Etsy Dallas Spring Dash Craft Show

I love shopping on Etsy. It’s the best thing to happen to the indie craft scene. And I’m loving all the local Etsy artists that are banding together to promote the handmade movement, like the Etsy Dallas team is doing. This talented group of more than 50 crafters is putting on their first annual spring show (lucky you, Dallas!).

Next Saturday, May 16 is the team’s Spring Dash Craft Show in Dallas, Texas.

Saturday, May 16 2009
11 am to 5 pm
South Side on Lamar
1409 South Lamar, Dallas, Texas 75215

Join Etsy Dallas at historic South Side on Lamar in the hip and up-and-coming Dallas neighborhood known as The Cedars. Here’s what you can expect:

*Over 50 artists, crafters & designers
*Free raffle
*Free goody bags for the first 50 shoppers
*Free Make-&-Take crafts and food drive with Girl Scouts Troop 1637

And here is a sampling of what you’ll find at the show. Gorgeous stuff!

After talking about the pirate themed chalk obstacle course the other day, I got to thinking about other easy, low prep games and activities you can do with kids outside. A lot of these are ideas I found on Pinterest that don’t link to blogs anymore if they ever did, but often that’s all the detail you need to figure out what’s going on.

First, a couple from blogs that are still alive. If you have a lot of trees in your yard or in your park, you probably also have a lot of sticks, so you can pretty easily do this stick maze activity from Mother Natured. Build the maze yourself or have one child build if for another. Either way it’s lots of fun and you can keep it built to use as a labyrinth or for pretend play.

If it’s hot where you live you might want outdoor activities that involve water like this fill the bucket relay game. The only thing you might not have at home is giant sponges, but this is still pretty low prep, inexpensive and lots of fun if you have two or more kids to play. Check out how to do it from The Resourceful Mama. And check out my post all about ice and water sensory activities for more ideas to beat the heat.

Make some x’s and o’s or use something you already have to be your game pieces (you can also just draw them on paper plates for a super fast version) and make a large tic tac toe board on the sidewalk. The bonus of reusable game pieces is kids can play with the same grid over and over, which is great if you don’t have a ton of space.

I also love the idea of drawing a big bullseye on the sidewalk or driveway and using beanbags or sponges to try to hit the target. If you have hula hoops you can also set them in a grassy area and have kids try to hit them.

Check out more fun outdoor games for kids from The Printable Princess. These are more for big groups of kids, but if you’ve got a classroom full these are good ones to have on hand for getting some energy out.

Do you have favorite outdoor games for kids to play when it’s hot? I’d love to hear about them!

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