Happy Independence Day! Or Happy Monday to those of you who aren’t in the states. 🙂
Here’s a few ways to make some fun memories this week…
1. Use some tarps and a fan to make a walk-in bubble. Toad Haven shows you how.
2. Make red, white and blue play dough. For extra fun, add glitter.
3. Play in the dirt! If you want some inspiration, hands on: as we grow has 30 fun things to do with it.
4. Paint masterpieces on your toenails. Boys too!
5. Find out what your ninja names are.
6. Write a family letter to someone who could use cheering up. Make sure everybody writes at least a paragraph or contributes a picture.
7. Do the 30 Day Photography Challenge together or make up your own.
8. Find an old ugly piece of furniture and paint it together (or pick one for each child). Encourage the kids to be as creative as possible. Add symbols, poetry, anything you want! Have them date and sign them.
9. Go to the beach and find “bones” to play archeologists. You can find sticks, fish bones, driftwood or even crab claws. You can boil them at home in some water with a splash of bleach to disinfect them. Then help the kids build a creature by putting all the parts together! You may need to be creative with holding it all together, like wiring parts on while the glue dries or winding twine or electrical tape around parts to hold them together. Let your child name his newfound creature and make up a whole lifestyle for it! What did it eat? How old did it get? Were its babies hatched out of eggs or born? What animals preyed on it? Where did it live? Compare it to other animals as you go, and you’ll sneak in lots of learning. 😉
10. Make some stuffed monsters. Just freehand draw a simple monster shape on unwanted fabric (stained t-shirts and sheets are great!) and stuff with batting from old pillows or purchased fluff. You can hand sew them shut or use the machine. Here’s one Victoria made up…
And with that, I’m off to make colorful playdough and bake some clay mushrooms that the kids made last night. And okay, clean a little too. No rest for the wicked! Or the messy. 😉
Have a safe and happy Independence Day!
A Magical Childhood 
Awesome roundup of fun ideas for the kids! Love that furniture painting! May just have to go thrifting to find a piece of furniture just for that!
OMgoodness I want to make the big bubble! That looks like so much fun! My son’s birthday is next month and I’m wondering how to work it in with a dinosaur theme…maybe a dino cave???? Thanks for all the wonderful ideas!
Rachele @ Messy Kids
Love the colorful furniture!