Do your kids do origami?

I used to do origami (Japanese paper-folding) with my 2nd graders. There are a number of very easy patterns that kids enjoy doing. At that age, they needed my help and I learned that if I wore a solid color shirt and held up a large sheet of origami paper against my shirt and had them copy what I was doing, most could follow along. You'll need some instructions for things to make, and a piece of origami paperfor each child. If you're not familiar with origami paper, it's colored paper that is white on the back side and is square. You can make your own paper from giftwrap, but it's labor-intensive to cut out the squares. If you need larger paper to demonstrate to the kids, you may want to make a few large squares for yourself from some giftwrap.
Easy Origami (Reading Rainbow Books)is a good book with simple patterns kids 2nd grade and up can do with help. It's like anything else you try with your kids: there are some kids who really enjoy it and have a flair for it, and may want to move on to harder patterns later on. There are many, many books out there on origami, and my advice is that the person who's doing it should preview the book: some patterns are hard to follow.

Fun paper-and-pencil math activities

Can you imagine worksheets that kids love? This book has them! And,there are two more editions, for grades 4-6 and 7-12 (if you order, make sure you are getting the level you want). They are really meant for the classroom, but wherever you are, you can make copies from the book and thus use it over and over. I have used it with kids from grades 2 through 8, and it makes a wonderful supplement to the math curriculum, whether at home or in the classroom. Many students asked for more copies to take home, especially the dot diagrams for completing a pattern Critical Thinking Activities for Grades K-3 is a great resource for parents and teachers.