We had some sensory fun exploring one of the Old Testament Bible stories this morning using some colored rice and random “props” to represent the ten plagues.  Thanks to our Jesus Storybook Bible on CD (our absolute favorite Bible for kids), the boys could listen to the story and play at the same time!

Here’s what you’ll need:  a bag of rice, rubbing alcohol, food coloring, and random props as shown in the pictures above.

1.  Put the rice in a large bowl and add several drops of blue food coloring.  Add a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol at a time, adding more as needed to make sure all the rice is covered.

2.  Mix together.

3.  You can either lay the rice out to dry in a very thin layer, or you can line a baking pan with foil and put your oven on the absolute lowest that it will go.  Depending on how much rice you have, it will take 1-2 hours.  You must watch the rice carefully while it is in the oven…don’t leave the house or forget to check up on it for long stretches of time.

4.  Take it out, stir, and let it sit overnight.

Now…it’s time to add the props and let your kids go to town!   But first…turn on the Bible story for your kids to listen to while they’re playing!  We used the Jesus Storybook Bible Audio CDs.

The parting of the Red Sea (and the cotton balls pulling double-duty as the cloud that moved ahead of the Israelites)

Here’s a list of the props we used for the Plagues (in no particular order):

-Gnats:  Plastic bugs
-Water to Blood:  Piece of paper towel with a drop of red food coloring on it
-Frog:  Stuffed Frog
-Diseased Livestock:  Two Cows from our Little People Farm
-Boils/Leprosy:  A bandaid
-Darkness:  A flashlight
-Hail and Thunderstorms:  Cotton balls for hail and/or clouds
-Flies:  Plastic Bugs
-Locusts:  Plastic Bugs

I obviously didn’t include a “prop” for the final plague.  :(

Yep, rice did go everywhere!  But that’s what a dust pan is for, right?  :)

The Sneetches is a lesser-known gem in the sea of amazing Dr. Seuss books.  It is not only entertaining, but it also teaches two very important lessons!

This book above has the The Sneetches story as well as a few others that follow it.  But we’re just focusing on The Sneetches in the following description.

The Sneetches is a book about 2 different types of Sneetches:  Plain Sneetches and Sneetches with Stars on their bellies.  The Star-Belly Sneetches think that they are better than the plain sneetches and often exclude them from playing ball and participating in marshmallow roasts.

Luckily, Sylvester McMonkey McBean rides into his town with his fancy machine and convinces the Plain Sneetches they need to make a change.  For a small fee, all of the Plain Sneetches can have stars stamped on their bellies as well.  Of course, all of the Plain Sneetches pay their $3 to be accepted by their peers.

But the Sneetches who had the stars on their bellies first begin to grumble.  They don’t want to be like the Plain Sneetches who now have stars on their bellies because they are still the self-proclaimed best Sneetches and the others are the worst.

Again, McBean comes to the rescue and convinces all the Sneetches (with Stars on their bellies first) to have them washed off using his fancy machine…this time for $10 each.

So begins the horrible mess of paying gobs and gobs of money to get stars put on and turning around and getting them washed off. Sylvester McMonkey McBean rides out of town with a wagon full of money, thinking that the Sneetches will never change and accept one another, while the Sneetches are left to ponder a very important lesson.

“But McBean was quite wrong.  I’m quite happy to say
That the Sneetches got really quite smart on that day,
The day they decided that Sneetches are Sneetches
And no kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches.
That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars
And whether they had on, or not, upon thars.”

The two lessons that can be learned from this story are:

1.  Accept people for who they are, even if they might be different from you.

2.  Don’t let people tell you that you need to change what makes you “you” (unless it’s God, of course, through the wisdom of His Word).

The boys really enjoyed this story and I thought it would be fun to play a “Simon Says” game of sorts.  I gave each of the boys a star and we played “McBean says”.

“McBean says:  Raise your star in the air.”

“McBean says:  Put the star on your nose.”

“McBean says:  Put the star on your bellies like the Sneetches.”

“Put the star on your head.  Uh-oh!  I didn’t say ‘McBean says’”!

This, of course, would be a fun game to play with a class full of children.  All of the Dr. Seuss activities really make me miss teaching in the classroom…good thing I have these two little guinea pigs that love to read and play fun games!

“Mommy, I love you.”

“Thank you, Buddy.  I love you too!”

“Does that make you smile, Mommy?  When I tell you that I love you?”

“Yes, baby.  It makes me smile REALLY big.”

This was just a small sample of a conversation I had with my 4-year old while I was preparing lunch this past week.  It had been a long week with three straight days that we didn’t leave our house (or our pajamas) due to sickness…first Big Brother, then Little Brother.

Although this exchange seems extremely sweet and somewhat typical for a little boy and his Mama, it made me ask myself a question…

Do I really smile at my children during the day?  

Do I do it enough?

Of course I smile at them when they do something silly or when they tell me they love me.  Is that it, though?  Do I smile throughout the day to display the immense joy I feel inside of me?  Or is a scowl of irritation the more prominent facial expression these days?

Unfortunately, I think the answer is that I don’t smile nearly as much as I should….which is absolutely crazy for me because I am a ‘smiler’ by nature.  I love to smile!

They bring me SO MUCH joy and I need to reflect this joy in my face…even if I am a wee bit irritated at the thought of breaking up yet another fight.

So, I’m challenging myself to something (I know, I know…I am really bad at following through with these “challenges” I place on myself).

I am going to make a conscious effort to smile when I see my child(ren).  Whether that’s turning around and seeing him, seeing him when he wakes up in the morning, or even when he comes out of his room for the umpteenth time that night.  Sure, the smile might eventually be followed up with some discipline…but above all, I want our boys to know that they are loved.  And what better way to express that than to smile?

Obviously, it won’t go perfectly…just like nothing ever does when I am part of the equation.  I won’t remember to smile all the time, but even if I smile one or two more times than I normally do…it will be worth it!

“A happy heart makes the face cheerful…”  -Proverbs 15:13

Lord, help me to choose to have a happy heart and a happy face!

After all…

“Your day will go the way the corners of your mouth turn.”

Think Magnet has a TON of tangram ideas that go along with the book Grandfather Tang’s Story, including this yummy tangram-inspired lunch!

Tot Treasures shares a brilliant idea for mess-free sponge painting!

Creekside Learning shares some great tips for using everyday items to teach your child about the states of matter (solid, liquid, gas).

Have an idea or activity to share??? Link up below! Next week I’ll be sharing my favorites from the ones you submit!

Feel free to add the button to the post you’re submitting!

Comment #385:  Debra who said, “I poked around Tina’s site and still my favorite is the Love Duo Hearts necklace, but I also really like the Square Roots’ Locket (2 Print)!”

Congratulations, Debra!!!  You should have already received an e-mail from me.  :)

A special thanks to Tina Steinberg Designs for sponsoring this great giveaway and to each of you for entering!

Guest Post by Adrianne of Kids Cog Works

As a mother of three boys, I know a thing or two about enticing them to enter the realm of using the potty. My oldest child was resistant and it came to a head one day, we just had to do it. I honestly wasn’t too sure about what to do. I pondered on what would make the whole experience less scary.

The bathroom is an interesting place if you think about it. It’s small, there’s water (bonus…or should I say blessing), and usually a quiet place. All of my boys resisted hanging out for anything other than a bath. So what to do? Make it a common place for them.

I began with changing diapers in the bathroom. If there happened to be solids in the diaper we dumped them out into the toilet and they got to flush it down. We washed hands and I resisted forcing encouraging them to sit on the toilet.

After a few weeks (maybe months for my other boys), we moved to sitting on the potty. I knew my son wouldn’t sit for very long and would most likely cry in hysterics, so I made a little box called Potty Toys.

Inside the Potty Toys box were toys that I got from the dollar store. I tried to pick things that were different than what he normally played with. I found some little cars and a bridge, mini figures, and I threw in some crayons and a coloring book.

He resisted at first, but when I opened the box, he got really excited! We sat playing toys (on the potty!) for about five minutes, and then we put them away. I explained that these toys were special; you only play with them when you are sitting on the potty. It took some time and patience on my part to enforce the rule, but it worked out beautifully.

Potty Toys have saved me from the headache of trying to convince my child to sit. An added bonus…each boy after this was honored to show his sibling the potty toys and tell them the rules. We may have lost a few toys along the way (down they went) but the memories and skills we gained were priceless.

Adrianne has a degree in Elementary Education. She currently tutors struggling readers and middle school math students. She is the author of Kidscogworks.com and the creator of Brain Tower. Adrianne is the wife of an engineer and a mother to three handsome boys.

Looking to make lunch time or snack time a little more interactive?  The boys had TONS of fun creating sculptures using cubed cheese and toothpicks!

We’ve been holed up in the house all week due to Big Brother (and now Little Brother) being sick.  We were desperate for a little excitement…even if it only involved cubed cheese.  :)

You guessed it…all you need is some cubed cheese and toothpicks!

This activity even has an educational element:  it’s great for developing fine motor control!

Big Brother’s “Bunny Ears”

Teaching Little Brother how to make his own bunny ears.

The best part is, after they’re done “playing”, they can eat their structures for a healthy snack!

The regular price of this DVD is $15, but they are offering a $10 discount today!  We love this DVD and how it can keep the attention of all ages of children.  Even I learned some new information from it!

Hurry…this deal expires tomorrow!

*Please note: The link above is my affiliate link. Please read my disclosure policy.

I think the old adage, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” might just be true…he loved it!

Excuse the horrible picture quality…this was pre-digital photography AND it was scanned.  :)

My little sister was 11 at the time and she helped out by making an adorable sign for our restaurant-style dinner, cleverly named “Cupid’s Cafe.”  I wish I would have kept the sign…but alas, I have absolutely no clue where it is.   I did, however, find this picture of it…

After a horrible experience that year of waiting 2 hours for a table on Valentines Day a few days after my Cupid’s Cafe, we decided from now on we would do Cupid’s Cafe on February 14th and go out on another day.

 Valentines Day 2009

Here are a few pictures from last year’s Cupid’s Cafe dinner…

Oops, the tablecloth was lopsided! 

Cherry Tarts

This has been such a fun tradition for us over the years and it is a time where we can dress up, eat a yummy meal together, talk about our love for one another and about God’s love for us!

On the menu for tonight (which is typically the same every year):

Steak with sauteed mushrooms
Twice Baked Potato Casserole
Mandarin Spinach Salad
Texas Toast
Cherry Tarts 

We’re also in the process of creating a new “Cupid’s Cafe” sign on canvas that we can use year after year!

Happy Valentines Day!

This was one of those accidental ideas.  I intended on making homemade binoculars using a recycled paper towel roll for our camping unit, but then decided it would be cute to turn it into a Valentine’s Day idea…albeit a little last minute!

Here’s what you’ll need:  a paper towel roll, duct tape (the houndstooth duct tape pattern is my favorite), yarn, a hole punch and….

Print out these “I’ve got my eye on you, Valentine” labels.  I used return address mailing labels (come 30 to a page) and sent them through the printer!  The text on the stickers is actually red…but my printer is running out of ink so it looks pink in the pictures.  :)

Although creating these binoculars is extremely simple…sometimes it helps my absent-minded brain not to have to think.  So, here’s what we did.  Cut a section of your paper towel roll off and then cut another section that exact same size.  Use a glue stick to secure the two rolls together.  Then, take your duct tape and wrap it around the two to form the binoculars.  Use the hole punch to attach a piece of yarn (warning:  only let your child use these within your direct supervision).  Add the label, if you choose!  :)

Again, ‘valentine’ is actually supposed to be red on the labels.  My printer is just running out of ink!

Rocking the post-nap bed-head!

This silly little contraption has gotten lots of use this past week!  Enjoy!