Keeping Playtime a Priority During the School Year

It's no secret that playing outside makes kids happier and healthier. Not only does it provide a sense of freedom and a great way to relieve stress, it also encourages healthy habits. The physical activity and challenges that outdoor play provide mean kids sleep better, eat better, and develop healthier habits. Unfortunately, outdoor play is disappearing. 70% of moms played outside when they were kids while only 31% of their kids do. CLIF Kid is dedicated to reclaiming play all year long.

Marshmallow Shooter Party Favors

Marshmallow shooters make great party favors because they're easy, inexpensive, and lots of fun.

10 Outdoor Math Activities: Kid's Co-op

Need to do some math review before the kids are back in school? Why not take advantage of the last days of summer and review number and math skills at the same time by trying one of these outdoor math activities from The Kid's Co-op?

12 Outdoor Letter & Word Activities: Kid's Co-op

Have you seen all the school supplies out in the stores? Like it or not, school is starting soon. But that doesn't mean the kids have to come inside just yet. Kids can practice letter recognition and word skills outside with these outdoor literacy activities from The Kid's Co-op.

Easy Butterfly Feeder

This butterfly feeder is easy for kids to make and looks great hanging from a tree. All you need is a plastic planter, some string, and butterfly food and you're ready to do some butterfly watching.

Frozen Marbles

This is basically just ice chalk in a ball shape. We froze some of our chalk bomb water balloons, peeled off the balloon, and had a new way to play outside. I didn't have a specific activity in mind when I made these, but I knew the kids would come up with something fun. They're like giant frozen chalk marbles. Just a few ingredients, an old pump bottle, and some water balloons are all you need to keep the kids busy on a hot summer afternoon.

Chalk Bombs: Water Balloon Fun

Last year we painted with water balloons, and I wanted to do it again this year, but filling up the water balloons was a pain. This time I had a new trick up my sleeve though. Also, instead of regular paint, we swapped out sidewalk chalk paint to make "chalk bombs". With our new method of filling them up, we were smashing chalk-filled water balloons in no time. (I'm sorry. I just lied to you. It was still a pain to fill up all those balloons, but slightly less work than usual and totally worth it.)

 

Water Balloon Letter Learning

I'm always looking for fun ways to get my kids interested in playing with letters and letter sounds. Water balloons are always a hit around here in the summer, so I decided to combine the two.

35+ Nature Activities: Kid's Co-op

Welcome back to another week of the Kid's Co-op! For our American friends, Independence Day is only a week away! If you're looking for fun 4th of July crafts for your kids be sure to check out 75 great 4th of July ideas from the Kid's Co-op. In the meantime, here are more than 35 nature activities that are perfect for summer.

7 Ways to Make Ice Chalk

Since I first posted about our ice chalk, we've made lots of variations of it. Instead of putting each in a separate post, I thought it would be more helpful to have them all here.

Frozen Popsicle Chalk

The other day I was pulling out the ice cube trays to make another batch of our ice chalk when I saw the popsicle molds and decided to try those instead.

10 Botany Activities for Kids: Kid's Co-op

The Kid's Co-op has been full of fun and easy ways to teach your kids and flowers and plants.

Ice Chalk

Ice Chalk is the perfect kid activity for a hot summer day. Frozen chalk makes a great art, science, and sensory experience all in one.

12 Activities for Chalk: Kid's Co-op

Nothing says summer like seeing colorful chalk decorations on the sidewalk. If you're looking for new ways for your kids to play with chalk, the Kid's Co-op has you covered.

Chalk Shadows

My kids have been interested in shadows lately and by that I mean that I've been hearing a lot of, "Mo-om, she's stepping on my shadow! Will you tell her to stop???"

15 Outdoor Art Activities: Kid's Co-op

You can take almost any art activity outside, but these ten art ideas from the Kid's Co-op were made for the great outdoors. Some use natural materials and others make such a glorious mess that the only place for them is outside the house. Either way, you can grab some supplies and head outside with your kids to create some art and memories.

Tin Foil River and Mini Ice Boats

My kids love playing with water when the weather gets warm. It can keep them busy like almost nothing else. When I saw these tin foil rivers at Camo & Bows, I knew we had a winner.

20 Outdoor Activities: Kid's Co-op

If you are lucky enough to be having weather that makes it pleasant to be outdoors, the Kid's Co-op has been full of ideas for learning and playing outside.

Learning Letters with the Octonauts

*This is a sponsored post. I was provided with these products for the purpose of writing an honest review. All opinions and ideas are entirely my own.

My four year old son is a huge fan of the Octonauts on Disney Junior. They rescue ocean creatures and protect their habitats. His favorite part of the show is the creature report when they share facts about the animal featured in the episode and reveal what it looks like in real life.

10 Ways to Use Rocks: Kid's Co-op

Welcome back to another week of the Kid's Co-op. This week I'm featuring a collection of ways to play and learn with rocks.