Nature Walk Scavenger Hunt

It's a beautiful day here in Florida. The temp is 73 degrees with a high expected to be around 81. The kiddos and I are going on a nature walk. I made a quick scavenger hunt list to take along. I have it as a PDF and word document with pictures if you' d like a copy. Leave your email in the comments and I'll send one right over.

Nature Walk Scavenger Hunt

 

1. Pinecone    
 2. Bird      

 3. Red Leaf   

4. Bug

5. Blue flower

6. Round Stone  

7."Y"shaped stick           

8. Squirrel

 

Easy Fall Craft

I wanted to get crafty today with the kids. I was looking for an easy Fall themed craft and came across an image of a gorgeous leaf and followed the link here. I am so happy I stumbled upon Inner Child Fun. It's such a great site! I checked the step-by-step directions and happened to have all supplies on hand. I quickly printed out four different leaf styles and cut out three of each.

 

 

The next step was to fill a shallow pan with shaving cream and then select a few fall inspired acrylic paints. My kids were quite intrigued when I  started squirting the paint on the shaving cream and were even more excited when it was time for them to get involved and swirl the paint into the shaving cream.

 

We decided to dip half of the leaves into the paint/shaving cream mixture and leave the others alone. You can see more step-by-step instructions on the Inner Child Fun site. We took the dipped leaves outside to dry and since we live in Florida it's pretty much still Summer here. I emptied the rest of the shaving cream into a kiddie pool and set up our slip-n-slide. The kids loved wiggling around in the shaving cream and then splashing in the water. After a bit, the leaves dried nicely and we strung them up using some craft string and clothespins. Here's a few pics of the final results:

 

 

 

 

Anyhow, if you're looking for a super easy and fun craft for the little ones, this is a winner. Who needs to travel to see Fall foilage when you can make these at home?



I love a good deal!

Last week I rediscovered eBay. I made several very exciting purchases. One of the ones I'm most giddy about is a collection of 32 Illustrated Classics that I picked up for less than $45.00. Check out the titles!

We started Peter Pan last night. I have a third-grade reluctant reader in the house so I have been working hard on recreating reading time. In the past, she has felt as though she is being punished when we ask her to read. That's the last thing I want her to feel!

In addition to silent reading, we will be reading aloud as a family several nights each week. I created a binder with various pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading activities. I also picked up a small dictionary so that we can look up and discuss unfamiliar words. My lil' reader will get a incentive sticker for completing various reading activities. When her incentive pad is full she will get a predetermined treat such as: ice cream with daddy, movie night, or a new book/toy. I also have a set of 28 books from The Magic Tree House series coming in. I even scored a set of 15 research guides to accompany The Magic Tree House books so that we can really dive into each book. There is a great website that includes games and many extras for this series. I sincerely hope we can change my reluctant reader into an eager reader. I think that this approach will have a positive impact on every member of our family.

Another good deal that I just scooped up at my local Bealls Outlet was a set Scholastic Learning Puzzles for $5.99 each. I searched them online and didn't find them for less than $8! Lil' Roo has really been enjoying the numbers learning mats.

Today we worked on numbers 1-3. Look at her go! She isn't quite ready to write the numbers on her own but she is GREAT at tracing them. The set comes with wipe-off crayons but I found them to be sticky and messy. We opted for an Expo marker instead.

First I pulled out just the numbers 1-3 and the star cards to match. Before getting the mats out we counted the stars and matched up the foam numbers to the cards. After that she matched the foam numbers to the the mats.

 She matched the star cards to each mat.

She then began tracing the numbers.

I think she might be a numbers girl like me!!!



Have you dealt with a reluctant reader? What did you do to encourage reading in your home? Leave a comment below. I'd love to hear some words of wisdom. 

Gummy Bear Science

I scored an awesome science experiment book last weekend at the craft store. It was just $1!!!!! We decided to conduct the first experiment with Jazzy. It was very simply to conduct. All supplies needed are pictured below.

The title of the experiment is Growing Gummy Bear. I loved that the workbook introduces science vocabulary. We read through the experiment together and the we were able to quiz Jazzy on the new vocabulary. Jazzy did guess correctly that the gummy bear would grow when left in water overnight. The next morning we measured the sticky bear to test her prediction. You'll be able to view the results of the experiment below. Jazzy asked if she could eat the gummy bear. I didn't see the harm. I asked her if it tasted like a normal gummy bear and she said it tasted like water. When I asked why she thought it tasted like water she said, "Because it soaked up so much of it overnight through osmosis." Osmosis was a vocabulary term she learned from the outcome of the experiment. Good job Jazzy!!!

Update!

I started this blog out strong and then fell off the face of the earth. I wanted to share some exciting news. I'm becoming a full fledged "go-to" person for AWESOME learning resources. In addition to offering great games through SimplyFun, I am now also a consultant with Usborne Books & More. I just submitted my agent agreement for Little Passports. I'm a little bit crazy to take on all three but I am A LOT excited. More to come....

SimplyFun wins three more awards!!!!

These 3 products just won Mom's Best Awards. Check out all the Mom's Best Award winners here.  You can also see all of SimplyFun's award winning games on my personal website.

Bubbles!

Bubbles are SO much fun! Don't you agree? For Easter I got the lil' guy a bubble blower. We took it outside on our deck and had some serious soapy fun. When they are a lil' older we can talk about the science of bubbles. I found a great site with some great information on bubbles. Andrew was totally facinated. I got some great pictures of the kiddos at play. Check them out!

I LOVE this last pic. My lil' turkey is SO handsome!