After School Water Balloons
School is back in action and for the first time, both of our kids are in school! It’s a very exciting time and we are still learning to adjust to this new normal - especially the after school chaos.
Everyone had warned us about the after school meltdowns. The teachers told us to prepare ourselves. But I don’t think I was fully aware of how that would manifest for my kids. It seems that for my two, after school is when they get a SUPER BURST of very silly energy. We’re talking about high shrieks and nonsensical words that make them bend over in extra loud laughter. I’m grateful for the positive energy but also cannot handle that kind of noise inside.
So out we go! Today I opened a pack of reusable water balloons and threw them in the water table. I had wanted to replicate a video I saw on Instagram of a kid playing golf with water balloons. To be honest, the golf clubs didn’t really do much to the reusable water balloons, but that didn’t get in the way of our fun. Whit and Gem played with them for over an hour, constantly finding new uses for them. First it was a simple exploration on how hard they could throw them to make them pop and where. They especially loved throwing the balloons super high to see where they landed with a big burst. That turned into, “Can I throw them at you?!” to each other and because they are soft, both kids enjoyed this part of the play. At one point Whitney was excitedly trying to make them float and sink - such a cool exploration of a science topic. After the golf flop, I pulled out the T-ball set and they had a ton of fun making the balloons explode with the bat.
While the weather is still warm, we will be using these water balloons regularly after school. I love how easy they are to refill (my 2 year old could easily do it independently) and how much self-guided exploration and silliness filled the afternoon with them.
