I got a little creative last Christmas. We had a bunch of broken crayons, so I turned them into a fun project for the kids! I purchased silicone muffin trays in a few different patterns. (Football, star, flower, bear). We peeled, and peeled, and PEELED those crayons out of their wrapping! Slugger wanted multi-colored crayons, so we just mixed a bunch together! We stuck them in the oven at a low temperature (I believe around 225 degrees?) and watched them CLOSELY! Once they melted, I just pulled the trays out and let them cool overnight. I popped them out the next morning and "Tah-Dah!" those old broken crayons turned into something magical! We had a blast coloring with our new creations, and I have a feeling this is going to be one of those activities we repeat several times!
**Snow Paint**
So, if you know me, you know that I ADORE snow. That crunchy white stuff gets me all excited and ready for snow angels and hot chocolate. Currently, it's been running around 103 degrees outside, so maybe I'm just doing a "Christmas in July" posting in hopes that cooler weather will soon arrive. One fun activity I did with the kids this past winter was to make snow paint. We literally had a blizzard last season (made us feel like we were seriously stuck in a snow globe!). This created several fun activities with snow. We sat a big red bowl outside to collect our precious flakes and once that bowl was full(merely minutes) I just put scoops into small cups and added tempera paint. Slugger wanted a few different colors, so each cup had it's own color. Mix the paint and snow, give the kiddos a paintbrush and paper, and let the fun begin! Now, I do have to say, this was messy. But part of being a kid is having fun in the moment and being able to clean up the mess after wards. (or having mommy do it....either works for me!) We also made snow ice cream, by far one of my favorite things to do with the kids!!
**Singing in the Rain**
Children will not melt in the rain. That being said....get those kids out in the puddles!!! We had a downpour a few months ago. My first thought was to get out in that rain!!! We splished, we splashed, we watched things float, we watched things sink, we created HUGE muddy messes! Be creative with your kids. Take advantage of opportunities like this. Don't stay inside because it's rainy and gloomy, get out there and LEARN! Mother Nature gave you rain today, use her! (As long as it's not lightening and such...in which case....better stay inside!!) We have little plastic sailboats (used for our summer water table) and we grabbed those things up and watched them sail in our driveway. Slugger asked several good questions about floating, and I just felt like this was an amazing opportunity to see right in person how floating works. He noticed heavier things didn't float, he dug rocks out of the ground, he just had fun being a kid in the moment. And I found myself laughing harder than he was on numerous occasions. I will remember this moment forever. We seriously had so much fun!
