Thanks for looking and all your sweet comments. I actually think the grownups enjoyed the turkeys as much as little GD did--especially when they discovered there was candy inside! LOL I want my GD to think it's fun to come to Gma's house. Jane, I need new ideas for little things to entertain her, she's already hooked on computer games and it's really hard to compete with that! LOL Luckily, I have two dogs she loves to play with and share her food with, so that helps keep her busy. ;o) I have to tell all of you that while holidays are so fun and such special times with family--I was wiped out last night and today! And then I read Ms. Karen's post on how she's already getting all her Fall decorations put away! Can I just tell you how much I am dreading all that work???? Karen, would you wanna come do mine too? Oh, that's right, I'm supposed to be the energetic, healthy one! You sure do put me to shame, gal. LOL Love you all. Luvs

dcarch - I'm sure my 6 year old grandson would be thrilled if I would make a solar oven, but I'm not sure I'll go to that much bother (maybe another time). Thanks for the input though. lou - thanks for the ideas, those were really cute. katiec - thanks for the playdough recipe--that's a great idea. coconut - I'm trying to decide if I want to deal with painting messes. The ages are 2, 2 1/2, 3, 6 & 7. They would probably love it though. Maybe they could paint at the kids picnic table in the garage. :) grainlady - thanks for the link--looks like a lot of great ideas. Thanks so much everyone--lots of great ideas.

Is there a site with instructions? I can probably figure out how to do it, but instructions would be nice. I've seen the name tags done out of Shrinky Dinks and those are cute too.

The book "Ultimate Book of Kids Concoctions" (there are several issues) is a fantastic place to look for fun crafts and activities that use normal, household stuff. There are recipes for paint, clay, all kinds of crafts, etc. The sponge balls are fun to make (you cut sponges into strips, then attach together with electrical ties) and fun to play with. I let the kids make them, and give them assorted uses--if you leave the electrical tie long, they make great glass cleaners (I teach a children's cooking class). Or you can cut the ties off, so you have a fun ball to play with. We use them instead of water balloons for that game where you pair off, standing in 2 lines, and toss your balloon (or wet sponge ) back and forth, stepping back a step until you drop your balloon or sponge. Or how about making chocolate clay with them? You can google for the recipe. Fun to make, then they can play with it, modeling animals or whatever, and afterwards, eat it (it tastes a little like Tootsie Roll to me). You can make beads from magazine pages. The more colorful, the better. Cut long triangles--about an inch or 2 wide at the short side, and 4-5-6" long to the point. Put the most colorful side down, roll the strip up on a round toothpick, glueing the point. Let dry and string, alternating with purchased beads, if desired, on plastic laces. You can also color pasta--put a tablespoon or 2 of water in a plastic jar, add a few drops of food coloring. Add pasta with holes in the middle (elbows, etc), and shake the jar until evenly colored. Spread out on a cookie sheet to dry. String on plastic laces. A tip for stringing beads/pasta--TAPE one end of the lace to the desk, or tie one bead or piece of pasta on the string. Makes it easier to string without losing the beads/pasta, etc. If you read the book Strega Nona to them, you could have the students draw a picture of the town, then hand out white yarn for them go glue on to represent the run-away pasta. I've taught some 5 year olds (and many older kids to do straw weaving. It's fun and all you need is soda straws and scraps of yarn. Little too complicated to explain in a few sentences, but if you google "Straw weaving', you'll find directions. Have fun!