Making Memories...

 

Kids grow up fast.  Too fast.  

Summer vacation goes fast.  Too fast.  

I think it's important to occasionally let the housework (a.k.a. normal routine) slide for a while and just focus on some FUN.  We do fun things throughout the summer, but twice a year (Summer Vacation and Christmas Break) I plan what my kiddos have started calling a "Day of Fun".  It's basically an ENTIRE day full of simple and fun activities.  Most of the activities cost next to nothing....but produce giggles that this mama can't get enough of.  I should mention that I never tell the kiddos what we are doing - that anticipation is part of the fun!!!  Here are the activities we did on our Day of Fun last week:

Activity #1:   Science Experiment - How Do Plants Absorb Water?!

Yes, it's the teacher in me.  I love stuff like this....probably more than  my kids do.   That being said, this was a quick and simple activity we could do while I was juggling breakfast for everyone.  I also liked that the kids could do it completely by themselves.  

Materials:  Large clear glasses, Cabbage Leaves (I used Chinese cabbage), food coloring.

Activity:  Just fill the glasses half full of water.  Add about 10-15 drops of food coloring.  Put the cabbage leaves in and allow them to sit for 24 hours.  The food coloring will seep up and you will start to see the color on the edges of the leaves (but don't tell the kiddos that....wondering what will happen is the fun part)!

Activity #2:  Making GIANT Bubbles!

The kids and I have attempted to make various giant bubble mixtures and not had much luck.  This time I did my research!!!!  I found a recipe that looked like it was going to be a winner.   It had to sit for a few hours after making it, so morning was the perfect time to mix the ingredients.

Materials:  6 c. distilled water, 1/2 c. Dawn dish soap, 1/2 c. corn starch, 1 T. baking powder, 

1 T. glycerin (I found glycerin at Michaels, but you can also order it online), container to keep bubble mixture in.

Activity:  Dissolve corn starch in water really well.  Stir in remaining ingredients careful not to create a froth.  Allow to sit for at least one hour. 

We also made our own bubble wands for this project by stringing yarn through two straws...

A few hours later we tested out our new recipe.  IT WAS A HIT!!!  We were finally able to make LARGE bubbles!!

Activity #3:  Picture Scavenger Hunt

I stuck this activity in because I needed some time that they could do something independently.  Greyson had swimming lessons and I wanted to focus on him.  This was a GREAT activity that they could do while they were sitting at swimming lessons with me.  

Materials:  Scavenger Hunt List (I just made my own),  Ipod (or phone, or tablet, etc)

Activity:  Find and take a picture of each item listed on the list.  Make sure you make some of the items silly....my kiddos had to take a picture of a toilet.  Also make some of them interactive...they had to take some photos of each other making funny faces.

Activity #4:  Hot Dogs for Lunch...LITERALLY!

On each Day of Fun I try to plan one activity that involves food.  Today's activity was creating HOT DOGS!!  The kids loved it!!

Materials:  Hot dogs, refrigerated pizza dough (I just used the pop-open kind)

Activity:  Have the children roll their hotdogs in the dough until they are completely covered.  Then have them add paws, ears, a nose, and a tail.  Bake at 350 degrees until done.  Dip in ketchup!

Activity #5:  Googly Eyes!!!

This activity is another independent activity.  I knew that I would be cleaning up after lunch so I needed an activity that they could do on their own while I did the dirty work!  Ha!  I actually created 2 activities out of this to make it last just a little bit longer.

Materials:  A paper with 2 googly eyes attached, markers

Activity 1:  Give each child a paper that is blank except for 2 googly eyes.  Allow them to use their imagination to create a character!!

 

Activity 2:  Fold the paper in half, making sure the googly eyes are on the top half.  Have one child create a characters head and neck.  Flip the paper over and hand it to the other child (you could also fold it in thirds if you have 3 children).  DON'T LET THEM LOOK AT THE TOP HALF!!!!  Have them draw the body and legs.  When they are finished have them look at the whole creation.  My kids LOVED this!!!

Activity #5:  Cheese Head!

 

Yes, I know that picture is kind of gross since her mouth is full....but this activity was hilarious!!  It had us laughing so hard!!  I knew it would be funny, but not THAT FUNNY!!!! 

Materials:  Saran Wrap, shaving cream, cheeseballs

Activity:  First, wrap the kiddos heads in Saran Wrap.  Honestly, just that is funny in itself....

 

Then add shaving cream...

( I was peeing my pants from laughter at this point)

Last, throw cheese balls at each other and try to catch them on your head...

Laughter....lots and lots of uncontrollable laughter.

Activity #6:  Gas-Filling Balloon

The kids liked this activity even more than I expected.  It was fun because we talked a lot about Oxygen and Carbon Monoxide....again, the nerdy teacher in me.  Poor kids.

Materials:  Plastic water bottle, baking soda, vinegar, funnel

Activity:  Using the funnel, fill the empty water bottle half full of vinegar.  Using the funnel again, add about 2-3 T. of baking soda to the inside of the balloon.  Attach the balloon to the top of the water bottle, careful not to spill any baking soda into the water bottle.  When ready tilt the balloon up and watch the magic!  (Obviously don't tell the kids beforehand, but the reaction of vinegar and baking soda creates a gas.  The gas fills the balloon).    My kids ran away because they were pretty sure the balloon was going to BLOW...(insert lots of laughs from kiddos)....(insert mama laughing uncontrollably again)...

Activity #7:  SUPER FUN Slip-N-Slide!

I'll be the first to admit I've had it with store-bought slip-n-slides.  They aren't constructed well.  They don't last.  The water BARELY trickles out.  They get nasty while storing them.  

I decided to make our own slip-in-slide....and well...if I'm going to do that we aren't going to have some ORDINARY slip-in-slide.  I sat and thought about ways we could make a slip-n-slide a LOT more fun.  Here is what we came up with (I'm not listing materials, so just follow along)...

First, I purchased some large heavy-duty plastic sheeting from Lowes.  Honestly, that alone cost less than a store-bought slip-n-slide and there is SO MUCH of it that I don't have to worry about storing a wet slip-n-slide....I just toss it when we are done and use more off the roll next time!

Next we needed to make it fun....so we not only put water all over it, but we added LOTS of dish soap too!!  It was SLIPPERY!!!!!

 

And it created a LOT of bubbles....

 

What's better than dish soap??!  SHAVING CREAM!!!!!!!

What's more fun than shaving cream?!!  PAINT!!!!!!!!!

 

I can't tell you how much fun this was!!!  I loooooove a good mess!!  

Another Day of Fun was a success!!  These days have become as important and fun to me as they are to the kids.  I love making these special memories...and I hope you do too!!

"If you want to be in your children's memories tomorrow...be in their lives today"