It stinks seeing your kid sick and miserable. And if you’re anything like our family, your kid has been home sick and miserable a lot this year. So I put together 5 easy, low-key activities to do with your kids when they’re on the mend, but not ready to go back to school.

[ONE] Make a book

Coloring is a pretty low-key activity to do when your kiddo is feeling under the weather. Make it special by turning all their artwork into a book. Have your little artist make a special cover, then hole punch the side and tie string to create a book bind.

[TWO] Do a Drive-In Movie – in the Living Room

This is one of my favorite “mom hacks”. Turn watching a ton of tv into an activity by setting up a “drive-in movie”. Use a box to make a “car” – and and if your kid is up for a low-key activity, have them help decorate. For a non-crafty version, bring the cozy coup (or similar vehicle toy) inside for the day. Or heck, you could even use a laundry basket with a few pillows to make it comfy. Then you’re ready for your drive-in movie marathon.

[THREE] Have a fun bath

Spending time in a steamy bathroom is generally good for a snotty nose. Make it fun by adding in glow sticks, pom poms, plastic block toys (like LEGO Duplos), or even a popsicle. And no need to wait until bedtime – you can do a fun bath at any time of day.  

[FOUR] Build a block city

You know when you get to the point where you’ve been home a few days and all the toys have been pulled out? This is the activity for then. Grab your roads rug or make roadways by drawing on a flattened box. Then use blocks, LEGOS, Magnatiles, and whatever else is already scattered around your house to erect buildings for your city.

[FIVE] Easy sensory bin

I love an easy sensory bin because it’s great to be able to pull out our bin for something simple to do to pass the time. It’s also a simple activity to put on the floor that requires little energy but is still interesting and engaging. If you need ideas, I’ve got a whole list of easy sensory bins that typically take less than 10 minutes to setup and can easily be stored away.

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If you enjoyed this post, don’t miss our other fun at-home activities! And make sure to follow One Little Small on Pinterest for even more great ideas.

Looking to spend some koala-ty time doing activities with your kids? Here are 5 easy Valentine’s Day themed activities and crafts to do with your little ones this month. Valentine’s Day puns not included (for the most part).

[ONE] Valentine’s Day Sensory Bin

An easy, festive activity that can be used all month long is a Valentine’s Day Sensory Bin. For our V-Day sensory bin, I dyed rice red and pink, and added in assorted (durable) heart decorations. We keep our sensory bin in a container with a lid, making it super easy to pull out and enjoy any time.

[TWO] Toilet Paper Tube Heart Painting

This is the perfect activity for a kid who loves to paint. Here’s what to do: Take an empty toilet paper roll tube. Bend one side down into a point and the opposite side inwards to form a heart. It may help to tape around the circumference of the tube to keep the heart shape. 

Pour a palette of Valentine’s Day colors onto a paper plate, give the kiddos a canvas (construction paper), and let them stamp hearts using one end of the TP roll. Soon you’ll have a beautiful masterpiece!

[THREE] Heart Mosaic Craft

I loved this craft for when Ben was a toddler. It was a super easy way to make pretty valentines for our families. And it was a lot less messy than using paint.

Here’s what to do: Cut out hearts from white or light-colored construction paper. Then cut out small pieces of red, pink, and purple tissue paper. Pour some glue or mod podge onto a paper plate. Finally, use a sponge brush to paint the hearts and put the tissue paper onto the heart. You can also use a glue stick depending on your child’s age.

Let the hearts dry overnight before sending them out as valentines – or use as decorations to hang up around the house.

[FOUR] Love Monsters

One craft we’ve had fun making this year is TP Roll Monsters. So much so that we made TP Roll Monsters on Halloween, and then made Monster Turkeys out of paper plates and TP roll tubes on Thanksgiving. Carrying the tradition through, it only makes sense to make Love Monsters out of our stock of empty toilet paper tubes. However, you can easily modify this craft to make “love bugs” instead of monsters, if that’s more your jam.

Here’s what you’ll need: a few empty toilet paper rolls, a variety of age-appropriate art supplies (such as markers, crayons, etc), an assortment of stick-on or glue on decorations (stickers, adhesive gems, small heart shapes, etc.), and googly eyes. Trust me on the googly eyes – it makes the end result so much more fun (and funny).

Then let your kiddos go to town! There’s no right way for a love monster to look, so this is a perfect craft for creative kids!

[FIVE] Make Valentines

This make seem like an obvious choice, but I’ve found that family and neighbors love receiving a Valentine in the mail from my little one – no matter how old he is.

When Ben was a baby, I traced his hand and glued it on top of a heart and then onto card stock. Other years we made a heart mosaic or just colored a heart that I later glued onto a card. The younger they are, the simpler the craft should be.

Now that he is a bit older and actually enjoys spending time making valentines, I will pick up a DIY valentines kit from the store with everything we need. That way I can enjoy making one too – instead of being focused on set-up and clean up.

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I hope you liked these easy Valentine’s Day activities a whole guac! Happy Valentine’s Day, friends!

If you enjoyed this post, don’t miss our other fun at-home activities! And make sure to follow One Little Small on Pinterest for even more great ideas.

Looking to gobble up some fun? Here are 5 easy Thanksgiving turkey-themed activities and crafts to do with your little ones this Thanksgiving.

[ONE] Paper Plate Turkey

The Paper Plate Turkey is a fun activity for creative kiddos, and can be used as Thanksgiving decor once it’s complete. For this activity, you’ll need a white paper plate, toilet paper roll tube, glue, art supplies (markers, crayons, paint, etc.), and various decorative craft supplies – such as feathers, pom poms, stickers, googly eyes, and more.

Cut the paper plate in half, and let your child go to town decorating the turkey’s body (toilet paper roll tube) and fan (the paper plate). Once their masterpiece is complete, glue the TP roll to the paper plate. Let dry before displaying.

[TWO] Pumpkin Turkey

Have any pumpkins leftover from Halloween? Put them to use with this Pumpkin Turkey activity. For this activity you will need a pumpkin, hammer (we used a plastic toy hammer), golf tees, and art supplies to create a turkey face.

We started by using paint markers to create a turkey face on our pumpkin (the one pictured is a turkey monster pumpkin). Once the face was dry, we created the turkey’s fan by using colored golf tees and hammering them into the back. It does take a certain amount of strength to hammer the golf tees in so that they stay in the pumpkin, so this activity is probably best for ages 3 and up.

For a pumpkin-free version of this activity, use a large ball of play-doh similar dough.

[THREE] Color Match Turkey

There are so many ways to do this activity. The main focus is to match some sort of item or medium to different colored turkey feathers.

I chose to setup our color match turkey activity to focus on cutting and glueing skills. I started by drawing a turkey on a large piece of paper. Next, I drew feathers, outlining each with a different color marker. Last, I gathered scrap paper in all the different colors of the feathers.

To make the turkey come to life, my son cut up the paper into smaller pieces, then glued the pieces to each corresponding feather. 

[FOUR] Nature Turkey

Take all those pinecones and leaves that your kiddo insists on keeping in your home and turn it all into a Nature Turkey. For this activity you’ll need a pinecone, a variety of leaves in different sizes, play-doh, piece of cardboard or paper plate, and a turkey face.

To create the turkey’s body, I used play-doh to stick the pinecone upright on a piece of cardboard. You can also use a paper plate or other surface you don’t mind getting play-doh on. I created a simple turkey face with some scrap paper from the Color Match Turkey activity and more play-doh to stick that onto the pinecone.

To create the turkey’s fan, have your child stick the leaves in the back of the pinecone. This is MUCH harder than it sounds! If anyone starts to get frustrated, put more play-doh on the back of the turkey, and then stick the leaves to the play-doh.

[FIVE] Thankful Turkey

I love the idea of creating a Thankful Turkey every year. It’s a great opportunity to teach young children about the concept of being thankful. I started this tradition with my son when he was 3 years old.

To create our thankful turkey, I used two different sized mixing bowls and traced 2 circles on a large piece of brown construction paper. Next, I cut out the two circles, along with feathers I traced on pieces of different colored construction paper. I glued the turkey’s body onto a large piece of construction paper and decorated the turkey’s face and legs.

To create the turkey’s fan, add a feather with one thing your child is thankful for throughout November.

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I hope you have fun doing these turkey-themed activities with your little turkeys this Thanksgiving.

If you enjoyed this post, don’t miss our other fun at-home activities! And make sure to follow One Little Small on Pinterest for even more great ideas.

Bummed about this lovely, rainy October weather? Here are 5 easy Halloween activities to keep your toddler or preschooler entertained at home.

[ONE] Halloween Bubble Foam

Break out your sensory bin and body wash for this sudsy fun activity. Bubble foam is an easy activity to whip up, and becomes a Halloween activity by adding food coloring and spooky trinkets. For this activity you’ll need:

• Mixer (stand or hand held)
• 2 cups of water
• 1/2 cup of body wash
• Food coloring

Combine water, body wash (any brand), and food coloring (4 drops of yellow and 2 drops of red to make orange) in bowl. Mix on HIGH until enough foam is made to fill your container. Pour foam into sensory bin or large, shallow container. Add in smaller sized containers and scoops, paint brushes and a whisk. Top off with spooky Halloween trinkets such as eyeballs and spider rings.

[TWO] Toilet Paper Tube Monsters

You really can’t go wrong with this activity. Grab a few empty toilet paper rolls, a variety of age-appropriate art supplies, and presto – you’re ready to create your own hoard of monsters.

When making TP monsters with my four year old, we used markers, colored pencils, Halloween foam shapes, glue, and googly eyes. The googly eyes were a huge hit during this activity, but really, any art supplies you have around the house will work.

[THREE] Glow Stick Bath

Glow sticks are an easy way to jazz up bath time. This time of year you can find glow sticks by the Halloween candy or the party supplies at your local grocery store. Just crack 2 or 3 glow sticks, toss them in the tub, and turn off the lights for some spooky splish splash fun.

And it doesn’t have to be pitch black in the room for a glow stick bath to be fun! Just dim the lights slightly for a mid-day bath.

[FOUR] Popsicle Sticks Spider Web

This Halloween activity is best for slightly older kids or adults – as I enjoyed making a popsicle sticks spider web, but my son did not. For this activity, you’ll need:

• 3 popsicle sticks
• Glue
• Yarn
• A decorative spider or spider ring

Arrange the 3 popsicle sticks in an asterisk* shape. Glue together in the center of each stick. Once dried, cut a long piece of yarn and tie to one stick towards the center of the asterisk. Begin weaving the yarn around the shape, looping the string once or twice around each stick. To finish, tie off the end of the web, and welcome your little spider friend to their new home.

[FIVE] Halloween Sensory Bin

This easy Halloween sensory bin takes about 10 minutes to put together and can be used all month long. You’ll need a large container, red lentils, smaller containers & scoops, and some spooky trinkets. You can check out all the details – including shopping links, through the button below.

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Rainy days are no fun when you’re trying to squeeze in all that outdoor Halloween fun. But these spooky activities can help make the days stuck indoors a bit less gloomy.

What’s more festive for the Fourth of July than fireworks? Here’s an activity to create some patriotic artwork with your little one this Independence Day.

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Steps

1. Make the firework stamps from the toilet paper roll tubes. Take toilet paper roll tube and cut about a third of the way up. Repeat, cutting strips all the way around the circumference of the roll. The strips can be as thick or thin as you’d like!

2. Fan the pieces out from the center of the roll, creating the firework shape.

3. Repeat for each roll. 2-3 rolls are ideal to create a variety of fireworks.
4. Squirt paint on to paint, tray or anything with a flat surface. Add glitter and mix into paint for some extra pizzazz.

5. Then let the kiddos paint their little hearts out.

This activity can also easily be modified to make spiders, suns, flowers, stars and more!

Watch Toilet Paper Roll Fireworks Painting in action on @onelittlesmallblog Instagram