Thank you UBTECH’s JIMU Robot for sponsoring this post. JIMU Robot kits are a fun way to bring robotics into every kid’s day to day. The system relies on three steps: Building, Coding, and Playing. Robot kits from UBTECH offer a wide variety of challenging builds for the curious children in your lives. With JIMU Robot, kids 8+ can engage in STEM learning with their award-winning interactive robotic building block system!

If I had to list all of the things that my 9-year-old son Oliver loves, until now I would have thought that it would be impossible for a toy to exist that touches all the bases. I find it hard to find toys for him that allow him to explore his creativity, his sharp robotics skills, and his love of building all in one. Let me explain…

Oliver’s top 3 interests right now include, but are not limited to…

1. Game design and coding
2. Construction toys
3. Anything related to Percy Jackson

But along came the UBTECH JIMU FireBot. This robot is amazing…you open the box to find all of the components and pieces neatly organized and arranged with a quick-start guide. You first download the free app (it works with both iOS and Android), and it takes you step-by-step through the building process, allowing you to zoom in and rotate the diagram 360 degrees so you can really make sure you are attaching the pieces accurately.

Right now Oliver is obsessed with mythical creatures from reading all of his Percy Jackson books, but if your kid is interested in sports, UBTECH has a JIMU robot for you too. (They also make a unicorn that my daughter is now begging me for!) And if your child loves to march to the beat of her own drum, she doesn’t have to build the robot exactly as it looks on the packaging (we are all about customization here at Project Kid)! As long as the mechanics are connected properly for the computer to function, the sky is the limit when it comes to design!

Whenever we build creations that have lots of little parts, we always get ourselves set up first. To start, we dump the large pieces in a tray (this time we used a big cookie sheet) and the small pieces go in separate small bowls. That helps prevent the “mom, I can’t find this piece!” mantra. And then I like to lay a fleece blanket on the floor under where we are sitting. This trick helps prevent dropped pieces from bouncing away from you. There is nothing worse than coming to the end of a build and not having all of the pieces!

We broke up our build into a few sessions one the weekend. We kept the components guide handy so we made sure we were selecting the right pieces for the right spots. And once we were done and connected to bluetooth, we were blown away at how the FireBot came to life!

The JIMU FireBot has you build, then code, and then play, igniting your child’s curiosity about STEM learning from beginning to end. You can code the LED light to glow fiery red as the jaw opens and closes, and make the FireBot drive smoothly around the house, flapping its wings.

I’m excited to continue to watch Oliver explore both his imagination and his coding skills!

The JIMU FireBot kit is available in store at Target, and from the following online retailers: Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Kohls,com, Samsclub.com, Target.com, Walmart.com and ubtrobot.com.

The perfect craft equation to me is a bit of nature, something upcycled, and some traditional craft materials like yarn, buttons, and pipe cleaners. This cute yarn owl craft is exactly that!

This craft was inspired by the amazingly cool 1970’s macrame owls—when I was in Palm Springs last year, I saw this display at the Parker Hotel and couldn’t get it out of my head! I wanted to come up with an owl craft that had a branch for them to sit on, and that used yarn to give that soft feel like the rope macrame versions.

This craft works so well when done in large groups of kids…think birthday parties, classrooms, or craft events! Here are some examples of how kids create their own owls. One day I’m going to commission 30 kids to make me an owl so I can have my own wall!

What you’ll need:

• 1 stick
• 1 pipe cleaner
• felt
• glue
• yarn
• scissors
• 2 white buttons
• 2 black buttons
• 3×4” piece of cardboard

Make it!

1. Insert pipe cleaners through the holes of the cardboard and twist to attach to the stick to make the feet.
2. Glue ears to the top two corners of the cardboard.
3. Hook yarn into the slit on the cardboard and wrap until the cardboard is covered. Cut string and tuck the end.
4. Glue small black button to white button and glue to the owl as eyes.
5. Glue beak in between the eyes.

This post was sponsored by our friends at Aleene’s.

When it comes to ornaments, we think you can never have too many…and especially never too many homemade options! These little felt stocking ornaments are so cute, and when made with the super-strong Aleene’s Tacky Glue, they can actually hold little toys, candy, and other surprises. Just make the stocking base and decorate it however you like!

What you’ll need:

• Various colors of felt
• Scissors
• Stocking template
• Marker
• Scallop shears (optional)
• Aleene’s Tacky Glue
• Penny, dime, and quarter

1. Trace stocking template onto felt and cut out. Repeat to make a second one. 
2. Cut a strip of felt about ¾” wide with regular scissors or scallop shears. Cut a 3”-by-½” strip of felt. 
3. Apply Aleene’s Tacky Glue around the outside edge of one stocking (make sure to not to glue the opening!) and stack the second stocking on top. Glue band around the top and then fold the thin strip and glue it into the inside. Now your stocking is made and it’s time to decorate it! 
4. Trace three coins onto white felt and cut each out. Cut out a small thin triangle and a top hat from 2 other colors of felt. Cut out heel and toe from another color of felt (optional).
5. Arrange the felt circles into a snowman shape and glue to the stocking. Glue on the nose and hat.

This post was sponsored by our friends at Aleene’s.

This post was sponsored by our friends at Aleene’s.

Christmas garlands are not just for tree-trimming anymore…your kids can make this simple DIY paper ornament garland that can hang over the mantle, along the staircase, or even in their own room to add some holiday cheer! The cool thing about this design is that it has a spherical ornament shape that’s able to hang flat against the wall. 

If you have enough garlands you can also make a bunch of these and turn them into ornaments for the Christmas tree!

What you’ll need:

• Colored Card stock
• 2” circle punch
• Aleene’s Tacky Glue
• Scissors
• String

1. Punch out two circles of the same color paper.
2. Fold both in half.
3. Glue two halves of each circle together to form a full circle.
4. Cut a ½”-by1” strip of gray paper and fold it in half.
5. Glue the open end to the back to create the ornament hanger. Repeat steps 1 through 5 to make as many ornaments as you’d like.
6. Once the glue is dry, string your thin cord through the loops in the gray paper.

This post was sponsored by our friends at Aleene’s.

This post was sponsored by our friends at Aleene’s.

You know that sinking feeling you have when it’s time to throw away the sugary gingerbread house that you and your kids slaved over? Here’s an upcycled paper version that you can save and display from year to year!

Starting with an empty tissue box as the basic shape, just add cardboard and any crafty embellishments that you have to make it magical and sweet. Great creative and crafty…think about what usually lives on a gingerbread house and think how you can make it from non-edible materials. Like you can twist a red and a white pipe cleaner together to make a candy cane if you don’t have these nifty paper straws! Here are a few little tips and tricks for how we dressed up our paper holiday gingerbread house! 

What you’ll need:

• Square tissue box
• Cardboard 
• Scissors
• Aleene’s Tacky Glue
• Colored cardstock
• Red and white paper straws
• Green felt
• Red and white mini pompoms
• White paint pen
• White cupcake liner
• Pipe cleaners
• Iridescent glitter 
• Foam brush
• White cardstock

1. Trace the side of the tissue box onto cardboard and cut out. Repeat to make a second piece. Print template, trace, and cut cardboard sides for the front and the back of the house. Cut a 5 ½ by 8 ½ piece of cardboard for the roof (make sure the corrugation is in the direction of the fold.)
2. Glue the four sides to the box with Aleene’s Tacky Glue.
3. Bend the roof piece in half and glue on top.
4. Here is how we made our house, but use materials that you have and get creative!
   1. Cut paper straws at an angle and glue them to the side edges of the front of the house. Glue two more to the front edge of the roof.
   2. Cut colored cardstock into doors and windows. 
   3. Make a candy window by attaching small segments of a cupcake liner to the sides of a circular window.
   4. Make a mini wreath by twisting a green pipe cleaner into a circle. Glue on a small pipe cleaner bow, and glue to the front door.
   5. Add a snowy roof by painting a piece of white cardstock, sized to match the roof, with Aleene’s Tacky Glue, and sprinkle with glitter; let dry. Fold in half, cut a “drippy” edge, and glue to the roof.
   6. Cut holly leaves from green felt and glue them to the apex of the roof with three mini red pom-poms. 
   7. Embellish the cardboard with a white paint pen.