A Fun Summer Activity: Pinterest Week

Written by Marily. Images from Marily and from their original sources (see links below).

Last week was Pinterest Week at our house. I have lots of great ideas for things to do/places to see/ things to eat on my Pinterest boards but we rarely actually try something. If you have a Pinterest account, there is a good chance we share that in common. So I sat down with my boys (ages 2-9) and went through a couple of my Pinterest boards--mostly kids' activities and recipes. We picked several things we wanted to try and added them all to a new Pinterest Week board. Then, we got ready for the week by purchasing the items we needed ahead of time in order to make it happen.

Here is what we tried as well as a verdict on each (HIT or MISS):


Monday

5-Minute Healthy Strawberry Yogurt

From: Just a Taste

Verdict: Hit! This was yummy and the kids and I all thought it was great. I don't have a food processor so I used my blender which was a bit trickier and I had to do smaller batches. Also, I decided the recipe doesn't need lemon juice. It's sweeter without it. 

Shrimp, Avocado, and Roasted Corn Salad

From: Gimme Some Oven

Verdict: Hit (from the adults) and Miss (from the kids). Hopefully your kids are more adventurous eaters than mine are, but this did not sit well with them. This was the first time they have had shrimp and a salad for dinner isn't usually something kids get excited about. On a positive note, they did decide that shrimp is not that bad and that it tastes a lot like eggs. My husband and I both really liked the salad. It was a very easy summer meal, delicious, and I will definitely make it again (perhaps the kids will get use to it?)

Tuesday

Giant Ice Cube Awesomeness

From: Crumbbums

Verdict: HIT!
This activity we started prepping for on Monday. We used a plastic bin and added a layer of water and a few toys. I froze this layer then repeated that a few times to get a full chunk. This was a fun activity we did with some friends over that lasted for a good 45 minutes.

Smoked Sausage, White Bean, and Vegetable Pasta 

From: Tastes Better From Scratch

Verdict: MISS

This was just okay. There were too many ingredients that didn't really make for a cohesive dish. Everyone ate it, but I won't be making it again.

Wednesday

Canvas art project

From: Bright Star Kids

Verdict: HIT!

Painting is always a hit at our house. They loved this project. Although the pin looks like an adult did the project and my kids' paintings actually look like kids did them.

Here are two of my boys with their finished projects that will hang in their rooms:

Thursday

Popsicle Stick Chain Reaction

From: Mom Trusted

Verdict: HIT!
This was lots of fun and probably the activity we will do again most out of them all. We did have trouble getting the chain started, but found another instruction video on YouTube that was more helpful to us. Maybe my boys have a short attention span but they ended up with a spin-off project all of their own. They ended up spending much of the day making stick grenades instead. A little more instant gratification on these.

A stick grenade is a woven shape of sticks. When it hits something hard enough, the tension from weaving the sticks makes them "explode" like this:

They came up with several versions of stick grenades all on their own and gave them names. The more sticks the grenades use the harder you have to throw them for them to explode. 

These grenades are going to be a regular around here, I can tell.

Cranberry-Oat Cereal Bars

From: Martha Stewart

Verdict: Hit! These were yummy. They are made with marshmallows but with whole grain cereal and cranberries they are a bit better for you than a Rice Krispy Treat. 

Friday

I'll admit it, I kind of tapered off towards the end of the week. Mostly we just did the cooking this day. I wanted to find a box for this activity with my two-year-old but couldn't find one to use. Anyone know where to find big boxes anymore? Other than cooking, I think Friday ended up being a library day for us.

From: The Imagination Tree

Applesauce Muffins

From: Simple as That

Verdict: Hit! These are a pretty standard muffin, but the cinnamon sugar on top makes them tasty. I think I will try substituting whole-wheat flour or oats for half of the white flour the next time I make them.

Sesame Chicken

From: Budget Bytes

Verdict: Hit? We liked it, but didn't love it. I think I will still look for another version of sesame chicken for a go-to recipe. That is why I often stick to food websites that have reviews rather than Pinterest for new recipes. 

Overall, we had a great week even though we didn't get to everything on our list. I will probably be doing another Pinterest Week before the summer is over. What projects on your pin boards have you tried this summer? 

Follow my I Heart AZ board on Pinterest here.