During the school break, au pairs are challenged with keeping their host kids busier than ever. Thankfully, our summer au pairs arrive prepared with plenty of ideas to keep children of all ages entertained.
When we asked our au pairs, “What is the most creative activity you did this summer with your host children?” they shared a slew of fun answers through Facebook. Jody Ellis also commented, “This is a great idea as it helps us all get new ideas!”, and we have to agree. Here are some of our favorite responses:
Bec May Brown, Cultural Care au pair from Australia:
I made goop for my 21-month-old twins so that they could experiment with the texture. It is solid when it is in the bowl but when you pick it up is is liquid. In true toddler fashion they were not so sure about it at first but had a great time tipping it on to their little table. This is definitely an outside activity!
Jody Ellis, Cultural Care au pair from Australia:
I drew around their hands on a piece of paper and decorated it to make monsters. We decorated biscuits with different types of candy, made reflection paint butterflies, a paper maché volcano and our own edible necklaces with fruit loops and string. Oh, and marble painting—they love that!
Andrea Tavernaro, Cultural Care au pair from Brazil:
We made owls with the end of toilet paper or paper towel rolls, using lots of old stuff.
Anika Schuster, Cultural Care au pair from Austria:
We made playdoh ourselves! That was fun 🙂
Tamara Amsler, Cultural Care au pair from Switzerland:
I hid a treasure in the backyard and made a treasure map. My almost-4-yea-old had to find it with the map 🙂
Magdalena Figlmüller, Cultural Care au pair from Austria:
I recorded a short version of Cinderella with my 10-year-old twins. We created the whole scenery first and then recorded scene-by-scene using the girls Barbie dolls as characters. Took us couple of days, but it was lots of fun 🙂
Anna Whittington, Cultural Care au pair from Australia:
We made slime, marble towers out of the recycling, and tie dye t-shirts. I’ve also been teaching my 7-year-old to draw Australian animals.
If you’d like to make playdough or goop with your little ones, here are some easy recipes:
Homemade Playdough
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of plain flour
- 2 cups of water
- Few drops of food coloring
- 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 cup of salt
Directions: Mix all of the ingredients together in a pot. Cook on medium heat and stir until the playdough thickens. Play!
Homemade Slime
- 1 teaspoon Borax powder (Please note: Borax should not be ingested. Ingesting large doses may be fatal. Exposure to skin or eyes may cause irritation. Do not inhale. Keep out of the reach of children and pets.)
- 1 1/2 cups water, divided
- 1/2 cup Elmer’s glue, clear or white
- Food coloring
Directions: Add Borax to 1 cup of water and stir to dissolve. In a separate bowl mix glue and 1/2 cup of the water. Add a few drops of food coloring and mix until you get the color you like. Add the Borax solution to the glue mixture. Mix together a few times and then use your hands to knead the mix until it becomes more firm. Discard any extra liquid in bowl. Store in a ziplock bag or air tight container.
Do you have favorite summer activities to make the season memorable? Please let us know in comments below.