Monday, March 4, 2013

Saturdays & Free Time

I always feel so bad that our younger children do not receive as much creative arts time as our older children did in their primary years.  Well I figured out how to add it in---Saturdays.  Saturday is the perfect day for  us to enjoy some creative time that is not available during the week.  Now, I know Saturdays are a day off so to speak, not another day of education, and I whole heartedley agree.  I just keep a mental (and sometimes on paper) list of quick creative activities that might engage the children.  So I thought I would share a few of their recent endeavors:



K painting a flower.  I picked up several small wooden shapes for the children to paint at Michael's, I think they were $.25 each.  These shapes were stocking stuffers but would also be great for Easter hunts or baskets.


Sensory play with shaving cream.  I think next time I will add a bit of food coloring for some color mixing fun.  I can hear B's excitement now.

This was an idea I saw last summer on Pinterest.  It is baking soda on a sheet pan then a dropper is used to drop vinegar mixed with food coloring.  Fun.

Painting with watercolors.

More watercolors.



Picture book reading is also another wonderful Saturday activity to pull out.  The younger set also have been read to far less than our older children.  Saturday reading makes me stop my tasks and focus on time with my children to enjoy quiet moments of togetherness.  You can see below that I like to mix our reading up with some classics, some seasonal stories and some stories in areas of interests, trains for example.

 All of the above activities were things I suggested when the children came to me needing something to do.  Now here is a look at the creative things they come up with on there own during free time.

I know it is winter around here when our stairs become cluttered with race track and cars.  This track is a darda track that we have loved to death.  The cars are long since broken but it is still a great create your own set with lots of options and fun. And yes that is a giant pile of cars at the bottom of the stairs, many we have bought and many more have been passed down to us from friends and family.

Playdough! Here you see the playdough cake set and candy shop.

Perler beads.


And somedays even if it is cold we go and enjoy our neighborhood school and play for awhile.


If you need some activity ideas check out our Kid Crafts and Concoctions board on pinterest. Also the blog Let's Explore has a monthly play list that I keep in my planner to stimulate ideas.

What do your children do with their at home free time and weekends?

It's Montessori Monday, go have a look!

2 comments:

Amy @ No Greater Honors said...

I love all the fun things you did! I have yet to try the shaving cream with my kiddos because I am a horrible procrastinator and getting new ideas out - especially those they end up loving! But I have never seen the baking soda and colored vinegar - we will have to try that one :)

Tammy G said...

Oh, do the shaving cream, they have so much fun with it. Sometimes, in the summer, we also spray it on an outdoor table and they wear swimsuits while they play and then it is sprinkler time to clean it all off. Thanks for visiting.