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Valentine’s Day is a day to show your loved ones how much you appreciate them. Making festive crafts and foods can spread the love even further! We found tons of craft ideas from Sugar Bee Crafts, Family Your Way, Parenting.com, and Love From The Oven. Let’s check out some of the great ideas they had to offer:

Handprint Valentine Cards: Who said that finger painting could not turn into hand painting? Paint the palms of your little ones’ hands and have them press their hands against paper.  They can create hearts out of their hand prints. How cool! Find old scrapbook or construction paper to add more personality to the Valentine Cards

Sparkly Heart Garland: Under adult supervision, have your kids trace and cut out hearts from construction paper.  Instead of using the heart shaped cut outs for this decoration, you will use the heart outlines. Grab some tape and drop sequins or other types of embellishments on the tape and then put it on the heart outline. String the decorative heart outlines with yarn or ribbon and hang them all around the house. With all the hearts around the house, the whole family will really feel the love!

Calzone Hearts: When we think of Valentine’s Day, we probably think of chocolate and heart shaped candies, but this year, think outside of the box! Create or buy bread dough then let the kids help you roll out the dough and use heart shape cookie cutters. Place mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce, and your choice of meats (or no meat) on the heart and place other heart of dough over the toppings. Press the two hearts together and bake all the calzone hearts. Yum!

Chocolate Covered Pretzels: The kids will love helping you make chocolate covered pretzels. Get a bag of pretzels, chocolate, and heart shaped sprinkles. Melt the chocolate and then dip half or the entire pretzel in the chocolate and then pour the sprinkles over the chocolate while it is still gooey. Let them dry for awhile and then dig into this sweet and salty treat!

Valentine’s Day is a time of cherishing the ones you love and what better way to do that than making crafts and food together. What recipes or crafts will you be making for this love filled holiday? Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

Still cannot figure out a costume for your kids this year? There are so many ideas out there! It is hard to choose from. Here at Step2, we searched Parents.com and Pinterest and saw some adorable choices that you can create yourself!

Check out these creative and cute costumes:

Olympic Runner:

In spirit of the 2012 Olympics, why not remember it by dressing your child as a runner! This costume is great to invest in because many of the materials that will create it can be repurposed such as the tennis shoes and sweatbands.

Fierce Tiger:

Kids love transforming into their favorite jungle animals. Better yet, kids can even help create this costume by helping to glue and cut out the shapes for the stripes. Here are the instructions!

Chicken Little:

Cluck, cluck, chicken! The chicken costume will keep infants and toddlers very warm just in case it is chilly on Halloween! Click here to find out how to make this costume.

Cuddly Cowboy:

Cluck, cluck, chicken! The chicken costume will keep infants and toddlers very warm just in case it is chilly on Halloween! Click here to find out how to make this costume.

Wild Kitty:

Do not let this furry kitty fool you, she is dangerous . This costume requires an animal print vest, hoodie, ears, tail, and maybe some eyeliner or other method to create whiskers.

Flower Pot Full of Posy:

Take a trip to the craft store to gather fake flowers and a plastic pot to create this flourishing posy.

Do you have any ideas for DIY costumes for the kids for Halloween? Have a safe & fun Halloween

The 2012 Summer Olympics start tonight! There are many ways to get the kids excited about the Olympics. Here are some fun facts, creative crafts, and delicious recipes in order to get the whole family excited about one of the most talked about sporting events of all time!

Fun Facts:

There are two great websites full of fun facts that your kids will find interesting and intriguing.

Here are some fascinating facts from Project Britain:

• London hosted the Olympic Games in 1908 and 1948 (and now in 2012!).
• 205 nations will take part in 300 events at the Olympic Games in 2012.
• London is the biggest city in Britain and in Europe.
• The tallest building in London is the Canary Wharf Tower.
•  Some of the most important people from countries all over the world visit the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

Get Set also has some great facts that the kids will enjoy:

• The Olympic and Paralympic Games are the biggest peacetime event in the world.
• The Ancient Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece thousands of years ago.
• More than 1500 years later, a young Frenchman called Baron Pierre de Coubertin decided to create the modern Olympic Games.
• The last Olympic Games were in Beijing, China, in August 2008.
• In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece.

 

Creative Crafts:

We found a fun kid-friendly craft from the 2008 Beijing Oylmpics. Help your children create an Olympic Torch and run around the house or outside pretending that they are the runner that lights the torch for the Olympic Games!

The kids will love making the torch and watching the torch being lit on television tonight. They will be a part of the action!

Olympic Recipe:

No celebration is complete without a delicious treat that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Have your children help you create an Olympic cake.

Flossie Crums has a delectable recipe for a vanilla sponge cake designed with Olympic rings made of M&Ms. Choose a flavor of cake that is a family favorite.

Enjoy the 2012 Olympics! We’d love to know the fun activities you have planned for your family to celebrate this summer’s Olympic Games.

 

Many parents want to give their children the opportunity to explore their creative and artistic side, but are not sure how to get their kids interested in art. Remember that what works for one child may not work for another, so if one of the following tips does not work, try another.

Devote a section of your home to art. This doesn’t need to be an entire room; even just a small ‘art corner’ devoted to creativity will work. Keep art supplies, such as kids art desks, an activity table, easel, paints, paintbrushes, crayons, colored pencils and coloring books in this area. (If you are concerned about clutter, then purchase a storage unit with shelves – such as hutch or desk with drawers — to hold various supplies).

Also, devote an area of your home to displaying your kids’ artwork. The prouder you (and they) are of their work, the more freedom they will have to take risks and experiment.

Whenever you take a family outing, whether it is an annual vacation or a day trip, bring along sketchpads. Have your children sketch things that they like, such as scenery they find beautiful, an animal they find intriguing, or interesting people they meet.

Take your kids to art museums, smaller art galleries, or even artists’ open studios. The more art forms and styles kids are introduced to at a young age, the better. Your child may not be attracted to Impressionist paintings, but he or she may love sculpture parks. You never know until you expose your child to a variety of mediums.

[Note: Regarding art galleries or open artist studios, it may be a good idea to check ahead to make sure the content is suitable for your children.]

Draw or paint with your kids. Have designated art tables where both of you can work. For example, you could outline a drawing and have your child color it in. Or you could purchase ceramics – such as a bowl — that need to be painted, and decorate it together. If your child is simply not interested in drawing, don’t force it. Provide other materials or avenues for creativity – such as a sewing kit – that he or she might want to try.

Support all forms of creativity by giving it your full attention. Whether it is playing the guitar, dancing, performing or drawing, make sure to give your child an audience.