Who's Afraid of the Dark??

NOT US!

Heres why. We made our very own Glow in the Dark Lanterns!  Want the How To's...well go on down the page. We used them while we listened to this Scary Story...But Not Too Scary!

Everyone loves scary stories and award-winning comedy writer/director Carl Reiner invites readers to huddle close as he tells a young boy's tale of the mysterious house next door.

Something with red beams of light shooting from its eyes was coming down the basement stairs. It came closer and closer... the hair on the back of my neck was sticking straight out. I finally saw it- and it was alive!

As the story becomes spookier and spookier, Reiner pauses to ask "Shall we turn the page- or is it too scary?" That's for you to decide!

Parents and children can read along together as they listen to spooky sound effects and Carl Reiner's hilarious performance of Tell Me a Scary Story... on the accompanying CD.

The kids absolutely LOVE this book and it has a CD which makes it that much better because I have a still early stage reader and a not yet reader. 

One of our Glow in the Dark Lanterns.

Completed Glow in the Dark Construction Lantern

Fanned out Construction Paper Glow in the Dark Lantern

How To Make a Glow in the Dark Lantern:

YOU need 2 paper brads

A designed hole puncher

A sheet or 2 of your choice construction paper

A regular hole puncher

Glow in the Dark Paint

Scissors 

Super Cool Optional:  A glow stick to hang from the center of the lantern to make the inside glow!

1. Cut about 12 (1inch) strips of construction paper.

2. Punch out designed hole punches in a even range so the strip is not too fragile.

3. Punch holes in the bottom and top of the strips for every piece.- try to make even

4. You can at this time trace around each shapes or make designs with the Glow in the Dark paint.

5. Let Dry fully.

6. Take a paper brad and place through the holes of the bottom or top, then do the other side.

7. Perform an easy twisting motion with the paper strips and form a ball shape.

8. You can tie a string or twist a pipe cleaner around the inside of the paper brad above the paper strips...or   the light stick with the lanyard that comes with it. 

9. Your lantern is complete!

Glow in the Dark Fun

Glow in the Dark pictures

Velvet Colored Glow in the Dark Picture

The kids colored velvet coloring pictures and then traced it out with Glow in the Dark Paint for cool Glow in the Dark art.

Glow in the Dark Jewelry

Tricolored Braided Lanyards with Glow in the Dark Ponys

Take Glow in the Dark Perler Beads or Pony Beads and lace them up Lanyard, pipecleaner, or string and instant jewelry!

Glow in the Dark Dragon Fly Pins

http://www.makingfriends.com/ponybead/ponydragonrfly.htm  referral page for design.

66 Glow in the Dark (luminous) Perler beads

2 Yards Glow in the Dark Lanyard

 Hot Glue Gun

 Clothes Pin

Basic Instructions:
Fold your cord in half to find the center.  Lace beads using pattern above as a guide. Start with the 3 Perler beads and loop back through the outer 2 from the right side.  Your begin point will be the end of the DragonFly.

Wing Instructions:
After completing the 3rd row string 10 beads on one cord, then loop cord back through all 10 beads to form a stiffer loop. Repeat procedure for the opposite wing. After completing the fifth row of the body, string 8 beads on one cord, then loop the cord back through all 8 beads to form the bottom portion of wings. Repeat for opposite wing. Finish by tying off with a double knot.

Putting it all together:
Squeeze out a strip of Hot Glue over the top of the Clothes Pin and quickly secure the completed Dragonfly to the clothespin.  Let Dry and you can squeeze glow in the dark paint through cracks of bead on pin for an extra glow effect.  I pinned them to the curtains and they look great.

Old School Find

Look what I ran across!  I just had to share because I used one of these growing up and I am sure many of you have too.  I am glad it is still around!  Before we knew what it was we used to play with it just to push all the buttons down hoping to see something new under it each time lol.  This one is super worn out and has been used well....can't you tell.  : )

Multiplication Tablet Keyboard

When we were kids we used it for everything and I personally loved the sound of the little keys tapping and the number magically appearing. We played cashier, pretending we were typing on the computer and anything else that popped into our little imaginative heads. Did you play with one of these when you were a kid?

Sailing Boats on the Tinissippi River

This activity was followed by hearing a few stories about sailing following stars.

Here is one of them: 

Jump on board with the Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick Maker, as they sail away, at their wives' request, to snag a big catch for dinner.

This favorite childhood nursery rhyme, full of rich watercolor illustrations, has been transformed into a fun-filled adventure as our three heroes find themselves in a mess way over their heads!

How will they ever get home—and what about dinner? A great read-aloud book that will thrill the whole family.

Want to find out WELL you will just have to go out and take a look at the book!

We made boats and sailed them on the Tinissippi River-Compliments of our wonderful Library System.

Supplies & Directions:

Cut in half Styrofoam Cup

Markers & Crayons

A pinch of play dough

1 thick card

1 coffee stirrer

1. Decorate Flag Mass(markers) and Cup(crayons so water doesn't wash design off).

2. Poke 1 hole at the top middle and bottom middle of the car.

3. Place Post in middle of play dough at center of cup.

4. Place decorated Flag over Post see below of fully decorated boats photo.

Supplies for Boat Cup

Small amount of pinched Play Dough Centered

Completed Boat Cups

Tinissippi River

The Boats are OFF! 

Kaylei

Ashley

Gerry

\

We had lots of fun even though the river had a few technical problems, but they were quickly resolved!

A really great activity to do with the kids on a hot day to cool off.

Fun Constellation Learning and Crafts

Star Light Star bright,
The first star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.

Learning about Constellations!

This award-winning book capturing the glittering light show of the constellations is now available in paperback.

Take an illuminating ride through the starry night sky with National Geographic's Zoo in the Sky! Little Bear and the Great Bear in the Northern Sky; the scaly dragon winding his long tail; the Great Dog chasing the Hare in the Southern Sky; all are beautifully rendered in Christina Balit's vibrant art, studded with shiny stars, which perfectly illustrates Jacqueline Mitton's rich text.

"This is an attractive introduction to astronomy... The simple poetic descriptions will capture the attention of preschoolers and early elementary-age children alike. A brief explanation of stars and constellations rounds out this lovely and unusual offering." —School Library Journal.

We learned about Ursa Major the Bear and Draco the Dragon....

and made some super cool GLOW IN THE DARK Constellations for our wall!

Draco the Dragon Glow in the Dark Constellation

Ursa Major Great Bear Glow in the Dark Constellation

We did these activities by using a pre-made stencil of each constellation.  

1. The holes were punched out of the actual star positions within the constellation and we traced it with a metallic silver permanent marker. 

2. Then we put the little metallic stars on top of the dots and place a nice sized dot of Glow in the Dark glue on the star. The bigger the dot the more glowing effect it has.


This turned out to be a really fun learning activity for the kids and they love reading. We love all of those sparkling stars above and learning about the constellations. 

Strawberry Shortcake Poke Cake

It is so hot in July and nothing makes a Summer day cool off like a chilly dessert.  It makes a great addition to any cook out or just to have as a little snack.  Are worried about getting cracks in your cake when bake one?  Don't worry about that today, because we are poking holes in our cake on purpose!   I love trying out new recipes and even more when they turn out like this.  

Strawberry Shortcake Poke Cake

*Get a white cake or angel cake mix. Make cake as directed on box.

* Poke holes throughout cake with a wooden dowel large enough for topping to seep into. I used a wide unused marker.   Poke the cake with the size desired while warm still.

*Strawberry Glaze the top while warm so it will run into holes. if it is not going into the holes like you want you can always mix a little bit of water with your glaze before hand to thin it out.

*Place Freshly Sliced Strawberries on top. Put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

Pull your cake out of the freezer and spread your whipped topping on and put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes without a cover.  You want it to firm up enough to put plastic wrap on top without messing up the topping.  Once your dessert is all ready to be served, all you have to do is drizzle your glaze on top.

Don't let the cake FREEZE, but let get it cold enough for whip topping to be firm so it does not run. Remove about 10 minutes before serving time.   Strawberry Shortcake-Poke Cake.....mmmmm!

There are so many options for poke cake like Banana Pudding Poke Cake, Oreo Poke Cake, Boston Creme Poke Cake, Jello Poke Cupcakes.  I saw all of these on this cute little site and there was not a Strawberry Shortcake one so I just knew this would be a great recipe to try out.  Here is to enjoying your Summer one day at a time.  Let me know if you make this and how it came out.  I can not wait to hear about it.  My family enjoyed it and I am sure yours will too.

*For the 2013 Summer we have made yet another tasty version of Strawberry Shortcake~ Tastykake style!



Kids Rainbow Activity

We Learned about reflection and refraction as well as why Rainbows exist. 

A book about that:

  Overview

Sally and Nick want to paint rainbows, but they don't know what colors to use, or what order to put the colors. And where do rainbows come from, anyway? The Cat in the Hat is not quite sure himself, but he knows someone who will know—King Kaleidoscope, ruler of Colorgalore! So it's off to visit the King in this funny, fact-packed book based on an episode of the PBS Kids show The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! featuring 3-D artwork on every page—and a pair of 3-D glasses!

Making Construction Paper Rainbows

Rainbow 1 with a hugging sun

Rainbow with a bowl of gold

Rainbow with a bowl of cereal

We had a lot of making rainbows and learning all about them. Arts, crafts and cartoons...it doesn't get better than that. All of their pictures turned out great and reflected each of their artistic imaginations. 

Make a Sandman and a Genie in a Bottle

Sand Art Genie in the Bottle

Print a Genie out onto poster sheeting, cut to a square and roll up to fit through the top of a bottle. We put too much sand because we were trying to make some sand art at the bottom.  After he is inserted do a twisting motion in the center of the paper until your genie is unrolled. 

Genie in the Bottle

 Aladdin- You've Never Had a Friend like Me by GENIE

Sandman Story & Activity

 

Where did that little piece of sand in the corner of your eye come from? That’s easy—the Sandman.

It all started a long time ago when a tiny man named Tor discovered that a dragon’s scale held magical powers. Ground dragon scales make magic sand that Tor sprinkles in the eyes of children to help them fall asleep. But how does he get the scales to make the special sand? He has to venture into the lair of a dragon, and that’s no easy feat!

This imaginative telling of the legend of the Sandman combined with fantastical, illuminating pictures will be enjoyed by the whole family.

**This is such a cute little story. 

The Kids Sandman Salt Sand Art Pictures

We put our glue down and sprinkled colored sand(salt) on to each section before moving to the next. 

We made these for a library activity and the salt sand was made by putting salt into a baggie and dropping food coloring in and blending it back and forth. Pretty Neat!

Make your own Goop or Slime

What is ooey, gooey and lots of fun? Goop and slime are at the top of that list. The only thing about the store kind is that you really do not know what is in it and you never get very much for you money. This was an interesting activity for us to undertake. It was fun to make and of course...I followed instructions from the science guy Steve Spangler's site. After following the instructions for his slime recipe, I came up with a few different scenarios while making the slime. Keep reading to find out what we came up with.

Supplies you will need:

Borax

Clear glitter glue

mixing containers and measuring spoons

water

Instructions for Goop OR Slime:

Mix 1 tsp- 20 mule Borax with 1 cup water in one container.

Mix 1 container glue with 1/2 cup water in another container. Drop in food coloring of choice.

Pour glue into water.

Here are your 2 solutions.  Glue/water mix and Borax/water mix.

Pour the glue solution into the water solution.

Here is what they look like as soon as it is poured in. You can see the instant thickening reaction without even touching it.

 

Note: For translucent glue use clear glue.

          For solid glue use white glue.

Review: Now that I have redone this project 3 times I have come to the conclusion that the tutorial I saw online had to have omitted a few instructions. The Steve Spangler one I spoke of at the top of the post.

**If you're like me and think the water in there must be blended or else why is it there. There is not a loss with this project you get 1 of 2 results and the kids will have fun with both.

1.If you do the pulling up motion go ahead and remove from the container while in Slime state.

2. If you keep trying to blend it will turn into more of a solid solution-Getting BOB Goop.

*Pour out the remaining water(remaining water will absorb if left in and works just the same in the Goop solution). You can store in a air tight container or you can put in a zip lock bag.

1st Attempt: Clear glue with a tad of green glitter glue.

2nd Attempt: Green Glitter Glue

3rd Attempt: White Glue with 1 drop blue and 1 drop of red food coloring.

 Results may vary, depending on which one you choose and how much you mix it. Either way you will come up with something to play with. Our lasted through a few play sessions and then they became pretty gross with dirt or other things from the kids dropping it and being adventurous with it. Have you made any? How did it turn out? We hope you have as much fun as we had with our goop and slime!

Quick Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is possibly one of the most yummy of the bad for you foods. The best homey dish you could make your family. Not to mention, what kid doesn't love mac-n-cheese. Baked macaroni is always a winner in my home and as a child, I watched my Maw Maw make homemade mac-n-cheese for every special family gathering. Normally, we go all out and make the old fashioned baked mac-n-cheese, however time was not my friend on a certain day.  I went ahead and created a simpler version that was really delicious as well. This is right up my 4 year olds alley, he would eat macaroni and cheese all day, everyday.

16 oz of your choice of noodles

1 bag of your choice Shredded Cheese- sprinkle some in and the rest on top.
1 Jar of Cheesy Ragu Double Cheese Sauce
1 Pack of Cream Cheese of your choice(room temperature)
I always sprinkle in a little garlic powder in everything
Stir until all mixed evenly and pour into a baking dish. Bake at 350 until nice and bubbly.

Putting it all together

Baked Mac N Cheese

And there you have some really easy cheesy mac. Of course, there are so many ways to make it and this is just my go to quick mac-n-cheese. I hope you enjoyed this quick version and next time you're in a pinch for time, simplify your meal. What are your favorite kinds of fast fix meals?

Diy Kitchen Chalkboard Door

The new trend seems to be chalkboard everything, and that is understandably so. I love chalkboard stuff. I even loved the chalkboard when I was in 4th grade. It was the oldest building in our school and had not be changed. It was actually the school building when my mom went to school and the school grew around it. That was a flashback moment there. We used to dust the erasers as a reward....lol. The things kids do to get out of class. I am in love with the chalkboard fridge and everything else on that little show...Good Luck Charlie. I know this because often times I end up watching more cartoons and kid shows than adult shows. Some of them are actually pretty entertaining.
Now, on to our project: DIY Chalkboard Door

Have you ever bought that really expensive chalkboard paint from the store and ran out before your project was done? I have and I just did not have the extra cash to splurge on another bottle, so I turned to what I had available to me. After the black chalkboard paint was purchased and ran dry I used black acrylic paint. If you look at the bottle you will clearly see that the black acrylic craft paint was the exact same thing so when I ran out of  chalkboard paint I painted the rest with the alternative.  Not to mention its half the cost and works exactly the same.  The kids love it and I think it looks pretty darn good.

 

My Painted Kitchen Door

The Girls Drawing Away

 Excuse the blue paint tape, we were prepping to paint the kitchen.

Completed Masterpiece

The only downfall I would say to this project is the huge pile of chalk dust at the bottom of the door. I love the way it looks and how much the kids like to draw on it. Chalkboard paint is pretty awesome and I plan on doing lots of projects with chalkboard paint in the future, so stayed tuned. Have you made anything with chalkboard paint? How did you like it?