Summertime Fun: Get Out and Play!

By Guest Blogger, Laura Sieckmann from www.ecomomadventures.com

As most modern day families contending with never ending To-Do lists, it at times seems impossible to achieve anything beyond making sure the kids are fed and bathed. It is Summertime, the perfect time to make an excuse to put cleaning the windows and calling the tree trimmer at the bottom of the list in order to make room for some fun family time!   Here is a list of easy, quick and creative things that you can do to bring your family together for some fun quality time this Summer.

1.  Get Outside and Paint – A simple recipe of cornstarch, water and food coloring produces a great mix of sidewalk paint, just fill a muffin tin with your color creations, grab a few paint brushes and head outside to show off your inner Picasso, or to create triple tier hopscotch course.

If you are open to making a bit of a mess you can take your homemade paint and use it to fill squirt bottles and water balloons for a game of paint wars. Just make everyone is dressed in bathing suits or play clothes as the paint could stain.

2.  Play With Water – There are two great ways that you can get outside and experience water play. First, you can make your own homemade sprinkler which takes minutes and only requires a few things; a hose, an electric drill, water-proof tape and a large plastic bottle. Simply drill tons of holes (either random or in a pattern, depending on your preference) into the bottle and then tape it, creating a good seal, to your garden hose, turn on the faucet and enjoy!

Another fun outdoor water play activity is spongeballs. Take 3 colorful sponges, cut into thirds, scatter the colors, and stack them 3×3. Then take a rubber band and tie it around the center of the sponges and then fan them out and tada- you have spongeballs. Head outside with your spongeballs and a bucket of water for each person, sit everyone in a circle behind their bucket and you can play a game where you try and land your spongeballs into others buckets of water. It is a messy, but fun game!

3. Plant Something and Watch it Grow – After spring, most home improvement stores have seed packets on sale of up to 75% off. Making Summer the perfect time to stock up on seeds and to get outside and plant something. Whether you choose to plant flowers, tomatoes or herbs, it is an amazing experience to place a seed in soil and watch it grow into a producing plant that gives you delicious food, or beautiful flower to enjoy. Make the choice this Summer to invest the few hours it will take to plant, water, tend and harvest from seed which is a great activity and way to spend time outdoors with your family.

4.  Make Fruit Pops – Ignore the musical lulls of the Ice Cream Man this year and stay ahead of the game by making your own healthy pops to eat outdoors. You can purchase pop molds, typically for under $10 at big box stores like Target or at places like Home Goods or Marshalls. While there are tons of recipes out there for homemade popsicles, if you stick to a few basics, you cannot fail. In a blender, mix together your desired variety of the following:

Liquid-Any or all of the following works great- coconut milk or water, flavored almond milk, real fruit juice.
Fruit- Both frozen or fresh fruit work, use your favorite combination, favorites include; berries, mango, peaches, kiwi, pineapple or melon.
Veggies- A wonderful addition to a pop to give it a healthy punch so a few ideas for delicious additions to include in your blended pop are; avocado, spinach, kale and carrots.
Other Add-Ons- Coconut flakes, ground flax seed, whole pieces of fruit (not included in the blending), greek yogurt, honey, chocolate, nut butter, green tea and for the adults- hard cider or champagne.

About Laura:

 

I am a full time mommy forever embarking upon adventures all the while maintaining a conscious mind to stay healthy and green!
Check her out on  http://www.ecomomadventures.com/