LuCk: February 2014

Project {Little Scientists At Work}

It can be said that all children are little scientists. They observe, question, hypothesize, test and draw conclusions. As soon as babies start exploring they start testing the world around them. What will happen if...I cry? I throw my Cheerios on the floor? Put this tiny piece of fuzz in my mouth? But there is something special when your child can verbalize their thoughts and can be brought to a higher level of thinking.

It was a cold winter day when Ally texted, “Can i come over and chat?”
I replied, "Of course!" But this created a problem that needed a quick solution.

Question:

How can you keep two toddlers occupied for at least 30 minutes on a moments notice?

Research:

Part of being a mom and a teacher means I have to think quick on my feet. Luckily, I knew there was a project I had been wanting to do with Lucas for awhile and this was the perfect time to test it out. I brought out the glue and borax to make two polymers with Lucas. Goop and Silly Putty.

Hypothesis:

If I make the Goop, then Lucas and Chuck will be entertained long enough for the mom’s to have a real conversation.

Experiment:

First Lucas and I made the Goop. Lucas was in charge of stirring the glue mixture, I helped with the borax to make sure it all dissolved. Lucas chose to make purple Goop, so we added red and blue food coloring to the glue. He noted “Look, mama it’s changing” as the colors swirled together. We added in the borax solution and soon had a nice runny Goop to play with. To avoid any sharing issues with Chuck we made her another batch, Lucas chose yellow. Lucas helped pour the glue, and he was a little heavy handed so we ended up with Silly Putty! Silly Putty is a little bit thicker, which makes it less likely to drip off tables and onto carpets (yay!).

As Lucas began exploring he exclaimed, “it’s so soft!” Then he used his pointer finger to press into the Goop, “I am making dots!” First he made dots quickly, then he realized if he held his finger down longer he could make his dots bigger! We left the Goop on the table for a little while and it dripped off the edge. It was quite runny, so it dripped quickly and was fun to watch.

We broke out the playdough toys and had a great time. When it was time to clean up the Silly Putty and the Goop ended up in the same container. The next day it lead to a great discussion on what happened to the yellow goop, since it mixed together and all turned purple.

First , Lucas and I made the Goop. Lucas was in charge of stirring the glue mixture and I helped with the borax to make sure it all dissolved. Lucas chose to make purple Goop, so we added red and blue food coloring to the glue. He noted “Look, mama it’s changing” as the colors swirled together. We added in the borax solution and soon had a nice runny Goop to play with! Chuck was coming over so to avoid any sharing issues we made her another batch, Lucas chose yellow. Lucas helped pour the glue, and he was a little heavy handed so we ended up with Silly Putty! Silly Putty is a little bit thicker, which makes it less likely to drip off tables and onto carpets (yay!)

Conclusion:
Lucas loved the Goop, but didn’t play with the Silly Putty until the next day (probably because he made it for Chuck!). Chuck was more interested in playing in the sink, but that’s okay because Ally and I still had time to talk. We can call this experiment another playdate success!

Directions

Goop

2tsp borax disolved in 1/2 cup hot water

1/4 c white glue mixed with 1/4 cup hot water (plus food coloring)

Add borax solution slowly to glue until desired consistency is reached (i only used about half of the solution)

Silly Putty

3 tsp borax dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water

1/3 glue 1/4 water

Add borax solution slowly to glue until desired consistency is reached.

Add borax solution slowly to glue until desired consistency is reached

{The Zen of Bird Feeders}

I'm going to leave you with a little bit of peace and quiet on this Friday afternoon. We have a window bird feeder. Chuck absolutely loves it. Watching her sit in her jammies and scream, "Buh-dies" while munching on her waffles, is 100% adorable.

Yes, it also scares the birds away.

But, that doesn't stop Chuck from trying to befriend the bird sitting on the fence, and ask him how he's doing.

If you have a window, I highly reccomend putting a feeder in it. There is a certain zen that watching the birds brings us. Chuck's learning patience and self control. Mom's learning that on these cold winter days, there's still life out there.

“Let Nature be your teacher.” – William Wordsworth

Play {Tea Painting}

I have something to confess: I have a tea purchasing problem. I have a whole drawer filled with tea bags. Rose, mint, sleepy time, lavender - you name it, I've bought it. What can I say, the polar vortex has brought out my inner tea drinker. I love the aromatic fragrance that fills my home on cold afternoons.

Today's Snow Day activity brought about a different kind of tea time. There were no points for raising your pinky. Instead, I delivered several different kinds of tea to Chuck in plastic bowls and watched her explore.

At first, she squished the tea bags between her fingers chirping, "Squish, squish, squish!"
Then she picked up the strings, and began to drag the bags across the paper, making swirly whirls. At one point, I caught her with her face in the paper, just taking in the smell of mint, jasmine, and rose.

We used plain old white paper since it was all I had in the house. If I were to do this again, I'd probably use watercolor paper. However, the end result of this project is nothing I plan on keeping in my memory box. The tea did turn the paper different colors (faint reds, purples, and browns), but as it dried, any hint of color that was there faded. Chuck simply had fun exploring her senses and being a little bit curious. I could almost see the thought bubbles around her asking "I wonder what would happen if I squished this tea bag above the paper".

By the time she was finished, there was a little bit of a puddle underneath the table, and my home smelled like I just took a tour of Celestial Seasonings. Not bad for a last minute Snow Day activity!

Project {Snow Dough}

With all the snow we've been getting this winter, it's getting a little old. We've shoveled, dug and painted it. We've brought it inside and eaten it. How can we have some wintery fun without being cold?

{Snow Dough}
All you need are two ingredients:
*cornstarch (approximately 2 boxes)
*shaving cream

Empty the cornstarch and shaving cream into a big container and mix with your hands.

This is definitely a job for big hands. Little hands just enjoy squishing the shaving cream and getting corn starch everywhere. It is fun, but if you want to end up with snow dough you need to get your hands in there too!

Snow dough is a great consistency. The cornstarch makes it silky to the touch. It easily sticks together when squeezed. Lucas loved making rocks and boulders to put in his dump truck. It was fun to smash the rocks with the trucks or our hands. We also made snowmen. Next time we will add beans or small rocks for the snowmen before they get run over by the bulldozer.

We stored ours in the container we made it in, trucks and all! So far we are on day 3 and it is working out great!

Play {Balloons}

I realized at Chuck's birthday party that toddlers love balloons. They go crazy for them. They are like pure magic spheres of joy. They don't even have to be filled with helium. When I was stocking up my snow day survival kit this winter, I made sure I had a pack of balloons. All I have to say is that was ninety-nine cents well spent!

I inflated about a dozen primary color balloons during nap today and filled the front porch. I left the front door open a little with the hopes that when Chuck came down from her nap, she would take a look out the window. It literally took about 30 seconds for her to wander out to the porch and scream, "balloon!" I love when my expectations match up with reality! And, Chuck didn't let me down!

She ran back and forth through the balloons, kicking them as she squealed with delight! I love the way balloons gently float through the air. It's a perfect match for playing catch with toddler reflexes! I kept gently patting the balloon through the air, and it would float right down into Chuck's hands.

There are so many things to do with a simple balloon! We spent the better part of an hour kicking, grasping, running, jumping, and yes -- popping. I let a few of them fly through the air as I was inflating them. I showed Chuck how you can make a funny noise by stretching out the opening and letting the air flow through. We named all the colors of the balloons and had a few balloon races across the porch. It was a great way to blow an afternoon (sorry, balloon humor) .

I think my favorite part of this activity, was when she filled her tunnel with all the balloons. I wasn't quite sure where she was going with this. Then, when she had all the balloons lined up in a row, she pummeled herself through the tunnel giggling the entire way. In the words of Chuck, it was "awesome!"

SnowSanity: Kids Unplugged

Date: 17, February 2014
Time: Early Morning
Report: I have been trapped in this house with the human child for three days straight. She is quite demanding with her needs. We have baked cookies, made forts out of pillows and cardboard. Formed one too many snow man pancakes. We have painted, played with stickers, and played with dough. I am afraid that the original thrill of the snow day may be lost. It is only 9:00am. Send reinforcements.

You know that warm fuzzy feeling you get at the beginning of winter when you unpack your sweaters, brew your first cup of cocoa, and make sure you have the ingredients for emergency French toast on hand? Three months ago, I was ready to create some snow day magic! Well, this winter has been brutal. The teacher part of me absolutely loves snow days. The mother part of me is ready to cry "Uncle."

This week Karen and I are going to share some fun unplugged play activities that we've done with Lucas & Chuck this season. We'd love to hear from our virtual parent hive! Check us out on Instagram and Pinterest! We'd love to see what your SnowSanity Savers are!

Visit LuCk's profile on Pinterest.

Playdate {Valentines Sensory Bin}

Karen and I do most of our LuCk Date planning through texts. Last Friday night's exchange went something like this:
Ally: How do I dye rice pink?
While waiting for a response, Ally skims through Pinterest to see if she can find the answer
Karen: Shake it. You can use rubbing alcohol and food coloring
Ally: Pinterest told me vinegar works too, but I want to dye a lot of rice.
Karen: How much?
Ally: Twenty pounds
Karen: Where are you planning on drying all this rice?
I'm a tinkerer by nature. So, at this point, I had already identified this as a problem. I was already in the kitchen shaking rice and red food coloring around in mason jars, seeing what would happen.
Ally: I figured it out!
Karen: You already did it?
Ally: Mason Jar. Food Coloring. Shake!
Karen: I'm surprised you didn't put it in the Kitchen Aid.

I'm a self proclaimed Kitchen Aid junkie. I use it to scramble a basic egg. Why I didn't think of using the Kitchen Aid to mix the rice, is beyond me, but this is why I love working with other moms. After spending the previous 30 minutes shaking small batches of rice in mason jars, I poured the remaining 10 pounds into the Kitchen Aid and it was a beautiful motley mix of red and pink rice in about 3 minutes. It looked absolutely amazing! I was so excited to let Chuck explore her first sensory bin, that I had to share this experience with others!

I then texted the mother of our 3-year-old neighbor:
Ally: Do you want to come over on Saturday and dig through a bin of pink colored rice for Valentine's Day? I'll make heart shaped quesadillas!
Michele: Sure! What time?

If I could fill an in ground pool with rice, I would. I love the therapeutic, soothing nature of rice. During these winter months, my little, lovely, energetic toddler needs a little soothing. There are so many kinds of sensory bins to create! Since its Valentine's Day, I decided to go full-blown LOVE! I scented the rice with vanilla and scattered some candy conversation hearts, heart-shaped gems, rose petals, heart shaped bracelets, and shiny necklaces. I gave the girls some sand toys, and little red-plastic cups to explore with.

At first, the girls spent some time simply digging through the rice and exploring it with their hands. After a while, they began to fill and refill the cups and containers. Then, they started discovering the jewels, and necklaces, and candy! The girls spent about 40 minutes discovering treasures in the rice (which, as we all know, is an eternity in toddler time.) They got quite serious with their rice exploration. I loved watching their tiny fingers go exploring, scooping, sorting, sifting, pouring.

Days later, Chuck still points to the bin and says "rice, rice". I consider our first adventure with rice sensory bins to be a success! There are so many possibilities in our future!
Now, if only I could teach Chuck how to use the vacuum cleaner . . .

Project {Brushless Painting}

In our house, the whole family gets into LuCk's crazy shenanigans. Just last week, Lucas's dad brought home shipping paper from work. It was 4 by 16 feet! I knew that it was destined for something wonderful. When Super Bowl Sunday rolled around and we had nothing super planned Lucas and I pulled it out for some painting.

Toddlers love to paint! It's so much fun to watch the paint glide across the paper and make new and exciting colors!

Painting is even more fun when you don't use a paintbrush. Lucas loves cars and trucks I thought it would be fun to use those. Since I wanted to take full advantage of the large paper I skipped over the matchbox cars and went right for the Tonka trucks. I asked Lucas to pick two and he opted for a dump truck and a grader.

When it was time to choose the paint we went with red for stop and green for go!

Lucas loved watching the different tracks the trucks made. He then noticed that his little feet were making tracks as well!

One of my favorite things about exploring with Lucas is he always comes up with ideas I never would of thought of. I put out the trucks to use the wheels to make tracks. Lucas found that if you lift the bed of the dump truck it makes long, thick lines that move large blobs of paint. It was so much fun to watch and I never would of thought of that on my own!

Valentines + Easy = {Valentineasy}

This year, we decided to challenge ourselves and not use Pinterest for Valentines inspiration. We are not judging those who sought some Pinsperation, this was more of just a creative challenge for Karen and Ally! Just a little something to get our mid-winter creative juices flowing.

I don't know when "normal" people start planning their Valentine's Day, but if you are anything like me, you went to the store last week and found that your pickings were rather slim. So, we had get a little craftier than normal given our resources. After many many text messages, this is what we came up with! Most of what we made can be created using non-Valentinesy things (pipe cleaners, fruit loops, pasta, crayons), which is perfect for last minute Valentines!

Recycled Crayon Hearts

About a week ago, Karen was roaming the aisles of {insert big box store} and stumbled across a silicon heart shaped ice cube tray. She texted me to ask if I thought is was worth the $3.97. We immediately fired off at least a dozen texts back and forth of things one could do with this tool. So, she decided to buy it, and, I'm glad she did! Check out these awesome heart shaped {recycled crayons} that she made! What toddler wouldn't want to get his hands on one of these!

Bird Feeders of Love

OK, so there's nothing about these feeders that specifically make them "of love", but I just liked the way that sounded. Chuck loves threading things, so I thought these would be perfect for her! It's your basic "fruit loops on a pipe cleaner" bird feeder, only because its Valentine's day, I bent them into a heart shape. Plus, the birds are hungry so this one will make both humans and animals happy.

Make-Your-Own Macaroni Necklace Kit

I can't think of anything more endearing than a macaroni necklace made by your child. So, Chuck decided to share this loving feeling by giving our daycare buddies all the ingredients you need to make their own! We painted some ziti, and cut a little bit of yarn and packaged it up all pretty in a bag. Since we needed to paint a lot of ziti, I put some paint and pasta in a plastic tub and had her shake it around (Chuck loves to shake!) We even added some glitter for good measure!

Valentine's Day Downloads

As cute as these are, we know that a good Valentine needs some kind of tag with a clever pun! Download our gift tags to share with your loved ones!

Project {Birdseed Cookies}

The goal of today’s Snow Day project was two-fold:

Goal 1: Provide food for the poor little birds that are starving to death, thanks to all this snow.
Goal 2: Get rid of these store brand Cheerios that taste like cardboard and have been sitting in my house for far too long.

Originally I was planning on stringing Cheerios on pipe-cleaners. It’s a simple activity and great for finger dexterity, as well as eye hand coordination. But lets face it, Lucas is 2 and that would use up about 10 Cheerios before we were on to something else. I had half of a box of Cherrios to use, I needed something more. I found these great Birdseed Ornamanrts on {Smith} Peas in a Pod and decided to give them a try.

This project was perfect for Lucas because he loves mixing up creations in the kitchen! He was very patient while they dried, but trying to explain to him that they were for the birds to eat and not him was a whole other story.

Here is what we used:

1/2 cup warm water

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

3 Tbsp corn syrup

3/4 cups flour

2 cups Cheerios

2 cups birdseed

nonstick cooking spray

cookie cutters

cookie sheet

drinking straws

string/twine/ribbon

In a large bowl, dissolve gelatin in warm water, whisk in corn syrup until well combined.
Add in flour, Cheerios and birdseed, stir until well coated
Spray your cookie cutters and cookie sheet well with nonstick cooking spray.
Spoon birdseed mixture into cookie cutters. Make sure you press down well to get it into all of the corners.
Cut straws into pieces a little longer than the height of your cookie cutters. Insert straws into each birdseed mold, making sure the hole goes all the way through.
Leave the birdseed in the molds for about 3 hours. Then gently remove from the cookie cutter, remove straws and flip them over to dry for another 2-3 hours.
When your bird seed cookies are dry, use your string to hang them in a tree for all the birds to enjoy!

Grown-Up Play Dates