Hello Summer!
Well, almost summer here. The kids still have one more week left of school but the countdown has certainly begun and I’m nearly as excited for the change in routine as the kids are. Oh how great to get a later start on the mornings, and to not have to wait until the kids are out the door in order to get a chance to take a shower! (someone remind me of this feeling on one of those long summer afternoons when the kids are “bored” or constantly bickering!)
This past weekend the kids and I sat down to work on our Summer Bucket List – which has become one of our yearly traditions. (you can see last year’s list HERE and I will post this year’s soon!) As we were talking I noticed a theme emerging from their suggestions – fun time with friends. I wondered for a second if my kids have been feeling…socially deprived…? (and if so, do I lose Mom Points for that? 😉 ) but quickly realized it was just a manifestation of their fun-loving, outgoing sides which I would like to help them nurture. Being a bit of an introvert myself, I admire that side of their personalities while at the same time I have to subvert my own desire for calm and quiet in order to give them the chance to explore that. So we made a list of things they wanted to do with friends and party ideas and I agreed to let them host something on a regular basis.
First up on their list – a party for the last day of school! This is something we did a few times in our old neighorhood but didn’t follow through with last year and Kaitlyn, in particular, was very excited about hosting something. She quickly decided on a water theme (after seeing an idea on Pinterest for SlipNSlide baseball a few days before) and in less than 30 minutes we not only had a plan and menu ideas, but had created and printed out the invitations too.
I found the Splash clip art on the internet then simply added the wording over the top and printed everything onto cardstock (4 to a page). The back side of the invitation holds all the details: time, date, location, etc.
We checked the weather forecast and so far it looks like we will have sunshine and decent temperatures – yay! That means we can go ahead with our ideas for SlipNSlide kickball, water gun target shooting and Splash Ball lacrosse. (actually we don’t know how to play lacrosse but we do have a couple of sticks and they can play catch) Kaitlyn helped me pick up supplies and snacks last night so we’re all set to party. Bring on the last day of school and bring on SUMMER!
I’ll be sure to post party details after the event – check back soon! Or check out some of our other Last Day of School Traditions, End of the Year gifts for teachers and kids (Buckets of Fun idea or Teacher Gifts in a Cup ideas) or Summer Fun Ideas that Won’t Break the Bank.
Linking to: Home Matters Party, Pretty Pintastic Party,
alaynascreations 