If you are a busy mother with a few children, I can really understand how you feel during those moments of the day when the kids are restless, bored, loud, bickering with each other and getting on your nerves. When kids are left on their own, they don’t seem to be able to naturally come up with constructive activities. Such is human nature.
I am sure that you want to give them as much quality time as possible and that you do all you can to provide them with entertaining activities and games that are both fun and educational. There are puzzles, coloring, cut outs, arts and crafts projects, sowing, knitting, legos, building blocks, favourite toys, etc. that they can do in the kitchen table –with a minimum of supervision from you– while you are doing dishes or cooking dinner.
If they have those activities quietly for awhile, and your meal is almost cooked, maybe now would be the time for them to just go outside and have fun, especially if it is a nice hot summer afternoon. You must have some leftover wholesale balloons from the last birthday party or school activity, but if not, get a couple of bags in the nearest department store and save them for a special activity. They sell special wholesale water balloons. Those balloons are different, smaller and thinner than the regular ones. You can buy a bag for $3 to $7.
Call your kids and tell them you are going to do an exciting activity together, and that they need to be dressed in their bathing suits and plastic sandals in 5 minutes! Get some towels ready, a mop and bucket, and head for your front yard, back yard, terrace, balcony or roof, wherever you have a big, safe space and a faucet of water.
Show the younger ones how to put the opening of the balloon around the tap, turn it on and hold the balloon in one hand while securing the other end to the tap with the other hand. The balloon will expand as the water fills it and become bigger and heavier. Preschoolers love to play games with water and experiment with its amazing properties. Just watching the balloon grow big is a thrill!
Fill it only to the size of a big grapefruit, to ensure that nobody will get hurt if tossed too hard. Teach them how to make a knot at the end: There you have a nice balloon full of water. They can toss it to each other to start with, and further on, you can show them how to splash it on the floor or against a hard surface.
Make sure they don’t aim at someone’s face or head as it would be unpleasant. It won’t take long for your children to start smashing balloons and enjoying spilling the water and getting wet and refreshed. The older ones will surely enjoy a good water balloon fight game amongst them and probably throw a few water bombs at you too.
No related posts.
