The Water Table

This was a quick and easy idea from No Time for Flashcards: a DIY Water Play Table.

I emptied an "extra" bin (now there are jeans, that were once neatly folded and stored under the bed, strewn across the floor in the playroom,) and filled it with water, on the picnic table. It wasn't warm enough to swim yesterday, but certainly warm enough for water play. I gave Little Lad and Dash some cups, toys, basters, squirt catsup and mustard bottles, and funnels and they had a grand 'ole time!

This is another great "sensory" activity.

As soon as the rain passes, we'll conduct some experiments on floating/ sinking, and things that dissolve in water. Maybe some freezing/ thawing activities, too. Will an ice cube melt faster in the cold water, on the table in the shade, or on the table in the sun? Then we'll test those theories. :-) Fun learning to be had with water!

We played outside most of the day, drew pictures, read stories, and ended the day with a family firepit night and watermelon. It was the perfect day.

After Little Lad ate part of the rind last week, he was much more cautious this time around!

Sensory Bowl

Fill a container with beans, rice, corn kernels, beads... whatever you have, or a mixture of these.

Gather little objects/ toys to "bury." Either take a picture or write down what you are hiding.

I hid 10 objects.

(Note: My objects are small, and could be choking hazards. I used them simply because I was sitting next to him the entire time. Luckily, this child does not have a habit of putting things in his mouth. Please use your own judgment on this one.)

Toys out:

Toys buried:

Right away, it became obvious that either my bowl was too full, or we needed a larger one!

I love love love this picture, of his precious little hand reaching for the bowl, with his toddler toes curled up in anticipation. Oh my goodness, I am in love with these kids.

This kiddo, like his brother Dash, goes 90+mph until he crashes.

They are hands-on, rough-and-tumble, loud little boys. Nature Man and the Artist have very different personalities; They are usually calm and pretty quiet, so I rarely had to focus on finding ways to settle them down.

(Nature Man was a rascally, stubborn little 2-year old, but that is different than a non-stop-activity child!)

At any rate, I've put myself "back in school" to find ways of successfully teaching, calming, and helping my two little ones learn. I want them to be active and able to express themselves, but have calming activities available when they need help settling down.

By the way, do you see that puzzle next to him? By numbering the pieces and corresponding spaces, Little Lad was easily able to put together 25+ piece puzzles when he was 2-years old. It worked for my little niece, too.

a doodle and trick for invisible ink

I gave each of the kids the exact same doodle to begin. They were simply instructed to "draw, using this."

Nature Man's became a crab, without a moment of hesitation. He just took off on it.


The Artist thought for a moment and started on a shark picture. I wouldn't have guessed this for her!

Dash transformed his doodle into a fire-breathing dragon on top of a castle. He wouldn't pose for an individual picture, but was more than happy to stand for a group shot. :-) Little Lad scribbled at the table the entire time, and wasn't interested in posing.

Second doodle:

I was just as impressed with these!

Nature Man's page became a picture of ferocious sabertooth tigers.
The Artist's page turned into "the perfect sunshade and hammock."

Next up on Fun Activities today: Invisible Ink!

We used milk, but you can also do it with other *substances.

The Q-tips didn't work nearly as well as a small tip paint brush.

Write (paint) a message onto the white paper.
Wait for the milk to dry so it becomes completely invisible. If much liquid is used, it can cause some warping of the paper. It helps if you have another "fake" message going the opposite direction.
When you are ready to read your secret message or show it to someone else, heat the paper by holding it close to a light bulb or iron. We used a candle today, which was fine the first time around. On the second try, I ended up sprinting to the sink with a flaming page.

Not. A. Good. Idea.

See, stupidity in action, below.

Milk is an organic substance that oxidizes and turns brown when heated. *Other substances which work in the same way include orange juice, honey, lemon juice, onion juice, vinegar, soda and wine...
and sweat, saliva, & urine, if you're in a fix.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_ink

Have fun!! We made some secret message cards for friends today. Of course, there's a warning label attached, stating that ADULTS need to do the heating... and that said adults should not put the paper over an open flame. ;-)

Visiting the Devil's Den

I'm going to take the Scrapbooking Advice and start from the present. As I have time, I'll catch you up on some field trips, parties, and projects!

On Saturday, we drove out to Devil's Den State Park.

The sky was absolutely gorgeous, following the storms last week.

excuse the dirty windshield ;-)
When I really stop to ponder the vastness of the universe, I feel... so small.... so helpless...

so in awe that I'm loved and cared for by the Creator Himself.
Everything about creation declares the awesomeness of the Creator.

Turkey Vulture, up close and personal

The Turkey Vulture, contrary to popular belief, does not feed strictly on
carrion. This bird enjoys plant matter as well, including shoreline vegetation, pumpkin, and bits of other crops. The Turkey Vulture soars above the ground for most of the day, searching for food with its excellent eyesight and highly developed sense of smell.

Extremely unaggressive and non-confrontational, the Turkey vulture will not feed on live prey, an occasional habit of its cousin the black vulture.

Turkey Vultures can often be seen along roadsides, cleaning up roadkill, or near rivers,
feasting on washed-up fish, another of their favorite foods. http://vulturesociety.homestead.com/TVFacts.html

Building with rocks

They all crashed on the way home!

More soon!

School is almost over, and I've been up to some FUN things!!

Enjoying family and the great outdoors

I rarely go a week without posting, but life has gotten ridiculously busy. It's "fun busy" stuff, but I simply haven't had the energy to download pictures and post in the evenings.

You may be in for a flood of posts as soon as I have *time* to get the pictures on here and write about everything. In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the beautiful outdoors as much as I am. Grow, garden, give, glean, glow!

Turn tights into knee or thigh highs

I've been coming across the most adorable girl tights, but always in the wrong size for The Artist or my little niece.

Sooo, I decided to MAKE them work.
These were 12-month tights, but I was quite sure that the sock part would fit my 2-year old niece Scarlett, so I decided to simply turn them into thigh-highs. (Future Plan: If the sock part doesn't work, I'd just cut it off, and turn them into leg warmers. Same concept.)
(side notes: 1- you can click on any photo to enlarge it & 2- I'm quite sure there are other, more detailed and exact tutorials out there for this, so feel free to search around if the idea is new to you and you need more help!)
Step 1: Cut off the legs of the tights, straight across the top, as pictured.

Cut an even number of hearts, any size and shape, from the leftover top section.
None of my tutorials are exact. Deal with it. Get creative. Make it your own. Or go somewhere else for help. Just don't give up before exploring the possibilities! :-)
Step 2: Turn the stocking inside out. Now fold the top edge of the stocking down. Sew elastic (hand or machine) along the inside folded part of the stocking (which is now out facing you.) Try not to stretch the stocking at all, as you sew.

Turn stockings right-side-out. Next layer the hearts up the side of each stocking (the side that will be facing out to the world) and sew straight through the middle of them.

You're done!

It REALLY is that easy, the only part that might be tough at first is to make sure you're not stretching the sock while you stitch around the cuff. Also, a small zigzag stitch seems to work best since it has a bit of give to it.

Isn't she adorable??

Check out the other great ideas at...
The Persimmon Perch Made It Monday and