getting a reaction...

Add a dish (or clay), vinegar, baking soda and kiddos and what you get is a lot of fun.

This one requires adult supervision, but after watching the kiddos' faces light up with each "eruption"you won't want to be anywhere else.

We enjoyed this activity outside, but with the right large piece of tupperware you can enjoy it inside too.
May all your reactions be happy!

taking a risk: homemade board games

The "we don't have it" excuse no longer stands. Telling my oldest that we don't have something he wants is like throwing down the gauntlet. By golly that boy can make anything, we at least attempt it. 

We had sent our sweet 7 and 8 year old for a weekend with grammie and papa. But, when they returned we had a few "Risk" addicts on our hands. So the kiddos spent their first day home creating a board to fill their need to play the new found favorite board game. The original set-up look something like this..

but, obviously the men were too big for each of the armies to have 50 men. So they went to our recycle bins (birthplace of many great crafts) with no avail. They decided on beans and paint. Thankfully the hairdryer speed up the drying process. It wasn't so great for my hairdryer, but really who needs a paintfree hairdryer anyway?

It did take a little more paint than expected, and an extra lesson of "Becca, never paint your lips or teeth again." 

But, after a "all hands on deck" effort and five bath times the game was ready for action. What a geography lesson, kiddos sure weren't afraid to jump in there and "get their hands (and feet) dirty". (sorry for the puns, but the pictures were just crying out for them) Not sure how many geography lessons make such a mess, but I will add any amount of paint to see the kids so excited about learning the states. 

Hum, I have been told a time or two that we might be a little odd, you think this is what they were talking about? LOL Oh, but if they walked a mile in these painted feet I am sure they would deem up just as normal as next family.

Displaying kiddo artwork...

Keeping special artwork in a visible place is an easy way to remind your kiddos how much you value their creativity. We had a few extra boys over to spend the night and this was one of their creations. Outside painting is a great activity when friend come over to play. We have talked about it before, but I think it is worth repeating. Paint is not something to be scared of, with the right prep it can be a fun and easy activity. And what kiddo doesn't love to paint? I love that our guest's mom hung up the special flag at home. My boys were so proud when they heard that the flag was hanging in their house. What a fantastic way to remember a great day! 

How to: bleach design t-shirts..you can do it!

It doesn't get much easier than this! The kids loved creating their own special shirt. Although we followed the same steps, each shirt has it's own look.

Supply list for this simple kiddo craft: Freezer paper, Scissors or razor blade, Pencil or pen, Stick-on letters (if you want words on your shirt),  Iron, T-shirt (any color but white, but darker colors work the best), spray bottle with 80% bleach 20% water, container for rinsing shirt

1. Allow the kiddos to draw a design for the shirt on freezer paper (the non-wax side)

2. Cut out the design and iron it onto the shirt (wax side to shirt). Once the design in cool, allow them to add sticker letters if desired. 

(not sure why he chose "story lover", but glad he loved it!)

3. Lay the shirts out in an area that is safe to spray bleach. Make sure your container (or bowl) of clean water is ready so you can dip the shirt after you spray. Spray the shirt with a 80% bleach/20% water solution. I used an old no more tears bottle that had been cleaned.

4. The longer you leave the bleach on the shirt the lighter the shirt will become. The more bleach you use the greater the contrast. This one had a lot of bleach and sat for about 1 minute before rinsing. When you have the desired color change dip the shirt in the clean water and rinse throughly.

5. Peal off your design and letter and allow it to dry in the sun. This shirt we used less bleach and only let it sit for about 30 seconds. As it dries the color change will be more evident (see picture below for final product).  

6. If desired turn the shirt over and add another design or just mist with bleach solution to match the color of the front. Once you dip in the water you can allow it to dry in the sun or wash it immediately. I used a color catcher when I washed all five shirts together. After the first wash the smell of bleach was still strong, but after the second wash and dry they were ready to wear.

7. Let the kiddos enjoy their new creation.

This is great for old t-shirts that have seen better days, and I just love this twist on the same basic idea.

50 foot slip-n-slide with sling shot

I have been envisioning creating a 50 foot slip-n-slide in our yard. Saw one on Jessica's blog with a rope to sling shot the kiddos at blistering speeds down the slip-n-slide. Oh this is something we have to try!! :) 

So I stop at the local big box home improvement and pick up a big plastic tarp and start calling/emailing friends last night. Well, I bought the wrong tarp, I couldn't find the stakes, but we made it work. When we make it again, this is what we will use:

• 1 or 2 large plastic tarp (at least ten feet wide)- the kids could all make it to the end of our fifty foot slide
• stakes to anchor it to the ground
• 2 or 3 bottles of  baby soap (so it doesn't hurt their eyes)
• hose and water (we used a spinkler and hose to keep it nice and wet)
• rope or elastic band to sling shot the kiddos

The preparation is easy, lay out the tarp and stake the edges down. We used wood but, stakes would have worked better. Pour on the baby soap to make it extra slippery, then add water. Make sure the slide stays nice and wet.

Be careful and have fun. This is a great group activity, can you already see your small group, moms group, or close friends on he slide. Jessica said a friend used it for  birthday party. Oh fun!

marking their territory...

A proper garden must be outfitted with plant markers! With the idea of fashion over function, few of these markers actually label plants. The kids had fun creating these wooden markers to adorn the squash, lettuce, sweet peas, spinach, and sweet potatoes. Since they had fun, these are the best plant markers in the whole world in my eyes. If you are in Texas this is a great website that helped with our plant selection.

finger paintin' good!

Warm day, kiddos in clothes that I don't mind painted...sounds like a perfect time to finger paint. They worked together on this masterpiece.  I think I may have enjoyed hearing their imaginations run wild as much as they enjoyed painting.Fingerpainting is simple at our house. You fingerpaint, you play in the water, you dry in the sun THEN you come back inside. :)