Step2

Happy Earth Day! Earth Day is an annual day where communities gather together worldwide to demonstrate support to protect the environment for plants, animals, and humans. To start off this important day and raise awareness, your family can help a global mosaic on Earthday.org.  All you have to do is upload a picture, preferably one that includes your face and a sign that says “The Face of Climate Change.” Check out what the global mosaic looks like so far at TheAdvocator.com.

In addition showing your support online, there are plenty of fun & creative ideas you can do with your kids to educate them about Earth Day. We were inspired by the ideas CreativeFamily.net , CarrotsAreOrgange.com , and B-InspiredMama.com had about this green celebration.

• Plant a Tree: If you have some room in your front or back yard, get the family together to help plant a tree! However, if you do not have the room, the National Arbor Day Foundation can plant a tree on your behalf.
• Earth Day Cookies: Create cookies that look like Earth but still taste like delicious delicacies. The kids will have a blast swirling around blue and write frosting to create the top layer on the cookie(which is meant to be the water and clouds of Earth) and then sprinkling green sprinkles (which is meant to be the land).  What a cool and yummy concept!
• Sort recyclables: Teach children about plastic, paper, and metal. This is a great sensory activity to teach children what each material feels like. Present examples of the materials such as a plastic soda bottle, a cereal box, and a can of fruit. Create and decorate different boxes for each material and have children sort through to place the correct recyclables in each box.
• Clean up the park or neighborhood: Take the kids on a nature stroll and bring plastic bags with you. While on your walk to the park or around the neighborhood, pick up any trash you see. With the trash you have collected, you and your children can sort through and put the different trash items in your decorated recyclables boxes.
• Create earth: Get crafty and let the kids create their own version of Earth. There is paint, small bouncy balls, sand, and glue involved in this activity so that means it is guaranteed fun!
• Make a family pledge: On behalf of Earth Day, have your family create a list of ways to help keep the Earth clean all year round. From recycling to picking up more trash to donating to nature organizations, there is always a way to help.

Celebrating and teaching your children about Earth Day will help them to pass the knowledge and passion about taking care of our planet to future generations. What activities do you have planned for Earth Day?

Step2 is jumping for joy that Easter is almost here! There are so many fun craft and recipe ideas to experiment with, with the kids. We found wonderful crafts through Pinterest that can be found on our Springtime pin board. Here are some of our favorite ideas for Easter this year:

Lightbulb Lambs: Oh my, these little lambs adorable! If you have any light bulbs that are burned out or some spare bulbs that you are willing to use, grab the paint, yarn, pom-poms, and bows to create these cute creatures. These can be the perfect decoration as a table setting during Easter dinner. *Disclaimer: The Lightbulb Lambs are not meant to be used as toys by children*

20 Ways to Decorate Eggs: A tradition in many families is to decorate eggs for Easter. We have heard of dying Easter eggs or painting them but Making the World Cuter showed us twenty ways to decorate eggs. Whoa, that is a lot of colorful eggs!

Easter Bunny Treats:  This recipe reminds us of making your own DIY Peeps! The recipe requires a lot of marshmallows but is very simple which means it will be a ton of fun for children of all ages! These festive treats will make a yummy desert.

 

Will you make any of these fun crafts for Easter? Have a Happy Easter!

This Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day, which means you and your little ones can spend time making crafts that relate to this green celebration even if you are not Irish! Step2 was inspired by cleverness of Second Chance to Dream, That What Che Said, and Mess for Less when it came to creating crafts for this shamrock holiday.

Wee-Leprechaun: The Leprechaun is an iconic symbol of St. Patrick’s Day. Help your kids make little leprechauns and let their imaginations run wild as they create them with paint, pipe cleaners, toilet paper tubes, markers, and glue. Sounds like a lucky party! If you are looking for a craft project with fewer materials, try making a leprechaun from construction paper, paper plates, and markers!

Fruit Loops Pot-O-Gold: At the end of every rainbow is a pot of gold. At the end of this rainbow is Fruit Loops! Grab a box of fruit loops, paper, and glue. Make a rainbow full of fun with this colorful cereal.

Shamrock Pretzel Bites:  Besides leprechauns, shamrocks are also a common symbol of St. Patrick’s Day.  An easy and yummy way to create them is with small pretzels, Hershey Kisses, and green M&Ms.  This treat is festive and delicious for the whole family!

Pot of Gold: To collect all the gold from a lucky day of crafts, it is important to create a pot of gold. The main materials for this project are cardboard buckets, green paint, glue, and paper grass.  You can even place your Shamrock Pretzel Bites or Wee-Leprechaun inside this pot and give it to a friend as a gift on St. Patrick’s Day. Being kind always brings good luck!

How will you be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with your children? May the luck of the Irish be with you all weekend .

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.

No one ever said raising a child would be easy. Between making sure your child is eating balanced meals and getting in enough physical activity, the endless concerns can make ones head spin. Luckily, Parents.com has listed 20 healthy snacks that your kid can enjoy. Along with healthy eating, active play and creativity add to the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

Healthy Snacks:

Here are some unique healthy options to substitute for junk food:

Fruit & Cheese Kabobs, Bean & Cheese Quesadillas, Nutty Popcorn & Fruit Mix, Polka Dot Waffle Sticks, & Fruity Salsa

Not only is it important for children to eat healthy snacks, but physical activity is essential to fight childhood obesity and grow up to be healthy. Here are Step2, we encourage active play and creativity.

Play Kitchens

A great way to get children to use their imagination is to allow them to help out while you make them some of these nutritious snacks. If your child has a play kitchen, they can either pretend to make the same foods you are preparing or they can help out with small tasks in the food preparation.

Playhouses

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. It is essential for children to get out and play especially during the summer months. Staying active will help children to gain endurance and appreciate being able to keep up with their friends.

One way to keep kids active and entertained for many hours is with a playhouse.

With healthy snacks and great toys to stimulate the mind and body, children will have a ton of fun being active!