Things to do with Kids in Indianapolis: Indy Fun

Looking for Indy Fun Activities to do with Kids?

This sponsored post and giveaway is a partnership with Nakturnal. #ad

Are you looking for things to do with kids in Indianapolis? We're always on the hunt for fun, kid-friendly activities in Indy. (#IndyFun) If your kids like to tinker and build things and are into LEGO® or other building block toys, you'll want to try out a Snapology.com for your next birthday party! Snapology is a play place for kids of all ages. Keep scrolling for information on a kids' business opportunity and a fun giveaway- just in time for the holidays!

To get everyone in the party spirit, we're giving away a LEGO® brick set of the Snapology Mascot Sebastian Gator - recommended for ages 6 & up. Deadline for entry in Wednesday, Nov. 15. To enter the giveaway, just comment on this post! Just comment why you think this is a great idea for a business! #giveaway

Snapology encourages learning through play. It's a great place for after schoolers, preschoolers, homeschoolers, and anyone who is looking for something fun to do with kids in the Indy area. Check out this franchise video to learn more.





Some Fun and Affordable Birthday Party Themes include:

• LEGO®
• Minecraft
• Star Wars
• Angry Birds

When you have a birthday party at Snapology, a certified Snapology party facilitator will set-up, conduct activities and clean up. You can sit back and enjoy your child’s big day. Snapology parties are designed to be fun and affordable for families. 

Snapology is also a great place for scouting events, after school fun, preschool, and special needs programs. Snapology provides interactive, STEM / STEAM programs for children featuring technology and popular building toys such as LEGO® bricks and K’Nex®. 

In Indy West, Snapology is currently serving recreation centers and schools. If you are interested in a Snapology franchise, check it out.

Recommended:

Lego Gifts for Kids

Things to do in Indiana with Kids

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Teenage Birthday Party Ideas Indianapolis: Tweens Too!

Birthday Party Ideas  for Teens in Indy

Planning a unique birthday party for a tween (soon to be teen) or teenager is difficult. When they're younger, there are so many options- plus they don't even remember most of them! By the time they become teenagers, you're running on empty. Here's a list of Teenage Birthday Party Ideas in Indianapolis, your tween will love them too. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links.

Make Happy Birthday Cupcakes with this Cherry Recipe

Read Happy Birthday, Cupcake! and Make some too

Is it your birthday? These cupcakes are perfect for Valentine's Day too, but don't worry- you don't need an excuse to make birthday cupcakes. This recipe for cherry cupcakes, is perfect to pair with the book, Happy Birthday, Cupcake!, by Terry Border. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Cupcake! is a charming book. The main character is a Cupcake! The delightful photos throughout the book tell the story of a sweet Cupcake planning her birthday party with her friends. Her friends are various food items- each with varying needs. She takes into account each of them as she seeks to plan the perfect event. She shows kindness in realizing the limitations of her friends- like Ice Cream's propensity for melting...

Make Cherry Almond Cupcakes with this yummy recipe.

In then end, her friends surprise her with a birthday party to remember. This is such a cute story with an excellent message of friendship, feelings, and love. This picture book is perfect for the younger set. It makes a nice companion book for a birthday celebration. You can incorporate fun activities while talking about important topics like how to be a good friend.

Happy Birthday, Cupcake! by Terry Border.

One of our favorite activities is to bake together! This book lends itself well to a kitchen project. You can make cupcakes easily with a mix or make some from scratch. The most important thing is to spend time together. We enjoyed making Cherry Cupcakes- chosen by my son!

Delicious Cherry Cupcakes!

Here's a yummy recipe for the Cherry Almond Cupcakes that we adapted from one found on Food Network Magazine.

CHERRY ALMOND CUPCAKES Recipe

1 1/3 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 stick butter, softened

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1/2 c. milk

1/3 c. maraschino cherries, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. 

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking power, and salt. In another bowl, cream butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth (about 1 minute). Add sugar and continue to beat until creamy (about 4 minutes). Beat in eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Beat in the flour mixture in three batches alternating the milk. Beat on medium-high speed until just combined. Stir in maraschino cherries. 

Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake until the tops spring back, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool in pan 5 minutes and then remove to rack to completely cool. 

How to Make CHERRY FROSTING Recipe

1 1/2 stick butter, softened

3 c. powdered sugar

pinch of salt

2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. almond extract

3 Tb. maraschino cherry juice (from the jar)

Extra cherries to garnish if desired

Beat butter, sugar, and salt until just combined. Add extracts and beat on medium-high speed until creamy (about 3 minutes). Beat in the cherry juice until fluffy (about 1 more minute). 

Ice cupcakes when they are completely cooled and add cherries or sprinkles to decorate.

Fun Activity Ideas for the Book, Happy Birthday, Cupcake:

• Plan a play date with a friend.
• Cut out paper cupcakes.
• Make a friendship tree, and write down activites that your friends would enjoy.
• Pretend to have a birthday party. 

Recommended:

Make Strawberry Cupcakes

Get Happy Birthday, Cupcake!*

Snowmen Cupcakes

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Circle Activities for Teens Middle School Age Youth

Circle Games and Activities for Youth: Camp Songs and More

Camp Songs always bring back the best memories! Circle Time isn't just for preschoolers! Circle Activities and Games are fun for teens too. If you're planning activities for an after school program, summer camp, scouts, or youth group, these school-aged circle camp activities make nice icebreakers. We've used these group circle games and songs to welcome kids to camp, introduce each other, and as a way to make attendance and head counts fun. 

Plan a Ladybug Picnic Party & Learn about the Ladybug Life Cycle too!

A Ladybug Picnic Party is a Fun Way to learn about the Ladybug Life Cycle

Spring and Summer are the perfect time to throw a Ladybug picnic or Ladybug theme birthday party! We love to sneak in educational elements whenever possible, so we've come up with some fun Ladybug activities and added an educational one too. Learning about the Ladybug's life cycle is fun - Scroll down to find more Ladybug learning activities from Teaching Mama. Enjoy!

Plan a Ladybug Picnic Party and Learn about the ladybug Life cycle.

Online, you will find lots of different Ladybug tic tac toe games. Some are made of construction paper, others use painted rocks, blocks of wood, or even sticks.

Collect walnut shells and paint them like ladybugs and bumble bees
for Tic Tac Toe and Checkers games.

We enjoy taking hikes around our property. It is like our very own nature park. So, on a recent hike, we collected broken Walnut shells to paint like Ladybugs and Bumble Bees in honor of the book, Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy!

These are so cute and perfect to leave sitting out for an impromptu game of Ladybug Tic Tac Toe or Checkers. 

Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy Party.  Want your own? Let us know in the comments.

Just store your bugs in a woven basket, and leave them sitting on a table or bench as an invitation to play. We tossed in sidewalk chalk, so that kids can make a board anywhere they want! Sticks make a perfect natural Tic Tac Toe board.

Make and play Ladybug Tic Tac Toe and Checkers.

Playing games are a great way to build friendships and teach about compromise too! Read the book, LADYBUG GIRL AND THE BUMBLEBEE BOY, the theme is “friendship and compromise.” 

In the story, Lulu and her dog Bingo meet up with Sam on the playground and want to play together. Sam likes the sandbox but Lulu thinks the monkey bars are better. They just can’t agree…until Lulu asks, “Have you ever played Ladybug Girl?” Quickly, Sam becomes the brave Bumblebee Boy, and he and Lulu, a.k.a Ladybug Girl, are superheroes who save the playground from scary monsters and mean robots. New friends want to join their game too, and soon the Bug Squad is formed with Ladybug Girl, Bumblebee Boy, Dragonfly Girl, and Butterfly Girl using their imaginations to keep the playground safe.

Gather walnut shells, paint, and brushes to make a Ladybug Tic Tac Toe game.

Paint walnut red to make a ladybug.

Paint walnut yellow to make a bumblebee.

Hop over to Teaching Mama to print a ladybug life cycle printable activity the kids can make at the party!

Ladybug life cycle printable available at TeachingMama.org

This is one of my all time favorite Sesame Street Videos: Ladybug Picnic.

Don't forget to leave a comment to enter to win Ladybug Girl items for your own party!


Recommended:

Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy*

Things to do with Walnuts

Paper Ladybug Tic Tac Toe Valentine

Frog Birthday Party Ideas 

6 Froggy Birthday Party Ideas for Book Lovers

Celebrate Froggy's Birthday with these 6 Fun Ideas

In honor of Jonathan London's newest Froggy book, which was released March 10, 2015, we're sharing 6 froggy birthday party ideas for book lovers. Feel free to share your own frog theme birthday ideas too. Enjoy!

Froggy's Birthday Wish by Jonathan London.

Froggy's Birthday Wish
Froggy is celebrating a birthday. He gets lots of wonderful, exciting presents, but he isn't happy. He wants something else. Finally, Froggy's mother shows him her present. Now Froggy is happy!

This book is fun to read in a classroom setting for a birthday celebration. You might like this fun birthday cake craft to go along with the story.

Birthday Cake Craft.

Another fun birthday activity is to make your own Pinata from construction paper and a cardboard tube. Froggy had a moon pinata, but we're making a traditional donkey pinata. This mini pinata is perfect as a party favor or place setting decoration. Just fill with your favorite candy or treats.

How to make a donkey pinata party favor.

You will need: construction paper, scissors, paste, 2 cardboard toilet roll tubes or 1 cardboard paper towel tube, and tape.

To make a donkey pinata birthday party favor:

Cut 1/2" strips of your favorite colors of construction paper. Use tape to attach to the base of the tube (torso) as seen in figure 1. Wrap until the cardboard tube is covered and tape to attach the end. Next, cut 1/4 of the other cardboard tube. This will be the head (see figure 2). Cut four 1/2" slits, 1/4" apart on one end of the head. This will allow you to connect the head to the end of the other tube. Leave the two center slits to attach the ears. With the leftover piece of the cardboard tube, cut two ears as shown in figure 3. Slide the ears into the center slits and then slide the outer slits onto the end of the other tube as shown in figure 4.

Next, wrap the head and ears just like the torso portion. Now, cut small strips and glue to cover the donkey until it looks like a real pinata as seen in figure 5. Cut two 2" wide strips of paper. Wrap one into a link, tape the ends, and stick into the head. This will be the nose. When complete, use construction paper to make a mouth. Use the other one on the other end- this will keep the candy in place. Finally, cut eyes out of construction paper and attach.

Congrats! You've made a mini pinata party favor. Breathe a sigh of relief... yep, it was harder than we thought it would be too, but if you are relaxing watching television you can knock several out in an hour. Practice makes perfect!

Froggy's Worst Play Date by Jonathan London.

Froggy's Worst Play Date
Froggy wants to go out to play, but all of his friends are busy. Good news! Mom has set up a playdate with Frogelina. He has to watch the Frog Prince. At the movie, they eat popcorn and have a food fight! In the end, Frogelina steals a kiss from her froggy prince!

Have you ever tried this movie popcorn trick?

Do you know the trick to eating popcorn?

This little girl doesn't know the trick! At your next birthday party, amaze your friends with magic. Did you know movie popcorn will jump on your tongue? Yep, all you have to do is stick your tongue out over a bowl of popcorn and Voila! The popcorn attaches to your tongue! Try this with our homemade microwave popcorn.

Fun Popcorn Recipe for a Birthday Snack

This is an fun alternative to Brown Sugar Pop Tarts.

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Popcorn

6 Cups Plain, Unsalted Microwave Popcorn (see recipe above)

¼ Cup Amish Country Buttery Popcorn Topping

¾ Tsp. Ground Cinnamon

¼ Cup Brown Sugar

Pour butter into paper popcorn bag and shake to mix. Add brown sugar and cinnamon, and shake bag again. Enjoy.

What else can you do with popcorn? Things to do with popcorn.

To celebrate the book, make a Frog Prince Puppet. Here's a similar frog puppet pattern and how to from DLTK. We used a mini paper plate and styled our puppet to look like Froggy! If you want, add a yellow crown to make a frog prince.

Frog puppet for Froggy's Worse Playdate theme birthday party.

 You will need: mini paper plates, paint or markers, scissors, tape, and construction paper.

Froggy's Best Babysitter
Froggy's parents are celebrating their 10th anniversary. Froggy has to stay home with his baby sister and a baby sitter. Froggy makes lots of messes, and he plays in the bathtub with his baby sister.

Froggy's Best Babysitter by Jonathan London.

As a companion craft for this book, and a fun activity for your frog theme birthday party, you might like to make a froggy pond sensory play bin like this one from Growing a Jeweled Rose.

A froggy sensory play bin, like this one from Growing a Jeweled Rose,
 is a fun birthday party activity for toddlers.

Have you enjoyed these books and companion birthday activities for book lovers? Are you ready to plan your own frog themed birthday party? 

Recommended Reading:

Birthday Party Activities and Ideas

Ladybug Picnic Party Activities

Froggy Birthday Party Supplies:

Kiss The Frog Party Game *

Froggy Birthday Party Kit - 32 Person*









ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

5 Best Sleepover Games and Activities for Teens

Plan the Best Sleepover Ever with These 5 Cool Games and Activities for Teens

These five, easy party ideas for teenagers will help you plan a fun sleepover or even the best slumber party ever! Click the links to find more great birthday party ideas for both teen boys and girls. Enjoy!

5 Best Sleepover Games and Activities for Teens.

• Backwards Birthday Party

Have all the guest wear all of their clothes backward.

• Who's in the Bag?

Play, "Who's in the Bag?", at your next sleepover.

Before the party, mark straws with the number of party guest minus

one. On the last straw, write "it" with a Sharpie. Have each guest 

choose a straw. Get everyone's sleeping bag and roll them out on 

the floor in a large room. Send "it" into the bathroom or a closet.


Now, everyone else climbs into a random sleeping bag (not their 

own). Pull the bag over your heads so "it" cannot see who is who.


When "it" comes back, he taps the foot of a bag and asks one question. 

For example:  "What is your favorite color?"

The person in the bag, disguises his voice to answer but answers truthfully.

Now, "it" guesses who is in the bag. If he guesses wrong, he moves to the next bag. If he guesses right, the player gets to come out of the bag and watch the fun!

Play continues until all player's identities are revealed.

• Cool Sleepover Game for Girls or guys, just change the sex of the hotties you choose to share :)

The guys from One Direction.

Before the party, find photos of cute guys. Make a Pinterest board

just for the party. Pin as many cute guys as you can find, then pull 

them up on the television screen with Chrome Cast. What would 

you do with him? Make Out, Marry, or Dump?

• Whip Cream Fingertips

Sleepover prank: place whipcream on a sleeping beauty's fingers, then tickle her nose.

Put some whip cream on the fingers of the first one to fall asleep. 

Unlike peanut butter, which is sticky and can be deadly if anyone 

at the party has a peanut allergy, whip cream is an innocent 

slumber party prank. Now, gently tickle sleeping beauty's face. 


Watch what happens! For the record, I hate pranks. I'm opposed. 

If you are the first one to fall asleep, you probably won't be a fan 

of sleepover pranks either, so keep this in mind when choosing 

activities for your party.

• Cell Phone

Play "Cell Phone", a sleepover game similar to 20 questions, but better!

Gather the party guests and pick one to be "it". Send it to the 

bathroom with loud music or headphones. Now, the rest of the 

group chooses a noun for the game. 

For example: Cat, Car, Flower, Food.

Now, bring "it" back to guess the chosen word.

"It" has to ask questions about the unknown word. So, she replaces 

the unknown word with Cell Phone. She asks each player a 

different question.

For example: "Is the Cell Phone purple?" or "Does the Cell Phone 

breathe?"

Like Twenty Questions, the other players (in on the secret word),

say yes or no until "it" gets the answer correct.


The last player to answer the question before she guesses correctly

becomes the next "it".




Recommended Reading:



Sleepover Party Mad Libs*



Group Games Played in a Circle*



The Everything Girls Ultimate Sleepover Party Book: 100+ Ideas 

for Sleepover Games, Goodies, Makeovers, and More! 

(Everything® Girls)*




The Unofficial ONE DIRECTION Big Sleepover Trivia Party 

Game: Find Out Who Loves One Direction The Most! - Star 

Version (One Direction Trivia Party Game Book 2)*

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

14 Circle Time Activities and Ideas for Preschoolers

Preschool Circle Time is for Group Lessons, Games, and Interaction

Running out of ideas for Preschool Circle Time? Every preschool program needs circle time for group interaction. This is a time to build structure into the program, so the children know what to expect each day. It is great to offer circle time at least twice a day- once in the morning, and once just before time to go home. These ideas will help build a sense of togetherness, (community) a time for sharing, and a fun learning environment for the kids. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Elementary Circle Time Games, Activities, and Ideas for Preschoolers and Toddlers.

 14 Ideas and Activities for Circle Time

1.  Dance Freeze - Play some music or sing a song. Everyone dances willy nilly. Suddenly, stop the song, but don't sing to the end of a verse, that is too predictable. Everyone must freeze in their position. Is one leg up? Are they doing the worm? If they move, they must sit frozen in that spot, criss-cross applesauce and wait to see who can freeze the longest. No blinking or twitching allowed.

50 SIMPLE GROUP GAMES for CIRCLE TIME

2.  Bug in a Rug - This is an oldie, but a goodie. Everyone sits in the circle. Before you begin to play, explain EXACTLY how the game works. Grab a blanket or a big beach towel. Now, pick one child to leave the room or wear a fun blindfold. Teacher picks a student. Shh! Just point at the child, grab their hand and take them away from the group. Now, point at another child and then to the "rug". Hide the child under the "rug." Bring the other preschooler back. Can they guess who is missing? 

3. Pass the Movement - I played this for years with preschoolers and school-age children in summer camps, but I didn't give it a name. I found the name at Preksharing Blog. She says it is adapted from a book published in 2011, but we used to do this years ago in summer camp and afterschool programs. Just goes to show, great minds think alike! It is simple to play. Teacher starts with a movement. Perhaps, you wave your hand in the air. Now, the person sitting to your right must wave their hand and add a movement like wiggling their nose. The next person to the right, does those movements and adds one of their own. It is a "WAVE" of different movements.

4. Shake the Sillies Out - Need a game to get kids' moving?  Find some Dragon Tunes from the cartoon, Dragon Tales, and every morning, "Shake the Sillies Out"! Just play the song, and follow the instructions. Kids love this one!

5. Circle Time Collaborative Painting - I like the idea of painting circles in collaboration like the one from Art Project Girl in the link. You know, where Teach lays out a big sheet of paper and painting supplies and everyone paints concentric circles? What if we do it as a part of Circle Time? Pass the painting, and make a PROGRESSIVE PAINTING. 

This idea teaches patience. Everyone must wait their turn. It builds excitement too. Lay out a large painting tarp, sit the children in a circle on the tarp, give each child a cup of paint and a brush. No painting unless it is your turn. To make it less frustrating, pass two large poster boards around starting at opposite ends. Children are allowed to paint only 1 circle or shape of their choice per turn. While they are painting, teacher shares an art lesson on shapes!

Collaborative Concentric Circle Painting from Art Project Girl.

6. Click, Clack, Moo Story Starter - You know the story about the unhappy cows in the barn? They have a typewriter. They are making demands. An electric blanket would be nice. What else might the farm animals want from the farmer? 

Click Clack Moo Story Starter Circle Time Game.

Play a Circle Time Game where each child is given an animal. Before the game, print out cards with farm animal pictures on one side and their name on the other. Each child draws a card from a hat. Give this example to the kids: What does the (insert animal here) pig want? "Dear Farmer Brown, the barn is smelly. Please send air fresheners." Have each child come up with their own idea for what the animal on the card might want from the farmer.

7. Animal Movement Game - Take the game above one step further. Get the kids moving like the animals. Ask, "What does a pig say?" Now, "How does a pig move?" The children take turns walking around the circle like the animal on their cards. 

8. Quiet Mouse, Still Mouse - When Circle Time is done, keep children in a circle to release them to the next preschool activity. The teacher explains, the child who sits as quiet as a mouse (the quietest) get to line up first. Continue until everyone (or almost everyone, I don't like to single out those who can't sit still or quiet) is in line.

9. Calendar Time -  Sing "Sunday, Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday Friday, Saturday. Suunday, Munday... TUUESday" Emphasize the current day of the week. Sing the song and then check the calendar. Who can find today on the calendar? Here's another days of the week song sung to the Addam's Family theme. 

10. Alphabet Shopping - Using the first letter of each child's name, pretend to go shopping for an item that begins with that letter. For example, “Jake will buy a jump rope.” Go around the circle until everyone has had a turn. This helps with letter recognition. For more ideas like this visit Early Childhood News.

11. Talking Stick - Bring in a cane, or recycle a cardboard wrapping paper tube. The kids can help decorate the "Talking Stick" with Washi or Duct Tape, Glitter, or Feathers. During Circle Time, grab the stick. Now, explain to the group that this is a talking stick. Only the person who holds it may speak. This is a great tool to use for Show and Tell or other situations where children take turns sharing. More lessons in patience and turn taking.

12. Birthday Day of the Week Bags - PreK Pages Blog has a fun idea for Day of the Week Bags. Make a brown paper bag for each day of the week. Give it a colorful label, and fill it with the names of classmates who have birthdays on this day or other special things that happen on this day of THIS week.

   13. Pictures with Facial Expressions - Hold up magazine pictures of facial expressions. Ask, "What is this person feeling." Have the children take turns making the face. After you play this game, have the kids draw themselves like this emotion art lesson.

14. Play Duck, Duck, Goose? - This old standby might be boring to you, but it is likely new to the toddlers and preschoolers in your class. Change it up each day. After they get the hang of the game, add a creative play element by acting it out. Have the kids act and walk like the animal as they toddle around. Walk and Talk like the animal. For older or school-age children, change the theme to pig, pig, cow or ghost, ghost, vampire.

Recommended Reading:

50 Easy Group Games for Preschoolers

Rugs for Circle Time

Circle Time Handbook with Reproducible Pages

Teen Group Games for Camp

Preschool Circle Time Activities

Chicken Art Project for Preschool

Preschool Circle Time Songs

Nature Based Circle Time Activity

How to Play Four Corners Group Activity

Follow us on Instagram for more fun ideas every day!