Tag Archives: spring fun

At Home Spring Activities for the Whole Family

With the weather getting warmer and spring knocking on the back door, it’s time to brush off the winter dust and embrace spring. With what’s currently going on with the Corona Virus, some people are a little nervous about doing things that involve large groups of people, but still want to take in the warmer weather and embrace spring. We’ve got some great ideas on just how to do that without straying too far from home.

blog animals-avian-beaks-birdhouse-1156507Watch the Birds. During March and April, the bird migration season is in full swing. Hundreds of species that spend their winters in warm climates make their annual trips north to breed and spend their summers. They will be hungry from their long flights, so a great way to see a wide array of feathered friends is to set up bird feeding stations. Orioles, Hummingbirds, and songbirds all like different food, so make sure you have enough for everybody. Here is a great resource to learn about different feeding options and how to attract birds to your backyard. You might want to pick up a birders guide as well. The whole family can help identify your visitors and learn a lot along the way.

young-tomato-5808Plan a Garden. Nothing is better than veggies straight from the garden. Not only do they taste so much better than store-bought produce, but the satisfaction from planting, maintaining, and reaping the fruits of your labor are second to none. Sit down with the family and decide what you want to plant and who will be responsible for the various tasks like weeding and watering as the garden evolves. You can get your space ready and start seeds now so that when the weather is warm enough, you are ready to get planting. This website offers hundreds of tips and pointers for starting, planting and caring for your garden.

SM BearCheeks_IGDo Some Spring Cleaning. When the whole family gets involved, spring cleaning doesn’t have to be a chore. You can even do it in your pajamas! Turn on some fun music, assign everyone a task, and go to town. There’s a great chance that you’ll unearth some forgotten treasures and memories in the process. You can also teach kids lessons about giving back to others. Share with them that there are a lot of people who don’t have as much as they do, and how wonderful it can be to donate unused and unwanted items to people who can use them. Have fun with it, teach life lessons, and get organized all at the same time!

family-1454783_640Take a Walk. Ok, so technically this isn’t an ‘at home’ activity but there are likely places in, and around, your neighborhood where you don’t have to deal with crowds but can still get outside, enjoy the weather, get some exercise, and take in nature. Do an internet search for local hiking or walking trails, or large parks where you can be out in the open and enjoy the great outdoors without the crowds.

paint-1167786_640Create Outdoor Art. Brighten your outdoor living space with décor created by your family. There is so much you can do like painting rocks, making patio pavers, and creating flower planters. Look on Pinterest. You’ll find ideas that you never even thought of. And once you’re done, you’ll have one-of-a-kind outdoor artwork for the whole neighborhood to envy!

We’re confident that leaders will be able to control and eliminate the current health scare our country is facing. The most important thing to remember is to practice good hygiene and make wise decisions. If staying home to be safe is one of the things you choose to do, at least these ideas will help make it much more fun. Happy Spring!

7 Best Earth Day Seed Starters

Earth Day: 7 Easy Indoor Seed Starter Projects

Earth Day is coming up this Sunday, April 22nd. Celebrate Mother Earth by planning a summer garden with your family. Buying fully grown plants is expensive and unnecessary. Seeds are more affordable and sprouting them indoors gives them a better chance of surviving outdoors.

Sprouting the seeds indoors protects the seeds from being eaten by birds and keeps the sweet sprouts from being devoured by insects. Plan your summer garden this spring with these simple upcycled indoor seed starter projects. These fun ideas turn everyday trash into helpful gardening tools. No green thumb required!

Queen Bee from The Cat's Pajamas

We adore this ‘Queen Bee‘ PJ set from The Cat’s Pajamas!

Simple Upcycled Seed Starters for Earth Day

Earth Day Seed Starter Milk Jug Greenhouse

1. Milk Jug Greenhouses. Got plastic? Upcycle your plastic milk jugs by cutting off the tops and using the base as a container to grow plants. If you’re feeling more ambitious, you can reuse the entire jug by turning it into a self-contained miniature greenhouse. In this cool tutorial from Preparedness Mama, you learn how to create a sprouting container that keeps the soil moist so you can grow your delicate seedlings in direct sunlight. Depending on the type of seed you’re growing, your plants will sprout in three days and will be ready for your garden in just two weeks. Learn how on preparednessmama.com

Earth Day Seed Starters Mason Jars

2. Mason Jar Seed Starters. It’s not a ‘DIY’ list unless there’s a project involving mason jars, amiright? The great thing about this seed starter project from Miser Mom is that depending on how many jars you save, you can create so many seedlings at once! If you wrap a ribbon around the top of the jars, these also make great gifts. A mason jar sprout is a thoughtful way to encourage your neighbors to start their own summer gardens. Learn how on miser-mom.blogspot.com

Earth Day Seed Starter Chinese Takeout

3. Takeout Container Seed Pods. Turn cardboard Chinese takeout containers into beautiful and unique ‘seed pods’ courtesy of this tutorial from instructables. Most of these containers are water-resistant to keep saucy food from leaking. This means that they won’t leave water stains on your window sills as you move them around the house, chasing sunlight. When it’s time to transplant, the sides easily fold down, making it nearly impossible to damage the roots unlike traditional flower pots that require a bit of shaking. Learn how on instructables.com

Earth Day Projects Milk Carton Seed Starter

4. Egg Carton Seed Starters. This is probably the most popular method of starting seeds at home. You can purchase planters specifically designed for starting seeds at your local home improvement store. You can grow seeds in these planters just as you would a traditional pot, but you can plant the entire container when it comes time to transplant. The containers are designed to biodegrade. Traditional egg cartons are also biodegradable. You can start the seeds in each slot, then cut apart the container and bury it whole when you’re ready to transfer the contents to your garden. Learn how on motherearthnews.com

Earth Day Projects Juice Seed Starter

5. Juice Carton Seed Starters. Cardboard juice cartons (or milk cartons) are perfect for starting a garden on your windowsill. They’re deep enough that you can grow the seedlings to a hearty size before transplanting and wide enough that you can fit multiple plants in each container. This image was found on Pinterest.

Earth Day Projects Seed Starter from Newspaper

6. Newspaper Seed Starter. Doesn’t get any easier than this! If you have an old newspaper on hand, you can learn to fold the paper into a container, origami style. As with egg cartons, the newspaper container and your sprouted plants can be placed directly into the ground, avoiding ‘transplant shock.’ Learn how to turn an old newspaper into a beautiful planter on HGTV.com

Earth Day Projects Loofah Seed Starter

7. Loofah Sponge Seed Starter. We saved the best for last! This is a decidedly unique way to recycle an old loofah sponge. Traditional loofah sponges are made of natural materials that will break down and feed your plant after you transplant the sprout. The container is ideal for encouraging root growth. You might argue that loofahs actually make better seed starters than exfoliants! Learn how to upcycle your loofa on thymesquaregarden.blogspot.com

For more ideas for springtime family fun, visit The Pajama Company at our blog, thepajamacompany.com/blog.

Rainy Day Craft Ideas for Kids

April Showers: Simple Rainy Day Crafts for Kids

April showers bring… cold, rainy weekends with the whole family stuck indoors! Make the most of a rainy spring day with easy crafts you can do with the kids. Don’t have a PhD in Pinterest? No worries. These are truly simple craft ideas that everyone will enjoy. So easy, you can stay in your pajama pants all weekend. These craft ideas only require items you can find in your house or at your local dollar store. No gold leaf paint required.

Rainy day pajama day!

These Kids FlapJack Pajamas from Lazy One are perfect for rainy day fun!

11 Easy Rainy Day Crafts for Kids

Rainy Day Finger Puppets

1. Marker Top Finger Puppets. We’re willing to guess you have a dried up marker or two (or thirty?) hiding around the house. Use the caps and materials like construction paper, yarn, twine, or pipe cleaners to make these fun finger puppets featured on The Handmade Adventures of Captain Crafty.

Rainy Day Marble Paint Project

2. Marble Painting. We love this one from The Mother Huddle! It’s finger painting with a twist. Squirt a little paint on top of  a sheet of paper inside a baking pan. Drop a marble or small ball inside and let your kiddo twist and turn the pan to roll the ball through the paint and create one-of-a-kind works of art! This craft combines getting messy with the added bonus of a noisy marble rattling around a baking pan — sure to be a hit!

Rainy Day Puppet Theater Project

3. Rainy Day Puppet Theater. Maybe combine this idea with the ‘Marker Top Finger Puppets’? A rainy day is perfect for a day at the theater, especially if your kids construct it from this cool template that you can run off your printer! Using only a cracker or cereal box, paper, scissors, glue or tape, and some popsicle sticks or skewers — your kids can quickly create their own puppet theater with this craft from BKids.

Rainy Day Paper Lantern Craft

4. Tracing Paper Lanterns. Using translucent tracing paper and watercolors or markers, have your kids create pictures and tape or glue them to old glass jars. Pop a tealight inside and you have mood lighting for dinner, courtesy of your children. The original project idea from Mamascout is a bit more involved if you want to get fancy!

Rainy Day Fun Googly Eyes

5. Eye-Bombing. Another idea we’re in love with! Using a pack of stick-on googly eyes, “eye bomb” common objects in your house to turn them into a source of silliness! This craft would be even funnier if another parent or older sibling were to come home to discover the random peepers! A big belly laugh courtesy of MiniEco.

Rainy Day Egg Carton Craft

6. Egg Carton Bouquet. The kids with love creating a new springtime centerpiece for your kitchen table. This fun upcycled craft idea comes from Better Homes & Gardens. Simply cut up an egg carton, paint each of the “egg holders,” and twist together pipe cleaners to make stems.

Rainy Day Marble Run Craft

7. Cereal Box Marble Run. This super simple marble track from Made by Joel uses only a cereal box, scissors, and glue to create hours (okay… maybe 40 minutes?) of fun for your little one. You can encourage your kiddos to get more creative and paint or color the box, add stickers, glitter — go wild!

Rainy Day Fish Craft Project

8. Fishy Fun. Have paper plates laying around the house? Create these fun, Pac-Man inspired fish from Made Everyday with scissors, construction paper, and whatever else you have on hand. This is craft is especially fun considering the recent popularity of book The Pout Pout Fish. It could be a great project after story time!

Rainy Day Brushless Painting Activity

9. Brushless Painting Station. Kids love getting messy. A surefire way to keep them busy for hours is to encourage some messy play. NurtureStore suggests a “brushless” painting station. Using utensils, leaves, twigs, cotton balls, sponges, cookie cutters… let your kids paint with anything but a brush! This craft is guaranteed to grant you a couple hours of silence.

Rainy Day Memory Game

10. Memory Game. This is a simple old school rainy day activity that will definitely pass some time! Curly Birds suggests putting a handful of objects on a tray — all the same color — and have the kids stare at it for a few minutes to memorize what they see. Cover the tray with a cloth and take one object away and have them guess which one is missing. This is not only great for memory, it’s a wonderful way to help them build their language skills!

Pop Up Zoo Rainy Day Craft

11. Pop-Up Zoo. This pop-up zoo craft idea from Tinker Lab will keep your children amused for the whole afternoon! Have them create the animals they know and recognize and then invent new ones for some whacky imaginative fun!

For more ideas for springtime family fun, visit The Pajama Company at our blog, thepajamacompany.com/blog.