July 2019 - EASTERN OREGON PARENT - 15
Free and low-cost outdoor entertainment for kids
By VIRGINIA JUSTICE
Last month, we listed some DIY
playthings for kids – now let’s take
that concept outside!
One of my personal favorites
for summer fun uses a
garden hose and plastic
lawn chairs. The best
hose is one they used
to call a soaker hose,
which sprays a fine mist
along its length. If you
don’t have one, just
take an old hose and
use an ice pick or other
sharp implement to
poke holes in it. Then
weave the hose through
the lawn chairs or at-
tach it with duct tape,
so the water sprays
under the chairs. The
result is a “tunnel” of
water that children can
crawl through on a hot
day. I put down a sheet
of plastic to save the
grass –and if you add a
little dish soap or baby
shampoo the plastic
becomes a slip and
slide. You can also create a “People
Wash” using PVC piping that you
drill holes in then make tunnel out
of them. For a visual explanation,
search YouTube for “Homemade
Water Park.” Using PVC pipe makes
the People Wash easy to take apart
and store away for later, without
taking up much space. Pinterest has
other great ideas for creating your
own personal water park.
For your artistic kids, water and
paintbrushes can keep children en-
tertained and cool by having them
“paint” on the cement. Sponges
make awesome paintbrushes; you
can even get compressed sponge
sheets that you can cut into shapes.
I found them at JoAnn Fabric, but
I know they are available on Ama-
zon in larger sheets. These sheets
are flat but expand when placed in
water, and can be used many times
before they wear out.
Another fun, outside-only activ-
ity is filling balloons with washable
paint (see last month’s EO Parent
for a bath paint recipe). Children
can “paint” the sidewalk or lay
down white paper for their cre-
ations. Children can either toss,
use a hammer to splat or use a tool
like a screwdriver to pop the bal-
loons. Messy, yes, but no one said
life had to be tidy all the time – and
with bath paint you simply hose the
children down. You can put wash-
able paint into condiment squeeze
bottles (usually available at the
dollar store in the BBQ section) and
squirt the paint, but make sure you
tell children to avoid their faces.
There are plenty of items you
can create with household ingredi-
ents. For instance, bubbles are easy
to make. There are many bubble
recipes on the web – here’s mine:
Start with 2.5 cups water, ½ cup
light corn syrup, and ½ cup dish
soap. To create the bubbles; in
small saucepan over medium heat
mix water and corn syrup until hot,
slowly stir in dish soap until blend-
ed, allow to cool.
You can create bubble wands
out of pipe cleaners, cookie cutters,
straws, toilet paper tubes or just
about anything that is hollow in the
center. You could create a multiple
bubble maker by poking holes in
a disposable pie pan, dipping it in
Strategies
the bubble and wav-
ing it in the air. Check
your kitchen for items
that would be fun with
bubbles, for instance
a potato masher or
slotted spoon. Use
food coloring to color
your bubbles, and blow
colored bubbles onto
white paper to create
bubble art.
I heard that you can
make gigantic, durable
bubbles using KY Jelly
or surgical lubricant,
and after a bit of re-
search and I found a
recipe that seems to
work well. Combine 12
ounces water, 1 ounce
of dish soap, and ½
ounce of the lubricant
in a container with a lid
and shake to mix. You
will need to wait until
the next day to use this bubble con-
coction, as it needs some resting
time to be effective.
Outdoor fun does not have to
be expensive and in many cases
it can provide teaching moments
that involve children in learning and
experimenting. Here is hoping you
have an exciting, possibly messy
summer – and remember that chil-
dren, like clothing, are meant to be
washed regularly.
________
Pendleton home economist Virginia
Justice and her husband have two
college-aged daughters.