Crafts and Activities

Hallowe’en Sensory Game

This Hallowe’en sensory game is so much fun! It combines a very popular sensory material with learning and fun. This game engages the visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory systems.

I remember when I was about eight years old. The neighbourhood moms put together a Hallowe’en party for all the kids. One of the activities was us having to reach our hands into things and guess what was inside.

It was things like cooked spaghetti (brains) or jello (guts). I still remember the feeling of the squishy spaghetti noodles slipping between my fingers. Yuck!

This sensory game is a bit of a play on that idea. It uses one of the most popular sensory materials out there, slime.

How to Play the Hallowe’en Sensory Game:

In order to set this game up, you’ll need to first make one or several recipes of fluffy slime. There is a recipe listed below. The reason that you want to use fluffy slime for this is that it sticks to hands less than other slime does.

Take a medium sized bowl or plastic container and put a layer of slime inside. Add in some small Hallowe’en trinkets and toys. Put another layer of slime and another layer of small toys. Top with more slime to cover the toys. Ideas of toys to use:

For older kids, you can pick gory type toys like the Zombie fingers in a black slime for maximum fun factor. For younger kids, brighter coloured slime and cute little toys are best.

There are two ways to play. Of course, if you can’t decide which to try, you can always play both versions!

Have each child reach in and retrieve an item. You can let them keep their item as a prize.
Have each child reach into the container and try to guess (without looking at the item) what the item is only using their sense of touch (tactile).

Fluffy Slime Recipe:

16 oz. Elmer’s washable white school glue
3 cups of shaving cream
food colouring or acrylic paint
1 cup liquid starch

In a large bowl, mix together the glue and shaving cream. Add some food colouring or paint in the colour you want to create. With fluffy slime, because of the shaving cream, you’ll have to use more colouring than you do with regular slime to get the same colours.

Once the glue, shaving cream, and colour are well mixed, slowly begin to add in the liquid starch. Continue to stir and add the starch in until the mixture begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a clump.

At this point, remove it from the bowl with your hands. Knead it until it has reached the consistency of slime. It is now ready to be used to set up the Hallowe’en game.

You can use all one colour of slime or make several colours and combine them or layer them. You can use Hallowe’en colours like black and orange or green and purple. Any colour will work though. It just looks more Hallowe’en-y if the colours fit. I hope you enjoy our little Hallowe’en sensory game. It would be fun for the classroom, home, or for a Hallowe’en party.

Check out these other Hallowe’en Sensory Activities:

Eyeball Sensory Bin

Monsters Sensory Bin

How To Make Squishies

By Sharla Kostelyk

My kids love squishies. They are a great sensory tool. I came up with the idea to make a DIY squishy for them. I had a hard time figuring out how to make them myself until I stumbled upon something. That’s how these DIY Emoji Squishies were born. I found that the size of these was perfect for my kids to squeeze. They fit easily into their hands. So satisfying to squish!

Squishy toys help you release intense emotions, relieve stress, and get that happy chemical (dopamine) going, leading to those feel good feelings. They can also help boost focus, memory, and attention. Read more about the benefits of squishy toys.

Materials to make Homemade Emoji Squishies:

round makeup sponges (we found these colourful ones at the dollar store)
permanent markers in a variety of colours (you’ll need black and red at minimum)

How to make Homemade Emoji Squishies:

Draw an emoji face onto each round makeup sponge with permanent markers.

Set them aside overnight to dry. It is important that you resist the urge to squish them until they are fully dry or the faces will smear. We made that mistake initially. And sad little smudged faces are not cute!Once they have sat overnight, squish them, play with them, share them.

Toss some into backpacks or purses for on-the-go fidgets.

I love how these emoji squishies are not only a sensory tool, but a great way to help kids talk about their emotions too. You know I’m all about helping kids to develop an emotional vocabulary and making it fun and natural for them to talk about their feelings. I encouraged the kids to tell stories using the emoji faces. I thought this would be a great way for them to practise their emotional vocabulary.

My plan may have backfired a bit when little miss here decided to create a love story between two of the emoji faces. Her little drama ended in them kissing! Silly girl!If you’re able to find your makeup sponges at the dollar store, then these are so inexpensive to make. Ours came in a pack of 6, making these less than 25 cents each to make! They would be cute to give as party favours or to make with a group.

They are a nice change up for kids to use instead of a stress ball as they have a similar effect. These are also a great fidget toy to have in the classroom as they don’t make any noise.

Join me for a free 5 part email series, Little Hearts, Big Worries offering resources and hope for parents.

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DIY Mermaid Stress Balls

Shark Week Sensory Bottle

Unicorn Fluffy Slime

Rainbow Confetti Party Slime

By Sharla Kostelyk

Whether you are new to the slime craze train or barreling full speed ahead down the tracks, you’ll love this simple rainbow confetti party slime.

My kids are fully on board the slime train, so we have had the chance to make many types. By adding a small twist to each type, they never seem to get bored of it.

As with all slime recipes, supervise younger children, wash hands and surfaces that come into contact with the slime after playing, and avoid contact with clothing and hair.

Trust me on this one: slime and hair are a nasty combination!

Although I experiment with different types of slime, I prefer glue based slimes as they seem to have the best success rates. The type of glue you use matters, so rather than experiment, I suggest you use Elmer’s Washable School Glue. It’s tried and true.

There are many times when I suggest buying items from the dollar store or using a no-name brand, but this is not one of those times. If your kids are fully hooked on making slime, I suggest buying it by the gallon!

Rainbow Confetti Party Slime Recipe:

1/2 cup Elmer’s white glue
1/2 cup water
Wilton Color Right liquid (black)
1/4 cup liquid starch
rainbow sprinkles

Adult supervision is recommended for making the slime as it does involve a chemical reaction. I like to use the wide popsicle sticks (also called craft sticks) for mixing because I can throw them away afterwards. Spoons work as well of course, but I find the glue a bit finicky to get off after.

In a bowl, mix 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 cup of glue.
Mix in the liquid color.*
Pour in the liquid starch.
Stir. Keep stirring until the liquid is gone and a glob of slime forms.
Knead the slime. It will be stringy and goopy in the beginning, but will quickly become more and more the consistency of slime.
Set the slime down and allow it to flatten out.
Sprinkle with the confetti sprinkles and let it sit 20 seconds or so.
Pick the slime up from underneath.

Elmer’s Liquid School Glue, Washable, 1 Gallon Rainbow Sprinkles Wilton Color Right Food Color Black Sta-Flo Liquid Starch

*Gel based food dyes are hard to mix into slimes and even harder to create a uniform colour with. I use a liquid based food dye for this reason.

Note that as the slime is played with, the sprinkles will mix in and lose their coloring, but that’s all part of the fun. Once they are dissolved, it will look like a completely new slime! Slime is great for sensory play. This particular one would be fun to make at a birthday party. Each of the kids could take home their slime in a small plastic container as a party favour.

For awesome slime recipes at your fingertips, check out The Slime Book – From Edible Slime to Glow-in-the-Dark Slime – it’s got it all!

Check out these other slime recipes:

Crunchy Slime With Mardi Gras Beads

Holiday Jingle Bell Slime

A Summer Bucket List for Simple Fun

By Sharla Kostelyk

Do you remember lazy summer days spent splashing in a blow up pool with the stickiness of melting popsicles dripping down your hand? The days when you rode your bike with kids kids from the neighbourhood and played hopscotch and raced back home before the streetlights came on? It’s that kind of old-fashioned summer that I’m trying to recreate with this Summer Bucket List.

Last year, I made a Summer Bucket List for Moms Who Want to Engage because I became aware of how often I watch my kids having fun but don’t actually join in with them. It was the perfect plan for us for that season of our life. This year, I needed something different.

This year has been chaotic. I am feeling the need to simplify and get back to basics. That led me to creating this summer bucket list. The one I made for this upcoming season is one full of ideas that I remember doing in my childhood summers. I hope you are able to find some gems on here for your family.

I have tried to keep the ideas easy and inexpensive. This will help me to create a simple summer full of childhood memories for my kids.

Summer Bucket List:

Climb trees.
Go berry picking. (Saskatoons are my favourite!)
Ride bikes.
Play horseshoes.
Eat watermelon.
Have a watermelon seed spitting contest.
Count the seconds between the thunder and the lightning during a summer storm.
Blow bubbles.
Play mini golf.
Tent in the backyard.
Have a picnic.
Go fly a kite. (I cannot type that without the Mary Poppins song going through my head!)
Run through a sprinkler.
Go to a splash park.
Eat ice cream…with fixings!
Watch a parade.
Jump rope.
Build tin can stilts.
Fly paper airplanes.
Fish in the pond.
Go bowling.
Make popsicles. Let the kids invent their own popsicle recipes.
Find pictures in the clouds.
Skip rocks.
Tell ghost stories around a campfire.
Sing loudly in the van.
Play board games.
Make a DIY slip ‘n’ slide.
Play tag.
Go to a Farmer’s Market.
Cheer for a local team.
Have a water fight.
Go for a walk.
Make a lemonade stand.
Play hopscotch.
Play cards on a rainy day.
Build a fort.
Go camping.
Paint rocks.
Play in sensory bins.
Run through long grass.
Have a hula hoop contest.
Make s’mores.
Watch fireworks.
Collect seashells on the beach.
Walk barefoot.
Play on the trampoline with a sprinkler running underneath.
Build sandcastles.
Have a three-legged race.
Participate in the summer reading program at the library.
Host a neighbourhood penny carnival.
Make shrinkydinks.
Read by flashlight under the covers.
Play dress-up.
Have fun with face paint.
Put on a puppet show.
Play hide and seek.
Draw with sidewalk chalk.
Go on scavenger hunts.
Skip. (you can, but do not have to, sing “Skip to my Loo” while skipping!)
Get dirty.
Go to the playground.
Plant a garden or even just a flower.
Stay up late.
Make a tin can and string telephone.
Have a family fun night.
Go on a road trip.
Catch butterflies.
Dig up worms.
Write and mail letters to relatives, the old fashioned way, with stamps.
Help out a neighbour.
Play the telephone game. (sometimes called the whisper game)
Make real lemonade.
Red Rover, Red Rover, we call…
Have a sack race.

You can print off a copy of A Bucket List for a Simpler Summer if you want to use it to create your own old- fashioned summer for your kids. I’d love to see pictures of how it goes.

If you are looking for other fun summer ideas, you may be interested in checking out my Summer Sensory Activities Series.

The Bag Game

By Sharla Kostelyk

Our neighbour Christie introduced our family to the Bag Game years ago and it is always a hit on family game night. This easy game requires exactly one item and can be played anywhere. It can be played with large groups or small groups and with people of all ages. It seriously does not get simpler or better than The Bag Game!

We have played the Bag Game both outside and inside. We once played it with an empty cereal box because we didn’t have a paper bag to use. It is a great boredom buster on a snow day and an even better ice breaker at group events or a game for youth.

As long as you have a paper bag, this game costs nothing and couldn’t be simpler to set up. We always save paper bags now from stores or take-out at restaurants just for this purpose.

Our family loves this activity. There is always much hilarity that ensues as everyone stands around watching the person whose turn it is. There is laughter and cheering. Sometimes, there are some attempts to distract the person, especially when it comes to siblings!

How to Play The Paper Bag Game

Materials needed:

paper bag or cereal box

Instructions:

Place an empty paper bag on the floor.
Standing on one foot, each player must take a turn to retrieve the bag using only their mouth.
Once the bag is successfully retrieved, that player tears off the piece of the bag that their mouth touched.
In this way, the bag slowly gets lower and lower to the ground.
Once a player’s raised foot touches the ground or one of their hands touches the ground, they are eliminated from the game.
The last person remaining in the game is the winner.

You will want to play this in a fairly large area so that everyone has room to manoeuvre. We have found that everyone develops a bit of their own style in this game. Some put their other leg way up high and use it as a counterbalance. Some crouch low to the ground with their whole body while others bend their upper half down. One of our sons places one foot on top of the other before crouching down.

The Bag Game Variations

For younger children or those with mobility issues, you can play the game exactly the same way but allow both feet to be touching the ground.

You can choose to have some players be allowed this exception while others play with the traditional rules of the game.

Another variation is to allow each player three strikes per turn or per game wherein their raised foot or one of their hands can touch the ground twice without that player being eliminated.

We have a large family and we enjoy finding family games that we can all do together. This one has quickly become a favourite.

You’ll notice from the blurry pictures that this is an active game with a lot of movement. There can be some pretty funny contortions, particularly when the bag gets down really low. There have been times in our competitive family when all that was left of the bag was a single piece of paper laying flat on the ground and our son managed to retrieve it!

The Bag Game is an easy activity for large groups with a variety of ages and abilities. It can be played at youth groups, camp, family reunions, Christmas parties, birthday parties, retirement celebrations, or in a classroom.

Looking for more super cool ideas for family fun or resources to help you connect with your child? Join our free 5 Days to Better Family Connection email series.

Click here for more fun family games:

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The Flour Game

Minute to Win It Games

The Coolest Slime Recipes

By Sharla Kostelyk

Slime has been gaining in popularity as parents and kids discover its play and sensory possibilities. If you are getting bored with the usual slime ideas, these cool slime recipes are sure to bring a new level of excitement to your slime play!