Oh what do you do in the summertime? Part 1

Last summer I worked as a nanny.  I got really bored, really fast.  This summer, I am working with the same family.  To prevent boredom, I have planned several “themed,” days.  I decided that if I was expected to blog the ideas, I’d keep the momentum going, so here we go!  I will most likely be doing 1 themed day per week, but if I do extra, I will definitely post about it!  My very first series, how exciting!
Disclaimer:  I am not a mother.  I will try to plan activities that take very little prep, but I know moms are busy.  Use as many or as few activities as you want.  Simplify as much as you want as well!  These activities are for a four year old and 2.5 year old, but can be “grown up” or “grown down” (is that even a real phrase?!) as much as you’d like!
So let’s get started.
Week 1: Potato Day!
You’ll need:  A few of these babies, and some other stuff (to be explained later in the post)

Activity #1: First, we’ll do potato prints! 
You’ll need:  Potatoes, a knife, washable kid paint, paper
I got this idea from the Family Fun cookbook my mom gave me years ago for Christmas. 

Cut the potatoes in half, and then cut them so a shape sticks out.  I am not particularly good with knives, so I will not show you pictures of this.  I also found that simply cutting the potatoes at different angles worked great too.  That way you have several sides to use as stamps.



Then get your washable kid paint out, and go to town!

Activity #2: Potato Pals, People, Monsters, (whatever your kids decide to call them!) 
This idea also came from my handy Family Fun Cookbook!
You’ll need: potatos (mildly soft ones are easier), toothpicks, and any other crafty items you have (buttons, raisins, yarn, cupcake wrappers, material scraps, etc)
*If you think your potato pals will simply sit on the counter for others to adore, cut the bottom of the potato to help it stand up flat.  If not, leave it so you don’t get potato juice all over the house.  (I left mine whole…the potatoes visited every room in the house!)

Stick the toothpicks in the potato where a body part will be.

Then put buttons or anything else you’d like on top of the toothpick to make a face!  My kiddos used yarn for hair, cupcake wrappers for beds/bathtubs or hats, etc.
Activity #3: Potato Faces!
You’ll need:  Paper, Marker, print out of body parts, crayons if your kiddos want to color the faces
For my body print outs, I used the Crayola Art Studio program my husband got me for my birthday last year.  It’s pretty much a glorified version of paint, but it has many images that are very useful for preschoolers/kids.  I LOVE this program!  I think it was around $25 ( I just saw it on Amazon for under $20), and it’s very worth it!
***SUPER COOL!*** I was checking out Crayola’s Website, and found some printable coloring pages with face parts on them!  So go ahead and print these pages out here and here, and you’ll be set!

Take your paper and draw what looks like a potato.  (Yes, I used blue paper… :)


Here’s just a couple examples.
Have fun!  Posting to these linky parties
If you do any of these projects, I would LOVE to see them!  If you have any ideas on what I can do in the summertime, leave me a comment and I’ll try it out!