Monday Make Your Own Sidewalk Chalk

There's nothing like spending time outside beautifying your neighborhood sidewalks. Kids can draw pictures, trace the outlines of their friends, draw a hopscotch or other fun games and much more.

Add a new dimension to the summer fun by having your kids help make their own sidewalk chalk in custom colors, swirls and a variety of shapes.

Here's what you need:

• A Mold
• 1 cup Plaster of Paris
• 3/4 cup Water
• Medium Sized Bowl
• Powedered Tempera Paint

Here's what you do:

1. Find a mold for your sidewalk chalk. Anything from a toilet tissue roll or small paper cup to fancy candy molds will work.
2. Mix together 1 cup of Plaster of Paris with 3/4 cup of water.
3. Add color to your mixture using powdered tempera paint.
4. Blend well and let stand for a few minutes.
5. Pour your mixture into the molds you chose.
6. Set aside and let dry completely.
7. Once dry you can remove your chalk from the mold.
8. Set it aside to dry for approximately 24 hours more.
9. Take your chalk outside and create fun masterpieces!

Tips:

1. Powdered tempera paint is available at most large craft stores.
2. Experiment with making swirled colors by adding the paint and stirring very little.
3. Drying time can take from several hours to a few days depending on the size of the mold you chose.

I Found this great activity at http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/craftsupplies/ht/SidewalkChalk.htm

Whatever Wednesday: Flight of the Conchords

The Flight of the Conchords are a comedy music group from New Zealand who also had a show on HBO for a while. They are super funny guys and here is one of my favorite songs from the show. There's plenty more awesome clips like this on You Tube, so check out the hilarity :)

Thursday Treat: Patriotic Drinks

This fun idea comes from the people at Disney Family Fun. People will be asking how you did it and this drink is a fun way to keep cool at all those 4th of July BBQs.

With a steady hand and some colorful drinks, you can create a tasty, multilayered concoction. The secret is in selecting liquids with varying amounts of sugar, since those that contain more (such as soda) are denser than those with less (such as diet drinks). And that makes it possible to actually stack one on top of another (for a little while, anyway -- then they'll start to blend). Here's how to serve up a thirst quencher with two, three, or even more layers. Our recipe is for a red, white, and blue version for your Fourth of July celebrations. See how your favorite beverages literally stack up!
More: 4th of July Party Food

Ingredients

• Ice cubes
• Cranberry juice

• Wild Berry flavor Gatorade Fierce
• Diet 7-Up

Instructions

1. Fill a clear glass with ice cubes. Pour the drink with the most sugar (check the nutrition label) into the glass. For our red, white, and blue recipe, start with the cranberry juice.

2. Very slowly add a beverage that contains less sugar -- in this case, Wild Berry flavor Gatorade Fierce. Be careful to pour it onto an ice cube -- not directly into the other drink -- to keep them from mixing.

3. Use the same technique to add a layer of Diet 7-Up.