Move: Slip-n-Slide Party

THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN!

We invited our very dear Small Group friends over for a somewhat impromptu slip-n-slide party. We have the perfect hill for it...just steep enough to be fun, but not a chore for little legs to get back up. I was planning on everyone just bringing their largest tarp, but one of the men suggested that we use 25'x10' plastic sheeting (from Home Depot), and stakes to keep it in the ground. It was AWESOME, and worked so, so well. The kids (and quite a few of the grown-ups...) had a great time. We kept it wet, and used No Tear Baby Shampoo to make it slippery...I think that every mom there agreed that it definitely counted as a bath! We ended the night with banana splits on the porch, and a very happy (and tired) crew of kiddos. Definitely doing it again next year!

Move: Sprinkler Fun

This is a great sprinkler!! 

I bought it at Walmart (Little Tykes Sprinkler Ball), and though it was $17.99 originally, it was marked down quite a bit. I'm thinking I only paid around 10 bucks for it.

It's a chore to blow up (it's big...88" around!), but so worth the work! There are four spray heads (one on top, three around), so everyone can have fun at the same time! Great for siblings or playdates! You also have the option of keeping the ball stationary, by adding some water to the inside of it, or allowing it to move with your little ones. They can kick it all around the yard...and burn off a A LOT of energy! :)

We're going to leave ours blown up for the rest of the season, so that it's easy to pull out and play, but come the end of August we'll simply let the air out and store it in a nice, tiny, little corner of the shed. Ahhh...I wish that I could say that of our baby pool.

If you haven't bought one yet, this is a great sprinkler!

click here to find buying information.

What's the best summer fun toy you've bought this year?

Move: Water Gun Art

Step 1: Fill water guns with a mixture of tempera paints and water. I didn't measure anything; just tried to not make it too watery.

Step 2: Cover (or undress) your kids. Or both!

Step 3: Find a spot that can get a little messy without a lot of stress...for us that meant outside!

Step 4: Lay out some ground rules. Best to not skip this step. I did...absentmindedly,  and ended up with a very Warhol-inspired right leg.

Step 5: LET THE FUN BEGIN! 

Tips:

* For colors from every angle, rotate your canvas/sheet/paper throughout the project. It's much easier to move materials than little bodies yielding guns filled with paint!

* Lay project flat. If upright, the paint will run down the surface.

* Have a pack of wet wipes handy. :)

Music: Musical Glasses

A little water.

A little food coloring.

A little practice.

A BIG smile!

Make: Rainbow Fish and Sharing

Sharing. If that word suddenly induced a somewhat sick feeling in your stomach, you're not alone. Teaching our children to share is not a fun lesson...for mom or child! The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Phister is a great way to introduce (or reiterate, for the 435th time) the value of this virtue. After reading the book, and working through some of the content with your kiddo, you can lighten things up with this fun craft...

Step 1. Draw something resembling the shapes above on the back of a paper plate.

Step 2. Cut out the shapes that you drew, and lay them out around another paper plate to make sure that all fins are going the right way, and are the desired size. Notice that the tail is actually face up (which is why I put a star on it in the Step 1 picture).

Step 3: Designate the left side of the plate as the face, and let your little one color that area blue...my buddy got a little carried away when I wasn't looking! :)

Step 4: Cut out small pieces of tissue paper and aluminum foil.

Step 5: When working with glue, I like to use a paintbrush to spread the stickiness. This keeps tiny fingers nice and clean, and makes a more even workspace. Apply paper and foil pieces to all areas of the fish, except the head and lips.

Step 6: Staple the pieces together, add an eye (we used a googley one), and trace the lips and head with a black marker.

Step 7. TA DA! Your kid will now willingly share with a smile! Okay, maybe not. BUT, at least you now have a visual reminder to hang in her room, of why she might want to!! :)

Mid-Week Laugh Giveaway!

If you've got a mom-friendly, funny story,

you've got a chance to win a VERY FUN book!!

To Enter:

1. Commit to being a FunMom by clicking Follow in the sidebar.

2. Type up your story (any length) and send it to emailfunmom@yahoo.com

Deadline: Tuesday, June 15th

Prize: The Preschooler's Busy Book

Good luck!

Move: Backyard Fishing

The smile on my little boy's face was priceless when I tiptoed into his room this afternoon and whispered,

"Wake up honey...we're going fishing in the backyard!"

No, we do not have a pond, or a creek, or even a large puddle in our yard (at least not one that's supposed to be there). BUT, we do have a baby pool and a hose. And, actually, a large bucket would have worked too. Here's what else you'll need to get that same smile from your little one...

1. Foam Sheets:

I folded these in half and cut them into the shape of fish. You can easily draw on the foam (if you want to), and can use the first one you make as a pattern for the rest. I did this while my kiddo was napping, but an older child would probably enjoy practicing their scissor skills on this fun, squishy material.

2. Magnets

Once the fish are cut out, add a magnet to the front and back. You can do this with a type of adhesive if you prefer; we just let the natural magnetic pull work it's magic!

3. A Dowel Rod (or Stick) and String.

Tie the string to one end of the fishing rod. Secure it with a few good knots, and make sure the string doesn't hang too low. Remember that your fishing buddy probably isn't quite as tall as you.

4: Couple More Magnets...

Splay the end of the string so that it is as flat as possible. Again, feel free to use a strong adhesive if you have it. My super glue seems to only come out easily when I don't want it to (which usually induces a minor panic attack), so I used the same technique that I did on the fish...natural magnetic attraction.

5. WATER!

Here are a few games that we played:

Catch Color Matches

Catch Biggest

Catch Smallest

Catch and Count

*Be careful when "releasing" caught fish. Magnets will come off of fishing line if pulled too quickly.

**After your little one is done fishing in the backyard, remove the magnets for fun bathtub fishy friends.

Munch: Edible Aquariums

A yummy, fun afternoon snack for kids...of all ages.

Ingredients:

Cheerios

Bran Cereal

Graham Crackers

Goldfish (or Swedish Fish)

Cream Cheese (or Frosting)

Food coloring (blue and green)

Step 1: Mix the cream cheese (or frosting) with blue food coloring. This is your water.

Note: We used cream cheese, but will use frosting next time...you decide, but I vote that the frosting is definitely worth the calories and sugar!

Step 2: Mix the bran cereal with tiny bit of water and green food coloring. This is your underwater plant life.

Step 3: Time to Decorate! Spread your water onto a large graham cracker and then add fish, plant life, and water bubbles (cheerios).

Let your kiddo decorate their own aquarium, and they'll get creative before your eyes (this is Landon's).

Flying Coffee Filter Butterflies

Of all of the springtime crafts that Landon and I have done recently, this one has been his favorite! I asked him why he loved this particular "special time" project so much.

Here were his answers:

1. He got to use markers.

Not crayons. Not colored pencils. He got to use his elusive, generally forbidden markers. Good start to any project, as far as Landon is concerned. Wet wipes were on hand...literally.

2. He got to use a spray bottle.

This reminded him of his water guns, but even better than those, this particular device allowed him to spray water inside the house! Wow! How much better does life really get when you're three-years-old?!?

3. The butterflies actually fly!

He thought that they were pretty when they were just hanging still. He thinks that they're AMAZING when they're flying over him during his afternoon nap.

Here's how your little one can make his or her own flying butterflies:

Step 1: Use markers to color a white coffee filter. Push down hard!

Step 2: Stand back and lightly spray the coffee filter with water. Not too much...the color will fade if too much water is used. You just want the colors to bleed into each other.

Step 3: After the coffee filter has dried, pinch the middle and clip it with a clothespin.

Step 4: Tie a fairly long piece of fishing line (ours are about 18 inches each) to each clothespin. Then, using a small piece of tape, secure the other end of the line to a fan blade (near the outside, just to be safe). Finally, turn the fan on low, and enjoy!

Happy Spring!

A pond. A little sunshine. A tub of worms....

three generations of happy boys.

Pap Pap. Daddy. Bubby.

Bathtub Art: Good, Clean Fun!

Off-brand shaving cream: $3

Paper cups: $1

Food Coloring: $2

Foam Paintbrushes: $1

This Smile: Priceless