Scavenger Hunt to Summer Fun

I made a scavenger Easter egg hunt for my daughter. She had so much fun and begged for another one. We watch Double Dare on YouTube and are big Amazing Race Fans. So I decided to make her next scavenger hunt have challenges like on those games shows.

The last day of school I picked her up and handed her a note. The note described her mission, which was to find summer. (For this activity summer was a basket from the dollar store filled with summer goodies. More on that later).
In the letter it had a secret deciphering code and a clue to her next clue. At each clue was an activity and a clue to the location of the next clue. We had activities both inside and outside. You could even send them to a neighbor who was willing to be a part of it.
Here are some examples of stations/clues:
This is here reading her about the mission.  (For a top secret mission I just google searched image top secret.  I choose that logo to go on clues and notes.)

 The above picture is her clue that was written backwards.  (That is her concentrating face.)
Below is her eating a frozen whip cream pie.  Under the whip cream was a cool in a sandwich baggie.  The messier the clues the more fun she had. 

 Below is the popped balloons.  All the balloons had a piece of paper in them.  That way she couldn't just shake them to feel if there was a clue inside.  She had to pop to discover a lot of "not it" clues. 

 Below is a sample of clue that she had to decode.  The clues were vague like "back yard" or "mommy's favorite reading spot." 

Below is the messiest, yuckiest clue. I filled a small cooler up with cooked pasta.  I buried letters (from a board game).  She had to find all the letters and then figure out what the letters spelled.  I gave her a spoon but she wanted to get as messy as possible.  The funny part was the letters spelled "clean up".  The next clue was in the bathtub.

Below is a clue at her play house.  The window was covered with paper.  She had to use her homemade sling shot/marshmallow shooter to break the paper down.  I found an easy to make one on pinterest.  

Happy ending to the search.  I bought a laundry basket from the dollar store.  I filled it with items for this summer.  The big items were a tennis racquet and a cheap microscope ($10 at Walmart).  She was taking tennis lessons this summer and needed the racquet.  Most of the items were from the dollar store, like sparklers, sand toys, pool toys, etc.  I am thinking about doing on to mark the start of school.  We have spent the summer doing little obstacle courses and scavenger hunts.  She loves them. 

(PS sorry for the delay in posting this.  The summer just flew by.)

130/365 raising a bi-racial daughter in a racist world

I have known since I found out I was pregnant that I faced different issues then some parents.  My daughter has been blessed to have everyone in her family (dad's, mom's, and step-dad's families) accept her and love her for who she is.  I am not naive.  I don't think this will always be the case.  I didn't fully understand racism was still as bad as it was until I dated her dad.  I wrote an article for the school paper on it.  I believe it has been some of best writing to date for me.  He opened my eyes to the racism that I had been blind to.  He taught me that sometimes you have to ignore it.  Some people will never truly get over their racism.  He said something to the effect, "You would drive yourself crazy arguing or trying to educate every dirty look or racist comment."  He was right.  It's everywhere.  People don't even know when they are doing it.  I try to educate everyone that I can which can be maddening.  I remembering having a small child ask me if I was babysitting Gabrielle.  I said no I'm her mom.  "She's black. You're white.  You can't be her mom."  I explained that her father is black and her mother is white that makes her bi-racial; all this while her father just sat there.  I now face a tougher challenge of educating my daughter.  It began last MLK day.  When she came home from school she asked if she was white or black.  (Before than she didn't know color. Most small children don't according to her teachers.)  I told her she was both.  She got upset and said she wanted to be just like me.  I said she was lucky.  Everybody is their father and mother combined.  She gets to be bi-racial which is special.  I explained that her father is black and her mother is white.  She cried and said she didn't want to be the only one.  I said, you're not.  I listed off all the kids in her class, people she knew, and lastly President Obama.  She thinks it is cool that she gets to be just like him.  But she still tries to say she wishes she has more freckles or red hair.  I tell her I wish I had her curls and could tan like she does in the summer instead of my burning.  She laughs and tells me yes I don't want to burn like you.  I know as she gets older there will be bigger questions and more issues to deal with.  I'm ready.  My favorite children's books so far on the topic is my picture of the day.

Gabrielle loves to read.  So I have books with white characters, black characters, Mexican characters, etc.  I ask for advice from teachers who have been teaching on race issues for years.  I keep myself educated.  She has asked more and more questions. So far I have had the answers.  When the day comes that I don't have the answers, I will be honest.  I will research it and get back to her.  I think the most important thing for any child is to know that they are loved exactly the way they are.  They need to know they are loved unconditionally from their parents.  She knows that.  She knows she has 3 parents who love her that way.  How lucky can you get?  I know we will tackle these issues as they arise just like we tackle all issues through prayer and guidance from above.