The joy of painting is best understood through the eye and hearts of children.

Painting opens up a world of color and communication for kids and is a fantastic means for them to create. These craft ideas demonstrate that there are many easy and exciting alternative options to utilizing a paintbrush for your kids to explore the world of art and expression.

String Painting

String painting is straightforward and is a smart way for youngsters to pattern paint. You simply wrap some string around a small wooden block (this may very well be a building block that your kids play with). A square or rectangle shape is best, however ensure that it’s large enough for the child to hold easily. To help in your kid’s learning, it’s best to have a number of completely different sizes handy. Prepare some paint and pour it into some old polystyrene trays or any tray that you can afford to use for lots of painting activities. Dip the block into the paint and press on the paper. Make any patters you like and use as many colors you like and viola, you’re finished!

Marble Painting

Marble painting is another method for children to have fun and also build their hand eye coordination skills while creating completely different patterns. Prepare some paint and put it in a container that has deep sides, such as an old baking tray or a shallow cardboard box. The top of a shoe box is a wonderful example, provided that it’s still sturdy and intact. Put some paper in the bottom of the tray with a small quantity of paint (you can use two or three different colors at a time). Drop a marble in the tray and let the kids move the marble backwards and forwards, sideways and so on, to create their very own work of art.

Finger Painting

Finger painting develops a child’s sensory skills as they feel and touch the paint. Put some paint on an old table and let the kids put their fingers in it and make their very own designs. If you don’t have an old table that you can use, then you may always put some plastic on the table and this will suffice.

Please keep in mind that you should use paints are easily washed off surfaces and fingers with hot soapy water and read the label on the paint you are using with your children to be sure. Once the children have completed their painting, put a piece of paper on top and peel it off. Put it somewhere to dry after which they have a print of their artwork work to display around the house.

Here are some other fast ideas and alternate options that your children might take pleasure in that may also be used for printing…

Cotton, Sponges and Cardboard

• Cotton ball painting can encourage kids to paint in a completely different way, which develops fantastic motor skills.
• Cotton wool has a completely different feel and texture to it.
• Paint rollers are fun to use on large rectangular areas. So this may be excellent for instance, if you’re planning on painting a cardboard fort or large surface areaa.
• Cotton reels and corks can be used for pattern painting.
• Sponges cut into different shapes might be a good way to recycle and you can use each their rough and smooth sides in painting. Some examples of shapes you can use are rectangles and circles and a diamond or star. You can also buy sponge shapes from a good toy or art supply store, or you can order them from educational supply magazines as well.
• Other ideas include the cardboard rolls inside household foil and plastic wrap or wrapping paper tubes after you’re finished with the wrapping paper, plastic forks or jar lids.

Just remember, its not out the outcome but the process and experience getting there. So let those artistic juices flow and the minds of your children will expand with a newfound appreciation for art.

What kind of household items do you use with your children when it it time for them to put down their technology devices like an iPad or turn off the TV? Please share your experience and thoughts with us.

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Sound the alarm. Slide down the pole. Grab your gear. We’re ready to roll with these free free firefighter birthday party printables.

This year we are planning a superhero themed party for our son, which is very odd, since last year, we had a firefighter birthday party for him and I swore I wasn’t going to throw him a big party again. I have always said, I’m not a big birthday party mom. So, here we are, planning a party for our little guy and I felt the need to share how awesome his 3rd birthday party was.

First, it was a super inexpensive party. We called our local fire department and scheduled a FREE tour, then had some friends back to our house for our quaint little firefighter birthday party.

At home, I set up the firefighters snack bar with some $5 pizzas from Little Caesars. Luckily, for November the weather was amazing and we were able to let the kids play outside. Our backyard was not even close to being done, but because it was a party full of boys the large amount of dirt was perfect for 3 and 4 year-old boys.

We filled up firefighter hats that we picked up off of Amazon.com with some fun little things like stickers and mini coloring books and gave them away to each of the boys. At the fire station, they gave all the kids pencils and safety handouts. For the snack bar, we set up we had fire truck tires (chocolate mini donuts), water hoses (red vines), life savers (literally life savers candy), match sticks (stick pretzels), “stop, drop, and tootsie rolls” (tootsie rolls and lollipops), fire balls (the candy), fire hydrants (juice boxes) and fire house poles (cheese sticks). Finally, I made cupcakes and let the kids sprinkle sugar all over them.

Firefighter Birthday Party

And that was it. It was a very low budget and easy party to set up. We had a blast and we hope you will enjoy the firefighter birthday party printables we’ve included with this post to throw your own firefighter party.

We hope these printable firefighter birthday party printables make planning a firefighter-themed birthday party much more creative and a lot easier.

Like or share to download these free firefighter birthday printable party tags.

So, what do you think? Are these firefighter birthday party printables a hit or a miss? Leave us a comment below and tell us what you think.

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2014 PumpkinPalooza in Victorian Square in Sparks, NV, October 26 from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Last year we informed you about the PumpkinPalooza in Sparks at Victorian Square. It was a great time and the various carnival games and free walk throughs of the train and readings at the Glendale Schoolhouse (built in 1864) managed through the Sparks Heritage Museum kept our kids busy and we had a lot of fun. Overall, the PumpkinPalooza is a great event to attend each year with friends and family of all ages.

Here’s what you can expect if you decide to attend this year:

Sunday, October 26 – 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM

• Build and race a pumpkin in the Pumpkin Derby
• Participate in the children’s costume parade
• Enjoy storytelling in the Haunted Schoolhouse
• Play carnival style games
• Compete in the pie-eating, pumpkin seed spitting, and mummy wrapping contests
• Enter their pumpkins in the beauty contest
• Enjoy live music

And so much more!

Last year, more than 5,000 people attended the 2nd annual event and this year the event appears poised to grow exponentially. And it’s all benefiting the Northern Nevada Center for Independent Living. For more information, visit www.pumpkinpalooza.org.

Will you be attending the PumpkinPalooza this year? What are you looking forward to during this year’s PumpkinPalooza event? Please leave us a comment below and let us know.

About Independent Living for People of Disabilities

As a former employee of a large national organization that serves people with disabilities, this event means a lot to me, personally. The disability movement is one of the last movements fighting for civil rights in much the same ways that people of color did back in the 50s and 60s and women did in the 20s. There is push today for people with disabilities to live in an inclusive environment, within their communities and not in an institutional setting. Please notice that I make the choice not to call people with disabilities, “disabled people”, “handicapped” or going to the extreme of using the word “retarded“. People with disabilities are just people, like you and me. They just happen to have a disability and are fully entitled to respect, dignity and equality like any other person. Many people with disabilities can learn life skills that can enable them to live in our communities and give back in ways that are meaningful and benefit the communities we live in. The Northern Nevada Center for Independent Living is “dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with all disabilities by promoting independence through self empowerment, choice and community involvement” and “each person, regardless of the severity of his or her disability, has the potential to grow, develop, and share fully the joys and responsibilities of our society.” That is something that I can stand behind and gladly donate to by attending this event.

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Is my Monster Wreath a Pinterest win or Pinterest fail?

Recently, I saw a pin on Pinterest from Baby Rabies that showcased a Tulle Monster Wreath tutorial.

Like all modern moms, I decided to try my hand at something I found on Pinterest to see how it might turn out and also thought it might be something fun to do with the kids. So, I took a shot at it.

While working on this craft project, I found that my kids (ages 6 yrs., 3 yrs., and 9 months) lost interest quickly. However, I was determined to make it work and kept at it. Overall, it took an hour or two to put together and it is something that we can now leave on our door during October, adding to our other festive decorations we have out front.

Here’s what some of my Facebook friends had to say about it:

[block_quote cite=’- Rebecca T.’] Turned out great! [/block_quote] [block_quote cite=’- Jenna K.’] Love this! [/block_quote] [block_quote cite=’- Anonymous’] It looks like a deformed Muppet, but I think it looks better than the original. [/block_quote]

So, what do you think? Is this a Pinterest win or a Pinterest fail? Tell us what you think by leaving a comment below.

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You. Me. Camping. Let’s get outside and do something you’ll remember this Summer and don’t forget to bring these free Summer time camping printable love notes with you for your kids.

Some of the best memories my husband has from when he was a kid was when he was outdoors and campaing. Well, with Summer time comes the time for campfires and s’mores. Are you ready to build lifelong memories with your children?

Start by printing these free downloadable camping printable love notes to share with your little ones to share with them during your summer outdoor experience.

What do you think? Do these camping printable love notes work for you? Which one is your favorite? Let us know by posting a comment below.

We hope this summer brings the most joy through a camping experience

Like or share to download these free summer time camping-themed printable love notes.

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By sponsoring this article, your sponsorship will display for a period of 180 days (6 months). If, for any reason, and it is up to the discretion of the authors of Windy Pinwheel, we feel content linked to or the name provided does not coincide with the objectives of this site for our audience we will issue a refund and pull the sponsorship of the article. This action does not limit you from sponsoring an article on our site again. However, by sponsoring again, we will issue the same review criteria as the prior sponsorship and if it fails, we will follow the same process as before and issue a refund and pull down the sponsorship. We truly appreciate the support of our audience and hope you can help offset our costs of operating this site by sponsoring our site articles.

For all reviews, please exercise discretion. If the sponsor of the article is in conflict of the topic of the article, we will pull down the sponsorship to remove any conflict of interest with the article at-hand. For instance, there is an article about a hamburger restaurant and a competing hamburger restaurant sponsors the article; we will pull the sponsorship and issue a refund.

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Kidgits Club “Dino Days” at Meadowood Mall on Saturday, July 19, 2014 at 11:00AM.

This Saturday, July 19, 2014 at 11:00AM until 12:00PM Meadowood Mall will host an event through Simon Mall’s Kidgit Club®. The event is called, “Dino Days”.

There will be many prehistoric activities:

• crafts
• Coloring
• Games
• A dino photo opportunity
• Pin the head on the dinosaur
• Decorate your own car sun visor
• Reassemble your own set of Dino bones
• Loads of Dinosaur coloring and activity sheets
• And a prize “Summer Fun Package” giveaway drawing that includes:
  • 4 sand pails
  • 4 sand shovels
  • 2 sand castle molds
  • And 2 sand sifters

Additionally, your kids can spin the wheel to select their choice of Dino Mask!

Come on out and enjoy the fun!

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By sponsoring this article, your sponsorship will display for a period of 180 days (6 months). If, for any reason, and it is up to the discretion of the authors of Windy Pinwheel, we feel content linked to or the name provided does not coincide with the objectives of this site for our audience we will issue a refund and pull the sponsorship of the article. This action does not limit you from sponsoring an article on our site again. However, by sponsoring again, we will issue the same review criteria as the prior sponsorship and if it fails, we will follow the same process as before and issue a refund and pull down the sponsorship. We truly appreciate the support of our audience and hope you can help offset our costs of operating this site by sponsoring our site articles.

For all reviews, please exercise discretion. If the sponsor of the article is in conflict of the topic of the article, we will pull down the sponsorship to remove any conflict of interest with the article at-hand. For instance, there is an article about a hamburger restaurant and a competing hamburger restaurant sponsors the article; we will pull the sponsorship and issue a refund.

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July is here and the heat of the summer marches on. Here are some fun activities to inspire your summer.

Well, July is here and this Friday is July 4th… Independence Day. For us, here at Windy Pinwheel, the first half of the year really flew by. With the heat of the Summer in full swing, we thought we would share some great ideas for fun Summer activities found throughout the internet… well mostly Pinterest of some things to do this July 4th and beyond.

July 4th in Reno, Sparks and Lake Tahoe, Nevada

First, we would like you to take a look bring some previous articles that we published last year around this time discussing the many things there are to do in the area on the July 4th Independence Day holiday, here and if you’re interested in a day trip to Lake Tahoe, please take a look at our write-up about where to go from a local’s perspective.

A summer treat

Have you ever had a root beer float? How about a root beer float popsicle? Well, now you can make your own. Find out how at Raining Hot Coupons.

I’m finished swimming, where can I hang and dry my swimsuit?

With Summer comes the unavoidable time for swimming, spalshing, and water play. So, where do you dry your swimsuit? Have no fear, this DIY project will set your mind at ease and bring a decorative element to your towel rack for all things swim and water-related. Learn how to make this craft at A Turtle’s Life for Me.

July 4th activities

• Over at Sophie’s World find out about some adventurous ways to have a fourth of July picnic.
• What Rose Knows shares with us how to create a beautiful patriotic-themed basket for hosting any dining experience during the fourth.
• I Love to Create brings back the 70’s the American way with their version of a DIY tie-dye red, white and blue shirt.

We hope these activies and other ideas inspire you this summer to keep cool and have a wonderful Independence Day holiday.

What’s your favorite article we shared with you in this post? Share by leaving a comment below.

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