Our Band of Mother's group at church is for mother's with young ones. We have a large demographics in our small church of stay at home mom's so this group was formed as a way for our kids and us to build relationships together. Can I just say, I love our group of mom's at our church?! Because I do!
Anyways, onto the water day!
I like to keep things simple, so I used what I had and tried to provide as many activities as we could without spending any money and only using things we had on hand or mom's could easily volunteer to bring.
STEP 1: PLAN THE DAY
When you are hosting a party it's best to have an agenda of what you will do. This will help all moms know what to expect and can help keep things for going crazy by not having a plan. Does anyone else notice that? When I don't have a plan for something it almost always goes the way I didn't want it to go. Also, HAVE A DEPARTURE TIME! Mom's have a way of chatting forever (I'm guilty of it too for sure) But unless you want all the mom's to stay as long as they can until all their children are screaming of a melt down because it's WAY past nap time, HAVE A DEPARTURE TIME SET!
The agenda for us:
-Water play outside
-Lunch
-Popsicle treat
-Movie (while mom's take turns changing kids in bathroom & help clean up)
-Departure time at 2:00pm
STEP 2: CREATE A FACEBOOK EVENT
-Invite the moms, especially ones you know will help contribute something
-Post agenda for the event
-Brainstorm ideas for what activities mom's have or can easily make.
-Post your requested items for lunch and/or water activities (Read Step 3)
I even made sure to reiterate when the end time is on my event details because 2:30pm is nap time for my girls, so I made sure to say we'll be sure to wrap things up and get kids sent home before our nap time starts at 2:30pm.
STEP 3: ASK FOR HELP
Don't be afraid to ask for help. If you are hosting, most of the work for you is just getting a presentable house and opening your home to others. Now, ask other mom's to pitch in a little to take the pressure off of you. You'd be surprised. Most mom's would mind pitching in one or two things if it means a whole morning of fun for their kids.
It's best to send the kids home fed, so they can get down for nap and keep to somewhat of a regular routine for the mom's.asked each mom to bring something.
ASK FOR:
-Activites for water play
-Lunch Items
For instance, I asked for:
-loaf of whole wheat bread, peanut butter, jelly, juice boxes, popsicles, salad or pasta salad (for us mom's), some extra sides like fruits, vegetables, popcorn or chips to go with lunch and some shaving cream.
STEP 4: PLAN THE ACTIVITIES:
Here are our activities:
2. Water Sprayers -Be sure to keep these away from the kiddie pools if you have babies in there.
3. Shaving Cream Table Washing -They can wash the tables, draw on them, practice writing their name, or just lather themselves up with it!
4. Paint The Fence -Have a bucket with paint brushes and rollers available.
6. Sponge Balls -Another mom donated these for our event. If you haven't seen a tutorial on pinterest yet, check out my board and you'll find an awesome tutorial to just cut and rubber band sponges together to make some awesome soft balls for throwing and having fights or...(see next)
7. Target Practice -We used the sponge balls for this but you could also use whatever water balls you have. Draw a target with chalk on your fence and let the kids at it!
8. Slip 'N Slide -What party is fun without a slip and slide?! Most of our kids were a bit young, but it was still fun for a few.
9. Slide & Tarp -Just place a tarp under one of your regular slides. Just be sure to keep it wet so it slips a bit or have a hose going down it.
10. Wiggle Sprinkler -This was one of those things we turned on for a few minutes randomly to get their attention and they loved it!
11. Sprinkler System -My awesome husband changed our timer for just one side of our sprinkler system and it would go off every 15 minutes for just 3 minutes. So, whenever the sprinklers went off you'd see all the kids race there to get wet.
12. Chalk Drawings -Throw up some chalk drawn frames on the fence and see what your kids will draw inside. Of course they will just draw all over anyways. :)
13. Movie Time -This was a great time for the mom's to take turns using the bathroom to change kids out of their wet clothes, while everyone else was happily distracted.
14. Group shot attempt -Last but not least, you have to get a wonderful group shot of your kiddos! We had a few mom who couldn't make it, but it was lots of fun for all who did!
STEP 5: PREP THE HOUSE & ACTIVITIES:
Get the house all ready to go. Like most mom's I put away toys that might get easily broken by children or easily injured. I hide lots of our large mobile items like our car, scooter and tricycle. (yes, we have a large floor plan, so these stay inside most of the time).
**A tid bit I picked up today when getting ready for this party that I HAVE to share with you was to place that shelving cling gripper under a towel by my back door. Most people put towels to help catch all the grass but the kids end up slipping on them or they get so bunched up them don't really do much good. Well, not if you put some of that gripper underneath! This worked like a charm. Although, I think I would have liked to have a slightly larger piece next time.
I also was going to set up a washing station by my back door. A bucket with water (just imagine there's water in there) and some rags to dry and/or wipe the grass off. But honestly, the towel with the gripper worked so well I hardly had any grass in my house at the end even though I forgot to fill this up or tell anyone what it was for...ha!
STEP 6: HOST THE BEST WATER DAY PARTY EVER!
Have fun and go with the flow! All your hard work and planning will be so worth it when you see all the smiles and joy on your children's faces! Now pat yourself on the back for a job well done!!
I was definitely tired out by the end of the day by moving everything around for set up and then cleaning up afterwards, but no money was spent! And I am amazingly blessed with how awesome our group is because it's an unwritten rule that we leave the house as clean, if not cleaner than before we come. They helped put everything away! (minus a few dishes in the sink) But honest! It was awesome to be able to have everything hosed off and cleaned up and put back in place. It makes you want to host another Water Day...okay, well maybe I need to recoup a little after this one....maybe in a month or two. :)
Happy Summer and God Bless!
Heather Joy
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