Sidewalk chalk, bubble solution, fingerpaint…where does it end? Fortunately, pretty much all of those recipes that we rely on to keep summer fun and creative for our little ones can be made cheaply and easily and on-demand at home, often with simple household supplies. You’ll know exactly what’s in them, you don’t have to run out to the store to buy them, and you’re not wasting any money on plastic packaging that you’ll then have to go to the effort of recycling yourself. Check out these five recipes to see the summer supplies that you can make: We live just a few houses down from a wonderful park with a giant basketpall court that we walk to every day. Yeah, we go through a LOT of sidewalk chalk. With my homemade sidewalk chalk tutorial and some plaster of Paris from the store, you, too, can make a bounty of sidewalk chalk in a multitude of shapes and all your favorite colors. Next » Homemade Bubble Solution Another recipe that we can go through gallons of at our house is bubble solution. Sure, store-bought bubble solution is cheap, but the first time that I brought home a gallon of bubble solution from the store, only to have a kid knock the whole thing over at the smack-dab beginning of an all-day playdate, I became a homemade bubble solution convert. This World’s Best Bubbles recipe, from AshleyAnnPhotography, is one of many excellent recipes out there on the internet. [The image on this page is the property of Ashley Ann Photography.] Next » Homemade Fingerpaint Since fingerpaint is most often used by very small children, I prefer homemade fingerpaints because, like our favorite homemade fingerpaint recipe from Milk and Cuddles, when you make it yourself you can make sure that you’re using food-grade ingredients, organic if you prefer, as chemical-free and natural as you need them to be. [The image on this page is the property of Milk and Cuddles.] Next » Recycling Bin Boat Another favorite pastime at our house is to drag out the recycling bin and a spellbinding array of tape and hot glue, and make something crazy. If you live near any kind of water source (and yes, the wading pool counts!), then check out this recycled pontoon boat idea from Green Kid Crafts. After all the tin can robots and cardboard cats and toilet paper roll castles that my girlies have made, they were thrilled to make something that really worked! [The image on this page is the property of Green Kid Crafts.] Next » Homemade Sidewalk Paint I love sidewalk paint, but my favorite part of this homemade sidewalk paint recipe from Hands On: As We Grow is the suggestion to hand your kid a spray bottle of vinegar when she’s done playing. The paint is made with baking soda, so it fizzes delightfully when sprayed with vinegar, and your sidewalk gets clean(er) again! [The image on this page is the property of Hands On: As We Grow.]
