Science Fair

Justin had to do a project for the science fair.  We tried to find something fun to do and I came up with the idea of using gummy bears after finding a few interesting things online.  Google gummy bear science project and you will find some fun stuff!  I asked J what we could do with gummy bears.  Since he had been doing some experiments in school that involved dissolving things in liquid, he decided we would dissolve the gummy bears.  His hypothesis was that they would all dissolve the same way, regardless of color/flavor and that the water would take on the color of the gummy bear.  It was sun to see they didn't dissolve, they grew!  He didn't get the whole osmosis thing, not that we really went into it all that much.  He made it through the process and did a pretty good job.

Gummy bears placed in water.

Look how they grow!

Started at 2 grams and now up to 10 grams.

Continuing to grow.

At about 16 grams now.

It's hard to read the things he wrote in pencil.  I only made him write the
question in marker.  I figured you can read the pencil just fine up close.

It's

Misc. Summer Activities

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Love Justin's zebra!

Ryan and I did a shape hunt and he was able to take pictures of different shapes he found in the house.  He, like many children, loves to use a camera!  Sometimes he would use my iphone, but we also got him a durable vetch kid's camera that has been great. 

Circle from the shape hunt

and obviously squares.

Bubbles are always so much fun for kids to play with.  You can buy them or make your own.  My boys enjoy chasing the bubbles too, so this battery operated bubble blower made it easier to produce bubbles faster.

Riding bikes is also a good way to get the boys out and about.  I got tired running beside Ryan when we would go around the block.  Amazing how things aren't as level as they seem when you aren't chasing a child who forgets to use brakes as he approaches a parked car.

Ryan wanted to paint or stain the fence, which obviously isn't the best thing to have a child his age do.  Using water to do the job was just as much fun for him though.

Water is a hit!  Ryan is already looking forward to using Grandma's hose next summer when we visit.  It wasn't even a super hot day that day.  It doesn't seem to have slowed him down though.

Before we left we went to a couple of museums.  Water play is popular with Justin too.

Justin absolutely loved making flying contraptions out of water cooler paper cones and watching them fly when placed over a fan.  He got some pretty good ones.  Would be so easy to do with a box fan on its side and possibly something (even posterboard) wrapped around it so kids don't get their fingers too close and be tempted to stick fingers in by the blades.

Alphabet Activities!

Ryan has done some pretty fun alphabet activities in his preschool.  He doesn't go everyday, so he misses out on some of the activities.  He does enjoy the ones he does and he likes that they use a variety of materials.

ch for cheetah

t for tractor

h for horse

m for mountain

g for goofy goldfish

s for snake

b for bear in cave
Perhaps this wasn't an alphabet craft, but it is cute.

o for ostrich

March 2013

March was a busy month!  The weather was still not warm, but we managed to get outside quite a bit. We got to go to Portland to visit cousins.  That was a lot of fun and we spent time in museums and around the house with them.  From Oregon we flew to DC to visit Dad.

The month started off with snow!  There wasn't enough to do much in it, but the boys took advantage of the last snowfall before getting ready for spring.  It's just fun to play in I guess.

The boys made a little "house" on the corner of the deck.  They have fun playing with random things they can find in and around the yard.

Transporting snow in the truck.

A variety of pictures the boys made one morning.  They enjoy paint.

Patterns!  If Justin does it, Ryan wants to do it too.

Once again, Ryan must do what Justin does.  :)

Justin has trouble with these words for some reason.  Maybe a bit of glitter glue will help glue them in his head.

I would explain this picture, but I don't know that I can.  Justin has made up some sort of game.  He loves using dice, spinners, game boards, and random toys to make all sorts of games to play.  Creativity can be a bit of a mess sometimes.

At Justin's school the boys participated in a balloon race.  Note: do NOT overinflate the balloons.  When they pop, it can scare everyone!

Ryan, Justin, and I went with my mom to the Mobius Science Museum in Spokane.  We had gone there with Rob in January.

St Patrick's Day is as exciting as other holidays.  The boys spent days working on their leprechaun traps.  This was our second year trying to catch a leprechaun.  We were still unsuccessful. :(

One of many leprechaun traps.

Yet another trap.

A simple trap with a note promising treasure.

Justin sorted 3-D shapes by color and shape.  He then multiplied to find out how many there were all together.  Ryan, Justin, and I looked for 2D and 3D shapes in the environment and they took pictures of some they found around the house.

Tinkertoys are always fun to build with.

Justin sequenced the "I have, who has" cards using his math skills.

We went to Oregon to visit our cousins.  They played a little ball in the backyard.

Justin found that he likes marshmallows beter straight out of the bag.  It's nice to sit by the fire though.

We made paper rockets and shot them off of a pvc pipe launcher attached to an air compressor.

February 2013

As I was looking for this month's pictures, I realized that I never pulled out my camera.  Luckily, I at least got some shots on my phone.  It doesn't help that we had an extended stomach bug that had us out of commission for awhile.  We did valentines, but the boys wanted store bought Kung Fu Panda and Angry Bird ones so no cute little Valentine Day crafts.

I have started having Ryan and Justin each make their own calendar each month.  This is Ryan's.  He traces the numbers and draws a picture to go with the month.  It gives good practice writing numerals, gaining a sense for days, weeks, and months, and gives us the chance to talk about upcoming events.  I make a monthly calendar each month as well and they can refer to it to know what happens on what day.

Justin is quite the reader.  Ryan would rather play on the wii.  We are working on some basic sight words.  He loves making simple sentences when Mario, Luigi, and some of his other favorites are involved.

The boys both did golf ball painting.  It's like marble painting, but with a golf ball.

Painting on shapes.  Some of them became targets for various games.

Balloons from the Dollar Store!  Each balloon was weighted down by a toy.  Beanbag toys were thrown at the balloons and points awarded for each one hit.

Justin's 100 Days of School necklace.  Each group of 10 Fruit Loops is divided by a tab labeling the count.

The boys cut and pasted to make Koopas.  Yay, Mario!  I found the template at chicaandjo.com. 

Obviously we had to make Marios.  I had to put both boys' on the blog too.  I found a Mario coloring picture, printed it out enlarged, and then used it to help me make a template so the boys could cut and paste.

They also made the goomba mushrooms.  The templates for them is also from chicaandjo.com.  I wish the site had more templates because I don't have an artistic bone in my body.

Justin made this dinosaur.  It is quite different from Ryan's dinosaur below.  They both had fun though.  They also enjoyed using stencils to trace various shapes.