The Bedtime Garden-Bedtime themed activities

   

Today I took over the Reception outdoor area at my children's school Summer fair. I turned it into 'The Bedtime Garden' with lots of bedtime themed activities. It wasn't quite as relaxing as going to bed but it was lots of fun! 

This would be a great theme at a setting or for a garden party (a bit too messy for indoors!) and there are also some fun activities you could do individually at home, lots of outdoor fun for the Summer holidays!

Here are all of the activities;

Bathtime tuff tray

   

I filled a tuff tray with bubbly water and added plastic toys that needed to have a bath before bedtime! I added face cloths, some bath toys, a couple of brushes and attached a tub to the side of the tray with toothbrushes in. I also put our bubble machine on behind the tray to add to the bubble bath effect!

Bedtime Story Play Trays

Pirate / Peter Pan

I had two tuff trays set up as bedtime story themed small world play.

One was pirate/Peter Pan themed. I had wooden pirate & mermaid dolls that I made for last week's pirate themed fun day so I made a Peter Pan & Tinkerbell doll to go with them. I used my sea tray liner and some sand, added a plastic treasure chest, a Neverland rainbow and homemade pirate ships from cardboard & plastic tubs plus a Tic-Toc croc & a 'hook a shark' game from Poundworld. 

I hung some pirate books from the tree next to the tray and put my pirate flag from last week through the hole in a cable reel. I also had some cardboard swords left from last weekend so I put them in a bowl in a big tyre with a sign saying to take one.

The Three Little Pigs

For this tray I had an invitation to build the pigs & their homes plus the big bad wolf. I made grey & pink play dough using my homemade play dough recipe plus some play dough tools. I also put some straw, twigs & lego bricks in the tray to build the houses with.

For the two story trays I used printables from Happy Learner Resources to enhance the area.

Cosy Corner

 I asked for donations of duvets, pillows & covers and had a great response - these are all going to be donated to a local charity once I've washed them. I piled these up with a tub of books on either side and the children had great fun making dens, hiding in the bedding & snuggling up.

Crafts

Bathtime Play Dough Soap

I discovered this awesome recipe on Creative Healthy Family when I googled bath time crafts. It's so easy to do - a little messy so worth doing outside if possible but really quick & simple.

There are only three ingredients -
1 cup corn flour
1/2 cup body wash
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Mix together for a few minutes and it will turn into a lump of play dough which you can play with in the bath & also wash with! Fun to make & fun to use!

My personal tips I would add to this recipe -

- When I bought the coconut oil it came as a solid which I thought I could just rub into the mixture but it was too gloop-like doing this & went runny when you stopped rolling it. You need to melt the coconut oil first if it's solid (a few seconds in the microwave will do it).

- Don't add all the body wash in one go - it goes really runny & sticks to your fingers and you lose half your dough! Add it about a third at a time.

- I used the Imperial Leather range of body washes that smell of marshmallows, love hearts etc. The children loved picking whether to have mermaid/unicorn/refreshers play dough and it coloured & scented the play dough beautifully, the stall smelt like a Lush shop!

Make a Dreamcatcher

This is a great simple paper plate craft that helps with those fine motor skills & their creativity. The PTA had some supplies for these left from a previous fair which was the inspiration for the bedtime theme!

 To do this you'll need paper plates with a hole in the middle & 6 small holes around it - I did this using a circle cutter from The Works and a hole punch.

With a length of string, lace or ribbon make a hanging loop on the back of the plate using sellotape and then thread the string through all the holes which creates a pattern across the middle.Sellotape the end of the string to hang down at the bottom, sellotape a shorter string hanging down either side of it and then attach a feather to the end of each string.

They can then decorate the plate with pens & stickers if they wish.

I don't know about the children who played in The Bedtime Garden today but I am definitely ready for bed! It was a great afternoon though, a really fun theme 😊😴