This or That 2013

I did a This or That post last year when I first started my blog and since it’s a year later I decided it was time for a re-do! The questions from this post came from the This or That tag that went around on YouTube a few months ago. Soooo here it is!

Makeup:

Blush or bronzer?

BLUSH!

Lip gloss or lipstick?

Lipstick!

Eye liner or mascara?

Mascara!

Foundation or concealer?

Concealer!

Neutral or color eye shadow?

Neutral!

Pressed or loose eye shadows?

Pressed!

Brushes or sponges?

Brushes!

Nails:

OPI or China Glaze?

China Glaze!

Long or short?

Short!

Acrylic or natural?

Natural!

Brights or dark?

Brights!

Flower or no flower?

No flower!

Body:

Perfume or body splash?

Perfume!

Lotion or body butter?

Lotion!

Body wash or soap?

Body wash!

Lush or other bath company?

Other!

Fashion:

Jeans or sweat pants?

Sweat pants!

Long sleeve or short?

Short sleeve!

Dresses or skirts?

NEITHER!!!!

Stripes or plaid?

Stripes!

Flip flops or sandals?

Flip flops!

Scarves or hats?

Scarves!

Studs or dangly earrings?

NEITHER!!!!!

Necklaces or bracelets?

Neither, but I guess I’d wear a bracelet over a necklace.

Heels or flats?

Flats!

Cowboy boots or riding boots?

Yeehawwwwwwww, cowboy boots!

Jacket or hoodie?

Hoodie!

(or Northface!)

Forever 21 or Charlotte Russe?

Forever 21!

Abercrombie or Hollister?

I don’t really shop at either anymore but when I did I preferred Abercrombie.

Saks 5th or Nordstrom?

Nordstrom!

Hair:

Curly or straight?

Curly!

Bun or ponytail?

Ponytail because my hair is too long for a bun!

Bobby pins or butterfly clips?

The 90’s child in me is saying butterfly clips but the adult in me is saying bobby pins!

Hair spray or gel?

Neither but I occasionally use hair spray. And by occasionally I mean a few times a year.

Long or short?

Long!

Light or dark?

On myself, dark!

Side swept or full bangs?

Side swept!

Up or down?

I’m in the middle with this one sooo… Both!

Random:

Rain or shine?

Shine!

Summer or winter?

Don’t stone me for this but WINTER! I loathe summer because I do not like the extreme heat!

Fall or spring?

Fall! Favorite season!

Chocolate or vanilla?

I like vanilla but I am 100% a chocoholic!

East coast or West coast?

Neither! I’m a born and raised Illinois girl!

Whew, that was alot of hard choices! I would love to know what you would choose so if you’d like leave your answers in a comment!

Katie

25 Summer Activity/Project Ideas for Kids

Over the past four summers I’ve done my share of different activities with kids. Some of which worked seamlessly and some not so seamlessly. Today I’m sharing 25 activity/project ideas that have worked extremely well for me and hopefully will for you too. If I’ve done a past blog post I’ll be sure to link it to that activity/project.

Summer Activity/Project Ideas for Kids:

1) Buy a deck of cards and watch YouTube how-to card trick videos.

2) Make paper airplanes.

3) Make own crayons.

4) Make ice cream.

5) Make Shrinky Dinks
(Yes, 90’s kids those still exist!)

6) Make a story board based on a book.

7) Play board games or make own board game.

8) Put together (high number piece) puzzles.

9) Conduct science experiments.

10) Make volcano.

11) Make “lava lamp”
(Empty bottle, water, oil, food coloring, glitter).

12) Daily journal.

13) Movie review.

14) Make custom shirts (paint or tie-dye).

15) Educational (yes, I said it) workbooks/worksheets.

16) Mazes, word searches or crossword puzzles.

17) Create indoor/outdoor obstacle course.

18) Sent up tent indoors or outdoors and “camp” for a day.

19) Go on a supervised neighborhood scavenger hunt.

20) Freeze objects into a block of ice then use a chisel to get the objects out.

21) Have picnic lunch.

22) Create custom puppets and put on a show.

23) Have ice cream for lunch!

24) Have a pajama day/party.

25) Make pizza.

Well that wraps up my 2013 summer ideas for kids series!

What are some activity/projects you do with kids during the summer? Leave them in a comment below!

Katie

Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt Template

A few years ago I attended a children’s birthday party where we did a neighborhood scavenger hunt and let me tell you, it was SO MUCH FUN! So much fun in fact that I decided to recreate the template and post it as a part of my summer ideas for kids series. This activity is sure to keep the kids entertained for at least an hour because they’ll be running all over the neighborhood collecting different items. Some of the items require the help of your neighbors so adult supervision is suggested. I wanted to share this because in addition to it being a great party activity I thought it would be perfect for a summer day.

Template Preview:

Printable template: Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt

Have you done a neighborhood scavenger hunt before? What were some items you had to collect? Leave them in a comment below!

Happy hunting!

Katie

Movie Review Template for Kids

It’s time for a reality check… whether we accept it or not we’re all critics. Whether it be about the clothes we wear, the food we eat or the movies we watch we all have an opinion. This is why I’ve decided to try something new this summer and do movie reviews with the kids I nanny. Throughout the summer the four of us will be taking turns choosing a movie, watching it then the kids will fill out movie reviews with their thoughts. We’ve done this once already and so far it’s a hit! Linked below are the two templates we’re using. One is for younger children who can’t yet fully write on their own yet and the other is for older children.

Template preview:

Printable template: Movie Review Template (Young Child)

Template Preview:

Printable template: Movie Review Template (Older Child)

If you try this out make sure to leave a comment! I’d love to know what movie you watched and how the review went!

Katie

50 Summer Journal Prompts for Kids

Continuing along with my Summer ideas for kids series I wanted to share another activity the kids and I did last summer which seemed to work really well. On one of the first days of Summer break I gave each child their own notebook and a bunch of stickers to decorate it. Once the kids were done personalizing these notebooks they became their daily morning journals. I thought this would be a great idea because it’s relatively easy but it also got their brain thinking each day. Listed below are the 50 prompts we used last summer.

Your choice. (write about whatever you want)

Your choice. (write about whatever you want)

Your choice. (write about whatever you want)

Your choice. (write about whatever you want)

Your choice. (write about whatever you want)

Free day. (no journal)

Free day. (no journal)

Free day. (no journal)

Free day. (no journal)

Free day. (no journal)

What did you do yesterday?

What did you do this weekend?

What is your favorite time of day? Explain why?

The biggest thing I ever saw was…

If toys could talk what would they say?

I am proud of myself because…

Describe your dream car.

Write about one thing you do really well.

I’m happiest when . . .

This is how I think plants grow…

If I could go on an adventure it would be…

I am afraid to_________ because…

What is your favorite room in your house? Explain why.

Describe your best day ever.

What would you do if you won the lottery?

I wish trees could _______ because….

I want to be a ________ when I grow up. Explain why.

The perfect place in the whole wide world is… Explain why.

What is something you do to help yourself feel better when you’re feeling sad?

I wish it rained __________ instead of water. Explain why.

I like to make ______ because…

Name 3 kind things you could do for someone…

My favorite stuffed animal or toy is…

Make up a short poem about summer break.

If I could choose a different name, I would choose _____ and this is why…

Let’s go _______________. Describe your adventure in detail.

What would happen if animals could talk?  What questions would you like to ask them?

Imagine that you become invisible. What are some of the things you would do?

What would you do if you were in the middle of the ocean and your boat springs a leak?

Tell about your favorite *CHILDS LAST GRADE* memories…

If I could be the president for a day I would…

If my parents let me eat whatever I wanted for a day I would eat…

Some things that make a laugh are…

Write three jokes.

Something I’m looking forward to in *CHILDS NEXT GRADE* is…

TV show or book characters that I’d like to meet are…

What is your dream vacation? Explain why.

If I could be any animal I would be _________because…

If I could be any Pokémon I would be __________ because…

Come up with 5 different math problems and solve them.

What we did was cut out each prompt, folded it then stuck them all in a mason jar. Each morning the kids chose the prompt (taking turns choosing) for that day. Depending on what the prompt said I usually had them write about 5 sentences. The kids really seemed to enjoy this so hopefully yours will too!

Come back tomorrow for a list of other Summer activities/projects for kids!

Katie

Throwback picture from last summer:

15 Summer Break Field Trip Ideas for Kids

I don’t know about you but when I was a kid I had crazy amounts of energy. This will be my 4th summer nannying full-time and I know kids need a lot of entertainment throughout the day or they get bored quickly. One of the easiest ways to keep kids occupied for a longer period of time is to take them on a field trip. I have compiled a list of 15 field trip ideas that have worked well summer after summer for me and hopefully will work with your kids as well. Here they are…

1) Library (they often have free programs for kids)

2) Pool | water park | splash pad

3) Dairy Queen or other ice cream place

4) Wendy’s, McDonalds or other cheap place for lunch or a treat

5) Bowling
(certain bowling alleys offer free games for kids EVERYDAY all summer!)

6) Mini golf

7) Arcade

8) Batting cages

9) Go karting

10) 7-11 or other convenience store to get Slurpees/slushies

11) Dollar or full price movies
(If you go before a certain time tickets are often discounted!)

12) Local children’s museum

13) Paint pottery

14) Local amusement park

15) Visit different parks throughout town

There you have it! One tip I wanted to mention is that to cut down costs I’ll usually bring our lunches, snacks and drinks to the different field trip locations.

What are some of your kids favorite summer field trips? Share them in a comment below!

Katie

I’m Backkkkk!

I’m back, I’m back and I don’t care who knows it! I had a really busy school load last semester but after a two month hiatus I’m back! I have so many topics I’ve been wanting to blog about and I can’t wait to get started! This week I’m going to share a bunch of summer suggestions for kids including field trip ideas, activity/project ideas and 50 journal topics.

Thank you so much to everyone who stuck around during my absence!

Katie