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Showing posts with label outside play. Show all posts
Showing posts with label outside play. Show all posts
Guest Post at Growing a Jeweled Rose
I'm guest posting today at Growing a Jeweled Rose! Pop over and check out our Painting with Shoes post! Sweet P had a BLAST with it!
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You can also follow The Iowa Farmer's Wife on Twitter, Pinterest and Google+
The Sunday Showcase: Outdoor Play
Have you checked out last week's Sunday Showcase?! If not, you missed out on some pretty awesome kid-related ideas! This week I was inspired by some fabulous outdoor play ideas.
The messy water balloons from Praises of a Wife and Mommy look like they were a huge hit with the kiddos! We've used cornstarch, water and food coloring before, but never in a water balloon!
We love sidewalk chalk so I thought this Paint by Number Sidewalk Chalk Paint by Little Wonders' Day was an awesome idea! Can't wait to try it with Sweet P!
The Good Long Road shared this fabulous list of sand play ideas! Many of these can also be used for indoor play! Super excited to try some of these!
What we've been up to:
Check out what's been going on with the MeMeTales Readathon! It's Week 5, which focuses on Earth-friendly activities and Being Green!
Were you featured today? Don't forget to grab a button!
Now it's your turn to link-up! If this is your first time, please read this informational post for details.
This is a fun and relaxed linky with a few guidelines:
- You can link as many kid friendly or child-centered posts as you'd like, however, links for giveaways, shops, or downloads for purchase, etc. will be deleted.
- Please try to visit a few other posts if you are linking up. Everyone loves comments, feed-back, pins and shares!
- I'll share some posts via Facebook, Twitter and Google +, while commenting on and pinning others.
Please NOTE: By linking up you are giving us permission to use a photo (with proper link to you!) in our featured section! If you prefer not to be featured comment below or e-mail me.
Thanks for joining us and I look forward to seeing what you've been doing this week! Don't forget to visit my co-hosts for additional features this week!
Outdoor Play: Running Wild
About a month ago, we painted on a large piece of cardboard on the driveway (that'll be a different post). Afterward, Sweet P's shirt was filthy so she took it off and began running around the backyard. She picked up a few branches that the Farmer had recently cut off a Silver Maple tree and had a ball.
Playing hide and seek with me...can you see her?
Sweet P is a tree hugger. Literally. When we take walks on the cemetery path she tells me, "I'm just gonna go hug that tree." Like she knows it needs one.
How are you playing outside today?
Outside Play Link-Up: Chalk Dress-Up Dolls
I'm excited to be hosting June's Outside Play link-up created by JDaniel4sMom with several other fabulous bloggers. We love sidewalk chalk at our house. In fact, it's a staple in the outdoor toys and makes an appearance most days. Sweet P's favorite activity at the moment is her Sidewalk Chalk Road and Town, but two nights ago it washed away by a thunderstorm. Since I knew this post was coming up, I decided we'd try something else instead of drawing another road.
Sweet P love, love, loves dressing things. Stuffed animals, babies, sticker dolls, tiny dolls. If it's dressable, she's all over it. She loves picking out Baby Blue's clothes (she doesn't dress him...yet!) and has recently begun picking out her own clothes (interestingly enough she didn't much care about what she wore until lately). Laying clothes out on the floor in the shape of a person is another favorite pastime of hers (especially when we are doing laundry!). So I took these ideas, paired them with chalk and came up with Chalk Dress-Up Dolls! 
Sweet P laid on the sidewalk (with the sun in her eyes, poor thing) while I traced her body. She thought this was pretty cool and wanted me to trace myself, but settled for another body that I free-handed closer to her size (so she could dress two). I also traced Baby Jim (her beloved boy baby doll) so that he could participate. She gave herself a face and hair, while I decorated myself. Her commentary was too cute.
Sweet P: Did you give yourself yellow hair? Me: Yep. We don't have brown chalk. It looks like yours! 
I brought out a bag of clothes for her to use that included: 2 dresses, a leotard, 3 pairs of shorts, several tops and 2 pairs of shoes. Sweet P was WAY excited when she saw that she could dress the girls.
Sweet P: Did you bring out your clothes too? Me: No, but I think my girl can share your clothes.
She was skeptical and got pretty excited when one of the dresses fit "my" body. Do you think she'll start thinking we can share clothes?! Uh-oh. 
She's drawing my shoes in the bottom right picture and drawing her face in the top right.
She changed herself several times (I only got to wear the dress) and put Baby Jim in his bathing suit (it's a bathing suit for a Build-A-Bear and it's missing the bikini top, so yes, it looks like a Speedo).
The Farmer got in on the action and asked me to trace him. His outline ended up looking a lot like a boxer and it was pretty hilarious. 
For clean-up, I simply tossed the chalky clothes in with a load of laundry I was already doing. Simple and cheap! If you have sidewalk chalk, you're ready to play!
It's your turn to link-up your Outside Play: Chalk ideas! Please try to visit, comment on, pin, tweet and share a few other posts. Please place the button in your post or somewhere on your blog and be sure to visit each of the co-hosts to see their chalk ideas! Check back in July for more Outside Play ideas!
Outdoor Messy Playdate
It didn't take long to set up (I had the Farmer's help) and clean up was a breeze since it was outside! Just hose everything down afterward!
The kids loved it and when the Farmer asked me which activity was the favorite, I had a hard time deciding until I remembered that the soapy water bucket used to clean hands was probably it!
You can find most of the items we used in your pantry, although you may need a bit more than what you usually have on hand.
Here are the activities we had:
Cloud dough bin: 24 cups of white flour and 3 cups of clear oil (baby oil or mineral oil). This is actually cheaper than buying play sand and I love the texture! It also leaves your hands soft from the baby oil!
Water beads: There are 2 sets of water beads in this bin. Simply place them in a bowl of water overnight and then add them to a large bin for play. These were a big hit!
Shaving cream table: I squirted shaving cream all over our outdoor table. Also a hit! Shaving cream from Dollar Tree.
Goop/Oobleck: I LOVED this stuff! It is so cool. I first saw it on Housing a Forest (almost a year ago!) and have wanted to try it ever since. Sweet P played in this long after everyone left.
Dried pasta: The kids had fun putting this in the dump truck and then dumping it out.
Painting station: I rolled out a piece of paper and taped it to the sidewalk (ignoring the fact that packing tape does NOT stick to cement). There were markers, paint with forks or hands/feet, and paint filled ice cubes to use. The ice cubes didn't work so well so we ended up tossing them into the pool.
Mini water pillow: After seeing this genius idea on The Mommies Made Me Do It, the Farmer set to creating a mini one for the kids. We used what we had on hand (which was plastic for windows) and it wasn't very durable, but duck tape works wonders! We tested our prototype the day before with Sweet P and Baby Blue and I was shocked at how refreshing it was! We are definitely doing this again with a bigger version.
Sand table with play sand: The sand in the table is play sand from Toys R Us. You can't get it at Home Depot or Ace Hardware. I tried. And all they have is regular sand. Play sand is much, much finer and easily moves through funnels. This was actually the least played with activity!
Dirt digging: A few kids played in Sweet P's garden, using a rake and shovel.
Sidewalk chalk road: We had a ride-on tractor and several other push toys for the chalk road.
Squirt bottles: I had 2 squirt bottles with water out and 2 of the girls LOVED squirting the house! Such a simple activity and they loved it.
If I had to guess I'd say it was a hit! I love that the kids experienced so much sensory and science without even knowing it!
Want more ideas for playdates? Check out B.Inpsired Mama!'s 20 Tips for Successful Play Dates!
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25 {Free} Summer Activities
1. Tour a fire station. Call ahead to arrange a tour for you and your family or a group of friends. Tours generally include a tour of firefighter facilities, explanation of tools on the firetruck, test page (to hear what they hear when a call comes in) and photo ops! (Our friend Amy set this up for us and it was so neat!)
2. Go to story time at your local library. Some require registration, but ours is simply a drop-in story time welcome to the entire community. Activities usually include a few books, songs, bean bags and bubbles!
3. Run in the sprinkler. Need to water the grass? Run through it while you do! Moms: don't forget to join the fun!
4. Visit Bass Pro Shop for free summer activities, such as fishing, archery, wildlife exploration and bird watching workshops. They also offer free crafts!
5. Make popsicles. Our homemade ones taste 100% better than store bought. If you don't have popsicle molds, make them in an ice cube tray with a toothpick as the stick.
6. Play with chalk. The possibilities are ENDLESS! Make a giant board game, town, road, hopscotch, counting game or simply draw.
7. Go to a Farmer's Market. Check out your local farmer's market or visit one while traveling. The Des Moines Downtown Farmer's Market has free live music and kids' activities as well.
8. Host a messy playdate! Most of the items can be made with stuff you already have in your pantry!
9. Create a bubble bucket. Fill a bucket or tub with water and bubbles, add a few utensils or toys and watch the fun! (pic at the top).
10. Mini Olympics! Swim, run, bike, do gymnastics, or play soccer, basketball or volleyball as a family. Do one activity per day or lump several in one day for your own mini Olympics. Make homemade ribbons for the winner in each category.
11. Go the Des Moines Art Festival (or find a local one!). The Des Moines Art Fest has free kids' activities, live music and tons of great art!
12. Explore ice. Use paint or food coloring for colored ice for a fun time in the baby pool. Or freeze plastic toys in ice and explore all the different ways to free the toy from the ice (melting, hammering, salt).
13. Watch a parade. Find out if your area (or one nearby) has a July 4th parade and head over for an hour of fun watching floats and marching bands.
14. Explore a new playground or nature reserve. It's even better if it's near a lake or body of water! Big Creek State Park in Polk City is our new favorite!
16. Have a game night OUTSIDE! Bring your board games outdoors for a new twist on an old favorite.
17. Go on a scavenger hunt: I especially love this chalk scavenger hunt from NurtureStore!
18. Bake. Try a new cookie recipe or simply make a favorite. Eat the cookies outside on a blanket.
19. Make a bird feeder, then watch the birds.
21. Make mud pies!
24. Play at a splash park! There are several in Des Moines that are free to the public. Try Ashby wading pool (free all the time) and the Ankeny splash park (free from 10-12pm on weekdays).
25. Create a special outdoor place to read. Find a nice piece of shade and take out blankets, pillows and piles of books. A tent would be great too! Read with and to your kids while breathing in the outdoors! (Don't have a backyard? Take blankets to a park!)
For summer fun ideas check out our 2012 Summer Bucket List and our Summer Fun board on Pinterest!
For summer fun ideas check out our 2012 Summer Bucket List and our Summer Fun board on Pinterest!
Virtual Book Club: The Very Quiet Cricket
We are so excited to be part of the Virtual Book Club hosted by Toddler Approved and The Educators' Spin On It! The book for May was The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle.Sadly, we couldn't find the book at any of our local libraries (they were all checked out!) and my online bookswap didn't have it. Thankfully, The Educators' Spin On It posted a youtube video of the book being read aloud with animated pictures. Perfect! I sat down and watched it with Sweet P and did some explaining.
The Farmer and I told her how only the male crickets chirp. The Farmer knows this because he teaches a lab on crickets. I know this because I was owned a tree frog who ate LIVE crickets. Guess who once bought a bag of the WRONG crickets? This gal! Yep. So I know a thing or two about crickets. Or lack of sleep due to crickets. Anyway.
We finished the video and told Sweet P we were going to play a cricket game and hunt for a cricket after bathtime. Oh boy!
She grabbed her bug kit and new flashlight (she got it for her birthday from a friend) and we headed out to the yard.
I heard one right away, but it took a minute for her to narrow down the noises. We had her close her eyes and listen. I said, "Do you hear that?" And she said "It's a bird."
I explained that crickets make a chirping sound and did she remember the noise the cricket made in the book. She did so we set to work finding him.
Looking hard for the cricket
We found out exactly where he was, but he was hidden by grass clippings! He'd stop chirping for awhile when we got too close, but started up when we'd stop moving around.
She said "I'm looking for him like Daddy."
We couldn't find him (the Farmer really tried) so we settled on catching a firefly instead.
As we headed inside Sweet P was a bit upset that we didn't find the cricket so we did some more explaining about how crickets are great at hide and seek because of prey that eats them. She was satisfied with that and set out to find another one of our books with a cricket in it!
Sweet P also wants everything to be a girl so when I told her that the girls don't make noise she said, "I want to find the one that doesn't make noise."
Before we went in I said, "What does that cricket sound like?" and she said "Tweet! Tweet!"
This was such a fun activity and involved listening, looking and touching (the firefly). That poor firefly was probably a bit dizzy after all the shaking that went on while he was in the bug container.
Check out these other activities, crafts, songs and ideas from others who participated in the Virtual Book Club. It's not too late for you! Simply read the book, do something related to the book and link up! Please limit posts to those relate to The Very Quiet Cricket.
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