Camp Weary Parent Day 3 - Kick Off Summer With A Splash

by char on June 6th, 2008

Camp Weary Parent - 100s of ideas to keep the kids busy this summer I don’t know about the weather forecast in your area today, but they are calling for a heat wave here with temperatures in the upper 90s from now until Monday. Today we are going to kick off summer with a splash down party! Tell the kids to get on their swim suits, coat them from head to toe with sunscreen and head outside.

The Games:

Pass the Sponge

Fill up one large bucket with water and place an empty container at the other end. Have the kids line up single file between the containers. Use a large sponge - like you would use on your car. The first person in line dunks the sponge in the water then passes it over their head to the next person. The kids continue to pass the sponge overhead from person to person until it gets to the end of the line. The person at the end of the line squeezes all the remaining water out of the sponge into the bucket then takes the sponge back to the front of the line and everyone slides back one. The goal is to collect the most water possible in the bucket. It is so hard for the kids to resist squeezing the sponges as they pass them back.

Sponge Bum

The objective of this game is similar - get as much water from one bucket to the other as possible. With this game you start with two sponges and feed a belt through them. The kids will strap the sponge belt around their hips with the sponges under their bum. Next the “dipper” sits in the water bucket to soak the sponges and runs to the other bucket. At the other bucket they squeeze out the water and then return the belt to the next team member. The fullest end bucket wins.

The Hole-y Cup Relay

Still trying to move water from one place to the other! Get a few large plastic cups from the Dollar Store or your kitchen cabinet and have 5-10 pencil sized holes put in them. The kids will fill their “hole-y” cups with water from one bucket and then they will run to the other bucket to empty whatever water is left. The fullest bucket wins.

Water Balloon Toss with a Twist

Fill up a bucket full of water balloons. Instead of catching the water balloons with their hands, one child will toss the balloon and the other will catch the balloon with a plastic pasta strainer (Dollar Store again). This definitely added an element of the unknown to the game. If you could catch the balloons just right they wouldn’t break.

More Water Games:

Splash Party Refreshments:

When it is so hot outside, it is important to keep your kids hydrated. Offer up plenty of cool water to drink but also try out some of these fun and tasty ideas.

Make your own ice cream sundaes - this is an easy one! Put out bowls of different ice cream toppings like sprinkles, fruit, nuts, etc and let the kids build their own sundaes.
Fruit smoothies - there are hundreds of variations you can make. My kids love frozen strawberries blended with bananas and a bit of orange juice.
Try these refreshing Lemon Cups made from fresh lemons.
Make homemade snow cones (sno cones)
Freeze a tray of grapes for a healthy snack
Make your own popsicles by freezing your kids favorite drink in paper cups or Popsicle Molds.

Have fun and stay cool today! Be sure to come back Monday when we start our first full week of Camp Weary Parent and our first theme week

Joining us late? Don’t miss any of the fun - visit the Camp Weary Parent page for a complete listing of all the activities.

Tags: Camp Weary Parent, summer-fun, water games for kids

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Weary Parent: Parenting Tweens & Teens