#276: Carve a Jack-O-Lantern

Happy Halloween! Make a jack-o-lantern to greet trick-or-treaters.




Cut the top off a pumpkin. Cut at an angle so you can place the top back on as a lid. Scoop the seeds and stringy bits out of the pumpkin using a spoon or scoop. (Make sure you use a special pumpkin carving knife safe for children or have an adult make the cuts for you.) Once you have scooped the seeds out, draw a face on the front of the pumpkin. Cut out the face. Place a candle or flashlight inside the jack-o-lantern (pumpkin). Voila! Done.


Make this a family activity: Work together to make your jack-o-lantern.

This activity promotes creativity and Halloween spirit.

#275: Have a Pillow Fight

Have a pillow fight with your friends. This is a great sleepover activity.




Make this a family activity: Ha! Ha! One big pillow fight!

This activity promotes strategy, coordination and a lot of ducking!

#274: Crack Mud Puddle Ice

Brrr. It's chilly in the mornings! Crack the thin layer of ice on top of a mud puddle. Make sure you wear water proof boots!



Safety First: Make sure the mud puddles are not deep because the water will be very cold! Do NOT do this on ponds or lakes.


Make this a family activity: Get the whole family out cracking puddles.

This activity promotes balance and sensory delight.

#273: Hopscotch

Play hopscotch.




Using chalk, draw 8 or 10 boxes like shown above. (Using one colour is fine.) Next, you have to hop on one foot from box to box, starting at #1. Boxes that are beside each other (like #3 and #4) are jumped on with two feet. (So, hop off #2 and land on #3 and #4 at the same time with your left foot on #3 and you right foot on #4.) When you reach the end, turn around (still hopping) and hop back to the beginning, landing once in each box like you did before.

To make it trickier, toss a rock onto one of the boxes. The box that the rock lands on, you have to skip over (hop over) and you cannot land on it at all.


Make this a family activity: draw hopscotch on the sidewalk in front of your house/apartment and get the whole family playing.

This activity promotes strength and coordination.

#272: Illustrate Your Favourite Story

Do you have a favourite story? Illustrate (draw pictures) to go with the story. It doesn't matter if the story already has pictures, create your own!



Make this a family activity: Get everyone together to illustrate their favourite stories.

This activity promotes visual-language connections as well as creativity.