Plan an Indy 500 Race Theme for a Kid's Birthday Party or Special School Activity

Indy 500 Theme Race Party with Cardboard Racecars

The Play Connection, Inc. (my alter ego) did lots of fun preschool activities that are great for a birthday party or for kids' outdoor pe games. Due to the proximity of Indianapolis, an Indy 500 racing theme is always popular in May. Plan Indy 500 kid activities for a fun field day at school, and make your own race cars from cardboard boxes. Enjoy!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.*

Indy 500 Activities for Kids.

Use recycled household items as props- 
including a plastic milk jug for a gas can.

Ideas on how to plan an Indy 500 Race Birthday Party: 

• Purchase inexpensive, large, black buckets to use in a pit stop race game. 
• Recycle a milk jug, paint it black with spray paint or acrylics, and use duct tape or paint to spell out G-A-S.
•  Turn a milk crate upside down to use as a Winner's Circle.
• Hang a race banner (we got ours at the Dollar Tree).
• Make 9 colored race flags for a realistic race experience.

Trick out your cardboard car with paper plate wheels or 
fancy, cardboard fan wheels.

Wondering 'what do the flags mean or stand for in the Indy 500 race'?  

• Green means go! Of course, you already knew that! Just like shouting "Green Light", the green flag is waved to signal the start of the race. It is also used to for restarts after a caution flag.
• Yellow flag signals caution for a hazard. It could be an accident, debris, rain, maybe a silly goose got loose on the track. The pace car hops on the track to lead the other cars in safety. When we play Red Light, Green Light, we use yellow to signal walk very slowly.
• Red flag STOP! Do not pass go, do not collect $100 dollars. A red light means freeze in your tracks. It is for accident or rain conditions.  Head straight to the pits or stay parked. No repairs, tire changes, or gassing up allowed. In other words, no fair cheating!
• Red flag with a yellow "X" means the pits are closed to all vehicles.
• Black flag means a penalty to a car on the track. Don't break the rules! It's also used for mechanical failures.
• Black flag with a white "X" black-flag penalty.  Your car isn't keeping score anymore.
• Blue flag or blue flag with yellow diagonal stripe Get out of the way, slow poke, a faster driver is about to pass. We use a blue light in our game to signal to turn around and walk backward toward the finish line.
• White flag the end is near! It's the FINAL lap.
• Checkered flag  Hooray! We have a winner. This flag means the race is over.

For our race car game of Red Light, Green Light, we purchased dowel rods and squares of fabric from Joann's Fabrics. To attach, rub glue on the dowel, wrap one end of fabric around the dowel, and staple as close to the stick as possible.

Lay out aluminum foil, tissue paper, paper plates, and colored duct tape.  
Let the kids' diy imagination run wild.

On your mark, get set, go! Mark off a track with chalk, tape, or use cornstarch paint in the grass. Get your flags ready to wave. Have parents or helpers use a stopwatch to track each child's time. No need to compete against others. Race around several times for your best lap. Now the fun begins!

On your mark, get set, let the games begin!

How to Play Pretend Pit Stop

Get parents and teachers involved with the fun. Before the game begins, designate a pit crew for each "driver". 

During a caution flag, have everyone pull into the pits. One member of the crew must run around the car 4 times checking pretending to check tires. 

Another crew member will take the pre-filled milk "Gas" jug (water) and pour it into the black bucket. 

Then, the crew members must use a funnel to re-fill the jug. Have the driver time the crew for even more giggles. When all the water is gone, the drivers can take off again.

Measure the water in the jugs to see which pit crew wins a prize. Just pour it back into the buckets, and see which one retained the most water (gas).

A game of Red Light, Green Light is fun around the track too.


Recommended Reading:

Things to do in Indiana: Indy 500 Race Activities for Kids

Eat My Dust! Henry Ford's First Race* 

Hot Air Balloon Glow at the Indy 500

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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! :)

20 Ideas and Activities to Plan and Decorate for a Balloon Birthday Party Theme for Kids

Here are 20 Fantastic Things to do with Balloons for your next Kids Birthday Party

Do your kids love balloons? Do they have to get a balloon in every restaurant or beg for balloons at the Dollar or Party Store? Shower your child with these ideas for balloons for a birthday party they'll never forget. We've got some great ideas from our own blog, and we've found several ways to decorate for a balloon birthday party from Pinterest. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Easy Edible Easter Crafts: Things to Do with Marshmallow Peeps

Cute Edible Craft Things to do with Marshmallow Peeps for Easter

Who doesn't love Peeps? Well, besides me. I don't like the tingly feeling on my tongue, but Peeps are oh so cute and perfect for preschoolers crafts. I found these 8 adorable things to do with marshmallow Peeps. Did you know they even have an entire store dedicated to these cuties? You can make all of these Edible Peeps Crafts at home with your kids.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

I was inspired to surf for recipe ideas for easy edible Easter crafts after visiting an old-fashioned candy store selling chocolate covered Peeps. Everything in the store was decorated in pastels for Easter and the store windows were straight out of Wonka's factory. The Peeps from Your Home Based Mom pictured below are similar.

Decorative Peeps Dirt Pudding Cups for Place Setting

Things to do with Peeps for Easter

Chocolate Covered Peep Chicks Recipe from Your Homebased Mom.

An M and M's Peep casserole! 


Yes, we're gonna try this Peep's Casserole from The Party-Animal Blog.

Did you know you can make a chocolate Peeps casserole? This one from The Party Animal-Blog looks fantastic even to me. I'm going to try to make the recipe for Easter this year.

The Soccer Mom has an awesome, adorable Peeps Cupcake recipe. Check it out!

Peeps Easter Cupcakes from Soccer Mom.

Painting with Peeps is the perfect activity for preschool kids. This one from It Mom is super cute, but I'd do it with edible paint. We have lots of different recipes here just search in the browse us bar for "edible paint."

Painting with Peeps from It Mom Blog.

Inspire Me Crafts offers up "dressed up" Peeps dipped in chocolate and looking like a bunny bride and groom. Wouldn't they be cute wedding party favors for a spring bridal shower? Pair them with the Peeps topiary below for a fun, spring theme bridal shower.

Make S'mores with Peeps like Electic Recipes did.

Peeps Smore's is an easy, fun edible craft for kids. They can construct them and you can pop them in the microwave. This idea came from Electic Recipes.

Peeps Crafts for Easter from CraftsnCoffee.com

Finally, this home decor idea for Easter is perfect for a kid's party. The Peep's Topiary from CraftsnCoffee is easy to make with kids. 

What are you crafting up this Easter? You better hurry, if you are wondering when is Easter this year? Easter is April 16, 2017.

Recommended Reading:

Peep, Peep, I Love You! (Lift-the-Flaps)

Easter Story - Give a Mouse

5 Solutions To Help You Settle Into Your New Home

New Home Tips

We recently moved to a new house. It's a fixer upper. Moving to a new house is so exciting– the newness of the property and getting to know all its different quirks and eccentricities is second to none. Even if you feel a little homesick for your previous property, those feelings will soon disappear as you get used to your new one. The sooner you settle in, the sooner you will feel right at home, so it’s important to set this in motion from day one. Here are 5 solutions to help you settle into your new house and how you can settle into your new home faster and start enjoying it from the first few weeks.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links, if you click and make a purchase, I get a small commission.

1. Tackle The Big Stuff 

There will be certain jobs to do in your new home that are big and off-putting. These include putting your bed together and making it, and setting up the living room furniture and perhaps the TV too. It can be far more tempting to start with the smaller jobs, like unpacking ornaments and kitchen utensils.

The problem is that these smaller jobs won't help you settle in. Will it matter if all of your DVDs are on the shelf if you're sleeping on a mattress in the floor? It's far better to do the big jobs first, and then you will feel more relaxed and can tackle the many smaller ones that follow.

Now, that your settling in, learn how to diy common home issues.

2. Have A Storage Room

It might not be possible depending on the size of your new home, but if you can, you should set aside a room to be used as a storage room. This might be a spare bedroom, or a study, for example. All the boxes and bits can be stored in there, and that means the rest of the house is nice and tidy. You can then unpack those stored boxes a few at a time until they are all done without disrupting the rest of the house.

3. One Room At A Time

Following on from the point above, only focus on one room at a time and don’t move onto the next until it is complete. If you rush from room to room unpacking boxes as you come to them rather than searching for the box that goes in the room you are dealing with at the time, you will become flustered and overwhelmed, and the job will seem endless. Work in a more methodical way, and it will be a lot easier.

4. Don’t Forget The Garden

The garden is just as much a part of your home as any other room, and if it is a mess, then you won’t feel comfortable there. Take some time to tidy it up, even if it’s just mowing the lawn and weeding. When you have more time, you should put your own stamp on it by installing a pond from water-garden.co.uk or buying comfortable garden furniture to sit on.

5. Explore The Area

Once your home is how you want it, you should take the opportunity to explore your new area. You may have done some research on it before you moved (it’s a good idea to do this before you decide on a new property just in case the area isn’t as nice as you thought it was,) but there is nothing like being about to step out of your front door and work out where everything is.

At the very least, you'll need to know where the closest supermarket is, and how to get to the nearest town. Learning where the leisure facilities are and the best places to walk, as well as other attractions is another good idea. You'll definitely feel more at home when you know this information.

Recommended:

Layout your Furniture in your New House with this Free Tool

Fun Things to Make at Home

First Home Christmas Tree Ornament

Easy Edible Craft Sugar Color your Marshmallows

How do you Sugar Color Marshmallows?

We love all things marshmallows, and we're always searching for things to do with marshmallows. When we saw these sugar colored marshmallows on "A Nut in a Nutshell.com" we had to try them! The marshmallows are colored with cookie sugars. What do you think? These would be great for building a colorful, gingerbread house or fun, marshmallow flowers.

DIY Colored Marshmallows from A Nut in a Nutshell blog.

Recommended Reading:

Kids Creative Chaos Cooks (Kitchen Kids Book 1)

Marshmallow Math; Early Math For Young Children

Melted Crayons in Chocolate and Soap Molds

How to make Fun Crayon Shapes in Molds

Crayon fun for Preschoolers. Have your crayons and make them too using cookie, cake, or soap molds! What could be more fun than coloring with a dinosaur? Coloring with a dinosaur crayon. Enjoy!

Use a muffin tin and mix up melted crayon pieces
 for fun chunky crayons.

3 of my Favorite Pinterest Fall Craft Activities

Here are 3 of my all-time fav Pinterest Fall Craft Activities

Sniff sniff. Can you smell it? Fall is almost here! We love a little Fall fun. When I saw these 3 fall activities on Pinterest, I just knew they'd be perfect for preschoolers. So, gather up some supplies and sit down with the littles and make some memories while you craft up your favorite fall preschool activity. Click the links for details on how to make the owl wreath, paperbag scarecrow, and easy Lite Brite pumpkin. Enjoy!

1. Who's There Owl Wreath by Sherri at About Family Craft

Cute Owl Fall Craft Wreath from Sherri Osborn.

2.  Paperbag Scarecrow from Easy Child Crafts

Paperbag Scarecrow Craft from lunch bag.

3. Lite Brite Pumpkin from Giver's Log.

Lite Brite pegs in your pumpkin. Too cute!

Recommended Reading:

Fall Edible Crafts and Fun Games for Kids*

Fall Wreath           

Things to do with Pumpkins         









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! :)

Make Edible Egg Coloring Dye to Use with Your Dudley Egg Spinner: Recipe

Replacement Edible Dye for Egg Coloring Kits

Make your own DIY Egg Coloring Dye with this Edible Egg Coloring Recipe. It is simple, quick, and works just as good! We have a Dudley Egg Spinner, but ran out of coloring dye. So, we made our own. Enjoy!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.

Make Edible Egg Coloring Dye to Use with Your Dudley Egg Spinner: Recipe.

Fun Fall Leaf Wreath Tutorial with Real Leaves

How to Make a Fall Leaf Door Wreath DIY 

Learn how to make a real fall leaf wreath for your door. Get out today, and take your kids on a hike to enjoy the beautiful outdoors. It's great exercise and a wonderful opportunity to enjoy your children. Collect the brightest, healthiest leaves to make this together. Once preserved, it makes a perfect gift for Grandma or even a centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table. Scroll down to learn how to preserve the glorious fall-foliage, color and all.  Enjoy!

This post contains Affiliate Links for your convenience.

Learn how to preserve a leaf wreath. 

To make this leafy wreath you must hurry; the colors fade fast!

How to make a fall leaf wreath with real leaves.

So easy to make.

The fall wreath craft turned out incredibly colorful and beautiful.

How to Make a Fall Wreath from Leaves

Fall Wreath SUPPLIES:

Paper Plates
Tacky Glue or Hot Glue Gun
Lots of colorful Leaves from your yard
(you can buy fabric leaves at Jo Ann's.)
Raffia Ribbon or Colorful Fabric Ribbon.
Glitter, if you want to make it sparkle.

Poke a hole in the center of a paper plate,

cut the center out, leaving only an outer ring.

Glue the leaves around the plate

in a colorful arrangement.

Voila a super easy, cute craft project.

We hung these leaf wreaths above the fireplace

but they would look great on the front door!

My kids enjoyed collecting the leaves in various shapes and sizes. We found very tiny ones and gigantic ones that made the search lots of fun. This project was so easy, with fantastic results. My 2 year old's wreath is beautiful, and she did it all by herself! I know the leaves will turn brown soon, but it was a great bonding experience. If you want to make a wreath that will last thru the season, buy a bag of fabric leaves at Jo Ann's Fabric. They work just as well and last forever! We had limited money and spent $8 at the dollar tree. We have tons of supplies left over and made 3 separate projects! The girls had a wonderful time today! Sam loved using the hot glue and Amanda loved using tacky glue while smearing it all over the plates. We spent nearly two hours working on various projects and nobody's attention wavered. This is a fun one! Unfortunately 4 hours later and Amanda's are starting to wilt and turn brown. I don't know if it was the tacky glue, the fact that she kept 'painting' them with water, or that she just liked to use the brown ones. Anyway, I will keep you posted on that - it is our side project: The science of leaf disintegration in the house. Will they turn brown more quickly or more slowly?

Recommended Reading:

More Kid's Seasonal Craft Ideas

The Toddler's Busy Book: 365 Creative Games and Activities to Keep Your 1 1/2- to 3-Year-Old Busy

Easy Crafts for Halloween and Fall - Crafts for Kids and Adults

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