Silly Popcorn!

This is obviously a warmer weather activity and not something we're doing outside now, as we have a foot of snow on the ground. But it was really fun for Eliana this summer, so I thought it would be worth mentioning!

The Set Up:

A big sheet or blanket, spread out
An air popper in the middle of the blanket, with the shield off
A little girl sitting on the sidelines, waiting expectantly

The Result:







It's way more fun than microwaving a bag of popcorn. =D

Dinosaur Playground

Remember when I raved about the community park in Livingston? Well, it looks like we'll be getting one of our own in a month! And, much to Ellie's delight I am sure, it will be a dinosaur themed park, called the Dinosaur Playground.





























I can't tell very well from the picture exactly what the play areas will be like, but I'm excited to find out when the park is built!

Need a quick, easy, cheap outdoor activity?

I'm not sure why I didn't think this up on my own, but I saw this idea on parenthacks.com. It's brilliant! When you want an activity for your kiddo outside on a hot day, give him a cup of water and a paintbrush and let him "paint" the house, the driveway, the deck... whatever he fancies! It's cheap, easy, doesn't require any cleanup, and keeps him cool all at the same time!

If you wanted to do something similar inside, this would be a great idea for a chalkboard. I'm in the process of turning Ellie's new easel into a chalkboard and am thinking this is a great activity until she's actually old enough to paint responsibly. Water I can clean up off the floor. Paint, not so easily.

Outdoor Activities: Big Bubbles!

We got a couple big bubble wands at the Target $pot a while back and I put them in the 'outdoor activity bucket' while we waited for a sunny day. Well, the sunny days finally came last week, while Ellie's grandparents were in town to visit!

I have to admit, these big bubbles are SO MUCH MORE FUN than blowing regular bubbles! Easy for toddlers to reload and run around with themselves. No constant fear that they're going to dump all the bubble solution all over themselves or try to drink it... No fights because you insist on holding the container while they dip the wand in... Just independence and running around in the back yard! It's great!

Sidewalk Chalk

With the nice weather we've been having, Ellie and I have been spending more time outside together. On one such day last week, (Tuesday, I think) we raided the "outside activity bucket" and decided to play with the sidewalk chalk from Ellie's Easter basket. (That's why the chalk is shaped like eggs instead of, well, chalk.)

At first Ellie was more interested in the packaging than the chalk itself, even after I'd shown her what to do with it.

After a while, though, she got into it and drew lots of little lines all over the driveway. Though all she really drew was lines, she told me what each thing "was". She'd draw blue lines and say, "Heart." and draw pink lines and say, "Butterfly." It was precious. She loves to draw and color, so this is a great way for us to get outside and still do the drawing and coloring.