Daddy pirate, daddy pirate,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Mommy pirate, mommy pirate,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Brother pirate, brother pirate,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Sister pirate, sister pirate,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Baby pirate, baby pirate,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

View on YouTube!

Daddy toilet, daddy toilet,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Mommy toilet, mommy toilet,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Brother toilet, brother toilet,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Sister toilet, sister toilet,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Baby toilet, baby toilet,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

View on YouTube!

Daddy hero, daddy hero,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Mommy hero, mommy hero,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Brother hero, brother hero,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Sister hero, sister hero,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Baby hero, baby hero,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

View on YouTube!

Summer is the perfect time to ditch the norm and get creative, so we reinvented the wheel when it comes to serving up fruit! Rainbow fruit snacks are a terrific way to learn about colors, practice counting, improve patterning skills and strengthen finger muscles, all while enjoying some healthy and refreshing treats!

On top of that, this a simple and easy activity the family can do together – a perfect way spend a summer afternoon!

Materials:

• Wooden Skewers
• Plates and one large tray
• Fruit!

Try to use one type of fruit for each color of the rainbow, referencing our video. Or get creative with different patterns, depending on the fruit you choose!

Steps:

1. Start making your skewers – use your fingers to push the fruit up. The skewers are pointy, so be careful!
2. Repeat with each color. When finished with a skewer, lay it on your tray.
3. Try different patterns of colors, or try using two pieces of each fruit to double the size of your rainbow!
4. When you’ve finished making your skewers, fan them out on your tray to make the shape of the rainbow.

Share With Us!

We hope you had a blast making this refreshing and colorful summer snack. Snap a few pictures before digging in! We’d love to see your finished creations. Share with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using #mothergooseclub.

Daddy mermaid, daddy mermaid,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Mommy mermaid, mommy mermaid,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Brother mermaid, brother mermaid,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Sister mermaid, sister mermaid,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Baby mermaid, baby mermaid,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

View on YouTube!

Celebrate the dads in your life with a homemade (and comical!) gift. Get the whole family involved – not only will the end result make for a thoughtful Father’s Day gift, but the tracing, writing, folding and cutting involved in this activity are all terrific for creativity and fine motor skill development. Let’s get started!

Materials:

All the materials you need are below. Most everything can be found around the house or at your local store. Get creative, improvise and let us know what works for you!

• Construction paper
• Yarn
• 2 buttons
• Pencil
• Glue
• Scissors

Step 1 – Hand Cutout:

Trace your hand onto a fresh piece of construction paper, and then carefully cut it out. With your yarn, cut up around 30 short strands and then glue them onto your cutouts’ fingertips. This will be dad’s hair!

Parents should take the lead with the cutting, but empower your little ones to take the lead on the creative process. Perhaps they want to use a different color for the construction paper, or make dad’s hair extra long!

Step 2 – Fold:

Time to make dad’s shirt! Using another piece of construction paper, try following the folding steps above. It doesn’t have to be perfect!

Step 3 – Finishing Touches:

Using ours as a guide, draw and cut out a tie. Then cut out a pair of eyes – don’t forget to draw the mouth and nose too!

Now that all of your elements are created, glue everything together!

Share With Us!

We hope this craft makes for a memorable activity and gift for your family! Share your creations with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using #mothergooseclub.

Happy Father’s Day!

Gather the family and some simple household materials for this spoon family craft! Try recreating your family, or use your imaginations to create something silly and wild! Either way, this craft will put young imaginations to work, inspire some laughs, and the end result will be a memorable keepsake!

For some inspiration before getting started, check out our vast collection of “Finger Family” videos!

Materials:

All the materials you need are below. Most everything can be found around the house or at your local store. Get creative, improvise and let us know what works for you!

• 5 spoons
• Construction paper
• Yarn
• Googly eyes
• Black sharpie
• Scissors
• Glue

Step 1 – Cut:

Using your construction paper, cut out clothes for each family member – we’re making a daddy spoon, mommy spoon, brother spoon, sister spoon and baby spoon!

Step 2 – Decorate:

Once you’re done cutting, use your black sharpie to draw some designs on the clothes, and use your yarn to craft some hair. And don’t forget to add the googly eyes!

Glue everything together and let it all dry.

Share With Us!

It’s that simple! We’d love to see what your family comes up with! Share your creations with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using #mothergooseclub.

Egg carton flowers are a fun, tactile art activity to do with your child to celebrate Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or any springtime afternoon! These flowers make a great gift, cute decoration, and they never go bad!

Develop your child’s creativity, motor skills and hand eye coordination as you craft. You can even sneak in some counting – count the number of flowers and use egg cartons as an opportunity to learn the word “dozen”.

Materials and steps are outlined below, along with a helpful how-to video. We hope this fun flower craft inspires you and your family to create and give! Share your beautiful bouquets with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using #mothergooseclub!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Materials:

• Acrylic paint
• Brushes
• Paper plates
• Scissors
• Water
• Bottom of egg carton
• Paper towels
• Pipe cleaners

Steps:

1. Paint the egg carton cups (your flower petals) and allow them to dry.
2. Poke a hole just large enough for a pipe cleaner to fit through in the bottom of each cup with scissors, then cut out each individual cup.
3. Loop the top of each pipe cleaner (stem) so flowers stay in place (wrap pipe cleaner around your finger twice and press in place).
4. Push cups up the pipe cleaner until they rest under the loop and cut for texture as desired!

So in honor of National Puppy Day, head down below for 10 pictures (courtesy of Flickr) of the cutest and cuddliest puppies. And if your family is thinking about adopting a pet, we encourage you to check out your local animal shelter. The Shelter Pet Project is a great resource to help match your family with the perfect furry companion at a nearby shelter and answer all of your questions about pet adoption.

If you also want to celebrate National Puppy Day with rhymes, sing along with Bo Peep in “Ten Little Puppy Dogs“, great for practicing simple counting and vocabulary, or browse our library of videos starring Bingo!

Enjoy!

1. Who’s a good boy?

Dogs understand about the same number of words and gestures as a 2-year-old. No wonder they make such great companions for young kids!

2. So sweet

Labrador Retrievers have been on the American Kennel Club’s 10 most popular breeds list longer than any other breed – for 25 years!

3. Check out this teeny tiny

Dalmations are actually born white and develop spots as they get older — guess this cutie is a different breed.

4. A little ray of sunshine

While many people think that dogs are fully colorblind, they can see blue and yellow.

5. Sleepy puppy!

Your dog can catch your yawn! Believe it or not, your yawning can trigger the same in a dog. This is even more prevalent if the dog knows you.

6. Exploring the outside world

The US has the highest pet dog population in the entire world. According to the National Pet Owners Survey, there are more than 89.7 million pet dogs in over 60 million households. Whoa!

7. Such drama

A dog’s sense of smell is about 100 thousand times stronger than a human’s, meaning they can pick up on subtle changes in their human’s emotions. For example, they know if you start to perspire due to a change in mood. Dogs can even be trained to sniff out cancer!

8. Everyone loves a Frenchie!

Dogs have about 1,700 taste buds, compared to humans that have anywhere between 2 and 10 thousand.

9. Off to the races

Like a human’s finger print, a dog’s nose print is unique.

10. All tuckered out

45% of pet dogs sleep in their owner’s bed.

Share your family’s pet stories and pictures with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using #mothergooseclub.

Happy snuggling!

Sources for our dog facts:
The American Pet Products Association
The American Kennel Club
The Drake Center
Cesar’s Way

Each year, right around this time (maybe I get a little stir crazy in winter), I usually find myself looking for a creative outlet. Crafts are a great solution and there’s never a bad time to infuse your time and space with creativity and color.

If you’re feeling the creative itch, but aren’t sure exactly what you’ll make yet, consider my five favorite (family friendly) craft materials and see what inspires you! With just these items, you can make almost anything and get a ton of use out of them year round. A lot of Mother Goose Club’s crafts use similar materials, so you can get some inspiration from their blog posts as well!

1. Non-toxic acrylic paints and brushes

I got this (now, beautifully messy) set of paints at Michael’s along with these brushes on Christmas Eve on sale. I splurged for an extra bottle of white paint, which I highly recommend, so you can use it as a base, or lighten all the other colors as desired without worrying about running out.

I love incorporating painting into almost every gathering where we’ve got kids coming over (ornaments for the holidays, making Valentine’s etc.) – it often sends shyness right out the window since kids are naturally confident painters (and mess makers!) and it keeps them engaged for hours. The grown-ups are usually down too, and who can blame them – the colors, the textures (who needs those brushes when you have fingers?). What’s not to love?!

2. Glue gun

This one, I got from Michael’s for three bucks is doing the trick for me for now. Requires a grown-up when crafting with kiddos, but hot glue is my go-to for how fast and strong it is. If I’m hosting a crafternoon, we can’t be waiting long for things to dry, and it even comes in handy around the house.

3. Butcher paper

Newspaper or wrapping paper works too – I’m pretty sure this is just some postal paper from Target I used as Christmas wrapping paper last year (you know, brown paper packages tied up with strings…). I love that it’s a craft within a craft – honestly, you can have the most exciting thing to paint set out, and kids might just prefer the table. The result can be art in and of itself, so embrace it! Try changing up the surfaces you cover. Putting paper on walls offers great pre-handwriting practice (I recommend the bathroom, since the surfaces are easiest to clean).

4. Undefined materials

Get kids started manipulating, building and creating with undefined materials like craft sticks, clay (I like Model Magic) or fruit! Kids get comfortable and imaginative fast (some can get too comfortable – keep an eye out for kids trying to eat the painted fruit)! These materials engage kids in conversation, imaginative play, problem solving and good old fashioned fun.

5. Glitter

If you’re like me and couldn’t find a reasonable glitter set on your last craft run, go for a no-fail clear/white glitter to highlight the color of whatever it is you’re making. You can’t go wrong. This here’s a non-toxic sparkling glitter from Target.

I know celebrities like James Vanderbeek and even Ellen have spoken out against glitter, but listen. It may have magical flying properties. But, seriously, it’s the cherry on top of so many of my most favorite crafts because of the joy and wonder it brings. Consider getting a hand vacuum. You’ll be fine.

Daddy snowman, daddy snowman,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Mommy snowman, mommy snowman,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Brother snowman, brother snowman,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Sister snowman, sister snowman,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Baby snowman, baby snowman,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

View on YouTube!

Daddy stocking, daddy stocking,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Mommy stocking, mommy stocking,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Brother stocking, brother stocking,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Sister stocking, sister stocking,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Baby stocking, baby stocking,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?

View on YouTube!