Bug Catching

I bought these cute bug catchers about a month ago thinking I'd give the girls one each and take the rest to school.  Apparently they were eager to try them out because Piper opened the box this morning, and the next thing I knew they were very involved in digging up the ground.  Mostly they have just found some roly polys.  Poor things must be traumatized from all the rolling around they are doing inside their plastic prison.  We will make sure to let them go later today, but for now the girls are having fun showing their finds off to the kids in the neighborhood.

Popcorn Rocks

Santa brought this popcorn rock to Piper in her stocking. It has to sit for about a month while we wait for the vinegar to evaporate. That's a long time when you are only four years old. Note the warning on the directions. Love it!

Fun in the Mud

It was beautiful weather Saturday, but it had rained the day before and it was still wet when we had our cookout. I took all kinds of toys with me for Piper to play with: her sand toy, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, books, a ball, and more. Guess what she wanted to play with...er in? The mud puddles! She had a ton of fun playing with her sand toys in the puddles. I had to go back and get her play shoes so she wouldn't ruin her new ones. Her clothes were just cheapo (but still cute) Garanimal brand, so it wasn't a big deal if she got them messy. They'll wash.

I also have a new camera so it was nice for me to play around with it and I think I got some good shots. I'm still learning about using it in manual mode though, and I really want to take a photography class this summer. The only shot I played with in Photoshop was the last one. The rest are completely unedited. So, I cut her feet off in one of the pics, but oh well.

Ooey, Gooey, Oobleck

I did this activity with my first graders last Friday, so I thought Piper would enjoy playing with it too. Knowing that she loves to get messy, I knew this would be right up her alley. I did not add the food coloring to her mixture, and it was a little thin at first, but eventually it was the perfect consistency. If you have never done oobleck before, you have to try it to understand how very cool it is. I use it to teach about solids and liquids in the classroom, although it is actually neither one. It is a non-Newtonian substance (feel free to Google that if you really want to know more)

Oobleck is based on a Dr. Seuss book called Bartholomew and the Oobleck. In the book it was really bad if you ate the oobleck, but our oobleck was made out of cornstarch and water, and was harmless. I thought it wouldn't taste very good and Piper would keep it out of her mouth, but not my child! She decided it must be dinner and tasted it every chance she could.

Here is the recipe if you are inspired to get messy yourself.

Oobleck Recipe

2 cups of corn starch, 3 drops of green food coloring, enough water to make a thick mixture (about the texture of pancake batter) I usually measure equal amounts of water and corn starch, but mix water in slowly.