~Another something from back in October~
Chances are if someone* gives your daughter an activity book for her birthday she’ll be most enthusiastic about the single most involved project listed. And you’ll have make it happen for her because … it’s her birthday. On the upside once all is said and done your efforts will be duly rewarded with multiple smiles and “Look at me!’s” and a significant increase in courage.
*Thanks, Jenni
**All photo’s by Brother except #2.
Cat Cube – $6.99 and carried by most pet stores. … THE best toy on the market.
.
Brother insists on playing Parcheesi. It’s his favorite game and yet in all the times we’ve played we have yet to make it to the end of a game in one setting. It just takes too long and the attention wanes. Neither child seemed to mind the lack of closure but it was driving me nuts. So here are some game time strategies I’ve started using to keep me sane. (not just with Parcheesi but with almost anything we play)
Set a timer – We play until the timer goes off (usually 15 to 20 min) and whoever is “ahead” at that point wins. Be sure to establish what “ahead” means before you start.
Play with fewer pieces – In the case of Parcheesi we often only play with 2 pieces each which automatically speeds the round. This principle can be easily applied to Candyland (remove the picture cards), Battleship, Uno (deal fewer cards) and a myriad of other games.
Use House rules – If the real rules say a piece can only be played on a roll of five then house rules might allow you to play on fives or ones. Or house rules might allow play on even numbers or multiples of 3. Besides speeding up the game this is great way to sneak math into everyday fun.
Take a break – If you absolutely must play by the rules consider taking a break before fun turns to frustrating. Sometimes we break for a few minutes but more often than not around here it’s a few days. For that kind of break you either need a phenomenal memory or a digital camera. Here’s a picture of our current Parcheesi game taken over a week ago.
Finally,
Pick short games - Gamewright creates terrific age appropriate games. (We love Rat-a-Tat-Cat and Hiss.) while classics like Connect-Four and SET move so quickly that you can easily play more than one round at a sitting.
Click on over to Shannon’s for more Works For Me goodness.
**something I meant to post back in early Oct.
A local festival with all the standard festival fair… music, arts n crafts for sale and food designed to clog your arteries.
We made stuff with glue and glitter, tossed rings for prizes and
had our faces painted. All of it was fun
but nothing else
satisfied like
the Lincoln Logs.
No flashing lights. No beeping. No buttons to push or batteries required. Imagination a plus.
How’s this for a Fun Day suggestion? With all the green appearing in the backyard both children gravitated toward the one spot of brown. I let them, despite my personal misgivings about stains in clothing and such because what is the point of childhood really if not to unabashedly immerse yourself in the world around you?
I feel like maybe I’ve not been completely honest with you so I’ve decided to come clean. My children watch television AND they play video games AND I don’t put limits on how much they can do either. . . and without limits they don’t actually do either that much. Shocking isn’t it? But just to prove that it does happen I snapped these pictures.
This is what they were playing …
and this is how they were playing it.
Following their Mario Party bonanza, Dad got a wild hair to visit Safari Park. So, we did. (Unfortunately my camera lost power minutes after our arrival so I don’t have any pictures of the lions or tigers or bears… oh my well. I’ll get them next time.)
At home again, Sister pulled out the cotton balls and glue (among other things) and got crafty for an hour or so.
Later, we conducted a very scientific experiment.
Observation:
Brother’s Fire Engine can move small objects.
Hypothesis:
Brother’s Fire Engine can break through a domino wall.
Test(s):
(Sister’s) Conclusion:
Brother’s Fire Engine is weak.
(Brother’s) Conclusion:
“I need a new engine.”
Did you ever play marbles as a child? No? Me neither. But I totally wish I had because… what fun! By no means did we follow these rules… waay too complicated instead we made up some simple house rules. Big circle, 10 marbles, take turns trying to knock them out. Around here a bag of marbles with a “Tolley” (or Shooter) is about $2.50. I’ll bet they’re at least that cheap in your area. Why don’t you go find out and reclaim some childhood.
Anne Kroeker’s has started hosting Monday Funday recently. I mention it because there are some good ideas floating about over there and because I thought of her carnival this weekend during Brother’s Un-Birthday Party. Sometime early in the day Brother declared he wanted a party. Always accomodating (HA!), Sister began making preparations. With very little adult supervision help she decorated the bedroom with balloons, made paper party hats, pulled out games to play and turned on some groovy music. (Because “No party is complete without music, Mom.”)
Sister found out I was making muffins for breakfast the next day and as soon as they appeared from the oven she stabbed one in the center with a candle claiming them as party food.
Once the party began there were puzzle races and a hilarious game of Party Line. You remember that one don’t you? The first person whispers a phrase to the second person who whispers it to the third person and so on. The last person says the unusually altered and often humorous phrase aloud. This was especially fun with a three year old in the mix. Next, our hostess brought out the snacks and we sang “Very Merry Un-birthday” while Brother blew out the candle. A little dancing and a game of Guess Who? rounded out the hour.
Is today your Un-birthday? It is!? Well, then this is for you!
A non-Newtonian fluid is “a liquid that does not abide by any of Sir Isaac Newton’s laws on how liquids behave. Quicksand, gelatin, and ketchup are all non-Newtonian fluids.” And though I’d very much like for you to think of me as a genius-mom who can spew all sorts of facts and resources out at a moment’s notice, I must confess that this particular bit of information came from Joey Green who also provided the following super-fun recipe for slime. (When your done here click on over for some slimy facts.)
Green Slime
What You Need
- 4-ounce bottle of Elmer’s Glue-All
- Two large glass bowls
- Water
- Green food coloring
- Large spoon
- Measuring cup
- 1 teaspoon 20 Mule Team Borax
- Ziploc Storage Bag or airtight container
What to Do
Empty the bottle of Elmer’s Glue-All into the first bowl. Fill the empty glue bottle with water and then pour it into the bowl of glue. Add ten drops of food coloring and stir well.In the second bowl, mix the borax with 1 cup water. Stir until the powder dissolves.
Slowly pour the colored glue into the bowl containing the borax solution, stirring as you do so. Remove the thick glob that forms, and knead the glob with your hands until it feels smooth and dry. Discard the excess water remaining in the bowl. Store the Green Slime in the Ziploc bag or airtight container.
What Happens
The resulting soft, pliable, rubbery glob snaps if pulled quickly, stretches if pulled slowly, and slowly oozes to the floor if placed over the edge of a table.Why It Works
The polyvinylacetate molecules in the glue act like invisible bicycle chains drifting around the water. The borax molecules (sodium tetraborate) act like little padlocks, locking the chain links together wherever they touch the chain. The locks and chains form a interconnected “fishnet,” and the water molecules act like fish trapped in the net.
We didn’t have food coloring to make it green but even so the children had a blast and remained occupied for almost an hour. Pretty good toy if you ask me.
On a similar note, I came by Joey’s slime via a search for Borax uses of which there are many. If you don’t have box of this stuff in your house I highly suggest you get some. Oh and this link is great too … if you’d like to know where borax comes from.
On Monday Ann Kroeker reminded me how to make Cootie Catchers or as some people call them Fortune Tellers. The children and I have had much fun since then creating and using our own. A big square of scrapbook paper is perfect for this and makes them so colorful. Anyway, it occurred to me that since you could write just about anything inside that perhaps they would make a good Valentine gift. So that’s what I’m making for my sweetie this year. Hopefully, he won’t read this post before I actually get to give it to him – or maybe he will and he’ll smile at the thought of what’s coming. 
See, I’ve hidden phrases like ” ‘K’ is for …” or ” ‘H is for … ” inside so if he picks one of those I will give him a “K”iss or a “H”ug. Make sense? These examples are pretty benign (This is a family friendly blog after all.) and are not actually in my fortune teller. For my hubby of almost 10 years I came up with some more lover-ly phrases. Phrases which I expect will lead to much satisfaction happiness at the Simple house.
******************************
shadow play of love
only a candle watches
rhythmic forms dancing
Have you written your haiku yet?
