Dye eggs. They love it! They can be raw, but I'd recommend hardboiled. lol! Have crayons, waterproof marking pens in different colors, and a little pot of melted paraffin wax, if possible. Have jars of pre-mixed food-based dye (amounts are listed on the food coloring pkg). Decorate by drawing on the egg w/ crayon, or dipping them partially into the pot of melted wax, then dipping in a dye. Draw/dip again, and you'll see different colors (wax displaces the dye so won't take color wherever the wax is). Or pre-dye the eggs and write on them with the markers. Another neat thing is to use gold spray paint to make a "special" egg. :) It's all easier to do than describe -- but if you want more info let me know.

Yes, we kept a list of things we put in the bottles. An artifical finger nail was one thing and pieces from an old Monolopy game and other games yielded some items. Next time I will make a "check" list so the kids can check off the things they find. Then they can tell if they have found everything.Or make a hang tag to tie around the top of the bottle. We filled ours with very fine sand. You might want to glue the cap on the bottle so they can't open them or they will open them and spill everything.

So happy for you judithn...took me back to when my kids were in college in our city, but living on campus. Sounds like a great conversation, and something she needed to hear, and you were able to do it in such a way that she really listened, and matured enough to apologize. You obviously have a great daughter, there, and now you have practice for when your son leaves home...heh heh!! We Moms have to support one another...our kids are in their early 40's, so a lot of this type of thing is behind us, but there are always things to work out. We do have very thoughtful children now...they just weren't so much at your daughter's age!!

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!