Quick and Simple How to Make DIY Foam Stamps with Kids
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Jessica shares with us a simple how to guide to for DIY foam stamps kids can make at home that’s so easy you won’t believe it!
Make anything your kids can imagine with this simple craft idea!
Jessica is a fantastic stay at home mom of 8 children. She has a college degree in teaching and loves that she can homeschool her kids.
“I love to teach. It’s something that is very close to my heart.”
Before she found The Activity Room, Jessica spent lots of time on Pinterest looking for activities to do with her youngest children at home.
“I am a teacher. And so I did love activities. My whole focus has been hands on learning with my kids. But the thing was that before The Activity Room, it was very overwhelming.”
This was an overwhelming task as she found many things she wanted to do and then pinned them. But then looking at all her pins, Jessica found that many activities required special supplies. Or, they were too complicated. Or, there were just too many to pick from and she didn’t know where to begin.
“Usually I would just spend my time pinning them. And never really do them. I’m a person that has lists. I like to know where we’re going and to plan. [Pinterest] wasn’t really working for me, because I didn’t have it the way it is in The Activity Room.”
Looking for More Thing to Do
Jessica found out about The Activity Room and she decided to give it a try.
Especially since she had so much extra time on her hands due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was looking for more things to do. And I was looking for ways to keep the kids entertained and learning.”
“I was a little skeptical. But once we started doing the activities, I saw how my kids were reacting, and I saw that they were asking for these activities again and again.”
“That first month, we were able to print out the sheets, pull our supplies together, and it went so smoothly. I was like, Oh, yeah, this is definitely something that we want to just stay with!”
The Activity Room Made it So Easy
“I wanted something that was laid out for me. That was easy. That I could just pick up and do it with my kids without having to go online and be so overwhelmed with all of this stuff.”
“I was looking for something that I could just get, and do. And The Activity Room absolutely fulfilled that.”
“I can print out that list and put it where I can see it. I can even link my calendar to it on my phone and pull up the day’s activity. And on the weekends, I will go ahead and prep the different activities and whatever supplies we need. I mean, literally on the day we’re going to do it, I just grab it, and we do it. It’s so nice.”
Room Exceeded Jessica’s Expectations
Being a skeptical person, Jessica was impressed by the website and definitely interested. But she also wasn’t sure if this would really be what her young kids needed.
Or what she needed as a busy mom.
“Right away when we started doing the activities, the kids loved it! They would get up in the mornings and just say, What are we doing today? Mama, We want to do an activity. Still! I mean, we’ve been doing it for going on a year, and they still get up in the mornings and they’re like, What activity are we doing today? What are we going to do today? It makes me glad I don’t have to plan it.”
“Having it all planned out for me, and not having to do that part; is amazing.”
Even when Jessica thinks an activity is too simple for her kids she does it anyways. And the results surprise her over and over.
“One of the first [activities] we did was that one where you hammer the little golf tees into a box. It was just an Amazon box that we get in the mail. And I thought this is so easy, this is not really going to interest him. But when he did it and he sat there and played that for almost an hour. He sat there and wanted to do it again, ‘Mommy, let’s do it again, Mommy.’ And since then he has asked for it over and over. It blew my mind. I mean, it really exceeded my expectations. Even though when I first saw [The Activity Room] website, I thought it’s amazing. But it really even exceeded all of that.”
Learning So Much through Play
It surprised Jessica to see how much her kids, especially her 3 year old, were learning through these fun play activities!
“Before we started The Activity Room, my three year old was really struggling with her colors. We were working on shapes and things like that. I didn’t even have it in my mind that The Activity Room would help that. I kind of thought that it would be fun activities to just keep them from watching TV all day.”
“But then, the more we did these activities, within a month, she knew all of her colors. And she was recognizing shapes and all this.”
“I got to thinking back and I said, wow, most of these activities are learning! Like they are colors. And we would incorporate everything like that into the activities. If we did something with anything colorful, we would point out the colors and the shapes and different things. And I was blown away by the fact that they were learning so much through just playing. Just doing these simple activities, and she was learning a lot.”
You can turn Jessica’s DIY foam stamps below into a learning activity by focusing on letters, shapes, numbers and even spelling words!
Why Jessica Wants to Do Activities at Home
There are so many reason for parents to want to activities at home with their kids. Jessica shares her heart on why she does them.
“I love teaching for one. I love to do it. It’s something that I really like doing, interacting with the kids and of course, because I want them to learn. But another thing is just making memories.”
“I can remember from my own childhood that my parents spent a lot of time with us. Like, we always were going fishing or riding go karts or playing games. And so I want the same thing for my kids, you know, I want them to have all of these memories that I have with my family.”
Let’s Meet Jessica
How many kids do you have and how old are they?
I have 8 kids. Ages 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 2, and 7 months (ages they will be in November)
Why do you love doing activities with your kids?
I love hands on learning. It’s so much more fun than only books. The kids learn better this way too. Also I love making the memories with my kids.
How long have you been in The Activity Room?
October 2020
What is your favorite activity you’ve done in The Activity Room?
That’s a hard question, we have loved them all. One that stands out is hammering the golf tees into a box. It was one of the first activities we did and I remember thinking it was too simple, but my son loved it. He still asks to do it again and again. I love that the simple things we do the kids really enjoy and learn from.
(Don’t forget to check out the homemade DIY stamp activity from Jessica below using foam and cardboard!)
What’s your favorite thing to do with your kids when you get a few moments?
I love to read or pray with my kids.
What’s your best tip for doing activities with your kids?
Even when you don’t think they are learning… they are! Just be consistent and keep at it.
If you were to tell a friend about The Activity Room, what would you say to them?
The Activity Room has been a huge blessing to us. Before The Activity Room I LOVED Pinterest but I would feel overwhelmed about where to start or what to do first. A lot of the links didn’t work, or it didn’t explain very well how to do the activity or craft. I spent more time pinning than I did actually doing activities. I love that The Activity Room has everything laid out for me in a weekly/daily format. Everything is explained and even has a list of supplies. Jamie makes it so easy to do these fun activities. I love that I can link my calendar on my phone and also print out a copy of the monthly activities so I have them handy and easy to find. Another big plus is that the activities use easy to find supplies, most of which we already have on hand.
Share your favorite quote
It’s not just an activity, it’s a memory!
How to Make DIY Foam Stamps Activity:
Here is a super easy idea for making homemade stamps with simple supplies like foam and cardboard that your kids will love!
Supplies Needed to Make Your Own DIY Foam Stamps Craft
- Paper Foam sheets (or foam to-go trays washed and dried)
- Cardboard (we used a box from the recycle bin)
- Ink pad (or sponge and paint)
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Pen or sharpie marker
There isn’t much set up since the kids are making the stamps.
I just gathered all the supplies before hand.
How to Make DIY Foam Stamps Activity with Kids
First draw shapes on foam craft sheets.
Foam sheets work best but if you don’t have them you can use foam take out containers! Upcycling is the best!
Next cut out shapes form the foam sheets
For younger kids you may have to cut the shapes out for them.
Cut cardboard about the same size of the foam shape but slightly bigger.
My kids used a glue stick to glue the foam to the cardboard.
How to make a DIY ink pad
If you don’t have an ink pad you can make one by wetting a sponge and squeezing out as much water as you can, then dabbing paint gently onto the sponge.
Works just like an ink pad!
We even made DIY foam letter stamps!
Just remember if you make letter stamps to glue the letter backwards to the cardboard so that they print the right way on the paper!
Now Get Creative with Your DIY Foam Stamps!
Finaly it’s time to get creative!
My kids they stamped their DIY foam stamps on the ink pad and then stamped them on paper!
We were all pleasantly surprised at how well the stamps worked!!
I did have to help cut out the foam shapes for the smaller kids.
All the kids loved this homemade foam stamps craft.
Very simple but it was neat to see how well the stamps worked and that we could make them in any shape we wanted.
My favorite part was seeing the different foam shapes the kids came up with for their stamps.
Some Final Thoughts from Jessica
I love the activity room.
Jamie and the other ladies do a great job of making it fun and motivating us to make memories with the kids.
She’s always doing a fun challenge or a virtual reading or activity.
I love the prizes, it’s so fun to see your name as a winner.
Most of all the support from all the other ladies in the group is priceless.
Everyone is so kind and supportive!! I love all the ideas and tips they have to offer and the encouraging words.