5 Simple Activites That Children Will Love

Whether your an older sibling, parent, or babysitter, you know that children lose focus quickly, so it's best to have various activities for them to do. Instead of going to the store and buying every kind of toy under the sun, how about making some of them at home? If the children are old enough, you can also have them help you, turning the creation into activities in themselves.
The first craft is a classic: play dough. Only this play dough makes your hands feel like you've just gotten back from a spa day. Just mix 2 parts corn starch with 1 part conditioner, the exact amount depending on how much play dough you want. Because different conditioners have different consistencies, you might have to alter the amounts slightly to get a doughy consistency. Use food coloring to color your dough. While it feels lighter than normal play dough, it is just as pliable and will take longer to dry out. To keep it from drying out, place it is a plastic container or wrap it with Saran wrap.
The next craft is making "goop" or silly putty. Mix 1 cup of Elmer's all-purpose glue with food coloring in the color of your choice. Make sure it is mixed thoroughly. Add 1/2 cup of Sta-Flo liquid starch. Keep in a Zip-Lock bag or an air tight container in the refrigerator for best results.
Next are Rainbow Bubble Snakes. I've never seen an equivalent of this in a store anywhere, but it's great fun for when its warm enough to play outside. All you need is an empty plastic water bottle, a sock, dish soap, and food coloring. Start by cutting the bottom 1/2 inch of the water bottle off, sliding the sock over the bottom (so that the neck that you drink from is still exposed) and secure the sock with duct tape or a rubber band. Mix dish soap with water in a shallow dish. Dip the sock end of the water in the soapy mixture and blow through the neck of the bottle. Bubbles will come shooting out the sock! To make the bubbles colored, drip food coloring onto the sock.
If your baby is still in the "wants to put everything I see into my mouth" then you might be worried about letting them with any paints in fear that they'll start licking it off their fingers. But if you make this finger paint at home from the same foods that you eat, you won't have to worry about them. Bonus: they're scented! Most likely your baby won't need a lot of paint, mix 3 Tablespoons of plain yogurt with half a packet of Kool Aid of different colors. You can also mix different kinds of Kool Aid to create your own colors. If you don't want the paint to be scented, substitute the Kool Aid with a drop of food coloring.
The last activity is mind-blowingly simply, but great for kids of all ages when they're out playing after the sun has gone down.  Just break open glow sticks, and pour them into your bubble blowing solution and voila! Glow in the dark bubbles.