As the weather warms up (though apparently not this week... brrr!), we love finding simple and cheap-o ways to enjoy the great outdoors. Here are a few ideas from our stash that we keep organized on two shelves... one in the garage and one on the back patio. That way we have quick inspiration and easy access.
1. Bubbles... we've been collecting different size blow sticks for a while. Some of our favorites are the big wand sized blowers from the Dollar Store (grab a plastic tub while you're there too for easy dunking), but you can find a whole collection even in your grocery store for about three bucks or less. Once you run out of that commercial liquid, whip up a concoction of mostly Joy and water. For really fun bubbles, add a few drops of food coloring!
2. Sidewalk chalk... you can find this stuff everywhere now for a couple bucks or less. In fact, you can get a whole container at the Dollar Store. If you want to splurge a few more bucks, grab some containers of sidewalk paint too or take tempera paint and water it down for driveway painting.3. Sand pails... For a $1.50 or less, these little containers can bring hours of fun. From sandboxes to creek hopping, from treasure collecting to rock dumping!
4. Blankets... Whether you're headed out for a picnic, ice-cream, or an afternoon of reading favorites you're ready to go!
5. Squirt bottles... Picked up again from the Dollar Store, these are fun for cooling off on a hot day as the kiddos squirt one another. You can also tape up paper on garage doors or the driveway and fill them up with watered down tempera or driveway paint and let the kids go wild. A little hose action takes care of any clean up.6. Other favorites... play-doh (go Dollar Store generic or use a coupon to get them cheap from Target, etc.) , big coloring sheets (recently found on major clearance from Kroger), empty notebooks to make into nature journals (more on that one later), watering cans and all manner of cups for transferring water or sand (ranging from a buck at Big Lots to FREE), sprinklers (five bucks or so from Wal-Mart), plastic pools (a big one picked up for 99 cents at the end of last season), and the list could go on!
Any spring and summer favorites that make your stash?~Katrina
