Camp Wannahaha!!!

Despite the weather of late, I have been looking into summer activities for the kids.  there is no shortage to choose from, either through the City of Ottawa or local churches and organizations.  This year we chose two from the City and one called "Camp Awesome" through one of our local churches.  I hear it's "awesome"  hee hee. This is all well and good, but summer can be LOOOONG for a mom of two demanding active children.  Last year I came up with a way to make summer both fun for my lovelies as well as easy for me to get things done without being "ON" 24/7.  Summer camp at home!! We did as all good camps would do, we planned out each weeks activities from crafts to excursions.  We came up with a fancy camp name "Wannahaha"  Then we made a flag and a sign which we hung outside the house.  We made up camp rules and chores for cleaning up.  Then we made a camp shirt.  That took care of the first week.  There were also door labels to put up in the house.  The kids thought is was awesome.

I made three jars with labels.  Each morning the children had to pick an activity from each jar.  They were labeled "Chore", "Craft/Science" and "Extra".  The kids had to do the chore first and then we could go onto the other activities.  The "Extra" category is a mixture of things that everyone wanted to do. ie: trip (great for touring the city), cooking, outdoor activity (sprinkler), movie etc...  If the children chose to do more than one chore, they could earn an extra activity a week - although this year I will make a BONUS jar instead. It will have big things in it.  For example - go to a movie, the beach or a big cost item.

For the most part, I tried to keep the activities close to home (or AT home more like) and on the lowest cost side as possible.  it may sound like a daunting task, but in fact we had way more activities to do than we had time.  Here is the list we used last here.

I have also since found new sites that have low or no cost activities at home than can be used.  Like this one.

I almost think this is more fun than going to a camp for younger children since it is tailor made for your individual children and they get to program all their own activities.

With summer fast approaching, what are some ways you're planning to keep your children entertained?

Hotel Home

by Alanna My children are very creative.  It is easy to do imaginative things with them.  They wanted to go on a vacation far away like their friends, and stay in a hotel.  This was not feasable for us so I suggested we turn our house into a hotel.  At first they were shocked and maybe a little bit confused, but then they thought it was a great idea.

First off, I had them go and pack their bags.  While they were doing that, I printed out some signs that I found online here.  I put them up all over the house and got to work on a room service menu.

Once the kids bags were packed we put all our bags in the car and went for a little drive (I actually had errands to do).  When we returned home, I got into character.  I jumped out of the car and helped them with their bags.  I had a book ready inside and asked them if they had reservations, handed them their keys and escorted them to their rooms.  They really got a kick out of it.

The activity was seriously successful.  They really want to do it again this year.  I am not sure.  Since then we have actually been to a hotel.  They might be more demanding this time. LOL.

I'd love to hear if it worked for you.

Alanna is a mother of two beauties, Nora age 3 (aka coconut) and Avery 5 (aka polka dot). Former ECE turned mother, party planner and blogger.  Never a dull moment around this house.

I'm Bored

by Alanna In our house "I'm Bored" is more than a four letter word.  It's a FIVE letter word that is banned.  No one is allowed to use it!! Period!!!  The result of using the word is choosing either to lose points on My JobChart or picking from the dreaded jar of chores!!!  Apparently the jar of chores is the lesser of two evils.

In order to encourage self stimulation and motivation to find activities that do not include computer and TV, I have come up with a list of activities to pick from BEFORE we decide there is nothing to do.  I went through the children's toys and books, found the least used items and put them on the list.  I also added a list of activities to learn ie:skipping with a rope and hoola hooping.  There are scavenger hunts for missing puzzle pieces, things found to make a craft with and letter hunts.  All of these things can be altered based on you child's age and skill ability.

This is the checklist I made

So far it has worked wonderful.  It has turned out to be a great clutter buster since I decided that if those rarely used items get put in the giveaway pile if they are not something they ready don't want to do.

Alanna is a mother of two beauties, Nora age 3 (aka coconut) and Avery 5 (aka polka dot). Former ECE turned mother, party planner and blogger.  Never a dull moment around this house.

I spy

by Alanna It all started out with a surprise birthday invitation. Three pages all stamped with offical CSIS letter head and stamps. Very intriguing. My boy was invited to a birthday party at "The Diefenbunker" For those of you who aren't familiar with the place, it was built during the "Cold War" by John Deifenbaker, the Prime Minister at the time. It was a top secret building that would house all the important government officials in the event of a nuclear attack. The building is now used as a museum that chronicals an important time period in Canadian history. Also, a fabulous venue for a Spy birthday party for a bunch of 6-9 year olds. I was very curious how this would play out (and had never been to the Deifenbunker) so I tagged along.

We were met at the main entrance by our guide who promtly ran the kids through Basic Training exercises, and then we were ushered into the building that where our mission would take place. The children were suited up, picked "secret agent" names and were told about how to be stelth like and super quiet. We were on the lookout for Agent X. We were guided through rooms which were still set-up as they would have been. The children were able to get hands on with the equipment, looking in drawers and touch things they have never seen before (you know, like a typewritter).

The children took their mission very seriously. Ducking and dodging to keep out of sight from the secret agent. The guide played it up too. A party is 12 children for $140.00. You will need to supply the cake and you can bring food. There is also a pizza delivery option that was not mentioned to the birthday mom, but you may want to ask. Also, two things you should know is that for the younger children it can be a little scary, especially when they first walk in

2. there is a lot of walking. 4 floors up and down. Be prepared in comfortable shoes. Finally, there is no pre-party set-up. You may want to leave the loot bags in the car and give them out when you leave. You will have to carry things around for a while.

Definately a fun event for, those spy loving kids who are up for a little adventure. Have a great time.

The two and a half hour event was well received by the children. They all were talking about having their next party there and who they would invite. It was fabulous for children who have great imagination.

Alanna is a mother of two beauties, Nora age 3 (aka coconut) and Avery 5 (aka polka dot). Former ECE turned mother, party planner and blogger.  Never a dull moment around this house.