Summer games

I've been collecting things on Pinterest for the kids to do this summer. I made a set of jars with popsicle sticks with activities on them for the kids to choose from. There are a bunch that they can do on their own, some they can do with a little help, and a bunch for us to do together. I don't have pictures of lots of the things they've done, but one day we did a LOT of the bigger activities in one day so I took some photos just to prove that I'm not a completely boring mom. ;)

First off, the marble race. Cut a pool noodle in half the long way (electric knife made quick work of that!) and race the marbles down the hole in the middle and into a box at the bottom.

Next we made mini bows and arrows out of popsicle sticks and floss (bows; you soak the sticks in water to allow them to curve) and q-tips with one of the ends cut off (arrows). They actually worked surprisingly well! But I forgot to take pictures of that one... Meh.

Then I gave each kid a plate FULL of marshmallows and a big pile of toothpicks and told them to build. And build they did! Except for Landon who just ate. As I expected. :)

We also traced our hands and then colored them a certain way to make them look 3D but I don't have a picture of that either. 

The kids go back to school on Monday and, while I'm glad I'll have the opportunity to run errands with fewer kids and that I'll have an easier time with the housework, I'm sad that I didn't do more activities with them. They did spend a whole month is California though, so I guess I didn't do too badly on the list of activities I'd collected. And now I have lots of ideas leftover to keep them entertained on weekends.