Heart-(Or Moose-)Shaped Pizza and Calzones

I'm sharing two fantastic recipes and my fun idea for doing something with my kids, but all three are definitely worth trying! My little guys absolutely loved making these pizzas and my three-year-old was surprisingly good at it. Not only that, but these little pizzas and calzones are adorable and delicious. They would be perfect for a slumber party dinner or just a dinner with friends or family because everyone loves pizza and kids love making things their own!

Homemade Gak

About a month ago, my daughter decided that she no longer needed a daily nap.  It was a sad day for me.  Both my kids were taking naps at the same time everyday and I had all sorts of time to myself.  It was amazing!  But at 3.5 years old, she's napped longer than a lot of kids I know.  While I miss my "me time", it's also been fun to have some one on one time with my daughter.  It's also encouraged me to come up with some additional activities for her to do to keep her occupied for the extra hour or two besides coloring or stickers.  So when I found a recipe for some homemade Gak, I knew I had to try it out.

As a kid, I remember seeing commercials for Gak and wanting it so bad (along with every other kid my age)!  I wish I'd know how easy it was to make so I wouldn't have spent $3 every time I wanted a new color or the one I had got all yucky.

When I started pulling out the ingredients I needed to make it, my daughter's interested was immediately peaked and she climbed right up onto the chair next to the counter and wanted to know what we were making.  She wrinkled her nose when I told her, "Gak," but I smiled and just told her to wait and see.

The prep for this activity is pretty simple and if you made the homemade bouncy balls I posted here a few weeks ago, you will (most likely) have everything you need: borax, white glue, food coloring and water.

Glow in the Dark Bath Paint

You know those glow in the dark stars that every kid growing up in the 80's and 90's had?  I remember wanting them so much that I asked for them for my birthday and was so excited to get them!  I put them up all over my walls and ceiling and would rearrange them into different shapes or the initials of my latest crush.  Now that I have kids of my own, they are just as fascinated by things that glow in the dark.  So when I found a "recipe" for glow in the dark bath paint, I was excited to try it out with them.

I looked in a few places online to find out what kind of glow in the dark paint would work best.  I wanted this to be an affordable activity so that my kids could do it often without breaking the bank.  I finally found a good solution at Michaels using their Craft Smart brand.  I bought one bottle of regular glow in the dark paint and then a bottle each of pink, orange, green and blue neon paint of the same brand.  When I was at the local dollar store, I picked up a can of shaving cream.  I also bought a blacklight lightbulb (not pictured) for $3 from Walmart since I plan on doing more glow in the dark activities in the future.  That's all you need!

Kid Science: Dancing Rice

After last week's fun activity involving baking soda, I thought I'd throw another one out there for you and your kids to try out!  This activity takes basically no prep time at all and uses ingredients you already have at home: water, rice, vinegar, baking soda and food coloring.

First, grab a clear container, such as a glass, and fill it with water so there is about an inch or so of space left at the top.  Add 1-2 teaspoons of baking soda and stir it around.

How to Make a Bouncy Ball

My 3.5 year old daughter is at the stage where she will take an afternoon nap about 50% of the time.  This means that some days I have kid-free time and other days I need to think of something to do with or for her that will keep her entertained so I can have some semi-kid-free time. 

A while back I had seen a recipe for how to make a bouncy ball.  This sounded like something that my daughter would be interested in and I thought it seemed easy enough to do.   I did have to do a little planning ahead for this activity since it calls for Borax and white glue, which I didn’t have on hand.  I didn’t mind buying the items since I’ve seen other activities call for Borax and white glue is dirt cheap right now with the back to school sales (stock up!).  I already had corn starch and food coloring so when nap time didn’t happen, I was ready.