Fun with Food Coloring

I've been on Fall break all week, but this was the first day with the kids. The last 3 days have been cleaning and laundry days- kid free! I love my hubby! (he assured me that daycare was in the budget for this week)

So, today I had children and needed something to do with them. I had thought about going to the zoo, but it was cold and wet outside. I thought about being a good teacher-mommy, but I hadn't printed out and prepared anything yet.

Then I remembered THIS website. I considered this activity to be part of the Crafty Trinity- it was fast, cheap and easy. So, instead of going to the zoo, we made Aquarium Baggies. Great for... well, I don't know. But the kids liked it and now we have sun catchers that are sensory/ tactile oriented.

I collected my items...



I honestly can't remember when I bought that hair gel, but I'm glad I didn't get rid of it!
baggies
multi-colored sharpies
hair gel (the website said it would work with lotion too. but it wouldn't be as see-through for sun catchers)
food coloring to make the "water" blue
the white felt was for Isaac to see where he was marking

I stripped the kids of their shirts so they couldn't ruin them with the markers. I also read them their rights, should a marker find its way to a mouth, other body part, or the wall, all fun would cease for that child.



Abby chose orange and purple for her colors.



Andy chose blue and pink. He did well until I noticed him in his "thinking pose" with the marker tip in his mouth. No more aquarium fun for him!



Isaac had the rest of the colors.

I drew the fish, but they colored them and decorated the baggies as they saw fit.

Hmmmm.... what to do with Andy now that he can't have fun. Cupcakes. Multi-colored cupcakes.

I didn't take pictures as we made them, but we used a white cake mix, prepared the batter according to the box, then separated the batter into 3 bowls. Andy helped me choose the colors for the 3 bowls; blue, green and red.
Then we spooned 2 different colors into the cupcake cups.



You can't tell, but they are different colors on the bottom.



Abby loving her cupcakes. She's not exactly lady-like is she?

Here are the finished aquariums.



I'm so glad I thought to strip them first! Check out Abby's battle scars from the markers.



Ike is so proud!



My example is on top. They will look much better then the sun is cooperating!
Now Grammy Pat, don't you worry. I'll give Andy another chance tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, while the kids were taking their naps today, I jumped on the computer and printed their activities for the rest of this week and next week.



Abby chose robots for her activities and Andy has been on a pirate kick for a while, so Abby will be working on shapes, and Andy on letter recognition and hand-eye coordination. (matching colored pom-poms to the circles)



Ike chose circus for his theme, and I printed out the ones for pirate too. These are the Read, Build, Write mats from Homeschool Creations.



This came from a teaching blog that I came across. It's a sight word phrase game. Isaac knows a lot of his sight words already, and he's really good about recognizing new words when they are presented to him, so this game should be right up his alley.



I got this idea from the 1+1+1=1 website. I chose a Level 1 book from McKays that I knew would keep Isaac's interest and had words that he could read. I typed each page and added pictures I found from Google Images and clipart. I cut the strips and now Isaac has a fluency game he can play!



And, I love how the book and sentence strips fit perfectly into this 97 cent pencil case! I can definitely see myself doing more of these! (another Crafty Trinity activity!)



Last, but not least, Isaac's new Memory verse. This is for the letter 'C'. Of course, this is also from the 1+1+1=1 website.

I think I have enough to keep the kids busy! :)

Happy birthday, Aunt Sandy!

Now, it wasn't really Aunt Sandy's birthday, but cake was involved and the kids had to have someone to sing to. Thank goodness Aunt Sandy's birthday is next month or we wouldn't have anyone to sing to!

Joe and Isaac went to visit his home church on Sunday, and I took the twins to visit my Gommy Petty.
It was a beautiful day! After lunch we went outside and let the kids run around. Andy went straight for the bird-poop infested birdbath. Abby had to follow since it looked like he was having fun, and that can't happen without her. So, the kids got wet, and the shirts came off. Good thing it was warm!



Pretty Gommy!



Aunt Sandy and Andy- notice Andy's haircut! Happy birthday, Aunt Sandy!



Andy and Grammy Pat. Andy was the photogenic one today.



This was the best I could get of Andy with Boo. Still cute!



Sorry, Grammy Pat but this was the best picture of Abby that I got!



Yummy cake!



More yummy cake!

So, Happy birthday, Aunt Sandy! We'll celebrate you again next month!

Happy Birthday, Julia!

My kids live for a good party! When I told the tiny Delks that we were going to a birthday party, there was much celebration! Abby told me she was excited about seeing Grammy Pat, cupcakes, and Uncle Jason's iPad. (she called is Jason's Nook Book) It's nice that she had her priorities in order.

For those of you who might not know, Julia is our cute-as-a-bug cousin. She turned 2 years old last week and her party was this past Saturday.




The Happy Davis Family- Uncle Jason, cousin Josh-e-wash, cousin Julia, and Aunt Jenny.

We Delks love our Davis cousins sooooo much, we're willing to drive HOURS and HOURS just to see them! (Jenny- that was a guilt trip. Get your butt in the car and come see us!)

Everyone had a good time. Lots of food and family. I didn't get a lot of family pictures, sorry. But both sides of Julia's family were able to celebrate her!



Here are some kid pics...



Yummy cake!!



Silly boy!!



Look! I found books!



Umm.... Andy's hair was getting in his eyes, so we had to be creative. After the party Joe and I took the kids to get hair cuts.



Aunt Boo got this picture! You know, when she's not talking, she's kind of cute! (I'll let you figure out who I was talking about- Boo or Abby.) :)



Grammy Pat and Aunt Boo



The Bradley Girls

After the actual party the kids went outside and played with Joshua's riding toys. Isaac really got a kick out of driving the truck around. I wish I had gotten video! I know Jenny did, so I'm waiting for her to post it!

Joe and I took the kids to get haircuts too. Isaac said he would get a scissor cut- which is a BIG DEAL for him. Lately we have given him haircuts at home because he throws wild fits, but he did really well this time! He sat in Joe's lap and cried and shook, but he didn't have a melt-down! Yea!!!

Andy sat in the chair and didn't even need Mommy or Daddy with him. He's such a pro.

Abby had her VERY FIRST haircut! I told her stylist that I didn't know what to do with her hair since it is so baby-fine and curly. The stylist just trimmed all around and helped her curly in the back come out. It looks sooooooo much better! (no, I didn't save any of her hair. That's creepy.)

Happy birthday, Julia!!

The power of Pinterest

If you are unfamiliar with Pinterest, let me enlighten you...

It is the BEST. WEBSITE. EVER!
I'm am by no means a crafty person, but after a mere 2 hours on Pinterest, I feel like I can make anything! Who knew someone could make a wreath out of ______! (fill in the blank with something off the wall, and I'm sure someone has done it! And posted it on Pinterest!) It's only slightly addictive, and I can stop at any time... but I don't want to!

As you know, my children are addicted to Aunt Beth's felt board. While I am glad they enjoy the quiet activity, it made me sad that I could only have one quiet child at a time. So, today I decided to rectify that problem. I looked on Pinterest for some felt craft ideas, mostly for any patterns to follow. (I can craft or cook anything as long as there is something to follow!) I found some easy picture ideas, and made a shopping list. Here are the pictures I found. You can click on the pictures to see their blogs.



Cute, huh? Unfortunately, no patterns to follow- I'd have to wing it!

Joe is working this weekend- all weekend. I have no felt at the house, and I needed some other crafty materials, so I packed up the kids and we braved Walmart. On a Saturday. In the middle of the day.

Good news- we survived! Bad news- it was 2:30 before the kids finally went down for their naps, and I was so busy crafting that I didn't get my nap. :( But I got some great crafting done! :)



Felt. I wasn't sure how much I was going to need, so I only bought a pack of 12. I should have gotten other colors too!



I had this butterfly template from another craft I did for the kids. I cut 2 butterflies out of card stock, and cut one of them into pieces. The top tan butterfly is the felt one I cut out.



I cut another piece of felt into the different parts of the butterfly.



More shapes for decoration. As I worked on the different projects, I added more decorative shapes into the butterfly bag.
So, that was Abby's butterfly. Next, on to Isaac's monsters.



I had to free-hand the template for this one. I cut the tiny pieces out in two different colors so he could mix and match.



What would monsters be without googly eyes? I glues felt onto the backs so they would stick.

Here are the two monsters I created. I'm guessing Ike will be a lot more creative when he makes his.




And since I cut into the blue and yellow, Abby had blue and yellow pieces to add to her butterfly bag!

Andy's house was fairly simple. The house scene will have to fit on Beth's board, since it's too big to fit on the ones I made!



Not bad, if I do say so myself! I have 3 new felt activity bags.




To make my own felt boards, I needed directions. I found this picture on Pinterest, and followed the link to the blog that gave a short tutorial. (click on the picture to see the tutorial)



So, here is mine!



I bought the frame at the Dollar Tree 2 weekends ago for a different project, but it got used for this one instead! I bought 3 frames total, but only converted 2 into felt boards.

I did this while the kids were napping. As soon as Abby woke up, she came downstairs and demanded school. Here she is playing with her new butterfly board.



She liked it, I think, but she moved on to another activity I had bought at the Dollar Tree.



I bought one for each of the kids, and once the boys saw Abby with hers, all felt was forgotten. *sigh. I'm not too worried. They will come to their senses eventually.

Remember when I mentioned another Pinterest project? Well, once I finished this one, I decided to do the other. It's simple, really. You take a picture frame, some scrapbook paper, and some glue. Cut and glue the scrapbook paper onto the inside of the frame (on the backing) then you can write on the glass with a dry-erase marker! It's pretty and useful!



We are going to use ours to show Ike's memory verse of the week. This past week was Matthew 5:9.

I love Pinterest!

Pinterest is a wonderful website where people from all walks of life (mostly women) come together to share what interests them. In other words, it's a bigger time killer than Facebook. I have a few boards that I update: Classroom, My Style, Homeschool... and I love finding ideas of things that would make my life easier.

Remember how I was complaining in a previous post about how we never know where the mail is in our house? I found a solution, and I found it on Pinterest!

Another blog did this activity first and shared a tutorial. Basically, she turned a cereal box and some scrapbook paper into a handy-dandy mail holder for the fridge! Here's mine!




Cute, huh? I tried using magnet clips, but the box ended up being too heavy. I found a strip of magnet tape and glued it on the back instead.

While bragging about my new crafty side at school today, the new first grade teacher (male) stated that Pinterest was a wasteland of married women who have turned their backs on their husbands in order to stay glued to their computers.

I didn't appreciate the accurate comparison, so I stole his Cheerios box from his classroom and turned it into something useful.



Tee-hee. I did make sure to use masculine colors!



Ta-da! His wife is going to love it! :)

That will teach him to mess with General Delk!

Homeschool Day 2- Isaac

Isaac's turn! Putting his verse in order, sport sort, following directions and free play.

Memory Verse: "A soft answer turns away wrath." Proverbs 15:1 (thanks to 1+1+1=1 website!)






I really need a verse to teach Abby about not being a pain in Mommy's butt. (other than just Exodus 20:12) If you know one off the top of your head, let me know!

Sport sort:



He sorted just like Abby! He only did one sport at a time. He counted the balls and wrote the numbers next to them . (he needed help with the #4) We talked about which one had the most and the least.

Following directions: This activity came with the Memory verse lesson.



Click on the picture of Isaac and watch the video of the activity!

For Free Play (I know it sounds stupid since he's been playing freely all morning, but this was "school time" free play) Isaac chose the fabulous felt board! (Aunt Beth- you really hit on something big!)



All in all, I think this morning was a success! Now, on to laundry!

Homeschool Day 2- Abby and Andy

I don't know if you've noticed, but Abby is a bossy piece of goods. We are still working on sorting with the twins. (mostly by color, but we moved into sorting by picture today) I visit so many homeschooling and teaching blog sites, I'm not sure where I got this activity. I saved the sport sorting activity for Isaac.



Abby sorted pictures of plants. I noticed that she only focused on one picture at a time. All the leaves first, then trees, then flowers.



Andy sorted by whatever he grabbed first. He wouldn't let me get a picture of his face. When he showed his face he said he was a dinosaur and growled. When he's not being a dino, he's a pirate. What an imagination!



Abby informed me that she was not done gluing, she wanted more. Maybe it's the teacher in me, (or the pack rat) but I never throw anything away. So, I still had scrapbook paper scraps from my wreath making kick. Cut them up in squares and voila! Color sorting!



The memory card on my camera became full after she finished the pink squares. I downloaded, deleted, and took the picture of the finished product.



Andy finished his sorting activity, moved on to drawing, then moved on to the Nook. The Nook got sleepy (the battery died) so it is now taking a nap with the charger. Andy is playing with Abby's fairy tree house.

You might be wondering where Isaac is. Well, he went with Daddy to the recycling place, so it was nice and quiet for school. Now he is back and I have to get the twins doing something so I can work with Ike uninterrupted.

We'll see how it goes...