Reading Confetti

Frozen Popsicle Chalk

2013-05-24T08:01:00.001-05:00

The other day I was pulling out the ice cube trays to make another batch of our ice chalk when I saw the popsicle molds and decided to try those instead.

This time I used half cornstarch, half water, and washable tempura paint instead of food coloring.

I also ran out of cornstarch halfway through so I substituted flour. It expanded more while it was freezing, so it was harder to get out of the molds but otherwise worked fine.

The washable paint stained their hands much less than the food coloring, so I think this is the way to go. Sara from The Hickman Five also had the genius suggestion of putting a few drops of dishsoap in the mixture when using food coloring which makes it easier to clean. Definitely trying that next time. (Thanks, Sara!)

The nice thing about having them on a stick was that it was easier to draw.

Drew's house

The kids were a little let down that they couldn't eat them. They do look delicious.

Looking for more ways to spend time outdoors with your kids this summer? You might like these 15 outdoor art projects for kids:

Linking to The Sunday Showcase Show and Share

10 Botany Activities for Kids: Kid's Co-op

2013-05-23T01:30:00.001-05:00

The Kid's Co-op has been full of fun and easy ways to teach your kids and flowers and plants.

Parts of a flower from Carrots Are Orange

Montessori botany activity from Carrots Are Orange

Exploring flowers from Discovery Moments

Preschool botany lesson from The Gift of Curiosity

Leaf and flower pounding science from Buggy and Buddy

Montessori-inspired botany activities from Living Montessori Now

Books about trees from Fantastic Fun & Learning

Tree Snack from Fantastic Fun & Learning

Spider web garden trellis from JDaniel4's Mom

Seed sprouting experiment from Mommy the Teacher

Thanks so much to everybody who linked up great ideas for kids last week. Can't wait to see what you've got this week!

Linking to Sun Scholars

Paper Plate Mouse: Virtual Book Club for Kids

2013-05-20T06:13:00.000-05:00

In preparation for this month's Virtual Book Club for Kids we checked out all the Leo Lionni books we could find from the library. The ones that were available that day seemed to have a common theme - almost every book we checked out had a mouse as the main character.

(Book links are affiliate links.)
The Greentail Mouse is the offbeat fable of a city mouse who visits his peaceful country cousins and tells them about Mardi Gras in the city. The country mice are inspired to have their own Mardi Gras. And at first, it is fun wearing their masks with sharp teeth and tusks and scaring each other, but after a while, they begin believing that they really are ferocious animals.

Frederick sits on a sunny rock by himself while the other field mice work to gather grain and nuts for winter. “I gather sun rays for the cold dark winter days,” he tells them. Another day he gathers “colors,” and then “words.” And when the food runs out, it is Frederick, the dreamer and poet, whose endless store of supplies warms the hearts of his fellow mice, and feeds their spirits during the darkest winter days.

Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse is a fable about a real mouse and a mechanical mouse. Everyone loves Willy the wind-up mouse, while Alexander the real mouse is chased away with brooms and mousetraps. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be loved and cuddled, thinks Alexander, and he wishes he could be a wind-up mouse too.

Theodore and the Talking Mushroom is about a little mouse named Theodore who lives with a lizard that can grow a new tail, a frog that can swim underwater, and a turtle that can close up like a box. But Theodore has no special talents of his own. When he discovers a mushroom that says “Quirp,” Theodore tells his friends that this is the only talking mushroom in the world, and that “quirp” means that he should be venerated above all animals. The word spreads, and Theodore is bestowed with a crown—until the truth comes out. When his friends learn that they’ve been deceived, Theodore discovers that he does have a special talent—running away very fast!

In honor of these little mice we made a paper plate mouse of our own.

We started by folding a paper plate in half so it would stand up.

We added some eyes, pipe cleaner whiskers and tail, and a nose made from craft foam.

The ears are construction paper folded and glued on the tab so they stand out.

What Leo Lionni books did you explore this month? Please link up your ideas or share them on the Virtual Book Club for Kids facebook page.

Linking to Tuesday Tots
JDaniel4's Mom

Ice Chalk

2013-05-18T10:16:00.003-05:00

This is the perfect kid activity for a hot summer day. It's art, science, and a sensory experience all in one.

While I was looking for activities the kids and I could do outside this summer, I saw lots of recipes for homemade sidewalk chalk paint. I briefly considered making some and putting it in spray bottles, but I knew it would only be a matter of time before they squirted each other.

Since it's been so hot here, the logical alternative was to freeze the chalk paint.

I mixed up the sidewalk paint (half cornstarch, half water, plenty of food coloring), poured it into ice cube trays, and froze it.

At first, the lighter colors didn't seem to be working. The pavement just looked wet, but when the water dried the colors were more vibrant.

It turned out to be even more fun than I thought it would be. Beside using the chalk to draw, they used it in lots of other ways:

3D sculptures:

Lainey's rainbow

Color melting races:

Stamps:

Prints:

Color mixing experiments:

The cornstarch makes it thick when it melts, so it's fun to experiment with.

We even snuck in a little science by discussing what caused the ice chalk to melt the fastest.

Play clothes are a must for this activity. Next time I'm going to try washable paint instead of food coloring to reduce the amount of staining on their hands and clothes.

But clean up was fun too.

If your kids like chalk too, you might want to check out these other 15 activities for chalk:

Linking to The Sunday Showcase, Link & Learn, Tuesday Tots, Sun Scholars Show and Share

12 Activities for Chalk: Kid's Co-op

2013-05-15T23:19:00.000-05:00

Nothing says summer like seeing colorful chalk decorations on the sidewalk. If you're looking for new ways for your kids to play with chalk, the Kid's Co-op has you covered.

Gross motor phonics games from Train Up a Child

How to chalk hair from Housing a Forest

Chalk shadows from Reading Confetti

Gross motor addition game from Train Up a Child

Disappearing letters from Reading Confetti

Make a rainbow from And Next Comes L

Chalk targets from Reading Confetti

Book extension activity from Play Trains!

Hopscotch from Toddling in the Fast Lane

DIY chalkboard from Super Mommy

Though these activities originally used other materials, they could easily be adapted to use with chalk:

Outdoor surface rubbing from Adventures at Home with Mum

Create your own flowers from Edventures with Kids

Thanks so much to everybody who linked up great ideas for kids last week. Can't wait to see what you've got this week!

Chalk Shadows

2013-05-15T07:12:00.000-05:00

My kids have been interested in shadows lately and by that I mean that I've been hearing a lot of, "Mo-om, she's stepping on my shadow! Will you tell her to stop???"

Since it was so sunny today and we needed a distraction, we did a quick and fun chalk shadow activity. We posed in the sun.

and traced each other's shadows.

Then we decorated them.

The skateboarder:

The princess:

A fun book to go along with this activity is Shadow. In this nearly wordless book, a girl creates a magical world by casting shadows from the light bulb in a storage room.

You might also like these 15 art projects for the outdoors:

*Disclosure-This post contains affiliate links.

Linking to The Children's Bookshelf,
Tuesday Tots

15 Outdoor Art Activities: Kid's Co-op

2013-05-08T23:01:00.000-05:00

You can take lots of art activities outside, but these ten art ideas from the Kid's Co-op were made for the great outdoors. Some use natural materials and others make such a glorious mess that the only place for them is outside the house. Either way, you can grab some supplies and head outside with your kids to create some art and memories.

5 fun ways to paint in the rain from Housing a Forest

Fly swatter painting from Reading Confetti

Chalk rubbings from Lessons Learnt Journal

Painting with water balloon from Reading Confetti

Rubber band painting from Reading Confetti

Easy scented sidewalk paint from The Magnolia Barn

Nature art from Preschool Powol Packets

Spray bottle mural from Gift of Curiosity

Thanks so much to everybody who linked up great ideas for kids last week. Can't wait to see what you've got this week!

Linking to The Sunday Showcase
Tuesday Tots

Kid Made Turtle Herb Planters

2013-05-08T12:48:00.001-05:00

Wouldn't these make a cute Mother's Day gift or a fun project for Earth Day?

We had some basil seeds lying around and it was too cold to plant them outside, so we planted them in empty fruit cup containers. (I suppose I should've poked holes in the bottom for drainage, but I didn't.)

Then we happened to read Mossy by Jan Brettabout a turtle who grows a lovely garden on her shell. Dr. Carolina, a biologist, takes her to live in her Edwardian museum. Visitors flock to see Mossy, but it is Dr. Carolina's niece, Tory, who notices how sad Mossy is living in a viewing pavilion. She misses the outdoors and her friend, Scoot. Dr. Carolina finds a way to keep the spirit of Mossy alive at the museum, while allowing Mossy to have her freedom.

I saw those little herb containers and thought how cute they'd look transformed into Mossy turtles. We painted the outside of the cups green using acrylic paint. I hot glued some green pom poms on for the legs and head and added some googly eyes.

What are you hoping to get this Mother's Day?

*Disclosure-This post contains affiliate links.

Linking to The Sunday Showcase

Tin Foil River and Mini Ice Boats

2013-05-07T07:20:00.000-05:00

My kids love playing with water when the weather gets warm. It can keep them busy like almost nothing else. When I saw these tin foil rivers at Camo & Bows, I knew we had a winner.

I made a smaller version of our natural ice boats to float on the river. I filled some ice cube trays with colored water, covered them with plastic wrap, and poked toothpicks through.

Back in the olden days, we used to make Kool-Aid popsicles this way.

When they were frozen I added some little paper sails.

The river part of it was equally easy. I used the cheap aluminum foil from the dollar store. Just unroll it, curl up the sides a little, and start the garden hose. It doesn't need to be a great big hill, but a slope is definitely helpful.

This entertained my three year old and almost five year old for the better part of an afternoon with only one incident: Drew kinked the hose and waited for Lainey to peer into it before letting go and giving her a massive blast of cold water to the face. (Remember that shrieking you heard Monday afternoon? It was coming from my backyard.)

Even when the ice boats melted, they found other things to float and built some waterfalls. There's talk of adding a bridge tomorrow.

A great book to pair with this activity is Where the River Begins. As they watch the river flow past their house, Josh and Aaron make up stories about where the river begins - stories that prompt them to set out to discover the river's origin.

*Disclosure-This post contains affiliate links.

Linking to Tuesday Tots
The Sunday Showcase

15 Spring Weather Activities: Kid's Co-op

2013-05-01T23:01:00.000-05:00

The Kid's Co-op has been full of great ideas for exploring spring weather with kids.

Make lightning from Train Up a Child

Cloud experiment from Reading Confetti

Cloud parfaits from Reading Confetti

Soap cloud from Housing a Forest

Wind experiment from Seedlings Nursery School

Cloud paint from Reading Confetti

The Rain Came Down activity from Train Up a Child

Tornado in a jar from Reading Confetti

April showers preschool activities from Mamas Like Me

Preschool wind theme from Ready Set Read!

Montessori-inspired April showers activities from Pre K + K Sharing

Weather week for preschoolers (part 1) from Sorting Sprinkles

Weather week for preschoolers (part 2) from Sorting Sprinkles

Tornado in a bottle from We Made That

Blot art clouds from Seedlings Nursery School

Thanks so much to everybody who linked up great ideas for kids last week. Can't wait to see what you've got this week!

20 Outdoor Activities: Kid's Co-op

2013-04-24T23:05:00.000-05:00

If you are lucky enough to be having weather that makes it pleasant to be outdoors, the Kid's Co-op has been full of ideas for learning and playing outside.

Make your own water wheel from Making Boys Men.

Play in the mud from Adventures at Home with Mum.

Float some ice boats from Reading Confetti.

Play a math game with preschoolers from The Measured Mom.

Combine chalk and cardboard from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails.

Observe spring from JDaniel4's Mom.

Find active play ideas at Serenity You.

Have a picnic under a tree from April's Homemaking.

Plant something from Preschool Powol Packets.

Sow some wild flowers from Kids in the Garden.

Put some magnetic letters on the garage door from Sugar Aunts.

Make the most of a nature walk with kids from The Craft Train.

Get out the hose for these 10 ways to play with water from Frogs & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails.

Have a book inspired picnic from Reading Confetti.

Play 10 gross motor games from Train Up a Child.

Blow some bubbles with homemade wands from Pink Stripey Socks.

Have a cloud dough fight from Z is for Zel.

Go on a playground hunt from Little Moments.

Make colorful bubble snakes from Life with Moore Babies.

Paint with fly swatters from Reading Confetti.

Thanks so much to everybody who linked up great ideas for kids last week. Can't wait to see what you've got this week!

Learning Letters with the Octonauts

2013-04-23T07:36:00.001-05:00

*This is a sponsored post. I was provided with these products for the purpose of writing an honest review. All opinions and ideas are entirely my own.

My four year old son is a huge fan of the Octonauts on Disney Junior. They rescue ocean creatures and protect their habitats. His favorite part of the show is the creature report when they share facts about the animal featured in the episode and reveal what it looks like in real life.

The Octonauts have little submarines called "Gups". There's the Gup-A, Gup-B, C, D, and E. I decided to take advantage of this to do a little letter practice with the kids. I drew Gup shapes on the driveway with chalk and labeled each with a letter.

I designated myself Captain Barnacles and called out "To the Gup-A!" or whatever letter I wanted the kids to stand on. It was lots of fun and I don't think they even realized we were practicing letter recognition.

Some variations:

Use beginning letter sounds. For example, you could say "We need to rescue an alligator!" and kids would run to the Gup with the beginning letter sound.
To do this indoors, you could make paper cut outs of each Gup and tape them to the floor.

He felt my drawings weren't quite detailed enough.

Of course, when I got the opportunity to review some Octonauts toys currently available at Toys "R" Us, I knew my son would be thrilled. It was like Christmas morning when we opened the box. We had the opportunity to play with the Octopod playset, the Gup-C Mission Vehicle, Kwazii & the Slime Eel, and the Octo-compass.

The Octonauts playset would have been exciting enough on its own. There's over 10 play pieces including Captain Barnacles, Kwazii (who happens to be my son's personal favorite), a mini Gup-A, 3 creatures, 4 rescue tools, and an Octo-alert that features phrases and sounds. This one toy alone provided me with enough time to make dinner completely uninterrupted on the first day we had it!

A nice addition to the playset was the Gup C Mission Vehicle & Shellington. I love that you can take these toys into the bath for even more fun. The color-changing creatures even squirt water.

We also had fun in the bath with Kwazii and the Slime Eel set. Our favorite part of this set was the treasure chest that opened underwater.

Finally, the Octo-compass is adorable and a great way to introduce cardinal directions. It says lots of fun phrases, makes creature sounds, and has an Octo-alert signal.

Do you have an Octonauts fan at your house? Have you ever incorporated favorite characters into a learning activity? I'd love to hear about it.

100+ Earth Day Activities: Kid's Co-op

2013-04-17T23:14:00.001-05:00

The Kid's Co-op has been full of great ideas for celebrating Earth Day this April 22nd:

Grow Something

Fennel babies from Mama Rosemary
Regrow celery from Housing a Forest
Seed sprouting activity from Housing a Forest
30 gardening activities for kids from KC Edventures
Handprint garden markers from Reading Confetti
Garden plant markers Alex Nguyen Photography
Garden markers kids can make from Housing a Forest
Make recycled plant pots from Playful Learners
Strawberry planters from We Made That

Explore Nature

8 indoor things to do outside from KC Edventures
Nature ideas from For the Children
Critters from nature from The Craft Train
Help backyard birds build nests from What Do We Do All Day?
15 tips for hiking with kids from JDaniel4's Mom
45 nature-inspired sensory bins from Train Up a Child
Nature alphabet sorting from An Idea on Tuesday
Nature collages from Reading Confetti

Read & Research

50 activities for The Lorax from Reading Confetti
Conserving water (with great book suggestions) from KC Edventures
Save the monarch butterfly project from Learning and Growing the Piwi Way
Poetry picture book for Earth Day from Pragmatic Mom

Make an Earth Craft

Earth Day activity from Boy Mama Teacher Mama
Paper mache light up globes from Housing a Forest
Make your own Earth Day crayons from Frogs & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails
We heart Earth craft from Brainstorm in Bloom
Handprint Earth crafts from Handprint and Footprint Art

Use Recycled Materials

Newspaper and plastic bag kites from Pink Stripey Socks
Egg carton bird nests from Brainstorm in Bloom
Recycled flowers from An Idea on Tuesday
Egg carton tadeo turtles from He Cares for You
Plastic jug jelly fish from JDaniel4's Mom

And even more Earth Day ideas from fellow mamas:

15 ways to celebrate Earth Day from B-Inspired Mama

How will you be celebrating Earth Day?

Thanks so much to everybody who linked up great ideas for kids last week. Can't wait to see what you've got this week!

Linking to Eco-Kids Tuesday
Discover & Explore
TGIF
Show & Share Saturday

50 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day Lorax Style

2013-04-17T09:35:00.001-05:00

Earth Day is April 22nd. A great way to celebrate is to read a book about protecting the environment, but books like The Loraxare also great to read any day of the year. Here are 50 ideas for The Lorax.

Treats

Make your own Pixie Sticks for The Lorax from Reading Confetti
Truffula treats from Sara Ella
Lorax munchie mix from Blue Skies Ahead
Lorax sandwich from JDaniel4's Mom
Cotton candy truffula trees from Snap!
Truffula tree cupcakes from Rook No. 17

Crafts

Torn paper truffula trees from 3 Dinosaurs
Truffula tree pens from Blue Skies Ahead
Lorax and truffula tree puppet set from Art Mama Says
Handprint Lorax from Red Ted Art
DIY Lorax characters from In Lieu of Preschool
Truffula tree forest from Inner Child Fun

Sensory and Learning Activities

Truffula tree math games from Inspiration Laboratories
Truffula tree fine motor activity from See Vanessa Craft
Lorax craft sensory bin from In Lieu of Preschool
Big world fun with the Lorax from Having Fun at Chelle's House
Montessori-inspired Lorax activities from Living Montessori Now
Lorax sensory bags from House of Burke
Lorax speech and language activities from If Only I Had Super Powers...
Lorax felt story board from Mod Podge Rocks
Roll A Dice Lorax Game from Smashed Peas and Carrots

If that's not enough for you, check out 30 ways to have fun with The Lorax from The Educators' Spin On It.

If you're a Dr. Suess fan be sure to check out these ideas too:

*Disclosure-This post contains affiliate links.

Linking to Money Saving Monday

Make Your Own Lorax-Inspired Pixie Sticks

2013-04-16T13:34:00.003-05:00

I've been meaning to try making my own pixie sticks for a long time and with Earth Day coming up, it seemed like a good opportunity to make them with a Lorax theme. Of course, these would be a fun extension for The Lorax anytime.

To make your own pixie sticks you need:

1/2 cup dehydrated fruit
1/4 cup sugar
Paper straws

Mix the sugar and fruit in your blender until it's a fine powder.

The hard part is getting the mixture into the straws. I pinched the end of the straw and then made a funnel from a sheet of paper. It's messy.

In honor of the Lorax I cut truffula trees from scrapbook paper and taped them to the tops of each straw.

I also did some Lorax mustaches.

Now a confession- my kids wouldn't even try them! They liked playing with the props, but they've never had a pixie stick and they eye everything that I cook with suspicion. I liked them. If you've tried them, I'd love to know what your kids thought.

Next time, I'll just buy the pixie sticks and if I have the desire to make something, I'll choose one of our 3 green eggs and ham treats.

*Disclosure-This post contains affiliate links.

Linking to Read Explore Learn
The Sunday Showcase
Share It Saturday

A Bad Case of the Stripes Craft: Virtual Book Club for Kids

2013-04-15T07:56:00.000-05:00

The featured author for this month's edition of the Virtual Book Club for Kids is David Shannon. Link up your David Shannon book projects and find more ideas below.

We love David Shannon. My daughter's favorite is Alice The Fairy, but for our project this month we chose A Bad Case of Stripes. I was inspired by the activity at There's a Dragon in My Art Room, but I adapted it for my preschooler.

To make our striped faces, we started with a piece of clear contact paper and used a permanent marker to draw a face. We used our Pick and Draw game*, but you could have kids draw a self portrait, Camilla's face, or any face they can think of.

When we finished drawing our faces, we turned the contact paper over and peeled off the back. We applied strips of colorful paper to the sticky side.

Once the back was covered in stripes, we flipped our papers back over and cut around the face.

*I am not affilited with Pick and Draw. I just really like it.

Now it's your turn! Which book did you choose this month? Please link it up or share it on the Virtual Book Club for Kids facebook page!

Linking to The Children's Bookshelf

Make Your Own Slushies: Science for Kids

2013-04-12T07:22:00.000-05:00

On a recent trip to Target, I picked up some Slushy Magic cups that were on 70% clearance. The idea is that you freeze the ice cubes provided, add any liquid containing sugar, and put the cap on before giving the whole thing a good shake. They work fine and the kids love them. But it says right on the box that the ice cubes are made from just salt and water. It seemed so simple that I started wondering if you could make your own. I was also a little curious about how it worked.

We used the tutorial at Jill Cataldo's Super-Couponing to make our own "magic" ice cubes.

The night before you want to make a slushy, put half a cup of water and one teaspoon of salt into a plastic bag with a seal. I added some food coloring too, just for fun. Squeeze the air out of the bag and roll it into a shape that will fit inside your jar. Put the bag(s) in the freezer overnight.

When the bags have frozen put them into a jar with a lid and add a cold liquid. We used fruit and vegetable juice. Anything with sugar in it will work, but don't pour too much in. We used 6 ounces of juice for each bag.

Start shaking.

After a few minutes, you'll see your juice becoming slushy.

Pour it into a cup and add a fun straw.

The science part (as I understand it): The salt lowers the freezing point of the water in the bag, so the bag of ice stays colder longer than plain ice. This is what causes the liquid surrounding it to begin to freeze.

You might also want to check out these other science experiments for kids:

Linking to Tuesday Tots
Fun Sparks

50+ Science Activities for Kids: Kid's Co-op

2013-04-10T23:00:00.002-05:00

There have been so many fun science experiments linked to the Kid's Co-op this past month that I had to feature them. Plus my kids and I love them.

Jell-o science from Alex Nguyen Photography
Jell-o and vinegar experiment from Fun-a-Day
Floating egg science experiment from Preschool Powol Packets
Lots of fun water experiments from Train Up a Child
Sink or float sensory sink from Frogs & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails
10 magic science ideas from Science Sparks
Paper clip and water experiment from Buggy and Buddy
Water transfer experiment from We Made That
Clean a penny experiment from Royal Baloo
Flower race from Reading Confetti

Bottle rocket from Science Sparks
G is for gravity from Inspiration Laboratories
Preschool physics from Reading Confetti
Balloon rocket from We Made That
Exploring sound from Buggy and Buddy
Oxygen and carbon dioxide activity from Highhill Education
Egg rolling from Reading Confetti

Slushy science from Reading Confetti
Color mixing from Train Up a Child
Gak recipe from We Made That
10 magic potions from Mums Make Lists
Liquid rainbows from Reading Confetti
Preschool science experiment from Reading Confetti

Life cycle of a ladybug from Reading Confetti
Seed science investigations from Fantastic Fun & Learning
Life cycle of a butterfly sensory box from Kara's Classroom
Hands on butterfly activities from For the Children
Rivers and waterfalls from Enchanted Homeschooling Mom
Volcano unit from Taming the Goblin
Classifying dinosaurs from Two Much Fun
Animals that hatch from eggs from Reading Confetti

Clouds and rain demonstration from Reading Confetti
Make it rain in a jar from Train Up a Child
Windy day science activity from B-Inspired Mama
Tornado in a jar from Reading Confetti
Preschool wind theme from Ready. Set. Read!

What science activities do you like to do with your kids?

Thanks so much to everybody who linked up great ideas for kids last week. Can't wait to see what you've got this week!

Linking to Sun Scholars
TGIF
Tuesday Tots

Flower Race: Preschool Science

2013-04-10T07:56:00.000-05:00

My sweet hubby brought me home flowers for no reason. I put them in a vase on the table and the kids could not keep their hands off them. So I gave up, picked out the white ones, and decided to do the classic colored water / flower activity with them.

My daughter wanted one color (red) and my son wanted every color. In typical boy fashion, he turned it into a race between the flowers.

We used regular food coloring and water and re-cut each flower stem.

Blue won.

One day later

Please come back tomorrow for 50 science activities for kids from bloggers WAY more creative than me.

Linking to It's Playtime

Fingerprint Lady Bug Life Cycle Craft

2013-04-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

Links to Amazon are affiliate links.

My sister gave my kids their very own Ladybug Land. It's a little enclosure for ladybugs. You mail in your certificate and the company sends you your very own ladybug larvae to raise to adulthood. My four year old was so excited to get them that we were actually standing at the mailbox waiting when the mailman finally delivered them into his loving arms. (My three year old daughter was less enthusiastic. She was holding out hope that the bug company had included some princesses in the box.)

She got over the lack of princesses.

We have the book Ladybugs: Red, Fiery, and Brightand it seemed the perfect opportunity to read it again. It's a simple nonfiction book with lots of interesting facts about ladybugs. It also describes their life cycle.

Based on the information in the book and on our Ladybug Land instruction sheet, we put together a diagram of the changes we could expect to see in our new little pets. We started by cutting out a leaf shape from green construction paper.

Egg
Since ladybug eggs are oblong, we used our knuckles to print white paint onto the paper. Once my kids found out they'd actually need to wash their hands after dipping them in paint, they were all done with that part. I did the rest of the prints.

Larva
Since the larvae are also oblong, they were made from knuckle prints and brown paint (they're actually black, but we didn't have black paint). Drew added details like legs and stripes with a black marker.

Pupa
Orange fingerprints and black spots represented the pupa stage.

Adult
We used red fingerprints for the ladybugs. I just love the faces he added. I think the whole thing is so cute. But if our live ladybugs actually have heads that big I'm going to freak out. It already feels weird to be voluntarily bringing bugs into my house.

Finally, he labeled each stage. I wrote the words and he copied them onto his paper.

If you are fortunate enough to become caretakers to your own little herd of ladybugs and/or try this craft, you might also enjoy these fiction books about ladybugs:

Or this ladybug learning activity:

Or this ladybug craft:

Or this ladybug treat:

Linking to The Sunday Showcase
Show and Share Saturday
Fun Sparks
Tuesday Tots
Keeping It Real
Read Explore Learn
Monday Kid Corner

10 Ways to Use Rocks: Kid's Co-op

2013-04-03T23:03:00.002-05:00

Welcome back to another week of the Kid's Co-op. This week I'm featuring a collection of ways to play and learn with rocks.

Hot rock crayon melting from StrongStart

Story rocks from Kid Zone! Children at Play

Mix & match painted rock faces from Teach Beside Me

Rock shapes game from Mamas Like Me

Paint with rocks from Fantastic Fun & Learning

Painted counting rocks from Thrive 360 Living

Heat embossed alphabet rocks from Thrive 360 Living

Making a rock box from A Picture Into Our Lives

Make a rock from Fantastic Fun & Learning

Dissolving rocks from Reading Confetti

Thanks so much to everybody who linked up last week! Can't wait to see what you've got this week!

Linking to Seven Thirty Three
The Sunday Showcase
Show and Share Saturday

Handprint Goldfish

2013-04-01T12:13:00.001-05:00

Here's another cute craft from my sister at Mom of 4. This would be a perfect extension for lots of stories including Not Norman: A Goldfish Story, Gilbert Goldfish Wants a Pet, The Rainbow Fish (with multicolored paint), or The Twelve Discipleslike my sister did.

I'm in charge of our kindergarten Sunday School class every other week. We were reading the 12 Disciples Story so we made this little goldfish bowl project. It's just a paper plate with a sliver cut out painted blue and colored tissue paper glued to the bottom. They used their handprints painted with only orange because 12 kindergartners with painted hands is dangerous enough, but if you wanted, a multicolored fish would be cute.

Is there anything cuter than little kids handprints?

To tie into the fish in our story, I made little tags, but obviously this doesn't have to be religious.

This is so cute and there are so many possibilities. It would be fun to do some bubble wrap printing for bubbles.

*Disclosure-This post contains affiliate links.

Linking to Tuesday Tots
It's Playtime
Hammock Tracks
Sugar Aunts
The Sunday Showcase
Show and Share Saturday
Mom's Library

35 Spring Nature Crafts for Kids: Kid's Co-op

2013-03-27T23:00:00.000-05:00

Looks like I'm not the only one ready for spring. From flowers to birds (with some math and literacy practice too), check out these nature crafts and activities from last week's Kid's Co-op that are perfect for spring:

Weave a bird's nest from Reading Confetti
Nature inspired birds from An Idea on Tuesday
Paper bag nests from My Very Educated Mother
Bird house s'mores from Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons
Milk carton bird feeder from Off the Shelf
Welcoming birds to your yard from Organic Aspirations
Milk jug bird feeder from Reading Confetti

12 spring flower crafts from Reading Confetti (These are the flower crafts I featured last week.)
Spring hats with tissue paper flowers from Buggy and Buddy
Craft stick flowers from We Made That
Egg carton flowers from B-Inspired Mama / The Usual Mayhem
Bubble wrap flowers from Royal Baloo
Thumbprint art from Connecting Family and Seoul

Montessori-inspired spring activities from Pre K and K Sharing
Tulip count and clip from The Measured Mom
Spring books for kids from KC Edventures
Kite books from Pragmatic Mom
6 spring poems with crafts from Hammock Tracks

and to make it 35:

Cloud and rain experiment

Thanks so much to everybody who linked up last week! Can't wait to see what you've got this week!

Linking to Show and Share Saturday
Tuesday Tots
It's Playtime

Weaving a Bird's Nest: Preschool Craft

2013-03-27T07:34:00.001-05:00

On a recent trip to the library we discovered the book Hatch! and since my kids love birds we checked out the book and brought it home. We really enjoyed this nonfiction book. Alternating pages show the reader some eggs and asks the question,"Can you guess whose eggs these are?" while giving hints about the bird that laid the eggs. The following page reveals the bird and gives facts about it. We also enjoyed looking for other animals in each of the habitats.

The best part for me was that my 3 year old guessed each egg was from a "hoppentude" (whatever in the world that is) and my 4 year old offered comments like, "Bald eagles eat squished reindeer off the road." I guess watching the bird show at the zoo so many times has really paid off in bird knowledge.

Since the book also gives information about how different birds build their nests, we made bird nests of our own. I used a golf tee (whatever's handy) to punch holes into paper bowls.

I found some green yarn and covered one end with clear tape so it wouldn't fray. I taped the other end to the underside of the paper bowl and my four year old weaved the yarn through the holes any which way. My three year old, who has more 'tude than even the elusive hoppentude, declined to participate.

We also put some small sticks in the nest.

And topped it with some plastic Easter eggs.

But birds aren't the only creatures who hatch from eggs! Check out the project my son designed:

*Disclosure-This post contains affiliate links.

Linking to It's Playtime
Read Explore Learn
TGIF
Show and Share Saturday
Stress Free Sunday
Keeping It Real
Hobbies and Handicrafts

Tape Resist Spin Art Easter Eggs

2013-03-26T07:19:00.002-05:00

I admit I'm a procrastinator - I've been wanting to try Imagination Tree's salad spinner art with my kids for a loooong time. At a recent trip to Ikea I found a salad spinner for 4 bucks and though it's never dried a single leaf of lettuce, it's been worth every penny.

Our first project was making a welcome home sign. I cut some letter shapes from paper and taped them to the bottom of the salad spinner. Once the kids squirted some paint in there and closed the lid we were ready to spin.

Our finished sign:

Our next project was Easter egg shapes. We tried some tape resist this time.

We used our eggs to dress up some plain white lunch bags that we filled with goodies for Easter gifts.

Am I the only person on Earth who hadn't tried this genius idea yet? Do your kids love it as much as mine do? What did you make?