Time to Stock Up

If you're planning to "Family Camp" this summer, there are a lot of supplies you'll want to check if you have and stock up on if you don't have:

ART SUPPLIES

crayons

markers

glue, especially glue sticks

plain paper (you can also cut up paper bags and cereal boxes for a great drawing surface, especially for the Crayola gel markers I mentioned in a previous blog...works great with tempera paint, too)

construction paper

old magazines

glitter glue (I don't recommend the powder glitter...it's messy and can be a health hazard)

kiddie scissors (remember to get Leftie ones if you have a left-handed kid)

poster (tempera) paint

a variety of stickers

QUIET PLAY

crossword puzzles

sudoku

word finds

Mad Libs

Etch-a-sketch

brain-building games like Rubic's cube, Perplexus, etc.

board games

a deck of cards

lots of pencils with good erasers

make sure your library card is active (remember that library cards in B.H. expire every year on your birthday, and the ones for L.A. libraries expire if left unused for one year...BTW, the Robertson Library either is now open on Sundays or will soon be)

for good book recommendations, check my other blog: http://klempnerkids.blogspot.com/

or the website of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld: http://bestjewishkidsbooks.com/faq.php

OUTDOOR PLAY

kid-sized gardening equipment (saw some at Toy R Us in seasonal department last Sunday)

sand pails and shovels

at least one kite

cheap sporting equipment like a bat and ball, soccer ball, frisbee, badminton set, and the like--there are some on sale right now in the seasonal sections at Toys R Us and Target

non-perishable healthy snacks for car rides like the hard granola bars (not chewy), 100% juice boxes, and dried fruit, and a small cooler for convenient but perishable finger foods like string cheese, baby carrots, and grape tomatoes.

Mommies out there...do you have any other suggestions?