Popsicle Stick Challenge

Over the summer, our local library had a Popsicle stick challenge. Each contestant was given 150 sticks to build whatever we wanted. Here are the entries from our family:

The rules were simple...we could only use Popsicle sticks, cardboard and school glue. I made the windmill, my 10 year old made the tower and ship, my 3 year old made the train shed (with a bit of help), and my 8 year old made the parking garage.

What would your family make with 150 Popsicle sticks?

Rockin' Out this Summer!

Our city is going crazy over this new rock game...hiding and finding painted rocks!

In the collage above, the top two pictures are rocks we found, and the bottom two are rocks we painted and hid. The rules are simple:

• On the back of the rock, write the hashtag for your city. Check on Facebook to see if there's a group already, or start your own.
• Hide your rocks around town.
• If you find a rock, take a selfie or picture of it and post it to the group Facebook page.
• You can leave the rock, re-hide the rock somewhere else, or keep it. If you keep it, you have to replace it with a different painted rock.

In our community people of all ages are getting involved. It's so much fun finding rocks and there's a huge variety from talented artists, to rocks clearly painted by 2 year olds. My kids have spent hours painting, hiding and hunting for rocks.

I've read that it started as the Kindness Rocks Project, and has spread throughout the country. Get involved while your kids are out of school and see how much fun it is!

Skee Ball at Home

One of my husband's co-workers gave him an inflatable pool full of ball pit balls. This ball pit has been lots of fun for my kids...especially my 2 year old! But, I have found some other uses for these balls lately...Skee Ball being one of them!

All you need are some balls, laundry baskets, paper and tape.

Sidewalk Paint

I believe a lot of kids are back in school now (mine are...), but if you are looking for a simple, fun activity to do as summer winds down, or after school, send your kids outside with some sidewalk paint!

We did this 3 years ago when my boys were itty-bitty and they loved it just as much this time around at ages 5 & 7. Let's be honest, I enjoyed it too! :)

Go visit my original post for directions.

I’ll be linking up to Works for Me Wednesday, Mom’s Library, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Share It Saturday, The Mommy Club, We Made That Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday.

Ice Spheres

It’s hot! Help your kids cool down with these fun balls made of ice…

Have them roll the balls to each other or kick them around the backyard barefoot!

Just fill a balloon with water, tie it off and freeze it. Once frozen, cut the balloon off and hand it over to your kids :). It’s fun to watch the patterns the ice makes as it melts and rolls all over.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks PreK+K Sharing for the fun idea!

Spray Bottle vs Water Gun

I got to spend some time recently with my best friend’s mom who used to run a day care. When I told her about the fact my boys were given water guns she explained how she learned to buy cheap spray bottles instead because…

• They don’t run out of water as quickly, meaning you have to refill them a lot less often
• They cool kids off faster
• Younger kids are able to squeeze the trigger much easier than on a water gun
• They tend to last longer (one of our water guns has already died)

Brilliant, no?! Those water guns are nearly impossible to refill, especially for children so I think next time I’m on the lookout for something to cool off during the summer, I will get some dollar store spray bottles and let my kids have at it.

I’ll be linking up at Works for Me Wednesday.

Sand Art for Kids

This summer has been so incredibly hot with our county being in heat warnings and advisories for over a month. For the first time recently, the heat advisories ended and we celebrated by playing outside. Even though it was 100 degrees, it still felt so much cooler (which is a pretty good indication of how stinkin’ hot it is)!

With some Elmer’s Glue, cardstock and dirt, my boys and I came up with this:

Just spread the glue, sprinkle the sand on top and shake it off. :) My boys preferred telling me what to draw with the glue and they put the dirt on, but this is something older kids would probably really enjoy. I love the texture of the sand after the glue has dried.

I’ll be linking up to Kids Get Crafty, What Are Little Boys Made Of? Preschool Corner Friday, Link & Learn, and High Paw.

Summer Fun: Ice Cream in a Bag

If your kids are whining that they are bored and you need something to keep them entertained, have them make ice cream in a bag. Not only do they get a yummy treat to cool them off on these hot summer days, but they also get to burn some energy making their ice cream! It’s a win/win for everyone :)

To find out how to make ice cream in a bag, go here.

Jumping Critters

Want to hear a sad story? The other day I got my boys all loaded in the stroller with sunscreen, towels, etc and ran to change into my own swim suit only to come back and find that my 2 year old had hidden the sunscreen. Sooo…after searching everywhere and still not finding it, we walked up to CVS, bought some sunscreen and walked over to the pool. Here’s the really sad part…the pool was closed.

K was crushed and the only thing that cheered him up at all was the promise of making jumping grasshoppers when we got home. Thank goodness I had seen Clicking & Flipping Fun the other week and had been saving it for an activity to do with my boys because it saved the day!

Monster Shootout

At hubby’s boss’ 4th of July party, my boys were given some water guns. In true boy fashion they have loved them and asked to play with them frequently ever since.
After being inspired by ikatbag’s Germ Warfare, I decided last week that we could have a monster shootout!

Cereal Box Puppet Theater

Are you all ready for a summer full of cereal box fun? I don’t know if it will get that bad around here but I’m finding more and more stuff to do with cereal boxes so get ready :)! One of those things is a cereal box puppet theater, which I found at the lovely Luxury Living Frugal Style…

All you need is an empty cereal box, scissors, paint, popsicle sticks and pictures to make into puppets.

Cut Out Bird Feeder

If you have a bit of cardboard, peanut butter and some sunflower seeds or bird seed, you and your kiddos can make a cute little bird feeder…

Water Table

Summer heat is here and we are always looking for fun ways to stay cool so yesterday I made a water table for my boys and they played in it for an hour! All you need is a shallow storage bin, water and toys to set your kiddos up with lots of fun :).

Thanks to a suggestion last year, I decided to put the bin up on chairs and it worked really well for my boys…they didn’t try to climb in but could still reach everything.

I’m linking up to What are Little Boys Made of?  and Preschool Corner Friday.

Rainy Day Car Race

If you’re looking for indoor entertainment for your kids on a rainy or hot summer day, have a race! All you need is a flat cookie sheet or piece of cardboard and something to prop it up.

Grab your cars, line up at the start line and get ready for the countdown! 3-2-1-GO!

Summer Fun: Bug Jar

If your house is anything like mine, you probably have bugs starting to find all those little cracks and sneaking their way in. One solution, or at least one way to minimize the annoyance and maximize learning opportunities for your kids, is to have a bug jar.

Poke a few small holes in the lid of a jar, put the bugs in with some sticks/leaves/dirt, and let your kids observe them.

My boys will literally pick up bugs and come hand them to me...totally grosses me out, but I love watching their wonder at the world around them.

Sidewalk Paint

Since our cornstarch is past it’s expiration date…by almost a year (!) I decided it was a perfect time to make sidewalk paint.
I was so impressed with how well the paint worked, and when it dried it looked just like sidewalk chalk. My boys had a blast and after the rain came that night, everything was clean again :)

Grocery Bag Kites

If you’re looking for another frugal kite option, try tying grocery bags to a long piece of string. The wind catches these wonderfully and my boys ran for an hour with their kites…perfect activity to tire them out for long afternoon naps :)

All of the other action shots were too blurry, but my 2 year old got his kite to fly quite well and my 4 year old was amazing with his kite! Go try this on your next blustery day.

Thanks Live, Learn, Love for the fantastic idea :)

I’m linking up to Tot Tuesday, Kids Get Crafty Wednesdays, Preschool Corner Fridays,

Frugal Summer Fun, part 4

I know this series is going on forever, but I don’t want my list of fun activities to be too overwhelming!
And for more local fun:

• Check out kidsbowlfree.com to see if local bowling centers allow your kids to bowl twice a day for free
• This does not include shoe rental
• They often offer family passes for adults too
• Go ice blocking
• Freeze a large block (big enough to sit on) of ice in a storage container, take to a hill, cover with a towel and slide down the hill…most fun you’ve had in ages!
• Make sure it’s not illegal wherever you live
• Tour a fire station or police station
• Call a week before to set up the tour
• Many churches and gyms and free or discount zumba classes…it’s all the rage!
• Check out state or county fairs towards the end of summer
• Go to the dollar theater, or check out local theaters to see if they have free matinee showings for kids movies such as Regal Cinemas.
• Visit your local zoo (get a family pass or look on their website for free or discount days)
• Check out museums or historical markers (again, look for discount days!)
• Look at your city’s website for local events such as concerts or shows.
• Tour local factories

I hope this series has provided you with some useful ideas to keep entertained during the hot summer months! Again, if you have any suggestions or ideas, please comment and if there are enough comments, I will do another post at the end of the series highlighting comments.
If you’ve missed my earlier posts in this series, check them out here:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

Frugal Summer Fun, part 3

Continuing on with my series on frugal summer fun, here are some ideas for things to do around town:

• See if your city has a free splash pad for kids to play in. If not, there is probably a fountain somewhere that lets kids play in it.
• Many malls have a play area
• Go to the library
• Ours has a play area, story time, music time, and arts and crafts, all free and for various ages
• Participate in the summer reading program…some are much better than others
• Check out movies for free!
• Go on small hikes in the morning or evening
• Hike to a lake and swim
• Walk around a local university…many have great grants for landscaping and are beautiful this time of year
• We used to ride our bikes around the campus close by, and visited the duck pond often
• Go to local parks
• Explore and find new parks
• Attend Lowe’s Build and Grow, Home Depot, Michael’s, and Toys R Us workshops
• Many require registration beforehand
• Go to Borders or Barnes & Noble for reading time
• Volunteer for service projects

For more fun around town, come back tomorrow!
If you’ve missed the previous posts in this series, check those out too for other fun ideas at home:

• Part 1
• Part 2

I'm linking up to Marketing Mondays at Trendy Treehouse, Santa's Gift Shoppe and Homemaker Monday

Frugal Summer Fun, part 2

Continuing on from ideas I’ve shared of frugal, fun activities during the hot summer months, here are some more fun things to do with kids, or on your own:

• Water balloon fights/games
• Use water balloons on spoons, like an egg race
• Reenact famous war battles, or scripture battles with water balloons
• Play in the sprinklers
• Make a water table
• Use a large RubberMaid container with cups and bowls
• Buy a kiddie pool
• Have paper boat races across it
• Make a slip and slide with a tarp and a bit of dish soap
• Make ice cream in a can or bag
• Make popsicles in Dixie cups or plastic baby food containers
• Make and fly kites
• Paper mache
• Use different materials other than paper such as yarn
• If you or a friend have a pool, build cardboard boats, cover in garbage bags and have contests in the pool.
• Teach older children different recipes and have them compile their favorites into a cookbook to take to college
• I still have the one I made with my mom and it is my go-to cook book…I use it at least twice a week!
• Eat plenty of fresh fruit and have good old fashioned seed spitting contests :)

If you missed part one of this little series check it out here. Come back on Monday for more summer ideas around town!