The way we beat the snow days!

It has been way too long since I posted here, and I am sorry about that. Life has been busy and I just couldn't get myself away mentally to post. But all is better now that the sun is starting to shine again and the temps are starting to warm. As you all know, this winter was brutal with tons and tons of snow, and seriously below zero temps, our school ended up having 9 snow days! I have been meaning to share this post for a few months now, so here it is. Better late than never, right?

A few of the ways we beat the cold:

On a day that we had off that wasn't too cold, I sent the kids outside for only 20 min with my cake decorating squeeze bottles full of water colored with food coloring. They LOVED it!!! They asked me to refill bottles many times in the short time they were out.

Last year, my mom had brought over these cans of instant snow. They were put into the kid's art craft shelves and forgotten about. So on one of those super duper freezing days when the kids really wanted to go outside to play, I pulled these out instead.

I added them to trays to make it a little bit more mess free, but that didn't always work. They had tons of fun making the snow, making snowmen, and just squeezing it in their hands.

On another day that was super duper freezing, I decided to do a little science project. We had these cheap ice cube trays that came with the apartment. I asked the kids to search the house for liquid items we could put in and see how long it would take for them to freeze. They found things in the kitchen and bathroom, so it was an interesting mix.

Here are our list of items, and the times that we decided. It turns out that our times were off, and we had to add additional times. Hey, all for science!!!

We were shocked to find that only a few items froze or partially froze. It was a fun experiment to try!

Fall Library Fun! September

As many of you know, either by talking to me in real life or reading the blog over the years, we LOVE the library!!!! We are so very lucky to have 2 amazing library systems. They are always hosting free functions for the entire family, monthly book sales, free meeting rooms, and a huge selection of books, movies, music, and magazines. We did tons of fun activities over the summer through the summer reading program, and now they have some amazing fall age appropriate events as well. This year, since the kids are older, we have been able to sign up for the Magic Tree House Reading Club, a Science Club, and L gets to go to a Lego Club. All these are free and occur just 1 per month!

The month of September we read Midnight On the Moon. They got to watch the youtube video of the first man on the moon, and then they made craters. The librarians had 2 tubs full of flour. The kids each got to pick a ball of various sizes and materials, and drop straight down into the flour.

What they were left with looked just like craters on the moon!!

L had his first Lego club in September. He was very excited to see some old friends, and meet some new friends. They were split into groups, and allowed to build whatever it was they wanted. They also had some Lego themed books out for check out, and taught them the rules to follow that spelled out the word LEGO.

We also have signed up for a fun Science Club. In September we explored how and why leaves change colors. The librarians had tons of different leaves laid out on the table. They started out by having each kid tear up a leaf into tiny pieces and then grind it up in a mortar and pestle. They added it to some rubbing alcohol and put it in a water bath. Later they added some litmus paper to see the colors make their way up.

They also had a microscope set up with various leaves on slides for them to explore. They also did a fun craft that we had done in the past. They painted a tree with a brush, and then using a q-tip, painted leaves in fall colors on the trees.

And last but not least, a Fancy Nancy Tea Party!

Science Central Ft. Wayne

I remembered seeing this really neat science place on our first trip to Ft. Wayne, and wanted to take the kids back to it. I brought it up to a friend, and she agreed to come with! We looked on the Science Central website, and were really excited about the fun things they appeared to have.

We headed out for the day, but along the way we had to pull over so D could throw up, even though she had her motion sickness pill. Then all 4 kids, who normally get along, fought over what movie to watch in the car. Waiting in line for lunch at McDonald's was tough, and super busy. We felt like we were never going to get there.

We finally arrived, and were disappointed to find that some of the big displays were only open at certain times, but the times that were posted were not the times they were going by. I asked around, but it seemed that the workers couldn't really answer my questions.

We then were disappointed to find that our kids were deemed to small to go on a large slide that was equal to that of an indoor play area. We also discovered that they were too small to ride the large balance bike. The lady working the moon bounce was not doing it properly, and therefore none of the kids really got to feel like they were walking on the moon.

One of the cool things was that they did do a demonstration and D got picked to help. All the kids really enjoyed this part of the day.

We did spend a few hours there, but I don't know if we will go back. Our kids, aged 7-5, were the perfect age for the majority of the displays there, but were too small to do them. I feel like the older kids that are the correct size would be bored out of their minds going there for the day. Oh well, we always like an adventure and to try new things.

Mythbuster Birthday Party!!!

Last year after L and D's party, they insisted that the next party had to be Mythbuster themed. Normally they change their ideas every day, but this one held fast. Throughout the year, I was able to pick up caution tape on clearance from Michael's. We made sure we did fun science projects with the kids!!

The first one we did was 2 baking trays full of baking soda (found a giant box in the grocery baking aisle), colored vinegar with food coloring which we poured into plastic shot glasses, and gave each kid a plastic pipette (found at United Art and Education). I showed to the kids how to pull the vinegar into the pipette and then squeeze it onto the baking soda causing little eruptions. This one was a big hit with everyone!

Then we moved onto a super easy trick and the best part is that you probably have everything in the house already! You just need a Ziploc plastic bag (any size will do), water, and sharpened pencils. You simply fill the bag with water to whatever height you would like. Zip it closed, and then slowly push a sharp pencil through the bag where the water is, and the hole will self seal. You can push a bunch of pencils and it should only leak when you take the pencils back out!

Next we split the kids into girls and boys. We had about 15 kids there and they were about evenly split. The girls and I headed away a bit from the picnic shelter. The Mythbusters have a crash test dummy named "Buster" that always gets beat up in all they do. So we needed a Buster to beat up too! I had an old Tuxedo Mask doll, and a friend had given us a large water balloon sling shot. Soooooo, we tried to see how far we could fling Buster! I even made little flags out of Popsicle sticks and paper with the kids names on them to mark where Buster landed. He did loose both arms in the process, and let me just say, the girls got him the farthest!

The boys headed over with Adam to the side of the picnic shelter where we had kite string tied between 2 poles. Each boy got a balloon that they taped to a cut down straw. They blew up the balloon, slipped the kite string through the straw and let go, sending it flying down the string. After everyone had a turn, we switched!

And we had to finish the science with the mentos/diet cola explosion! We had lemon lime, diet, and regular cola to try it with.  In our trying, we discovered the lemon lime did the best this time around. The kids all had fun watching that one!

It was time for cake, and normally I make a big, fun themed cake. This year, since the party was at a park, we did simple funfetti cupcakes with either chocolate or vanilla frosting.

Then it was present time! The kids got so many really nice things from everyone. I handed out the treat bags to the guests while they watched the gift opening. I figured it would help keep hands busy! Inside each blue bag treat bag was a mini notebook, golf pencil, safety goggles (Thank you Dollar Tree!!!!), and a packet of Pop Rocks!

Overall it was a fantastic party, and a wonderful day! The easiest party I think we have done so far!

Free Fun Science Event!

All Indianapolis readers! Are you looking for a fun thing to do with the kids this Saturday?

Lakeshore Learning Store Science Fair!

Date: January 19, 2013

Time: 11am – 3pm

Location:  1300 E. 86th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46240

Event Details:   Calling all little scientists! Join us at Lakeshore Learning Store’s Science Fair for a fun-filled afternoon includinghands-on activities, live science demonstrations and experiments for kids! Plus, children can also participate in a special

craft activity and get a FREE Science Software* with any in-store purchase during the event/while supplies last!

Cost: Free/ Open to the public

Some activities include making and decorating your very own Thermometer as well as Magnet Activities, Observing & Magnifying Activities, Exploring Simple Machines and Exploring Hot & Cold with volcano demonstrations and snow play!

For more information please visit:http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/general_content/store_locations/122612_Event_ScienceFair.jsp

Have fun, and please let me know if you go and what your favorite thing was!

Sink or Float?

On our walk back from releasing Sprinkles the fish into the pond by our house, the kids discovered some rocks. There were normal rocks, and there was pumice. I told them each to pick one of the types of rocks to bring home. They were very excited and hardly ever need encouragement to bring rocks home. Once we got home, I asked that they look through their treasure boxes for things from nature. They brought back a shell, fools gold, quartz, agate, 2 other normal rocks, pinecone, bead, and a marble. Okay, so not all of it was from nature, but it was a good variety of things. I got out a sheet of paper, and made a chart. We made predictions on if the item was going to float or sink. On some of the items, the kids were split, so I made sure I recorded that as well. After we were done with our predictions, we filled the kitchen sink up with warm water, and pulled up the chairs. Each kid was allowed to gently set their objects in one at a time, while I recorded what the outcome was. I have to say there were some surprises! We thought for sure the bead and pumice would float, but they didn't!

Afterwards we added a dry peach pit, a penny, and a wooden napkin ring and the only one to float out of those was the napkin ring. Again, shocked! The kids really enjoyed this experiment, and plus it was easy and cheap!!!