Build a Driveway River with Aluminum Foil

It’s on these days my little ones most remind me to slow down and breathe in the sunshine. Yes, the sunshine. Do you remember what that feels like? Just letting that solar energy waft over your entire soul while you lay on a picnic blanket reading Harry Potter with Grandma and eating red raspberries. Bliss and blue skies.

We sidewalk chalked. Rode bicycles in the drive away. Practiced yoga poses. Had a tea-party-turned-picnic. Read aloud. Played ball. Chase. Trucks. Dance-party. And then we built a river with aluminum foil (Aunt Caitlyn, we need to buy more btw!) 

This little “let’s try this” project turned into an hour and a half of engaged experimentation, construction, and water play. We made the river by folding aluminum foil and sculpting the sides to reinforce the riverbank. We stacked each piece inside the other all the way down the driveway. We turned on a splash of hose water. We used plastic condiment cups as “boats” and let them sail down the rapids to the bottom. It wasn’t long before they realized that the more water that went down, the faster the ride, and they began constructing dams out of twigs and rocks to collect and unleash the water. The river got stepped on a few times (thanks to the one-year-old) but the other two quickly problem-solved ways to fix and reinforce the sides. Aluminum foil was such a fun and easy construction material. What a fun way to spend our afternoon!