles.

Making sensory bottles is always fun, especially when you're inspired by the weather. These sun and rain sensory bottles are simple and fun to make.

*Disclosure: CraftProjectIdeas.com provided some of the supplies used in this project. This  post also contains Amazon Affiliate and other links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies Needed

Empty plastic bottles (We used these.)
Water
Food Coloring
Glitter
Tri-beads
Super glue (adult use only!)

Making sensory bottles is always fun, especially when you're inspired by the weather. These sun and rain sensory bottles are simple and fun to make.

How to make your sun and rain sensory bottles

To make your bottles, fill an empty bottle with water. Leave some space at the top for your add-ins.

Next, add 5 to 6 drops of food coloring. My 4-year-old was in charge of the food coloring, so we ended up with more a lot more drops.

Now it’s time to add the glitter. We have an abundant supply of glitter, so we added quite a bit. The more glitter the better, I say!

Making sensory bottles is always fun, especially when you're inspired by the weather. These sun and rain sensory bottles are simple and fun to make.

Next, add your tri-beads. We picked out orange and yellow beads for our sunshine bottle and blue and clear beads for our rain bottle.

Previously, we experimented with a few different items until we hit on something that would work in our bottles. We tried foam shapes, but they only float to the top and we couldn’t get them to mix in with the water and glitter. After a lot of experimenting, we discovered that items that sink mix together nicely when you’re shaking the bottle.

Once you have everything in your bottle, add a little more water to fill your bottle to the top.

Finally, super glue the cap onto the bottle. Now you won’t have to worry about it opening and spilling water and glitter all over your floor!

Making sensory bottles is always fun, especially when you're inspired by the weather. These sun and rain sensory bottles are simple and fun to make.

(Here’s a little behind the scene picture for you! My daughter was taking her own pics right beside me. We found ourselves racing against time to catch all the glitter before it settled!)

Making sensory bottles is always fun, especially when you're inspired by the weather. These sun and rain sensory bottles are simple and fun to make.

I just love the final result of these sun and rain sensory bottles. My 6-year-old can sit and watch them for a long time while rolling them around and around.

They’re quite beautiful!

Making sensory bottles is always fun, especially when you're inspired by the weather. These sun and rain sensory bottles are simple and fun to make.

Make this a family adventure!

This is a perfect craft to do together as a family.
Cost: Under $10. It all depends on what supplies you already have on hand.
Prep time: Under 10 minutes + a trip to the store for supplies, if needed.
Ages: 4 and up. Certain steps will need adult supervision.
Time needed: 20 minutes (plus drying time for the super glue)

More Great Sensory Bottle Ideas

Babbling Brook sensory bottle from House of Burke.
Spring flower sensory bottle from My Little 3 and Me.
Making waves sensory bottle from Hands On: As We Grow.
Magnetic sensory bottle from Munchkin and Bean.

Making sensory bottles is always fun, especially when you're inspired by the weather. These sun and rain sensory bottles are simple and fun to make.

You make also like one of these fun ideas:

Colored Ice Fun

Raindrop Mobiles

10 Ways to Learn About the Weather

Australia Activities for Kids: Crafts, Books, and Fun

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Let’s take a trip down under with some fun Australia activities for kids. We’ll explore through crafts, books, recipes, and other learning activities.

It’s always so much fun to another country and since we can’t always travel to all the places in the world, doing a geography and cultural exploration at home is the next best thing.

Learn all about Australian landmarks, culture, and food through crafts, activities, and recipes with these fun Australia activities for kids.

We loved learning about Australia so much for Project Around the World, that we did a few extra projects we found on other blogs. One project just wasn’t enough.

Luckily, there are a ton of great crafts, activities, and recipes that you can do with your kids for your at-home exploration of Australia. Check out all the great ideas I found below.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Learn all about Australian landmarks, culture, and food through crafts, activities, and recipes with these fun Australia activities for kids.

Take a virtual trip with these Australia activities for kids:

Create an Australian flag. Danya Banya has a fun version for your kids to make.

Make the Sydney Opera House out of paper plates using this simple tutorial from Danya Banya.

Explore Australia through smell with some Calming Eucalyptus Play Dough from The Imagination Tree.

You can also explore the scent of eucalyptus with this colorful and scented sensory rice play idea from Laughing Kids Learn.

Build the Sydney Harbour Bridge with this simple craft from Danya Banya.

Make a torn paper collage picture of Uluru (Ayers Rock). Find out how to make your own at Kid World Citizen.

Use a fun printmaking technique to create fun bottlebrush flowers artwork. Danya Banya has the instructions for this fun technique.

Learn about the animals of Australia:

Make a felt kookaburra finger puppet. Red Ted Art shows you how to make this simple sewing project.

Make an adorable paper bag platypus like these from Cook Clean Craft.

Use a cardboard tube to make this cute frilled neck lizard from The Craft Train.

Make an echidna grass head. Mother Natured shows you how to make this fun project.

Create a simple koala bookmark for your favorite books. You can find our koala drawing tutorial for this cute bookmark here.

Use newspaper to make this fun koala craft from I Heart Crafty Things.

Find some paper plates to make this koala and joey craft from Danya Banya.

Learn all about Australian landmarks, culture, and food through crafts, activities, and recipes with these fun Australia activities for kids.

Explore the Aboriginal culture:

Make Aboriginal clapping sticks with Laughing Kids Learn.

We explored Aboriginal dot art with this fun art project.

Explore Aboriginal symbols with these beautiful Aboriginal Dreamtime Story Stones from A Moment in Our World.

Decorate a boomerang with dot art with this fun project from Kidz Activities.

Explore Australia through food:

Make Australian Damper Bread with Laughing Kids Learn.

Anzac Biscuits are a popular treat. Danya Banya shows you how to make them.

Lamingtons are another popular sweet treat. Create-Celebrate-Explore has an easy recipe for you to try.

Enjoy a fun Australian recipe for lunch when you make these Vegemite and Cheese Scrolls from Laughing Kids Learn.

Try fairy bread, a fun (and colorful) Australian kids’ treat. A Simple Pantry shows you how to make this simple treat.

Read a book about Australia:

Grab a fun picture book written by an Australian author. Childhood 101 has a massive book list you should check out.

Mem Fox is one of the most famous children’s book authors from Australia. Try one of her classics like Koala Lou or Possum Magic.

Inspired by Over in the Meadow, Over in Australia by Marianne Berkes will take preschoolers on a fun exploration of Australian animals.

I love to grab a book from the Discover the World series whenever we do a country exploration. D is for Down Under by Devin Scillian is full of facts and images of Australia.

Australia ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Australia by Sarah Heiman is another great book full of facts and images of Australia.

Have fun playing and learning with these fun Australia activities for kids!

Learn all about Australian landmarks, culture, and food through crafts, activities, and recipes with these fun Australia activities for kids.

You may also like one of these great ways to explore world culture:

Painting with Sugar – Exploring Barbados Through Art

Clay African Baskets – Exploring Angola Through Art

35+ China Activities for Kids

10 Ways to Explore the World Without Leaving Home

Cardboard Tube Cheetah Craft

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In our continuing quest to build a cardboard tube zoo, we decided that we needed to represent the fastest mammal in the world, the cheetah.

So, we grabbed some paints and some empty cardboard tubes and started creating our cardboard tube cheetah craft.

They’re not as fast as the real ones, but they are a whole lot of fun!

Use recycled materials to make this cardboard tube cheetah craft. It's such a fun kids craft and it makes a fun toy when you're done.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies Needed

Empty cardboard tube
Yellow construction paper
Yellow craft paint
Black craft paint
Glue
Googly eyes
Black marker

Use recycled materials to make this cardboard tube cheetah craft. It's such a fun kids craft and it makes a fun toy when you're done.

How to make your cardboard tube cheetah craft

Begin by painting your cardboard tube with the yellow craft paint. Since yellow is a lighter color, you may need a couple of coats to completely cover your cardboard tube.

While your paint is drying, cut two triangle shapes from your yellow construction paper for your cheetah’s ears.

Use recycled materials to make this cardboard tube cheetah craft. It's such a fun kids craft and it makes a fun toy when you're done.

Use your black marker to add triangle middles on each of your ears.

Glue your googly eyes to your yellow tube and glue the ears to the inside of the top of your tubes directly above your eyes.

Use recycled materials to make this cardboard tube cheetah craft. It's such a fun kids craft and it makes a fun toy when you're done.

Use your black craft paint to add your cheetah’s spots.

Put spots all around your tube, saving room for your cheetah’s face.

Use recycled materials to make this cardboard tube cheetah craft. It's such a fun kids craft and it makes a fun toy when you're done.

Use either your craft paint or your black marker to make your cheetah’s face.

Add a small nose and your mouth.

Also, add two wavy lines from your eyes to just above your mouth. Use the picture above for reference.

Once all your spots have dried, your cheetah craft is done and ready to join your zoo.

It’s time to play!

Use recycled materials to make this cardboard tube cheetah craft. It's such a fun kids craft and it makes a fun toy when you're done.

If you enjoyed this cardboard tube cheetah craft, the above image is perfect for sharing on Facebook or you can share the photo below on Pinterest.

Use recycled materials to make this cardboard tube cheetah craft. It's such a fun kids craft and it makes a fun toy when you're done.

You may also like one of these animal crafts:

Cardboard Tube Hippo

Cardboard Tube Bear

All About Tigers: Books, Crafts, and Activities

Cardboard Tube Penguin

Doily Lion Craft at I Heart Crafty Things

 

Phases of the Moon Mobile

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I’ve always found that the moon is the perfect introduction to the night sky for kids. It’s easy to observe; you don’t need any special equipment to see it. Plus, there are so many kid-friendly resources to help you learn about it.

Today’s project is all about the phases of the moon. We took a little learning and turned it into a kids craft project so you can have the moon in your room both day and night.

This phases of the moon mobile is easy and takes only a few supplies, which you may already at home.

Combine science and art to make this simple phases of the moon mobile out of paper plates. It's a fun way to learn about the moon.

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Learn about the phases of the moon

Every night the moon looks different. Over the course of a lunar month (approximately 30 days) the moon goes through several phases, from new, to crescent, to quarter, to gibbous, to full. It changes because the moon rotates around the earth.

You can get a detailed but kid-friendly explanation here from NASA.

To get excited about the moon and to do a little hands-on learning, we’re going to create a simple illustration of the moon phases.

Combine science and art to make this simple phases of the moon mobile out of paper plates. It's a fun way to learn about the moon.

Supplies Needed

2 paper plates
Scissors
Multiple colors of blue paint
Sponge
Hole punch
Yarn
Coat hanger

Combine science and art to make this simple phases of the moon mobile out of paper plates. It's a fun way to learn about the moon.

How to make a Phases of the Moon Mobile

For this moon mobile, we made three moon phases. We made a full moon, a quarter moon, and a crescent moon. You can make as many phases as you would like.

For the full moon, leave one paper plate whole. Cut the other paper plate in half. Use one of the halves for your quarter moon and cut the other half in the shape of a crescent moon.

Combine science and art to make this simple phases of the moon mobile out of paper plates. It's a fun way to learn about the moon.

Using your blue paints, sponge paint your three different moons. We only had two different shades of blue so that’s what we used. Use as many shades of blue as you would like, or add in grey and white for a different color scheme. If you only have one shade of blue, use white paint to lighten some of it.

I cut up a sponge into small squares to use for painting. The small squares of sponge are perfect for little hands to use.

Combine science and art to make this simple phases of the moon mobile out of paper plates. It's a fun way to learn about the moon.

After your moons have dried, punch a hole in the top of each. Tie a piece of yarn through your hole and again to your coat hanger.

I varied the length of my yarn so our moon phases would hang at different levels.

Once you’re done, hang your phases of the moon mobile up in your room and wow everyone with your new knowledge of the moon.

Combine science and art to make this simple phases of the moon mobile out of paper plates. It's a fun way to learn about the moon.

To learn more about the phases of the moon

Watch this beautiful video on YouTube. Set to the soundtrack of Beethoven’s Sonata No 14, an animated moon works its ways through all of its phases.

Stop by Kids Activities Blog for another fun project you and your kids can do to chart the moon and learn about the different phases.

MoonConnection.com has a moon phase calendar you can use for reference. You can switch between the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere to get the correct moon calendar for your location.

My Book of the Four Seasons: A Paper Bag Book

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I’ve stumbled across the idea of a paper bag book several times.

I’ve filed it away in the back of my mind as “something I want to make with the girls some time.”

Now that I’m working on writing with my oldest and we also plan to do some four seasons projects, that “some time” became now. Yay! We’re going to make a Four Seasons Paper Bag Book.

A paper bag book is a fun homemade book for kids to make. Put one together and then fill the pages and pockets with information about the four seasons.

Paper bag books are so much fun to create, plus they’re unique and easy-to-make.

And the best part is that they have all sorts of fun pockets for hiding little treasures. Imagine all the fun things you can put in the pockets!

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

A paper bag book is a fun homemade book for kids to make. Put one together and then fill the pages and pockets with information about the four seasons.

Supplies needed:

Lunch-sized paper bags (for each book)

Hole punch

Yarn (or string)

We used three paper bags for each book we made.

How to make your paper bag book:

We first folded each paper bag in half. Since one side of the bag is open and the other closed, we alternated the directions of the bags when we put the books together.

If you don’t alternate the directions, you’ll have all of your pockets in either the front or the back of the book.

A paper bag book is a fun homemade book for kids to make. Put one together and then fill the pages and pockets with information about the four seasons.

Once we had the bags in the order we wanted, we punched two holes along the middle seam of the book. Punch through all three paper bags.

We then threaded the yarn through the holes and tied a strong knot in the middle.

Special note: If you find your knot does not want to stay tied, add a drop of glue to the middle of your knot. Once it dries, your knot will not come untied.

A paper bag book is a fun homemade book for kids to make. Put one together and then fill the pages and pockets with information about the four seasons.

Write your four seasons book:

The process of making the book was quick and easy, but it definitely wasn’t the best part.

We loaded the table full of supplies, such as markers, stickers, crayons, old magazines, scissors, construction paper, and glue.

Our goal was to write a book about the four seasons.

A paper bag book is a fun homemade book for kids to make. Put one together and then fill the pages and pockets with information about the four seasons.

We used a spread of two pages for each of our seasons.

The girls wrote the name of the season and then filled the two pages with images.

They used Christmas and Valentine stickers for winter and then drew snowflakes and Christmas trees.

They added the sun for summer and lots of flowers for spring.

A paper bag book is a fun homemade book for kids to make. Put one together and then fill the pages and pockets with information about the four seasons.

Add an extra writing challenge:

I added an extra writing challenge for my first grader.

She used an index card to write words that described each of the seasons. When she was done, she tucked the card into one of the pockets.

A few other surprises made their way into the pocket too, such as big stickers and special pictures.

Book making is fun! Early writers get to practice their new skill. Older kids can learn to be more comfortable with writing. And, pre-readers get a chance to practice story-telling with pictures. It works for every level.

Have fun making a paper bag book with your kids!

A paper bag book is a fun homemade book for kids to make. Put one together and then fill the pages and pockets with information about the four seasons.

If you enjoyed this post, the photo above is perfect for sharing on Facebook, or you can share the photo below on Pinterest.

A paper bag book is a fun homemade book for kids to make. Put one together and then fill the pages and pockets with information about the four seasons.

More fun writing activities:

Write Hand Print Poems

Give flowers a personality with this Flower Personification Activity

Making Lists: An After School Writing Activity

Beach Ball Poetry

Are you looking for more 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 idea 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.