activities for the rest of summer...

Last week I was asked to come up with a list of fun backyard activities for kids for a backyard themed enrichment activity. I thought I would share some of our family favorites so you could do them with your kiddos before summer is over :)

Homemade Bubbles•1/4 Cup Baby Shampoo (no-sting type)

•3/4 Cup Water •3 Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
•Measuring Cups and Spoons
•Mixing Bowl •Mixing Spoon
•Thin Wire
•Pie Plate

Mix the baby shampoo, water, and light corn syrup in a bowl. Stir the ingredients gently so you don't create lots of bubbles; let the bubbles settle. Bend an end of a piece of thin wire into a circle; this is your bubble blower. Pour some of the bubble mixture into a pie plate, dip the circle into the bubble mixture, and then blow to create some bubbles! For more bubble experimentation, make other shapes out of thin wire. Make a triangle, square, hexagon, or other shape out of the thin wire. See if the bubble shapes are any different depending on the shape of the blower. You can also blow bubbles with a plastic berry basket.

Flashlight Tag

An easy and fun backyard game to play at night! Make sure your yard it clear of any obstacles that someone could trip over in the dark. Everyone must have a flashlight and you're tagged if you're "hit" by the flashlight's beam.

Cold Potato

A full water balloon with a small leak is passed around from kid to kid, the goal is to not be the one holding the leaky balloon when it's totally emptied.

Starry Night

Set out a blanket and with Constellation map in hand help your children discover the moon, plants and stars. Read nursery rhymes, poems and short stories about the night sky. For a snack have Milky Ways, Starbursts, Atomic Fireballs, Pop Rocks and Mars candies.