Month: July 2020

Rain Walk with Kids

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Rain Walk (10)

We woke up this morning to a summer rain storm, the barely-drizzling kind of warm rain that’s perfect for walking in. So no sooner had the kids eaten breakfast than I knew what we needed to do: Take a rain walk!

We put on rain boots and rain jackets just for fun, since Veronika has new rain swag for the fall. But honestly it wasn’t even cool enough to need them.

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Off the kids headed, intrepid rain explorers!

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It was so beautiful just to watch their wonder. I encouraged big brother Travis to notice what was different after a rainstorm, whether the obvious (puddles to stomp) or the subtle (spiderwebs covered in wet drops).

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Veronika loved the sensory elements of the walk. I pointed out leaves covered in raindrops which she could pop like bubbles.

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And gently shook the raindrops from a tree onto her head.

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And yes of course, the biggest hit was finding puddles to stomp.

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And stomp.

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And stomp.

 

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Round and Round the Garden

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Round and Round the Garden (1)

I’m on a kick lately of teaching Veronika nursery rhymes and adding props to the fun. Here’s another classic that we did today, which ends with a delightful tickle:

Round and round the garden

With my teddy bear.

One step, two steps,

Tickle him under there!

On the first two lines, circle baby’s palm with a fingertip. On the third line, walk your fingers up baby’s arm. Then end with an armpit tickle!

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You can add this second verse with the same actions:

Round and round the haystack

Runs the little mouse.

One step, two steps,

In his little house!

So to make it hands on, we brought a few stuffed teddy bears into the action! Veronika walked “round and round” with her teddy, dancing around a toy garden set. Needless to say, the props then could keep her busy for solo play while I got things done around the house.

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Sponge-Ball Toss

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Sponge Ball Toss (3)

This game is an instant cool-down on a hot day. And you can tailor it easily, depending how wet your kids want to get!

Set-up just requires a few cheap sponges from the dollar store. Stack two together, and cut into 3 strips.

Sponge Ball Toss (1)

Secure the strips in the center with a rubber band, fanning out the edges slightly. Make as many or as few as you want, and head outside the sponges and a bucket of water.

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First I simply showed the kids that if you soaked the sponges in water and then pressed onto the ground, they left behind fun starburst shapes.

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Little sister Veronika loved putting them in a bucket of water and squeezing out, delighting in the sensory element of the game.

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Travis’s favorite way to play was to launch them at the wall!

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Or squeeze them out like it was raining.

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Older kids may want to pelt them at each other, which is just fine as long as no one minds getting wet! We kept things gentler with a toddler around, but there was still lots of laughter and tossing.

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No matter how you play, these sponges are sure to provide cool-down fun.

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Treasure-Map Pizza

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Treasure Map Pizza (6)

This pizza was so fun to put together, complete with a tropical island background, an X-marks-the-spot, and golden treasure! You can prepare your edible mini maps on individual pita pockets, or do as Travis did and make a full-size pizza.

Treasure Map Pizza (1)

To start, pat pizza dough onto a pizza pan, then spread with tomato sauce, leaving a 1/2-inch crust. Sprinkle with your favorite non-dairy mozzarella.

Treasure Map Pizza (2)

Travis loved assembling a little pirate island that included the following: two bell pepper strips to mark an X for treasure; palm trees made of orange bell pepper trunks and green bell pepper fronds; mushroom rocks; olive footprints leading to the treasure; and corn kernels as nuggets of gold.

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The kids had so much fun peaking while it baked!

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Bubbles in the crust after baking even meant that we had some fun topography, like a little “hill” now below our X.

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Then it was time to gobble up the treasure.

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Mango Honeydew Sorbet

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Mango Honeydew (2)

Mango and honeydew might not make an obvious fruit combo, but a dish of this sorbet is so refreshing on a hot day. And contains no added sugar, to boot!

Ingredients:

  • 2 and 1/2 cups chopped fresh honeydew
  • 1 and 1/2 cups chopped fresh mango
  • 1/2 cup apple juice
  1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
  2. Transfer to a freezer-safe dish and freeze. Every 2 hours or so, scrape the mixture with a fork to fluff. Repeat until ready to serve.

Note: If you forget an interval of fluffing or two, don’t fret. We certainly did on a busy summer afternoon, and it still turned out just fine!

Mango Honeydew (3)

Nature Names

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Nature Names (5)

In the past, Travis has hunted for items in nature that go with each letter of his name. But never before have we crafted his name from nature! This was a neat twist to give purpose to today’s foray into nature.

Soft, delicate items will work best for this project, so I encouraged Travis to look for grasses, leaves, and petals. Mostly though, he collected lots of little pebbles, which ended up working fine.

Nature Names (1)

At home, we set out pieces of colored construction paper, and I encouraged Travis to think about how the letters of his name would look if dotted in glue.

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This was a little tricky for him and it ended up being easier to write the letter first, then dot the glue over the lines.

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He then could add rocks or bits grass and leaves to each dot, making for a pretty nature collage! We decided to make one for little sister’s nickname, too.

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Another successful project at Camp Mom.

Paper-Airplane Launch

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Paper Airplane (6)

Today at Camp Mom it was time for another classic activity: paper airplanes! Travis was initially reluctant, but the activity turned in to nearly an hour of crafting and play.

First we needed a refresher on how to make fold paper into a plane, though, so I pulled up a 90 second tutorial on YouTube. This had us making lots of mistakes and laughing…

Paper Airplane (1)

…or occasionally getting frustrated…

Paper Airplane (10)…and little sister crumpling up lots of extra paper to participate…

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…but then persevering until we had the method down.

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Time to launch! Rather than just randomly throw them, we set up a goal of orange cones.(Note: this game would be fantastic outside if it’s not too hot in your area, but we were staying cool inside during a heat wave).

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Our goal was to get the planes to fly through the openings between the cones (which of course pretty soon were dubbed the “Death Star”). Well that meant we needed lots more planes, along with a named pilot for every plane, and Travis staged a full battle.

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Whether you’re playing this game outside like a race to finish, or inside with an imaginative twist, it’s a great activity for a summer morning.

Paper Airplane (8)

Ice Sandbox and Block Play

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Ice Blocks (16)

The heat wave continues in our area and that means so does the icy fun. How did we play with ice today? Think boxes and blocks.

First up was an ice “sandbox”, a fantastic riff on at-home sandbox play. But this time I filled a shallow tray with crushed ice instead of sand.

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I added a few beach toys and we headed out to the back patio. From there, it was the coolest beach day ever! We decided to squeeze on food coloring for fun, but you can skip that part.

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Veronika then loved scooping through the ice with a beach shovel and using it to fill up little toy boats and sand pails.

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She also loved hopping a frog through the ice. And feeding the frog some ice! It must have been thirsty.

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But those tiny ice chips melt fast when it’s already 80 degrees at 8 a.m., so we needed something more solid. Luckily I was prepared.

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The night before, freeze water in an empty milk container. I added a few drops of blue food coloring to this one for an ocean feel, then trapped a few toys inside (an activity that the kids never tire of).

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No need to chip away at the ice with a hammer on this day, though; the sun did all the work and melted her little toys free!

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Even neater, the water in our almond milk carton hadn’t frozen entirely over night, leaving a crystal cavern of water in the middle.

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Big brother Travis delighted in this particular ice game even more, picking apart the block and releasing the toys inside as each portion melted.

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Finally, I had filled a bunch of water balloons the night before and then popped them in the freezer!

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These were a fantastic hit. Veronika held them and bounced them liek yo-yos…

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…and giggled at how cold they felt when she held them.

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And of course we could smash them to the ground to crack open like icy eggs.

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Now we were all cooled off!

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Tabouli Salad

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Tabouli (2)

There are a few twists to this take on tabbouleh: quinoa instead of bulgur wheat, flat leaf parsley instead of curly, and the addition of cannellini beans for a nice protein boost.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 cup cannellini beans
  • 1 and 1/2 cups chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 3 chopped tomatoes
  • 3 chopped green onions
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, stirring to combine.
  2. Cover and chill for at last 2 hours before serving.

Tabouli (1)

Paper Lanterns

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Plastic Cup Lantner (7)

This is exactly the kind of craft I’d expect Travis to come home with after a long day of camp… if it was open! In other words, it was perfect for a Camp Mom morning.

Some of this required grown-up help for a 6 year old, but your older “campers” can do the project mostly solo.

First, use paint (or paint pens for faster drying) to color on sheets of construction paper. I helped Travis understand that larger designs would work better, as we were coloring the outer decoration of the lantern.

Plastic Cup Lantern (1)

Let dry and then cut into an 8×5-inch rectangle. (Note: You may need to make your rectangle slightly larger or smaller, depending on the size of your plastic cups).

Next, cut a hole from the bottom of a plastic cup with a craft knife. Use hot glue to glue the top rim of this cup to the top rim of a second plastic cup.

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Now, use the craft knife to cut slits along the painted paper, spaced about 1 inch apart and making sure to leave a 1/2-inch border at top and bottom.

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Glue the paper around the plastic cups, pushing down slightly so the decorated slits puff outwards. Let dry.

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At night, insert an LED tea light! Travis was thrilled watching them glow, and of course wanted to use them as nightlights in his room.

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