A Day of DIY Lion Activities for Kids

As the proverb says, March (or Spring) will go "In like a lion, and out like a lamb" or "In like a lamb and out like a lion." 

Our March definitely went "Out like a Lion" so because we have some lion lovers in the house, we were trapped inside due to weather and sickness, and we had THE PERFECT book for such a thing, we had a day of "Lion Lessons".

THE BOOK

We read the book (multiple times) by Jon Agee which has seven steps to becoming a lion and then we proceeded to try them out for ourselves and added a few more.

TAIL MAKING

A $2.88 bundle of yarn allowed us to make lion tails and manes for our little lion cubs. For the tails we just cut off 10 or so strands a few feet long and then loosely braided them and added some extra pieces at the bottom. Kids can tuck the end into their pants or pants pocket and it stays in pretty well. 

MANE MAKING

For the mane we cut 15 small pieces (roughly 3 inches long each) and then tied them together with another small piece to form a "puff". We used that same piece of thread to tie the "puff" to an elastic headband. Once all the "puffs" were on the headband they can put it around their head and have a mane.

MUST HAVE PAWS

The kids got these slippers for Christmas and I have enjoyed watching them run around in them about as much as they have enjoyed using them. So funny and they love to use them to dress up as lions both on their hands and their feet. 

POUNCING PRACTICE

No, they didn't pounce on these two. These two watched the kids jump/pounce into a giant pile of blankets and pillows from a VERY safe distance.  

THE ARTWORK

We traced circles on art paper using dessert plates and then let the kids use washable paint and plastic forks to make manes around the circles which then became lions. Walmart has lion sun catchers for a dollar that you can use with paint or markers. Since we did these activities during springtime we had to throw a lion Easter Egg into the mix. 

THE EATS

This is the only picture I have from a lion party we had earlier in the year. Easy to make and the kiddos love it. You'll need two box cake mixes. Chocolate cupcakes for the mane and whatever flavor you choose for the face which is a circular cake pan.

LION DEN

We build a giant blanket and pillow fort under the kitchen table to be used as a lions den and they played happily in there for well over an hour. 

LION ROAR

It goes without saying that the Lion Roar was practiced All. Day. Long.

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Kid Tested and Approved Earth Day Activities

Small hands can change the world... if we teach them how. Its been a rainy wet and cold week so we have been trapped inside. Since we had time and energy on our hands we did a few things that you could use for Earth Day or just for fun. Remember Earth Day is all about re using and recycling so get creative and use what you have. Here is a glimpse at some things we did and a few extra ideas at the bottom. Happy scrolling.

Earth Day Cookies

Sugar cookies with the dough dyed green and blue. Put the blue dough on the cookie sheet and then add little pieces of green to the cookie. Bake as normal.

Green Grass Crowns

 Add bug and flower stickers. Cut the top to look like grass.

Egg Carton Catapillars

Cut an egg carton flip it over and let the kids color as they like. Then add google eyes and antennas.

 DIY Watering Can

Poke holes in the lid of a milk jug. The kids loved using this.... I'm thinking I might keep it for baths for a few days. It would be fun in the tub as a tub toy too.

Make Earth Day Play Dough

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
food coloring
1 cup flour
saucepan
Directions:
Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar and food coloring and heat until warm.
Remove from heat and add flour.
Stir and knead until smooth
Store in the fridge in an airtight bag.

 Make a Fairy or Troll Village

Pinterest has a million ideas for fairy villages but since I have boys we decided on a Troll village. We used small upside down flower pots to make little houses. Markers let you design them as you like, if you get small ones they are relatively inexpensive.

Other Earth Day Ideas

• Plant a flower. The dollar store has seeds and all kinds and sizes of plant containers, including hanging baskets. 
• Take the kids on an Earth Day walk with a garbage bag and pick up trash while talking to them about taking care of the Earth. 
• Use a pop bottle or container to plant seed and add a picture of the kids to the outside of it so when the plant grows it will look like their hair. (Try it with eggs as well. Click here to see our how to.)
• Go on an Earth Day scavenger hunt. Based on their age give them a list of things to find from leaves to sticks, to lady bugs and potato bugs. Visit the backyard, local park or trail, or head for the hills to see how many you can find. 
• Make Nature Prints using leaves and grass and your kids favorite play dough. You can also make your own dough. See our recipe above.
• Visit a local green house. 
• Use a paper plate to make an earth. 
• Visit the library for books on Earth Day.

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How to Make Your Own Easter Egg "People"

Random fact about Megan and I, we worked at a Dinosaur Museum for years and had to blow out the insides of eggs frequently (hundreds of eggs each no joke) for kids to make their own dinosaur eggs. We never thought that skill would come in handy but boy were we wrong. Enter having our own kids and Easter.

So, to get a blown out egg you simply use a push pin to poke a hole in the top and bottom of an egg. Then you put your mouth on one end and blow all the egg out. Rinse, and your egg is ready. 

With this project you could probably get away with using regular eggs that you crack and use and then rinse out but we blew ours out and then took off the tops in order to make little containers to plant seeds in.

Anyhow. Get your eggshells however you like and make sure the openings are big enough to put dirt inside.

Put a few spoonfuls of dirt into each egg. 

Place a few grass seeds in each egg.

Cover the seeds with a spoonful or two more of dirt.

Place in a sunlit area and keep moist. We have been using a spray bottle to water ours.

We are waiting for ours to grow grass before we draw faces on the eggs with marker but in hindsight that might have been a better idea before we planted anything inside of them. 

Wait for your grass to grow and make "hair" on your little egg friends.  

We'll add more photos once we get something to grow. :) Fingers crossed as the kiddos are pretty excited about seeing something come out of those eggs.

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Some Bunny Loves You Treat Bag

We made chocolate chip cookies for a neighbors birthday and wanted to dress it up a bit. So, instead of the plain old paper plate with plastic wrap on top we made this little bunny bag from a brown lunch sack and it was so easy. Just the way we like projects to be. Enjoy.

• Lay it flat and draw this pattern on it. 
• Cut it out 
• Draw a nose and whiskers.
• Open it up and place your treats inside.
• Tie a bow around the ears. (Attach a note if you like.)
• Deliver

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How To Host A Leprechaun Party

The kiddos are just starting to understand what a Leprechaun is so we had a Leprechaun party to search for Leprechaun Gold, build a Leprechaun Village, and snack on green treats. Fingers crossed we have a visit to our village sometime from a  sneaky little leprechaun leaving treats.

I made a quick trip to the dollar store for a few themed St Patty's Day items. Gold coins, mini green hats, stickers, and some sparkly green shamrocks. I also picked up a rainbow of paint swatches.

Then I pulled out random things from my house and crafty stash. Popsicle sticks, yarn, clothes pins, cookie cutters, green and gold paint, and a footprint stamp I use for baby showers. 

Finally, I keep a box of just random stuff. Used hot chocolate cans, baby food jar lids. Just weird random stuff so when the time comes for the kids or myself to create something we have a box of go to building stuff. Saves money and makes you be creative.

We laid out our goods and got to work. We built a village fit for any Leprechaun and had so much fun doing it. We pulled it off the kitchen table and put it on the floor out of the way where the kids can play with it for a week or so until its time to move on to the next holiday.

For our party snacks we put some Wiltons Green Melting Chocolate on the kids favorite pretzels and added some green sprinkles.

When we were done village building we headed outside to search for leprechaun gold. We hid pieces of gold and the kids put it in little "Lucky" sacks we made with glue and glitter. Easy easy.

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