Saturday, May 24, 2008

Rubberband Balls and Other Sparks


I wrote this post about a month ago. I have no idea how I missed posting it. I will now. Note: Since then we have done several of the things on our list (see below) and we've found that making a rubber band ball is much harder than I remembered.

This morning Sloane found a handful of brightly colored, extra large rubber bands in my supply drawer. She was busily trying to wad them up in her hand, and I asked her what she was doing. She said, "I'm trying to make a rubber band ball." How cool!! I hadn't thought of one of those in years. Just years.

Her idea made me wonder... What other childhood projects, pleasures, joys have I forgotten? What new fun can I introduce into my little girl's life? What fun is Sloane dreaming of? What simple adventures can I plan for our family?

Here's a list of ideas that Sloane and I came up with. If it inspires an adventure or two of your own, please share them and let me have a little peek of your fun.
  • Spend an afternoon making a book for someone having a birthday (Daddy's is coming up soon.)

  • Drag out the craft supplies and make cards. Always include a silly joke and mail them just to say, "I love you."

  • "I love to take beautiful pictures. Then I want to put them on paper and write about them and express my ideas about them." (Sloane)

  • Play paper dolls. Better - make your own.
  • Blow giant bubbles at eachother and practice your double bubble blowing. You have to catch a bubble on the wand and gently blow another one. It takes practice, but eventually, you can learn to blow a double bubble.
  • Buy some Silly Putty and save it till Sunday, color comics day. Pick a silly comic, flatten and press your Silly Putty onto it. Bang it a few times with the flat of your hand; the noisier, the better. Now, stretch and distort the resulting image.

  • Have a giant bubble-gum blowing contest. Winner is the one with the biggest bubble - that doesn't end up in their hair. Be sure to take pictures.

  • Invite a few friends and have a Old-fashioned Board Game Night. Serve peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, Cheetos, and grape Koolaid. Have gummy bears and HoHos for dessert. Don't forget to play Pick-Up Stix, Old Maid, and Go Fish along with LIFE and Uno.
We are headed off to Wal-Mart in a bit to buy some rubber bands. Those huge ones of mine she found? Well, we're saving those for the very top of the ball.

7 comments:

Laura said...

Wonderful post!!! It reminds me of watching the public TV show Zoom when I was young!!! You are making very special memories with your daughter!

christina said...

Ohhhh, I think I am in love with your beautiful blog :)Hope you don't mind that I stayed a while and visited. :)

Anonymous said...

An old-fashioned board game night sounds so fun! Great idea!

Anonymous said...

Now I understand why our
gray four- legged child,
Velvet Dawn is so fascinated
with my wife's rubber bands,
but I wonder if a cat ever
thought of making a ball.

Jessica said...

It's me- Jessica. Our school year goes from after Labor Day to end of June. I think our last day is June 24th this year. The summer does fly by though! I can't believe it-I'm almost hoping for spring/summer to slow down a bit because once its here it seems to fly so fast!

tangobaby said...

I am totally coming to the party. Hohos? Gummy bears?

Make sure you get some extra Silly Putty for me (I like to make bubbles with it and pop them).

Relyn Lawson said...

Laura, I don't know the Zoom tv show, but I do know Zoom books. Such fun. I wonder if they are the same thing?

Christina, I am so glad you stopped by for a visit. Thank you for your lovely compliment. I have spent some time with your blog, and I have to say that I am in love with your photographs. I hope you will stop back by again.

Dianeinjapan, It is lots of fun. In addition to all the old-fashioned games, we added Blokus. have you played it? It is marvelous.

Struggle For Justice, Thank you so much for stopping by. My cat is pretty smart, but I am fairly certain she didn't think of ball making.

Hey, Jessica, I am thinking of you as you toil on in this school year. May your summer be blessed.

Tangobaby, I've got some pink Silly Putty with your name on it. When does your flight arrive?

Oldies, but Goodies