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Easy Summer Crafts to Keep Kids Entertained
704 Plays10 days ago
This week on Just 4 Moms, we’re diving headfirst into the sweet chaos of summer with our favorite no-prep arts and crafts, simple entertainment ideas, and must-have beach hacks for moms who just want their kids occupied without spending hours setting things up.
Host Charlotte kicks us off with summer survival talk and tips for beach days—think collapsible wagons, wine Yetis, sand anchors, and more. We each share our go-to activities for crafting with kids of all ages, including everything from rock painting and pom-pom art to Q-tip masterpieces and giant coloring posters.
Plus, we’re joined by special guest Cassie Stevens, a retired elementary art teacher, who shares brilliant tips for getting even the most reluctant kids into crafting. Whether your kids love stickers, nature art, or homemade playdough, there’s something for every mom in this episode.
And don’t miss our Mom Fails and Pits and Peaks of the Week — because if you’re not laughing, you might be crying into your tie-dye kit.
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Transcript
Introduction and Weather Talk
00:00:00
Speaker
I legit have my heater on. I know. Isn't this weather? What a weird – And it's supposed to be 90 tomorrow? Is it? not I'm sorry. Not tomorrow. I'm sorry. have no brain.
00:00:10
Speaker
Next week. That's okay, though. I mean, summer. yeah here Oh, wow, Callie. It's like 96 all next week. oh Yeah. She didn't believe you. There's waves. She had to check her app.
00:00:21
Speaker
Well, I'm just like, oh, is it going to rain again? Well, today is the first day that feels – like actual summer vacation like we had a little bit last week. Wait, when's your last day, Meg?
00:00:33
Speaker
Tomorrow. Oh God. Okay. So we, my, I just, I'm so grouchy about it all. Cause I can just see how my summer is going to go today. i had to wake up at six, 10 so I could wake my child up so that I could drive him to lifting at seven. I had to pick him up at nine.
00:00:50
Speaker
I had to take another child to a play date at 1130. I had to come home. This is a nice break. But at some point, my son better get on his scooter and drive to his buddy's house because they're giving him a ride to the next round of football.
00:01:03
Speaker
Then I have to, I don't have to pick up my kid from the playbate play date. Then the one kid that has been like on a book for the last three days because I won't entertain him wants to go get sunglasses or something. So I'm going to do that. And then I have to take another kid to look. Like I don't have more than an hour.
00:01:20
Speaker
10 minutes before I'm onto the next. And so it's just, I find i cannot get into, like, I can't walk the dog. I can't figure out like what my, and I need to get on board with it. Although every week it's going to be a slightly different schedule. but I hate those kind of, I hate it when, yeah.
00:01:37
Speaker
And it's like, I, and then I'm going to in the house is a disaster because there's so many people home, you know, when you have those days when you're like, when can I address all of this? And it's like October. Yeah. like Yeah. it with yes Seriously. Right.
00:01:51
Speaker
Okay. Anyways. Anyways, let's get started on the actual episode because none of my bitching and moaning is going to make it.
Podcast Focus and Hosts Intro
00:02:02
Speaker
Welcome to Just for Moms. I'm Charlotte. I'm Caitlin. I'm Megan. And I'm Callie. We are regular moms talking about regular stuff like aging, parenthood, work-life balance, and figuring out what's for dinner.
00:02:14
Speaker
Again, no-judgment zone to talk, laugh, and maybe cry about all the things women think about on a daily basis. things plan the thing Hi, everyone. Welcome back. This is Just for Moms.
00:02:26
Speaker
We're well, episode 24, something like that,
00:02:31
Speaker
25. Maybe even, which is exciting. We're now, this, we're recording, I promise you guys we're recording in the summer.
Summer Recording Plans
00:02:38
Speaker
It's so cold, but this will air sometime in July. And I was looking ahead today. i was saying before we started that today is sort of our first official day when everyone's home and we're just trying to figure out summer.
Beach Trip Tips and Gadgets
00:02:51
Speaker
And I was thinking ahead because we do, we're going to beach for the 4th of July and then we're going to go back in August. And so I was wondering, do you guys have a favorite like beach gadget, beach hack?
00:03:04
Speaker
Like, is there something that has just helped you? We all live on the beach. What are some things that you guys have that just make your life easier on the beach? Callie, I feel like this is in your wheelhouse.
00:03:15
Speaker
You must have a bunch of things. Yeah, we're not huge beach people, but I do love gadgets. So my big thing is um camp towels. i So these are like microfiber towels. You can get them in various sizes, but they're really thin and they fold up super tiny because like beach towels are huge.
00:03:32
Speaker
And if you're going to the beach and you know it's fine, but like I keep camp towels stashed like in my kids go bags, like in my trunk because inevitably you always... end up at the beach or the kid ends up in the splash pad or they're wet and they're so tiny that they don't take up space so those are like my favorite just kind of like summer you're gonna be outside type of thing love did you share something recently that was like a special sponge or a thing to get sand off was that you or was that another yeah I don't know if it was, I mean, I've talked about it. I haven't recently. Yeah. Sandscreen. They're like these little um bags that are filled with like a ah talk, like a talc powder. Talc powder. Yeah. Yeah. But maybe it's not whatever one is like the one that's safe for the coral reefs. I forget.
00:04:15
Speaker
And it's in a little thing and you use it to get the sand off your feet, which is pretty nice too. Yeah. okay Okay. Caitlin, you're going to the beach. Do you have any Yeah. Things that you're bringing? Any tips or tricks? I mean, like the beaches up in New England usually have, you can't bring glass on the beach.
00:04:35
Speaker
So as someone who enjoys a nice, crisp glass of wine, that is like a problem. So you can't bring a bottle either on the beach and like I've been caught and they take it away.
00:04:48
Speaker
But they make Yetis for wine bottles that hold an entire bottle of wine. And I think it's fantastic. And you just pour it in there and it keeps it cold and has nothing to do with my children or motherhood, but it's my hack.
00:05:02
Speaker
It helps. I bring it everywhere. Just the other day, I was at a graduation party and pulled it out of my bag. And someone was like, what is that? was like, it's my bottle of wine. It can't break. It can't leak. That's smart. I have to look into that.
00:05:14
Speaker
What about you, Meg? I love the umbrella stand with like the anchor in the bottom. where you like twist it and turn it so it goes, you know, not just the stick. it has like the anchor that you have to like turn and turn and turn because I feel like It does get windy, you know, if we go to Cape Cod and have to bring the umbrella.
00:05:36
Speaker
And then I also, I feel like, are Christmas tree shops still around? Not really, right? No. No. All right. But I still have stuff in our garage. I have those, like, little table trays. Same thing. It has a little anchor in the bottom to put snacks on top.
00:05:54
Speaker
And then there's also, like, one for drink, for Caitlin's drink. Same thing. I've never done the table, but I feel like that would be really helpful. I don't know why we haven't, but I think that's a good call.
00:06:05
Speaker
Yes, especially with the sand. you know I feel like you always have one child that can't deal with any sand. And then the last one that I had when my kids were younger, they're older now, were the chairs that like flipped over the top and it almost had like a mini awning umbrella to it.
00:06:23
Speaker
And it had like a cup holder. feel like I got those at Bed Bath & Beyond. But my I remember when my kids were younger, those were my lifesaver because they're always like, it's so hot. And I'd be like, not anymore.
00:06:33
Speaker
and then pull the little top over it, you know? Yeah, those are a good call. Our main experience with like legit beach life is when we go to the Jersey Shore and see my sister because those beaches are just beautiful and it's just all we do.
00:06:50
Speaker
So the things I've learned from her, she has, first of all, a wagon is key. We do have a wagon up here, but she has a wagon that has sort of big wide wheels, which are really nice on the softer sand.
00:07:01
Speaker
Like our wagon, i bring to the flea market sometimes and it's fine on our sand in Connecticut, but for big soft sand, hers is great. And then i think it's new in the last couple of years. Have you seen those umbrellas that there's two types that we see a lot of? The one she has, it has a center pole and then it has four corners that are anchored down just by filling them with sand.
00:07:25
Speaker
Have you seen those ones? yeah Yeah. I think that's the Sun Ninja. Is that what you're talking about? Maybe. And they don't even, no matter how windy it gets, it's pretty rare that that moves. And to your point about the anchor, the third thing that we now have is like a ah mini spade, like a mini shovel. So it's a legit metal shovel, but it's sort of short with that actual shovel handle.
00:07:49
Speaker
And so we use that. If the kids are antsy, you can just dig a big hole for them. But that's what we use to anchor her umbrella is just dig a big hole and then you lock it in with a bucket of water or something.
00:08:00
Speaker
But those are three things that I've learned. The other umbrella that she doesn't have, have you seen the one that is just an arc and then there's like a flag? It just blows in the wind. Yeah, we have that. I feel like last summer my mom said she was like, I'm sending this back after we use it for two days. I like the one that you just described. We have so many little kids when we go on family vacations.
00:08:19
Speaker
someone's bound to need a nap or just to lay down. And the one that's, it's like a half tent, right? You're talking about? Cause you can crawl inside of ours and it has like a floor area. Yeah. It's the one that she has. Yeah. There's definitely no floor.
00:08:39
Speaker
It's just for like a canopy. It's a canopy, but the four corners have little pockets to fill with sand. And so it just is better anchored. And then the other one that they have, it's just a flexible rod with a big piece of like sail fabric on it. And so if it's a really windy day, that fabric is always blowing, but it'll never blow away, which is nice. But I'm with you. It feels like it's sort of, I don't know, it's a moving target. If there's no wind, you're dead.
00:09:08
Speaker
and i thought of something that I was, aside from my wine, ah We usually, all of us, my siblings and everybody brings some sort of portable fan, whether it's a little fan that goes on a stroller or my sister has a, it's like a, the size of my laptop, probably fan that's powered, you charge it. And so again, a kid needs to take a nap.
00:09:32
Speaker
Somebody is overheating.
Managing Kids at the Beach
00:09:34
Speaker
You just turn on the little fan and then cool off. Yeah. Yeah. I'm really happy my kids are older whenever I go to the beach. That's sort of why my answer is like we're not huge beat like beach people with children in diapers like that. I'm just like we're just not in that.
00:09:50
Speaker
We'll go for like a half hour or whatever but we're just yeah we're not. Especially if the beach doesn't when my kids were really little we had access to like a beach area that had a little snack bar and a actual locker room and actual lockers and showers. And it was, it made it a lot easier when the kids were little. Cause you know, just the, the weight of sand that accumulates in a bathing suit bottom. It's, I don't know how that works.
00:10:17
Speaker
I don't understand either. Okay, let's move on to mom fails. Do any of you have any big ones? Does anyone want to go first? Everyone filled it in. Meg, you want to go first?
00:10:28
Speaker
Yes. So ah school is ending for my family tomorrow. And I just was thinking to myself, hmm, I don't know if I filled out that teacher survey for my youngest, you know?
00:10:42
Speaker
And I missed it. I think it was sent in like March or April. But So I emailed the principal and was just like, hey, I think I missed it. Sorry, but this is like kind of who my son likes.
00:10:53
Speaker
This is who my daughters had her too, blah, blah, blah. And of course he's like, you know, you missed it back in March, April. I'm like, okay, fine. Fair enough. Mom fail. You know, my bad. Missed the email.
00:11:04
Speaker
But then I'm thinking in my head, you know what? I really just don't care because I filled it out so many years and my kids never got who I clicked on. So you know what? Is it, do they even really like go like are what parents say and request, do they really look at it?
00:11:22
Speaker
They don't even ask us. I was thinking you meant that like school board wide survey that we got 17 reminders, but it's very big. I mean, it's for how do you feel like the state of education in Fairfield County is or something?
00:11:37
Speaker
This is just for like teachers. It's just a teacher brook request. It doesn't mean you get the person, but you can kind of like click and write it in and Or it's like a survey. I shouldn't say right. It's on the computer.
00:11:50
Speaker
And I've done it in years past. And I was like thinking the other day, I'm like, oh, boy, did I miss that? I missed it. and It was a fail. But, you know, like I said, I don't even think it really matters because no one ever listened to what I clicked on in the years past.
00:12:04
Speaker
I'm amazed they asked because it only stands to piss people off. Yes. Yeah. For sure. Wow. Well, we have to write a letter if you want to have any kind of request.
00:12:16
Speaker
And in that letter, you cannot specify any teacher's name. You just have to write down what type of child or what type of learner your child is what type of environment they work best in.
00:12:27
Speaker
And you just it's it's so vague. And this year i just straight up wrote the two teachers that I wanted my child to have. And the principal wrote back and was like, you know, you're not allowed to do that. I'm like, but now, you know.
00:12:38
Speaker
So we'll just leave that there. Good for you. That's the way to do it. Oh, well. Yeah, we don't even, guess we bring, it I've sort of, we it comes up a little bit in spring conferences.
00:12:49
Speaker
Sometimes they ask. And my kids' elementary school, it's so small, there's only two sections, which is sort of wild. But i I, don't know. All the teachers are pretty good. I'm usually looking to keep an eye out on like the peer dynamics. That's what I will mention. Yeah.
00:13:04
Speaker
is, you know, Arthur has a couple of friends that he deeply loves, but he deeply makes bad choices when he's with them. And so I flag that. think it might be better if they're in separate classes. Fair enough.
00:13:16
Speaker
Yeah. It's in your best interest too, Mrs. Jones. Callie, do you have a mom fail? Yes. my So we're already on summer break over here. And my son had his first camp of the summer this week.
00:13:30
Speaker
And he has an inhaler. Doesn't need it very often, but we have to send it. And I forgot. that Of course, we have like 10 inhalers. But of course, I need the one in the box with the prescription number. And I didn't have it on Monday morning.
00:13:44
Speaker
and luckily, you know, I could do super quick pickup at CVS. And I was worried they were going to like send them away. And I was going to have. But they didn't. I was able to run and get it. And so, but that was my mom fail that I totally forgot to get his inhaler for camp. Caitlin, what's yours?
00:14:00
Speaker
oh Well, let's see. I actually had to ask my husband about this and he's like, what did we do wrong? Like even him, including himself. ah We let our toddler not only have a blue frosted cupcake, which I just don't,
00:14:16
Speaker
was not there for, I didn't have to witness, but he said that was his fail. Like, why did I let her eat that? Everything was blue herself, the clothes, the little table that she sits at. But then we went to, cause we didn't learn learn our lesson. and were at my nephew's graduation party. Have you guys ever had Avery soda?
00:14:33
Speaker
I don't think so. It's here. It's made in Connecticut and it, they have, you know, everything from birch beer to blue raspberry. Now my children are not allowed to have soda. However,
00:14:44
Speaker
She got her hands on a little blue soda. And for every single photo we tried to take for the family for graduation for my nephew, she has like just a giant blue mustache and beard.
00:14:58
Speaker
And she was off the walls. I think that's sort of amazing. But that blue is with you for hours. Yes. Forever. Yeah. and never ever yeah And then her poop was like neon green the next day and she was screaming.
00:15:08
Speaker
yeah
Arts and Crafts for Kids
00:15:09
Speaker
you forget You forget what they've eaten and then that it happens and you yeah remember. But I always forget. then it theirs With teeth. yeah yes When Tate turned two I got a a cake at Big Y, which are like the best cakes ever. And they, I didn't realize they were going ask me 8 million questions. I was like, please just give me a cake. And they're like, what color decoration? I was like, I don't know. Blue. Like it's a boy. I don't know.
00:15:28
Speaker
didn't realize that it was like the, and then she asked, Oh, what kind of blue? And I was like, wait I don't know. Regular blue. and I'm like, my baby's crying. I'm like, just give me a cake. It was a really blue frosting and everyone's poop was, and everybody was horrified that their poop was like green blue for like a day or two. Like each child had their own individual meltdown about it. And I won't be doing that again.
00:15:48
Speaker
No, that is funny. yeah My mom fail is i would love to be able to blame my kid because my kid is old enough to know better.
00:16:00
Speaker
But like, what is the definition of insanity is in expecting a different like I also know thing doing the same thing and expecting different a different results. So I know my child, my child started football.
00:16:12
Speaker
My child's cleats don't fit. We've known this for weeks. And I said weeks ago when we went to the, I think the Trumbull Mall to look for cleats and none of those sports stores had cleats. And I was like, well, that's okay. We still have a few weeks. Just tell me what you need. And it's, I'd rather order online anyway. It's cheaper. You can get what you want. Let's just do that.
00:16:32
Speaker
Cut to yesterday. And he needs his cleats at one o'clock in the afternoon. And so we're going to the sporting goods store around the corner. So we're already, I'm already annoyed. Cause it's like, we're going paying two X. He's like, well, that's where we always go. And I'm like, that's because you always forget. And your dad deals with it. And this is the closest place. And,
00:16:52
Speaker
But I said, that's fine. So I go in, he is now a size like 14. So they don't have like, of course they make cleats that big because football is for giant humans, but not at the like local Westport athletics store.
00:17:05
Speaker
So we have to order cleats and they'll be here. i think Thursday they said, but he's, you know, he has five hours of football the next few days that he's just in his little squeezed into his cleats. So it's sort of his problem, but I'm just annoyed. Cause it's like, you knew when you could see it coming and I should have known better.
00:17:22
Speaker
And I just, I didn't do it. So that's, it's on both of us, but that was my mom fail for the week. Okay. Moving into our topic. We touched on this a little bit in episode 12.
00:17:35
Speaker
twelve We were talking ah about... like keeping our kids entertained and structured versus unstructured. But today we wanted to talk specifically about kind of arts and crafts ah with summer upon us.
00:17:51
Speaker
I think all of us are scrambling to keep our kids entertained i personally just have an affinity for arts and crafts specifically, and I did do a little research to prove my theories.
00:18:03
Speaker
I think all of us have a background with preschoolers. We've had our own kids. A few of us have actually worked with preschoolers. So there's no question that arts and crafts is not only fun for kids, but it really is an incredible learning opportunity.
00:18:17
Speaker
So there's some obvious like the development of fine motor skills. Certainly you can teach shapes and colors. It helps with pattern recognition, spatial awareness. It builds resilience, which I think some of us don't think about. Yeah. Like how many times have you screwed up a project and you just have to make it work or start again or figure it out?
00:18:37
Speaker
ah It encourages critical thinking because you have to sort of plan ahead and figure out what steps you're going to take to get from step one to step five. And then I think, you know, one of the reasons I love is that I think it just builds your self-esteem. There's nothing more satisfying than finishing an art project. I mean, Caitlin, you've done, you do watercolors as an adult, and I suspect, can you relate to all of these things? Yeah.
00:19:01
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it's not just, it's not like I'm just making a treat for somebody. There's just so many different levels to why I do it and what I enjoy about it and how I feel after I do it. And yeah, I get it.
00:19:15
Speaker
Yeah. So I think, I mean, I think there's real benefits. So some of the statistics that I came up with were students with access to arts education are five times less likely to drop out of school, four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, three times more likely to pursue a bachelor's degree,
00:19:34
Speaker
And then low-income students with access to arts education are two times more likely to graduate from college. So it just it's such a nice thing to keep in mind. This is from Forbes. So that's a legit source. According to a new study, people's engagement with creating art and crafting for at least a year gave them a greater sense of life being worthwhile and better life satisfaction than employment.
00:19:57
Speaker
So again, if adults are feeling all these benefits, can imagine what our little kiddos can feel about this. However, I think what a lot of parents might experience and what we certainly have experienced is that art can be messy. It can be expensive. It can be a commitment to set something up.
00:20:20
Speaker
It can be, i mean, it's loaded because setting up an arts and crafts project can come with all sorts of nonsense. And so what we wanted to do is talk a little bit about arts and crafts specifically that we have done with our kids over the years that either don't require a lot of prep, don't require a lot of materials, don't have sort of the expectation that you are there like doing the project because that's worth nothing if you have to be there doing it too.
00:20:49
Speaker
So I have a few ideas, but I also feel like I've been talking a lot. Caitlin, what are some ideas or things that mean you have Arbor? So you're her sort of homeschool teacher right now. Yeah.
00:21:05
Speaker
what And I know you've talked in the past about things you can't do with Arbor because she will make a disaster or throw it or make a mess. So have you found ways to navigate arts and crafts with either your older girls or with Arbor that are fun for everyone and not, they don't end in tears?
00:21:22
Speaker
Well, it's funny because I asked, my my girls were doing crafts all morning, actually, because I took, I said, there's no TV. We're second day of summer. We're not just going to veg out.
00:21:33
Speaker
ah and My middle child is so creative that she comes up with a lot of the crafts that anyone does in the house. And I'll go off of what she has done later on with Arbor.
00:21:46
Speaker
So one of the things that I, I mentioned in another episode, Arbor's attention span is very small. So like, if we're going to do a craft, I know like I got five minutes and then she wants to do move on ah I'll outline something in glue and let her put pom poms on it or I'll outline something in glue and let her put beads on it.
00:22:08
Speaker
And just that keeps her contained and it makes a cool picture. And then if I throw it out, I don't care. ah But handprint art, I would say, is the most popular thing I've done with my kids over the years.
00:22:20
Speaker
You could go to the Dollar Tree and buy real. Their canvases are so inexpensive and there's eight million things you can make with a handprint. Yes, it is messy, but I mean, you just got to have baby wipes.
00:22:33
Speaker
ready to go to bite their little hand off when they're done. And that's my favorite thing to do. I did bring a craft Eileen made this morning that I wanted to show you guys though.
00:22:44
Speaker
So she's like, mommy, I, I need, uh, some plastic spoons and tape. And I already have an Easter egg and then possibly some beans or beads.
00:22:55
Speaker
Is it of a maraca? Yep. It is a maraca. And it is actually a cat maraca. And she used two spoons, an Easter egg. We'll show it on our stories in case anyone wants to.
00:23:11
Speaker
But I was like, where did you come up with this? I don't remember what she said. Maybe she was watching Gabby's Dollhouse, but this is the kind of stuff she does. And then she and then she plays with Arbor and she leads the whole craft.
00:23:23
Speaker
So it's. That's awesome. Yeah. I was just looking back over. so when COVID happened, Arthur was in preschool.
00:23:34
Speaker
And so he didn't really have any sort of online. I mean, I think the teachers tried, but they were learning how to like log into a computer. And it just, for many reasons, it didn't work. Yeah. And so the other guys were sort of settled. And so I just, every night I would just pop on Pinterest and find two or three things. And, you know, I didn't want to hit him over the head with it. But we, every day we did a couple activities that were really easy to set up and had a big bang for their buck.
00:23:59
Speaker
And I have a couple highlights on my Instagram that I had totally forgotten about. And I sat there with Arthur, who's now 10, looking at four-year-old Arthur. ah You know, the girls were included. And we that was one of the ones that we had made because I guess – I think we had Easter during COVID. So there were couple of Easter.
00:24:17
Speaker
But it was – first of all, I was like weeping onto my phone. Like you just forget listening to his little voice and talking about it. But I also – yeah like Pinterest is a godsend for all of these things because like none of us have original ideas. I mean, we might tweak them and hack them, but I mean, that's where my older kids are now on Pinterest and they get ideas.
00:24:38
Speaker
So that's. Yeah. It's awesome. ah Megan, what are some arts and crafts? I know how you feel about kinetic sand, but what are some other arts and crafts in your house?
00:24:49
Speaker
So to be honest with you, Two of mine love just painting seashells and rocks. It's, say we have so many in our garden. They just, and i even growing up, I did it as a kid and my parents still have it in their gardens.
00:25:06
Speaker
Another one that we love in our house is the potato stamps. Ah. Where you can create a heart, or I'm very basic with that. I'm not, so the potato stamps that you carve a shape and then you dip it in the paint and you could just get, you know, wait minute.
00:25:25
Speaker
I have to pause. Yes. You cut it. How do you do this? You have to, you have to cut the potato in half and then you have to create the shape to stick out on one half.
00:25:39
Speaker
How do you do that? Uh, yes, but I, carrying knife and just cut around. And you know what, Charlotte, when you said the COVID thing, this is something that I did and posted, same thing. And we can share all these on our page too for the summer for our listeners and followers. But yeah, your you you would your girls would love that one, Kayla. Yeah. I'm just picturing Arbor could entertain her for a while.
00:26:01
Speaker
And you can also make that same stamp with just cardboard. So you can get you can cut out the same shape It probably would work with just a single layer of cardboard, but if you put like three hearts, cut out a heart from cardboard and put like three, it's it's also a stamp if you don't want to get into carving on a potato. But like what a good way to use old potatoes. I just threw away a bag because they were like – Yes. I should have planted them.
00:26:27
Speaker
Yes. But I love that idea. That's cool. And then ah pasta. Making necklaces out of pasta. We do that a lot. Bracelets, necklaces. Homemade Play-Doh, which is, I know, a touchy subject, but maybe you could do it on the deck outside.
00:26:42
Speaker
Oh, another one. My Gianna is 12, and she's very much into needlepoint. love that So they have kits on Amazon and then there's, you know, more expensive kits that you can buy from different ah businesses out there. But Needlepoint is a big one. And then I love the giant coloring books or coloring banners that you can just set on the floor in the kitchen. And every morning they can sit there and color away. i know those are really big in our house.
00:27:15
Speaker
Chalk in the driveway That can keep them quiet for a good hour. And then another one is seashells. And i i don't feel like she, I feel like she has done it with rocks too.
00:27:30
Speaker
Just making necklaces, buying a little drill on Amazon that you can make little holes through the pieces and then create your your own jewelry. And I would say I loved crafts growing up. I still love them. I don't put as much time into them as I'd like, but when the kids want to do them, same thing. I feel like we go on Pinterest and I'll be like, you know, crafts for an eight-year-old and fun things will come up. But I feel like that's pretty much the ones and basic stickers too. If you just get like the sticker books and the Melissa and Doug faces, even where they make the face,
00:28:07
Speaker
You know, stuff like that. It's just classic, you know, fun for them. And honestly, you set them up and then you step away. And I feel like they'll go for hopefully, you know, solid, let's hope, 45 minutes, maybe half an hour, depending on their age. I know toddlers, the attention span is a little different, but it it it grows every year, feel like.
00:28:27
Speaker
have Have I shared it? I probably have. And you're like, yeah, Charlotte, we know. I heard a speaker years ago and it's like the greatest little piece of advice. She said it takes kids up to an hour to get into that good play when they're like gone. you know that And she said as adults, we often just get in the way because when they're restless to start, whether it's a play date or an activity that we put out, we get frustrated and we pick it up too quickly.
Encouraging Play and Crafting Spaces
00:28:53
Speaker
And she was like, you just have to power through that sort of awkward time when they're either complaining or trying, you know, my kids will have play dates and they'll spend the first hour like figuring out snacks and it's like, go.
00:29:06
Speaker
But I tell myself that because I think in the summer, especially, you know, we can't expect these kids, we can't expect to lay out a project and then have them immediately get sucked into it. And so I love the idea of having some of these sort of accessible throughout the day. Obviously, paint you'd have to keep an eye on. But like we would get, i love, we love those giant coloring posters too.
00:29:28
Speaker
And you can also just get a roll of butcher block paper or drop cloth paper and have that laid out And then we would use those circle stickers that you'll see at like yard sales or something. You can get a pack of those, like 500 of them for nothing. And they're just colorful circles. But even those, my kids would have fun making patterns with and playing. And if you want to make it more educational, you can write their name and they can put the stickers on their name. So there's...
00:29:54
Speaker
There's all sorts of ways as adults to sort of help them level up a little bit. But I also just think creating a space for them just to go to whenever they need, like an arts and crafts area. I mean, I loved having it, but I think in the summer, that's something that I really recommend. And it doesn't have to be much. I mean, it could be, I love your idea of shells.
00:30:13
Speaker
That's something we can all get to. And if your kids are too old to be working with paint, then give them chalk or give them watercolor paint or You know? Yeah. Or you can even use markers or crayons on the shells and the rocks, you know?
00:30:26
Speaker
Sure. depends. Yeah. Yeah. Callie, you probably have a bunch, but you do have littles. So how do you navigate arts and crafts with littles that probably do like eat stuff and need supervision?
00:30:38
Speaker
Yeah, the hardest part for arts and crafts with us is it's the age gap. I mean, having a two year old and not that Opal is so I mean, she's old enough now that she's pulling up onto tables if they're doing something, and you know, at a level where she can get into it.
00:30:54
Speaker
So that's been the hardest um part for me. So where we really are with arts and crafts right now is sort of what you were just talking about. We have a handful. I've like. really just pared back how much arts and crafts we have. And we really just stick to the fundamentals.
00:31:08
Speaker
And it tends to be more kind of just out that they can use it when they want. And we don't do a ton of like the set activities. We have some, like right now this summer, my kids have, are are with a nanny three days a week.
00:31:20
Speaker
So I'll set up activities when they're with them because it, you know, they can take the older two and go and do an activity. But for like our basic arts and crafts, so we there's always paper available to everybody. That's fine. And then we always have some type of item that can mark with whether it's crayons or pencils or I really like pencils. I find that they are kind of good for all the ages.
00:31:42
Speaker
My two year old doesn't try to eat them. And like, i don't know, it's like good in between. Less than markers. I can't really like draw on the table as much. So we do that. And then we always have cardboard available. My kids do so much with cardboard, whether i just leave the boxes out. Sometimes I'll cut strips of them until so they can create little things. They can create big things.
00:32:03
Speaker
I followed this woman on Substack. Her account is called Art is Play. And my son will create like whole homes with cardboard all the time. But she had this great idea where she just collected shoebox type boxes for a long time.
00:32:16
Speaker
And i think she used to own like an art studio for kids. And then she would glue them all like really tall. So they kind of looked like a condominium or an apartment. And she's like, she would just give them to the kids.
00:32:27
Speaker
And she was like, they would spend weeks just like filling each room. Sometimes it was a supermarket and sometimes it was a whole whatever, cruise ship. It was all these different things. So we do so much with cardboard.
00:32:38
Speaker
And then we have a few things. So I have like an art cabinet. This is how we deal with it with the little kids. I have an art cabinet in the playroom and paper and then marking items are always available. And then I have two drawers that have child proof locks on them that my four-year-old and my six-year-old can open.
00:32:53
Speaker
So they can go in there, but my two-year-old cannot get in. So then we have ah glue and scissors in one. And then we have paint is the other thing that I offer. And I stick to watercolor paint. I find two-year-old can do the watercolor paint. The older kids love them. I feel like they're always really beautiful. They're so easy to clean up. All you need is water to use them. They don't end up somehow...
00:33:13
Speaker
everywhere. So we kind of like are exclusively watercolor. And then that's really it. And i mean, down the road, i would love to be able to have more growing up. Like I grew up in a really artistic family. have multiple family members that are like artists as like a profession. We had like an entire art room growing up where you could just go in and like make stuff.
00:33:33
Speaker
So, I mean, as the kids get older, I'm sure we will add things to the collection, but I really like to think about the open-ended stuff. I think it's fun to sit down and have little projects. But especially with four running around, like the the like reality of me sitting down and sort of like leading this one project that all four ages can actively do is not super realistic. um So I try to think of more of the the open ended stuff that like everybody can do it in their own way.
00:34:00
Speaker
But I also, I think even because I remember those stages and you're planning it with the lowest common denominator in mind. Always, yeah. And even with like the most basic of materials, something as simple as taping a crayon or a marker to the end of a stick or broom post broomstick and having them draw like giant pictures on the floor. Like that's a way to take exactly the same materials that you have out, but add such a fun novelty.
00:34:28
Speaker
My kids would have so much fun painting with sort of unpredictable objects. so I'd go to the dollar store and get like a loofah sponge or one of those rubber brushes that you would use on a grill and just let them kind of have fun with all that tactile texture. And you don't need anything else. You know, you can use watercolor paint and all of that.
00:34:47
Speaker
Yeah, that's a fun idea. We always have the big rolls of just white paper. yeah And sometimes I will just, like you said, I just roll it out and just like have at it. But that would be a fun thing to do with different. And even those giant rolls, you know, I've with minimal grown up.
00:35:03
Speaker
prep like you could even just do a little squiggle on it and then have the kids go in and color in the squiggle whether it's with chalk or crayons or you know I think there's ways to take these very basic things and make them new and interesting so it's not like the same thing every day even though you're not bringing in new materials and stuff yeah usually it takes the smallest little tweak even just doing it outside or you know what i mean or making it smaller making it big like you said I was looking back at some of the stuff I did with Arthur and I had forgotten how just all in he was for trucks and the number of activities we were able to come up with.
00:35:40
Speaker
And I was trying to be a little bit more academic, but like I would write his name or I would write his name lightly and then he would go back over it darker. And for a little kid, that's really great practice because they have to press down with their muscles.
00:35:53
Speaker
And then he would drive his trucks over his name. And we were doing this on a big piece of butcher block paper. We did one activity. i mean, we did a lot of activities where it was just like, let's make a maze all over the house and then drive your trucks on it. I mean, it was so simple.
00:36:08
Speaker
And then like getting them off of the tables for my kids was sort of a magic secret trick, like putting painter's tape on the wall that they could then drive their trucks on or doing it on the floor. And the same goes for art, like tape that big giant paper to the wall.
Creative Play with Simple Science
00:36:24
Speaker
I don't know if they have a playroom, like tape it, if you have one of those like low eaves, like tape it to the ceiling. Things like that just like put things on its edge and for kids can be really sort of magical and wonderful.
00:36:36
Speaker
ah Meg, you mentioned homemade Play-Doh. The recipe that we used was basically like flour, salt, and water. And i when that dries, it's pretty easy to get off. Like to your point, it's not unlike the Play-Doh that you buy over the counter.
00:36:52
Speaker
i found that that was- wrong Like, yeah, Play-Doh ruins the rug. Yes. Yeah. Like you really won't get the that Play-Doh off. But I yeah i mean, i don't I don't know that my kids ever challenged me, but I agree. Homemade Play-Doh, because you can make it the night before and it'll keep for a week. Yes.
00:37:07
Speaker
My kids went crazy. And I can't remember at what age we started, but with just a big tray of baking soda and then some vinegar, we would put a little vinegar with food coloring and then they would use...
00:37:19
Speaker
droppers. And so it was really like having them coordinate the medicine droppers. And then you drop the vinegar onto the baking soda and it bubbles. They could sit and do that forever. And we did it, you know, you can do it outside, but it's not that messy.
00:37:33
Speaker
Like it's baking soda. So if it gets everywhere, you just wipe it up. And they loved that. When you're done, I wanted to ask you guys if you've done one craft when you're done. Okay. There were two things that I would not hesitate to just squirt right onto the table or do on a cookie sheet. And i found my kids were entertained.
00:37:49
Speaker
First thing was shaving cream because it's pretty easy to clean up. And I did it in the classroom on their desks. I did it with my kids like, and you can do it inside, outside. I would also bring out like pudding and do that like that. I probably wouldn't smack on the table, but there's something really fun and novel about, and it's just like finger painting. So you have to put your hygiene i aside a little bit, but it was just, I mean, that's what a 75 cents box of pudding that you just put out for them. And,
00:38:18
Speaker
I don't know, I think 15, 20 minutes of activity is so about as good as you can get, right? Mm-hmm. I agree with you, Callie. Cardboard is another thing. My kids, it depends on where you live and if it's baking hot, you can't do it.
00:38:32
Speaker
My kids would paint outside with just paintbrushes and water on our patio pavers or on the driveway, you know, because when you get it wet, it's a darker color.
00:38:43
Speaker
They would do that for hours. Well, you could paint your chalk too. Yeah. yeah Like we draw a picture with chalk and then we paint over it and spread it. and All of the above. And then...
00:38:54
Speaker
I feel like you've talked about this, Callie, that when you put painter's tape on, like you can put it on their wrist, you can just have it and then they can just go and look around for a scavenger hunt and like stick things to it.
00:39:06
Speaker
You can do the same thing on a piece of paper. The wrist is cute for little kids, but that yeah that's pretty fun. Contact paper is one that like I keep in my office, but like you can do so many amazing things because it's just sticky. Yeah.
00:39:19
Speaker
mean, you can tape it to the wall, sticky side up, and let your kid, younger kid, put stuff. Or older kids, I'll let them go out and, like, collect leaves or whatever. Contact paper is another great one have. Yeah. I mean, painter's tape also with little ones. You could just put it all, like, little things all over. use painter's tape so much. Yeah.
00:39:36
Speaker
You can elevate your leaves stuck to the paper. I had this written down and forgot about it. But my kids like to make, like, scenes with nature. So they during the fall, we go get leaves, and then they make leaf people. And they – get flowers from outside or grass or sticks and just make these whole scenes and we'll do it on old paper bags. Like, you know, we get a lot of grocery delivery lately is coming in a paper bag. And so I save them all and then I cut it out like it's a piece of paper and just let them go to town on it. And, you know, and then you just throw all the nature in the trash when you're done.
00:40:10
Speaker
Yeah. Those paper shopping bags are money. Do not throw them away. you bell up They can be a drop cloth. They can be paper. You could roll them up and make sort of de facto tubes that they could build with. That is huge.
00:40:23
Speaker
Two other things that I remember doing with my kids that was just sort of fun and novel is ah we filled squirt guns with colorful water. I think we just use water and food coloring and let them squirt. i don't I think we were maybe squirting an old sheet or t-shirts, but that was...
00:40:39
Speaker
Maybe even paper. but And I don't think like there was a lot of color residue left behind. But again, the novelty of going out back and you like watching how the colors mixed, it was just – you get the, what, $1 squirt guns from yeah wherever. Yeah.
00:40:55
Speaker
We did that. And then um Q-tips are another tool that most people have on hand that are really good for kids for – dobbing or painting or whatever. So that's another, I was trying to think of like, what are ways to engage with arts and crafts that don't require, you know, we all mentioned things that had very few materials, but like everyone doesn't have a water gun at home and everyone may not have contact paper at home, but everyone probably has, i don't know, we've all mentioned things that probably people do have, but.
00:41:27
Speaker
Go get painter's tape, contact paper, square guns, whatever. Yeah. Or even do you remember as a kid making out of the, I guess, the lunch paper bags, like puppets?
00:41:39
Speaker
Do you remember making puppets? Like these are all things that you can do at home. And then I know tie-dye is a big thing. You do have to order the kits. But I feel like there are ways to maybe you could do it with – ah can you do it with food coloring? Probably not, right?
00:41:56
Speaker
You would have to order the actual kit to color the t-shirt, right? Fabric dye. Yeah. But if your kids are older, you know, my kids, Arthur's 10 and he, I would have trusted him with this for the last few years. I mean, I think six and up, you just make it and we just set it up on the grass. So I don't care if it spills.
00:42:15
Speaker
And then they would just go get socks, old t-shirts. And again, if they're doing it carefully, it takes them a long time to wrap up with all those rubber bands. And I don't care how it looks.
00:42:26
Speaker
You know, the goal is just for them to be engaged with something. And, you know, they... You can get gloves if you care about their hands. But I think that's a great idea. i mean, again, you have to plan ahead. But I love tie-dye. I was thinking of something. I mean, I could – this makes me so happy. There's so many projects that I love. I know. It's so fun. Yeah. What was your question before, Meg?
00:42:45
Speaker
Oh, I was going to say, do you – this was another thing I did during COVID. Have any of you done this where you take either M&Ms or Skittles and you put them in the rainbow and then you put water and it's like a craft that they can watch and they set it up.
00:43:01
Speaker
the colors. I know that was like a big one that Nico is still into as well. That's stuff easy from home. Yeah. I mean, there's certain science-y type experiments that again, you know, there's one where you put oil and water and then you drop an Alka-Seltzer tablet in it.
00:43:17
Speaker
I mean, that's like magic because it makes the, I think it makes the oil bubble up through the water. My kids could do that forever. And, you know, I think that's Like, you know, your kids, there's some kids that are going to put everything into their mouth. And I guess technically that's fine with oil, water, Alka-Seltzer.
00:43:35
Speaker
And you know, your kids that are going to immediately dump things out. So you probably won't want that, but there's nothing dangerous about that one. So even with little kids, you could, you know, a three-year-old knows not to dump something out. She did try to eat the fairy pie they made yesterday outside boy out of mashed up berries. She said she wanted to taste it.
00:43:55
Speaker
Was it good? They stopped her. Yeah, Barry's making
Special Guest Introduction
00:43:59
Speaker
me nervous. Yeah. i feel like we should move on because I'm looking at the clock ticking. i am hoping, this is sort of a lame for the listeners, i have reached out to someone who I have followed on Instagram for years.
00:44:13
Speaker
She was a former art teacher. She's unbelievably talented. And so I just DM'd her cold. and And don't know, I'll give her a few days, but I would love to pick her brain If not, I definitely have friends that do a lot of really wonderful projects with their kids. So the guest is a TBD, but I'm hoping it's going to be this one person. And if it's not, I'm sorry. The guest is still going to be amazing.
00:44:33
Speaker
You guys going to love him.
00:44:40
Speaker
I have to tell you that when we recorded, i said, i've DMed this person and I'm really hopeful that I can get ahold of her. And if we don't, I'll find someone great. But I'm so delighted to be able to say that the, ah you know, I teased you and here you are. So Cassie, thank you.
00:44:57
Speaker
Thank you for joining the Just for Moms podcast. We are, I'm such a fan. Will you go
Art Tips with Cassie Stevens
00:45:03
Speaker
ahead? so I'm not the only one talking and just quickly, introduce yourself, tell people what you're up to. i know I found you during, I think we were just talking during COVID. I'm just, I'm a fan, but why don't you quickly introduce yourself?
00:45:15
Speaker
Sure. So I'm Cassie Stevens. I have been, or was, I'm currently retired, an elementary art teacher in the Nashville area.
00:45:25
Speaker
for 25 years. So I was in one school in Nashville for five and last 20 here. I don't know if anybody's familiar with the Nashville area. I'm just south of Nashville. I taught in a town called Franklin, which is basically Mayberry. It's a very nice town.
00:45:40
Speaker
um And I loved it. And um I taught kindergarten through fourth grade, had 30-minute art classes. So I got really efficient with my time. And we did it all because I really wanted them to experience everything. So from sewing to weaving to clay to drawing to painting to collage, we covered everything.
00:46:01
Speaker
So um I'm familiar with a a plethora of art supplies. So I'm happy to share with you some of my favorites and must-haves and things like that. Totally. I mean, I think that's what I was most drawn to Having worked in the New York City public schools, they did have art, but it was limited. I mean, it was like a cart that would follow to the classrooms and it was better than nothing. But I think I was, and then my own kids go to public school up here in Connecticut.
00:46:31
Speaker
And I think I was really drawn by your ability to introduce so many mediums and materials and ways of approaching art. But I just was blown away by how I don't know how diverse your lessons were from both like construction to materials, all of the above. So all to say, big fan.
00:46:50
Speaker
Well, thank you. I appreciate that. We talked a lot about as parents ways to introduce arts and crafts to our kids that aren't overwhelming to us as parents. Because if you're you know trying to get dinner on the table and the kids are running around, we don't have quite the time and patience that you might if you have a dedicated classroom, even though I know that you probably have four minutes between classes to get it prepped and ready.
00:47:12
Speaker
But what are some tips that you might have for kids that actually don't want to get into art. They're not all that eager. It's intimidating. They don't like the texture, whatever it may be. Do you have any tips for those kids that don't want to jump right in?
00:47:25
Speaker
So I have a couple of tips. So my first suggestion would be definitely as a parent, sit down and explore that art supply with the child. Because I think when I was a kid, what always kind of enchanted me about creating was that my dad loved to create. So even if we were sitting and coloring together in a coloring book or drawing together or getting like a model airplane kind of kit. It was just fun to see an adult be as excited to create and learn, you know, because if you're learning along with them, you're discovering things together and then you get to remove yourself from being like the teacher
00:48:05
Speaker
all the time and no, this is what you want to do. No, no, you're going to mix these colors together. But if you're both exploring it together, I think that it's going to be, it's going to mean a lot more to the child.
00:48:16
Speaker
And if you have a kid who's just like, I don't like art, they just haven't met the art that they, they like yet. So maybe they had an art class and they just didn't enjoy whatever supply or didn't feel successful.
00:48:29
Speaker
And so they just haven't met the one that they like or feel comfortable with. So that's why when I teach, I love to teach like a massive gamut of art supplies so that the kids who feel not super confident with drawing, suddenly they discover that they're really good at something like weaving. Boys especially are excellent weavers. They're very methodical. They love that it's like...
00:48:52
Speaker
It makes sense. It's very over under this is how you do it. And yeah, it just in their brain, it makes a lot of sense. So I just feel like exposing a child to more, not too much though, because if you give them like, here's all the art supplies, suddenly it's just, yeah, overwhelming.
00:49:11
Speaker
So maybe even just giving them like five or $10. I know places like the Dollar Tree actually have quite the nice craft section. And just let them select the art supply. Just see what they're drawn to and then go from there.
00:49:28
Speaker
And maybe they'll love it. And maybe they're just like, um let's try something else. right But make sure they spend some time actually working with that supply. So that way they don't become like a butterfly. Just go from one supply to the next, never really diving in and enjoying it.
00:49:41
Speaker
So those are my tips, working along with them and then just seeing where their creativity takes and what supplies they might be drawn to. I love that. I also found that kids are funny. I think they sometimes have this, whether it's perceived or whether it is somehow subconscious, this expectation of what the product needs to look like. They're either getting it from our nonverbals or they're getting it from their own experience.
00:50:07
Speaker
And they put a lot of pressure on themselves. And so I found that if I could create projects that were like, this is meant to be messy. There's no right or wrong way to do it. Just go have fun with the process. i mean, even as adults.
00:50:18
Speaker
the process for me is the most fun part. But that, that was something that I, I was always surprised to how much pressure my little ones put on themselves to like get it right. And it's like, no, no, no, we're, that's not art.
00:50:30
Speaker
Well, in a lot of the supplies, it's presented in a kit, and then there's the finished product on the box of the kit. And i tend not to love those because for that very reason, or even when you look at the box of like, let's say a box of modeling clay, it's going to have all these little examples that a literal adult made. Right. yeah And then the kids are just like, wait a minute. I remember I had a drawing book, a how to draw book when I was a kid and it was how to draw dogs.
00:50:57
Speaker
And I love this book, but it was like a how to draw dogs for like a 45 year old artist. You know, there was, just looked at the pictures, but I was like, but how do I draw a dog, you know? Something that's more on their level.
00:51:10
Speaker
And even sometimes doing projects that might to you or even to them seem a little bit below sarah level can be good because then that gives them the confidence.
00:51:20
Speaker
You know, i can do this even if it felt like, like, oh yeah, anybody, you know what mean? That's a little bit, just let them go for it because then that confidence will, you know, give them the confidence to continue and to keep creating. Yeah.
00:51:34
Speaker
Totally. We talked a little bit about like must-haves for crafting. What are your, some of your must-haves? You're so clever at the materials you bring in. What are some of your favorites? Well, okay, so I'm going to divide this into three categories.
00:51:48
Speaker
So most halves that are not super messy and short timeframe. So if you're cooking dinner and you don't want them to get out a bunch of stuff, but you do want them to sit and create then, and I like to keep things in bins, like clear plastic bins. So that way it's easy for them to see. They know where the supplies can be found.
00:52:07
Speaker
So even just, I mean, coloring and coloring books, I think are important. I used to, as an art teacher, kind of look down on them because I was just like, ah, anybody. But my kids love them and it's good for them. They're fine motor.
00:52:21
Speaker
You know, so many of our young people are more familiar with a phone than they are with a crayon or a pencil. So I think just coloring is very soothing and relaxing and great for their hand muscles. So don't ever feel like these, it's just a coloring book or whatever. No, it's good for them. um So that could be kept in a bin with some markers and then maybe it can be leveled up to something a little bit more time length wise and a little bit more messy. Modeling clay is excellent because it really does exercise their hands. It comes in tons of different colors.
00:52:54
Speaker
It's not as messy as something like a Play-Doh and it also doesn't dry out. So if it's left out, you know, it's not completely ruined. That's great. Watercolor paint is fabulous also, you know, cause got the little pan, you just need the water cup and a brush and you're good to go.
00:53:10
Speaker
um And then in like the next level up can be more of supplies that are great for outside, you know, so more of that like temper paint that like really thick, juicy paint, which is great. Just even getting them like a big canvas, you can get them, wait for the coupon to come out and you can get a nice big canvas and some of that thick paint, some big brushes, put them outside in the yard, wherever, and just let them go to town And have a great time with that. So I feel like there's different levels of it. I think a lot of us think, oh, art supplies is going to be a messy. It's going to be too much trouble.
00:53:45
Speaker
Break it down into like these three levels and time frame and mess wise. And I think you'll be set. Yeah, I love that. And then my last question, and then I'll let you go. you Everyone should go check out your Instagram. It sounds like you haveve YouTube. i mean, you're everywhere, but your Instagram is how I found you.
00:54:02
Speaker
And it's Cassie underscore Stevens. Is that right? Yes. Cassie underscore Stevens. Yep. With a Z at the end because somebody else had my name. Y'all know how it goes. I do know how it goes. So people should just go there because there's just like a wealth of information.
00:54:17
Speaker
But do you have a couple of projects or crafts that you... keep coming back to you every year that you've done that you just are like your gold standard? These are the favorite things that I've i've done with kids that you want to share?
00:54:29
Speaker
Yes. So kids love to make things that are functional. They, especially boys, they like to understand why am I making this? Girls, we just love to make pretty things.
00:54:40
Speaker
It doesn't matter why. We're just good to do that. But boys, they like to have um something that does something. So even if you're using something like an air dry clay, they could make a pencil holder or can hold something. you know, this is going to have a job.
00:54:55
Speaker
Kids, like I said, love weaving. i'm On my blog, I have a how to weave a pouch, which kids really love to make in my room because they could they could keep their phone in it and things like that.
00:55:07
Speaker
um Also, they just kids love experimenting and exploring. So one thing I would recommend is Dollar Tree is my favorite place. Go to the Dollar Tree, get a large pizza pan, one of those metal pans, and Kids can paint in those pans with the thick temper paint, lay a paper on top and pull a print.
00:55:26
Speaker
And it's really fun to explore color mixing. And they will be doing that for a long time. They'll just sit there and put get them a big old pad of paper, some paint, and just let them have fun with pulling different kinds of prints.
00:55:38
Speaker
So those are kind of like the things that I recommend. Things that kids just can make something and keep it and understand what the purpose of it is for. And yeah, I have tons of videos on my YouTube channel, which is my name, Cassie Stevens. No Z on that one. That pizza pan, my kids would go ham with that. And they're old enough that I really, they could get the paint and do it all on their own. But I love that. There's an alchemy to...
00:56:04
Speaker
prints, right? Yeah. Yeah. And the great thing is it has a little lip. Yeah. So it helps to capture the paint and the mess. That was like my first activity I would always do with kindergarten on that was like first weeks of school, just explore paint, go to town. And ah you don't have to worry about it.
00:56:20
Speaker
There's a lot of artwork that results, which is great, but you don't have to worry about a lot of mess. ah I love that. Thank you so much for joining us, Cassie. I'm just, I'm delighted that I got in touch with you through the magic of social media and I just, I think you're the best. So I am delighted that you could join us.
00:56:38
Speaker
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
00:56:42
Speaker
And we're back.
Summer Activities and Personal Updates
00:56:43
Speaker
Who has pit and a peak they want to start with? Callie, don't you go first? Mine is a peak. And so we're almost two weeks into our summer break now. And I think I maybe shared in one of the last episodes that I wasn't really sure how it was going to go because our kids were mostly going to be home.
00:57:02
Speaker
And I do have child care. three days a week, but it's still in the home and I work in the home and my husband works in the home. And I was a little nervous about the dynamic of all of that, but it's all, I mean, so far we're only two weeks in.
00:57:13
Speaker
It's been going great. My kids are having like the summer of their life, just doing like we've lemonade stands and like, you know, like the mini pool and just like all of the fun stuff.
00:57:24
Speaker
And it's been great. And I've been part of some of it and not part of some of it. So I'm not, I was quite nervous about how it was, going to go, but so far it's, it's going really good.
00:57:36
Speaker
Yeah. I'm not there yet, but no, it's different ages. I'm not driving. If I were doing what you were doing and driving kids all around, I mean, like today I had to do a little, cause I had one at camp and then one with a doctor's appointment and then I have to go pick up from the camp and that that's a little less fun for me. So, I mean, I will say I have another child that has since made a summer bucket list. Hers has 50 items and I haven't looked at it.
00:58:00
Speaker
I like the premise. That's a lot. One thing that she's really wanting to do, and again, I feel like I'm such a buzzkill. She wants to have an ice cream sale. And I was like, it's all going to melt.
00:58:14
Speaker
Ice cream is so expensive to begin with. Like, are you doing this with? like ah Like, lemonade is fine. Like, you can go. i will buy you a four... Yeah, I didn't even want to do i mean, my children are not old enough that they can sit out at the road and do the lemonade stand by themselves. And like, I don't want to sit out there and do that. So I was like, that sounds like a really fun thing to do. win the beyitter Yeah. And thank God she was like all on board with it. And they had the time of their in the neighborhood we live in.
00:58:41
Speaker
is a lot of older people. So like he was basically famous. Somebody people were posting it on their Facebook pages like it was. I mean, he just had himself a day and I didn't have to be part of it.
00:58:52
Speaker
I can't say I would be saying the same thing if that were my I picked other activities for me to do. And I would not be involved. I just, she's the kid who plans and she has like maps and lists. And I, I'm like, this is so great.
00:59:06
Speaker
Like, I want to applaud your effort. And then I also am like, I'm 50 years old and here are some concerns. And like, how do I present this to her in a way that doesn't make her be like, oh, you know, and so I'm sort of leaning the way we've landed is I recently recently got a Ninja Creamy, which is the kids love. It's a stupid appliance. I need to figure out why it's not a stupid appliance. The kids are into it.
00:59:30
Speaker
yeah And so she's mixed up. she's We've decided she will make the ice cream. So that seems fine. and So she's and she's planned out a couple of recipes. You have to let the stuff freeze for 24 hours before you can even put it in the creamy. So that's stupid if you ask me, but she's done it. So today we're going to taste and see.
00:59:48
Speaker
And then... I don't know. I'll get her a thing of like really small sugar cones and maybe I'll even be extra and have her like pre-scoop the ice cream so she can just have it and like frozen little ice cream balls that she can just like plop onto a cone when people – my worry is that five people drive up and down our street and they may not be in the mood to just like rock an ice cream cone.
01:00:10
Speaker
and And there's just, she was like, well, I'll get ice. I was like, a bag of ice is not going to keep ice cream. No. there's a lot of like just It sounds like a learning experience. i Yes. So I'm like, how can I make this a learning experience that doesn't involve me going to stop and shop and spending 50 bucks on ice cream.
01:00:27
Speaker
Yeah. ice screaming You're keeping it cold. I'm thinking same thing with snow cones. Same thing. How do you keep it cold unless you have a freezer or a plug-in freezer like heour my brain in your yard yeah so that's a tbd i mean that leads into my pit which is just like the house is a mess i feel like the life is like we have not reached the same point of comfort that you're at callie it's we've only had a day or two with everyone home trying to figure it out but it's just i'm not where you are quite yet so that's my pit yeah you'll get there do you have a pit or a peak megan
01:01:05
Speaker
I have a peek. Yay. So I've been talking about this since February and I finally went and did it. I got my new phone. Oh my God. And what do you think? I like it. I mean, I don't like, I'm not like, oh my gosh, but it's, it's, it was needed. My battery life was awful. My storage was like at its, like I've had the other phone for two and a half years and you know, I do my work on this. So it's, yeah. So it's done now.
01:01:34
Speaker
I feel good about it. I don't know what took me so long. It's just like leaving your phone there and you know passwords still aren't set up. This isn't, but it's been a few days like you. I feel like, you know, same thing. I'll get there.
01:01:47
Speaker
let, yeah. It's a peak, but it's like an, yeah. Yeah. but They've gotten so much better. I remember when you would originally get a phone and they would like transfer your data. They would transfer the photos and like maybe your email, but then so much was lost. Now it really is transferring.
01:02:05
Speaker
kind of everything. Yes. Like maybe your cash is cleared, but I mean, there's always the shit you forget about, but it's gotten so much better. One last thing. So the only thing I didn't have time for, which I still need to do, because I have to mail in the old phone.
01:02:19
Speaker
I still didn't download all my drafts from my other phone from Instagram and TikTok from two and a half years. So now I have to download them on the other phone and then Text them to myself or what's the other feature? Airdrop.
01:02:37
Speaker
Airdrop. Oh, right. Because once you transfer all the, like you have to get them out of the app. And I never took the time to do that before I went. So the guy's like, this is what you have to do. And I'm like, okay, that's fine. We just got to do the new phone because again, the battery light. And then I couldn't update, you know, when you can't do the updates, you know, it's time. So yes.
01:02:59
Speaker
That's exciting. Thank you. It is. Thank you. I'll stop talking about it now. No, we love it. We like it. We like a good peak. What is yours, Caitlin? Mine's a pit peak. My pit is I'm like you, Charlotte. It's day two of summer vacation and I'm ready to just run away from home. i mean, the first day i was, dad,
01:03:20
Speaker
middle child is just complaining that this is the worst summer vacation ever. And I'm like, it's 10 o'clock in the morning. Seriously. and my old And my older daughter is like, well, we're going to be in Florida next week. So just, you just got to get through this week. And she's like, it'll be terrible there too. And I just sitting in the other room thinking, oh my gosh.
01:03:39
Speaker
So that that's my pit. But my peak is we're going away on Sunday. It's with cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles. And I'm hoping everyone wants to hang out with my children so I don't have to for seven days.
01:03:54
Speaker
that's for you. Thank you. i know I was thinking ahead to our... beach week, which again, it's the beginning of August, but I don't, you know, like it's here quickly. And usually we're there with my sister and her kids this summer, the schedules didn't work out. So we're just going to be there with us.
01:04:13
Speaker
So it'll feel a little different to my kids, but they're also old enough and they can walk to the house back and forth. And so it's like, I am just going to sit and read books.
01:04:23
Speaker
Like we've graduated to the phase of like, I'm not going to plan for you people. Like, So I was like, what books do I get? That's what's carrying me through. yeah I don't know who's going to watch our dogs, but that's another issue.
01:04:36
Speaker
All right, everyone. Well, we I think we should try to focus before this airs, which I believe is mid-early July. we will try to get organized so that you can go on to our Instagram page and see some of these activities. I know sometimes when you're hearing about arts and crafts, it's easier said than done to picture it, but we will maybe think about what we've talked about and reshare content or do some of these with our kids just so you can see what we are talking about.
01:05:06
Speaker
So this is also my way of reminding all of us, can we, how do we remember? We'll figure it out. i have a lot saved on my phone. yeah Yeah. I mean, mine were all in this COVID, this like quarantine section.
01:05:19
Speaker
Yeah. Go to look at our social media over for the next week and you'll see a lot of these there. And then as always, we love hearing from you guys. Some of our best show ideas have come from you all. So keep them coming. A lot of great comments on YouTube, social media.
01:05:34
Speaker
You can always go to our website and email us directly, but we really appreciate you guys. You are amazing. And every day you remind us of how terrific you are. So thank you.
01:05:46
Speaker
And scene.