Oh, What do You do in the Summertime?

We were lucky enough to spend 75% of our first month of summer break traveling.  When we got home, my children were a tad high maintenance since they'd been over-stimulated with non-stop fun for a month.  I've been busy coming up with fun ideas to try to keep them busy while we're at home between days at the pool and other fun field trips.  Where do I go for ideas?  Pinterest, of course!

Just a few days ago, we made playdough.  I have posted my own recipe for glitter playdough HERE, and liquid playdough HERE. But this week we tried this no cream of tarter recipe found at To the Moon and Back.

The dough turned out perfect and is still in great condition several days later.  One batch is more than enough to split in two, though, so if you need multiple colors for multiple littles, one or two batches will suffice!


We also had fun with these robot prompts from Picklebums.  My oldest even ended up cutting his robot parts and pasting his new 'bots together.  The nice thing about this is that Picklebums was nice enough to offer it as a free printable, so we can go back for more anytime we want! ;)

Just before school let out for the year, some high schoolers came to my son's kindergarten class and did origami with them.  Since then, he's been obsessed.  So, we recently ordered this Origami Fun Kit for Beginners (Dover Fun Kits)from Amazon: (affiliate link)

It has been great for both my boys.  Obviously, I have to help them out a lot, but it is great for fine tuning their fine motor and critical thinking skills.  After they are done folding their origami, they color in the faces and any details they may want.  I currently have quite the zoo collection going on in my house.  Their imaginations have run wild...their cats have names and their pigeons now have nests...by far the best $8.00 I've spent all summer.

What about you?  How have you been keeping your little ones busy this summer?

Teacher Appreciation Week

For the last couple of weeks, I have been reminding myself that Teacher Appreciation Week was coming up. This afternoon, I realized that the week is almost over, my son's last day of school for the week is tomorrow, and I have done nothing for his teachers.  LAME.  Having been a teacher, especially a preschool teacher, I know how much these little things are appreciated.

Luckily for me, I stumbled across this {free printable} from {The Celebration Shoppe}.  Super cute, super easy, super fast.  Exactly what this procrastinator of a Mom needed.  They are candy bar wrappers that simply say "Thank You for Raising the Bar". Easy to personalize with blue and red chevron?  Love it all!  Be sure to stop by The Celebration Shoppe and check them out!

I know the photo is awful, but remember how it's 6:00pm the night before?  Plus it's cloudy and raining right now, so there's no light.  Just trust me that they're cute!

Glitter Playdough

This week, we made glitter playdough.

A practice run for our glitter snow dough we're going to make next month.

I was going to just do plain white,

But then decided that more colors would be more fun!

After all, we're not talking about sparkly white snow today!

I know that making homemade playdough isn't new to many,

but just in case you haven't found a recipe yet,

here's one for you.

Classic Playdough

2 c. flour

1 c. salt

4 T. Cream of Tartar

2 T. oil

2 c. water

Mix in a pan on medium heat until it forms into a soft ball. Remove from heat.

As soon as it's cool enough to handle, knead it out until it's soft and pliable and ready to play with!

You can add food coloring, Kool-Aid or Jello for different colors.

And glitter is totally optional.

My boys sure enjoyed having "special" playdough today!

(My 3 year old sat at the table quietly playing for well over 2 hours!! Worth the glitter, I say!)

Liquid Playdough

When I taught preschool, one of my all time favorite activities to do with the kids was liquid playdough. It's super easy, cheap and fun!
(My kids have now been busy with this for over a hour...)

Everything you need is already in your kitchen.
It's simply equal parts of:
Flour
Salt
Water

That's it!
(I made a 2 cup batch this morning, and my boys are just now using the last bit up.)

Mix all of the ingredients together.
It will end up looking like pancake batter.

Add whatever food coloring colors you want...

And go!!

I put mine in those cheap, plastic, ketchup/mustard
squeeze bottles from Walmart. I also used a decorator bottle from Pampered Chef.
They both worked great!

Let your little Picassos squeeze away!
With liquid playdough, the colors won't mix.
After they're done creating, let them sit overnight
and they will harden up (similar to clay).

A few suggestions:

• Move this activity outdoors. It is very messy!!
• I know they're a tad bit expensive, but if you can, use the heavier Chinet paper plates. I guarantee you that your child will overload his/her plate with goop. The heavier plates just hold up much better.
• If your little one is having a hard time getting the playdough to squeeze out, you can add more water.
• AND, be sure to have toothpicks or bamboo skewers ready to unclog the bottles.

Have fun!!

If you're visiting for the first time, don't forget to head over and enter to win our GREAT giveaway!! You have until August 30 to enter!

Book Nook

I love books. Especially children's books. Over the years, I have collected several hundred picture books and can't wait for the day when they can all move inside the house into a beautiful bookcase and out of their boxes in the garage.

I figured it might be fun to recommend a different children's book now and then. I'll try to steer towards those that aren't as popular (The Very Hungry Caterpillar is an absolutely wonderful book! However. everybody is familiar with it).

My first pick? The Seven Silly Eaters

I first found this book while reading to a Kindergarten class for a college assignment. I borrowed it from one of my professors and it was a huge hit with the kids. The siblings in the story are working together to make a cake, but they all insist on putting in their individual favorite ingredients. Everybody has to learn to appreciate each other's likes and dislikes, compromise and work together in order to make this cake.

The author, Mary Ann Hoberman, has shared a recipe for the cake the Peters' children end up making. I am dying to try it; I think it would be so fun to read this story with my kids and then get up to make the actual cake. You can find the cake recipe here. If you manage to try it before I can, let me know how it is!!