Prepping for Summer Vacation

School ends June 14th and introduces something we have never had to deal with...a daughter who is used to structured activity, and lots of it!  Horror of horrors!  Well, I have been surfing Pinterest like the frazzled mama I am and stumbled upon one solution...The Jar of Fun! 

It was created by a homeschooling mama for her three little girls.  I will let you read the story on their blog at : The Daily Digi.  In essence you put 100 different activities in a jar and draw one a day for 100 days, the used activities go into the We Did It jar.

I counted the days and there cannot be more than 80 days between the last day in June and the first day in August (no clue when the start date is yet).  I spent a whole afternoon and evening searching Pinterest for different activities that are easy and do not take too many supplies.  I plan to have a large bin of the supplies needed for all the activities ready by June 14th so we can do any of the activities.

Below is the list in the order I came across them.  Some of them I will hyperlink for you, and they will open in another window so you don't have to keep using your back button.

1. Go for a walk
2. Do each other's makeup
3. Paint rocks
4. Read a book
5. Plant some seeds
6. Write a letter and mail it
7. Take silly photos and email them to Daddy
8. Do a photo scavenger hunt
9. Make breakfast for dinner
10. Bake cookies for someone and deliver them
11. Try a new recipe together
12. Make a time capsule (include predictions for the future)
13.  Cut sponges into shapes and make sponge paintings
14. Make play dough (I will post this recipe below, it is the one my mommy used)
15. Make sock puppets
16. Make paper beads
17. Make bath paints
18. Write a story together and illustrate it
19. Build an indoor blanket fort
20. Play Hot/Cold
21. Play red-light/green-light
22. Make popcorn and watch a movie
23. Make mud pies
24. Have a water gun fight
25. Make homemade bubbles and bubble wands
26. Make tambourines using disosable plates and beans, then staple closed.  Decorate
27. Create a Family Chore Chart
28. Have a tea party
29. Make a collage with a theme
30. Go outside with a pair of binoculars
31. Create party hats and wear at dinner
32. Make placemats for dinner
33. Make masks from paper plates
34. Make a bunch of birthday cards so you have them when you need them
35. Make your own memory game
36. Make a windchime
37. Sidewalk chalk
38. Make garden stepping stones
39. Make a nature journal
40. Make paper fans
41. Paint a sheet with watered down acryllic paint in a spray bottle
42. Make smoothie popsicles
43. Make rain sticks
44. Make a dream catcher
45. Make a tin can windsock
46. Make treasure stones
47. Spray dye a shirt (like #41)
48. Make fruit leather
49. Make a crown
50. Make an Herbarium
51. Make scented stones
52. Go on a Listening Walk
53. Make a kaleidoscope (have a kit for this but you can Google homemade ones)
54. Make a birdfeeder
55. Make a birdbath
56. Frozen Grape Skewers
57. Make clothespin dragonflies
58. Make a memory box
59. Make crystal geode eggs
60. Create pirate swords
61. Make gummy treats
62. Paint with watercolors
63. Activity/Exercise Cube
64. Go outside with a magnifying glass
65. Pool Noodle Bath
66. Decorate a Fairy House (wooden birdhouse from Michaels)
67. Mason jar glitter globes
68. Send a Hug
69. Make a cape
70. Stained glass painting
71. Nature Filled Suncatchers
72. Cement Garden Stones
73. Make a spin drum
74. Make an Anemometer
75. Make paper airplanes
76. Make a yo-yo
77. Make Fairy Wings (use sheer fabric and permament markers)
78. Make Chihuly "glass"
79. Aluminum Foil Art
80. Make a Magic 8-ball

Phew!  That was a lot of work!  :-)

Now for the Salt Clay recipe:
1/2 cup salt
1 cup flour
Water

Combine flour and salt, then sift into another bowl.  Add enough water to make a workable dough.  Add food coloring to make different colors.  Shapes will dry out in a day depending on their thickness.


I also plan to have her doing a daily journal, and a weekly art journal. Plus all the usual summer time fun: swimming, running wild, etc.

As always, comments are very welcome.  Have an activity to add to my list?