Picnic and Popsicles

Monday's summer activity was to have an outdoor picnic. Monday morning we went to the gym at 8:30, then I had a doctor's appointment at 10:30, and finally the kids and I went to the Arboretum after the appointment to have our picnic. When we got there I noticed Thunder Cloud Subs closed down so our only option for food was Five Guys Burgers. I would have much rather made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before going, but since they would have been in the hot car since 8:30 that morning, I decided to buy food at the Arboretum. The kids love cheeseburgers, so it was just fine. We don't get to go to the Arboretum very often since it's across town and the kids were very excited to run around and climb on the cow statues. The weather was absolutely perfect, a beautifully overcast day, absolutely perfect for an outdoor picnic. The kids played on the cows for a while, ate their lunch, and then played for about another 30 minutes. When it was time to go the kids wanted to stay and play for longer, but it was getting close to nap time so we had to hit the road.


Tuesday we decided to make homemade Popsicles. We went to the grocery store that morning and bought strawberries and watermelon. At home I showed the kids how we puree fruits in our magic bullet and then poured the juice into our popsicle holders. (Thanks Mom for the magic bullet! Best thing ever!!!) After nap time the popsicles were ready to eat! The kids ate their homemade popsicles with a smile.

My Little Gymnast

Heidi started gymnastics in January and has loved going every week. She has improved so much in the few months she's been going. She can now do a cartwheel, forward roll, and she attempts a handstand. Her upper and lower body strength has also improved and she can now jump off the springboard. This week they had an "awards" day and gave the parents a few minutes to take pictures of the kids doing gymnastics. Here is her gymnastics scrapbook page.

Sidewalk Chalk

What summer would be complete without sidewalk chalk?? Friday's summer activity was to draw on the driveway with sidewalk chalk. We normally do sidewalk chalk on the back porch, but for a fun change we moved to the driveway. Hopefully the HOA will not fine us for our beautiful art work, and if they do.. oh well, the kids are only young once. Heidi and Noah had a blast drawing on the driveway and now they can't wait for daddy to come home and see their masterpiece.

Airplanes

Thursday's summer activity was to make paper airplanes... but not your typical paper airplane. Again, I found inspiration from pinterest and found these paper and straw airplanes to make. They were quick and easy to make and once again the kids had a blast playing with them. If I were to do them again I would let the kids color the paper first and then make the airplane. After making the planes they took them upstairs to the playroom and flew them all around. Another great summer activity! Later in the day we practiced writing the letter A, for Airplane!

Wednesday:

Wednesday's activity was to make a photo collage using old magazines. I took poster boards and drew a tree on them and then gave the kids magazines, scissors, and glue. They cut out lots of pictures and had fun gluing them inside the tree. They spent about an hour this morning cutting and gluing, it was a great start to our day! After they were done with that part I printed preschool worksheets with the letter T and pictures of trees for the kids to practice writing. Heidi loves practicing her letters and Noah is finally starting to get interesting in writing letters. Ben said it sounds like I'm homeschooling the kids, but trust me... this is just a way to keep the kids from getting bored this summer.

Summer Fun

This summer I have made a list of summer activities we are going to do.

Each day we'll pick one activity, some will be indoor activities and some will be outdoor. Today's activity was to make homemade ice cream. The kids were very excited about this one. We followed the recipe from a blog I found on pinterest: http://www.vippins.com/how-to-make-homemade-ice-cream-in-a-baggie/.

I set all the ingredients out in cups and bowls before we started so the kids could pour in each thing by themselves. Then they stirred the mixture and finally I shook the mixture till it was thick like ice cream. Heidi tried to shake it, but it was too cold for her hands. Noah didn't even try. The kids were so excited to eat the ice cream they made themselves. It was a fun start to our summer vacation.

Preschool Lessons

Here are some lessons I, the mommy, has learned from preschool:

1. Empty your child's shoes before coming in the house, otherwise you'll have half the playground on your living room floor. (lesson learned on Sept. 6, 2011)

2. Little girls need to wear shorts under their dresses, especially if your child is a "monkey" on the playground. (lesson learned on Sept. 8, 2011)