Wet ‘N Wild

I know that school is starting soon in many areas around the country.

School signals the end of the summer.  But not necessarily the end of hot weather.

I remember many days at the beginning of the school year in elementary school of being sweaty and sticking to the wooden chair at my desk .  (My kids would claim that was before air conditioning was invented.  And, you know what, they would be right!!)

However, you might want to have one last summer activity to enjoy with your grandchildren before the cold and snow sets in.  (I heard it snowed in Montana last week.  I fear snow will be here sooner that we want . . .)

So, to enjoy those last warm, golden sun rays, have a Wet ‘N Wild activity. Here are three ideas for a drippin’ fun extravaganza.

Sponge Tag
Get a bucket of water and a large sponge.  Select someone to be ‘It.’  ‘It’ soaks the sponge in the water.  When the sponge is as full as possible, ‘It’ chases after the other players trying to hit someone with the sponge.  If a person gets hit with the sponge, that person is ‘It’.  Continue playing until interests wanes.

House Painting
Get a bucket of water and a paint brush for each grandchild.  Let them ”paint’ a picture on the outside of your house.  Have a camera handy to quickly take a picture of their artwork before it dries and disappears.  Or, they could paint a picture on your driveway.

Water Balloon Toss
This is not your normal balloon toss.  (Do I ever do anything normal?  Normal.  What’s that?)  Make water balloons so that there is one less than the number of people playing.  So, if there are 6 people (including you), you would have 5 balloons.  Take one filled water balloon and poke a small hole in it.  Have everybody sit in a circle.  Pass the balloon around.  The one holding the balloon when all of the water is gone from the balloon is out of play.  Keep playing rounds until there is only one person left. That person is the winner.  (Need I say that you ought to play this outside???)

Bonus Activity for Little Ones
For younger grandchildren, gather up some of your extra kitchen utensils.  (Don’t use your best ones in the event that they get damaged somehow. You never know with kids!)  Fill a kiddie wadding pool with several inches of water.  Let your grandchildren play in the water with the kitchen gadgets.

When you’re finished playing in the water, serve putting pops that you previously made.

HOMEMADE COOKIE PUDDING POPS
1 package (3.9 oz) chocolate instant pudding mix
2 cups cold milk
6 Oreo cookies
1/2 cup thawed Cool Whip
Wooden Popsicle sticks or plastic spoons

Beat pudding mix and milk in large bowl with whisk.  Place cookies in Ziploc bag and use rolling pin to crush cookies.  Add cookies and Cool Whip to the pudding.  Stir until blended.

Spoon into 9 small paper or plastic cups.   Insert wooden Popsicle stick or plastic spoon into each cup for handle.   Freeze 5 hours or overnight.

You could make these with your grandchildren before you start your water games.  Or, you could make them the night before so they would be ready to serve when you are finished playing.  You can also try different flavors of pudding and cookies.

Enjoy!