7 Fun Activities for Children ...

A simple sugar cookie dough recipe is actually a form of cheap fun for kids. If you aren't the baking type or can't find a good recipe for sugar cookie dough, there are cookie mixes at the grocery store that only require a couple of eggs, some oil, and a little bit of water. Buy a couple of containers of sprinkles and let the kids have a blast.

You don't have to have a huge yard to plant a garden. Kids can grow herbs in any size of container; old yogurt cups, egg cartons, Styrofoam trays, or a chipped teapot. This can easily be an all day activity. If you don't want to take the kids out to buy seeds, then see what you have at home already. Dried beans can be planted and kids have fun watching the plants grow, even if they aren't interested in eating what the plant produces later on.

Having a sewing machine might be handy, but it isn't necessary. You can cut the legs off of an old pair of pants, hem one end, allow the kids to add some pillow stuffing or wadded up old material, and then sew the other end closed to make a tiny pillow. A no-sew approach is to cut two squares of the same size out of fleece, cut 3 inch long strips all around the edge of each square, and then tie the two squares together while leaving a small opening to add stuffing to the pillow through. Kids can easily tie the edges to form the pillow and they like being able to make the pillow all on their own.

Cut a potato in half and then cut a shape into the end of the cut portion of the potato. A star is very easy to make, but the choice in designs is virtually endless. Pour a small amount of paint into a saucer and show the kids how to dip their potato shape into the paint and then press it onto a piece of paper. Kids get a kick out of the idea of painting with food. If you use a rather large potato, the end with the shape can be cut off and a new shape can be made into the fresh piece of potato, so you won't be wasting an entire potato for a single shape.

Kids usually love to pretend they are someone or something else and they are rather creative as well. Have them come up with some ideas for a play, devise costumes, and then videotape their production. Not only with they have fun doing all of this, but think of the great video you will have when it's all finished.

I remember how in awe my son was when I showed him the magic of combining vinegar and baking soda. A volcano can be built out of anything, depending on how fancy you want to make it. This is another project that can take all day if you want it to. I like to make volcanoes out of paper mache, so they can be very detailed and then painted to look more realistic. Once the volcano is complete, dump a lot of baking soda into the opening of the volcano, put a few drops of red food coloring, and then pour in a cup of vinegar. I like to do this project outside or place the volcano in the bathtub before adding the vinegar, in order to try and minimize the mess I make.

Empty Pringles potato chip cans work best, but paper towel or toilet paper tubes will also work. You'll need to cut three rectangles out of an empty cereal box that are as long as the container being used, but narrow enough to fit inside the container. Cut each rectangle strip so that they can be set inside the container in a triangle formation. Each strip will need to be covered in aluminum foil on one side. The shiny sides need to be facing one another once the triangle is made. Cover the end of the tube with wax paper and a rubber band. Add some colorful beads to the tube and use a couple of pieces of dark tissue paper to cover the end. Poke a small hole in the tissue paper and hold the kaleidoscope towards the light. Twirl the tube slowly to watch the colorful beads create beautiful designs. If using the Pringles can, you'll need to add the beads, put the lid on the top of the can, and poke a hole in the shiny silver end of the can to look through. The tube will need to r

emain level so the beads don't end up around the eye piece. This might be tricky for very little kids to understand.

I hope these 7 fun activities for children will give you ideas on things to do with your kids. Feel free to pass them on to others who are in need of kids' activities and let me know if you find an easier way to do any of these! What fun activities have you done with kids in the past?

Top Photo Credit: tonikins