How to Make a Pool Noodle Boat + Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Men Tell No Tales on BluRay!

Looking for some fun STEM crafts for your school-aged child? Why not make these fun pool noodle boats and challenge your child to find a design that will float and race! This post contains affiliate links. By clicking on the link, I will receive a small amount of money back if you purchase anything. 

This summer we spent a lot of time outdoors. Whether we were playing, exploring on our own, or making updates around the yard at the house, it just made sense to stay outside as much as possible. And with that, we also wanted to spend time with friends so we made sure we didn’t miss the movie night hosted at our kids school. 

In celebration of the great weather and being outside, we put together a cute pool noodle boat station where kids could come up and design their own boats and race them against their friends. It was a great activity to share before the movie started and kept the kids active as it became dark. 

What we loved was how easy it was for the kids to “get” it and start to create their own designs with little to no help from us. And I loved seeing all of their final designs once they were done decorating them. If you’re looking for a great outdoor STEM activity for the kids to try, grab some pool noodles, straws, and parchment paper and make a pool noodle boat to race! 

How to Make a Pool Noodle Boat

What you’ll need: 

  • pool noodles (we preferred having 2 colors/shapes)
  • straws
  • parchment paper
  • hole punch
  • stickers/markers/crayons to decorate
  • drink umbrellas
  • Rain gutter with end caps

What you do: 

Cut the pool noodles into 1″-1.5″ rounds. Place in a shallow container. 

Taking the parchment paper, cut out sails in trapezoid shape. Punch a hole on the top and bottom that fits a straw. Place sails in container with cut pool noodles. 

Place straws in a cup with drink umbrellas and set next to cut pool noodles and sails. 

Let kids put together their boats using their own designs and then have them decorate them to make them unique. 

Fill rain gutter (with end caps secure) with water and let the kids race their boats. Try using extra straws to blog into the sails unless you already have a natural wind going. 

Did the boats float? Did they sink? Did they move down the rain gutter with ease? 

Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Men Tell No Tales on BluRay

Did you know that Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Men Tell No Tale is coming out on n 4K Ultra HD™/Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and On-Demand tomorrow? YUP!! This activity would be a fun way to celebrate this new release. Just set up a movie night with your family or invite friends over for some fun, grab a copy of Pirates of the Carribean, set up an outdoor movie night and enjoy a fun time outdoors! 

What’s your favorite outdoor STEM activities for kids? 

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5 Reasons To Be Thankful For Summer + an outdoor movie night idea on a trampoline

We’re thankful for summer and sharing a great way to get outdoors with an outdoor movie night idea brought to you thanks to our partnership with Hershey’s via MomTrends.  

5 Reasons To Be Thankful For Summer + an outdoor movie night idea on a trampoline

Summertime always comes and immediately the one thing that runs through my head as a work from home mom is: how in the world am I going to take care of the kids all day AND get work done?

But this summer I’m approaching things differently. I’m not resenting the fact that our school cancelled their summer program right after all of the local museum classes filled up, or the fact that I don’t have a backup child care set in place because I didn’t think about it in February when apparently everyone else did. I’m going to make the best of our summers together and really strive to be thankful for summer.

At the end of the day, summer is the only real time I have to fully enjoy my kids until they move out of the house. That means 10 summers left with my oldest, 12 with my middle, and 17 with my youngest. Those are going to go by FAST!

5 Reasons To Be Thankful For Summer + an outdoor movie night idea on a trampoline with siblings

5 Reasons To Be Thankful For Summer

1. More Time With The Kids – 

While having the kids home all summer will be hard to balance my work/life workload, having more time with the kids is always a good thing and something to be thankful for. Even though I still have to work, I can take an afternoon or morning off each week to really spend one on one time with the kids. Plus we have some help from family so they can have fun adventures with Grandma, their great aunts, or their cousins throughout the summer too. 

2. Later Bedtime – 

Because we don’t have to wake up early, I can choose to spend more time with the kids at night (watching movies outside!) or catch up on work after bed time. The kids love having the freedom of no bedtime and actually get to bed by 9pm when this happens so they’re not up too late. And everyone is in a better mood when we go to bed and get up when our bodies tell us to. 

3. No Alarm Clock – 

Ok, confession: I don’t use an alarm clock. But I do have to wake up at 6:30am every day during the school year to make sure the kids get out the door and to school on time. Because we don’t have to actually get up and go somewhere (if we choose not to), we can sleep in. AND? We can have pajama days. Lots and lots of pajama days! 

4. Warm Weather – 

I love that we get to enjoy all summer together when the weather is nice. Sure there’s a few weeks where it’s unbearably hot. But living here in San Diego means that we can take full advantage of the beaches, pools, and other outdoor (and some indoor) areas to keep cool. I fully plan on taking advantage of our location this year and have quite a few beach days planned for us. Even if that means I have to get my keyboard a little sandy while I work and they play. 

5.  Fun Adventures – 

With the warmer weather and lack of an actual place we have to be, we can have fun adventures this summer (and every summer) that we wouldn’t have had the freedom to do during the school year. As I mentioned previously, we’ll take full advantage of our location. But I’m also planning at least one road trip and a few staycations to enjoy ourselves this year. I’m also hoping to schedule at least one activity outside the home a week. That way I’m not too stressed about too many activities but we still get to do fun things. 

So far here are some of my ideas for summer fun adventures: hikes, beach/pool days, zoo trip, free days at museums, movies in the middle of the day, trip to the water park, trip to the mountains, gardening club, city clean up days, trip to the aquarium

5 Reasons To Be Thankful For Summer + an outdoor movie night idea on a trampoline and making homemade ice cream5 Reasons To Be Thankful For Summer + an outdoor movie night idea on a trampoline with homemade popcorn

One of our fun adventures this summer will be getting outdoors and enjoying movie night on our trampoline. And it’s SUPER simple! 

Outdoor Movie Night On A Trampoline

  1. Grab a white sheet plus a pile of blankets and pillows.
  2. Hang the white sheet over one side of the net on your trampoline and clamp down with clamps (I just use the clamps I use for my photo backdrops here).
  3. Set out the blankets and pillows so everyone is comfy. 
  4. Make some fun snacks with the kids like this delicious homemade chocolate ice cream in a bag with Hershey’s Simply 5 Syrup or popcorn in a bag.
  5. Grab a projector and start playing the movie! 

 

5 Reasons To Be Thankful For Summer + an outdoor movie night idea on a trampoline with blankets and pillows

What #Simply5 words describe a sweet memory that’s made your day special? 

Sometimes, even the process of enjoying the little things in life – like movie night – becomes complicated. It shouldn’t require a year-long commitment or tons of planning.

In honor of the sweet and simple ingredients in Hershey’s Simply 5 Syrup and the sweet and simple memories that it inspires, we want people to share the sweetness in everyday moments. Take a moment to “stop and smell the chocolate” and share your #Simply5 – a five word recount of what makes your day sweet.

Post your #Simply5 on social media by sharing a five word recap of what makes your day special! 

5 Reasons To Be Thankful For Summer + an outdoor movie night idea on a trampoline with Hershey's Simply 5

Hershey’s Simply 5 Syrup is a sweet and simple take on original Hershey’s Syrup, now made with five simple ingredients. You can find more recipes and fun things to do with Hershey’s by visiting them on Facebook or following along on Twitter.

Disclaimer: Compensation was provided by Hershey’s via MomTrends.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Hershey’s or Momtrends.

Family Movie Night Snack Recipes with Superheros and M&M’s

This shop featuring family movie night snack recipes has been compensated by #CollectiveBias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HeroesEatMMs

Family Movie Night Snack Recipes with Superheros and M&M’s treats #HeroesEatMMs  #shop
We are pretty big comic fans in this house. And Marvel tops our charts of awesome. From attending San Diego Comic Con since before it was cool (we could literally walk up and buy badges the day of!), to watching every Marvel movie that comes out on the big screen, we take our superheros seriously.

With the release of Captain America: Winter Soldier on Blu-ray/DVD on September 9th, we thought it fitting to have a family movie night superhero style with delicious M&M’s® inspired treats. So I piled up our favorite Avengers movies – including Avengers, Captain America, The Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor – and let the kids choose which one they wanted to watch.

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