summer fun: last day of school activities

Ella's last day of school was exactly a week ago today.

Ella's first and last day of Kindergarten

She had a great year, and has grown in so many ways. Now that she's on vacation, she loves sleeping in, staying up later, and playing longer. But she misses her teacher.

Ella called me Mrs. Reiber today. We laughed. I can't begin to express how grateful we are for Debbie. And I can understand why Ella misses her. Besides structure in her classroom, her patience, love, enthusiasm and experience have given our Ella exactly what she needed for a successful year.

When Ella got home, we made sidewalk paint. It's the paint version of sidewalk chalk. It was so simple to mix up a batch and kept us busy for quite awhile.

Be sure to use a lot of the paint on the brush for the best color. We'll definitely be doing this again, it's inexpensive, easy peasy, and creative--my kind of fun. Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try.

SIDEWALK PAINT

Supplies:
1 part cornstarch (1 c.)
1 part water (1 c.)
food coloring (we used neon colors)
sponge brushes

Mix corn starch and water. Add food coloring and mix.

*I used a muffin tin for extra large muffins to hold the paint. One cup of cornstarch and one cup of water filled them about half way. The paint stretched further than I thought. I also included a sponge brush for each color--just simpler.

Our sweet neighbors, the Bybees, invited Ella over for a water fun party--relays, water balloons, squirt guns, and sprinklers. She loved it. With her siblings in their 20's, Ella is pretty much being raised as an only child. I know it's hard for her sometimes. Chad and Sarah are great about inviting Ella to many of their family activities. Her favorite is "cousins night." I think she looks forward to it more than the cousins do. :)

It was soooo hot, so Sarah pulled out the ice cream. She added a little surprise in the bottom of the cones. How fun is that?
 
Here's to a perfect start to summer!

Kim