Heaps of Laundry

Fine Motor Skills Activities: Part 4

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

To repeat what I said during "Fine Motor Skills Activites: Part 1":

"I have been busy lately doing activities with my kids that are more learning-type activities and not as blog friendly as kids crafts. I wanted to do a series of post about fine motor skills though because that is something we have been focusing on at my house. My daughter started kindergarten this year and I spent so much time before kindergarten making sure that she knew her letters, sounds, shapes, colors, starting basic reading and site words, etc that in retrospect I didn't probably spend as much time on fine motor activities like writing her name and scissors as I should have. She is a little behind in those categories so I searched the internet for a variety of activities I could do with her that would help her fine motor skills that were fun activities and not just practicing writing letters and scissor cutting (although we do that too). I thought maybe this might be helpful for someone else in my same position. I actually made a little fine motor activities bin that we work from and she just gets to pick activities from it and the best part is she gets excited about it and doesn't know she is 'working'. "

Finger Painting

Supplies:
-Finger paint
-Paper
-Paint plate (something to put your paint on)
-Spoons (for scooping out paint)

So, this isn't the most original idea, but we are just doing anything to wake those fingers up and make them work.

Theme of the Week: Fairy Tales

2012-01-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

My girls don't go to formal preschool, but I like to create a sort of preschool-like routine at home. We have what we call "Theme of the Week". Here is how our "Theme of the Week" works.

So each week we have a topic we focus on in addition to a letter, number, working on shapes, colors, talking about weather and the calendar, etc. So this week the theme is:

FAIRY TALES

The nice thing about this theme is there is no shortage of books about the topic. In fact, because there are SO many books and ideas that go along with this theme, we actually have Fairy Tales be our theme two times a year. Here are a few of the books I have on the topic. Most of the stories we read over the week were from the "Once Upon a Time" book, which is just a generic fairy tales book.

I don't pretend to be an artist, but here is coloring page I drew for my girls to color with this theme.

We read Jack and the Beanstalk, which is sort of fun for any kids that have recently seen the "Puss in Boots" movie because they reference it there.

Here are the directions to the first activity we did (I think the idea came from a Mailbox magazine but I got it a long time ago and am not sure).

Supplies:

-Jack template

-Long piece of green butcher paper (ours was about 5' tall)

-Crayons/Markers/Colored Pencils

-Scissors

-Tape

-Yarn that is twice as long as your butcher paper

-Single hole paper punch

Here is the Jack template that I had my girls color.

Cut Jack out (which was great for all those fine-motor skills we have been working on)

Take a piece of yard that is twice as long as your paper and tape your Jack right in the middle of the yarn length.

I drew the beanstalk on the paper, punched a hole at the top and bottom of the paper, and threaded the yarn through the top and bottom hole and tied a knot where they met in the back of the paper so you have the yarn in one big circle. You can see I made my yarn a little too long, so it was sagging, but it still worked. Also, we had to make two Jacks just to avoid any fighting. I then taped the butcher paper to a shelf. You want to make sure that you tape it pretty well because the kids will be pulling on the yarn and if the tape isn't secure it will just pull the butcher paper down.

When I told my husband what we are doing, he said it sounded like too much effort for what I was going to get out of it, but even he had to admit he was wrong later when my girls LOVED this!! They played with it over and over again, pulling the string above Jack and below Jack to make him go down and up the beanstalk. It really was a pretty fun activity. My kids requested we leave it up for a few days so they could keep playing with it.

Next we read The Three Little Pigs.

As I read the story, I acted it out with this puppet I made a long time ago. I don't have a template for it, but it would be easy to make your own. I used felt, googley eyes, and a tiny bit of ribbon. I cut each shape, glued it together and then put a square of velcro on the back of each character and the wolf's breath/wind to be able to take them off and on the glove as the story went. I had the opposite piece of velcro on each finger tip and the palm.

We then used this picture to make the three pigs houses.

We used string/yarn for straw (you can use raffia if you have some), toothpicks for sticks, and legos for brinks.

They also thought this was a fun one and super easy activity to put together for them to do.

We didn't use glue, it was just fun to build onto of each house.

My sister, Natalie, make these finger puppet for us which can be used to tell Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Three Pigs.

My girls took turns retelling The Three Pigs story with the finger puppets and the three houses they had built.

Next we read Goldilocks and the Three Bears with them acting out the parts with the finger puppets.

It is also important to eat porridge (Malt O Meal in our case) for breakfast to be like the three bears. :)

Then we read The Elves and the Shoemaker

I put together this picture of a few different types of shoes for us to "make" after having read the story.

I printed the above picture on red paper, laminated it, and then used a single hole punch along the shoe.

We then used a couple different colored shoe laces to "make" the shoes like the elves did.

As you can see, again, this is another GREAT fine-motor skills activity.

Here are some instructions for a fun princess hat for fairy tale fun from "Artstarts for Little Hands" book.

If you are feeling extra ambitious, here are some instructions about how to make a castle out of styrofoam food trays.

There is a lot of love for princesses and dressing up at our house, so playing make believe being princesses, etc. was also a key part of our week. Watching "Shrek" is a fun way to view many fairy tales all mushed together. There really are so many fairy tale themed activities out there that we really just touched on a few stories.

Lanterns & Dragons

2012-01-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

Today is Chinese New Year (aka Spring Festival) and marks the start of the Year of the Dragon. It is also the biggest holiday in China. There are a lot of fun traditions and festivals leading up to this day each year and I only read about them, so I'm not going to pretend to be any kind of expert. Some of the things that they do are have a lantern festival and watch parades with people dressed as dragons and lions.

Before we started our two projects, I read my boys the book "Lanterns and Firecrackers." It was a simple run down of what goes on during the Chinese New Year.

We also got "Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats" to read later today, as suggested by Let's Explore (who has some great monthly book lists).

Both projects are simple and require few supplies. Construction paper, scissors, glue, a stapler, and paper plates should do the trick.

To make the lanterns, fold the paper lengthwise, from the folded side make cuts about 1.5 to 2 inches (or really, whatever distance you like) without cutting all the way to the edge of the paper. Unfold it and roll it up like pictures and secure with a couple of staples.

Red is a more traditional color to use, but my boys wanted different colors, so we made a whole rainbow of them.

You can add handles to the lanterns by cutting a strip of paper and stapling it on two sides of the lantern. We use the short end of the construction paper, but any length is fine.

Our next project was to make some dragon masks. If you look at pictures of Chinese dragon masks you will see that they are very colorful and there is a lot of variety. My boys like being able to just make it up as they went without feeling like they had to have it a certain way (though they did seem to copy elements of mine).

We used the bottom side of the paper plates so that that masks would curve towards our faces. My younger son wanted his to have eye holes, so we cut those out before gluing on the paper so he could see. From here it is a free for all. I ripped all my pieces for a different sort of texture. My older son cut his with scissors. My younger son wanted stripes. As you can see, there are so many ways to make the masks. You could even just paint or color the masks with crayons.

Ta-da! It took awhile for the glue to dry. At their request after I was done taking pictures, I added popsicle stick to the bottom so they could hold them that way.

Enjoying making these projects and using it as a time to teach your kids about customs that people have in other countries. And to top it all off, have Chinese food tonight!

Hot Rocks!

2012-01-21T21:46:00.000-07:00

So, this was #28 on my unrealistic list of all the things I wanted to do last summer. I am so NOT a super mom. Maybe you could have done them all, but I'm starting to see that it was a great list of things to do all year!

I have since seen this idea in a couple of places, but originally I found it at eighteen25. This is something that I would suggest only doing with kids who are 4 or older. And, maybe 4 is still too young in your house. You know your kids. Just be safe because the rocks and the melting crayon are both very hot.

Basically, you just buy or find some river rocks. (My goals was to collect them on a fun adventure near a river, but that didn't happen.) Set them on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. (I lined mine with foil. This may not be necessary.)

Have an adult or super-duper responsible child take them off the tray with an oven mitt (or something like the sweet "Ove Glove" that my in-laws gave me for Christmas). I set them on paper plates that had place mats under to protect the table. I'd suggest leaving the other rocks you are not using at the moment in a warm oven - like 200 degrees. I turned my oven off and the rocks didn't really stay warm enough by the time we got to the last ones.

Now it's time to just draw! The crayons melt pretty fast on the hot rocks and turn really runny like paint.

Make sure to remind the kids to keep their sweet little fingers up higher on the crayons than they might normally have them so that they avoid touching the rocks and wax.

My boys and I had so much fun making different designs and watching to see what happened as the colors bled together.

My older son who has a very active imagination starting drawing this cure snowman face and it quickly turned into a blob of colors all blended together as it melted and Bowser attacked it (or something like that).

It was fun to compare the rocks with the wet glossy wax on them and see how smooth they were once they had dried.

We should have made more and I guess we still can. The son I mentioned above has named all of his rocks and he has tested me, my husband and my mom on which Mario character each rock represents. So, it's not just a project around here; they've become play things!

Fine Motor Skills Activites: Part 3

2012-01-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

To repeat what I said during "Fine Motor Skills Activites: Part 1":

Tennis Ball Walk

Supplies:

-Tennis ball or small ball

Take a tennis ball in one hand and with only your fingertips walk the ball from your hip to your toes and then back up again.

When I read about this idea online it sounded like such a good idea to work those tri-pod fingers, but then when I actually tried it I thought, "Man, this is way too easy." Then after having done it for a minute I could feel my fingers working.

The true test was when I had my daughter (who needs this fine-motor help) do this activity, the ball kept dropping. I realized then that it was doing exactly what it should be doing, making those fingers work. This is such a quick and easy one to do with your kids. I made it into a game and who ever could make it all the way from hip to toe and toe to hip without dropping it or using their other hand could earn a piece of candy. (Sorry, I am not above bribery.)

She did it and we officially put the small ball and tennis ball into our fine motor bin to use later.

Fine Motor Skills Activities: Part 2

2012-01-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

To repeat what I said during "Fine Motor Skills Activites: Part 1":

For this activity, we did something sort of generic but it turned out to be a GREAT fine motor activity. I am a little slow at posting this since we did this before Christmas, but the same principle applies to any time of year.

Supplies:
-Cheap foam art kit that includes small stickers.

I actually bought these at the dollar store.I hadn't intended that putting little foam stickers on a foam tree/stocking/gingerbread man would be a fine motor activity, but it really was as they had to peel the back off of each of these little stickers.

My daughter happened to use the tiniest pieces of stickers, which was great for her little fingers to have to focus so hard and use those tri-pod fingers (index, middle, and thumb) which are so important is doing any fine motor activity.

Water Beads

2012-01-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

Hey, Happy New Year...a week ago!

Sometime in the last 6 months I came across a page somehow (Facebook? Pinterest? I just don't know!) that if you have not been to, you will absolutely love. It's called Play At Home Mom and it is so full of ideas you might even get overwhelmed! They are a group of moms who post so many fun activities and ideas and have these amazing rooms set up for their kids to play and learn in. I admit it. I wish I had a space like that and am totally jealous. However, just because I can't do it all, doesn't man I can't do some which leads me to an idea I read about on their site. Water beads.

I had never heard of these. They are these tiniest little seed looking things that you soak in water for several hours and they get bigger. They are normally used for plants and flowers instead of a vase just full of water. The idea that Play At Home Mom suggested them for was a sensory bin. We have our rice bin already, but I thought this would be the perfect thing for my one and a half year old. (I didn't think to take a picture of how they looked at first, but here is how tiny the package was. I got them at Michael's by the flower stuff.)

I tell you, these things are amazing! They are kind of squishy when they expand and I instinctively tried to pop them. (It doesn't work, they just break). My daughter was asleep when the beads had soaked up enough water, so my two boys and I played in it. I really loved it. They did too. They played hide and seek with some crayons in it (then I suggested getting plastic animals instead sine the beads made the crayon wrapper damp.)

When my daughter woke up she gave the beads a whirl. She did attempt to put them in her mouth a few times, so watch for that with little ones. Once we got that behavior (temporarily) out of the way, she had a ball.

The tiny package made a big bin fun and it seemed like the perfect amount. This is something I think we will have a lot of fun with. I love discovering new things. Thanks Internet for existing!

Funky Line Designs with Shading

2011-12-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

So for another "Art Class from Mom"....We saw this super cool site from an elementary school art teacher... Art with Mr. E

It had this fun idea for line drawings. The kids and I decided to try it out. It was really really fun.

SUPPLIES:

*Paper

*Sharpie

*Colored Pencils

Start by drawing a mild curvy line across your paper

Then draw eight dots on the curvy line at various distances from one another. Make sure the dots on each edge of the paper are fairly close to the actual edge.

Starting with a small index card might be less intimidating for smaller children.

You will then start connecting the dots. The dots close to the edge will go off the edge of the paper to an imaginary dot. You can not cross over any lines. However, you can share a line as you begin going up and out.

The lines should be taken off the edge of the paper as you extend outwords. Some sections may be pinched off as other sections grow larger...and that is totally ok.

The art was really cool and interesting even before we started coloring them.

Then using colored pencils start coloring. Have kids pick a group of colors they feel work well together

Press harder in the corners...and as they near the center get lighter and lighter. This is a great way to get them practice with pressure control!!!

They did take a few days to complete - but I love the way they turned out - each had a different feeling. I would like to try some variations of this again with them.

Snowman Pretzels

2011-12-21T13:13:00.001-07:00

Snowman Pretzels!

(we saw the idea on Family Fun.com)

Supplies Needed:

*Thick Pretzel Rods

*White Chocolate chips (although I think I would use Almond Bark next time for quicker set up time)

*Gum Drop

*Gum Drop Rings

*Mini Chocolate Chips

*Fruit Roll ups (we used the tie dye ones)
*Waxed Paper

We had a gathering with cousins and decided it was a perfect time to make this fun snowman pretzel craft.

Melt white chocoalte (or almond bark)

according to package directions

Dip pretzel rods in 1/2 to 3/4 way and let set a bit (this was still pretty sticky)

"Glue" Gumdrop on to Gum Ring to make a snowman hat

and add mini chocolate chips for snowman eyes, mouth, and buttons.

Cut small piece of fruit roll up for orange nose

We let the kids take creative license with this - and some snoman had lots and lots of buttons :)

Then cut a strip of fruit roll up for a scarf

Wrap around neck to complete the snowman outfit

It was fun to watch the kids assemble these little treats

But, by far the best part was eating them. There was about a 2 minute time span between finishing creating and finishing eating.

They really tasted very good. We will make them again sometime soon

Rudolph & Bells

2011-12-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

We have not been super into Christmas projects this season. In fact our whole "Christmasing" got off to a slow start because my husband and I were lucky enough to be able to start the month with a brief trip to Florida. I'm sure you warm weathered people love it, but something about this picture seems wrong to me, especially knowing it was almost 80 degrees outside when I took it.

I did love the sand version of the classic Rudolph Christmas special on TV every year. Which leads me to...

Pre-packed crafts! There is no shame in going to Michael's (or whatever craft store you use) and picking up a box or two of Christmas crafts (discounted to $4 each). I thought the kids might like them. Even though at the store they both wanted the kit with the Abominable, they agreed on getting on of each to make our "village" more awesome. Some parts were definitely for older kids (or in our case mom), but overall it was just perfect. (The decorated Christmas trees were a little tricky.)

So cute, huh? Now if we treat it nice (and keep the foam away from the cat who likes to chew it!) and pack it carefully, we'll be able to display this for a few more years.

The other project, a jingle bell necklace, was pretty much all done by me, but if you have the right ribbon to bell hole (or whatever you would like to call it) ratio then a child could definitely do this one.

You won't need much, just some beads if you like it to be a little prettier, some festive ribbon, jingle bells, and scissors. I also used a lighter to singe the edges of the ribbon. I figured out the length that would fit around my son's head, added a few inches and then cut, threaded the bell and then the ribbon. Finish it all of with a knoy at the end and if you like singe the edges of the ribbon so it won't unravel.

And then repeat that about 25 more times so that all the kids in your child's class can have one! If your kids aren't out yet for a couple of days you have time for this. My son's kindergarten class absolutely loved theirs.

Fine Motor Skills Activities: Part 1

2011-12-08T11:27:00.001-07:00

I have been busy lately doing activities with my kids that are more learning-type activities and not as blog friendly as kids crafts. I wanted to do a series of post about fine motor skills though because that is something we have been focusing on at my house. My daughter started kindergarten this year and I spent so much time before kindergarten making sure that she knew her letters, sounds, shapes, colors, starting basic reading and site words, etc that in retrospect I didn't probably spend as much time on fine motor activities like writing her name and scissors as I should have. She is a little behind in those categories so I searched the internet for a variety of activities I could do with her that would help her fine motor skills that were fun activities and not just practicing writing letters and scissor cutting (although we do that too). I thought maybe this might be helpful for someone else in my same position. I actually made a little fine motor activities bin that we work from and she just gets to pick activities from it and the best part is she gets excited about it and doesn't know she is "working".

Pom Pom Sorting

What you need:

-Close pins

-Assortment of colored pom poms

-Sorting cups

-Markers for labeling cups

The key to this activity is making them use the three finger grasp (thumb, index finger, and middle finger). Pinching the close pins open is awesome strength building in those fingers. It is work without them knowing it is work. I had my girls use the clothes pins to pick up pom poms and drop them in the cup that was labeled the correct color. My girls can't read all the color names, so the cups are written with a marker that is the same color as the word. (i.e. "Green" is written with a green marker)

They LOVED it and sorted all the pom poms and asked to do it all over again.

You end up with cups full of pom poms of the correct color. So you are also working on sorting skills. I have been very pleased thus far with the progress of her fine motor skills in the last couple weeks we have started the fine motor activities bin. More ideas to come...

Mandala Pages

2011-12-04T21:41:00.001-07:00

We decided to have some fun "art classes by Mommy" over the weekend. The kids were excited as I tried to make it seem like an "official" class they were taking. Our first experiment was with Madala Pages. A definition of Mandala Art is found HERE.

Working on these type of art pages is said to help you relax - so maybe try it for a much needed "Quiet Time". It also helps with concentration.

We simply googled Mandala pages and downloaded several different free pages available from a few different sites.

Some sites we found with fun patterns are below:

http://www.freecoloring.info/mandala-coloring-pages.php

http://www.free-mandala.com/en/start.html

This is a great tool for teaching patterns and color schemes. We thought this was a great forum for colorful markers.

The kids took to it right away and created some very interesting pieces of art.

I think it would be fun to print the same one off for each child and see how different they turned out.

Fall Pumpkin Seed Art

2011-11-21T08:04:00.005-07:00

You can use any large seeds like those from a pie pumpkin, or hard squash that you may have from cooking this fall. Dying them is simple.

To make some fun art project, all you need is:
*dried pumpkin seeds
*food coloring
*vinegar
*cardstock
*glue

Place 1/4 to 1/2 cup water in small cups.

Add 1 Tablespoon of vinegar, and several drops of food coloring to the cups.

Add seeds to bowls of colors.

Allow the dried seeds to soak in the colored water for 2 to 4 hours

, then remove them from the water & allow them to dry over night. You then have a colorful, natural, free, craft item.

You can make mosaics or necklaces with them. Some will dye a solid color & others will be speckled.

We divided the different colors out for each kids - gave them some paper and glue and let them create away.

The kids added some fun details with markers.

They said they liked working with the seeds a lot and made some pretty cute art pieces. It was fun to see how different each child's turned out.

(Idea sprouted from this LINK)

Food Friday "Thanksgiving Cookies"

2011-11-19T15:01:00.003-07:00

Here's our "Food Friday" posted a little late...

We had some fun the other day with a little twist on making sugar cookies.

(we saw the idea here... )

Supplies are as follows:

*Sugar Cookie dough

*Food Coloring

*Cookie Cutters

You can make dough from scratch if you like - we took the easy way and made ours from a mix.

Make dough. Divide into four batches and tint each with food coloring.

Chill dough for about 15 minutes

Create a multicolored patchwork by pressing pieces from each batch together on lightly floured surface. The kids pinched off small pieces of each color of dough. We tried to be as random as we could.

As we pinched off each tiny piece we each said something we were grateful for. After a while the kids were really on a roll with the gratitude!

Squish pieces together to form one pile. Smooth with rolling pin (we just pressed it out with our fingers)

Then cut out shapes with cookie cutters.

We used some some mini fall cookies cutters we had.

Place on cookie sheets

And bake according to recipes

instructions.

ENJOY!!!

Felt Turkey Folders

2011-11-17T09:14:00.001-07:00

A couple of years ago I compiled a post of a few Thanksgiving activities I had seen online. Last year I made the felt turkey board and never posted it. It is super easy, and with thanksgiving still a week away, there is plenty of time for you kids to enjoy one.

This will come together pretty quickly and requires supplies you may just have on hand: colored felt, glue, file folder, googly eyes, and a stapler/tape/sewing machine & thread.

The first thing I did was sew around 2 of the open edges of the folder. You could use tape or staples also. If you can do it though, I'd really recommend sewing just because it stays together and there are no snaggy staple.

I picked a neutral color for the background and then glued it, a turkey body, and 3 partial feathers on. I added the 3 feathers by the head once I realized it looked weird having full length feathers by the top of the head. you can avoid that step by just making the body round. Add some feet, eyes, beak, and that weird red thing. Pick several "turkey feather-ish" colors and cut them out in a feather shape.

All of the feathers can be stored in the pocket so that they are easy to find.

My kids have enjoyed just plain old decorating the turkey by themselves. Sometimes we have played a game where we build a turkey will a full set of feathers (we have 10, not including those glues on ones) and then one person looks away while the other takes a feather. The other person then has to guess which color of feather is missing. To make it a bit trickier for an older child, you can not put on all 10 feathers in the first place making it harder to determine which color is gone.

The other fun game we play (which is similar to the original idea) is to match turkeys. I made 2 because I have 2 boys and it is more fun for them to have their own (plus they are so cheap and easy to make). By having 2 we copy patters, alternating who gets to make the original design.

Well, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving. We've got a busy week ahead in and out of town, so I'm not sure that I will be back to post again.

Bean Mosaic

2011-11-11T11:09:00.001-07:00

I saw this idea for making mosaics out of dried beans in Family Fun Magazine last fall. I thought it looked like something my kids would enjoy.

In the magazine they use specialty paper that is all sticky. We opted for cereal box cardboard and glue instead. For our beans (and non-beans) I just got a scoop or so of 7 or 9 bean soup mix from the bulk bin. I had dried kidney beans and lentils left over from another project and the popcorn - well, that was taken out of our regularly used supply.

To help give them a guideline of something to follow, I drew out a requested shape for each boy on his cardboard. In the original version they are more free-form, which would be perfect for older kids..

There are sort of 2 gluing methods. The first is to just draw a line of glue,

and then place your bean (popcorn).

The other method is more for filling larger areas at a time. You just put the glue all over where you want it and then pour handfuls of beans on top. You can tilt the picture to get the excess off.

As we work my very busy 16 month old wanted to participate. I gave her a bowl of the kidney beans to play with. She immediately tried to eat and got very mad about when I kept taking them away from her mouth and telling her no, so watch out for that. Once we got past that, she was very happy to just place them onteh cardboard strip I gave her. Eventually I got her a second bowl so she could fill that up.

Be warned, a 16 month old playing with beans is going to make a mess!

My older son only wanted to make an outline instead of filling it all in. I love just letting them do it their way instead of being such a boss (hard to do sometimes!). He loved how is oak leaf turned out.

My younger son did not want to do this project at all at first, but he got into it, resulting in this little yellow bird.

Have fun making your own bean mosaics!

Marshmallow Structures

2011-11-08T15:09:00.002-07:00

It got cold around these parts in a hurry. I'm going to have to work on more inside stuff to do since going outside and just playing won't be an option quite as often. Today we went for a simple idea that is not likely new to you.

You won't need much, just marshmallows and toothpicks. I highly suggest using very fresh marshmallows. Both times we have done this have been using a bag that was already opened and they seem to lose their "puff" in a hurry.

There's no much need for instructing, as kids just sort of do their own thing with this. That's perfect and sort of the point.

And if playing with food isn't fun enough, at least eating the components (well, just the marshmallows, not the toothpicks) should make up for it!

Halloween Paper Plate Crafts

2011-10-31T08:23:00.003-06:00

Just in time for Halloween day - we snuck in one more Halloween craft. These holidays sure sneak up on us. I feel like I should start my Thanksgiving crafts on Nov 1st - just to make sure I get them in.

I have to say that the kids really really enjoy these crafty times. And even if they get thrown away a week later - it was about the memories of spending time together that really counts. I realize that more and more as my kids are growing.

SUPPLIES:

Paper plates

Paints

Brushes

Colored Paper

Glue

Scissors

Optional -

Pipe Cleaners

Googly Eyes

There were several different Halloween characters we found ideas for - so I let the kids choose the ones they wanted. Both the girls wanted to make Jack-O-Lanterns.

First paint plate orange

While plate dries...draw and cut out eyes, nose, and mouth from construction paper

Glue in place - as desired

Cute Jack-O-Lantern complete

The boys wanted to make Frankenstein and a Black cat

FRANK...

Paint plate green. You can paint the black hair on at this point or just cut out of black paper

Cut out eyes, mouth, head bolts, and scars from construction paper

Glue on and Frankie comes alive

BLACK CAT....

Paint plate black.
When dry cut a circle out of the center. This creates the body and legs of the cat

Then with center cut out piece - cut around edge of center piece to make a cat tail.

Use the rest of the center part to make cat face and ears

Cut eyes, nose, and whiskers from construction paper.

Glue and a scary Halloween cat is born.

We hope you have a safe and fun Halloween!!!

Monsters!

2011-10-29T16:45:00.002-06:00

Halloween is descending upon us quickly - but we wanted to get a few fun crafts in before it was too late. So one of our activities was making MONSTERS.(idea from Here)

First we gathered several tissue boxes, paint, egg carton, and some card stock.

The kids decorated the Monster "fur". I had seen this done with fun polka dots - but I let the kids do it however they wanted.

We bought primary colors of paint - Red, Yellow, & Blue and I love that they can then create their own colors from them. A little learning while crafting is always great!

After the exterior was monstrously beautified, we started making scary teeth with the card stock.

It was fun to see how different each of the kids made their monsters. Kennedy's teeth were hilarious.

We taped the teeth inside and then started working on Monster Eyes

Everyone had different ideas on how to make their eyes. We let the creativity flow. Some used egg cartons and other's found some little cardboard tubes I was tossing and turned them into ocular creations.

And the final results of our Monster Tissue Box crafting was.......

It was a fun simple project perfect for a fall afternoon.

Food Friday | {Applesauce Cake}

2011-10-21T04:40:00.081-06:00

It's time once again for another....FOOD FRIDAY!
This week, the girls and I decided to have a fun afternoon baking a new recipe.
Since fall is the time for all things "apple" we thought our choice very fitting for some autumn baking.

APPLESAUCE CAKE

It has been fun being in the kitchen with my girls, creating things together.

First, I had the girls collect all the ingredients. Which is something I usually do for them- but I can see how having them grab the ingredients helps them get to see where things are kept. Thus all the more helpful next time in the kitchen.

1. Blend shortening, sugar, and eggs throughly.

Another benefit from baking together is the time we practice counting. With each set of ingredients we add to the mixer, the girls take turns counting. We count forwards and sometimes backwards. Or we start at 20, count by 5's - etc.

Another education bonus to baking together, is that for your older kids, it gives them a chance to practice reading. Ems read each step of the recipe to us.

2. Add applesauce and raisins.

We talked about measuring cups and how the measurements work.

I showed them how to measure flour and we did an experiment on how if you pack flour instead of lightly spooning it into measuring cups - you can add too much flour. The girls thought this was facinating. It was really a lot of fun for me to teach the kids about stuff like this.

3. Add flour and spices. Then spray bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Then it was time to ENJOY!

Happy Baking with your kids!

Kids + Camera = Lots of FUN

2011-10-13T16:32:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the delay... this was set to post last Wednesday.....Enjoy!

As a Photographer - I enjoy capturing unique perspectives on life. Most of those perspectives come from me as an adult.

I love that children have a different perspective on life - and photography is no exception.

Several years back my sister-in-law gave my son her camera while on a family vacation. He took some of the best pictures of the trip - mostly because they were from a different perspective than normal. Kids don't follow the "rules" when it comes to photography - and that it exactly what makes it wonderful. So a spontaneous shoot my daughter did one day when she snuck my camera - spawned a fun little activity.

Instead of having a standard kid project with scissors and glue - I wanted to think outside the box.

I had each of my kids take my camera and take a bunch of pictures of themselves. There were no rules - other than they had to somehow be in the picture. What turned out was absolutely priceless!

I think I am going to have them do this every year - maybe at the beginning of the school year or something.

One of the greatest things about this project - was that the kids did something more unique being in a room all alone - then I think they would have with all of us watching.

Different parts of their personality came shining though. And unique creativity was born.

So strap your camera tightly to you kiddos wrist and let them create a masterpiece of self-portraits.

And while you are at it - maybe have a little session of your own....let your kids take some fun pictures of YOU. Your kids will love looking back and seeing how fun their mom was!

My 7-year old daughter took some of these of me...sure was different being in front of the camera. They had such a great time telling me how to pose and putting different hats on me. Plus it gave me an opportunity to teach them a little about something I am passionate about.

It was great to watch them take pictures of each other too.

Your kids will be so grateful you took time out to just capture the everyday fun and teach them how to do it too. Happy SNAPPING!!!!

Book Project: Owl Babies

2011-10-10T20:39:00.002-06:00

This was a fun easy project that we did after we read "Owl Babies" by Martin Waddell a few times.

I had never heard of this book until I came across this project in a Mailbox Yearbook. Apparently, though, I amjust not in the know, because there seem to be tons of projects out there based on this book as their theme. The book is cute and my kids really liked it. It is said to be a good one to read when kids are about to start something new, like school, where their parents won't be with them.

You will need the supplies pictured above. For the owl trio you ace draw you rown, or else you can download the one I drew HERE.

The assembly of the project is quite simple, but I will still break it down for you.

Cut out owls. Cut a branch for them to sit on. Glue brnach on paper representing the sky. Glue on Owls. Add googly eyes. Glue on cotton balls.

My kids wanted to add a little coloring. (That's the mother owl swooping back in, drawn by my 4 year old.) I would highly recommend that if you think they will want to color the owls with markers to do it before the cotton balls. the marker gets stuck in the cotton. I think crayons would work fine post-"feathering."

Hopefully you will see some more book and project duos posted by me in the future. I really like have something to remind my kids of a story or help bring it more to life. They seem to enjoy recreating a part of the story themselves too.

Remember me?

2011-10-06T18:41:00.004-06:00

So I have been really terrible about posting on here. Collette thought it might be important for me to tell you that I didn't fall off the face of the earth. So here is my post about not posting. haha. I am trying to find a good schedule/system between having three jobs, my daughter starting kindergarten, my girls' dance lessons and soccer games, etc. So most unfortunately, I have not been great about my "Theme of the Week"s lately. We are going to Disneyland soon, but after that I hope to get my groove back. So until then, enjoy my more devoted sisters' postings. :)
-Rachel

Food Friday | {Pizza Buns}

2011-09-30T05:32:00.005-06:00

Wanna have a little fun for your lunch time - grab the kids and teach them how to make some

"Pizza Buns"

I had a lot of fun teaching the kids how to make a favorite lunchtime recipe...

(forgive the grainy photos - my little point and shoot camera was set on "macro")

Ingredients:
Can of refrigerator Biscuits
Pizza Sauce
Cheese
Toppings of Choice

First: Check the temperature on the biscuit can and preheat the oven.

Then the fun started right away as I explained to the kids how to make the biscuit can "pop" when you rip the wrapper off. When cooking with my kids - I am always excited to share the little things that are new to them - like "biscuit popping".

Then the kids each took a biscuit and started stretching it out.
We press the edges first and then form a larger circle. Be careful not to stretch it too thin.

Then place stretched biscuits on a non-greased cookie sheet.
(there is enough grease in the biscuits to keep them from sticking - I try not to think about that :)

Then the kids each took turns ladling a spoonful of pizza sauce on to each biscuit.
Bring it just shy of the edges to make a "crust".

Top with cheese!!!! YUM

And the add toppings of your choice. We just had pepperoni - but be creative - another favorite is sliced olives. What kid doesn't LOVE olives.

Then bake in oven according to biscuit time and temperature.

Clean up your mess and then sit very cutely in front of the oven door watching your little pizza bun treasures cooking away.

When the timer rings - grab your over mitts and remove the "buns" from the oven.

Then it's time to enjoy!

Since our first lesson on making "Pizza Buns" - my kids have made them twice on their own.
It is now the most requested Saturday lunch and after school snack.

Science Saturdays: Ants!

2011-09-24T07:41:00.004-06:00

Kids often get excited about science when they see big experiments and can mix things together to make something new. I admit, I still remember how awesome it was seeing my 6th grade teacher make green fire! But, there are other more simple parts of science that are just as important and also are fun. Basic exploration. No fancy tools or chemicals needed, just you and your 5 senses. Like watching ants.

I was in the backyard and saw a streaming line of ants. I called my son over to look. We always look at big piles of ants, but this different. The ants were flowing out of two holes no where near each other and converging like the shape of a "Y" to another hole.

It was fun to imagine why they were all heading the same way.

We were still thinking about the ants the next day, so we tried a little something I read about on FIMBY. We wanted to see what ants would eat.

Here is what we started with.

The first thing to go, and quickly, was the coconut flakes. We watched this one particular ant for a bit.

He would trudge along and when he would get to a tricky spot along the way he would let go of the food and feel out his different options ahead.

Then finding the best route, he'd keep going with the food.

And some of the ants worked together as a team, making the food get home faster.

See all those white specks? Word got out that there was free coconut! We checked out napkin full of snacks throughout the day and into the evening. It was interesting to see what appealed to the ants the most and which foods they seemed least interested in. It rained that night so we didn't get to see if anything was left in the morning. However, the video below (SUPER short) shows a few of the stages of food removal. Observe how they started "sawing" the peanut and cashew.

I think we will be doing this again!

More about ants:

Pest World

About Insects: Ants
Why Do Ants Walk in a Line?

Nature I-Spy Bags

2011-09-19T09:45:00.000-06:00

I have to admit, I am proud of this one because I thought of it all by myself! Normally I find ideas elsewhere and tweak them, but this came straight from my brain. I'm guessing I am really not the first to think of it though. What I love about the idea of making a nature I-spy bag is that it requires spending time in the outdoors! We were going to this when we went camping earlier in the summer, but the kids were too engaged in other activities.

First, find yourself a nice place in nature. It could be a park, beside a lake in the mountains, along the beach, or even your own backyard. Let the kids just spend time exploring for awhile.

My kids love collecting things when we go out on walks, so asking them to find "nature stuff" for the I-spy bag was not a chore at all.

We gathered some mini pine cones, sticks, pieces of bark, pine needles, and later some acorns and feathers. It is fun to have a variety of items.

Once we got home (or you can bring the supplies with you) you can assemble your bags. I had bought a way too big bag of bird seed for another project and I thought it would be the perfect base for the I-spy bag. Just fill up a ziploc type sandwich bag about 1/2 to 2/3 full of seeds. If you don't have seeds, rice works too or you could use oatmeal, couscous, popcorn kernels or even sand. One thing I like about the bird seed is that the various textures makes it just a little bit harder to find the items in the bag, creating a bigger challenge for the kids.

Fill the bag up with the found nature goodies.

So easy to see them now!

Seal the plastic bag and then put it inside of another one, just in case there are any spills.

Now it's time to get spying!

Old Skool Games

2011-09-14T05:56:00.065-06:00

BOREDOM Busters.....

One of the favorite things we love to hear at our house is "I'm BORED".

(can you sense my subtle sarcasm??)

For a fun little variation - we decided to introduce the kids to some "OLD SCHOOL" games.

My parents took an evening and shared some games they used to play all the time when they were little kids. The best part about these kinds of games is they don't really cost anything and can be done just about any time with any age of people.

The first game was "Cat's Cradle". I played this as a kid too...

it was fun to remember old games that even I used to do.

You can find some great instructions on how to do CAT's CRADLE ....here

The kids had fun trying different combinations with the string and seeing what worked and what didn't.

The next game we tried was "Button on a String" - you pass the string with a one button attached - trying to fool the person who is it to see who has it. We also tried "Button Button - Who's got the Button" - where you fake putting a button into some one's hands and the person who is it has to guess who has it. (Instructions found here)

My mom showed us how to make a button "whirl" by pulling it back and forth - the entertained the girls a lot. (Like Lettie blogged about here.)

Another fun old school game was the "Clothespin in a Jar" game. We had to drop clothespins from our nose and see how many we could get into the jar. We started getting creative with multiple pins dropping at once.
how to play is found on THIS SITE

Then we took the fun outside. We played badminton, kick the can, "Annie I Over", and croquet.

"Kick the Can" link

"Annie I Over" link

Take some time out to play some "Old School" games. It will be so much fun!
No more "I'm Bored"

Mini Theme: Bees, Honey & Hives

2011-09-08T07:19:00.000-06:00

On my summer list was a "honeycomb" project I wanted to do just because. Maybe it's that there are so many bees out in the summer? Whatever the case, we got to the project this past week (I know, most of you are probably focused on school now, but really, this is not a seasonal project.) Before we started the project I wanted the boys to learn a little more about bees, so I checked out a DVD called "City of Bees" for them to watch. It was actually pretty fascinating.

After watching the DVD I got out some peanut butter and honey (I prefer "spun" honey which I have yet to see in Utah, so I go with "creamy" honey, which in all reality is probably just about the same thing. When I can I have people bring me my favorite Sue Bee honey from Iowa.)

The boys picked the stuff in the bear because it is obviously more fun to put on a sandwich. I wanted to find some honeycomb for them to try, but I never found any, even at health food stores. So, we finished up our mini theme with the original project that inspired it all.

A cereal beehive. This is one of many great ideas I saw in one of the Mailbox Yearbooks. I don't remember which year it was, but they are all good. (There are links on the side to a few of them and check your library too!)

Supplies: Honeycomb shaped cereal, cardstock or cardboard, glue, yellow ink pad, and a black marker/pen.

Draw out a picture of a beehive on the paper.

Glue on the cereal pieces.

My son would leave little gaps sometimes and when he'd find a smaller piece to fill them with he said he was putting together a puzzle.

Once the beehive is filled, press thumb on yellow ink pad and then on the paper. These will be the bees, so you can have just one or dozens.

Use a marker or a pen to fill in stripes, wings, legs and stingers.

Ta-da! Done.

Just a few facts I was amazed by from the DVD:

Most bees are female. They do all the work. The male bees are called drones. They get pampered by the worker bees. They do not have stingers. Their only job is to mate with the females. Mating occurs in the sky, not at the hive. A queen will mate with up to 18(!) drones and will be able to lay eggs for 7 years. Once a drone has mated with the queen, he instantly dies. See? seriously fascinating stuff in bee world!

One more thing you might want to try, is if you can find somewhere to go and see a beehive. We saw these earlier in the summer at the city library. I guess they harvested the honey out of them this past weekend. (If we'd have known, I would have tried to get us there.)

This is just a short clip from Youtube of the video, City of Bees, that we watched. I am sure there are tons of other great books and videos about bees that you can choose from. (We have this Curious George DVD and one of the episodes is about a beekeeper.)

City of Bees

Time For Kids: Bees!

Pure Natural Comb Honey from Durham's Bee Farm

Cars Games & Activities vol.2 - Aluminum Sculptures, Super Heros & Kings

2011-09-07T09:16:00.036-06:00

Here are a few more car activities we tried out on our trip posted HERE

From our Car Activities Kit -

This time we used FOIL

The idea is to give each child sheets of foil and let them be creative and "sculpt" whatever their heart desires. This was quite a surprise to see how engaged the kids were with this activity.

They kept asking for more and more foil.

Logan focused his creativity on a Kings crown and scepter.

While Ems was more in the mood for ice cream cones

and silver bracelets.

Jaxon thought it was cool to make super hero wristbands.

They all were really clever and I do think we would try this again- even in the afternoon at home!

Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil - Total: 500 sq. ft. (2 X 250 sq. ft.)

Begining Reading

2011-09-01T21:38:00.000-06:00

This summer my boys got library cards and joined the reading program offered. It was a nice addition to something we were already doing at our house to encourage them to read. They could earn prizes and one library (we use both the city and county system) gave them bi-lingual books just for signing up.

Our reading program at home I set up with a dual purpose. I wanted them to get started on reading, 1, because reading is awesome, and 2, because my 5.5 year old just started Kindergarten. It's not pretty, but I made a chart where each boy could put stickers for his own work. (Just ignore those side boxes. They have nothing to do with reading. Those were for jobs they could do, mainly making their beds, to earn fun character t-shirts they picked out at the store.)

To try to create camaraderie, I made it so that each prize could not be given out until both boys had reached the goal mark. My hope was that this would help them to encourage each other. I think it worked.

If you notice on the chart, they could earn stickers for reading or doing a "learning game." The learning games are things I will have to go into detail more later, hopefully giving you some ideas of things that can help your child with reading that don't even involved looking at words. We used two different colors of stickers for the different method earned and they could only earn up to 2 stickers a day, even if they went beyond the 15 minutes.

There are tons of different beginner books and systems. Rachel has mentioned the BOB Books in her "Books and Reading" theme of the week. These are super basic and a great starter set. As your child gets better at reading, truthfully, they become a bit boring (for everyone, not just mom & dad) and the drawings are not the best.

Another set that I am sure you have heard of is from "Hooked on Phonics." I luckily happened to pick up the kindergarten set at the thrift store for about $1 for about 20 books. (Score!) These have also been nice. They have 2 books (1 standard and one "companion") for each sort of sound set you are working on, which is good to break up the monotony of working with the same words.

A freebie I got from my sister Natalie was a little packet they had left over at her daughter's school one year. They are based on the books you can read on Starfall.com (which Rachel has also mentioned a couple of times). My boys have really enjoyed them. Ours are the most flimsy of them all (they were cut-your-own and staple books), but now there are proper versions of them available online. Actually, our library had the nicer bigger versions of these too, so check your library. And that leads me to the last set I have had experience with.

These are my favorites. It is the Steck-Vaughan phonics readers. I checked them out at the library and renewed as many times as I could. They are still pretty simple, though not as basic as the sentences like "Sam sat." in the BOB books. They feel like real stories. I think they are meant to be used as sets at schools because when I tried to find my own to buy, all I could see were sets of like 35 of each individual book being sold.

Anyway, I just wanted to share sort of what we have done to encourage reading around here and what books we have liked for new readers. We would love to hear what methods and books you like and if we find other things that work for us, we will be sure to share.

Bob Books, Set 1: Beginning Readers

Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Kindergarten Edition

Learn to Read by Starfall Team

Cars Games vol.1 - Pipe Cleaner Pets

2011-08-31T06:25:00.001-06:00

So a few weeks back our little crew had a fun 3-day road trip. I was a bit concerned that we could keep all four kids totally entertained during the car ride. We didn't want to just have them watch a bunch of movies - so with some creative ideas we found - we put together a little Car Activity Kit.

Here's our list of supplies:

Colored Pencils

Crayons

Dry Erase Markers

Aluminum Foil

Pencils

Card Games

Scissors

Graph Paper

Dice

Pipe Cleaners

Yarn

We did a lot of fun things with our little

CAR ACTIVITY KIT....

so the first in this little series is......

This little activity kept the kids engaged for nearly 2 hours.

They each picked out some pipe cleaners and

a pair of scissors and set about creating little creatures.

They would cut the pipe cleaners if needed to make limbs and eyes, etc.

Logan made a turtle, red lizard, and a white spider.

Jaxon make a green chameleon and a brown bear

and Ems made a tri-colored caterpillar

Here were some fun tips I gathered for making your pipe-cleaner pets....

Useful Shapes

S- shape
Make a loose spiral shape using two fat markers. Shape the pipe cleaner by winding around the first maker, and then between and around the second marker. Useful to make long curly hair or a dog's tail.

Zig Zag
Fold 1/3 of a pipe cleaner in half. Then bend each half into a small V shape to create the zig zag. Useful for making boy's hair.

Bundle
Wind a pipe cleaner randomly around a marker to create a bundle. May need more shaping once you take it off the marker.

People Legs
Fold one pipe cleaner in half for the legs. Use a marker to make a loop for each foot.

Skirt
Spiral a second pipe cleaner around

Spiral
Wind the pipe cleaner around a marker or pencil being careful not to overlap it back on itself. The spiral could be tight or loose. Useful for people or animal bodies.

Small Zig Zag
Use 1/3 of a pipe cleaner and bend it into thirds. Makes a dog's ear.

Animal Legs
Use on pipe cleaner for each pair of legs. Fold it in half, then use a pencil to make a spiral for each leg.

People Arms
Use 1/2 of a pipe cleaner for the arms. Make a loop with a marker for each hand. Bend the arm part way up to make an elbow. Use a small piece of matching pipe cleaner to make muscles for a boy.

Of course - don't just wait for a car ride to have fun with these ideas - they are a great afternoon activity anywhere and anytime.

Charles Leonard Inc, Chenille Stems - Sparkle 6mm - Assorted Colors - 100/Bag (65499)
Chenille Stems 6mm 12-Inch, 100/Pkg, Jewel
Pipe Cleaner, Asst, 6", Pkg/100 Assorted Colors, Chenille Stems

Bionic Binoculars

2011-08-23T07:34:00.008-06:00

Garbage goodies - toilet paper rolls

•2 Cardboard Toilet Paper Rolls
•Small Piece of Lightweight Cardboard (From a Cereal Box, Etc.)
•Paint
•School Glue
•Scissors

We started with 2 sturdy toilet paper rolls per person.

First we had to make sure to check that they would fit just right :)

Next cut apart the back of an old cereal box. Then we measured the length of the toilet paper roll and cut across the piece of cardboard accordingly - But only after we first used the rest of the cereal box as a funny wig (that was unplanned - but made the girls giggle for a good 5 minutes as they tried it on over and over again).

The girls glued the cardboard on and held tight.

It soon became obvious that we would get a better hold if we used clothespins to hold them tight while they dried.

Once we had the all clear on the gluing - the girls set in to paint the exterior of the binoculars.

We decided it would be fun to put stickers on the outside - so when their coat of paint dried they were liberal with the "stickering" - Now they are off to go spy on their friends.

Cottonelle Ultra Toilet Paper Double Roll, White 176, 12 Pack (Pack of 4)

Charmin Ultra Strong Toilet Paper 4 Double Rolls, (Pack of 10)

Crayola Washable Kid's Paint Sets set of 10

Treasure Boxes

2011-08-20T16:30:00.007-06:00

First gather some empty toilet paper rolls, paint, and brushes

Fold the ends in to form a party favor box.

We did this before we painted in order to make an initial crease to

ease the bending after we painted.

Then let the kids paint a coat of paint on the outside.

Then let it dry before applying additional designs.

The girls had fun being creative with their designs as we discussed what little goodies they would be hiding inside these little "treasure" boxes.

NOTE: You can also spray them with a simple glossy spray and wrap up

with curly ribbon for extra pizazz

I've also got another couple of Garbage Goodies posting soon....

Melissa & Doug Jumbo Paint Brushes (set of 4)
Spill Proof Paint Cups - Set of 4
Scott Bath Tissue, 1000 Sheet Rolls, 20-Count
Angel Soft Bath Tissue Regular Roll, White, Unscented, 12-Count

I Just Can't Keep Garbage around....

2011-08-19T15:27:00.008-06:00

So for the past three weeks I have been trying to save "garbage" to finish up my few "garbage goodies" crafts.

You would think it would be a fairly easy task -

However - four times now my sweet husband has thrown away my stash. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

So I'd just start collecting garbage again. This last time I protected it like gold and told anyone in the house that if they threw it away they would lose a limb :)

So tonight my girls and I are FINALLY going to make our projects - while the boys are away camping.

So I will be posting them ASAP!

In the meantime - I ran across another cool site with lots of great FREE printables for preschooler and Elementary age activities. So ENJOY!!!!

Let me know if you are interested in more of these in the future and I will be happy to pass them along to you :)

MR PRINTABLE LINK HERE.........

Just a Hello

2011-08-11T17:10:00.001-06:00

I haven't been great this week at doing any projects with the kids, so I have nothing to share with you. But we are still here and happy. My oldest is going to start kindergarten is just 2 short weeks, so there are going to be some big changes around our house.

I have some ideas of things to maybe do here - reading activities and mini-themes. What do you think?

Also, we will be doing more of the "summer" activities as we keep moving through the warm weather. I hope I won't confuse you all as we continue on the summer activity list after school starts.

Back to School

2011-08-07T00:43:00.004-06:00

I have several "Garbage Goodies" posts for you all this coming week - ( I was out of town last week and couldn't help contribute to my sisters) So look for that coming up...

In the meantime - I found a fun link to some free downloadables for cute notes you can put in your kids lunches. With back to school time around the corner for many of you - I thought this would be a great way to send a little special something to your kids. You could use these for lunches or even after school snacks.

LINK HERE

If anyone has any other great ideas about Lunch Notes - leave a comment - I love to collect ideas like that.

Grassheads

2011-08-05T14:27:00.000-06:00

The two weeks of Garbage Goodies recycled crafts/projects is just about up. (I know, I missed a day or two - getting a daily post up is hard, I extra commend those who make it happen, especially without the help of their 2 sisters). Don't worry there will be more "unofficial" recycled crafts still coming.

There is a great list of ideas of fun things to do during the summer (or anytime) over at Gluesticks. In fact, that is where a few of the ideas for my list came from. I love when I find fun things to do with my kids in batches instead of having to hunt around. Today's project is one of those ideas from there. She got her idea for a "grasshead" at Delia Creates (where she calls a Mr. Recycle Head Man). Hers and Delia's guys way outshine mine, but as usual, I added my own twist that worked for us and probably was more age appropriate for my kids.

This is sort of a long, can't do in one afternoon, project because first you ~~have~~ get to grow wheat grass! I thought it was awesome because it reminded me of when my mom used to grow alfalfa sprouts in our kitchen. Anyway, start with some wheat, a nylon (see, those $.33 knee-high that come in a gumball machine prize type container are good for something!), a jar (which can be recycled from jam or pickles or whatever) and a rubber band. The full instructions on growing the grass can be found back over at Delia Creates. She made it pretty and actually took pictures along the way.

In a couple of days you will also need one of those #1 plastic berry containers that you accidentally saved thinking it would work for Shrinky Dinks. Oh wait, that was just me. But, see I told you I found a use for it. I was amazed at how nerdily excited I was how fast this stuff grows. The kids liked it, but not as much as me.

Once your grass gets a little taller, gather together your second set of recyclable items: old cans, yogurt containers and magazines. Some scissor, glue and something to punch holes in the yogurt container would also be helpful here. I actually have a nicer shot of the supplies, but a nice does or reality is far more entertaining sometimes.

Make sure you wash out and dry all of your containers. The yogurt container is going to go in the can upside-down and you'll need to punch some holes in it for water drainage.

Next, you can cut up the pretty grass into sections.

Try to estimate what will fit in the cans on top of the yogurt containers. And maybe you'll want to do this after they are all decorated instead.

Hand over the magazine and scissors for the kiddos to find some face parts to put on their can.

I love how he found such a tiny eye to use.

Glue the pieces on.

They might end up with a solid face and clothes on.

Or crazy-eyed with no nose.

And if your kid is looking through Parents Magazine which has diaper rash cream ads, you might end up with a grasshead mooning you.

I think the most fun part for them was using the scissor for grass-hair cuts.

It got shorter. . .

And shorter. . .

until they had flattops.

After a few days of being watered again and set by the window, the "hair" will grow back again.

Activities for Summer #30

Certified Organic Hard Red Wheat- 10 Lbs- For Growing Wheatgrass

Can Stilts

2011-08-04T15:56:00.007-06:00

I had completely forgotten all about having done this as a kid until I was looking at ideas online and saw this. This is such an old-school, but fun, easy idea. I was watching my nieces (Natalie's daughters) and we decided to make these can stilts.
Supplies needed:
-Two 64oz (I used 48oz) canned juice cans
-Can opener like one pictured
-Rope (I used bungee cords because I REALLY couldn't find any rope in my house)
-Something to cut your rope with
-A pitcher to pour juice into
Use a can opened to make to holes directly across from each other
Pour juice to empty cans and for a yummy snack afterward.
Rinse cans with water
I had no rope anywhere in my house and so I decided to use bungee cords. They worked better than I thought, but you might be better using rope just so they don't snap off. Mine were in there pretty tight, but still.
New apricot nectar can stilts.
This activity is better for kids about 7 + years old, but the 4 + year olds could do it with help. The younger kids were nervous at first, but really liked it after they tried it. I would highly recommend having a parent stand close by for younger kids so they don't sprain an ankle falling over or something. I would also recommend that the child where good, flat shoes. My niece had flip-flops on and she was able to walk by herself, but it was harder with those flip-flops on. (She experimented doing it barefoot too.) I was surprised how each kid kept asking for more turns on the can stilts. Their only complaint was that we only made one set. :)

Attwood Braided Polypropylene General Purpose Rope

OXO SteeL Bottle Opener

Foam Snakes with The Foamerator

2011-08-02T17:35:00.002-06:00

This is an activity I saw in Family Fun Magazine and they got the idea from Betz White. It looked simple enough, but I still managed to sort of mess it up - at first.

Gather supplies - empty plastic bottle, old towel, rubber bands (and you'll need something to cut with too).

I found that a serrated knife worked excellent on the bottle. Just cut off the bottom, after you have cleaned it, of course.

Cut out a piece of old towel bigger than the bottom of the bottle.

Attach with a rubber band.

Ta-da! You now hae a foamerator (or two, if you have to make two of everything to prevent fights).

Get the towel damp. We sprayed it, but you could dip it in water.
Put a little dish soap in a shallow bowl or on a plate.

Dip the foamerator.

Blow.

"Mom, I don't think this works."

"Sure it does, just try harder." Nah, not really.

I did get it to work some and actually better than this picture, but by the time I blew the foam out, grabbed my camera and got set to take, some would blow away. I decided I must have done something wrong because it just wasn't working like pictures I had seen in the magazine, so I went back and looked at my little sheet I'd torn out. Hmmm. . . I looked up Betz's site. Hmmm . . . Oh, I see! They didn't use a 2 liter bottle! So, I busted out a few small Gatorade bottles and repeated the above. (For the record, I have been running a lot lately, normally we would not have been able to do so many "Gatorade bottle crafts.")

Supplies. Cut bottle. Cut towel. Rubber band towel on. Dip (but this time in bubbles solution - it seemed to work better). Blow.

It worked! We birthed a foam snake!

Activities for Summer #43

A&W Products Rubberbands Assorted Color and Size

Gatorade Sports Drink, Fierce Grape, 20-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 24)

Terry Cloth Bar Towel (1dzn)

Make Shrinky-Dinks

2011-08-01T12:14:00.003-06:00

One afternoon, this is what my sink looked like - full of containers I was saving for these Garbage Goodies projects we've been working on. I cleaned all the bottles and containers.

Then when the sticky stuff still wasn't coming off of some of the plastic, I used the peanut butter trick. (Spread a thin layer of peanut butter on the spots that stay sticky after you remove a label, let it sit then scrape off.) I was set to go on making my own shrinky dinks until I re-read over how to make them and realized my plastic wasn't the right kind! Way to pay attention genius! I though I just needed strawberry, etc. containers, but, wrong. I needed #6 plastic containers. Ugh.

Lucky for me when we went out for our mid-week family lunch date with my husband at Chick-fil-A, I noticed out kids were #6! Hooray! They saved cows and my project. (And my other plastic containers didn't totally go to waste, as you will see later this week.)

Now on to the project. I used a few sources (Poopscape Projects, Show Tell Share, and Skip to My Lou), but mostly Curbly. Some of the direction are different in each of them as far as temperature goes, but all of them say you must use #6 plastic (and #6 Styrofoam also works). Gather your supplies. (You can use colored pencils instead of markers, so long as you sand one side of the plastic to roughen the surface of it before drawing on it.)

My boys scribbled, made patterns and drew pictures on their plastic.

We used the lids first. On one of them my son insisted that we not cut any bumpy edges off, so i didn't.

It came out flat, as if there were never edges. I will not though (and it is exaggerated here because he filled in the words) that if you do have words or anything like that on the plastic you are working with, you will still be able to see the texture of it in the final product.

So, let me back up and give you instructions. You can cut your plastic out in any shape and if you are going to want a hole in it, use a hole punch before it goes in the oven.

You'll notice that the edges are rough on this, but once it shrunk it didn't seem to matter. You can make yours prettier though. I won't be offended. :)

For the "baking" part there is variation (see links above) I chose to use the aluminum foil method. Place your prepared plastic pieces on a piece of foil (I folded up the sides so there was a taller edge) and put in a 350 degree oven on the lowest rack. I checked on mine after about 90 seconds, but it took around 3 minutes to really shrink up.

Not the prettiest picture, but here is one in the oven. If you'll notice there is a big circle drawn on the foil. This was the original size. The plastic will shrink to about 1/3 of its original size. This is a fun part for the kids to see.

See that tiny guy? So cute. My boys loved how they got so small, but thicker.

Side-by-side.

So, I was sad to discover that my biggest lid must have not been #6 plastic (or else I just started messing up somehow). When I put these pieces in the oven, they never shrunk and just spread out, getting thinner and more brittle.

This is one we will repeat again once I get more plastic or Styrofoam because everyone (myself included) had a lot of fun.

Anytime you do stuff like this, be smart - oven are hot and not a place kids should be hanging out. You should open a window or something because it can get a little stinky. Have fun!

Activities for Summer #10

Sharpie Permanent Marker Fine Tip Color 8 Pack

BIC Mark-It Color Collection Permanent Marker, Fine Point, Assorted Colors, 36 Markers

Fiskars 12-23518897 Hand Punch, 1/8-Inch, Circle

Rain Stick

2011-07-29T17:47:00.009-06:00

This project was 6 years in the making. I saw this idea before I ever had kids and today was the first time I actually ever did it, so I feel good about having finally completed the idea. There are lots of versions of rain sticks online, etc. Here (Rain stick) is one version I sort of followed. I sort of cook and do crafts similarly. I follow the directions until I get to an item I don't have or an instruction I don't like and then I just make it up.

Items Needed:

-Mailing tube (I used a used up wrapping paper tube)

-Misc left over craft ribbon

-Misc left over screws from about 8, 392 different old projects that left me with oddball screws (make sure they are screws with a pointy end and not small bolts with a flat end, otherwise it is a beast trying to get them to poke through the tube)

-a screw driver that fits your screws

-a hammer (this was in the instructions but I didn't end up using mine)

-Duct tape (you will find that about now I have veered way off the directions with this item)

-Any Beans (I found some in our food storage that we had had probably a little too long)

We cut our tube in half so we could make two small rain sticks. The length doesn't matter, just know that the longer you make it the longer your rain falling sound will last. My daughter helped poke screws through the tube. Some you could push through and some required a little bit of screwing to make them flush with the tube.

You want to arrange them in a spiral down the tube

After testing some beans falling through the inside of the tube I realized I needed more screws randomly about for the beans to hit to make the "rain" sound stronger.

I let my kids choose some ribbon to attach at one end of the rain stick, just for design. I chose to singe the end of the ends of each ribbon so it wouldn't unravel.

This step gets into where I am totally making it up as I went. I taped two bunches of ribbon to the inside of each end.

So that the duct tape wouldn't stick to the beans on the inside, but so that I could still seal the end, I took a piece of tape with the sticky side out and wrapped it over the end and used another piece to wrap around the tube to keep that piece in place.

I then double wrapped the tube with tape to help it feel a little more durable and so the screws wouldn't tear out or anything.

We added a couple cups of beans to the inside of the tube. I also just threw the remaining screws in there too because they made a cool sound inside the tube.

and sealed the open end the same way I explained to seal the ribbon end.

Rain sticks complete. My girls LOVED them, really, really loved them. So I am glad we FINALLY made them. (Plus I am sure we can play with them extra when we have "Water" theme of the week later)

Scotch Mailing Tube, 2-15/16 Inches x 36 Inches (7979)

Colored Duck Tape, Purple Duchess

Colored Duck Tape, Totally Tie Dye

Homemade Hummingbird Feeder

2011-07-28T15:27:00.003-06:00

I dropped the ball yesterday and forgot to post, so you guys get a bonus post today in addition to Natalie's cute newspaper paper dolls.

I remember as kid being fascinated by hummingbirds. They were so rare to see, so small and beautiful, and moved so fast it was as if they didn't have wings. A few of my neighbors have hummingbird feeders, so they show up in our neighborhood now and then, but I want them in my yard. Maybe my kids will end up thinking they are amazing like I did.

There are a lot of ways you can make your own hummingbird feeder. Some involve old sour cream containers and others can just use an old water bottle. When I first thought of doing this I thought I had seen a version out there using a plastic bottle and some kind of cotton. I never found it, but I found this one from The Outdoor Parent. We skipped the paint (maybe a mistake?) and just used some red foam (and sequins again because my kids love them).

Even if you skip our version for one of the others, you'll still get to use some of your otherwise useless garbage.

Normally I make my baby food, but I purposely went out and bought some just so we have the jars to use. After washing it, I let my boys try to hammer the holes in the top. One did fine my himself and I helped the other out. On he Outdoor parent he suggests that the rough edges on the flip side of the lid be pounded flat, so I did that.

Nest up the boys decorated the bottle. Totally unnecessary, but fun for the kids. Make sure to not cover the holes. I would actually suggest that before you decorate (if you choose to), paint the lid red. From what I have read that attracts the hummingbirds to the feeder more.

My kids wanted their red on the sides of the bottle and requested that I cut out hearts and then they glued them on.

We used a rubber band to hold the foam on until it dried. At this point you are just about ready to hang them up outside (or add one more helpful item to the jar that I wrote about below).

To prepare the "nectar," mix 4 parts water (hot enough to dissolves sugar) with 1 part water. Once it has cooled you can fill the jar up. Make sure you change the water every 4 days or so.

Tie a string around the neck of the jar and hang up near a tree or under the house eaves. There are some tips below that suggest putting it near flowers to attract the birds more quickly. It's making me wish I'd tried harder to plant a nice garden this year.

Here is the potentially helpful addition I added. I'm pretty sure in our bottles' first 4-ish days out that neither of them had any bird friends visit. Upon doing some more reading I decided it just needed more red, so I traced the lid on the red foam and cut out flower shape outside of that and used my tracing as a guide to cut out the inner circle, making it a little bit smaller than the lid so it can be slipped over it and stay snug without using glue. I'm hoping this will help get some fast wings in out yard soon. I'll let you know if we get any and if you make this and attached hummingbirds to your yard, please let us know! :)

More hummingbird tips from BirdWatchers.com

Activities for Summer #57

The Secret Lives of Hummingbirds

The Hummingbird Book: The Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Hummingbirds

Newspaper Paper Dolls

2011-07-28T06:14:00.015-06:00

Yesterday my girls were trying to kill some time before we left to go swimming. In the 25 minutes we had to spare, it was a perfect time to try out a little "Garbage Goodies" idea that uses those leftover ads you get in the newspaper.

So before hauling the newspaper to the recycle box - try letting your kids make some old fashioned paper dolls with the store advertisements.

I wasn't sure if this was going to go over well - but we got out some scissors and gave it a go.

First find your "model" for your basic paper doll. Then cut out similar-sized clothes to add to your dolls wardrobe.

Much to my delight - both of my girls and their friend were totally enraptured in the "Garbage Goodies" project. They really got into picking out the clothes and cutting them out to fit their "model" paper dolls.

No coloring needed......and these dolls are wearing the latest fashions - what could be better!

In case you are interested....here's a little history on paper dolls - kind of interesting how they all came to be! ENJOY

Flower Fairies Paper Dolls

My Book of Little House Paper Dolls: The Big Woods Collection

Artful Paper Dolls: New Ways to Play with a Traditional Form

20th Century Paper Dolls

Glitter Bottles

2011-07-26T11:32:00.002-06:00

Alright, the first project in our new "Garbage Goodies" series is a Glitter Bottle. There are many names and variations of this project. I will put some links at the end if you want to try other methods. But for now, let's begin!

Garbage needed: a bottle with a cap. We used Gatorade, but I would actually recommend something with smoother sides, like a plastic 20 oz. pop bottle. So drink some diet Dr. Pepper and then get out the supplies below.

The version I chose to make needs a bit of canola oil (or corn, vegetable, even baby oil - I wouldn't waste olive oil on this though!), some glitter (I bought my 12 pack at Wal-mart), and sequins (I bought a big bag at Michael's using a 40% coupon, so it wasn't too much and I have used it over and over again on projects). You can also add food coloring.

Fill your cleaned out bottle 1/4-1/3 full of oil.

My kids really wanted their bottles to be colored, so we added a few drops of food coloring.

Add the sequins.

Add the glitter.

See how pretty already? As my kids were dumping glitter and sequins in their bottles, it seemed like so much, but don't hesitate to load it up, since you really want it to sparkle. I think we could have added more.

Fill the rest of the bottle with water. At this point you could also hot-glue it shut, especially if you think your kiddos will try to open it. Now is also a good time to have them just observe the bottle so they can see the changes that occur (especially if you use food coloring, because that stays mixed).

Then shake, shake, shake!

Everything mixes together and the glitter dances. I have noticed that with the Gatorade bottles the glitter and sequins seems to stick on the ledges and nooks, so if I did this again I would definitely use something smoother like I suggested above.

Once it has settled a bit again, Have them look at how the oil and water separate again.

We did these about a week and a half ago and my boys just leave them on the table to go in and look at them and shake them. I'm excited to try some of the other variations I saw out there.

Variations:

Use only water (I saw this in a Mailbox Magazine book)
Use a mix of oil and rubbing alcohol (Exploratorium.edu)
Use corn syrup (Enchanted Learning)
Make it into a "lava lamp" with Aka-Seltzer tablets (Family Fun Magazine)

Activities for Summer #78

Martha Stewart 24-Vial Glitter Multi-Packs

3 Assorted Sizes Sequins

McCormick Food Colors

Start Saving Your Garbage!

2011-07-25T12:07:00.000-06:00

So, normally I would suggesting tossing your empty bottles, used cans, old toilet paper tubes, etc in the recycle bin, but for the next two weeks we're going to be doing projects using things that normally get thrown out. Introducing "Garbage Goodies."

Stay tuned for more...

Homemade Bubbles

2011-07-20T11:26:00.001-06:00

We have been continuing to play, play, play this summer. Things are getting checked of the list and others wait there as something to look forward to.

We got library cards & joined the reading program (#s 77 & 96), rode bikes and scooters in the neighborhood and a parade too (#38), went on a train ride(#25), and watched a movie at the drive-in (#3).

The whole family went on a mini hike (#31), we enjoyed a movie outside at the park (#4), went to a baseball game (#2), and tested out the slip-n-slide (#49).

As we have been using our list as a guide, I find that the "go do" things are easier to accomplish than the "make" things. This wasn't the case just a few short years ago when my boys, who are only 13.5 months apart, seemed too difficult to take anywhere. Maybe I'm just catching up! ha ha!

We did have a "make" something day with Rachel's girls when I tried out a recipe for homemade bubbles that I found on Under the Sycamore.

The ingredients are simple and you probably have them all in your kitchen: dish soap, corn syrup, and water. I mixed them up per the instructions (1.5 quarts water, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, & 1 cup liquid dish soap). Then I poured them into our old bubbles bottles.

The kids had fun trying to blow bubbles. I didn't think the stuff was so great, but maybe I made it wrong. Plus, it was super sticky. I have used a recipe in the past that used glycerine instead of corn syrup, maybe I should dig that out again. All the same, the kids had a great time making a mess on the sidewalk and trying to catch the bubbles each other blew. And not to self, a single wand it NOT ok. Must-have-fancy-cool-wand-with-lots-of-holes.

Activities for summer #34.

8in Giant Bubble Wand (Asst. Colors)

Toysmith Big Bubble Set [Toy]

Bubble Wand Variety Pack

Dip StixTM Giant Bubble Grab & Go Kit

Family Fun Jar

2011-07-13T05:00:00.014-06:00

I don't know how it is for you all - but with four kids ranging from 4 to 11, I often have a hard time making sure all the fun ideas I have planned for my kids actually happen.

So, I was really excited when this past spring I received a cute jar from

a friend with an idea to encourage doing more family fun activities-

that she called, "30 days of Fun".

I think this could also be an excellent method to the 100 days of summer that

Lettie introduced HERE or

use it all the time like our family does for year-round fun.

Start with a cute jar - decorate it up to make in interesting (if you like) -

Your kids could help decorate it- if that sounds fun.

(We used "S" for our last name on the outside - which the kids thought was cool)

Then make 30-45 cards to go in the jar.

We spent an evening with the kids brainstorming lots of ideas that they would like to do. And we told them that half of the ideas had to be FREE.

I like that they were a part of creating the list - it helped build excitement for the Jar.

Then we read the entire list to them so they could anticipate lots of fun coming their way. (You really could select any of the ideas on this entire blog for your activities)

It was fun to see what great ideas they came up with. Here are a few...

We then decorated cards for each of our family fun ideas. You could have the kids do all the decorating (go dig into those craft supplies) or you can simplify the process with pre-made cards or even just colored index cards.

So we wanted to make sure this wasn't just a passing idea for our family - because we really want our family to enjoy spending time with each other. So, on the first Sunday of each month we let each of the kids pick an idea out of the jar (one for each week). No more than half of the cards chosen can be ones that cost anything.

(If you are doing this for summer you could have them pick one for each day or several for each week - personalize it to your needs)

Once items have been drawn from the jar, we write them directly on days in the calendar to make sure it actually happens.

Then we put the chosen cards in a sandwich bag and slip them back in the jar so we don't duplicate our selections on future drawings.

(This also keeps the cards in one place and less likely to get lost somewhere.)

Hope this helps you enjoy some more family fun time together!

(newest Heaps of Laundry Girl :)

P.S. Here are some other variations .....

link for free kit HERE

also a fun board made from printable magnet paper...

link with details on on to make this are HERE

Kid Wash

2011-07-12T16:38:00.000-06:00

Normally in July around here it is WAY too hot for my liking (and I realize it could be worse). Thankfully, this summer has been pretty mild so far. I like that. However it might be extra hot where you are. The idea of a kid/bike wash circulated around on blogs a couple of years ago and I really wanted to try it out. I used this as my main source to guide our project. We opted to make the double version mentioned.

To make it a family affair, we all went to Home Depot to pick out the supplies. This got a few looks!

My husband really did all the work, but I'm certain I could have managed it on my own (with pvc cutters though, I sawed one pipe and was terrible at it!).

Hmm, on second though, I'm not too good with the drill either. I guess I should have paid more attention to the teacher in shop class in 8th grade instead of the boy I had a crush on. But, you are probably not like this and could totally handle a drill!

The boys kept being helpers. After all, what helps boost a child's self esteem like being a good helper.

And I think it helps them take better care of their belongings if they don't just get stuff.Obviously it also just more fun when everyone pitches in too.

Once it is dry, attach to the hose and ride on through!

Or invite some cousins over and run as fast as you can!

Just standing there getting soaked works too.

This is sure to be a neighborhood attraction and if you keep it on the lawn instead of across the sidewalk, it can serve a dual purpose by giving your grass a drink!

Activities for summer #11

Graintex PC1799 Ratcheting PVC Pipe Cutter, 1.5/8-Inch