Pinterest Picks...great ideas for kids~

If you are anything like me, you are starting to get a little worried about finding fun things to do with your kids all summer...

I am not worried about them being busy enough, but I do want to make sure we have enough fun.  At times, summer can get a little crazy between driving to various camps and activities, the kids don't always have enough "down time" and good old fashioned fun.

Here are a couple of ideas from Pinterest that I have actually tried.  They are simple ideas that turned out to be pretty fun.

My son didn't want to take a bath the other night (why is that???-so strange to me that a kid wouldn't totally enjoy a nice, long bubble bath).  Anyway, I remembered seeing this idea and thought I would give it a try.  I told him that I had a surprise waiting for him in the tub.

All I did was put a bunch of glow sticks (cheap...from the dollar store) into his bath and turned out the lights.  When he walked in the room and saw the glowing tub, he was thrilled.  

So easy, and so fun.    

The next idea came in handy one day when Grace and Bryce and I had a little time at home alone together.  We decided to make homemade "moon sand."  All you need is about 7 cups of flour and 1 cup of baby oil (also from the dollar store).  I love the texture of this stuff!  You may need to add a little more or less flour, just mix it (hands work well) until the oil is absorbed.  We keep it in a plastic container outside.  Ours is an outside toy.  Not super exciting, but it kept us entertained for a bit.  There is something about the consistency of this stuff that is relaxing to play with!

I was super excited about this next idea.

I bought a copy of this Dr. Seuss book, and I gave it to Grace's preschool teacher for her to sign (with a personalized note to Grace). Grace doesn't know about this... Each year, I plan to have her teacher sign the book and I will give it to Grace when she graduates from high school.  So cool!

 Need a simple snack for a warm summer day?  How about yogurt bites?

Super simple, yet something about these are fun for kids.

Just spoon regular yogurt onto waxed paper, freeze, and bam!  a new type of snack that kids can pop in their mouths.  My kids really like them.  I've tried tons of different flavors.  We tend to just keep a bunch in the freezer for grabbing.

Last but not least, I am hoping to try these cute placemats out this summer.

I love the idea of having the (younger?) kids sit down a minute or two before dinner and filling this out so that we can talk about our day.  This is a great tool to let their dad know what we have been up to and to remember that we really did have some fun!

Hope your summer is off to a great start!