Summer Fun

Do you need ideas to do with your kids or perhaps the kids you watch throughout the long Summer days? I am a nanny and also have foster siblings, so I am always looking for new activities and things to do. Whether it is going to the park or splash pad, the pool, doing a craft, or some other cool activity I am all for finding things that are fun and make the time go by a lot better. Making homemade play dough is fun! There are tons of recipes out there, some you cook and some you don't have to cook over a stove. I tend to like the one that is cooked since it seems to last longer. The recipe I use can be found on this site- http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Playdough-Play-doh/ You can add food coloring for colors and even add things to make it smell good like Kool-Aid or vanilla extract, lemon juice etc.

One of my favorite art projects that I have done in the past and just did recently with 2 kids I am a nanny for is Rainbow Sponge Painting. For this project, you have the kids paint on a sponge and then wipe the sponge hard in an arc on paper to make a rainbow. They turn out so cool! This is a picture of some kids I have watched in the past doing Rainbow Sponge Painting.

Materials you need are: a sponge for each kid, a paintbrush for each kid, washable paint for the colors of the rainbow (I use Crayola Washable Paint),some sturdy paper like card stock or poster board cut up (I get poster boards at the Dollar Tree for 50 cents apiece and cut it into 4 pieces).

Have the kids paint the colors of the rainbow on the sponge in stripes vertically (make sure they used plenty of paint), place it horizontally on one end of the paper and wipe hard in an arc to the other end of the paper. They may need to put more paint on the sponge and finish it off as it likes to fade sometimes near the end, or you can keep it that way if you like. You can frame these and they would make cool artwork to decorate your house or the kid's room with.

Next I am going to try making big bubbles with some solution, a baby pool I think, and perhaps hula-hoops. If it works out, I will share the results with you all. Have fun creating with the kids!