The other moms were cool with that plan, so they told me to run with it and let them know what they needed to bring. The party planning was pretty smooth, with everyone signing up to bring supplies. What I didn't know was that I would re-injure my sprained ankle (which was 99% better) the night before the party and two nights before we were scheduled to leave on vacation.
Luckily, most everything was done. I finished up a few things Tuesday, iced my foot and hoped for the best.
The parents arrived at school and helped shuttle everyone to Lake Daniel Park. The kids played on the playground while we got things set up.
As usual, I struggled to do everything I wanted to do, but some of the moms forced me to accept help! And I believe everyone had a blast.
I tried to keep the games simple and age-appropriate, but I couldn't really predict whether the kids would like them or not.
Our first game was sack races, which some of the kids loved and others cried about.
Then we tried a game that was supposed to encourage teamwork. Each child had half of a pool noodle, and they were supposed to try to tap balloons into laundry baskets. The site where I found the game said this would be very hard, but the kids would realize (or could be told) that it was easier if you found a friend to use the noodles like chopsticks to put the balloons in the basket.
As with many things you find online and everything involving 4-year-olds, this didn't work out as planned. The breeze didn't help; the balloons starting floating away. And the kids (I believe mine was the instigator) realized that when you hit the balloons, they would P O P !!!! Popping balloons was much more fun. So the 30 balloons we blew up were dead in about 3.7 seconds. One parent said it was more like whack-a-mole than golf!
To keep the kids from descending into complete chaos, I brought out the water balloons next. Sawyer was fascinated with helping us fill them, and the other kids were dying to touch them. We were going to attempt a water balloon toss, though I expected most of the kids couldn't or wouldn't catch them.
No one ever really did catch one and have it splash on them, but they still had fun. And our 40 water balloons were gone in about 10 minutes.
Next we did the limbo. This one they all pretty much knew, but they came up with their own unique ways of getting under the stick! I am so glad I purchased the Limbo Rock song and brought my iPod. That was a well-spent 99 cents!
Then we did a water relay game. This didn't last long, but it was funny to see their expressions when they realized water was dripping from the cups!
Then, I just turned them loose with some water squirters and a giant bucket of water. Though I told them not to spray anyone in the face, we still had a couple kids who didn't like getting squirted. And a few parents who were good sports about getting wet!
Finally, we settled everyone down with a picnic lunch. We had an abundance of yummy food brought by parents … turkey and ham sandwiches, homemade empanadas, strawberries, grapes, watermelon, goldfish, lemonade and the last bit of fun … dirt cupcakes with gummi worms. A few kids were not too sure about this strange-looking dessert, but Sawyer adored them.
These kids, many of whom have been together for three years, are a fun bunch. They only have one more year together before they all head off to different kindergartens. It's amazing to think back to their first party, when many were still in diapers, and see how much they've grown and changed.
The party was a fitting end to another wonderful school year!
Sounds like you had an awesome party!
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