“Summer afternoon . . . summer afternoon.
To me those have always been
the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
-Henry James-
journal entry:
Water, water, water. Nothing entertains children like it. I found this idea in Family Fun Magazine. I liked it because I have always hated filling water balloons. Water balloons always break and get me wet before I can tie them off. Here were the new weapons of the water wars which the grandchildren would be fighting for hours. I bought sponges in packages at the store. I cut them in strips with scissors. I stacked up the strips and tied them very tight with ribbon. Then I pulled the little strips up and out and around until the sponges turned into a balls instead of bundles. I added some stretchy “things” from the dollar store. Clara filled the red buckets with water from the hose. We carried the buckets to different spots in the yard so that everyone could have a chance to “get away” to re-soak their sponges. We were ready!
The FUN began. The children soaked their sponges in the water. Then, they ran around screaming as they looked for a victim. There were some rules. Big kids couldn’t throw them at little kids. You had to pick someone your own size. Wow ! Much better than water balloons. Nothing broke. Nothing hurt. Well . . . I guess they hurt a little if you got hit at close range. Minutes turned into hours. The buckets were filled and re-filled. The sponges were soaked and tossed. Soaked and tossed. People sneaked up on each other. Even some grown-ups got into the game. Great idea, Family Fun Magazine.
I loved playing with these sponges!