Tag: tips for co-parenting

How to Teach your Kid to Tie Their Shoes

FYI – this post contains affiliate links. 

I admit that I have yet to figure out how to teach a kid to tie their shoes. My ex-husband was the one I let have that job. Even today, while my sons have been taught to tie their own shoelaces, they simply have zero interest in doing it.

It’s frustrating to have boys who are like, “no thanks” when it comes to tieing their shoelaces. I get it. It’s such hard work and it’s especially difficult for my middle who is on the autism spectrum, his fine motor skills aren’t that great.

As my sons got older, the velcro shoe options were a removed point. The larger your kid gets, the less chance of finding a velcro style shoe for them. Today I figured I’d share some tips on how to teach your kid to tie their shoes and an option to avoid shoe tying altogether.

How to Teach Your Kid to Tie Their Shoes

How to Teach Your Kid to Tie Their Shoes

Just a few little tips on how to get your kids to tie their own shoes and a hack to get around this whole shoelace tying deal. #parenting #parents #momlife #parentinfluenceClick To Tweet

Bunny Ears

There is this bunny ears, loop swoop and something trick that I recall from my childhood. I have no idea how it works and it seems too confusing for this Mama but hey, click here and you’ll see a video on loop, swoop and pull with bunny ear shoelaces.

Loopy Loop

I personally just like to show the kids how to tie their shoes in a logical fashion. Here is your shoelace, look you make a loop, you swing this lace through and that lace through. Done. Maybe this is why I opted to go with the below option when it comes to teaching kids how to tie their shoes?!


Just Buy Hickies

Let’s get straight to the point, I much prefer removing shoelaces from our life. You see, I am all set on continuously showing my sons how to tie their shoes. Their Dad taught them and they simply have no interest or they forget. I have no idea what the deal is, but these options for shoelace-less shoes? Hickies Inc. Make me happy.

About Hickies

Never tie your sneakers again

 Snug, secure fit for an active lifestyle.

Made from a Memory-fit elastomer that reacts to the movement of your foot

Customize your kids’ shoes with Hickies Inc. lacing system. Unlike laces they stretch to slip your feet in so you can trot off in a hurry.

Stop tying sneakers forever. Replace the lace with HICKIES lacing system and slip on your shoes without the need of having to teach kids to tie their shoes.

Never waste another moment tying, fusing, or fumbling over your instructions to teach your kids to tie their shoes. Switching to HICKIES lacing system you will never bother tying your shoes again.


Helping Your Kids Without Doing The Work for Them

You want your child to get through school as smoothly as possible, and while you cannot sit by them every step of the way and find all the answers for them, you can help them find solutions for increasing their knowledge and understanding. They might be reluctant now, but when graduation and later college come around, they will thank you.

https://unsplash.com/photos/tQPgM1k6EbQ

As your child goes through school, there will be times where they sit over their workbooks or homework at the dinner table or in their room looking stumped. During this, you want to give them a hand and help them as much as possible. However, you might be reluctant to help too much as you don’t want to end up doing the work for them.

Because kids won’t learn anything that way. They need to do the work themselves if they want to understand the assignments properly and be able to complete similar exercises and essays in the classroom, where you will be absent.

Helping your kids with their school work, but not completing it for them, will help with their critical thinking skills as well as independence. It will set them up for further problem-solving experiences later in life, and allow them to approach anything with the confidence that they can do it. Showing them which way to go, but not leading the way, will help enormously as they navigate the challenging plain of education in their early years and teens.

 ROUTINE

 Establishing a routine for your child will help them become more comfortable with what they need to do and save them from wasting most of their time on video games or watching TV. While it is still important for them to blow off steam with friends and hobbies, it should not take precedence over their school work in their early years.

Getting used to a routine will include them studying for an hour or two after school, which will give them plenty of time to relax later on. Furthermore, this routine will soon become ingrained in their everyday activities, and so at some point, they will feel like they want and need to do it before worrying about anything else.

However, it is vital that this does not become too regimented. You want your child to have an excellent work ethic, but you also want them to have a social life. Encouraging the routine to include both work and play will help foster a healthy social life as well as ensuring the work gets completed, too.

 RESOURCES

Back in the day, it used to be that if you needed information on for a history project that you had to run down to the library and pour over textbook after textbook for hours until you found what you needed. But no more.

The ever-growing digital archives online have streamlined that process so that now your child does not even have to leave their room. Everything is available to them at the click of a mouse or swipe of a screen. However, for those unfamiliar with Googling anything other than funny videos may need guidance in directing them to the resource of their choice, so explaining the basics of an educational Google search will come in handy.

Furthermore, using fraction calculators to better explain and visually demonstrate the formula for them when it comes to studying math equations. Math can be a stressful subject if you are not a natural, but using the plethora of option at your and your child’s fingertips will ease this stress and put them on the path to mathematical success.

REVISE

 Revision is, to many kids, a horribly dull activity. They feel that all they are doing is reading and rereading information that they already know, and this can get frustrating. It is all too easy to read something once or twice and then be convinced that you know it because you have just read it. Because of this, revision can sometimes feel like a lot of time wasted on learning nothing.

However, if they ever want to succeed and continue to build on existing knowledge, then revision is essential for entering any exams with a head full of necessary information. This will allow them to write and write and write for however long they need without grasping at straws for points and conclusions.

Sitting down to revise and actually do it, instead of staring at a screen or playing on their phones can pay huge dividends, but once they think they know what they need, they will move on to something else. To solve this issue, practising with your child by testing them on recent topics every day by asking them questions will help them retain the information better and save their mind from going blank when they find themselves sat down in the exam.

 REFOCUS

 There are so many distractions around the house that it can be all too easy to absently browse their social media or play games on their phone, tablet, or console. This is not just something that affects kids, but adults too. We have all had those times where we are trying to concentrate, but everything else looks so much more appealing at that moment in time.

Finding solutions to maintaining their focus will help remove such distractions. If your child often does their work in their bedroom, surrounded by books and games of all sorts, they will be tempted to avoid their work and instead play.

Consider encouraging (but not forcing) them to find an area of the house, or even the library or somewhere quiet and local, where they can complete their work in peace. They will soon find out that what used to be a three-hour-plus study session soon reduces to much, much less and they might even have time to spare to fill in some extra work, should they want to.

RELIEF

Schoolwork at any age can be stressful and time-consuming and, much of the time, your child will feel there is literally anything else they would rather be doing (even chores). However, encouraging them to create a consistent routine of revision and further learning will make their journey through school that much more comfortable and still, hopefully, leave time for them to hang out with their friends, also.

You want your child to get through school as smoothly as possible, and while you cannot sit by them every step of the way and find all the answers for them, you can help them find solutions for increasing their knowledge and understanding. They might be reluctant now, but when graduation and later college come around, they will thank you.

 

Strategies To Teach Your Child Responsibility

As a parent, we are always working at teaching our children how to be the best versions of themselves. From being thoughtful, listening when people talk, being respectful, and of course learning responsibility. Being responsible is learning to take care of their belongings, get their homework done and on time, learning to take care of themselves and others, and much more. Below are some strategies to teach your child responsibility.

When your child learns about responsibility you also want them to have a positive attitude as they complete the task at hand. You don’t want them to do the task because they have to, you want them to be proud they are doing it and to the best of their ability. Raising helpful, strong, responsible kids is our goals as parents. These tips below can help you nurture and teach your child to be responsible.

5 Tips for Teaching Your Child Responsibility

Strategies To Teach Your Child Responsibility

Be A Role Model

First and foremost you want to act the way you want your child to act. Parents have so many responsibilities that we can demonstrate each day how to handle them. Be on time, finish tasks doing the best you can do, and if you promise or agree to help out with something, follow through.

Start Teaching At A Young Age

If your child is still young, that is the best time to teach. Teach them to pick up their toys, put the dishes up when they are finished eating, and the list goes on. As they get older, they will be engrained with those simple responsibilities you had them do when they are young. Let them help make a sandwich at lunch, and help fold laundry. It may take longer and not be done perfectly, but allowing your child to help when they ask to, will slowly teach them simple responsibilities for later in life.

Expectations

This is something we need to work on as parents. We have to expect that if your 3-year old helps fold laundry or makes their bed it won’t be perfect. But you still allow them to help, because that is how they will learn. You have to look at your child’s age and then base what they can do and to what standard.

Demonstrate Tasks

Demonstrate how to do small tasks so your child can begin to learn. If your child has a laundry basket in their room, teach them that is where they toss dirty clothes. Or that if they want a snack, create a bin that has approved snacks that they can grab and eat by themselves if you say they can. A simple task like that will teach them how to be responsible for themselves, respect rules of the household, and grow.

Praise

Kids love to help out, and in that make sure to offer positive praise when they do. Tell them you are proud of them, thank them for helping take the trash out or dust. Children will learn that when they help it makes mom and dad proud and they will work hard to keep doing this for you.

Routine

Kids need and love structure and routines. You can slowly begin to tell your son to pick up their room each night or put the laundry in the basket. It will then become a routine. Just like with older kids, that when they get home they have to sit down and work on homework, instead of waiting till later at night. Over time it will become a routine to them, instead of winging it when they want.

 

Take Christmas To A New Level With These Fabulous Ideas

Christmas is nearly upon us, so it’s probably a good time to begin thinking about preparing for the festive season so that as soon as thanksgiving has come and past, you can concentrate on making this the best Christmas yet. Instead of doing what you usually do, why not take Christmas to a new level with these fabulous ideas?

Image

Decoration

One of the first things that we begin to notice when Christmas rolls around is the decorations going up in shops and around town. If you’ve been using the same decorations for your home for many years now, or you feel like a change in color then consider going all out for your home decor this year.

Usually, families have a real tree, or a green plastic Christmas tree to decorate in their home. These days, you can get different colored trees to display in your home, either as your main Christmas tree, or one for another room to keep the festivities throughout your home. If your home is stuck to a particular color theme, why not choose a tree that will fit in perfectly with your theme? For example, if you have a black and white theme, a black fibre optic Christmas tree would fit perfectly in your home.

Lets not forget about the baubles either. Depending on what kind of tree you have, or what theme you’re going for you can get corresponding baubles and tinsel to match. Alternatively, decorate and design your own baubles with the kids to make the magic even more real.

Another idea would be to decorate some figures to display in your garden with Christmas colors and fairy lights. For example, creating a snowman out of cardboard or a similar material and decorating him with lights and funky colors would make your home decor stand out from the crowd, and also give the children something to do when the christmas holidays roll around.

Tradition

It’s likely that in your childhood you have traditions from Christmas that you would like to continue with. While that’s a great idea, creating new traditions for your family will be something that you and your children cherish for the rest of your lives. Simple things like making sure you’re all together on Christmas eve to watch a film, with special treats for the family make all the difference to how Christmas feels to everyone.

Many people have traditions like not opening gifts until they have had their Christmas lunch, which extends the excitement even further. Just make it special for your family, whatever you choose to do.

Image

Gifts

Even though we all know that Christmas isn’t about the gifts, it is a majorly exciting part of the day for everyone involved, especially the children. Whether or not you’ve chosen to include Santa in your children’s lives, the thrill of opening presents is tremendous for them so remember to create some magic in their younger years to look fondly back on.

Stuck for ideas on what to get your children, or possibly even the rest of your family? Check out these brilliant ideas for stocking fillers to see if you can find some inspiration! http://www.giftbeta.com/category/best-stocking-stuffers/. While there’s no rules on how little or much you should spend, try to remember that Christmas isn’t just about gifts, and that spending time together as a family is more important.

Food

While the traditional roast turkey might not be something that can be missed off your shopping list, why not consider adding some unusual delights into your cart? Treats like cheeses, wines, pickles and biscuits can completely step up your food game on Christmas day.

One thing that might make Christmas more exciting for the family is to get everyone involved in cooking the main meal. Giving everyone an assigned task and then showing off all of your hard work at meal time will leave everyone feeling accomplished and more importantly, full.

So when the time comes for you to do your Christmas shop, remember to browse all of the aisles for the delicacies that stores tend to bring out around Christmas time. You might even find a new food to add to your list permanently!

Give

While you may be giving gifts to your family, don’t forget about the people who don’t have much in this world and make their year by giving to them, especially in these colder months. You can visit homeless shelters to serve food, create gift boxes for children in poorer countries, donate to charities, and much more.

Not only will this help those that are in need, but it will give you an enormous sense of well being. If you can’t afford to give money, give your time because that’s just as appreciated for many people who are facing Christmas alone this year. If a neighbor of yours is alone, make a point of inviting them over for Christmas dinner so that they can enjoy the day as much as possible. Nobody should be alone at any time in their life, especially Christmas.

Image

Remembering what it’s about

As briefly mentioned earlier, many people tend to forget what Christmas is really about due to the over commercialisation of it through the media. You probably already know that Christmas is derived from the religion Christianity. That’s not to say you must be a Christian to celebrate it, but do try and remember about where Christmas came from, and that it’s not solely about gifts and food. It’s also about much needed family time, and appreciating what you have in life. It’s also a time to build bridges with people, catch up with old friends and generally, a very lovely time of year.

So, step up your Christmas game this year with these fabulous ideas and make it your best Christmas yet! Remember, nobody should be alone at Christmas. The more the merrier!

 

Family Fun Activities to Get Kids Outdoors

Image credit

Parenting, like most things in life, is all a matter of balance. While it’s not right to demonise use of technology- there can be some apparent developmental gains to be made in letting children use technology– so time spent on the iPad needs to be balanced out.

Encouraging our kids to get outdoors and make the most of the world around them is a journey, and by setting up fun activities as a family that make the most of our natural environment, you can create some precious family time memories, while also finding that balance. Here are just a few ideas to make your days out sparkle:

Go on a treasure hunt

Revealing the wonder of the natural world can be as simple as making a game out of an ordinary nature walk. Create a list of flora and fauna that are all around your natural area – leaves, flowers, birds and small animals you are likely to spot and have your children do a treasure hunt to locate these all around you. A fun trip outdoors like this will have more benefits than just adding a glow to their cheeks – it also requires observational and problem-solving skills that will get them thinking. Make the outdoors special to them by creating a map of their favourite spots along the way.

Source

Fly a kite

What could be a more cheerful activity outdoors than flying kites together? These traditional toys are great fun, whether you buy one or even have fun making your own from construction straws and crepe paper. There is a range of coordination and even engineering skills involved in making your own kite, and running around outside flying them is lots of exercise without seeming it. Find out more information on how to get started with family kite flying at stuffkidslove.net.

Grab some chalk

An effortless way to engage young minds in the outside world is by giving them some chalk and letting the sidewalk become their canvas. What art can they create inspired by the features of the natural landscape? There are also endless spelling, counting and physical games that can be played when you have that drawing board – from traditional playground favourites like hopscotch to hangman and connect four. Let their little imaginations run wild, or try incorporating natural elements like leaves and pebbles into drawings.

Have a campout

Vacations in the great outdoors can be a happy childhood memory for many of us, but if you don’t have the time or budget to go on a trip, or have younger children that need their home comforts, a great way to get started is by camping out in your own backyard! The Great American Backyard Campout has lots of ideas for fun games and activities to be enjoyed doing this, but you can’t beat telling stories by torchlight and even having your children make shadow puppets to use in putting on a show.

Making the most of outdoors can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be, and once you’ve had a taste of all the family fun to be had outdoors, you’ll be looking for any opportunity!

 

Seeing Eye To Eye With You Lil’ Girl Or Guy

The bond between a parent and a child is something which a lot of people see as unbreakable. Of course, though, like any relationship, it’s not always possible to see eye to eye with your little ones. When you’re dealing with someone who has little control over their emotions already, additional factors can make a real mess. To help you out with this, this post will be going through some of the steps which can be taken to improve your time with the little ones. Along with this, you’ll also have to do a lot of the work yourself, with time being the biggest investment you’ll have to make.

(Image Source)

  • Identifying The Cause

Whether your child is merely sulking or has been distant for a long time, it’s important to try to identify the cause of the issues before you try to fix them. To do this, you will have to think very logically, using your experience as a parent to help you along the way, while also considering a wide range of ideas. Below, you can find some of the different examples of the types of issues which can cause trouble in your relationship.

  • Some Examples

For a lot of parents, the addition of a child to their life is just another set of responsibilities which have to be taken care of. Of course, you love your child very much, but you also have other important things to do. For them, though, you are the most prominent figure in their life. They will emulate the things you say and do, learn from you, and yearn to spend time around you. Without this sort of interaction, it will be very easy for them to become distant with you.

Being the emotional sponges they are, a lot of kids will also pick up on the way that their parents are feeling. If there is a lot of anger or sadness in your home, your child will reflect this, and it will be hard to keep them happy. To avoid this sort of issue, any conflicts should be handled away from the kids. Along with this, though, it could also be worth trying to settle differences for good before it’s too late.

While you’re working or away from your child for other reasons, it’s often hard to think about the life they lead. Of course, though, they have a lot going on when you’re not around, and it can all impact the way they feel and act around you. Their social life, schooling, and other little stresses all make a difference. So, it’s important to be there for your child, especially as their work gets harder.

Not all relationship issues between kids and parents are down to the environment. Instead, in some cases, you may find that there’s something much deeper to your child’s turmoil. Conditions like autism and PTSD can be very hard for a child to come to terms with, often resulting in attachment difficulties and other problems in their early life. An expert is the best help you can get for this.

(Image Credit)

  • Seeking Some Advice

It won’t always be a simple case of observing your child and using the knowledge you have to identify your issues. Instead, there could be problems which you’ll never notice, and this can make life very hard. To help you with this, you just need to look for the right advice to improve things. The internet is the very best place for this.

Over the years, loads of blogs, forums, and message boards have been started up with the aim of helping parents to see eye to eye with their children. Using their own experiences, parents share what they’ve learned, along with the tools you can use to help you. Often, a simple post on a site like this will be enough to identify your problems. But, along with this, it could also help to do some research.

The only real issue with these sorts of sites is the amount you can trust them. It can be hard to know whether or not the information you’re reading is true, as it has come from a user just like yourself. To solve this, doing a little bit of research could see you getting to the bottom of your kid’s childhood attachment problems. There are loads of specialist sites out there with the tools to help you in this area.

(Image Link)

  • Getting The Right Help

Finally, it’s time to think about the solid help you can get to solve your issues which are more than just articles and posts. In some cases, getting to the bottom of your issues will take a long time. To help you with this, professionals can be hired to work with everyone, providing the tools and resources to build a very happy family.

In most cases, the best help you can get will come from a therapist. By simply talking to your child about their life, using easy questions, a professional like this will be able to form a good idea of what might be bothering your child. With this, they will be able to give advice and make suggestions, giving you the power to make a difference. Of course, though, you should always read some reviews to make sure the person you choose is as good as they claim.

Along with someone to support your child, it can also be helpful to put the whole family through this sort of treatment. In most cases, issues in their environment will impact a kid more than anything else. So, it could be that the problems lie with you, and your child is merely reflecting them back at you. You won’t know until you’ve been to see someone, though. So, it’s worth getting yourselves booked in.

Hopefully, this post will be just what you need to improve the mood of the little ones in your family. There are a huge variety of different factors which can all impact this part of life, with a child’s simplified brain struggling to understand it all. Getting to the bottom of them is very important. Otherwise, it will be impossible to make a positive change.

 

FOMO – Preventing the Fear Of Missing Out : The Family Edition

Do you ever get that feeling that you know you could be doing fun, exciting, or educational activities with the family, but you just not? Well, that’s FOMO or the fear of missing out. In this post, we will discuss the reasons you may not be doing all you can, as well as addressing this issue of a balanced family life. As it’s impossible to be on the go all the time, as you would all just end up exhausted!

Are you missing out because of tiredness?

Firstly, let’s look at one of the key barriers that many people with young families come across that can cause them to miss out on opportunities that come their way – exhaustion. As you will know if you have a family of your own the process of being pregnant, giving birth, nursing a baby and looking after a child as they grow up can be pretty intense. It involves a lot of emotional changes, physical changes, sleepless nights and worries. This quite understandably can make you a pretty tired person. A person that may be less likely try new and challenging things, especially when they have the kids in tow.

Now, what it is vital to grasp is that this is totally understandable and you don’t need to punish yourself for reducing the demands on your and your family when they are young. In fact, it’s great to be balanced, to know your own and the kid’s limits, as this can help you enjoy the things you do even more.

Image link

However, to be truly balanced you need to have some time where you seize the day and go on trips, see shows, or visit new places as a family. Yes, it can be tough having to pack up everything you need along with the buggy for a day out, but it is truly worth it. Just make sure you are doing because you want to and it’s what the kids want, not just because you feel like you should go. As nobody gets to dictate your schedule but you, and if things are causing you or the kids to be too tired, it may not be worth the trade off.

Are you missing out because of money?

It’s a very different situation though when the thing that is preventing you doing what you want with the family is a lack of money, and it can be truly frustrating. After all, there is nothing worse than being desperate to see a particular show or visit a certain attraction when they have a special event running and just not being able to scrape the pennies together to do so.

So what can you do in this sort of situation? Well first of all, if it’s a once in a lifetime experience like Disneyland Paris at Halloween or the kid’s favourite cartoon characters in live performance, then it may be worth looking finding the funds elsewhere such as increasing your overdraft with the bank or getting a personal loan. Luckily, you can easily get personal loans even with poor credit now. Allowing you to pay back the cost of the activity bit by bit over a longer period. Making it a much more manageable option for a tight budget.

Image source

The second solution may is to scour the Internet for similar events,  and activities that are on offer. Remember there are plenty of discount voucher sites that provide some great family fun experiences for a hugely reduced cost. Meaning it’s easy to find something that is more likely to fit in with your budgetary restraints and still provide a fantastic day out for you and the kids. So keeping that FOMO at bay.

Are you missing out because of transport?

Lastly, another factor that could be driving your FOMO is that you don’t have access to transport to get you to all the places that you want to go. This can be a really tough one because there are so many places in the UK that are super hard to get to if you don’t drive or currently don’t have a car like theme parks, beaches, and country parks.

Picture here

Although, to get around this some families book places on a day trips by coach, or even used the rail system to get there. Although this can be both pricey and hassle filled. Especially if you have little ones to entertain during the journey. Meaning to prevent FOMO becoming a fixture in your life it’s probably time to bite the bullet and get a family car.

Image

 

Beat The School Holiday Boredom With These Creative Ideas

The school holidays are great because they give us more family time. Who doesn’t want more family time? The only issue is that being stuck at home so much can lead to boredom, and as any mom knows, boredom usually leads to squabbles between the kids, which you don’t want. There is nothing worse than being trapped in a house with kids who are picking fights constantly with each other.

The key to beating off school break boredom is to keep your kids occupied as much as possible. Obviously, this is a task that is often easier said than done, but if you are smart about it, it is possible to beat school holiday boredom. The answer to preventing your kids from getting bored when stuck at home is crafting.

That’s right, arts and crafts are a great way to prevent your little ones from becoming overly bored while on school break. Like the idea of doing some arts and crafts projects with your kids? If the answer is yes, then read on for all the best creative art ideas for keeping your kids busy while stuck at home.

Photo source

Lino printing

Give each child a piece of lino, a pen, and a lino cutter. Ask them to draw a design onto their tile, or to draw it on paper first and then trace it onto their tile if they would prefer. Tell them to be creative, and pick whatever design they like to draw. Whether they opt to draw animals, patterns, or people, it doesn’t matter – let them be as creative as they like. Once they have drawn their design, show them how to use a tile cutter to cut it out. Then, once they have finished cutting, give them each paper, card, or a piece of material to print their design onto. Invest in a selection of different printing colors, so that they can create all manner of print designs, from black and white ones to ombre colored ones.

Do crayon art

Got any crayons laying around the house that never gets used? Well, now you can put them to good use! Give each child a piece of paper and a white crayon, and ask them to draw a design on it – remind them that they won’t be able to see it. Then, give each child a watercolor paint palette and ask them to fill the page with a range of colors. As the paint crosses the wax from the crayons, it won’t stay, meaning that the pattern will be visible against the areas that the paint has taken to.

Tie dye

Whether you use white t-shirts, blankets, sheets, or towels, it doesn’t matter; you can make some incredible pieces of art with tie dye. Twist whatever material you are using into any shape, apply rubber bands to it, and dip into your dye. Remove from the dye, twist the garment until all the water comes out of it, and then dip in fresh water, and squeeze it out until the water runs clear. Remove the rubber bands and place on the washing line to dry. While the item is drying, you should be able to clearly see the pattern that has been created.

Mosaic making

Do your kids love to collage? If the answer is yes, then mosaic making could be a great art project for them. All you need is some plywood boards, mosaic tiles, glue, and grout. Show your children what mosaics look like and ask them to create their own designs, reminding them to ensure that the tiles are stuck close together on the board. For sticking the tiles down, cordless glue guns could work well, just as long as your children are old enough to safely use them. Once the glue has dried and all the tiles are in place, help your children to cover the entire design in grout, making sure that all the gaps are filled, followed by wiping the tiles clean of grout.

Salt dough

Salt dough is a cheaper alternative to molding clay that works just as well. Mix together in a bowl, two cups of plain flour, one cup of salt, and one cup of water, stir the mixture together until a dough forms. Knead the dough, before splitting into portions for each person. The dough can be sculpted into any shape before being placed in a hot oven to bake until hard. Once cooled, the salt dough can be decorated with paint, before being covered in PVA glued to seal it.

There you have it, an array of creative craft ideas for preventing school break boredom.