Water Party Games

This summer I helped organize a couple of water kid parties.  I decided to compile a list of the water games we played.  It took a little bit of searching and brainstorming to come up with some of these water games, and some we improvised as we went along.

So, as a quick reference, here's some fun and easy water games your kids are sure to love:

{1. Drip, Drip, SPLASH!}

This game is played just like "Duck Duck Goose" except the person who is "it" is holding a wet sponge.  Instead of saying "duck, duck..." the "it" person says "drip, drip..." as they walk by everyone holding a wet sponge over their heads and literally drip water on them.  When the "it" person chooses someone to chase, he/she yells "Splash!" while squeezing all the water out of the sponge on top of the other player's head. If the "it" person makes it around the circle before being tagged, then the other player is now "it"; otherwise, if the person is tagged, then he'she is still "it" for the next round.  When we played this, all the kids wanted to be picked to be "splashed" on--it was so fun!

{2. Water Balloon Toss}

 Each player needs a partner and 1 water balloon.  Each set of partners starts by standing 1 step apart and 1 partner tosses the balloon to the other.  If the other partner catches the balloon, then both players take 1 step backwards (away from each other) and toss the balloon again.  Repeat until the water balloon pops, then both players are out. Play until there is only one partnership remaining, and they win!

The water balloon toss can be played in teams.  Each team forms a line, standing shoulder to shoulder, and 1 balloon is passed from person to person starting at one end of the line and ending at the other end.  If the balloon doesn't pop, then all the players take 1 step away from each other (lengthen the line because now there are gaps between the players).  Repeat until the balloon pops and a team wins.

{3. Water Crab Soccer}

Crab soccer is played like regular soccer except that all the players are doing the "crab walk."  Usually the goals aren't as far apart as regular soccer because walking like a crab is kinda slow and not always easy.  To make crab soccer even more exciting, someone follows the ball on the playing field and squirts it with a hose.  This way, any players that go after the ball are also getting soaked!

{4. Over-Under Sponge Relay}

For this game you will need 2 buckets of water and 1 sponge for every team.  The players need to stand in a single-file line with a bucket filled with water at the front of the line and an empty bucket at the back of the line.  The first person in line dips the sponge in the bucket of water and then passes it over his/her head to the next person; the next person passes the sponge under his/her legs; then the sponge is passed over head; then the sponge is passed under legs; etc. ...until the last person in line has the sponge and squeezes out whatever water is left into the empty bucket.  Then the last person takes the sponge to the front of the line and is now the "first" person and the relay starts over.  Players keep passing the sponge until the bucket at the end of the line is filled with water.  This game was fun to do with teams so that each team was competing to fill up their bucket the fastest.

{5. Water Balloon Relays}

For both of these water balloon relays, each team member needs a water balloon.  Divide into teams and get in a single-file line.  For the first relay, each team member has to run down the field, sit on their water balloon (and make it pop), and then run back and tag the next team member.  The fastest team to complete this relay wins.

For the second relay, each team member has to walk (or jump) down the field with a water balloon between their knees, drop their balloon (without popping it), and then run back and tag the next team member.  If the water balloon pops, that player is out.  If the water balloon drops but doesn't break, the player can stop and pick it back up and then keep walking down the field.  The team with the most unpopped balloons at the opposite end of the field wins.

{6. Ice cube down your back}

This is a game of endurance.  Each player has 1 ice cube.  On the signal, each player drops the ice cube down the back of their shirt and try to get the ice cube to melt the fastest.  This game can be cool and refreshing but can also be fun to watch everyone squirm!

When you have your water party, remember to remind everyone to wear, sunscreen, clothes that they can get wet in (like swimsuits), and to bring their own towels and maybe a change of clothes depending on what other activities you have planned.

{7. Water Gun Draw}

Give each player a small water gun filled with water, then have them stand back to back with a partner.  On the count of the 3, each  player walks and takes 3-5 steps away from each other. Then the players turn around quickly, "draw" their water guns, and shoot at each other.  When we played this game, it pretty much turned into a free-for-all water gun fight until we had the kids line up with their partners and start over.  Just make sure that you have an easy way to keep refilling the water guns so that the players and quickly refill and keep shooting at the other players.

{8. Free-For-All Water Balloon Fight}

For our free-for-all water balloon fight we made sure that everyone started with at least one balloon and then yelled, "ready, set,...go!" We also tried to get everyone to stay in a certain area to make clean-up easier. 

This may require that you fill up A LOT of water balloons, so I suggest you get some help.  Also, most water balloons come with a hose nossel to make it easier to fill, and some even come with a balloon-tie piece so that your fingers don't get raw from tying water balloons. 

{9. Slip 'N' Slide Kickball}

This water game is played just like regular kickball (which is baseball but with a kickball).  However, for the bases, you use buckets or pools of water that the kids have to stand in to be "safe."  For home base, it is best if you can use a slip 'n' slide.  Our kids LOVED the slip 'n' slide into home base.  In fact, after the kick ball game, they kept taking turns over and over on the slip 'n' slide--it was a hit!

For refreshments, we prefer to have something like Otter Pops or Creamies, something quick and easy that will help the kids to cool off and relax after playing in the water and sun.

Rewarding Ideas

Figuring out the right reward system for your child can be challenging.

Every parent would love their children to be perfectly obedient or always complete their homework on time without being asked.  But we all know that that's just not how we learn and sometimes our kids need a little extra reinforcement to do the right thing or to choose work over play. 

So here are a few reward system ideas that I've tried in the past.

{Rock Bowl}

One  thateward systems we have used is filling a bowl (or jar) with rocks.  You can either place one rock in the jar for every "good" day or for a specific good behavior.  You can even let your child put in the rock to help motivate him/her a little more and get them more excited about their progress.  When the jar is filled with rocks, the child earns a reward. 

{Life Saver Bucket}
 
When I worked with an after school program we had a bucket with life savers.  If the kids were found doing something good or doing their homework, they earned a life saver from the bucket.  When the life savers were all gone, the entire group earned an activity.  This reward system worked really well because it included instant gratification for their personal accomplishments and an opportunity to work towards something bigger.

{Sticker Chart}

Sticker charts are a really common reward system, you can even find some cute free printables out there.  When I first started rewarding my kids I used a sticker chart and made sure that they were rewarded very quickly.  For instance, after earning only 5 stickers on their chart they could choose a small toy out of a basket.  Now that they are older and under the the concept I have extended it and it takes awhile for them to fill their sticker chart and earn their reward.

{Rewards}

Personally, I like having my kids earn activities rather than toys or treats.  For us, we already have a lot of toys and I don't really need more clutter, and we have treats fairly often as a family anyway so an activity is more unique.  Plus, an activity gives me a chance to spend some special one-on-one time with that child or to do something fun with the whole family.  Some of the activities that my kids enjoy working towards are: trip to McDonald's, swimming, having a friend sleepover, trip to the zoo, going out for ice cream, going to a park, and playing games together.  Most of these activities are pretty simple, so you can see that they don't have to be pricy or complicated.

You can also offer a reward in parts.  For instance, if your child likes crafts, they could earn beads for a bracelet or other craft that you will do together when they have earned all of the parts.

Another really great incentive is a hand-written note from you to your child.  You'll be amazed how excited they get to receive their own personalized "mail"--and you can express how proud you are of their accomplishments, which is another great positive reinforcement for their good behavior.

This is not an all-inclusive list, so fill free to be creative with your rewards and do things for them that they will really enjoy--after all, as their parent, you probably know your kid better than anyone.

Have you tried reward systems in the past??  Please share with us your experience and what you tried.  We're all learning together here, so any feedback you have would be great!

Lemonade In A Bag

Adding a little variety to your dinnertime meal doesn't need to be difficult.


This idea is very simple and delicious! Here's what you'll need:

Lemonade Supplies
lemons
sugar
water
ziplock bags

Place a lemon and ziplock bag on everyone's plate before dinner.  Also set out some sugar and water on the dinner table.

Cut your lemon in fourths and place 1/4 in the ziplock bag.  Seal the bag and squish the lemon until you get all the juice out.  This is the fun part, you're kids will love it--even those that are more sensitive to textures because they are able to participate and feel the textures without getting messy.

When you have squeezed out all the juice from the lemon slice, add the same amount of water as you have lemon juice and add sugar to taste.  You can either add a straw and sip your lemonade straight from the bag or pour your lemonade into a cup.  Either way the lemonade is fresh and delicious and is perfect for any summer or fall dinner.

What a great refreshing summer treat! 

Rewarding Summer Homework

This summer I had the kids doing homework so they did not get too far behind for school in fall by forgetting everything they had been learning.  I didn't assign a lot of homework.  The math, reading, and handwriting worksheets only took them about 30 minutes to complete.  But it was still good to keep them in learning mode.

For the math portion, I used the Khanacademy.com website which is a great online resource for learning and practicing math skills because the problems progressively get a little harder as you improve.  This website also provides hints and solutions to make sure that your kids understand the answers.  It is also a great way for your school kids to practice their computer skills.  Just click on "Practice" at the top of the page and you'll lots of different math topics to choose from.  I also included my own timed math tests as part of the homework.

For reading, I had my kids choose a book and read it out loud with me.  Then to practice their handwriting, they had lined paper to practice.  We're working on cursive letters, so I gave them a writing sample they had to copy to have them practice the different letters.

As an incentive for completing all of their summer homework, my kids earned a tickets.  

I made my own tickets by putting stickers on some small rectangular pieces of card stock.  You can also purchase a large amount of tickets at Michaels or other general store.

Then the weekend before school started they were able to "cash in" their tickets at our own homemade movie theater.  I simple displayed some movies that we already had (because, let's me honest, we have quite a few that we don't watch very often).  I also made a "Show Times" schedule to make our movie theater more realistic.

I had a small concession stand available where they could use their to purchase Pizza, candy, popcorn, drinks, and cotton candy.  I made sure to get my kids' favorite treats and drinks for them to buy at the concession stand.

You can decide how many tickets each movie or treat is worth, you can see my "prices" for the concessions in the picture above. 

Even though school has just started for many school-aged kids, you can still reward them for a summer of hard work.  Or, now as they complete their real homework, this could be a good reward/incentive to work towards--a fun movie night with the family!

{Tuesday's Tip} Coping with Nightmares

I wanted to share a few ideas on how to help children overcome nightmares.  Children have such active imaginations--so here are some tips when you need to combat nightmares, monsters, witches, and all things that go bump in the night.

Dream Catchers

Dream catchers can help your children forget about the nightmares they had during the night.  First, hang a dream catcher over your children's bed.  When they are dreaming at night, all the good dreams they have will escape and pass through the holes in the web.  But the bad dreams they have don't know how to pass through the web and get captured in the web (just like in a spider's web).  In the morning, when the sun light shines through the window and onto the dream catcher (or when you turn on the light, if you have no windows), the light destroys all of the bad dreams.

To get your kids more involved, make a dream catcher as a craft.  Recently I had my children make dream catchers and they turned out so cute.  I searched online for ideas and found this website that I liked: thatartististwoman.org.  On this website, she has all of the instructions for making a dream catcher.  Basically you use a lid from a container (like sour cream).  Cut out the middle.  Wrap the outside with yarn.  Then use string to make the web inside, including one bead for the spider.  There are even simpler ideas as well using a paper plate, punching holes around the outside and string yarn through.  Any kind of dream catcher will work just as well on dreams.

Monster spray

Buy a can of air freshener that is used only for monsters at night.  Before bed every night you or your child can use the monster spray in the closet, under the bed, and around the room.

Night light/flashlight

Keep a night light in your children's rooms at night.  Also let them have a small flash light near their bed that they can use at any time.  When they get scared they can shine it around the room and they don't need to be afraid of the dark.

Read books

There are a lot of children's books that can help children cope with their bad dreams.  Some good nightmare books to read are:

There's an Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer

There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer

There's Something in My Attic by Mercer Mayer

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Berentein Bears And the Bad Dream by Jan and Stan Berenstein

Sing a lullaby

Sing songs that comfort and relax your children before they go to sleep.  Or you can turn on a quiet CD in your children's rooms to help them get to sleep.  The children should be asleep by the time the CD is done and stops playing.

Just love your children and comfort them as needed 

This advice is basic but definitely the most important thing to remember when calming your children's fears.

Prayer  

Never underestimate the power of prayer.  Prayer will help bring comfort for your children and peace to your home.

Rapunzel Mystery Dinner: Tangled Web We Weave

This is a very simplified version of the mystery dinners you can buy, and my kids all loved it!  To do a mystery dinner with kids, they just need something simple and straight forward with a few mysteries and puzzles to figure out.

Here's how I created our own Rapunzel Mystery Dinner.

{Invitation} Give everyone an invitation with an assigned role of who they will be at dinner that night (like the maid, queen, king, princess, prince, butler, etc.).  Leave the invitation in a place where each person will find it.  I put the invitations in plain sight on everyone's beds.  The invitation should also include the date and time of the dinner and any other mystery dinner instructions (like if they should dress-up, etc.).

{Click here to print your own Mystery Dinner invitations.}

{Rapunzel Mystery Plot} The princess, Rapunzel, has been taken from the castle.  She needs to be found....HURRY!! 

{To start it off} Just before dinner a "mysterious" person rings the door bell and leaves a clue.  The kids run to the door to answer it and find the clue on the door step.  Everyone gathers around to read the clue together.

                  {Clue #1} If you ever want to see your Rapunzel again, you will need to do something for me first!  To find the next clue go to the Snuggly Duckling.
    Signed, Lady Gothel

{The Snuggly Duckling}

{Sunggly Duckling} Before you start the mystery, hang a sign for the Snuggly Duckling in the dining area and decorate it like the thieves hideout.  After reading the first clue, go to the "Snuggly Duckling" (or the dining room).  Everyone's dinner should be served and ready to eat.  Sit down and start eating dinner together.  In the center of the table there is a yellow flower (real or fake) with another clue next to it, only slightly hidden so that the kids will find it while eating dinner.  Read the clue #2 together.
         
                {Clue  #2} Bring me back what once was mine!  It must go back to where it came from.  When you return it, you will find the third clue.

But first you must sing the healing song like an opera singer:

"Flower gleam and glow
Let your power shine
Let the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine
What once was mine."

Once you do this, I will begin to feel stronger. Now go and follow ALL of the instructions!
Signed, Lady Gothel

{Clue #2 & flower garden puzzle}

{Healing Song} Follow the instructions and sing the healing song in opera-style.  This is sure to include a lot of giggling and silliness if your family is like mine!

      {Puzzle} Along with clue #2, include a puzzle of where you need to return the flower.  I took a picture of our flower garden and then cut into puzzle pieces.  Put the puzzle pieces back together to learn where Rapunzel's flower (sitting in the middle of the table) needs to be returned to.

* To add more "mystery," have the power go out and finish eating dinner by lantern light.  Also, it is fun to include magnifying glasses, flashlights, etc. so that everyone can feel like they are doing real detective work while figuring out where the princess could be and what to do with clue #2.

{Flower garden} When you finish with dinner, remember that part of the clue was to,  "Bring back what once was mine."  Take the yellow flower from the table and plant it in the flower garden.  Then look for clue #3 and read it together.

{Clue #3} This is where you will find your Rapunzel!
Signed, Lady Gothel

{Clue #3 & close-up picture puzzles}

{Close-up Pictures} With clue #3, include two different close-up pictures of where Rapunzel is hiding.

{Rapunzel's tower}

We have a swing set, so I decorated it to look like "Rapunzel's tower" with a few vines and flowers and took close-up pictures of that.  The kids have to figure out what location the pictures are from and then go there to look for Rapunzel.

{Find Rapunzel} When the kids have figured out the close-up pictures, that is where they need to go to find Rapunzel.  You can use a doll to represent Rapunzel, or print a coloring page from Tangled.

If you use a swing set, have the kids climb the ladder to find the Princess Rapunzel.  Once they have found Rapunzel they need to hurry to safety (by sliding down the slide) and carrying the princess all the way back to the "castle" (or the house).  

{Celebration} Now that the princess has been safely returned home, you can all celebrate by sharing a yummy dessert together! :)

You may also want to end the night by watching a movie together, like Tangled, of course!

* If you decide to host your own Rapunzel Mystery Dinner, please leave a comment and let us know!! We would love your feedback and to hear your own great ideas. Also, we recently added the invitation as a printable. If there is anything else we can include that would make this activity easier for you, please let us know!

Tea Party

Today was just a day for my daughter and I.  I considering going out somewhere to do something.  But then I thought, why not relax today.  It feels like we are always going places, rushing from place to place to do things and get things done.  Sometimes my daughter just needs to be home together--and we both enjoy it.  So we kept it simple and played at home.

So, instead of going out...

we hosted a tea party.  A baby doll tea party.

Together we got out the easy bake oven (that my daughter has wanted to use for awhile), found a recipe and baked a mini cake.  We also made some graham cracker cookies with chocolate frosting (one of my favorite treats growing up).  We got out her little card table, spread a table cloth, and then set the table with my nice china dishes.  Instead of tea we filled the tea pot with milk and I sliced a few plums to balance out the sweets.

After the table was set, my daughter collected her baby dolls and we all gathered around the table for the tea party.

After we were done eating we played one UNO--a fun, family card game.  We both had so much fun today--talking, pretending, and laughing together!

{Tuesday's Tip} Climb Every Mountain

All summer I've been wanting to go on a local hike.  Yesterday, I finally did it!  It was just me my baby yesterday with no other appointments, so I packed us up and off we went.

I used a hiking backpack for the trip to carry my baby on my back.  The backpack I used has a shade canopy and a pouch to carry other essential items.  In the pouch I carried some water and snacks for both of us along with my camera and extra baby clothes in case the lake area was cold.

There are lots of different styles of hiking backpacks out there.  These backpacks are great for both the carrier and the baby because: 1) the carrier has the advantage of using his/her hips (and legs) to carry the bulk of the weight instead of it resting all on your back and shoulders, and 2) the baby gets to sit comfortably and either enjoy the view or take a nap.

We are blessed to live so close to beautiful mountains where I live.  I picked a hike up a local canyon that I had never done before and one that I thought would challenge me, but not take all day.  I chose to hike up to White Pine Lake.

Being in nature all by yourself gives you a lot of time to think.  To be honest, I kept asking myself on the way to the lake, "Are you sure you can make it all the way with a baby on your back?!"  But each time I just kept hiking and, eventually, we made it!

We didn't stay at the lake for very long.  Just long enough to rest, stretch our legs, and have lunch.  But it was still so much fun!

If you want to find out about hiking trails--easy or hard--you can purchase brochures and books online or at your local bookstore or town visitor's center.

You can also find several hikes available online.  Here are some websites I found helpful:

1. http://www.utah.com/hike/
This website is for all of Utah, although it does not include


2. http://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/uwcnf/recreation
This website is for the Unita-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.  There is a list of other ranger districts in Utah on the right column of this page.


3. http://www.tourcachevalley.com/outdoor/hiking.php
This website is for Cache Valley only.  But you can go to your own city or county website and search for hiking trail information.

4. http://www.trails.com/
This website was very helpful.  However, my search was limited because I don't have a login.

5. http://www.localhikes.com/Default.asp
This website shows a list of hiking trails near U.S. metropolitan areas in every state.


6. http://logancanyonhiking.com/
This website is specific to hiking trails in Logan Canyon, UT.


It's such a great feeling to finish something you started and to achieve one of your goals.  Good luck finding a hiking trail near you.  Now is the perfect time of year for hiking, so go out and enjoy!

Sherlock Holmes Date Night

I saw this "Clue Mystery Puzzle" and thought it would make a fun activity for my husband and I when the kids went to bed.  Like a "date". :)

The puzzle comes with a mystery scenario that you read.  When you complete the puzzle, you try and figure out what happened and solve the mystery.

While we put the puzzle together, we watched episodes of the new BBC Sherlock Holmes series (what do you think of the series?).  You could also watch either of the recent Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downey Jr, both are fun mysteries. 

Wacky Wednesday Dinner Night

Sometimes I feel like my family can be so silly.  So they inspired me to have a "Wacky Wednesday" night at dinner time.

On Wednesday morning I gave everyone an invitation to our Wacky Wednesday Dinner Night.  On the invite it specified some of the dinner details.

{Click here to print your own Wacky Wednesday Dinner Night invitations}
The day, time, and place are left blank for you to fill in.

On the invitation it specified to wear "wacky" clothes.  For example, wearing mismatched socks, backwards pants, inside-out shirt, one pant leg rolled up high and the other down, multiple layers, mixing clothing styles, etc.  Everyone came up with their own wacky ensembles then came to dinner.

We each took turns modeling and presenting our wacky outfits.

Some were pretty funny!

Then we read a Dr. Suess classic called Wacky Wednesday.  It's a quick read, so we read it before dinner. 

At dinner, I wanted to make things "wacky" so I set the table by putting things in weird places.  Some things were upside down (including the pictures on the walls) and some were in odd containers (like the blender for holding sugar and the Halloween bowl for the casserole).

I hung a few items from the ceiling and light fixture that weren't normally hanging there and used different objects as our seats instead of our regular kitchen chairs (like an exercise ball).

I also added some unusual silverware to the place settings (like using a measuring cup instead of regular drinking glass).

All this wackiness made for lots of laughing during dinner time.  My kids loved discovering all of the wacky things I had set at the table and we all had fun trying to eat dinner in such a wacky way!

{Tuesday's Tip} S-L-O-W Down

Last week I decided to play in the back yard.

We had a relaxing BBQ for dinner--fish and veggies.

{Ladder Golf}

Then I set up our ladder golf game. As we were playing and having fun, the thought came to me, "I need to slow down!"

 I don't need to go somewhere else to be entertained. There are lots of things we can do right here at home and we can have just as much fun (if not more fun) together!

Sometimes I get it in my head that we need to go somewhere to have fun.  We are always going and rushing places.  Instead, I need to slow down and enjoy activities at home.

Here are a few other games we like to play in the back yard:

{Bocci Ball}

bocci ball, soccer, frisbee, 

{Croquet}

croquet, volleyball, and badminton. 

Pick one and have a stay-at-home, slow-down evening!

Easy Flannel Board Stories

You probably thought I'd be done with flannel boards by now...but there are just so many great crafts and activities that you can do with flannel boards!

Today I'm sharing how to make the quickest and easiest flannel board figures ever!  All you need is some Pellon, a permanent marker, crayons, and pictures from a coloring book or story.

So the first thing you need is the Pellon.  You can purchase Pellon at the fabric store, it is sold on the bolt like other fabric.  Pellon comes in different thicknesses.  I prefer the type that is light weight but pretty stiff.

Once you have your Pellon, place it over the picture you want to create, get your black permanent marker and simply trace the picture and then color it in.  

I like to use crayons to color on Pellon.  You can use markers but they tend to be messier and smear. 

When you've finished coloring your picture, you can cut it out.  Now your picture is ready to use on your flannel board!

With Pellon, you can make all kinds of characters and pictures to use in telling a story or singing a song.  FOr instance, you can make five monkeys for the song "Five Little Monkeys," or farm animals for "Old McDonald."  It would be fun to turn a favorite picture book into a flannel board story as well.

With older kids, they can trace and color the pictures themselves--it could keep them entertained for hours!

See, I told you it was quick and easy. :)