5 Ways to Celebrate Preschool or Kindergarten Graduation

Preschool graduation
Don’t let your little one’s preschool or kindergarten graduation pass by without fanfare. Remember the momentous milestone and their special day with these fun ways to celebrate.

1. What’s a party without a cake?

Whether your grad’s party is the real deal or just a classroom celebration, make it memorable with a celebratory graduation cake like this adorable one from Sugar Creation. It makes use of a dummy cake for the top layer, which makes it a little easier to create… assuming you have decorating skills on par with hers!
via Sugar Creations
via Sugar Creations

2. Get a special graduation shirt to mark the big day.

You’ll eliminate the “what to wear” battle on graduation day and likely many other days, too, with a special kindergarten graduation shirt. After the celebration, let them wear it to show they’ve been there and done that.
via Cafe Press
via Cafe Press
 

3. Bring kindergarten graduation gifts for the class.

Free printable graduation stickers are a simple way to turn a lollipop and a pencil into a party favor.
via Zazzle
via Zazzle

4. Stage a kindergarten graduation photoshoot.

With a little thinking ahead, you can take your own kindergarten graduation pictures to freeze the day in time. You’ll love pulling it out in 12 years or so to compare to their high school graduation photo.
URBS_graduation_nada almashat
via Nada Almashat

5. Create a Memory Board.

This affordable, printable chalkboard template is a cute way to remember the year. You can record their favorites, the names of their best friends, and memorable moments and firsts. Mount it on foam board for a party or photo prop, or paste it in scrapbook or photo book that wraps up the year or their preschool career.

What are your ideas for celebrating the little ones’ graduation day? Let us know in the comments!

Summer child care, solved!

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7 Simple Kid’s Crafts for Mother’s Day

Mother's Day Art, Simple Art Projects for Mother's Day, Mom Art

Why not surprise a mom by helping her kids create a heart-felt, homemade gift to show their love this Mother’s Day? Here are 7 simple DIY gifts kids can create with a little help from you to make any mom feel special:

1. Mother’s Day Coupon Book

Download our Mother’s Day Coupon Book printable template to make an extra-thoughtful gift mom with coupons for “washing the dishes,” “folding the laundry,” and even “one hour of quiet time.” Have your little one color-in and draw on each coupon to personalize it. Complement your coupon book with an UrbanSitter gift card!

mother's-day-coupon-book

2. Yarn Wrapped Bottles

A Mother’s Day art project older kids will enjoy is creating these beautiful vases for Mom.  It’s an easy way to present a few flowers on Mom’s big day.

via Huffington Post
via Huffington Post

3. Craft Stick Flower Pot

Another fun easy art project for kids to make on Mother’s Day is to create a colorful flower pot. Find a recycled can or other small container and craft or popsicle sticks and some glue. After the flower pot is finished, fill it with her favorite plant for a long-lasting gift that will keep her smiling.

via Somewhat Simple
via Somewhat Simple

4. Baby Feet Butterflies

If you’re looking for an easy art project for Mother’s Day for a baby, using their fingerprints or footprints is a wonderful way to create sentimental art. One homemade gift for mom from a baby is to dip the baby’s feet into non-toxic washable paint and create footprints.  After the paint has dried, turn them into butterflies with just a few swipes with a marker.

via Pinterest
via Pinterest

5. Tissue Paper Flowers

Truly a classic craft for Mother’s Day! Who doesn’t love a few tissue paper flowers, and even more so if they were created by the little ones they love. WikiHow tells you how to make them three ways.

via Rust and Sunshine
via Rust and Sunshine

6. Craft Stick Jewelry Box

For the elementary kids, a simple Mother’s Day craft is this beautiful keepsake box. All they need to make this box are craft sticks or recycled popsicle sticks and embellish with anything from beads, sequins, buttons, drawings or even stickers. Mom will love storing her treasures here.

via Spoonful
via Spoonful

7. Flower Photos

A free printable background, cupcake liners, construction paper and favorite photos are all it takes to make these adorable flower photos. Photos of children’s faces are cut into 1.5 inch circles and pasted to the center of flowers.  Once they are completed, these can be used to make a Mother’s Day card or a picture frame. For a picture frame, either buy a new frame or find an old picture frame and just remove the glass to make room for the 3D flowers.

via Raising Arizona Kids
via Raising Arizona Kids

Homemade Mother’s Day crafts like these are the ones that will truly touch her heart. She’ll appreciate the time and effort you made to help the kids create such meaningful Mother’s Day gifts. UrbanSitter.com gift cards make great gifts, too!

Get Busy with Spring Break Crafts for Kids

The kids are home for Spring Break, and chances are you could use a few craft ideas for entertaining them. Here are 5 Spring Break arts and crafts that are sure to keep them busy!

1. Yarn Eggs

Our first Spring Break craft idea could pass as an Easter-time craft, but really it works any time of year. It’s a fun project for school-age kids who will love the process and the end result – big, colorful orbs to hang in their rooms.  You’ll need thin cotton yarn, balloons, craft glue, newspaper, waxed paper, a clothespin and a hanger. The project involves making a watered-down glue mixture, dipping strands of yarn in it and and wrapping around a balloon. Once dry, you pop and remove the balloon, and you are left with a funky, colorful egg.

2. Spring Blossom Painting

The blogger from Toddler Approved created the idea for this gorgeous painting that is worthy of hanging on a prime spot on your walls. Check out her handy tutorial for a detailed how-to that includes photos of each step. Be assured that it’s a simple project involving materials you likely already have in the house, which is perfect for crafts for Spring Break… watercolor paper, paint and a Sharpie is all you need!

Blossom Painting by Toddler Approved
Blossom Painting by Toddler Approved

3. Chalkboard Flower Pots

We’ve tweaked this Spring Break craft a bit to make it more kid- friendly.  The day before you tackle this project with the kids, paint a few flower pots with chalkboard paint. The ingenious paint now comes in nearly every color of the rainbow.  Once dry, big kids they may enjoy embellishing the pots with trim, ribbon or buttons (similar to the project shown here). Kids of all ages will love using the colorful pots to plant a few fast-growing seeds or actual flowers or plants you’ve picked up from the home improvement store or local nursery, and then decorating their pots with chalk drawings that can be erased at whim.

Chalkboard Flower Pots by Paint Me Plaid
Chalkboard Flower Pots by Paint Me Plaid

4. Button Flowers for Counting

This cute craft helps young kids count and learn to associate numbers. It’s simple, too.  Help kids use green Wikki Stix  (wax covered yarn sticks you can bend and mold to any shape) to make stems and leaves for flowers and attach to a piece of white paper.  Children can then attach a button to the top of the stem (the Wikki Stix will adhere the button so no glue is necessary). Label the stems of the flowers with any numbers the children are working on.  Have the children place the corresponding number of buttons on top of the flowers.

Button Flowers for Counting by Sixty Second Parent
Button Flowers for Counting by Sixty Second Parent

5. Bunny Paper Plate Photo Frame

Here’s a cute Spring Break craft that even the tiniest tots can handle. Simply cut the middle out of a paper plate, paste cotton balls on the remaining circle, and staple two bunny ears made from additional plates and also covered in cotton balls You can either paste it around a photo of your child’s face (like a frame) or tie a string from side-to-side on the back and make a fun mask.

Bunny Love by I Love 1st Grade

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10 Spring Break Staycation Ideas for Families

If a big trip isn’t on the calendar this year, you might be looking for Spring Break staycation ideas to keep the kids entertained for 10 consecutive, school-free days. Fear not! There are tons of fun activities that feel special enough for a school vacation, and will keep you or the sitter and your kids happily entertained at or near home.

10 Fun, Family Activities for a Spring Break Staycation

  1. Go camping in your own backyard. If the temps aren’t feeling sub-zero, pitch a tent in the backyard or on the back deck and have a family night under the stars. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, check out our round-up of family-friendly camping spots and hit the road!
  2. Turn your home into a restaurant for a day. With kids to feed, you might already feel like a short order cook, but why not get the kids in on the action by pretending to run a restaurant. You can divvy up duties – setting the table, prep, cooking, serving, being the customer and clean up. It’s a fun way to get little ones involved in menu planning, and hands on in the kitchen, which has been shown to open their minds to trying new foods and appreciating the value of good, whole foods. It’s also a nice opportunity to work on table manners and to talk about money.
  3. Dive in! Just because you aren’t at the beach, doesn’t mean you can’t take a swim. Bust out your beach bags and head to a pool for the day. Your kids will love it!
  4. Take a local hike or bike ride. Get outside and get moving with a family hike or bike ride through a familiar or waiting-to-be-discovered part of town. If you don’t already have one, think of investing in a quality baby seat for your bike. You’ll open up tons of opportunities for getting fresh air and exercise with baby in tow.
  5. Play tourist in your own town. Visit a local attraction you’ve never seen before, whether it be a little known museum, a school or neighborhood park in another area, or even an unfamiliar library branch.
  6. Wake up in “Paris” or any other foreign land you’d like to visit. With a little advance planning, you can have make-believe feel quite real by greeting your kids with “Bonjour!” and a croissant, sharing books or stories about the land you are visiting (maybe a Madeline story), doing a foreign craft, watching a movie, and making an easy meal together. It’s a fun way to open their minds to new cultures.
  7. Host a lemonade stand. Even if you don’t live on a street with many passersby, you might be able to recruit some neighbors or friends to come by to buy a cup or two. It takes some time to make a sign, mix up a pitcher of lemonade, set up a stand and wait for your customers!
  8. Do good. A day off is a fine time to volunteer for a local cause, together as a family. Clean-up a favorite park, help out at a food bank or visit a nursery home to teach your kids the value of giving back.
  9. Have a family movie night and sleepover. With no early morning alarms to set, you might feel a little more lax about bedtime. Pile the family in front of the TV for a movie or find a fun family-friendly game to play together. Make it more  fun with a big batch of popcorn or a special sweet treat. If your kids are past the crib stage, try gathering your sleeping bags and sleeping together sleep-over style.
  10. Set up a BBQ. Our last Spring Break staycation idea really sizzles! Nothing says spring like firing up the grill for burgers and hot dogs. Get the kids involved in the cooking, helping prepare the sides, drinks and desserts. It’s a great way to enjoy a spring break together after a long week.

No matter how  you spend your Spring Break staycation, remember there’s always a sitter available on UrbanSitter to give you a break! 

Simple St. Patrick’s Day Crafts for Kids

As luck would have it, there are oodles of St. Patty’s Day crafts to keep your kids happily entertained. We’ve rounded up 10 of our favorites that are just right for little ones.

Simple St. Patrick’s Day Crafts for Kids

Rainbow Streamers
A simple craft made from a paper plate, paints and tissue paper strips.

Screen Shot 2014-03-10 at 12.27.30 PM
via Activity Village

Handprint Rainbow
Kids’ handprints made in every color of the rainbow lead to a pot of gold.

via The Logan's
via The Logan Family of Five

Paper Bag Leprechaun
It’s double the fun when you turn a paper sack into a googly-eyed leprechaun who makes for a perfect puppet.

via Pin Inspired
via Pin Inspired

Rainbow Necklace
Buy a box of fruity O’s cereal and help your child string a rainbow (or make it leprechaun green) on a shoe string. You’ll have a fun project, cute necklace and a yummy snack. 

via Eighteen 25
via Eighteen 25

Shamrock Bouquet
Here’s a craft that’s as much fun for Mom as it is for the little ones. Make an adorable bouquet of shamrocks using the handy template provided here, and you’ll have a happily entertained crafter and a cute centerpiece for the table.

via Sweet and Lovely
via Sweet and Lovely

Paper Rainbow
A simple craft for even the tiniest tots. Glue dots make it even easier and eliminate the mess.

via Scrappin' Danielle
via Scrappin’ Danielle

Leprechaun Green Oobleck
If you haven’t yet played with the strange, non-edible substance called Oobleck, here’s your chance. Make a green batch!

via Oobleck
via Food.com

Green Pepper Shamrock Stamp
A green pepper easily becomes a shamrock stamp. Who knew?!

via Family Fresh Meals
via Family Fresh Meals

Pot of Gold
There’s a template for a shamrock and a pot, but we’re guessing you won’t need them to create this adorable pot of treasures.

via Play and Learn with Dana
via Play and Learn with Dana

Leprechaun Beard
Love, love, love this DIY leprechaun beard you can make for a fantastic dress-up accessory.

via No Time for Flashcards
via No Time for Flashcards

 

Search for crafty sitters on UrbanSitter.com! How will your family celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

Fantastic Father’s Day Photo Ideas

father's day, fathers day picture ideas, father's day picture ideas, father's day photo shoot idea

Scrambling to find the perfect gift to celebrate the Dads in your life this Father’s Day? You can scour the stores in search of a gift that speaks to his hobbies or wardrobe, help the kids create a craft worthy of a spot on his desk, or take one spectacular Fathers Day photo that he’ll cherish for a lifetime. The right photo says far more than any store-bought gift or last minute craft. We’ve curated a list of fun father’s day picture ideas to inspire you and your child and capture the perfect shot.

Photo Ideas for the Perfect Father’s Day Gift

via Natural New Age Mum
via Natural New Age Mum

Write a message that’s as sweet as the tiny feet.

via House of Hendrix
via House of Hendrix

Get Dad to star in a photo shoot.

via Crafty Texas Girls
via Crafty Texas Girls

Fun photo that the kids will love creating.

via Amanda Myers
via Amanda Myers

With a message and a family photo that steals his heart.

via I Can Teach My Child!
via I Can Teach My Child!

In his shoes.

via Family Share
via Family Share

This Father’s Day photo shoot idea works especially well if you have three kids!

via Indulgy
via Indulgy

Make it multi-generational for a powerful portrait of the fathers in his life.

For more great Fathers Day picture ideas and inspiration for photographing kids in general, check out our Photographing Babies and Kids Pinterest Board.

Looking for a sitter to take that special dad out for Father’s Day? Join UrbanSitter to browse profiles, sort by pay rate, and book jobs online.

Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids

How about arming your babysitter with Valentine’s Day craft ideas and supplies for your kids to create special treats for family and friends? You’ll have happily occupied kids, a grateful babysitter and a few special gifts, too.

Here are five sweet ideas for your little ones to get crafty:

1) Fun Craft for Bigger Kids – Matchbox Valentine Boxes

matchbox valentines by inchmark.squarespace.com

Kids love tiny things, and who can blame them? These tiny packages made out of matchboxes and filled with candy are adorable. (You’ll want one, too!) Easy to create, the boxes can be customized with as much or as little as your crafter likes. Tape a strip of craft paper to cover them [Cut a piece of paper 2″ high (or the height of your matchbox) and about 4″ long (enough to wrap it around)], slap on some stickers, or paint or draw your own decorations… and tie with a bow. Since they are so teeny, a bag of candy is all you’ll need to fill a whole slew of them. M&Ms work well, and you can buy the pink and red ones for VDay.

2) Homemade Valentine’s Day Cards with Crazy Crayons

crazycrayons by innerchildfun.com

We love this crazy cute Valentine, particularly because it includes a kid-approved treat that isn’t candy – Crazy Crayons. Here’s the perfect use of all the bits and pieces of broken crayons you undoubtedly have at the bottom of your arts and crafts box. Crazy Crayons take what’s old and turn it into colorful, useful, Valentine gifts for classmates and friends. Your kids will love the crayon “demo” and the big reveal (once the bits bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then chill in the frig). A heart muffin tin is especially cute to use, and these free printables stapled to the top of a Ziploc bag make the Valentine especially easy to package.

3) The Perfect Project for Preschoolers – Heart Flowers

Photo by Puttisworld

You’ll need red, pink and green construction paper, craft or popsicle sticks, glue, scissors and a couple of markers to create these happy Heart Flowers. Your sitter can help by cutting out four red/pink hearts for the flower and two smaller green hearts for the leaves of each flower. Your child can glue them to the paper, overlapping to form a flower, adding the stick for a stem and leaves, too. Once dry, draw a face and any Valentine’s Day message you choose. Instructions and photos here, thanks to Putti’s World.

4) Get Cooking for a Tasty Snack (or Gift)

Photo by Workathomegal.com

Take it easy on your sitter by leaving her all the trappings for a low-fuss treat she and the kids can bake and decorate. Depending on your child’s age and familiarity with baking, choose either a roll of refrigerated cookie dough, a boxed mix for cupcakes, or the easiest route – premade, undecorated cookies or cupcakes from the bakery or grocery store. Most will agree the best part of baking holiday treats is decorating them, so go all out on decorations. You could include several colors of candy sprinkles or sugars, maraschino cherries, dried coconut, tubes of frosting, chocolate chips, and candy hearts.

5) Home-Crafted Decoration to Resurrect Each Year

Photo by Kaboose

We know, we know, it’s another craft with crayons, but we couldn’t help ourselves. This craft is worth picking up an extra set of crayons so you can tackle it, as well as the melted crayon Valentines. So pretty to hang in a window, these stained glass hearts are a perfect way to brighten dreary winter days. You can make them by melting crayon shavings between waxed paper using an iron set on low. Hang them with a loop of string or ribbon after cutting out hearts. Experiment with different color combinations, and make sure the sitter knows not to take her eyes off the hot iron or melted paper until they have cooled.

Hope you, your kids and your sitter love these Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids as much as we do!

Ideas for Babysitter Activities with a School-Aged Child

Hiring a babysitter for a school-age child is often met with some anxiety on both sides unless there are activities planned. The child wonders if the babysitter will make him eat his broccoli and the babysitter hopes against hope that the child is more spunky than sulky. What resources do you have to combat this situation?

Activities to do with kids appropriate for their age:

Ask their parents to pick the game, toy, or computer games they like playing the LEAST. You won’t have the disadvantage of repeatedly being asked to engage in a certain activity and the child will be happy an adult is taking interest in their neglected game or toy.

Have the child make his birthday list (or holiday list if it’s coming up). This is usually a huge hit. Take a plain old piece of paper and have the child write or draw their ultimate wish list. You can even use those umpteen catalogs that come in the mail for inspiration and/or art supplies — cut out what they want and paste on list. Voila!

Paper crafts for kids are among the most popular. If you are not super talented in this area (join the club), get online and look up some free kids crafts on Pinterest. Use the calendar for inspiration. Valentine’s Day? Make paper hearts from coffee filters! Columbus Day? Make a native American headdress from construction paper!

Easy games for kids involving hiding things. Hide a few objects around the house or in the yard and send them hunting. Give them a bag or basket and they’ll be even happier. For older children, make a treasure map. A meticulously-detailed map with clues along the way (akin to a scavenger hunt) will engage them for a while. Perhaps the winner gets to pick the bedtime story or an extra marshmallow in his hot cocoa.

UrbanSitter is ready when you are! Find a local babysitter through people you know and schedule jobs online in minutes.

How to inject Family Fun into a Summer of Work & Camp

four out of five of the miller & friedlander kids playing cards

Summertime, which we’d so love to think of as carefree fun-time, can too often be an extended period of regret for those working moms and dads who can take few vacation days to spend with the family. But do the post-school hot months necessarily have to translate into drudgery for kids, and a guilt-fest for parents?

Not in the slightest, say Lisa Friedlander and Ilene Miller, DC-area moms who are the founders of class- and camp-booking site Activity Rocket, and between them, parents to five kids. Fun for all might just start with an attitude adjustment: one that enables you to see the summer camp you might inevitably have to enroll your kids in as something exciting and enriching rather than an unfortunately necessity.

According to Miller—mom to sons Mark, age 13, and Max, age 10—“The beauty of summer is it gives kids the opportunity to do something new, that they don’t get exposed to in school, like Claymation camp, or rock band camp, for example,” she says. “But in our area, there are also kids who spend the summer at the community pool, taking swim lessons and being pool bums.” Either way, she says, when kids are happy and tired at the end of the day, that goes a long way toward minimizing parental guilt. Which makes for happier family time all around, when you do manage to wedge some in.

This doesn’t have to be an elaborate or expensive prospect, Miller maintains. “I really value the longer days in the summertime, when the kids can stay up later,” she says. “My husband, Craig, and I try to spend a lot of unstructured family time in the evenings with them. We can barbecue outside, have family tournaments that can last the whole weekend—the kids are huge card sharks. We just get back to basics.”

The basics certainly extend to weekends, when camp and work are finished for the week. Says Miller, “We’re so lucky that in the DC area, we have hiking trails, and a lot of rivers that are accessible to us within 10 minutes, that we can kayak on with the kids.” She’s also a big proponent of finding community events, most of which are free. “In the Potomac area, we’ve got all the Smithsonian museums, book fairs, concerts in the parks, festivals—often they have no admission and the only money we’ll spend is on food once we get there.”

Friedlander and family spend weekends at a river house on the Chesapeake (if you don’t have your own, make friends with someone who does, she jokes!). “It’s very much no screens, no electronics, a lot of time spent tubing and water skiing and playing beach tennis and fishing and crabbing the old-fashioned way, with a piece of chicken tied to a rope.” With her oldest child, Jaclyn, age 14, set to head off to sleepaway camp for the entire summer, she says she’s also relishing the opportunity to spend a bit of quality time with Cole, age 11, and Camryn, age 9. As well as taking her own breather from the usual grind. “Those eight weeks of summer go by so fast, it’s important to give yourself a little bit of a break,” she says. “Whether that means not cooking every night, or not cleaning up every day, or just enjoying a walk around the neighborhood—things you wouldn’t do on a regular basis. Just slow down and enjoy the pace of summer.”

Also critical for Miller, “I need time with my husband, too, whether or not the kids are away. We’ll take a picnic and a bottle of wine somewhere, and focus on our time alone.”

But absolutely the biggest opportunity afforded even to working parents and camp kids in the summer: the fabulousness of being outside. “We get really active,” says Friedlander. “We have swimming races, and we bought a Kanjam—literally a Frisbee you throw into a slot, a team game that’s tons of fun; we all love it.”

Says Miller, “Friends helped us build a Gaga pit, which is Israeli dodge ball in a confined space. On weekends we’ll have friends over and sometimes it’s just adults in there. It’s a great way to be outside, get competitive, and work out a little aggression.” Let the summer games begin!

DIY Families: 5 Home Projects You Can Do with the Kids

When you’ve got a lot of projects to take are of around the house, your first instinct might be to send the kids out of the house on play dates, or into the yard with their toys. But getting your children involved in working around the house presents many great learning opportunities and, when taught correctly and monitored appropriately, can actually help you get your work done faster!

Below are five easy home projects the whole family can get involved in, from our friends at HomeAdvisor.

1. Painting the walls. You can paint the high parts of the walls; your kids can help cover the lower areas. It’s a project most of them will love, and it also gives them a beginner handyperson’s education in undercoats and how to place tape to avoid painting the baseboards. You will need to supervise them throughout the process, but the sense of accomplishment they’ll feel when they actually get to see the completed room painted a whole new color is enormous. If they’re too little to really help, let them show their creativity by painting smiley faces, clouds, flowers, that you’ll paint over later.

2. Clean out the drains. Drains get stopped up over time, but there’s no need to use chemicals to un-clog them, unless you’ve gotten something major stuck down there. Baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar mixed together into a paste is a concoction that’s safe enough for children to use, and strong enough to get the job done. Let the kids pour this mixture down the drain, then follow it up yourself with a kettle full of boiling water you pour down yourself. Let it stand for 30 minutes to an hour, then let your kids run some fresh sold water through the drain to finish up.

3. Give the mailbox a makeover. Over time, your mailbox can take a beating. This is a great project to get your kids involved in. Wash the mailbox with sponges, water, and mild soap to remove all debris. Then decide: does the box simply need a fresh coat of paint? A new house number? Decorations like flowers or flags? Let everyone in the family have a say—and a hand in making your designs come to life.

4. Plant a container garden. Kids love to get down in the dirt, so why not redirect that enjoyment towards something with an actual purpose? They can create holes for young plants and seedlings, get them situated, and water them in. You can also let them choose some of their favorite fruits and vegetables to plant in the garden—they’ll be so excited to see the plants they’ve chosen shoot up and get bigger day by day.

5. Get them involved in overall house-cleaning. While this might seem like a big chore, you can help kids find a fun way to get involved in the process. Show them how to swish a feather duster around with flair, and they can dust off your end tables and other low-lying areas. You can also make tidying their rooms into a game: how fast can they stack the blocks, or how many dolls will fit in one cubby? Not only does this help you (a little), it helps your children learn good practices that will benefit them through their whole lives.