Summer 2011

I am determined that this summer will rock.  The other day I brainstormed things I could do with the girls when they got bored with playing with toys.  If I don't watch them, the war of the wonder twins breaks out.  It's usually caused by boredom, frustration, need for a nap, or hunger.  I wrote lots of little activities on slips of paper and tucked them into a tin (leftover from candy somebody gave me once...there was no more candy and I was a bit sad).  Some of the things in the tin:

• balloons - I used to play for a long time with a plain balloon.  Good for a rainy day.
• paper plate maracas - Coloring and music!  
• paper plate masks - No need for tons of supplies for these.  
• finger painting - Read a suggestion that you put a bit of paint on a paper plate to keep things tidier.
• shape walk - The girls know their shapes and we can look for things in those shapes.  
• cloud watching
• tp tube kazoos
• table fort
• peanut butter play dough
• play with bread dough and bake it
• stamps on paper
• potato stamps
• bucket with soapy water - they're two, anything is fun!
• obstacle course with household objects
• baby doll bathtime outside
• face painting - fun to do and fun to wash off
• visit nursing home down the street - pass out flowers or stickers to residents
• make a book
• make hand prints on cardstock - which I can turn into thank you notes later.  Must remember to give each child a different color or write names and ages on the page.
• make ice cream in coffee cans or zipper bags
• go for a walk in the rain

Today I started out by making the finger paint.  The girls are with their Nana and my gardening projects were not going super.  I used this recipe:  Bath Tub Soap

Upon many reviews of other recipes, I used tear free baby soap.  I screwed up and added water to the corn starch/soap mixture when it looked too thick.  I have a recycled pickle jar half full of this mixture in the fridge.  So, oops, but score!  If the kids like it, there's extra left.  I am hoping that it would make a neat gift.  I just want to make sure that it comes clean before I give it away.

Mine came out a bit lumpy, but the two year olds shouldn't mind.  Life is about messes and textures for them right now.  Here's a pic of the containers I have:

I can't wait to get the kids all grubby so that they can play with this in the tub.  It should be a good bath tub and finger paint base.  I read a suggestion that you let the kids paint on an old sheet hung up outside.  I might try that to see if the colors wash out.  I will post more as we try the different activities throughout the summer.