Funny Beach Photo Idea

The kids and I just returned from a little mini vacation at the Jersey Shore with my sister and her family.  The kids had a blast with their cousins and I was excited to snap this funny photo "capturing" the cousins under a huge sand bucket.

Check it out...

I originally saw the idea on Pinterest from THIS Flickr photo.  My photography skills aren't as good as the original, but it was a simple shot to capture.  I just asked the kids to go a little ways down the beach, then held the beach bucket in my left hand and the camera in my right.  I told the kids to pretend something was attacking them from above (which they gladly acted out).  Because I just used the auto focus on my camera, I had to lock the focus on the kids, then move the bucket into the shot (otherwise the kids would have been too blurry and the bucket would be in sharp focus).   I got a few funny looks from other beachgoers, but it was worth it for this cute photo.

Five Fun Ideas to create some great Summer Memories

Summer is the time for memory making.  More relaxed schedules allow for the extra time to do fun things with your kids.  For five really fun ideas, check out these great activities linked up to our Summer Fun party!  They're all pretty simple to do and free or inexpensive, but they're sure to bring smiles to your kids' faces and create memories that will last a long time.

Get ready to create some fun memories.  (Click on each picture or title to get all the directions and details)

 1. Giant Squishy Water Bag

{Go Kid Yourself}

Tell me your kid wouldn't love jumping 

on this giant water-filled mat?

You can make it using some inexpensive plastic sheeting 

and duct tape and then let the kids go to town 

jumping and playing on it.

2.  Have a "Backwards Day"

{Creative Family Moments}

I LOVE this idea (and it doesn't cost anything extra!).

Have a whole day when you do everything backwards ~

starting with a bedtime snack when you wake up

and ending with breakfast before bedtime.

Definitely check out Heather's creative ideas for 

"backwards" things to do throughout the day!

3.  Host a Messy Mud Playdate

{Growing a Jeweled Rose}

 Sometimes you just have to get out the old clothes

and let the kids get dirty.

Make a whole playdate out of it and you're sure 

to create some fun memories.

Crystal let the kids do all sorts of fun mud-related activities

(and even served "dirt" as a snack! ;)  )

4.  Outdoor Movie Night

{East Coast Mommy}

If you can get your hands on a projector,

all you need is a plain white sheet 

for an outdoor movie screen.

Check out the post for Gina's tips 

for a successful (and memorable) movie evening!

 5.  Playground Scavenger Hunt 

(with printable)

{KC Edventures}

You've probably been to the playground 

a few times this summer,

but why not make it especially memorable 

by turning it into a scavenger hunt?

Head to a few different parks and see if you can find 

different kinds of slides, swings, etc.

There's even a printable in the post 

so you can check them off as you find them.

What do you think?  Pretty cool ideas, aren't they?

I can't wait to try some of them with my kids before they head back to school.   (They'd definitely have the best journal entries for the "What I did this summer" writing assignments!)

Definitely visit the sites featured above and also 

check out our Summer Fun idea Party for more than 

250 other awesome summer ideas.

Fireworks T-shirts

I can't remember in what magazine or book I originally saw how to make these cute fireworks shirts, but I first made them when my youngest was just a toddler.  Now, nearly 5 years later, we decided to make some more fireworks shirts for the Fourth of July!

Don't they look a lot like real fireworks?

They were really simple to make and the kids had a blast (pun intended).

Here's how we made them...

1.  Gather your supplies ~ plain t-shirts, fabric paint in spray bottles and puffy fabric paint.  (You'll also want a piece of cardboard or several sheets of newspaper to put inside your t-shirt so the paint doesn't bleed through and something to cover your work surface with.)

NOTE: I happened to pick up the Fabric Spray Paint with a coupon at the craft store.  However, last time I just watered down regular fabric paint and put it in my own spray bottle  (about 2 parts paint to 1 part water) and it worked just as well.


2.  Spray several bursts of color on the front of your shirt. This will be the bases for your fireworks.

 3.  Next, use the puffy paint to add the lines of color radiating out from each firework.  In some spots, the puffy paint came out a little too fast, so we just used a toothpick to spread it out a bit.

4.  Next, I used some of the gold glitter puffy paint to add just a little more sparkle to each burst!

5.  We waited a little bit for the paint to dry, then did the same thing on the backs of our shirts.  Let it dry all the way and we were ready to go!

Now, I know this post is a little last minute to get ready for the 4th of July, but as I said before, I'm a last minute kind of girl.  We really had fun with it though, so hopefully you can make a quick run to the craft store for supplies and make some tomorrow before you go to see the fireworks.    Otherwise, just  "pin" it for next year! ;)

Sharing our fireworks at:

Craft-O-Maniac 

Five Fun Ideas for the 4th of July

The 4th of July festivities here in the U.S. are just a week away.  Since it's the perfect, middle-of-summer reason for some fun crafts and tasty treats, I went to our awesome Summer Fun Party themed collection in search of some great patriotic ideas.  

Check out these 5 great ideas that were linked up...

Salad Spinner Fireworks

{ Mom's Crafty Space }

I'm going to have to break out our old salad spinner to 

try out this cool technique.

Don't the paint splatters look just like fireworks?

I can only imagine how much fun the kids will 

have spinning some fun designs.

Patriotic Folded Flag

{ The Chocolate Muffin Tree } 

When I first saw these flags,

I thought the poles were made out of 

some sort of stick or straw.

Upon reading the whole post,

I discovered the flag and pole 

were both made from a single sheet of paper.

We'll definitely be making some of these.

Handprint & Colored Rice Fireworks

{ The Iowa Farmer's Wife }

What a perfect craft for the little ones 

(and bigger kids too).

Make your handprints using paint,

then use glue and colored rice 

for some added dimension.

(Simple directions for coloring rice is given in the post)

Jello Firecrackers

{ Phaedra's Adventures }

We love making treats using Jello 

and these red, white & blue layers look awesome.

(Look at those maraschino cherry fuses!)

Phaedra tells us how to make the kid-friendly version

(as well as how to add the extra ingredient 
if it'll be for adults only)

Red, White & Blue Popcorn

{ Phaedra's Adventures }

Wow!  Phaedra has another awesome recipe 

using Jello to make a patriotic treat.

With just powdered jello and a few other ingredients

you can make colored, flavored popcorn.

I cannot wait to try this out myself

(and you could make different colors for different occasions too!)

Weren't they awesome?  I can't wait to give them all a try for the 4th of July next week (or for any other Patriotic Holiday).


As I mentioned, I collected all of these ideas from among the almost 250 amazing links at our Summer Fun Party.  Check it out if you are looking for some inspiration for kid-friendly fun!

Oh, and even though the title of this post is "5" Fun Ideas, I'm throwing in two more bonus ideas of our own.

 Guest post from JDaniel4's Mom

We've made versions of these smoothie stars

several times now since Deirdre shared her guest post

and my kids love them.

It's amazing how much presentation is the key.

Regular smoothies are good,

but frozen smoothie bites in fun shapes

are just so much more special!

Patriotic Strawberries

These strawberries were so simple to make

but looked so festive and fun.

Plus, if you eat a few, you can count them 

as your serving of fruit for the day! 

I hope you found some fun ideas in this post and I hope you have a happy and safe Fourth of July! 

Sharing these great ideas at:

I heart Nap Time  

Frozen Watermelon Lemonade

When I posted our Jello Watermelons the other day, I promised an easy recipe for a refreshing drink using the actual watermelon that I scooped out.  Well here it is!  You only need two ingredients (watermelon and lemonade, duh!) and you can whip up just a glass or a whole pitcher.

Here's what you need to do:

1.  Using your favorite lemonade mix, make some double strength lemonade.  (So, if the directions call for 1/4 cup powder, make it 1/2 cup instead but use the same amount of water.  Or if it's frozen concentrate, and it calls for mixing it with 3 cans of water, only use 1 1/2).  Pour your strong lemonade into ice cube trays and freeze.

You'll also need some watermelon, so cut up your watermelon into chunks.  (This is a perfect way to use up some of those end slices or the extra watermelon that you have when you use a melon baller).  You'll want your watermelon chilled, so either keep it refrigerated, or pop it into the freezer for a few minutes if it's room temperature.

2.  Once your lemonade is frozen and your watermelon cut up and chilled, put your watermelon in the blender and blend until liquified.  You'll find that once blended, you have about half as much.  I typically blend up about 4 cups of watermelon at a time and end up with a little more than 2 cups worth of watermelon lemonade.

 

3.  Now that you have your watermelon all blended, add some lemonade ice cubes and blend some more.   The amount you add is up to you.  The more ice cubes you use, the thicker your frozen drink will be.  I usually add 6-8 and it's drinkable with a straw, 10+ and I can eat it with a spoon.

That's all there is to it!  It's best to drink your frozen lemonade shortly after making it.  The watermelon pulp gets blended in with the frozen lemonade, so it's all nicely mixed together.  However, if you let it settle too long, the pulp will rise to the top and the liquid lemonade will settle to the bottom.   Also, we like the how these have just a hint of the lemonade flavor.  You could also make your lemonade even stronger before freezing if you decide you want more of a lemony taste.

Hope you enjoy it.  We've made it several times already this summer and the kids love it every time.  I love that there's hardly any work to it.  I keep the lemonade ice cubes ready to go in the freezer, so whenever I have some extra watermelon I can whip up a batch in just a few minutes.

Sharing this refreshing treat at:

Brassy Apple 

Sugar Bee Crafts 

Frugal Girls 

Ladybird Ln. 

Tatertots and Jello 

I heart Naptime 

Craft-O-Maniac 

Today's Creative Blog 

Jello Watermelons

I've been wanting to make jello like this for ages now.  In fact, I first bookmarked this awesome idea from Gourmet Mom on-the-go way back in 2009.  (just the fact that I bookmarked it instead of pinning it tells you it's been in my to-do files for awhile!).  Anyway, I finally had all the ingredients on hand and made some for the kids.  They loved it ~ and I thought they were pretty neat too.


Don't these look cool?

Here's how I did it...

1.  I got a small watermelon and a few boxes of cherry jello (the larger 6oz size).

NOTE: I just used three boxes of jello, but if you're making this for a crowd or you have a big watermelon, you'll need a lot more.

2.  Scoop out the watermelon until just the rind remains.  (Put that watermelon aside and use it later to make the Frozen Watermelon Lemonade ~ it's a great way to use the actual watermelon!)

3.  Prepare your jello liquid.  You'll basically be using the recipe for Jello jigglers, so use 1 1/4 cups boiling water for every 6oz package of Jello.  I was only able to fill one half of my small watermelon with my 3 boxes..  To figure out how many boxes you'll need, you can pour regular water into your watermelon shell to see how much it holds,  then divide by 1.25.  (So, for example, if your large watermelon holds 10 cups of water, divide 10 by 1.25 and you'll need 8 boxes of Jello).  See, you can tell your kids you really do need Math in real life!

I placed my watermelon shell in an empty bowl to hold it steady, then poured in the liquid.

4.  Refrigerate for several hours until the Jello sets.  The total time will depend on the size of your watermelon, my small one took about 4 hours.

5.  Slice just like you would a regular watermelon and serve!  I made these while my kids were at VBS and they were in awe when I sliced it and handed it to them.  They just couldn't figure out at first how I got the Jello to replace the watermelon.  I really liked that because it was like a Jello jiggler, you could totally hold it just like a slice of real watermelon and the Jello stayed in place.

NOTE:  The original post added mini chocolate chips when the jello was just barely set to look like watermelon seeds.  Since I'm not a big fan of the taste of fruit and chocolate together, I left it out.  However, if you like that flavor combination, just use a chopstick to push in the mini chocolate chips when the Jello mixture is soft set.

Sharing our cool treats at:
 
Sun Scholars
Brassy Apple 
Sugar Bee Crafts 
It's Playtime 
 Frugal Girls
Ladybird Ln. 
I heart Naptime 
Craft-O-Maniac 
Today's Creative Blog

Five Fun Ways to Survive a Heat Wave

Like much of the country, we're in the middle of a heat wave here.  With temps in the high 90's and heat indexes that are even hotter, you need to find some fun ways to keep cool (or at least make the most of the hot temperatures!)  Here are a few fun ideas from past posts that might help.

Survival Idea #1

Make this Fun PVC Sprinkler

Your kids will LOVE playing with this sprinkler.

They can even ride their bikes or scooters through it.

Plus, it's surprisingly inexpensive and easy to make.

I made ours last summer for under $20 

and it only took about 30 minutes.

(Get the tutorial HERE)

Survival Idea #2

Make some Hot Car Crayons

Yes, you're seeing that correctly,

we were able to make molded crayons

on the dashboard of our van!

It's a fun twist on the regular oven method

and it's a good lesson on why you should 

never leave kids or pets in a hot car.

(You can find out the details HERE)

Survival Idea #3

Make a bunch of Spongeballs

Just grab a package of sponges, some zip ties or string,

and make a bunch of these spongeballs.

Then, just give the kids a bucket of water,

let them get those spongeballs nice and wet,

and let the splashy ball tossing begin!

(It's so easy, check it out HERE)

Survival Idea #4

Make some Cake & Ice Cream Sandwiches

Making a cool treat with your kids is always fun,

but you definitely don't want to be turning on the oven

when the temperatures are soaring.

No worries, just cook your cake batter using a waffle iron,

then add some ice cream for these

awesome sandwiches!

(HERE's the super easy recipe)

Survival Idea #5

Make some Banana Ice Cream

You don't need rock salt or an ice cream maker.

You don't even need cream or sugar.

All you need are some ripe bananas

and a food processor or blender!

It's really easy and super tasty!

(Check out how to make them HERE)

Well, there you go, five fun ideas to make your next heat wave a little more tolerable.  I can't promise that these ideas will eliminate all of the heat-related whining (because nothing seems to stop that here!) but at least it might help bring a few smiles to those hot sweaty faces!

How about you?  Do you have other tricks, tips or treats for these super hot days?

Sharing our ways to beat the heat at:

Sun Scholars
I heart Naptime

Red, White & Blue Frozen Smoothie Stars

I'm really excited to be sharing my blog this summer with several fabulous guest hosts.  About once a week, you'll be treated to a fellow blogger sharing some of the ways they've come together with their own kids.  I'm thrilled to introduce our first guest post with an awesome idea for a frozen summer treat. 


Here she is...

I am thrilled to be guest posting here on Come Together Kids today. My name is Deirdre Smith and I am visiting from my blog JDaniel4’s Mom. My blog is about raising my four year old son, the adventures we  have, the special meals we create, the crafts we make, and the learning we do.
With the 4th of July right around the corner I thought I would share with you  strawberry, blueberry, and vanilla pineapple smoothie stars. They would be wonderful  dessert to pull out for guests attending a 4th of July picnic or playgroup gathering treat for both moms and kids. 

 
Our smoothies are made of three basic ingredients. We start with a  cup of  frozen fresh or frozen canned fruit  in the blender. Then we add  ¾ of cup of liquid to the blender. The liquid maybe milk or fruit juice. Finally we add a small carton of  fruit flavored low fat yogurt.
After blending all the ingredients, we poured the mixture in to a silicone cupcake or muffin tin. For this project we used one that has a star shape.
The tin is placed into the freezer for a couple of hours until the smoothie mixture has hardened. 

 
When frozen smoothie stars are ready, we just popped them right out of the tin. The silicone tin is really flexible and you can just push the back of each of its cups and the stars come right out.
The smoothie stars were extremely solid when we took them out of the tin. They had to sit out on serving plate for a few minutes before we could eat them.
 If you like smoothies, you will just love these.
If you like cooking with your children, here are a few other recipes JDaniel and I have tried together.

Homemade Granola

Easy Apple Crisp

{ Thank you so much, Deirdre!  Those smoothie stars look delicious!  I'm always picking up those silicone trays because I love all the fun shapes, but then I'm at a loss for what to actually do with them.  My kids LOVE when I make them smoothies, so I know they'll go absolutely nuts for these cool little frozen smoothie shapes!  ~ Laura }

Summer Fun Projects and Activities

 Welcome to our Summer Themed Collection

This themed collection of fantastic ideas to fill your summer days 

with fun projects and activities was started in the Summer of 2011.  

I'm continuing it this year so you'll have a great resource 

to turn to as you plan your summer vacation !

Ah, summer vacation!

Two months of no school, relaxed schedules,

and a chorus of the inevitable

"Mom, I'm bored!"

 I hope this themed collection gives you 

plenty of inspiration for projects and activities 

you can do with your kids.

There are ideas for outdoor play, art projects,

recipes, games and more!

Use this link party to share and be inspired

during these summer months.

 Link up any ideas you might have 

to keep kids having fun this season.

A few guidelines:

1.  You can link up as many ideas as you want, as long as they are summer-related.

 (NOTE: Your posts don't need to have been written  during the summer as long as the activities themselves are appropriate for the summer months)

2. Please don't link up your business, shop or unrelated posts.

   (To keep this collection a relevant & helpful resource, I'll delete any unrelated links)

3.  As with all my link parties, this one will be on-going, 

     so you can link up your new ideas at any time 

     and stop back often for fresh inspiration.

4.  By linking up, you're allowing me permission to feature your photo 

     and a description of your project in a "5 Fun Ideas" Featured Post. 

      (With a link back to your full post, of course)

5.  Finally, the more people who know about this collection, 

      the better it will be.  Help spread the word by including 

      a text link back to Come Together Kids.

Spread the word even further by sharing 

      this post on Facebook or Pinterest!

       

 

Nutter Butter Flip Flops

Today was the start of summer vacation for my kids.  To celebrate the last day of school shoes and the beginning of flip flop season, we made these cute Nutter Butter flip flops.  I've seen fancier versions where the cookies are dipped in colored or decorated with various edible embellishments, but we kept it SUPER simple and just used a tube of decorating icing gel and the package of cookies.  Still lots of fun for the kids and the results were pretty yummy!

There's really nothing in the way of directions.  Open up the package of Nutter Butter cookies, open up a tube or two of decorators icing (we used sparkly gel ones), and squeeze on your flip flop straps.  I kept my sample ones really simple, but the kids added a lot more color and decorations to theirs.  (They're no dummies, they know that the more decorations they add, the more icing they get to eat!)

Check it out! 

Sharing our super simple edible footwear at:

Tatertots and Jello