Though this afternoon’s squirt gun painting wasn’t planned, a monstrous hour and 45 minute clean-up after quiet play time didn’t leave us much time before dinner, so we ditched our other {more involved} painting plans and tried something super simple and quick to set up!
Tag Archives: outdoor summer activities
SPARKLY Sidewalk Chalk Paint
I’m not going to lie… We’ve been here in Kuwait for less than two weeks and I’m already going a little crazy. The trouble is, as of now, we don’t have a vehicle. Not because we don’t want one – we’ll be purchasing something as soon as possible – but because we need things like bank accounts and civil identifications before buying, and those things take time to acquire {lots and lots of time}. In a place like Vancouver, you can easily do without. Public transit is easy, as is walking or biking. Sidewalks are plentiful and things like parks and community centres and playgrounds and coffee shops are most often a short distance away. Here, not so much. It’s amazing how much you miss having sidewalks when they’re no longer around… In all fairness, we do have a Starbucks and a small playground within walking distance, but with the current state of our budding neighbourhood, they’re a {very hot} 30 minute walk through deep sand, trash, and construction sites away. Taxiing would be our other option. They’re inexpensive and plentiful, but in a country that doesn’t really do car seats, me lugging our 26 pound seat downstairs, installing it while attempting to supervise Miss G nearby, then lugging it around at our destination isn’t really feasible. And so, we stay at the apartments, making the most of our days inside or down in the courtyard and common play areas for now. It’s a great practice in patience for an always-on-the-go gal like me and it’s definitely pushing me to be creative in coming up with fun and engaging activities using minimal supplies.
Today as we rooted through a box of craft supplies we brought from Canada, Gracen enthusiastically retrieved a 6-pack of glitter pouches and asked if we could use them to make something. Though I’m normally up for a mess in the name of good fun, I didn’t particularly feel like having an apartment full of glitter today (the fact that we don’t yet own a dustpan may have something to do with it), so I quickly thought of something we could do with it outdoors – add it to our go-to homemade sidewalk chalk paint! The recipe is one of our very favourites because of its simplicity and the fact that you really only need two kitchen ingredients and some water to make it, and adding glitter could only make it better, right?
Floating Flowers… Fun for Pools, Baths, & Sensory Bins
When we went to pick up a pool noodle for Gracen’s marble run water slide, she originally fell in love with a flower-shaped noodle. While I knew it wouldn’t be the best fit for our marble run, at $1.25, I knew we would eventually figure out a way to put it to good use.
It was my first time seeing this sort of pool noodle, and all I knew was that I wanted to slice it up to create tons of little individual flower shapes.
So that’s just what I did. Just like when slicing a pool noodle in half vertically, I found that using a sharp, serrated knife and a sawing motion worked best. I sliced ours about an inch thick, but you could do them any thickness you like – even varying thicknesses would be fun!
As I chopped, Miss G ran the ready flowers over to her blow up pool and tossed them in!
It’s such a simple thing, but they looked so pretty and inviting dancing around on the water’s surface. (I’m already picturing them in bath tubs and sensory bins too!)
I think Miss G agreed, because she immediately jumped in {despite the freezing cold water} and started splashing around like mad!
When the splashing had subsided a little bit, Grandma Charlotte showed Grae how the flowers could be used as building blocks.
It’s definitely easier in still-ish water, but it’s equally fun when in or out of the pool. Towers can be built…
Pyramids can be built…
And ‘trains’ can be built too! Of course, the possibilities are really endless when it comes to building structures – even when they’re floating ones.
Now the only question is how I’m going to convince Brad that heaps of pool noodle flowers are a Kuwait necessity… I mean with the heat and the amount of time we spend in and around water there, they are, aren’t they? ☺
Frozen SCENTED Sidewalk Chalk Popsicles
When I saw this post from Reading Confetti, I immediately fell in love. We’ve made our own sidewalk chalk paint for a long while now and I’d seen many frozen versions, but never had I seen them made in popsicle moulds before! After sharing the idea on our Facebook page and pinning it on several Pinterest boards, I made a mental note to pick up some more cornstarch the next time I was out so we could get the project under way.
Well luckily for me, not only did I remember to pick up cornstarch during our next grocery shop, but I also ran into these Duncan Hines Frosting Creations packets for the first time ever. Immediately, I knew our frozen chalk pops would be scented. A few days later, Miss G and I gathered up our materials and got to work.
Using our tried and true sidewalk chalk paint method, we mixed 2 cups of warm water with 1 cup of cornstarch in our blender for a minute or so. Then we collected our popsicle moulds, our Frosting Creation packets, some gel food colouring (liquid will work too, but the colours won’t be nearly as intense), and several popsicle sticks.
Next up, I used the popsicle sticks to scoop a small amount of gel food colouring into each popsicle mould, and Miss G selected a Frostings Creation packet to coordinate with each colour before we added a small amount (maybe 1/8th of the packet) to each slot. (If you’re making this at home and can’t find the frosting flavour packets, you could always use unsweetened Kool-Aid or Jell-O powder instead.)
With our food colouring and powdered scent ready, we filled each popsicle mould about 2/3rds full of our cornstarch/water combo and Gracen stirred them well.
Then we topped them up with a little bit more cornstarch/water and Grae gently stirred them a little more.
At that point, all that was left to do was put our plastic handles in and freeze the chalk pops overnight.
The next day, they looked like this. The colours were vibrant, the texture was smooth and creamy, and they smelled absolutely delicious.
The blue one smelled like cotton candy, the green one was mint chocolate, the red was strawberry shortcake, and the orange was orange creme… YUM. The only potentially bad news is that because they do look so real and smell so wonderfully, some munchkins may be tempted to try eating them (yuck!) That being said, because they’re made strictly of kitchen ingredients, they are technically safe to consume. So though they may taste chalky and gross, they certainly wouldn’t harm a curious little monkey who snuck a lick.
With our fun new chalk pops in hand, we headed into the backyard to test them out. The verdict? They’re really awesome!
When they’re melting and drippy, they go on much like their liquid counterpart does, only via a wand of sorts instead of a paintbrush. When they’re not melting, they go on much like regular sidewalk chalk does – dry and colourful with a little bit of pressure. When dry, the colours are super vibrant and to me, they look very much like they’ve been made with regular sidewalk chalk.
By the time our chalk pops had melted, our cement pad was fully covered in bright swirls, drawings, drips, and letters. And the great news is that it all washed away really easily without any fuss – much easier than our sidewalk chalk paint normally does for some reason.
I can’t wait to pull this activity out again in Kuwait where the temperatures soar and our courtyard is made completely of cement.
♥
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Super Simple 5 Minute Backyard Teepee
First off, I have to say that my Baba is hands down one of the most amazing, wonderful women I know. She’s one of those ladies who can truly do anything… From sewing to cooking to running a farm, fixing things, painting, gardening, building things, and entertaining – she excels at all. Oh, and at 70 something years old, having never used a computer or the internet, she bought herself an iPad and taught herself how to use it too. Amazing, right? (Hi Baba! Love you!) ☺
Growing up, my little brother and I would spend a week or two at my Baba’s house each summer. Our days out at the farm were wonderful. We spent nearly all of our time outdoors… We herded cattle, carried huge buckets of grain out each morning, and watched calves being born. We roamed through massive gardens with freedom to pick and eat as much as we pleased. We devoured fresh peas off the vine, ate up buckets of raspberries, and wandered around with long stalks of rhubarb with little glass bowls of dipping sugar. Baba taught us how to use the ride-on mower, make pedaheh from scratch, and draw with artists’ pencils and shading sticks – all of the things childhoods should be made of.
But above all other adventures and activities that took place on that farm, the one that stands out most in my mind – the one that was most anticipated each year – was building a backyard teepee. Baba would take us out into the forest, small saw in hand, and we’d cut down the trees that would form the structure of our new home. We’d drag them back, position them and tie them up, then drape them in sheets until our teepee was fully enclosed. Perhaps the very best part was furnishing it afterwards. We’d carefully separate the space in half, position our mattresses and end tables (Baba doesn’t mess around), then stock it up with blankets, flashlights, snacks, books, and activities. I can’t even describe how cool it all seemed as a child.
Recently, I introduced the magic of backyard teepees to Miss G. Nothing that could rival one of the ones my Baba used to make, but a teepee none the less. Our first one was a completely impromptu build, but it was so quick and easy that we’ve made them the same way each time since. Here’s how we put together our super simple backyard teepee in no longer than five minutes…
First up, the materials… We use 6 6-foot tall bamboo stakes (purchased at any store that has a decent gardening section), a king-sized sheet, some jute, and 10 – 12 clothespins.
To start out, I push the stakes into the ground just an inch or two to form a circle with an open front. (As you can see, G likes to stand in the middle and have me build around her. ☺)
Next, I gather up the top of the stakes in one hand (there really isn’t a right way to do this – I just grab them and how they come together is how they come together) and use the other hand to wrap the jute around. One thing I try to do while wrapping the jute is to weave it in and out of the stakes – this gives it some better holding power. When the jute seems secure, I tie it off in a bow so it’s easy to undo later.
With the structure built, it’s time to enclose it with the sheet. To do this, I simply drape the sheet around the stakes horizontally with the ends being at the front opening. To hold it in place temporarily, I bring the two sides of the sheet together at the top and secure it using a clothespin and add another two at the base of the two front stakes.
Next up, it’s time fix the positioning a little, smooth everything out, tuck in the extra fabric, and secure it all. I like to start at the front, making sure that both of the front stakes are fully covered and each side has a flap of extra fabric that can be used to close up the teepee completely if desired. To do this, I just tug and adjust until it’s the way I want it. With the sheet positioned properly, I move to the top and add several clothes pins to secure the sheet to the stakes. I usually use four, but you could put one on each of the 6 stakes if you wanted to. Then I go to the bottom and add a pin to each of the stakes, tucking under the extra fabric along the way if needed.
And that’s it – the basic teepee is complete. Super simple, right?
To make ours extra cozy, we always add a blanket in the bottom and a few throw cushions along the sides.
One of Gracen’s favourite parts is selecting an activity to bring into her teepee with her. Most often, it’s a stack of books to read, but today it was a stack of puzzles instead.
When we’re done playing for the day, we normally take down the sheet and bring everything inside, but leave the bamboo stake structure up, which makes for an even faster set up the next time and the time after that and the time after that…
♥
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