Spring Activities

Since it's officially Spring, I'm going to put up my list of activities to-do with the kids. Right now, we're more focused on Easter crafts, but next week we're going to start back checking things off our list! Some of these activities are completely obvious and others not so much. But maybe it'll help someone with their "what to do" dilemma. And the list makes a useful point of reference for me. 

1. Park
2. Roller Skating /Biking/ Skateboarding. ...you know, feet on wheels?
3. Bubble Play
4. Pool Play (I actually blogged about this, you can read that here. It's definitely something we're going to do again this year! )
5. Walks/Jogs
6. Milkshakes/Ice Cream
7. Painting Outside . Let the kids paint the yard in washable paint, it'll rain eventually!
8. Spring Photos
9. Rainy Day Outdoor Play - it's the perfect whether to play in the rain! We jumped puddles and danced in the rain the other day during our walk.
10. Cookout- the kids can help prep the food and you can enjoy a dinner under the stars/clouds/sun.
11. Field day. This is me reliving my childhood and giving them one all at one time. One leg races, bobbing for apples, tug of war, dodgeball; our family is gonna play it all!
12. Star Gazing ...or take it a step further with backyard camping or just go camping
13. Hiking. I wouldn't do this, because I'm not one with nature, but my husband plans on doing this with our boys.
14. Fishing. Again, another one I won't participate in.
15. Shopping Spree. It's nice to just let the kids blow $25 at Dollar Tree every once in a while. And letting them help pick out their much needed Spring/Summer clothes is a must do!
16. Chalk. Bring back hop scotch!
17. Slip n Slide. This is more fun than a pool, because you get muddy.
18. Sports. It's a good time to play some football, baseball, basketball, soccer, etc. Or to practice flips and cheers.
19. Water balloon fights.
20. Nature Exploration. Find bugs and plants, observe and discuss them.
21. Outdoor Interactive Story Time. Change of scenery.
22. Gardening.

I'll probably add to the list if I think of anything else they want to do, or if they think of anything else they want to do.  But for now, we'll have tons of fun focusing on the 22 items already listed. 

Autumn Wine Glasses

The last few days I haven't had much going on. Instead of wasting everyone's time with fillers, I just did not post. I'd rather say what I want to say than take the time to write something that I don't even find interesting. 

The last two or three weeks I've been slack. I will be the first to admit, I am easily distracted from my to-do list.  We went on vacation a couple of weeks ago, then we weren't feeling well, and I pretty much dropped the ball on my boy's schooling. We've verbally reviewed everything randomly, but they haven't sat down and done work in a while.  

Today we resumed class work, and the boys weren't too psyched. So I planned an awesome activity to kickstart their mood (and mine) before we did our overdue table work.

After breakfast, I collected fingerprints on wine glasses. I stuck with Autumn colors: red, yellow, orange.  

We then cleaned up,  headed outside & collected some Fall memorabilia.

I gave them both plastic bags & told them what to collect: leaves, acorns, tiny sticks.  While we tread the yard, I incorporated some education. I had them describe the weather  (which was perfect and  "Autumn" like) , review colors and count things.  And my sweet boys even gave me a few gifts of dirt and kisses.  And fought each other with sticks.

 

Once we came in, we sat at the table. I let them explain all their findings. We compared things and I even had them describe the textures.  After we finished discussing everything, they put their findings in their wine glasses, and I sat them on the mantle for everyone to see.

I guess I had the right idea;  we got through school seamlessly afterwards. They were focused and energetic (but not too energetic), and I couldn't be happier with how our afternoon began.  Not to mention our outdoor activity mixed "adventure" with science, English, and a little bit of math.

Originally I was going to use jars, but we didn't have any. I am glad, though, I think the wine glasses added a special touch that made this project look just perfect.