DIY Haunted Candy Cottage

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Every year, friends and families get together to celebrate ghosts and goblins on Halloween. This year try something different with your little ones. Haunted Candy Houses! This spin off of a Christmas tradition is fun for everyone.

What you will need:

• Paper plate or cardboard
• Spoon or knife (plastic) for applying frosting
• Graham crackers (4 or 6 whole rectangles per house)
• Frosting: Vanilla or white (amount varies on number of desired colors)
• Food coloring: green, purple, orange, black
• Halloween candy! Here are some ideas:
• Candy Corn/ Candy Pumpkins
• Reese's Pieces
• Halloween Peeps
• Black Licorice
• Gummy Worms                                                                                  

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Step One:

Cut the graham crackers into shapes for house foundation.

1. Two pointed rectangle: 
• Cut of edges of two rectangles (reference pictures)
2. Four Squares: There will be two walls and two for the roof  
• Break two rectangle crackers in half to get four squares

*If you want a bigger house, you can use whole graham crackers for the roof and sides. This would require 6 whole crackers instead of the four. 

Step Two:                                                                                            

1.      Use a thick amount of icing to connect each side of the house together.    

2.      Begin with one of the pointed graham cracker pieces. Apply icing to edges and hold side crackers on one at a time for a few seconds.

3.      Close the open side with the last pointed graham cracker.

Tip: Wait a few minutes to add roof. Works better if foundation is stable.

4.      Apply icing to each roof piece, and gently hold on top of house (one at a time). 

5.      Fill in any cracks with icing

Step Three:

Let the house sit for few hours (or overnight) while frosting hardens.

Step Four:

1.      Add desired food color to frosting.

2.      Apply to outside of house. (A variety of colors is encouraged!)

Step Five:

Decorate with candy! Help your child get creative and have fun with this Halloween activity. 

-Hannah

Thankful for our Time Together: Fun November Activities

November is a time of thanksgiving and looking back on your life and seeing what you are thankful for.  One of the greatest things I am most thankful for is my family.  Of course we have our fair share of challenges, but when all is said and done they are the most important people in my life. I am thankful for my mom's effort in getting the family together to do things together. She is an elementary school teacher, so many times she would do little games or activities with us that she had done with her school kids. Here are some fun ideas she shared with me:

 Don't Eat the Turkey

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Instructions:

Make your own or use one like the image above as your game board.  Put one item (usually something you can eat like marshmallows, M&Ms, raisins, etc.) on each square.  Someone will either leave the room or close their eyes while everyone else chooses one of the turkey pictures.  When the person returns or uncovers their eyes, they start picking up the items from each turkey picture until they go to pick up the one from the picture you had chosen.  When they go to pick that one up you all say, "Don't Eat the Turkey!" and their turn is over.  They get to keep and eat all the ones they had picked up to that point.    

Disguise the Turkey

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Instructions:

Find a picture of a turkey or draw one using your hand as an outline (the thumb becomes the head of the turkey and the rest of the fingers are the feathers).  The point of this activity is to disguise the turkey so he won't get eaten on Thanksgiving Day.  You can decorate it together, or each make one yourself.  You can either use crayons or markers to color, or cut out pieces of paper and glue them on. Make it as simple or complex as you'd like. Then you can hang them up on the fridge or around the house as fun reminders of your time together.

"Orange" Pumpkin

This is just a fun healthy little snack to make together.

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Ingredients:

Mandarin or clementine oranges

Celery sticks (cut into strips-about 1 1/2-2 inches long)

You'll need as many celery sticks as oranges you have

Directions:

Peel the oranges and then put the celery stick in the middle of the orange to make it look like a pumpkin with a stem.  You can just eat them, use them as little decorations, or even make it into an activity where you have to say something you're grateful for before you can eat each orange slice. 

These are just some fun ideas you can do with your kids. You can alter them as needed. The point is to have fun this Thanksgiving season with quality time spent together that they will remember.  

November Craft Ideas for Children

Looking for some fun Thanksgiving themed craft ideas for your children? There are many educational and fun ways to make fall and Thanksgiving a memorial time for you and your child. Here are a few different turkey crafts that are quick, easy and kid friendly.

Leaf Turkey

Do you and your kids like to take nature walks? If so, this is the perfect opportunity to gather some leaves for the first craft.

Supplies needed

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• various leaves
• different colors of construction paper
• glue
• scissors
• googly eyes (optional)

Cut out a turkey body out of brown construction paper. Have your child make feet, a beak and giblet and then glue them to the body. Create a colorful tail using the leaves you collected together and glue them to the paper. Next glue the body on top of the tail and you are all done.

Toilet Roll Turkey

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Are you looking for ways to reuse household items? This toilet roll turkey is a perfect way to reuse an item that normally just gets thrown away. 

Supplies needed

• empty toilet paper rolls
• construction paper
• colored markers
• scissors
• tape or glue

Using the colored markers or construction paper, help your child make eyes, beak and other facial features for their turkey. Attach them to the empty toilet paper roll with glue or tape. Cut out 4-5 feathers for your turkeys tail out of different colors of construction paper. Ask your child a few things they are thankful for and write the answers on the tail feathers. Attach with glue or tape and use them as decoration or a center piece for your table. 

Easy Leaf Wreath

Do you have leftover leaves from making those leaf turkeys? Here is a fun idea to make a wreath to decorate your door.

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Supplies needed

• paper plate
• Elmer's glue or a hot glue gun
• leaves
• scissors
• ribbon or string to hang the wreath with

Cut out a 4-5 inch circle out of the middle of your paper plate and discard. Using the Elmer's glue or hot glue gun, help your child glue the leaves around the paper plate to create a wreath. Continue to glue until the plate is covered. Let dry and attach a ribbon or string and hang your child's creation on the door.


What are some ways that you teach your kids about Thanksgiving?

Happy Halloween from Help Me Grow!!

Help Me Grow and RBM Building Services recently put on a family Halloween carnival at the Valley Fair Mall. We had so much fun and love holding these events! We also love encouraging play between parents and their children. Play is a child's work! All of our Family Events are centered on three foundational toys of a child's life: books, balls, and blocks. These events are always free and are for families with children ages 0-8. Click on the following links if you would like to download some activity sheets on play, books, balls, and blocks. 

(If you would like to be on the email invite list for our Family Events, please email us.)

Also, check out our awesome video from the Halloween carnival... Spooky costumes, LEARNING activities, candy, and referrals to resources to help families! What could be better?

We hope you ENJOY your HALLOWEEN!!

Ghosts and Witches and Crafts, Oh My!

Halloween is upon us again and what better way to have fun with your kids than to spend time making fun Halloween crafts? Below are a few craft ideas you might find enjoyable to do with your kids. ENJOY!!

Handprint And Footprint Ghosts

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You will need:

Black paper
White paint
Black pen

Instructions:

• Print a white handprint onto the black paper, keeping your fingers together. Leave some space and print a white footprint.
• When the paint is dry, draw on some ghostly faces. The fingers/toes form the bottom of your ghost.
• Cut out the ghosts, leaving a thin rim of black paper around the edge.
• Why not punch a hole through the top, tie through some string and hang them as decorations this Halloween??

Paper Cup Witch

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You will need:

A paper cup
A polystyrene ball
Black paint
Green paint
PVA glue
Black wool
Black paper or card
Wiggle eyes
Green craft foam
Star stickers

Instructions:

• Paint the paper cup black and paint the ball green. Leave them to dry.
• Glue the ball to the cup.
• Cut some lengths of black wool for your witch's hair, and glue them to the top of the ball.
• Draw around a small plate on to black paper or card. Cut out 1/3 of the circle. Roll into a cone and glue the edges. Put a bit of glue around the inside of the cone and stick onto the ball.
• Cut a rectangle of black paper or card about 10cm by 3 cm to form your witch's arms. Cut two ‘hands’ from green craft foam and glue them to either end of the rectangle. Glue the paper around the back of the cup, so the ends reach around the front,
• Stick on the wiggle eyes and add a green foam nose. Decorate with star stickers. Put your witch on display!

Halloween Moon Mobile

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You will need:

Black card
Black yarn or thread
Silver paint
Black paint
Small paper plate
Large paper plate
Our Halloween templates
Scrap paper
Laminating sheet

Instructions:

• Paint the large plate black and the small plate silver and leave to dry.
• Use our Halloween templates printed on to scrap paper to help you cut out three bats and a flying witch from black card.
• Make a hole in the center of the black plate.
• Punch a hole in the edge of the small silver plate and tie a length of yarn through. Push the other end through the hole in the black plate and tie or use sticky tape to secure.
• Make six holes around the edge of the black plate. Punch a hole in each of the black card shapes and, with a piece of yarn, tie each to a hole in the black plate.
• Make 2 more holes on opposite sides of the black plate and tie a length of yarn to form a loop to hang the mobile.
• If needed you can stick a lump of sticky tack on the top of the mobile so it hangs even.

(All of these crafts are from the Activity Village website. Click here for more fun Halloween craft ideas.)

Mother Nature's Playground

It’s Autumn-time! It's my favorite time of year! Although fleeting here in Utah, I love the cool, crisp air, the scent of falling leaves, and the bursts of color in the mountains that Autumn brings.

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The other day I was at a family hot dog roast for my Grandma’s birthday. All of the little kids kept coming up to their parents with armfuls of acorns and colorful leaves from my aunt’s trees. I remember that when I was little, I loved collecting “treasures” during the fall and going on nature walks. With the change in seasons, there are lots of “new” things to look at, which makes an autumn nature walk an intriguing activity for both younger and older kids. Getting out of town to do a nature walk can be fun, but they can still be great even in your own backyard! 

Below are some ideas of things to think about when preparing to do a nature walk with your kids:

1. Have a checklist. Make sure it is appropriate to the age of the child, and to the items you might see in the location you are going. You can either make your own, or download one from the internet (just search “checklist for a nature walk”).

2. Decide if you will have the kids gather the items they see, take pictures of them, draw them, etc…

3. Don’t forget to bring a box or bucket to carry the treasures in if they will be bringing them home. For young kids just learning colors, you can get an empty egg carton, glue a differently-colored piece of paper in each hole, and have kids find items that match.

4. If you do have kids collect items, think of fun, creative ways to display their treasures when you return. They can be put in a clear jar, glued to a paper, or even just stored in a plastic bag.

5. Binoculars and magnifying glasses can make the adventure even more exciting!

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6. You can also bring crayons, pencils, and a sketchpad for kids to draw what they find.

7. For older kids, books to identify plants, animals, and birds may be fun.

8. Bring a camera to photograph animal or insect species your children can later identify.

9. Depending on where you are going, you may want to talk with your kids about being quiet while on your nature walk… especially if you want to see animals.

10. While on the nature walk, don’t forget to stop and take time to use other senses… listening, smelling, touching, etc…

11. Take time to look under rocks for lizards and insects, look at the shape of a leaf, and inspect the details of a flower.

12. Use the opportunity to teach developmentally appropriate lessons to your kids – shapes, colors, numbers, etc…

13. Some more great ideas can be found on these websites:

http://letsgo4preschool.sdcoe.net/resources/Nature.pdf

http://simplekids.net/nature-walk-2/

http://www.stormthecastle.com/nature-walk-ideas-and-projects.htm

Have fun on your nature walk! Please comment below if you have other suggestions.

Mummies, Misters and Monsters Halloween Family Event

Join us THIS Saturday, October 11th for our free annual Help Me Grow Halloween Family Event!

KBYU, RBM, Valley Fair Mall and Help Me Grow have partnered together to make this a spooktacular event!! Come play with blocks, balls, and read Halloween books with your little ones!  Don't forget to wear your costume and participate in the costume parade!

This Saturday, October 11th from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Valley Fair Mall

3601 S. 2700 W. (Constitution Blvd.)

West Valley City, UT 84119

Everyone is invited!  See you there!

Fall into Fun with the Family!

Fall is right around the corner! In just a couple more days you can officially start enjoying all of your favorite fall traditions.Fall is my absolute favorite season. The leaves are changing colors, the weather is starting to get cooler, football season has just started, and I can start getting ready for my favorite holiday: Halloween. It doesn't get much better than that! 

It is also the prime season for family fun. Here are some ideas for you and your family to do together this season:

• Visit a pumpkin patch and have fun picking out the perfect pumpkin for your family

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• Have fun exploring a corn maze or going on a hayride. You can find a pumpkin patch or corn maze that is close to your home by visiting this website.

• The weather is beautiful; enjoy being outside and go on a family bike ride or hike

• Make a bird feeder. All you need to do is cover a pine cone in peanut butter, and then have your child roll the pine cone in birdseed. Hang it outside near a window and enjoy watching the birds come eat off of it.

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• Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are my favorite treat to eat in the fall. If you love pumpkin just as much as I do try one of these other delicious pumpkin recipes.

• Go on a Fall Nature Photo Scavenger Hunt with your children

• Create apple prints or leaf rubbings

                                     

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• Have a camp-out in your own backyard and make s’mores

• Take a trip to an orchard and go apple picking

• Make this yummy smelling pumpkin pie play dough for your children to play with

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• Bob for apples. Afterwards, you can make these tasty caramel apples!

• Jump in a big pile of leaves and take lots of pictures!

• Take a drive through the canyon and look at all the beautiful colors

                                     

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• If you are like me and eager for Halloween, get in the holiday spirit by watching one of these not so scary Halloween movies or reading one of  these  fun, Halloween books.

There are so many other fun activities to do and places to visit during the fall! What’s your favorite fall family tradition? 

Halloween Activities for Families

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Stores are decorated with Ghosts and Skeletons. Jack-O-Lanterns are lighting up front door steps. Advertisements for haunted houses and corn mazes are appearing on billboards. It's no secret. Halloween is just around the corner!

When it comes to Halloween activities for families Trick-or-Treating is definitely a favorite. But it doesn't have to be the only thing your family does this week. Here are additional ideas for some Halloween fun:

1. Visit a Pumpkin Patch: If your family still hasn't picked out their pumpkins, what better way to do it then by taking your kids to a pumpkin patch where there they can choose their future Jack-O-Lantern from a variety of shapes and sizes. Click here for a listing of pumpkin patches, corn mazes, hay rides, and other GREAT Halloween locations for families.  
2. Make a Halloween Treat: If your children are always asking to help you make dinner here are some creative Halloween treats that kids can make. Cooking can be a great way for children to enhance their math and science abilities as they measure and count ingredients or watch their food magically change from a liquid to a solid in the oven.
3. Create Your Own Halloween Costumes: Who says you need to make a dent in your savings on store bought costumes this year when you can make your own. Click here, here, or here for some creative homemade costume ideas for kids, including last minute ideas that wont involve any sewing.
4. Put a Spooky Twist on Arts and Crafts: Do your kids love to color? Why not print out some Halloween coloring pages from Disney, or get creative with things you already have. Make spiders out of  pipe cleaner, ghosts with cotton balls, or pumpkins with paper plates. Don't forget to display the artwork, your kids will love seeing their creations used to decorate the house!
5. Watch a Family Friendly Halloween Movie: Looking some some Halloween movies that your kids are allowed to watch? Click here for a list of not-so-scary Halloween movies appropriate for your whole family.

Whatever the activities your family decides to do this week, remember to have fun and be safe! Happy Halloween from the Help Me Grow team!

Halloween Family Event

It's time to dress up your little monster in your best Halloween costume and come on over to Thanksgiving Point' s Haunted Barn this Saturday!  KBYU, RBM, and Help Me Grow have partnered together for the best free kid friendly Halloween event around!  

 It will be a whole new experience, even if you have come to a family event before! The balls have grown eyes and some of the blocks have grown horns...  Come and see what else is brewing... 

Hurry! The first 100 people will receive coupons for other Thanksgiving Point attractions!  See you there!!

This Saturday, October 19th from 11 am to 1:30 pm. 

Thanksgiving Point's Haunted Barn

3003 North Thanksgiving Way, 

Lehi, UT 84043

Halloween Crafts Helping Development!

With Halloween creeping up on us this week, it's a great opportunity to have some fun with your child's development! One way to do that is to do some fun Halloween crafts! By getting your kids crafting, they're using their little fingers to develop fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are the coordination of small muscle movements in your body, like your fingers or your toes! The best way to develop those fine motor movements, is to do them!

Here are some fun, easy Halloween crafts to get those fingers moving!

• Paint a Pumpkin: draw silly faces or just make some awesome designs
• Apple Printing Pumpkins: cut an apple in half, put some orange paint and use it as a stamp! Draw silly faces to make them really look like pumpkins
• Make a Spooky Storybook: You can write a story on some paper and have your child make the illustrations to make a book!
• Lollipop Ghosts: tie a tissue around the sucker and draw some black eyes and you've got a ghost for a lollipop! (A great thing to give to friends or trick or treaters!)
• Hand Spiders: Dip your hands in black paint and press them on paper with your wrists together to make spiders! Your fingers will look like legs!
• Cookie Decorating: Get some fun cookie cutters and decorate them for Halloween!
• Mummy Cups: Wrap your snack cup in gauze or toilet paper and stick on some eyes to make them look like mummies. 
• Carve Pumpkins: this is probably the most popular craft come Halloween! Just make sure that mom and dad are helping!

His little fingers will get lots of movement out of all of these fun activities, it's a so much more exciting to work on development when you're doing fun things!

For more ideas here are some sites:
Parents.com Hallowen Crafts
All Kids Network Halloween Crafts
Family Education Halloween Fun

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