Summer Surprise Kit

Brenda and I are brainstorming today about what we could put into a box (that the children can decorate! on the first day of summer!) that could be use to stick some surprises into. (Of course, you don't have to have all the ideas ready at the beginning of summer, or have more than one surprise in the box at a time.) Here's what we thought of. We'd welcome your ideas on the comments, please...!

1. Jumping Jack (and Jill): Long jump rope or Chinese jump rope (you can just use elastic for this) and some jump rope rhymes AND the promise of Mom jumping with you for 15 minutes (Brenda will turn until baby comes and who knows how long after)

2. Be Julia Child: put in a new recipe to try (Liz wants to try making bagels or frozen bananas on a stick, you know, the kind rolled in nuts. Brenda says she tried making bagels once, and it was a total disaster. Anyone have success here? Brenda doesn't have anything she feels like making right now with baby growing bigger.)

3. Color Me Melted: put in used crayons for a crayon melt picture. You cover a griddle with tin foil, unwrap the crayon wrappers, and draw a picture on the tin foil. Then you put a paper on top, and press carefully with a paper towel (Mom can have the pleasure of burning fingers here). Very fun--Liz did this as a child)

4. Earn Your Rent: lemonade (or fresh produce) stand kit: cups, lemon flavored whatever (or sugar if you're making it fresh or whatever), stand signs (or markers, tape, and paper for poster), some loose change to break those $20's from the big spending dads who drive by

5. Be Bob the Builder: a hammer, nails, and some wood scraps (OK, maybe these won't fit in the box, like the lemonade concentrate, but maybe they could be somewhere else)

6. Pressed for Time: a paper (or website) with instructions on flower pressing, tissue paper, books or cardboard and brick or whatever

7. Floral Shop: Tissue paper, string or twisty ties. See this post at Daily Grapefruit

8. Hair Shop: Brushes, comb, curling iron, ponies (NO SCISSORS) for hair styling time.Do braids, buns, goofy gun stuff. POST YOUR PHOTOS HERE! AND/OR Make flower barrettes: put in fake flowers, jewels (plastic bling stuff), clips, glue gun, glue gun sticks.

9. Be Betsy Ross: put in red, white, and blue fabric and needles, thread, scissors (or glue sticks) (or permission to use the sewing machine) and possibly fabric stars.

10. Trip to Hollywood: let them use your video recorder (do you dare?) to make a movie. Maybe include an idea or two for a story book that they could use with a couple of props or costume pieces to get them started brainstorming. Include tickets for the movie showing and popcorn bags/boxes, if desired.

11. Frozen Delights: popsicle sticks, popsicle molds, Kool Aid package or other juice.

12. Mary Poppins Sidewalks: with a container of sidewalk chalk, have them draw a destination that they'd like to "pop into" and then go from there, following the idea they come up with: check out a book from the library or a movie related to the destination. Or have them dress up and pretend to go there, or make something for dinner that is related.

13. Vacation Sweepstakes: One summer day we "went" to India. We invited our local cousins to come with us. The children made airline tickets, we got some little packages of peanuts, checked out a movie from the library about India as well as the movie "Rikki Tikki Tavi." Then we made Indian food for dinner and invited a friend who is Indian. She brought a curry dish as well as some Indian traditional dress. All of the big girls and me (Liz) dressed up in costume and took pictures. This was a fun day as well as a great memory.