Water Wall and Ice Balls

I have seen lots of water walls around like this ONE from Play Based Learning or this ONE from Teach Preschool, (both amazing and inspiring websites).  I have been wanting to try it but wasn't sure how to execute it on our wooden fence.  While cleaning out the shed, I found a box of storage containers and decided it was the perfect time to try it.  I used little nails and hammered the plastic containers to our fence.  Then I filled our table with water, although you can use whatever you have, of course.  I had made these giant ice balls (just fill a balloon with water and add a few drops of color), and was planning on using them in the sand box, but put them in the water instead.  It was huge hit with my son and a great way to cool off on a hot day!

Pin It

Supersized Water Bag

I first saw this over at The Mommies Made Me Do It, and have since seen lots of others. I knew it was something we had to try.  It couldn't be any cheaper either.  We picked up a plastic, paint tarp at Walmart for .98.  We had duct tape and the water from the hose already.  So basically, this cost less than 1.00 to do.  We did this back in April.  It was a nice, warm day, but not warm enough to get soaked.  So, this was perfect. 

To make the bag, simply fold the tarp in half, duct tape the ends together and leave a smallish opening for the hose to go in. After you fill it with water, simply tape the opening closed with more duct tape.

Try to find a flat spot in your yard, otherwise the bag will start moving downhill!

We actually filled this up in the front yard, emptied it and refilled it in the back yard the next day.  It did get a few leaks, but duct tape is a cure all in this case.  It is also super fun to get the top of the bag wet, makes for a giant slip n slide.

I went ahead and bought a couple of these tarps to use over the summer and every time, my kids have a blast.  We tried putting some object in it, but they just ended up huddled together on one side of the bag.  I would love to hear about your bags, if you make one. 

Stay cool!

Pin It

Rock Houses

If you have been following me for any length of time, you know that I am all about recycling and cheap!  I don't know if I can get any cheaper than this and my kids love this play set.  We washed out some juice and milk cartons, cut them in half and painted them with craft paint.  Then, we cut doors into our little "houses" and added some little details.  Next, we went out into the yard in search of some smallish rocks.  We looked for ones that we were able to stand up.  Then we painted those, added googly eyes and drew on mouths.  Voila!  Done and done.  Cute little play houses for our little pet rocks.  So fun, so cheap and recycling at the same time.  What's not to love??

Pin It

Handprint Mermaid

I didn't take pictures of us doing this project because I wasn't planning on blogging about it.  It just came out so lovely that I felt the need to share with all of you.  My daughter loves mermaids.  Anything and everything mermaids!  She wants a mermaid tail so she doesn't need to hold her breath under water.  She is mesmerized with them.  She really wanted to make one so I googled "mermaid crafts" and got this Hand print Mermaid, from Education.com.  I let her choose which colors of paint she wanted. We painted part of her arm and her 4 fingers purple and made a print on the paper to create the tail.  When the paint dried she drew in arms and the head, and glued on google eyes.  Then we painted her other hand pink and made a hand print for her hair.  I gave her some sparkles and we happened to have some foam fish stickers for the other details.  I just love it.  I am in search of the perfect frame for it. 

Pin It