CMs: What are you doing to prepare for the summer holidays?

[Numberfour]

I have started collecting junk for modelling and have jotted down a number of places I want to take the children to.

What plans do you have that I my use too???

Cartoonito has added lots of new free activity sheets for kids this holiday period, like Fireman Sam colouring in and Strawberry Shortcake recipes! They might be useful if you have a printer and it's raining outside

www.cartoonito.co.uk/activities

SNAP (junk modeling)
SNAP (places to go, which are:

Fruit picking
Lots of picnics, some with outdoor paddling pool
Play parks
Country Parks
Woods
Soft Play type places
Farms
Science place
Possibly beach trip
Possibly Legoland
Waving at lorries on motorway bridge)

Also....

Making chocolate crispy blocks (with a difference)
Making clay type things with a recipe similar to playdoh but with egg....put in oven to set.....paint!
Making dens
Making bits for the garden (with ribbons, CDs etc etc)

I'm sure there's a lot more but need to go now.

x

My summer sessions are looking brighter already

Looney, can i have the recipe for the clay stuff please?

Looney wouldn't mind that as well please

and me!

Sorry guys. Here it is:

Baked Craft Clay

4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Food coloring
1 egg, beaten

Mix together and knead until smooth. Separate into parts and add a few drops of different colors of food coloring. Make shapes and brush egg over the top. Put shapes on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 300F degrees for about one hour until the clay is golden. Seal with shellac to make shiny. Paint them for fun.

Thanks!

Other activities: making pizza (or at the very least, adding toppings to ready made bases!)

Last holiday I took a lot of different types of balls and bats to the field near our local park and let the children do their thing! I will do the same this time, but will have more organised games in mind and maybe join up with another CM to form teams perhaps. (Add dog poo on your RA!)

Oh we do that at the park behind me. I take pop up tunnel, rugs, toys, clip boards and drawing stuff, balls etc. Easily spend most of the day there with a picnic!! We just need lots of nice weather

Oh yeah.....and they'll be washing all sorts in the garden - they love bowls of bubbly water with sponges to wash things, including the playroom windows!

LOvely ideas, Looney!!
Will add some of those items to our outings.... how do you handle v little ones, though: one of mine is 15 months old. Not too steady on his feet yet.

Oh, having clean outside toys that I have not had to wash..... bliss!

Well it depends on the overall ages. This time round mine are 1.11, 2.1, 2.2, 2.7, 3.3, 3.5, 5.11, 6.7 & 7.4. I'll only have 6 of these at a time and it will be a mix of 4 of the younger ones and 2 of the older ones each day (different mix on different days). I'm looking forward to it being much easier and really, it's my own 2.1 year old I'll have most trouble from!

Last year in the summer hols I had:

13m, 19m, 2.3y, 2.5y most days along with either 4.11y, 5.4y or 5.7y and my 6.4y ds. For this mix the triple buggy had to be used and bags of smaller toys taken out. Harder work with 13m old ds trying to eat bark etc. on picnics but still good fun. Lots of feeding ducks and stuff too.

It really depends on how many of what ages you have.

I find that walkers, even new ones, like to collect treasure (leaves, mud, twigs, pine cones etc) - I give them a nappy bag or they use their sandwich bag from lunch, with their name on.

Not planning to do anything at all, except catch up on paperwork. No mindees after Thursday until September 6th. Is it too mean to be counting down the days?

minderjinx...... but I am keeping a chirpy happy, summer holiday outlook!

We are off camping on 21 Aug for 9 days! Yahoo!!

my next break is the October half term although I'm really looking forward to that as it's the first time I've taken school hols off, I just want to do some MUMMY school hol stuff for a change

I can't believe I'm also at catching up with paperwork!! lol I sooooooooooo need some catch up time but having a useless dh makes it very hard as my bloomin kids don't give me a break! lol

bumping to get some other ideas, too?

Trip to world of water to see the fish
Trip to other pet places to see what they have

Just thought I'd add those

Ha! great ideas for today! Off to the park with some balls this morning then pet shop this afternoon and hobby craft to get some shellac and a hot glue gun.......

Just bumping to remind me of the clay recipe for tomorrow

After some suggestions from MN I started to make bunting with a 10yr old and 7yr old while the younger one was sleeping. We got as far as making a triangle template and cutting out about 10 triangles each with the aim to attach them onto some ribbon next time. They had much more fun gluing the little scraps of leftover material to paper to make a picture!!!

Anyway, bunting is my suggestion!

I have struggled a lot with the 2 I look after because there is quite an age gap between the eldest and the youngest (siblings).

Well, did the craft clay although THINK I made a mistake, I reckon the egg was JUST for glazing but I won't know until they've finished in the oven (about 20 mins). Anyway, ALL the kids LOVED making it and playing with it (they are aged 2(x2), 3(x2), 6 and 7) boy bloomin heck, it was the stickiest mixture EVER!!

If it doesn't set right, we will try again without the egg. Will update you so you know how it turns out, in case those who wanted to try it haven't yet

BUT bloomin heck!

p.s. like the bunting idea - may try with my 6 & 7 year olds but as much as they LOVE making things, they tend to like to do their own thing so I bet I have the same problem as you!

Sounds messy!!

Another reason for suggesting bunting because we're going camping and I thought I could attach anything that ds or I made to our tent!!

Hi everyone - don't post here often so hope you don't mind me jumping in Looney that is the same recipe I have used today with my mindees for saltdough - the egg is just for glazing! It turns out really well - just keep adding more water/flour to get the right dough consistency.

LOL, I was pretty sure about that as soon as I touched it after but with 6 excited kids and it being near the end of the day and rushing before one got picked up, I just did EXACTLY what it said and mixed ALL ingredients then after thought 'OH NO' lol. Oh, and it didn't help that ds1 and older mindee tipped half a bottle of food colouring in each!! Thank goodness most turned out ok although NOT the handprints, they were bubbly on top but never mind, we can do it again properly next time. They LOVED how sticky and messy it was so was worth it for that as even yuckier than gloop!! hehe

Glad I your post, Looneytune! DS has been reminding me about the playdough that we can bake and had I not checked this thread again, I would have done exactly the same as you!