Thanks to Sam Carpenter at LEPMPL for this blog post!

LEPMPL had a Polar Express Party while kids were out of school. We put together two inexpensive games to help them feel welcome and get the wiggles out before we started the show:  “ornament bowling” and “marshmallow toss.”

The ornament bowling consisted of 2-liter bottles filled with water and a bit of dish soap that created bubbles when the “pins” were knocked over. Two 2-liters had about 2 inches of water inside and one had 4 inches–it was fun to watch the older kids try to knock THAT one over! (It was also fun to blow my train whistle every time they succeeded, although Jill may disagree). The “ornaments” were just balls of varying sizes–I was reminded what educational value games can have watching the younger kids slowly figure out that the bigger, heavier balls had a greater chance of knocking pins over.

The marshmallow toss was made of coffee containers wrapped in construction paper and bean bags covered in white fleece. I enjoyed dressing these simple materials up to match the party theme/movie:  I hope the attention to detail said “We care about you” to all who attended! I used the “mugs” in a book display in order to extend their life a little and am thinking indoor bowling may make a comeback if we stick with the CSLP exercise theme . . .