Raina Kennedy
Inspire, Enrich, Create
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Our Vet clinic has become such a fun play area for the kids. I found these amazing x-rays online. The company we purchased them from is Roylco. They have so many great science tools and activities for kid play there. I made the x-ray station out of an ikea best shelf.  
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I used one of the long rectangular sides of an expedit shelf to create this fun dry erase wall for the kids. I scored it in the clearance section! I originally bought it with the intention of turning it into a chalkboard wall but we're loving the dry erase too much! I'll use the smaller square portion of this shelf to create their chalkboard area. It's such a great addition to our playroom!   EXPEDIT Shelving unit, white $59.99 Article Number: 701.162.76 Size 17 3/8x72 7/8" I'm building the kids a Pet Clinic in their playroom. I really wanted to incorporate a kennel area but didn't want to use actual dog kennels. They cost so much and weren't safe for the kids. I'm so happy with the way this came out. It's an Ikea expedit shelf with gates added to the shelf openings. Here's how I did it.   EXPEDIT Shelving unit, white $39.99 Article Number: 201.353.00 Size 31 1/8x31 1/8"  These were the perfect fit to cover the openings of the expedit. Store Supply Warehouse, 14"X14" Mini Grid Panel-Black SKU # 30103 Price:$0.95 each My sweet Charlotte see's her big brother's drinking with straws and wants the same thing as them. As expected, once I handed her the drink, it quickly became a terrible mess. My solution, Duct Tape! The king of inventions and an essential household/ survival tool. Yes, survival ;) It would be one of the things on my list if sent to a deserted island. That and zip ties. Now she can have her straw and I can have a clean baby/ house. 
I'm slowly putting our new playroom together. Just found this adorable scale at Walmart for $14! I bolted it to the shelf so it can't be moved. The kids have been putting the entire contents of the house on it! It's proven to be a great learning tool as they discover what's lighter and what's heavier. We also talk about numbers. I love the aesthetic it brings to our market area but even more, I love the educational opportunity it brings to our play. Sometimes, household items make the best toys! 
They come in all sorts of fun colors.
This is a fun twist on the painting with a ziplock bag activity. The kids really enjoyed working with the straws and seeing the paint come through. They also had fun moving the paint around with their hands on the surface. 
 The two shelving units are from Ikea. I added slats at the end of the shelves to get the angled look in most market stands.
This is a fun way to keep kids active while in the house. Just put up a string of painter's tape and have them run through like it's a racing finish line. I chose tape because they wanted to do it at least 100 times over. It was the easiest and safest tool for the game. Incorporate fun simon says games to encourage listening and following instructions. 
 Ice Melt ActivityThis was one of the biggest hit of the party! The kids kept coming back to the sensory table to see if the ice melted. During each visit certain toys began to emerge from the ice. It became a great sensory and texture exploring activity. They were totally fascinated by it! As the party came to a close, I realized the ice wasn't melting fast enough for them to retrieve their favors. I gave the kids cups and squirt bottles filled with water to melt the ice faster. Another great science experiment! I would totally recommend this activity for parties or when ever.
During our Thanks Giving break from kid programs, I decided to refinish our dated cabinets. It's a process but totally worth the work.
I strung these jingle bells up and hung them along our window. The kids really took to them. I used this activity during our Indian Village week but plan to do it again for our santa's workshop week. 
I'll post more of our recipes here over time but here's one of our favorites. Hubby approves too ;) Sloppy Joes
Ingredients:
1lb ground beef 1 small can of Tomato Paste 2 teaspoons of worcestershire sauce Half an onion 2 -3 cloves of garlic salt and pepper to taste Instructions: Brown the beef in a saucepan and drain grease Finely dice onion and garlic and sauté in 1 tablespoon of olive oil Add onion and garlic to drained beef Add 1 Cup of water to beef mixture, the can of tomato paste, worcestershire sauce and salt/pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low Save your next carton for this fun activity. It keeps my 1yr old, 3 yr old and 4 yr old busy. I really can't explain why but it does work and is a must try. All you need is a carton like this and craft sticks. It's best suited for younger toddlers but the older ones enjoy it too.   During a recent hike with the kids, I had them collect items from the trail so we could make fossil imprints when we got home. The recipe I tried really wasn't good (2 cups flour, 1/2 cup salt and 3/4 water). I'd love to try this again but with a better recipe. The hunt is on! If you have a recipe, please share :)  For Our Indian Theme this week, I made the kids a canoe and created this fun oar to go with it. I filled the oar with corn so it would make sounds when they rowed the canoe. 
To make: Get a piece of PVC Pipe, fill it with corn or rice, close off the ends with duck tape, cut a piece of cardboard and tape with duck tape. Cover the rest in a fun design with duck tape
This is a fun and easy activity to set up for the kids during the fall. We used punching balloons and a turkey image found on the web to create ours. 
 This Elefun Toy makes a great fire prop. We covered ours in red and had the kids place red fire ambers inside. The fire explodes with ambers when turned on. We used tissue paper because it was light enough to take air. I wanted the fire as a prop and activity for our Indian Village Theme this week.  
This is a fun one! Set up a few cans and have the kids roll their pumpkin down an alley to hit the pins.
This mailing tube makes a great sound toy. We filled ours with corn and covered with fun Duck Tape colors.  Created this Fun Indian Village to teach the kids about the Indian's and how they helped us when we arrived to the Americas. Here are the activities we did and the props I made for this theme.  The Canoe is an Expedit Shelf. The kids love sitting in their cube while they pretend to row along the river. I used blue painter's tape to create water lines on the floor (not seen here).  Created the oars with PVC piping, cardboard, duck tape and corn. I filled the pipes with corn so that they made sounds when rowing. Also hung yarn and jingle bells along the window. This was a big hit and super easy to construct. My 11 month old loved it too.  Use these common toys in an uncommon way. Put them on the wall. They are available for the kids to play with on demand, they add to the decor of the room and it's a great way to keep toys organized. For the bear, I used velcro to attach the puzzle pieces.  Large Picture frames Repurposed as Activity Station for Kids Playroom  Activity Cubes Repurposed! Deconstruct your activity cube and put it on the wall. Flubber Attack!The kids have fun escaping from the drooping flubber. We set the game up in our playroom. The kids crawled under the table and tried to make it out without being attacked by the drooping flubber.   Flubber Soup Flubber Soup is an all time favorite for these guys. They love to pretend cook and this substance is great for filling pots and pans- the flubber oozes out for all sides. We add plastic bugs, letters and numbers to create the soup.
How to Make Flubber at Home: The Ingredients 3 cups Warm Water 2 cups Elmer’s White Glue Liquid Water Color (food coloring stains) 20 Mule Team Borax, available in the grocery store laundry section. (Please see NOTES section below for safety information about Borax.) Glitter (optional) White Vinegar (for cleaning) The Steps In a large container combine and mix: 1 ½ cups very warm water 2 cups Elmers white glue A few drops of water color and/or glitter if using clear glue Make sure this combination is completely mixed In a small container combine and mix: 1 1/3 cups very warm water 2 level tsp 20 Mule Team Borax. Adults, please do this step. (Please see NOTES section below for safety information about Borax.) Make sure the Borax is completely dissolved. Combine the glue and borax mixtures: Mix well using your hands until all the liquid is absorbed. You may need to squish, mix, and break up the flubber to get it fully combined. Store the flubber in a plastic, air-tight container at room temperature. For best results, measure precisely and mix well as noted above. Notes About Saftey Adults, please keep the box of powdered borax out of the reach of children. If kept in an airtight container, the Flubber will keep for up to 2 weeks. Vinegar dissolves Flubber from carpet, hair, furniture, clothes, and pets. This recipe makes enough Flubber for six children.
The kids used funnels to pour seltzer soda into each test tube. Then they lowered one raisin into each tube. The kids had fun watching on and routing for the raisin that made it to the top first. This was an active play that lasted 30 minutes
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