Melon Boats

An Awesome Book

My oldest was "reading" this book this AM.  There is a page (see below) that has Magic Watermelon Boats.  

"Mommy, can we make these?"

Since I had everything on hand we would need this was an easy YES moment. 

"YES- We can make watermelon boats!"

Magic Watermelon Boats

This activity was all set up and thought out by my oldest.  

"We need watermelon.  Do we have a watermelon?  We could use sticks and paper to make the flags.  Then we can fill up a baby pool and see if they float!!  Oh wait, we don't have a baby pool.  Do we?  That's OK, we can just put them in the bathtub.  That will work.  That will tell us if they sink or float."  

My oldest (4.5) making her "flag".

"I need to tape them together... like that one there in the book."

My oldest was making the boat with the blue sail.

My 3 year old decorating her sail.

It's finished!

Using a melon baller to clean out the inside.

For a fun edible sensory bin using melon balls click on the post below...

http://www.playathomemomllc.com/2013/03/melon-balls-edible-sensory-bin.html

Sticking the sail in.

Yes, you may suck out all the juice with your straw.

"Look, look!!!  They float!!!  It worked, they float!!"

We only had half a watermelon so my 3 year old compromised and used a cantaloupe.  :-) 

The girls added playmobil people and got in the bath with their "boats".  

Melon season is here, and we are looking forward to recreating these often!  It was such a fun project from start to finish.  

RL  

You have read this article Bath Time Fun / Child-Guided Play / Rainy Day Play / Water Play with the title March 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2013/03/melon-boats.html. Thanks!

Pipes and Gutters

Both RL and I have a set of these WATERWAY PIPES.  RL told me she wanted to let the girls play with pipes in the bath.  So she purchased some suction cups (they have them at the Dollar Tree) and adhered them to her waterway pipes.....

Suction cups glued on to pipe

Let dry

Colorful and FUN!!

The girls LOVED it!!

Pretty awesome, huh??

Its all fun and games until the glue is an epic FAIL!!

Well, that stinks!!  Take note:  hot glue, super glue, epoxy glue.....NONE of those work.  RL told me about the mishap and we brainstormed together.  I was initially under the impression that she used PVC pipes for this and my first thought was - my little man would LOVE that.  So, I started searching for ways to attach suction cups to PVC pipes - gotta love google!  I stumbled upon this post on THE BROODING HEN.  Ah-ha!!  So, we followed her advice.....

I used PVC pipes and a piece of rain gutter - huge hit!

We also love using these BATH TABLETS for an added element of color.

The great thing about these pipes if that we can use them on the PAHM EASEL or on outdoor windows/doors.

- AK & RL

You have read this article Bath Time Fun / Do It Yourself / Outdoor Play / Sensory Activities / Water Play with the title March 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2013/03/pipes-and-gutters.html. Thanks!

Glued Frames

I wasn't really sure if I should post this one since it's so similar to a couple of our posts.  If you haven't already, check out these fun ideas that inspired this...

WINDOW ART

GLUE CATCHERS

We love working with Dollar Tree picture frames.  I'm not sure what it is about them but my girls love using them.  For a buck you can't go wrong!  They make wonderful gifts and there is so much you can do with them.  

Since my girls enjoy doing the glue catchers so much, I wanted to give them something a little more permanent.  They just like to pour the glue on, but this is a great activity to do with an older child as well.  They can really get creative!  

The invitation

All you have to do is pop on the backing of the frame and leave the glass in.  Make sure you get the frames that have the little tabs to hold the glass in place.

I put a piece of white paper behind the frame so they could see a little better. 

The frames from Dollar Tree we used.  The one of left is ready to go.  

After you take the backing off, use a hot glue gun to seal the frame (I sealed the backside).  You may want to do two layers so it doesn't leak.  

Turn the frame around and start gluing!  

For the glue I used condiment bottles from Walmart (99 cents each).  Fill them with white glue and either food coloring or liquid water colors and shake shake shake.  

My 3 year old adding her glue.

Here is my 4 year old.

"I'm going to make a rainbow!"  

Squeezing the glue on.

Ready to dry. 

Ready to dry.

Up in the window!

These took about 3 days to dry completely.  

To hang them we used super glue to attach a couple suction cups... Also from Dollar Tree. 

RL  

You have read this article Clay and Crafts / Rainy Day Play with the title March 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2013/03/glued-frames.html. Thanks!

Melon Balls... An Edible Sensory Bin.

My youngest LOVES to play with fruit.  She would much rather smoosh it into tiny pieces than stick it in her mouth.  Her older two siblings are both huge fruit lovers so this is all sort of new to me.  I hand her a blueberry, she crushes it with her index finer.  I hand her a piece of watermelon, she squeezes it with her hand.  It really is quite comical.  I thought it would be interesting to see what she did with it if I presented it in a different way.  

This is also my back-up water bead solution.  LOL  I haven't been able to find water beads in Walmart (where I usually get them) in forever!!  Ugh.  It does work as a wonderful alternative for those of you that are concerned with water beads.  

The Invitation

I put out a few cups from the dollar store since she loves sorting/dumping/pouring.

On the white paper is a spoon, a couple different skewers, and a few straws cut in different sizes.  

For the fruit I used a mellon baller on watermelon, cantaloupe, and honey dew.  

Close up of fruit

                           

Of course she had to smell it first.  Hmmmmmm is this food?  

"Ball"  "Ball" "Ball"  "Ball"  

I'm sure I heard that with excitement about 50 times.  LOL  

Trying out the spoon. 

I love the way she thinks.  :-)  

She was having a hard time scooping with the spoon so she turned it around to try and stab at the fruit.  

Got one!  

Finally a taste test!  

Trying out a skewer

She really enjoyed the texture and shape of these.  She actually ended up eating quite a few... and smashing none.  Go figure!   

The left over fruit was devoured by my older two after she was finished playing.  

RL  

You have read this article Edible Activities / Sensory Activities with the title March 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2013/03/melon-balls-edible-sensory-bin.html. Thanks!

Artkive Giveaway

One of our most frequently asked questions is... What do you do with all of your children's artwork?  We respect our children's wishes when it comes to their work and ask them what they would like to do with it.  Some they save, some they toss, and some they give away.  As you can see from our blog we almost always take a picture of it.  I always tell myself 'oh, I will make a book' -  Ha!  It just never ends up happening with all the 50 million other things we have going on.  I did some research and came across this AWESOME app!  You take a picture with your phone and it is sent to their "cloud".  Once you have 20 images saved you can create a book. You can even take pictures of block/lego creations etc.  To get a better idea of how everything works you can check out their website below...

ARTKIVE WEBPAGE

You can customize by child and age.  You can also add a title and notes.  I usually put what my child wants to name it... I also add a few sentences if they tell me what it's about.  

A finished book

Be sure to check out their video on You Tube as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFFz6PVD51c

What an awesome present this would be to give to your child one day!  

Currently, they just have books but will add more products later in the year.  

Also, the app is free right now for a limited time!  Don't forget to download it! 

Download the app for Android:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.artkive.theartkiveapp

                                  or Apple:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/artkive/id549980508?mt

FOR THE GIVEAWAY....

This is available to our international readers as well!!  

To enter, "Like" Artkive's Facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/artkiveapp?fref=ts

and let them know we sent you! The winner will be chosen at random on Saturday, March 30th. 

They will be giving FOUR $50.00 Artkive Gift Certificates to use in their store!

The $50 winners are: 

Jennifer Meyer Jones

Kelly Smith Nichols

Crystal Clark Brantley

Pam McBride

We decided that because the turnout was so good, we'd also do 10 $10 winners and those are:

Cheera Hibbard

Michelle Beatty

Angelica Amador

Lauren Reizen Canner

Lauren Miller

Dawn Markley

Katrina Breeland

Vanita Shugg

Jade Lakan Terrell

Kathy DeWeese

Each of these winners should contact us at customerservice@thekivecompany.com 

  

*** This giveaway is in no way sponsored or affiliated with Facebook ****

You have read this article Giveaway with the title March 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2013/03/artkive-giveaway.html. Thanks!

Winner for Sparkle Story Giveaway

Hello to everyone who entered the Sparkle Story Giveaway!

 



Thank you for participating in our giveaway. We hope you have found a new resource for bringing creativity to your family. We're always excited to promote a business that nurtures children and families.

And because we want everyone to have some sort of win, we thought we'd share the many ways you can access some Sparkle Stories for free (or nearly free).

1. They offer "Try Sparkle" packages: for $1 you can try a month of stories from 3 different series, about 4 ours of audio.
2. They offer several FREE stories here.

Listen and Enjoy!
PAHM


P.S. The winner of the giveaway was contacted by Sparkle Stories to set up their account. Thanks again for participating!

You have read this article Giveaway with the title March 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2013/03/winner-for-sparkle-story-giveaway.html. Thanks!

Getting Creative with Push Pins

**You can purchase the letter templates at the bottom of this post**

My girls are always in my husbands office playing with the push pins on his cork board.  The other day my oldest started making some designs with them.  It's always great to see their minds at work!  During our next trip to the store we picked up some extra cork board and push pins.  We found some in Walmart (they also have them in target).... 4 boards for $6.00.  They are a little thin, so we just put two boards together.  We placed a piece of white paper on top of the board for a base.  My girls seem to do well with white backgrounds.  It also creates a fun print when you take the pins out!  I have no clue why I didn't take a picture of that (mental note to add one later).  There are so many different push pins out there.  We found some fun things on Amazon... butterflies, ducks, stars, etc.  They haven't arrived yet, but we are excited.  :-)  The pictures pretty much speak for themselves..

My 3 year old adding pins.  She usually HATES stuff like this.  It was a big hit for her!

My 4 year old

Her person taking a dog for a walk.

She always falls into such deep concentration.  A perfectionist for sure!

"I need to go put this up in my bedroom by my bed."

Warning... have plenty of pins/cork/foam/cardboard ready.  Neither of my girls wanted to disassemble their work.  

My oldest made an apple tree and a flower....still a work in progress.

My 3 year old working on the letter templates we created 

***Please see below for more information on the templates.*** 

Its always great when you find something both siblings love!

                         

WE ALSO CREATED PUSH PIN ART ON THE LIGHT PANEL USING TRANSLUCENT MATERIALS AND TRANSLUCENT PUSH PINS. 

We used a frame to create a "canvas" for the light panel push pin activities.  We used a cut piece of shower curtain liner for this one (Dollar Tree), but some other materials we thought might work are:  a piece of tarp (the same tarp we used to make our WATERBED), a page protector, panty hoes, or maybe even a piece of transparency paper.

Another thing to note is the depth of the frame.  It needs to be deep enough to accommodate the push pins.  I actually used the frame to a shadow box here.

wrap frame with chosen material

use a staple gun to affix material to frame

ready to go

The invitation - including transparent push pins as well as a new twist - sewing push pins with beads.

open ended push pin art

a truck

a better view of the sewing push pins through beads

our push pin circle sheet letters 

There are several options to stick the pins in.  After we ran out of cork board I searched the garage.  Any cardboard box will do.  

A soda case box

                           

An old postal box

                           

Since my girls loved this activity and LOVE their sticker circle sheets that you can see

HERE,

we decided to create new templates for the push pins. 

The document is 27 pages in length and includes the following:

UPPER CASE LETTERS:

LETTER/NUMBER SEARCH:

For this sheet, you write in the letters and numbers and create the KEY at the bottom.

LOWER CASE LETTERS:

NUMBERS 1-10:

COUNTING SHEETS 1-20

SHAPES:

BLANK SHEET FOR PATTERNS, DESIGNS, CREATIVITY:

COLOR MATCH:

The templates also work great with Q-tip painting....

and finger painting.

You can also make a busy book.

These are wonderful for a road trip, a gift for a new mommy with older children, or just to keep handy to pull out if you need to cook dinner, take a shower etc.

The book above contains both the push pin document and our letter/number templates.  I added Q-tips, paint, label stickers, and I am going to add a bingo dabber as well.  

The total price for the document is $5.00

It will be emailed to you from ejunkie and you will be able to download it instantly.  

To add Push Pin document  click on the Add To Cart Below.

This document will work with push pins and Q-Tip painting

To add the Letter/Number Template click on the Add to Cart Button Below

This document will work with Label Stickers, Bingo Dabbers, Bingo Chips, etc.

You have read this article Clay and Crafts / Documents / Letters/Numbers with the title March 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2013/03/getting-creative-with-push-pins.html. Thanks!