have you ever had a play date where the kids play so nicely that the other family actuallly did you a favor by letting you watch their child? these girls are starting to love their barbie playdates and it is opening up a whole new world of play for them. maybe the thing about dolls is that you really need someone else to play them with you???
i am not well versed on what a 9 year old boy would like for his birthday, but i wanted to give money. i always like to give something fun along with it. i put together this on the go adventure busy box, and i think it turned out really cute. he loves legos, so this is a lego storage case with a yo-yo, pop it toy, gum, bandaids, tic tacs, gum, roadside bingo and some brain buster cards. i also picked up two more of these lego cases for our upcoming trip.
we have been reading some halloween themed books and made a mummy out of a toilet paper roll, googly eyes and masking tape after we read this one.
magnatiles and a garage door make for a fun and unexpected outdoor activity. i set the kids up so i could do some weeding in the front yard.
i set up magnatiles, plastic bugs and some vacation/beach themed loose parts and told the kids "the bugs are going on vacation, build them a bug hotel."
they got right to work building and ryder wanted to create a story again. i am loving hearing ryder make up and tell a complex story.
this mornings invitation is to create a pirate story. i set out butcher paper, pirate stickers, markers and some pirate toys, coins, treasure chest, skeletons and gems. my instructions were to work together to create a story.
an oldie but goodie. take some shaving cream and make a layer in a dish pan, add some drops of food coloring or liquid water color. using a chop stick swirl the colors. lay your paper on top and lift up. use a spatula to scrap off the excess shaving cream. allow to dry.
after this craft i let the kids use the left over shaving cream outside. they put it on their trikes to make tracks on the deck. looks like summer is off to a good start!
i have done a lot of planning, organizing and prepping to make summer fun and smooth. luckily, we have lots of visitors, camps, and trips planned to break summer vacation up, but i want to find our routine and set some rules.
my goal is to start the mornings with an invitation to play or create. a simple activity on the kitchen table for them to engage in. i don't want to start the morning off with TV and they will have to "earn" it.
my other goal is to sit down with them and plan out our week. pick a art project, science experiment, books to grow on bin to dig into and plan out our activities.
today we are easing into summer with a "what can you build" activity. there are popsicle sticks, snack cups, medicine cups, silicone and plastic cups and some panda bears. they were very excited to come downstairs and check it out. they immediately found some play dough from the art cart. bowie made a panda security station and ryder added cars. they played for 45 minutes while i folded laundry, so i am calling this a win!
i set up a self serve art, craft and activity cart for the kids. they can roll it over to the kitchen table and my BIGGEST rule is they must work on a tray. they have stain glass coloring books, watercolors, oragami paper, scratch paper, tempera paints, metallic kwik stix, glitter glues, oil pastels, kinetic sand, play dough and loose parts, googly eyes, straws, pipe cleaners and ribbons.
they are excited and already digging in! my goal this summer is lots of process art, books, experiments and work books!
ryder and i dug into this box today. we made our way through about half of the books and he liked the felt starfish, we did patterns and counting with them. we will continue it this week and can even play with his beach themed play dough kit party favors to use alongside.
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| beach kit |
we are no strangers to the library. we visit at least weekly, we go to all the story times, we use the museum passes and we take advantage of it's resources. but i JUST learned about these "books to grow on" themed kits. they are a curated collection of learning materials (books, CD's, DVD's, toys) on a subject aimed for kids learning. they are located at the central station, so you have to go on the library website to put them on hold and have them delivered to your local library. it took about 3-4 business days for them to arrive. they are HUGE! today's pick up included boxes on dogs, beach, imagination and fairies. you can keep them for a month and there are so many choices!!! we will be taking advantage of this over summer, this arrival was perfect timing!
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| dog kit |
ryder is excited to celebrate his birthday on the last day of school (tomorrow). he is bringing in cupcakes and handing out goodie bags. i always like something that doubles as an activity or entertainment so i made these mini on the go beach themed play dough kits. they are the perfect size for traveling, restaurants, appointments or even at home. i put all the loose parts in a small container and the bigger parts fit inside of the play dough storage bag. they are filled with gems, beads, shells, palm trees, drink umbrellas, erasers and confetti.
it's ryder's birthday month!!! so i made him a birthday play dough kit to get excited (not that he needs any help with that).
i prepped some play dough kits and activities in anticipation for summer, but when you have a sick kid at home, i had to bring it out sooner.
