Balloons

Whenever I got desperate (wait, do all my kid activity intros start this way? It feels like it.)… Anyway, whenever I got desperate, we would go to the dollar store and get balloons. If nothing else, it gave us a reason to leave the house. I guess I was desperate a lot because it got to the point where the nice man at the Dollar Stop would say, “What, no balloons today?”

Balloon Activity 1:

• Let each kid pick two balloons to fill with helium (this prevents the immediate stealing of your sibling’s balloon when yours accidentally pops).
• Play with balloons when you get home!… and in the car.
• The Kincardine Dollar Stop also has animal balloons. The legs weigh them down just enough, that they glide low to the floor and appear to walk on a leash.

---

• 

• 

Balloon Activity 2:

• Fill the room with regular balloons.
• Let the kids each pick which colour they want you to blow up next.
• When tossing around balloons gets boring, let some go without tying them, so they whiz around the room. The kids can chase them.
• When that gets boring, let them pop balloons with pencils, as long as they immediately dispose of the broken balloons (so dogs or toddlers won’t try to swallow them).

• 

• 

Balloons Activity 3:

• I highly recommend the incredible book, “The Balloon Tree.” This beautifully illustrated fantasy is about a princess who outsmarts her evil uncle, getting a message to the king, using a tree that magically blossoms with balloons. Having a room already filled with balloons, definitely brings the magic alive.

•