Tuesday's Tips for Summer Survival - Plastic Bag Paratroopers

Tuesday's Tips for Summer Survival (TTSS) is a weekly carnival to help mamas survive the long summer days. The goal is to share kid-friendly tips so we can end up on the other side of this summer with what little sanity we had when we started.

____________________________________

Plastic Bag Paratroopers:

This is a cheap easy idea that kept my boys entertained four different times for about an hour each time.

Take a plastic shopping bag (this was actually the hardest part as I've switched over to reusable bags!), lay it flat and upside down and cut the handles deeper on the front, back and both sides.

Attach pipe cleaners, garbage bag ties or rubber bands to the now long handles. Attach a figure (i.e., Army man, small plastic doll) to the pipe cleaners, garbage ties or rubber bands. (We used a construction worker and a fireman with pipe cleaners around their waists.)

Fold the bag in half, hold on the the crease and whip it around several times before letting go.

Geronimo!

I got quite the arm workout trying to get these pictures.

Jack and Logan (because they are younger) seemed to get much better results tossing them from the top of a jungle gym (either in our backyard or at the park). They couldn't get enough speed when they tried whipping the parachutes around.

____________________________________

Here's how you can participate in TTSS (and please do):
Grab the code for my button (over there on the left) and write your own post about a kid-friendly idea that might help a mama keep her sanity this summer. (Feel free to include the obligatory cute kid photo!)

Then come back here and add your link to the widget built by my wonderful and geeky talented husband. (Pays to be married to a geek!) Simply add your new (or even an old) post's link to the form below.

Then, most importantly, visit the other blogs that have linked and leave comments, hopefully encouraging them to give us more good ideas next week.

____________________________________

One last little really big thing:
I mentioned awhile back that I'd love to do a giveaway to encourage participation in the carnival. Unfortunately, that's not in the cards for me (or you) right now. But I do want to mention an amazing giveaway on SITS (to help promote Fishful Thinking). This would absolutely help save your sanity...they are giving away a full size bouncy house with a few other great gifts. I would kill for a full size bouncy house!