momgineer

hot day water play

We have been having a heat wave in the northeast, so have been spending a lot of time in and around water to cool down. While the water table is always a favorite, I thought I'd share some ideas to make it even more fun. Ideas of things to add:

Turkey basters or eyedroppers
Measuring cups
Empty bottles
Pop tubes - we like to extend and connect them
Squirting toys


funnels

turkey baster, funnel, pop tubes

Hosing off the deck.

Figuring out how many cups fill the bottle.

weaving practice

This was an inexpensive and fast (<15 minutes to set up) project that I got the idea for after visiting a children's museum that had something similar.

What you need:

Frame (mine was $1 at the local dollar store)
String
Scissors
Fabric, ribbon, shoelaces, etc. Different textures are nice. I threw some hook and loop in there too.

The frame I started with. I just took out the glass and paper.

Add some strings. I will probably add more to make it more challenging in the future.

Materials for weaving. Cut the fabric to different widths.

H weaves.

Done!

It might be fun to have different colored fabric scraps around for different holidays, or to make a rainbow, or enough of the same kinds to do patterns. After some practice we might move on to a real weaving frame, but this is fun in the meantime. Apparently it is even more fun to pull all of the ribbons out after the project is complete!

rock hunt

This is one of our favorite outdoor activities. H&F don't like going on walks without a purpose, and although I'd love to just walk for the sake of walking, giving them a task to focus on while we're walking seems to help them enjoy the walk quite a bit more than they would otherwise.

What you need:

basket or beach pail
a safe place to walk (I also like to bring the wagon, in case pails get too heavy or little feet get too tired!)

That's it!

We like to save our rocks and bring them inside, weigh them, wash them in a basin and then build with them, sort them by size, or paint them.


Rock hunting in the neighborhood!

Weighing in.

Rinsing and scrubbing. Good skills to master!

F paints. We added stick on googly eyes after they dried.

H paints! You can also warm the rocks in the oven and use crayons to color them.

Loot from a previous rock hunt. Great for sorting.

We picked up a few more rocks at a local park recently. Some great finds!

I may have to find a few more good sized, flat rocks. After seeing these on pinterest, I really want some for my garden!

How cute are these?!

recyclable parking garage

F received a great parking garage for his 2nd birthday. However, it doesn't hold his (or H's) interest for very long. Before he got the multi-level parking garage complete with elevator we would make our own with boxes that were going to be recycled. As it turns out, both H&F still prefer the recycled box structures. They can be as simple or complex as you like, with tunnels, trapdoors, hidden places to park, etc.

What you need:

A box or two (or more if you'd like!)
Strong tape (duct or packing)
A pair of scissors that will cut through the cardboard (better if you do it unless you have an older child)

Here are some we made a couple of months ago:

This was one of the more elaborate ones we've made.

tunnels are fun

trap door

As you can see, dinosaurs also get involved, as do marbles, and anything else for this little "world."

spring birds

A pair of robins decided to build their nest underneath our deck this year and we were able to watch them hard at work building the nest for several weeks, and then watch the baby birds grow from featherless sleepy things into hopping and flying robins. What a fun thing to be able to watch with the kids.

Here is a baby robin as seen from above through the deck boards:

They were quite hungry a few days later and for about two weeks, we got to watch both the parents bringing the baby birds food.

Then they started vacating the nest one at a time. Here is a look when there were just two left.

One about to hop out of the nest:

It was so cute watching them hop around and learn how to fly. The first flight of this bird was up on top of our play house:

The kids really enjoyed checking in on them daily. We then got a chance to look at the nest after all of the birds left.

gardening time

We've been busy preparing garden beds, and harvesting our june strawberry crop!

metamorphosis

We recently purchased Insect Lore's Butterfly Garden so that we could watch the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly. What a fun and easy kit! The caterpillars ship with food so you basically just have to watch them for the first week or so. They grow visibly each day, so it is something easy to observe. When they change to chrysalides, you just have to pin them to the butterfly habitat and wait. The most exciting part is seeing them emerge as butterflies! Three of ours emerged on one day, and another the following day. The one chrysalis that didn't stay attached to the side tried to make its way out but didn't make it, so we talked about the life cycle length and how, even as butterflies, they will only live a few weeks.

A classic book to go along with this is The Caterpillar and the Polliwog. We also have this great life cycle puzzle, which continues to hold interest for H even though he generally prefers to do 200+ piece puzzles. The layering really adds an element of challenge. F loves it as well.

I would highly recommend this kit! It would be great for a birthday gift or as part of a homeschooling curriculum, or just to do for fun.