Camp Weary Parent Kicking Off Beach Week

What is summer without some sun, sand, and splashing in the water? This week at Camp Weary Parent we are going to the beach - without even leaving home. Grab your snorkel, flippers and beach bag and let’s get started!

Make your own sandcastle:

(Instructions from How Stuff Works)

Sand Clay Sculpture

Make souvenirs of your beach vacation with this simple recipe for a sand clay sculpture.

What You’ll Need:

• Old double-boiler
• Sand
• Cornstarch
• Wooden spoon
• Hot water
• Beach souvenirs
• Oven
• Spray varnish

To make sand clay, use a double-boiler that you may scratch up. This mixture is very abrasive!

Step 1: Measure one cup of fine sand and a half-cup of cornstarch in the top pan of the double-boiler. Stir together to mix the sand and starch.

Step 2: With adult help, add a half-cup of hot water and stir. Cook over boiling water for ten minutes or until the mixture is thick and the starch is cooked. Don’t let the bottom pan go dry.

Step 3: After the clay cools, make your sculptures. Decorate them with beach treasures like shells and rocks.

Step 4: With adult assistance, bake your sculptures on a baking sheet at 300 degrees until dry. Let your sculptures cool at room temperature for a day or two, then have an adult cover them with spray varnish to keep them from flaking.

Don’t have sand? Try your hand at some of these other sand castle activities:

• Build a sandcastle online
• Play Hello Kitty’s version of hangman with a beachy theme
• Make a towering sand castle cake

If you missed our Kicking off Summer post, there are lots of fun water games, recipes and activities there to help you start off your week just beachey. Don’t miss any of the fun - visit the Camp Weary Parent page for a complete listing of all the activities.