Create Magnetic Activities From Anything #OrientalTrading

Disclaimer: This is part of a content series for Oriental Trading. I did receive products to create projects with. All opinions are my own.

I pride myself in my frugality. I am always looking for a good deal and I take it a little further. I try to make things to entertain the kids and for homeschool rather than spend extra money. I look for the simplest way to do this. Something that takes me a week to put together isn't really saving me money. I'd been looking at different magnetic games and activities. While I found some pretty cool ones, I knew I could do this on my own and today I'm sharing a way that you can do this in very little time.

What You Need: 

• Cookie Sheet or another magnetic surface (If these will be used at home, a refrigerator will be sufficient. If they will be used on the go, you will need a magnetic board, cookie sheet, or metal clipboard). 
• Xyron Magnet Tape- this is by far the best I have found for these projects- it is thinner than most. If you will be using heavier items in your activity, you can use other varieties- Oriental Trading has some great options. 
• Activity Items: Stickers, sticker scenes, popsicle sticks, pictures, puzzles, etc. Anything you want to make an activity or game with. Construction paper may be needed. 

What You Do: 

1. Basically, all you do is add the magnetic tape to the items. With some there may  be another step involved: see below. 
2. If you are working with stickers or sticker scenes, you will need construction paper, then cut it out before you add the magnet. I did a set of each activity I did for each kid. Because I did this, I color coded the construction paper, so that if they got mixed up, I could easily separate. 
   
3. For slick items, you may need to sand the back a little before applying the magnet- depending on the magnets you choose and the material you are sticking it to. 
4. Separate the items into zip baggies and you are ready for some kid entertainment. 
5. Go on a road trip, get some work done, cook dinner, or anything else and the kiddos will be quite entertained! 

I really had fun doing these activities and have actually done several since I first started. I'm constantly deciding to make our homeschool games and activities magnetic. here are some that I have put together:

• Paper Dolls (These are actually foam paper doll stickers from Oriental Trading- I made a boy and a girl set for each kid)
  
• Sticker Scenes- Space and Jungle. I didn't use the smaller of the stickers, they would only get lost, but there are enough to have fun with. 
  
  
  
  
• Cardboard Stickers- I used a princess set and a Spiderman set (these will be a special treat). 
• Popsicle Stick Puzzles- these were fun and I will have another post about these this week. 
  
• Since I completed this project, I've done number puzzles, alphabet puzzles, greater than/ less than, shape matching, and I'm sure there will be even more. 

These are going to be great individual work while we school and I'm working one on one with one kid. They will also be great for when I'm on a business call. Most of all, these will keep the kids entertained while we are on the road for 10 hours in May.