While the majority of us are practicing safely self distancing, I’d love to share an idea that we are using as a tool to keep kiddos engaged during extended time at home. I have put together a mermaid/ocean themed activity kit for my girls to pull at home activities from. While we can’t visit any beaches or islands right now, they can use their imaginations to create an underwater world of their own—right at home!
In addition to mermaids, OOLY has a ton of other really fun themed options like monsters and unicorns. Also, if you’re looking for a more prepackaged option, OOLY offers their really adorable themed Happy Packs, that you can order right to your door.
We are working to create a balance of things to do with the girls, at home, while also fostering independent play. We want to use this time together at home to create memories together, and to really find new ways to dream up our own fun.
You can’t go wrong with these products. I love the high quality and attention to every detail. Their whimsical designs are exemplary when it comes to diverse representation. It’s not easy to find mermaid products with various hair textures and skin tones. I loved that my girls get to be creative with characters that look like they do!
Diving Into Our At Home Activities for Kids
I purchased an inexpensive tub to keep all of our themed at home activities and supplies. Unlike the other toys in their playroom, my thought is that we put these special items away. In doing this, each time I pull them down, they’re just as exciting for the girls to dig into. They will have their own special time of the day. Lately, I have been setting the tub out in the morning for creative fun after breakfast. I also let my youngest color with our Stars of the Sea Crayons in the Outrageous Ocean Coloring Book while her older sister was spending time doing virtual schoolwork. I find coloring to be such a stress buster, and totally pulled up a chair to color along with Zarie this morning. It is amazing how much magic is found in crayons and a coloring book, even for us adults.
You can’t go wrong with these products. I love the high quality and attention to every detail. Their whimsical designs are exemplary when it comes to diverse representation. It’s not easy to find mermaid products with various hair textures and skin tones. I loved that my girls get to be creative with characters that look like they do!
Build a Mermaid Themed Activity Kit
- Stars of the Sea Crayons (perfect for tiny hands/fingers)
- Mermaid Magic 6 Click Multi Color Pen (Raegan’s FAVORITE kind of pen)
- Mermaid Magic Scratch and Scribble Scratch Art Kit
- Ocean Life Scratch and Scribble Scratch Art Kit
- Play Again! Reusable Sticker Scenes – Mermaid Magic
- On-The-Go Stationery Kit -Magical Mermaids
- Outrageous Ocean Coloring Book
- Color Appeal Crayons
How Creativity Helps
We are a military family, so we are used to finding creative ways to send our love all over the country. The girls are able to write (and color) special notes to the people who they love most. So far, they have written short and sweet notes to their grandparents. I am hoping to write to their cousins next. My girls get so excited to walk their letters to the mailbox, and hear back from loved ones near and far. If you’re considering curating an at-home activity kit for kids of your own, here are a couple of tips: Choose a variety of options. We want to make sure there are several items to keep the kit novel and fun.- Consider a theme that you know your kiddo can really get excited about i.e. mermaids, monsters, girl power, etc.
- Decide on a special time during the day (or every other day) that you can bring your activity kit into play. Put it away when you’re done so it’s a treat every time you bring it around.
