We all know the fun of a squirt gun or water hose fight or even a water balloon toss. However, kids love variety, so here are some cool ideas to stay cool as the weather and humidity rises. I hope a couple of these catch your eye and your family gets to benefit!
1. Sponge Balls
-4 sponges, string, scissors, buckets with water
Directions:
Cut each sponge into 4 long strips, Tie 4 strips in the middle with string, use a bucket filled with water to "fill the sponge", Proceed to toss and have fun.
2. The Waterblob
-thick clear plastic as big as you want, duct tape, water, extras (see directions)
Fold the
plastic sheeting in half and tape the three open sides with duct tape
(it helps to have assistance) but leave open a small hole for the water
hose. You can add some bright blue food coloring just for that wow
factor. For fun, add glitter,
confetti or small gummy items like worms or fish for a theme party. Just
make sure the items are very soft with no pointy edges. This
provides a great study on waves and motion. Finish by putting duct tape on the water hole.
3. Paint with Water rollers, paint brushes and paint pan
Let them "paint" the outside with water. Use rollers for the house, the deck, sidewalk etc. The brushes provide excellent fine motor practice.
4. PVC water wonderland
There are many PVC water projects out there for kids. The 2 most popular are the "kid wash" and the engineering station. Depending on the age of your child, you can pretty much design anything. All you need is the right adapter for the pvc to hose connection and you will have an awesome water wonderland.
I just wanted to let you all know that I have signed a new contract for next year and you will be seeing lots more amazing things starting in September. I am very excited to start the new journey with a new group of 4 year olds and their families.
Over the summer I will continue to post super fun ideas to do over the summer as well as a way to help keep your child's brain moving and growing all summer long!
Most of you know I have a passion for drama. I use drama and music every day in my classroom. I also like to expose my students and my own kids to live performances of any kind. I wanted to take today's entry to devote to different performances,theatre, music and dance, that are geared for kids 3-10. So often we take the children to sports events and parks. I hope that you get the opportunity to take your child to at least one live performance a year. You never know what they will fall in love with.
Let me know if you go to any. I would love to hear about the experience.
Aladdin:
AlphaBet Soup Productions
Greater Chicago Area
Various 60148
(630) 932-1555
Witness how a poor boy named Aladdin wins the heart of Princess
Jasmine, with the aid of his pet monkey Yahzoo, and a wacky Genie with a
brother complex. All singing! All sword-swinging! And a happy ending to
boot!
10:30 AM
$7-$9
Pre K-5th Grade
Little Red Riding Hood
Stahl Family Theater at St. Patrick's High School
5900 W. Belmont Ave.
Chicago 60634
(773) 205-9600
Chicago Kids Company- Theatre for Children (CKC) presents Little Red
Riding Hood, a one-hour musical adaptation! Meet Little Red and her
friends as she travels through the woods to Grandma’s house. Will she
listen to her Mama’s warning not to stray from the path? And why is the
wacky Wolf so eager to help her out? The show runs one hour with no
intermission and is targeted for kids aged 2 to 12.
10:30 am to 11:30 am
Single Tickets: $12.00 each Group Tickets: $6.00 - $9.00 each
Ages 2-12
The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley
Northbrook Musical Theatre for Young Audiences
3323 Walters Avenue
Northbrook 60062
(847) 291-2367
Flat Stanley is an ordinary boy with a normal life. But Stanley wants
to travel the world and see new things. In this adaptation of a beloved
children's book we will see Stanley get an amazing opportunity to
pursue his dreams of adventure!
10am and 1pm
$12
The Very Hungry Catepillar
Ruth Page Center for the Arts
1016 North Dearborn St.
Chicago 60610
(872) 222-9555
Paying April 29 - June 1, 2014.
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar”
follows the adventures of a very tiny and very hungry caterpillar that
eats his way through and amazing variety of foods towards his eventual
metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly. Children will likewise delight
in the antics of “Little Cloud.” High up in a beautiful sky, Little
Cloud slips away from the rest and transforms itself into various
shapes of things it sees – a sheep, an airplane, a shark and more. In
“The Mixed-Up Chameleon,” a little chameleon is bored with its life –
sitting about predictably changing color all day. So it decides to
embark on an adventurous trip to the zoo. Upon seeing the beautiful
animals there, the little chameleon tries changing to look like each one
of them.
See web site for schedule
Call for pricing
Ages 2 and up
Seussical The Musical
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
800 E. Grand Avenue
Chicago
(312) 595-5600
Chicago Shakespeare Theater brings the humor and magic of Dr. Seuss
to life onstage this summer in the Broadway musical comedy Seussical for
young audiences and their families. Playful, energetic and full of
whimsy, Seussical engages the imagination with clever lyrics and
melodies, unforgettable characters and the vibrant rainbow of Dr. Seuss’
colorful world. Seussical is written by the Tony Award winning team of
Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, whose works include Ragtime and Once
on This Island, and was co-conceived with Eric Idle of Monty Python and
Spamalot fame. Directed by Scott Weinstein with musical direction by
Michael Mahler, Seussical will be performed July 5 through August 17 in
CST's Courtyard Theater. Each performance features special opportunities
for audiences to interact with the actors in the Lobby for one-on-one
conversations and photo opportunities.
See web site for schedule
$18 children (12 & under) | $28 adults
Ages 4 and up
Dodgeball Dungeon
ComedySportz
929 West Belmont
Chicago 60657
(773) 549-8080
The ComedySportz Theatre in Chicago is proud to present the premiere
of a new kind of improv show for all ages. Every Saturday at 12pm from
April 12th through May 17, ComedySportz will present an entirely new and
completely original interactive fantasy adventure! Volunteer players
from the audience are sent to aid the heroes of a fantasy kingdom by
completing challenges and fighting monsters using the world’s most
powerful weaponry – the mighty dodgeball.
THE SHOW
The Kingdom of Gwendaloth is in trouble! Always. It seems like every
week there’s another kidnapped Prince who needs rescuing, or a rampaging
dragon, or an evil sorcerer trying to take over the world. So it’s up
to the Heroes of the Realm (that’s you) to pick up their dodgeballs and
descend into the dungeon to save the day. Audience members young and
old will save the day using magic, running obstacle courses, and earning
enchanted artifacts like the Orb of Darkness, the Vampire Cloak, or the
powerful (but annoying) Talking Armor!
Join the cast of DODGEBALL DUNGEON every Saturday afternoon in this
highly interactive, highly physical, and highly hilarious improvised
choose-your-own-adventure.
12:00 p.m.
$10.00
6 and up
You can also look up Chicago Symphony Hall for a huge variety of performances. Ravinia festival has dance and music performances as well.
Here are some recipes to keep you busy over your Spring/Easter break.
Kool Aid Play Dough
2 1/2 cups - flour
1 cup - salt
3 tablespoons - vegetable oil
2 cups - boiling water
2 packages - unsweetened Kool-Aid (Any colour you want!)
Gloves - Optional
Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the oil and water. Knead for the mixture for 10 minutes, and done!
* Don't forget to put the homemade play dough in a air tight
container, or zip lock bag when your done using it so it doesn't dry up.
Moon Dough (my favorite)
Ingredients
8 cups flour
1 cup vegetable oil
Essential oil such as lavender or grapefruit (optional)
Instructions
Scoop and pour the flour into the center of a large tub.
Create a crater in the middle of the flour.
Pour the oil into the crater.
Gently mix it all together.
Enjoy
mixing and learning about the properties of the dough as it is, or add
small silicone bowls, spoons, or measuring cups to make small
structures, hills, or pretend cupcakes.
The original recipe is an 8:1 ratio and
Edible Chocolate/PB Clay (soooo fun and yummy)
Ingredients: 1 tub (16 oz) chocolate frosting, 1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural), 2.5 cup powdered sugar.
Your kids will have trouble
deciding whether they’d rather play with it or eat it! You can
substitute other flavors of frosting for the chocolate, if you desire.
You can also roll it into balls and serve it plain, dip it in chocolate,
or roll it in crushed nuts.
Fluffy Stuff
(2 boxes cornstarch and 1 can shaving cream; color if desired) -- moldable with cups, hands, utensils, you name it!
shaving
cream and green food coloring in a ziplock bag. After I got all the air
out of the bag, I duct taped the ziplock part to prevent leaks. Then I
let little B squeeze and smoosh the bag to his hearts content! - See
more at:
http://www.playcreateexplore.org/2013/03/color-of-week-green.html#sthash.dPfOBn6i.dpufFluffy Stuff
