Readathon 2012 - Week 2 Friendship

Notice the chocolate colored
water they are using to rinse with!

This week’s theme for the 2012 Readathon that I mentioned earlier this month is about Friendship.  Friendship is an important concept for all of us. Some of us have friends nearby and others of us have friends who live thousands of miles away that we only talk to on the phone or via email and see infrequently.  How do you explain friendship to a toddler?

Well, after reading “Lott’s Tea Party” we happened to be invited to a great party that a friend of mine put together.  It was themed Messy Monday and there were about 8 under fives in all. The party took place on the beach and all the moms brought something to contribute to the messiness and the general chaos of the day.  

The kids had to learn to take turns, share, and play nicely.  One of the best activites that we did that day was the Chocolate covered Slip n Slide. Yes, you heard right… chocolate covered! There was chocolate pudding, chocolate sauce, whipping cream, marshmallows, and chocolate chips.  Sounds messy right? IT WAS!  Luckily we did it at the beach – which is one of the great perks about living here J no one had a mess in their home. The kids weren’t too sure about this, but C dived right in and got covered. Eventually it degenerated into a sauce squirting game of who can cover the other kid in sauce first; but all the kids got along, and took turns.  We also finger painted our bodies, played in flour, and made Gak. The kids needed to take turns and be patience as not everyone could play the same game at the same time, but they didn't mind as there was tons to do.

After we left the playdate, all C could talk about was his friends and what a good time he had.  He told me that everyone was nice and he liked his friends.  There were no demands to stay neat and tidy at this playdate, nor were there any issues with kids being mean. Basically it was a day that celebrated friendship and how to be a nice friend to other people.  I think that this activity really celebrated the theme of friendship that was promoted for the readathon – don’t you?