This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Quaker Oats for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
Playdates have saved me over the years. It’s not only time to get to talk with other parents, but it’s a great chance for my kids to play with other families. Because, let’s face it, I can never play enough with my kids. Even if I play with them for over an hour, they are still begging for MORE! That’s why I’m thrilled to be joining up with Quaker® Chewy® Granola Bars (a Happily Ever Mom sponsor) and their campaign #keepplaying because they truly understand how important play time is for families. Quaker has asked me to talk about fun and simple playdate ideas that will get the entire family in on the fun (yes, that means you too!).
Psst…scroll to the end to see how you can ENTER TO WIN your own play date kit!!
Keep it Simple – Playdate Ideas
Open a pretend cupcake shop with a cold, sensory batter (I promise you have this at home, but you probably haven’t used it this way before!)
If you’ve got science lovers, make pretend erupting cupcakes instead.
Open a pizza shop complete with lemon and herb play dough.
Embrace simplicity and let kids explore water beads.
Or, let kids experiment with water beads and color mixing.
Make a car washing station that compliments one of our favorite children’s books.
Play our simple version of hide and seek with friends.
Let kids stay up late and make glow in the dark musical instruments (or, let them take them home).
Build stained glass in the window with Magna Tiles.
Make an erupting rainbow.
Set up and race balloon rockets – this one’s a crowd pleaser and super simple to set up!
For Little Ones – Playdate Ideas
Put up a gorgeous touch and feel board.
Make an edible rainbow.
Have babies and toddlers that mouth everything? Make a touch and feel spring sun catcher that they can’t eat!
Grab something we all have in our pantry to make edible sand (perfect inside on a rainy day!).
Build a busy board.
Put out mega blocks for little hands with a family twist – this is a great way for babies and toddlers to learn faces!
Make a ball drop.
Or, set up an egg drop – my six month old loved this one!
Turn a box upside down for a simple, but ridiculously addictive baby game.
Play, Paint, and Create – Playdate Ideas
Make a chalk maze.
Or, do chalk paintings with a twist.
Add a few letters to make learning fun with chalk.
Make sticky clouds – great for little ones who aren’t mouthing as much now!
Grab paper bags to make fairy wings.
Make a fairy pumpkin house to decorate.
Then, make peg fairies to go inside the pumpkin house.
Make melted pony bead sun catchers.
Or, personalized sun catchers for older ones.
But, our favorite sun catchers look like bugs!
We loved jingle bell painting, but you could use anything that rolls.
Make sticky art on the light table or in the window.
Or, do mess-free painting on the light table (this is great for little ones, too!).
But, recently, my daughter and son’s favorite was our sticky flower collage.
Grab something that we all have around the house to make these heart-shaped binoculars.
Take kids out on a walk after they dry!
Make watercolor pens to share with friends (psst…this is a melissa and doug hack!).
Keep Kids Playing…
When kids have playdates, they need to eat.
That’s where Quaker comes in. What we love most about Quaker, is that 8 grams of whole grains are in every bar and come in delectably fun flavors like Chocolate Chip, S’mores and Oatmeal Raisin (I LOVED S’mores as a kid!).
Plus, the whole family can have a Quaker bar and still keep playing! Now, for the fun part…
Win Your Own Playdate Kit!!
If you love playdates as much as we do, you can enter to win your own play date kit (worth $100!). Here’s what is in the playdate kit:
· Chewy Playdate invitation pack to plan your next playdate
· A classic Bocce Ball set for endless hours of outdoor summer play
· A Gazillion Bubble Monsoon bubble machine for the whole family to enjoy
· A sidewalk chalk set to get creative outdoors
· A puzzle perfect for indoor or outdoor play
· A red storage bin for storing your family’s favorite toys
· A nerf product
· A variety of Chewy Granola Bars to help fuel family play, including, Big Chewy Sweet & Salty Bars and Chewy Granola Bars Variety Pack
Quaker is providing all of the giveaway items, but this giveaway is hosted by Happily Ever Mom, so sign up below!! The winner will be contacted by Happily Ever Mom directly and we will send the winner’s name to Quaker.
This giveaway is open to US citizens only and will be valid through June 13th, 2015.
Quaker is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to me. This program is not administered or sponsored by Quaker or its affiliates, but solely by Happily Ever Mom.
BONUS!
To help inspire families’ playtime together and fuel fun, Quaker is inviting parents to participate in its Keep Playing! With Chewy promotion for a chance to win $25,000 to make over their family’s play space. To enter, visitwww.ChewyKeepPlaying.com andsubmit a photo of your family’s favorite play space along with how you would like to see that space made over and why.
This promotion is solely sponsored by Happily Ever Mom and has not been endorsed or approved by PepsiCo, Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliates. By entering, you agree to look solely to Happily Ever Mom for any claims in connection therewith, and not to PepsiCo, Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliates.
Lauren says
I like to have playdates at the park so there is plenty of room to run around.
Tove Maren says
I just came across your blog this morning on Pinterest. I love your ideas and I would love to have you as a pinner on my group board “playing, learning, therapy” where I share tips and ideas for sensory play etc. Your knowledge and experience would be perfect.
I love this post – so many great ideas, awesome picture and FUN. I am so glad I found your blog. I will be “blog-stalking” you… ha ha ha
Katie Joiner says
Awh, you’re too sweet! I’m so glad you’re here!! 🙂
Elisabeth says
I like the personalized sun catchers idea!
Katie Joiner says
Thanks, Elisabeth! We loved it, too 🙂
Ashley says
I like the chalk painting idea
Noreen says
My kids would love the chalk drawing, we like to play Legos during play dates when it is raining, which happens very often here in the Pacific Northwest.
Laura J says
Oh they are all such great ideas…I really love the chalk maze!!