imagining all around this summer with poppy cat {#PoppyCatUS #ad}

This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Coolabi and the Sprout Network. All opinions are my own!!

During the dog days of summer, hot, wet, cold, rainy…we have it all. And we need some variety in these days, so that’s when we find new shows to watch and some new things to do. On that note, there is a new show in town. Well, our town at least. We love us some Spout and we were recently introduced to the show, Poppy Cat. FYI…you can actually watch Poppy Cat online at Sprout Online if you don’t have cable. We did both in preparation of sharing it with you all.

We have seen a few of these episodes and have them saved for our down time – they are based on the international award-winning books by British author Lara Jones. Episodes air seven days a week at 7:00 pm. The series also airs Saturday mornings on the NBC Kids block, which is programmed by Sprout.

Seen through the eyes of Poppy’s young owner, a little girl named Lara, each Poppy Cat episode tells the tale of a very special cat, her colorful band of friends and their extraordinary travels through fantastical lands in airplanes, pirate ships, hot air balloons and rockets. As young viewers watch the show, they see themselves in the characters and are inspired to create their own adventures.

What I love about this show is it’s easy on the eyes, yet colorful and a fun story behind it. The episodes aren’t super long either, perfect for the preschool aged kids.  It gives the littles some down time and then you can follow it up with some fun summer adventures…either inside or outside. I love when my girls watch a show, and then that show is carried over in to real life, using their imagination to ‘extend’ the show. It’s so cute!! Shows like Poppy Cat, have been shown to foster imagination and creativity. Perfect, right?

I wanted to share a few things we are doing this summer to make it adventurous…without the huge expense of full-on adventure!

Mix up lunch time! Instead of having lunch at the dining room table, have it on your porch/deck. Or if you are really adventurous, get out a big ol blanket and have some fun in the grass with a picnic. Every time we do this with the girls, they LOVE it! Better yet, pack a lunch and bring it to the park! That’ll get their imagination going. Put Poppy Cat on before you leave to get their minds thinking (and so you can pack the lunch), then get up and go, go, go!

Make household chores an adventure. Putting away the laundry and having a contest of who gets the most matches with the socks. Fun, right?

Reading more. We try to read every day, but on the good weather days, you will find us outside with a book in hand. Plus, in our house each child has a goal, and when the goal is reached, we get to add a chain to our summer reading chain we are making. Getting creative and the kids love it!

Hope this post gave you some fun ideas in creating an adventure out of the little things you are doing already. Also, I really hope you will check out the fun adventures on Poppy Cat too! Keep reading to find all the social media links to follow below…

Connect with Poppy Cat ::
“Like” them on Facebook
Tweet with them on Twitter
Pin with them on Pinterest too!

The Poppy Cat Facebook and Pinterest page has games, coloring sheet, art activities as well as an App to help children use their experiences with Poppy Cat to understand their own world.