Activities for ages 3 to 6. Teaching kids to cut with scissors is an important life skill and helps build fine motor strength and hand eye coordination they’ll need for writing alphabet letters and words later. But if handing over a pair of blades to young kids sounds intimidating, you’ve come to the right spot! Find out how […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Green Apple Playdough Recipe
Activity for ages 3 and up. This amazing smelling green apple playdough recipe uses only two ingredients and makes a soft, stretchy, silky dough your kids will love. The no cook playdough recipe is great for kids to make from beginning to end – no measuring, no boiling water, no messy clean up. Playdough Recipe To make our […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Fine Motor Super Pack
Activities for ages 3 to 5. When my three year old looked at me with his big blue eyes and asked for help, “writing like his daddy”, I immediately launched into super mommy mode – pulling together 18 motivating games that would develop his hand-eye coordination, arm and hand strength and grasp. The mega pack of fine motor activities […]
Malia Hollowell
Latest posts by Malia Hollowell (see all)
- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
100 Free Playdough Mats
Activities for ages 3 to 6. Playdough mats are an easy way to grow kids’ imaginations, develop fine motor skills and teach important skills like counting and the ABCs. This roundup of 100 free playdough mats includes our favorite finds from across the web. They’re the perfect compliment to our popular Playdough Mat Pack! Be sure to laminate the mats […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Valentine Counting Cards
These Valentine’s Day counting cards are a perfect math game to add to your Valentine’s Day collection and they are great for building fine motor skills too! In the mood for more Valentine’s Day fun?! Grab our V Day activity pack for kindergarten and preschool. Getting Ready To prep, I printed a copy of the valentine […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Peanuts Movie Activities
My kids love the Peanuts movie so you can imagine their joy when they snagged these adorable, FREE Peanuts trick-or-treat bags at Safeway. Two of their favorite things bundled into one reusable bag?! Smile-worthy! I am proud to be a Safeway compensated blogger. Peanuts Playdough Mats With their new bags in hand, I knew it was the […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
The Stages of Block Play
Activity for ages 1 to 7. Block play is a huge deal at my house. My kids adore building with blocks and I love their enthusiasm because blocks are so open-ended and grow with children, not to mention they are an excellent toy that encourages fine motor development. My 11 month old baby enjoys filling […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Pumpkin Count and Clip Cards
Activity for ages 3 to 5. These free pumpkin count and clip cards are a fun way for preschoolers and beginning kindergarteners to practice number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, counting and fine motor skills. And they’re a perfect addition to any Halloween or fall unit! Getting Ready I printed the pumpkin cards (below) on cardstock to […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Apple Pie Playdough Recipe
This apple pie playdough recipe will have you craving a slice of warm ooey-gooey apple goodness. With my oldest going off to Kindergarten, I was not looking forward to the end of summer, but this sweet and spicy smelling apple pie playdough recipe had me looking forward to my favorite season before it was even done cooking. It’s […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Fine Motor Water Activity for Toddlers
Activity for ages 2 to 5. With the summer heat coming on in full force, it’s time to cool off with a fun fine motor water activity designed specifically for toddlers! It’s a simple, easy prep, engaging fine motor project toddlers will love. Even with the summer heat, there is no reason to keep the learning […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Ice Cream Playdough Recipe
Activity for ages 3 to 6. This simple, two ingredient ice cream playdough recipe looks and smells good enough to eat. Well, guess what? You can! My kiddos have never been more excited to get their hands on dough as they were this homemade playdough recipe and I can see why. Making Ice Cream Playdough For […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Free Alphabet Printables
Activities for ages 3 to 5. These free alphabet printables are perfect for young learners! Help children identify beginning sounds, lowercase letters and uppercase letters with a colorful alphabet chart, clip it cards and letter matching puzzles. The free alphabet printables are a perfect compliment to our best selling Alphabet Mega Pack! What’s Inside? The free alphabet printables include: […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Sun Ripened Strawberry Playdough
Summer is arriving and so are strawberries picked straight from the garden. This sweet smelling strawberry playdough recipe will have you craving those delicious little berries. So make sure you have a few on hand, because your kiddos will be asking for them once this homemade playdough gets into their little hands. I know mine were! Ingredients To make […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Number Playdough Mats
Activity for ages 3 to 5. We use playdough a lot at our house. I’m very insistent that learning shouldn’t be filled with a bunch of worksheets, so when it came time to learn numbers, I created these free printable playdough mats to give my kids hands-on number recognition, counting, one-to-one correspondence and fine motor practice. […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
15 Clever Counting Cards
Counting cards are an easy prep, fun way to help kids practice number sequence, one-to-one correspondence, number recognition and {of course} counting! These 15 counting cards are our favorite freebies from across the web. They’re creative, engaging and hands-on. A perfect combo for some serious counting fun. Kids will love adding eyeballs to a batch of colorful monster counting cards. […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
4th of July Bracelets
Activity for ages 3 to 6. My recently turned four year old loves to get glammed up by making her own jewelry, and with the 4th of July approaching, we thought making some patriotic patterned bracelets, which is such a great fine motor activity, would be appropriate for the upcoming festivities. My daughter loves making her own […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Clip-On Paint Chip Names
Activity for ages 3 to 5. My almost 3 year old is obsessed with his name so, to help him practice spelling it, I headed to my local hardware store. With just a few supplies, I quickly whipped out this paint chip clothespin name activity. Its a good thing this took a mere minutes to prep […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Calming Homemade Playdough
Activity for ages 2 to 6. Emotions have been running high for both my 3 and 5 year old, so I decided to whip up a few different calming homemade playdough recipes that would help calm raging tempers and lift our spirits. My kiddos were transformed from whiney and clingy to cheerful and cooperative as they played […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
LEGO Pattern Cards
Activity for ages 3 to 6. Have some LEGO fans in your home or classroom? These free LEGO pattern cards make math super fun for kids. Just print the pattern cards {below}, grab your stash of LEGOs and you’re ready for some motivating, hands-on pattern building. Getting Ready To prep, I printed the free pattern cards {HERE} […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Greater Than Alligators
Activity for ages 5 to 8. These crafty alligators are a memorable, hands-on way to teach kids how to compare two numbers and identify the bigger one. As the DIY clothespin alligators munch the largest number in the pair, kids learn a helpful trick for figuring out which one is greater than the other. Getting Ready […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Alphabet Clip Cards
Activities for ages 3 to 6. In just a few minutes every day, you can help kids have an easy and smooth transition to kindergarten. These alphabet clip cards are a hands-on way to make upper and lowercase letter matching fun for preschoolers. Print your freebie and then check out 12 other must-try kindergarten prep activities below. Getting Ready Prepping […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Layers of the Earth Playdough
What better way to learn about the layers of the Earth than by making a playdough planet?! With just a little bit of prep, kids will be able to explore the layers of the Earth hands-on. It’s the perfect combination to our action packed Landform Activity Pack! I began by asking my 5 year old, A, […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Rainy Day Clip Cards
Activity for ages 3 to 5. These rainy day counting clip cards are filled with all things rain: puffy clouds, weatherproof boots and oversized umbrellas. They’re a colorful way to practice counting and make a great addition to any preschool weather unit. Be sure to hop over and grab our popular Weather Activity Pack too! Getting Ready To make […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Kool-Aid Playdough
Spring has sprung a little early in our area and we’ve been celebrating this amazing smelling rainbow playdough. To make it, simply add a packet of Kool-Aid to our delightfully squishy One-Pot Playdough Recipe. I’ve tried a few Kool-Aid playdough recipes before and they all came out a little off – either too hard, dry, or tough. […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
St. Patrick’s Day Playdough
Activity for ages 3 to 6. My kiddos have been drawn to this shimmery, shiny, glitter-filled playdough like moths to a flame. And how could they not be?! There is truly something magical about this ultra sparkly St. Patrick’s Day playdough. It lets kids’ imaginations run wild. We made two batches of playdough: glittery gold and shimmery […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Valentine’s Playdough
Activity for ages 3 to 6. Nothing says Valentine’s Day like chocolate, candy, and flowers – the inspiration for our four lovely scented playdough recipes. {We promise they will have you wishing Valentine’s Day came more than once a year.} The playdough recipes are quick to whip up and make perfect kid-made, non-candy valentines for friends and classmates. All of these […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Winter Playdough
Activity for ages 3 to 6. These winter playdough recipes are a delightfully simple way to enjoy icy winter play indoors. Since we’ve been blasted with freezing temperatures outside, I decided to whip up a few batches of winter playdough with my 2.5 and 5 year old that would let them imagine playing in the icy cold outdoors without […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Gingerbread Man in a Jar
Activity for ages 2 to 6. This gingerbread man in a jar playdough kit is a sweet little gift that brings the Gingerbread Man story to life. My 5 year old daughter, A, loved every step of creating the homemade gift – from making the playdough to packaging up the gingerbread man decorations. Her favorite part, however, was […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Playdough Snowman in a Mason Jar
Activity for ages 2 to 6. My kids are always saddened to watch their snowmen slowly melt away but, with this sparkly snow playdough, they’ll never worry about their snowmen’s drooping smile again. After mixing up a batch of the dough, both my 2.5 and 5 year old had so much fun creating families of snowmen […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Must Try Homemade Playdough for Christmas
Activity for ages 3 to 6. These homemade playdough recipes are perfect for Christmas! They’ll have little bakers whipping up batch after batch of delicious smelling treats. Chocolate, candy cane, sugar cookie, orange clove, and egg nog dough – they all smell so real, even I was tempted to take a nibble! For most of […]
Malia Hollowell
Latest posts by Malia Hollowell (see all)
- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Q-tip Snowflakes
Activity for ages 3 to 5. Busy bags are an easy way to entertain the kids when you’re on the go. Make them once, throw them into your bag, and you’re ready for some screen-free distraction in doctors’ offices, on planes and in restaurants. Just like last month, I teamed up with some of my […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Glow in the Dark Playdough Recipe
Activity for ages 3 to 6. This glow in the dark playdough recipe is sure to make playtime exciting. Just by adding one simple ingredient and a backlight to our one pot play dough recipe, we put a fun twist on our standard dough that really gets imaginations flowing. Glow in the Dark Playdough Recipe To […]
Malia Hollowell
Latest posts by Malia Hollowell (see all)
- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Pumpkin ABC Tracing
Activity for ages 3 to 5. Pumpkin letter tracing is a fun fall ABC game and fine motor activity in one. As kids trace alphabet letters with candy pumpkins, they build hand-eye coordination, hand strength and letter formation skills they’ll use for writing words later. Pumpkin fans will love this festive ABC game! ABC Game Prep […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
4 Playdough Recipes for Fall
Activity for ages 3 to 6. Looking for a playdough recipe that’s perfect for fall? These homemade playdoughs are scented with real apples, pumpkin, and spices. Use them in a pretend bakery shop, play with some free playdough mats or stamp them with alphabet letters… the possibilities are limitless. Each playdough recipe makes enough for 2-3 children […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
One Pot Playdough Recipe
I’ve tested a lot of different playdough recipes – cooked and uncooked, scented and not… But this one is my hands-down favorite because it comes out bright and squishy every time. The one pot playdough recipe requires a few minutes of stovetop cooking but I promise it’s worth the step. Most squishy no-cook playdough recipes call for boiling water anyway […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Marshmallow Geometry
Activity for ages 4 to 6. Marshmallow geometry is a fun way to teach the names and characteristics of 2D shapes including triangles, rectangles and squares. Kids love having the chance to build 2D shapes with food and grown ups love watching children practice important math skills. It’s a win-win! For a printable version of this activity, […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Color Mixing with Playdough
Activity for ages 3 to 5. We love to play our favorite color game to practice the names of colors and do lots of color mixing experiments to see what happens when we mix together two of the primary colors {red, blue and yellow}. Of all the color mixing we’ve done, our play dough color game was one of […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Tissue Paper Butterflies
Activity for ages 4 to 8. The sun is shining, thermometers are climbing and that can only mean one thing… spring is on its way. This spring-themed butterfly craft project can easily be modified for preschoolers to second graders and is a perfect compliment to our popular bugs and butterflies math and literacy unit. Getting […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Valentine’s Day Fine Motor Gluing
Activity for 3-4 year olds. Before kids learn how to write, they need to develop the hand strength and hand-eye coordination they’ll need to make their pencil do what they want it to do. That’s why there are so many fine motor activities floating around on Pinterest. The more kids practice – the better they’ll […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
Squeeze Bottle Salt Writing
Activity for ages 3 to 7 This activity is perfect for developing fine motor skills. This salt writing project was a creative and fun fine motor skills activity perfect for building the hand muscles my boys will use later when they’re writing. I was excited to play it again at home. To Prep The prep […]
Malia Hollowell
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- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018
LEGO Word Families
Activity for ages 4 to 6. My boys have been on a LEGO kick the last few weeks. The other day, as I watched them play, an idea popped into my mind: in addition to building THINGS with this favorite toy, they could also build WORDS. Later that evening, I pulled out their box of Duplos […]
Malia Hollowell
Latest posts by Malia Hollowell (see all)
- 5 Days of Giveaways - November 30, 2018
- Paper Cutting Station - November 15, 2018
- Gumdrop Patterns - November 15, 2018