Rock Candy

Back on August 1st Tanner helped me attempt to make rock candy.  You do 3 parts sugar to 1 part water.  You boil the water adding 1 cup of sugar at a time, stirring until it's dissolved, then adding another cup, until it doesn't dissolve anymore.  Then you let it sit for 3-7 days. 

 You cut the tip off a wooden skewer and use a close pin to keep it close the middle of the glass and leave it about an inch from the bottom.  And you can use food coloring to make it different colors. 

 The first batch never crystalized!  I guess we didn't have enough sugar.  So I ended up re-boiling it.  I combined the red and clear, boiled it and added more sugar till it really couldn't dissolve anymore.  Then I combined the blue and green and added more sugar.  This time with in a day we had crystals forming.  The kids were so excited!

We finally had rock candy a few days after I re-boiled it and added more sugar.  However, I think I added too much sugar.  All the blues were stuck to the bottom of the glass, I had the the skewer too close to the bottom.  I managed to chip away with a butter knife and free one blue one.

Tanner didn't want to eat any!  So the other 3 ate them...

Kolin, Mackenzie and Jayden

 Because I believe I had too much sugar, we had a lot of crystals on the glass and I was only able to get 5 successfully out of the glasses, without breaking too much of it, because of it being stuck to glass.

And I had those glasses soaking in hot water for days until all that sugar was dissolved and gone, the stuff that got stuck to the glass.

But it was a fun experiment for the kids to do and watch!

Painting Canvas

I bought some canvas and had the kids pick out some new acrylic paints.  I taped their initial on the canvas using masking tape.  The painters tape wasn't really sticky enough, so I used masking tape.

Then I let the kids paint them!

Again, I only let them have one color at a time.

They had so much fun!!!!

Jayden

Tanner

Mackenzie

Kolin, I babysit him.

Before they were totally dry, I pulled the tape off and then let them finish drying.  Here they all are...

Mackenzie, Tanner, Jayden and Kolin

Super cute!!!  I sure love them!!!  I should have taken a picture of my kiddos hanging up in their room. I love looking at them in their rooms!  And Mackenzie loves her's too!  She'll point to it and say "my M, for me!"  I just LOVE the kids art work!!!!!!!

Nature Scavenger Hunt and Grass People

I had seen some nature scavenger hunts on Pinterest and I thought it would be fun to one with the kids. We decided to do it on part of the Appalachian trail.  And we met up with Jessica and her boys.  She was also babysitting 2 cute little girls that day.

It was very cloudy, very humid and had a chance of rain, but we went anyway.

 Here are all the kids that Jessica and I hiked with...

My kids were so excited!  And while we waited for Jessica and crew to show up they started finding things.

 But once we got started they kind of forgot all about the scavenger hunt part of the hike.  Jayden and Tanner took Caleb and sometimes the older girl, Brenna, and hiked way far up ahead of us.  I was not happy that my boys couldn't listen and kept going so far ahead, out of site!  I've been having a hard time getting my boys to listen to me and stay with me, very frustrating!

in the picture below, Jessica has her point and shoot camera linked to the back of her shorts, she did not sit in anything.

 Like I mentioned before, the bigger kids were way far ahead and totally forgot about the scavenger hunt.  But we stopped to look and some soft stuff growing on some rocks.

 They found a big rock they wanted to climb and discovered some spiders on top of it.

 There was a really cool tree that was burnt on the inside, but not the outside.  I had asked Dave about the burning we had seen and he said he believes they burn the brush, so it's a controlled burn.

 Cutie-Pie Mackenzie... I carried her most of the time!  I didn't want to bring the back pack because i knew she'd want to get down.  And she did get down often.

 After our hike it was raining but we still went to a park and had a picnic lunch under the pavilion.  Then we headed back to Jessica's place to make some grass people.

You can find the idea here on Family Fun's website.

Basically all you did is clean a yogurt container.  We had the kids color a paper to glue around the cup, ideally they were decorate it like a shirt.  Then you use those stocking socks, put about 1-2 teaspoons of grass seen in the toe then fill it with soil.  Tie a knot and leave the end hanging down, it will act like a wick for the water.  Then you can glue eyes on and draw a mouth.  Then put fill the cup with water and put it in.

And here are JJ's, Tanner's and Mackenzie's...

Painting Our Baking Soda Clay

The kids were with me at AC Moore when we picked out some new colors of Acrylic paint.  They were super excited to paint!

To hopefully not mix the colors I put each color in a bowl and each color had it's own brush.  The kids could only have one color at a time.  And too keep the paint off their clothes I just had them go shirtless since it was summer.  The smocks I have don't cover their sleeves, so I figured it'd just be best to go shirtless.

Instead of spreading lots of newspaper out, I just put a cheap $1 plastic table cloth on the table.  It worked great!  And after the paint on it dried, I folded up and used it again when we did the second coat of paint.

Jayden

Kolin

 Mackenzie got pretty messy, so I was glad I took her clothes off!  She had so much fun painting and was really into it!  She also did a great job!!!

Mackenzie

Tanner

 Tanner is so serious when he's painting.

Here are the finished paint pieces drying, and waiting for a second coat of paint or painted designs on them.

Here are the finished pieces, after I sprayed them with clear acrylic, except Kolin's because he took his home.

Marble Track

It was a rainy day so I decided to make a marble track with the kids.  I had seen this idea on Pinterest and I thought JJ would just love it!

We spent awhile building a track that worked well.  Then Tanner came and knocked it over and I didn't have the time to help build another one.  So when Daddy came home he helped JJ build a bigger and better track!

 The boys loved it!

 There was a little jump and a tunnel...

Here's a video clip of JJ putting a marble down...


Here's a video clip fo Tanner...

Baking Soda Clay

Last summer Tanner made the cutest little clay pot at an art camp.  I keep it at the sink and I put my rings in it.  I just LOVE it!  I had seen some pins on Pinterest for making baking soda clay pots so I decided to do it with the kids.

Here is the link for where I got the recipe and instructions.  And here is the link to the recipe right on the Argo website.  I did read some other ones and I remember reading that you can put the clay in a sealed container or bag and it will keep for a few days, so no need to hurry and rush and get it made before it dries out, most especially if you live on the east coast where it is so humid!

Jayden was my big helper!  He measured everything and put it in the pot.  And if you can see the white stuff in his hair, the one time I told him to tap down the measuring cup and he did it a little too hard and baking soda (or corn starch, I forget which one it was) went everywhere and I just busted up laughing.  Jayden's face when it happened was really funny!!!!

Here's the recipe I used...

1 cup corn starch

2 cups baking soda

1.25 cups cold water

Non-stick pot

Wooden spoon

Med-large bowl

Damp cloth, lid or plate

I didn't use a non stick pot or a wooden spoon, and I doubled the recipe.

Combine all ingredients in the pot and mix until smooth.  Cook on low-medium heat, stirring constantly until it starts to look like mashed potatoes and sort forms a ball.  Put it in a separate bowl to cool and cover it partially with a lid or a damp towel.  

I didn't let it cool for very long because the kids were so excited to play with it.

You should knead it a little bit too.

Then divide it up and let the kids have fun!

If you want to stick pieces together use a little bit of water, not too much or it'll get mushy.

Jayden

 I really did not need to double it!  I only wanted a the kids to make a small little pot.  But there was a lot of clay!

Mackenzie

 We used candles to help make the pots.  We basically molded it around the candle then wiggled the candle out.  This way they can also be candle holders.

Tanner

Kolin

You can see the little brown pot Tanner made last year in the pictures above with Kolin.  I had it there for an example.  Tanner had used real clay, but I didn't feel like buying any clay, that's why we made it.  Plus it was fun for the kids to make the clay.

This is how much we got out of doubling it.

To dry it put it on a cooling rack to air dry so the air flows evenly around it.  OR preheat oven to 350 then turn it OFF. Place items on wire rack on a cookie sheet in the oven.  Repeat as necessary.

I did not put it on the wire rack right away because I didn't want those lines on the bottom.  But it took forever to air dry!!!  And I did the oven several times too!  However, it is the middle of summer and very, very humid and we do NOT have central air at our house.  But my husband said they cracked a little because I didn't put them on the wire rack right away.

After they are dry if you want to you can sand them, I did not.  Then paint them and spray them with acrylic spray paint to protect them from water.

Here are the finished pieces, after I sprayed them with clear acrylic, except Kolin's because he took his home.

Egg Carton Caterpillars

We save our egg cartons and then give them to my sister in-law, who has chickens.  There was a huge pile and I just thought we'd make a craft with them.  So we made caterpillars!  The kids just LOVE them!!!  Such a simple thing and they love it!!!

I had them color with markers because I didn't want to wait for the paint to dry.

Father's Day Super Hero

For Father's Day my kids made their dad a Super Hero Mask and Cuffs...

"Daddy, you are my super hero!"

Teacher GIft

For my first grader, the PTO gave the teachers a fancy cup with "SV Staff" on it so I didn't want to giver her a water bottle.  Instead I bought a glass container that she'd be able to re-use for left overs or whatever, and I filled it with glue sticks.  It says "Mrs. Coulehan, You're the Glue that held our class together... Thanks for sticking with the job! Have a great summer!!!" and I had my son sign it.

She had mailed a thank you note to the house and said that she just loved the gift!  She's such a great teacher and I will miss her!!!!

Here's the Jpeg... Sorry his teacher's name is on it.  Just paint over it with white and insert your own teacher's name.

FHE Board

I was called back into Young Womens in March and am very sad about leaving Activity Days.  Most especially because I had planned the whole year and most of the things I really wanted to do  myself.  I wasn't released yet and got to make the FHE assignment board!  I had really wanted to do this, so I was glad to still be in.

I made this ahead of time to show the girls what it's supposed to look like.

It's a piece of foam board I cut to 15'x15".  I used a foam brush and mod podge to glue the scrapbooking paper on, that way there are less bumps and air bubbles that can occur when you use just regular Elmer's glue.

I used hot glue to glue the ribbon pieces around on the back.

I cut the rectangles out of memory foam and glued the stuff on them, and then hot glued the "song", "Opening Prayer", etc. on to the close pin.

And all you do is clip the close pin to the ribbon and persons name.  We only have 5 people in our family so we have 2 blanks that we can use for company that comes over or we can just keep them in baggie that I taped to the back.  And then 1 person will get 2 things, like song and opening prayer.  

After I took this picture I did glue on some gems and juiced it up a little bit.

I just set mine on top of the piano leaning against the wall.  But you can put it in a plate stand of hot glue ribbon to the back to hang it.

We have a page on facebook for our ward and I posted it there for the girls parents to see what we would be making.  And I took it into to church the Sunday before our activity to show the girls what it looked it to encourage them to come.  And it was the Sunday that I took it in that I was told I would be released from Activity Days... So sad!  I've enjoyed the short year and a couple of months I was in activity days!

Teacher and Classmate End of Year Gifts

This is what I put together for Tanner to take to his Teachers on his last day of preschool...

 They are my favorite water bottles with lots of Crystal Light and Walmart brand of Crystal Light drink mixes.  With a tag that says "Thank you for Quenching my thirst for knowledge".  and I had Tanner sign his name on the back of the tag.  My printer must be running our of ink, so the tags printed 2 different colors, oh well.

Here is the tag if you'd like to use.  I printed it on card stock.  Just right click and save it to your computer.  Then open it in whatever picture editing program you use.  Or you can right click, copy it and paste it into a word document.

And this is what I put together for Tanner to give to each of his classmates...

A small bag of cookies that says "you're one smart cookie!  Good luck in Kindergarten!"

Here is the tag if you'd like to use.  I printed it on card stock.  Just right click and save it to your computer.  Then open it in whatever picture editing program you use.  Or you can right click, copy it and paste it into a word document.

My older son also took the cookies in for his classmates.  So his said "good luck in 2nd grade"

There is room on the one above for your child to sign his name.  Sorry I didn't do that on the other one.

If you have an editing program like PhotoShop you can paint over "2nd grade" and "kindergarten" with white and then put in whatever you'd like.

Egg Carton Flowers

Here are the Egg Carton Flowers Tanner made for mother's day.  He gave his to my mom.  And Mackenzie gave hers to Dave's mom.

Kolin's mom told me that Kolin gave it to her right away on Friday, he just couldn't wait.  He was so excited!
You just cut slits or petals from an egg carton, have the kids paint them, put a pipe cleaner in for a stem and glue some beads or gems in the middle.