Monday, May 12, 2014

Summer Activities Link Up

i am so so excited about the link up today! your ideas will no doubt inspire me. :)

by nature, i am definitely a "fly by the seat of my pants" kind of girl, so when i got the invitation to co-host this link-up, i jumped on the opportunity. not only would it force me to "plan ahead" for the summer months coming up, but i knew that the community of moms sharing all of their fun ideas would be incredibly encouraging.

my sweet girl is due at the very beginning of july, so not only will i need some good activities to keep the boys busy while i try not to melt in those last few weeks, but i also wanted some things planned out for when my mom and sister come out to help with the boys after Ellis is born.


i found the inspiration for my summer activities jar here. i really liked the idea of color coding my popsicle sticks into the three different categories of:

inside activities: white
outdoor activities: mint
away from home activities: red


i was able to pull all the activities on each of my sticks from the following links: here, here, here and here

for now, i decided to come up with 30 activities (10 in each category):

sticky window flower garden
try a new cookie recipe and decorate
play hide n go seek in the dark with flash lights
draw pictures for family members and mail them
make ice cream in a bag
make sock puppets and put on a puppet show
make a milk carton boat and float them 
trace your shadow on butcher paper and decorate them
marshmallow sculptures
make Styrofoam spiders

washable chalk paint
bird and stick collage
find and count bug hunt
nature color hunt
water balloon pinatas
create an obstacle course and have a race
outdoor scavenger hunt
play in the sprinkler
wash the car in the driveway and have a water fight
go on a walk and do a neighborhood treasure hunt

go to the zoo
go fishing
go to a swimming pool or splash pad
visit the library
go to the duck pond and feed the ducks
have a picnic at the park
go bowling or to play putt-putt
get ice cream from the food trucks at a local park
go watch the fireworks
go to the movies

after making my jar, the boys and i decided to try one out!

i steered them towards the "paint outside with washable chalk paint" activity since ricky and i were planning on doing a little furniture painting ourselves. i figured it would be a perfect way to involve them in our afternoon of painting, but keep them distracted from the actual furniture. ;)

you can find the original post for this activity here, but the steps are pretty simple and straightforward. 


items you will need:
chalk
paint brushes
paint trays or buckets (i used some old tupperware containers)
a grater (i have one that i use for my homemade laundry detergent so i used it for this activity as well...i wouldn't necessarily recommend using the same grater you use for your foods :))

simply grate your chalk into the buckets.

add a 1/2 cup of water for every stick of chalk. (i may actually add a little less next time)

and let your kids get to painting!


this stick will definitely be going back in the jar to be used again. :) the boys loved it and it kept them entertained for much longer than i even expected. they painted everything from the fence, to the house, to some rocks, to each other!

you can link up your summer activities posts below and then go check out what all the other lovely co-hosts are sharing!

Ice Block Toys by Becky @ BYBMG Facebook - Google+ - Instagram - Pinterest - Twitter

Britt @ The Fisk Files Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest

Denise @ Gratefully Inspired Facebook - Google+ - Instagram - Pinterest - Twitter

Easy to Prepare Activities by Elizabeth @ All Kinds of Things Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest

Summer Activities Jar by Katie @ The Lane Above Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest

Summer Birthday Parties by Sarah @ Abiding In Grace Facebook - Pinterest - Instagram

Tara @ Tieras and Touchdowns Facebook - Google+ - Instagram - Twitter

Summer Activity Binder by Keri @ Living In This Season Facebook - Google+ - Instagram - Pinterest


and feel free to grab a button...but have no fear, yours will not be this big, ha. i am still learning my way around blogger and have yet to figure this one out. ;)

All Kinds of Things

12 comments:

  1. I love this idea! Especially for when family is in town helping with the kids... I will definitely have to do this!

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  2. Love the jar!! (and your gorgeous photography!)
    www.allkindsofthingsblog.com

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  3. You are so creative!! I'm definitely going to try to get this done before the baby gets here!!

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  4. I love the jar idea and the color coding!

    Becky @bybmg

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  5. Oh, the color coded sticks are just great! And the paint too. We've got oh so many half pieces that are hard to draw with that we could use!

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  6. Love Love Love!!! The jar is a perfect answer for boredom!!! Such a great idea...and the chalk paint....awesome. Your boys are so cute!!

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  7. LOVE THESE!!!!! can't wait to try some of them!!!!

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  8. Love the sticks in a jar idea. I use that for chores by writing chores on a stick and then they have to draw a chore. Takes the pressure off of me assigning them.

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  9. I love how you color-coded the sticks for the activities. I need to add this to my to-do list before school's out.

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  10. This is such a good idea! I may have to make some of these while I nanny this summer.

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  11. So fun… I am going to work on this! :)

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  12. Amazing! I love those fun activities. Though the month of August is just one big Sunday before the classes start again, who said the kids can't have their summer's last hurrah? Hahaha! Your boys look adorable as ever. I hope everyone's in the best of health! Thanks for sharing.

    Beatrice Foster @ Crayon College

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