Summer Splash!

I like to do something different each year for summer with the kids.  Sometimes there is something I think we need to work on- like one year I really just wanted to kids to learn to be okay with just getting dirty, so we went to the creek a lot that year.  Last year I did a whole program of activities that I ended up having way too many activities planned. I know- "too many" how does that happen? Click here to see the "Summer Fun Calendar".  This year we need to work on a few things, like sharing and getting along, and with a son who has high anxieties I wanted to try to help him in the process too.  So we are making a fun "chart" for the kids to fill out.

They have to complete some tasks/ behaviors and they can stamp a square (I have a little feet stamp).  Once they fill a line (section of a "wave") they get to spin for a prize.  I made the first few easy so that hopefully they love it.  Here are the tasks:

I just used leftover scrapbooking supplies and used the back of another reward chart.  Then I made a spinning wheel.  I wanted to make a nice wood one but it was going to require trips to stores and a drill.  So I went way ghetto and used an old fan we have instead.  I really don't like shopping with my 4 year old.  He's a runner.

I took off the front of the fan and unscrewed the cap, then poked the cardboard wheel on the screw in front of the blades.  Then I just screwed the cap back on.

I was thinking the kids could just spin it with their hands, but they really want to plug it in and turn it on and then stop it.  It shouldn't fly off so we'll have to try it.

I didn't want to break the bank either so the prizes are all simple, easy, and cheap.  It's a pretty easy chart to fill out.  That being said, we've done canning jar reward programs with 2 inch size pom-poms to fill the jar with that took over 3 months to fill.  Who knows how long this will take for them this time.

Have a great summer!  I think ours will be fun- and hopefully less stressful!

Summer Fun!

For some reason I decided to be all ambitious and plan activities for the kids all summer.  Perhaps I was a little high on Pintrest or maybe I thought that it would earn me mother of the year- either way I put together a little calendar for the kids to see what we have planned.  The hope is they will see what we are doing and not ask me a million times what we're doing that day and also that with this in mind I can do the fun activity and then they'll let me do my own thing.  And it'll work right?  <cough>  And it'll keep the 2 youngest from fighting all day right? <cough>.  We'll see.

This is the plan- 

• Mondays are Make It Monday and we'll do a craft.  I actually have the crafts arranged by theme because we'll do more than one since it takes the kids 1.2 minutes to do a craft.
• Tuesdays are Tasty Tuesday and we'll cook.  I thought it would be good to teach them proper cooking techniques and also go over volume and measurements with them at the same time.
• Wednesdays are Wisdom Wednesday where we'll learn something new.  I originally had themes but didn't like the ones I picked, so on the file I have a link to it doesn't have much for this one.  I'm thinking of doing more science related stuff.  You can go to my "mad scientists" board on pintrest for some ideas.
• Thursdays are Travel Thursdays and we'll go someplace outside the home- like a park or the woods or lake or train station.
• Fridays are Freaky Fridays which basically means anything goes.  We'll do things like outdoor games or ninja training camp.

 I printed the calendar at Staples because I am now obsessed with their engineering prints- they're like $1.80 for and 18x24 print and you can do pictures.  It's just black and white but everything is more fun supersized.

Most of these ideas are on my pintrest boards under "summer", "kids activities" and "kids chefs" if you'd like pictures.

Here's the calendar I made:

 And here is the "plan" file with what we'll be doing.
Summer Fun List 

I seriously must've been high when I made this to have a travel Thursday right after we got back from Minnesota and right before my son's birthday.  Oh well.  The boys are super excited and that's all that really matters :)

Link to my pintrest: Melissa's Pintrest



 

Punch Prizes

What's a party without a fun game?  And prizes?

When I do a CTMH party I like to make sure there are fun games.  For my last party this is what I did for prizes:

 This is where you "punch" out the circles and inside lies a prize.  Or in this case a paper saying what prize you get.  Fun huh?  You could use this for birthday parties, office parties, or even have the coolest chore chart ever!  This is how I made it

First you trace some plastic cups on a posterboard or cardboard (which will probably be better for kids)

Then you have to trace a little bit inside the circle so that when you stick the cup through it doesn't fall through.

Cut out the circles

Cut out little squares of tissue paper.

Put your "prizes" in the cup

Tape the tissue onto the cups.

Decorate your sign.  I used CTMH Posterboard and Token alpahbets with cotton candy pink and black ink.  And I accidentally made some smudges so I had to "decorate" it with other smudges ;)

Then I fitted the cups through the holes and taped them on the back with packing tape so that the more avid punchers don't just knock the cups out.

Hope your game is a knock out!  Hee-hee.

Kid Crafts

I love to craft but unfortunately my kids aren't always so obliging to my project needs.  They always want to "help" which isn't always so useful.  I try to find things they can do that will give them an activity to do- like sort paper by color or pattern, cut scrap paper (which is a very good pre-writing activity), or have them use scraps and old stamps to make their own artwork.  The key is to let them express their creativity- because let's face it, that's exactly what YOU love to do too!

I thought this activity was such a great idea!  This was at my son's preschool activity night.

We made the kids into "pizza" by rolling the dough (the kids) around then topped them with shredded paper "cheese", checkers "pepperoni", and a squirt of water "oil".  Yes this would be incredibly messy (nothing a little vacuum can't fix)- but incredibly fun!  You could use old scraps of paper and let the kids make different toppings to top each other with. And with your old scraps being used you can make way for new paper :)  

Sometimes I feel a little guilty when my projects get in the way of having fun with my kids and doing crafts with them allows me to get my creative juices flowing and allows me to spend some time with them doing something they're always dying to do anyway.  And then as a bonus you get awesome mom points for doing a fun activity with them.