Host a Summer Tot School

To kick off a summer of fun and learning, I threw a play date for G (age 2) and his friends!

I set up stations around the backyard so that the kids could rotate around with their moms.

I set out a rice box, FILLED with fun summery objects such as tiny baseballs, bird beads, teeny sea animals, and shell erasers.  The kids love digging through this!

Try taping down a long sheet of paper (I buy mine by the roll at Ikea; GREAT bargain!) and setting out some paint and cars.  The kids dipped the car in paint and then "drove" it to the finish line at the end of the paper.  This one was a HUGE hit.

Everyone loves the sand and water table but I didn't really want a bunch of drippy wet kids in the house.  Ha!  Instead, I filled it with a gigantic bag of brown rice and hid jewels, "sea glass" pebbles, pompoms, and gold plastic coins inside.  I also set out tongs, measuring cups, and scoops to play.

Want a lazy day out on the lake?  How about fishing for cardboard fish instead?  :)

I used a plastic fishing pole (with a magnet on the end; this one was from Lakeshore) and filled a shallow cardboard box with fish that I'd cut on my Cricut and laminated.  Each fish has a paperclip through the "nose" which makes it magnetic.  I also threw in some other fun magnets to "fish" for.

And on a sunny afternoon, painting with ice was the perfect craft!  I filled ice trays the night before and just added a drop of food coloring per cube.  The next day, they were ready to go!

The kids LOVED using their special paint!

When it was finally time for snack, each kiddo got a small cup with a dollop of rainbow chip frosting and a plastic knife.  They carefully spread the frosting on a graham cracker and gobbled their "sandwich" right up.

It was SUCH a fun way to kick off summer!

Written by Jill