Moms Summer Bucket List

Summer Bucket List 2015

We are enjoying our 3rd Summer, and celebrating the nearly three months of fun with a Bucket list. As we approach the end of the school year we draft our list of things we want to do over the summer. Then of course when the kids aren't nearby mom at the things that are education related that I would like to accomplish over summer. Pinterest helps me find lots of different ideas and I do keep a summer bucket list on Pinterest. When you come across things during the year it's nice to be quickly reminded when you want to find the idea, that's where Pinterest is a brilliant idea. 

Of course my kids are brilliant at their ideas out. We don't need the time to Pinterest because some of the things they come up with are just fantastic and simple. My older son can write already so he comes up with his list draft of himself. Younger son and baby girl brainstorm with mom and I jot down their ideas. The reason I write down their ideas because it's showing them the credibility that what they say adds value to our conversation and what we want to do with our lives.

In my business life I am a marketing and event planning consultant. My strengths are in the planning, project management process, as well as budget management. So the skills translate into my personal life and to many summers and spending with my family out and about. Lots of our Summer Bucket List is lots of things that are for free, and within the surrounding Chicagoland area (have car - will travel).

So the next series of posts that I am drafting, will include the adventures on our summer bucket list 2015, The weekly playdates with our cousins and friends that live in the surrounding area, as well as our lazy days we enjoy often. 

As an aside, on my personal bucket list will be how to capture obvious fantastic moments that we share into a photo album. I struggle with keeping up on our scrapbook/photo albums. I still have to make my baby girls maybe scrapbook and it's three years later. And touching up my younger son's scrapbook, and I'm throwing all our 2000 and pictures into a Photo album. And fairly good at checking into places on my Facebook page as well as posting pictures from the days events, and I heard there's some great apps out Facebook pictures into an album, and I think this may be my solution or summer bucket list by year. 

Happy Summer 2015!

Make Mistakes, breathe, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud 

Our Summer Bucket List 2015, free fun with kids all summer long

We are enjoying our summer and anticipating the nearly three months of fun with a Bucket list. As we approach the end of the school year we draft our list of things we want to do over the summer. Then of course when the kids aren't nearby mom at the things that are education related that I would like to accomplish over summer. Pinterest helps me find lots of different ideas and I do keep a summer bucket list on Pinterest. When you come across things during the year it's nice to be quickly reminded when you want to find the idea, that's where Pinterest is a brilliant idea. 

Of course my kids are brilliant at their ideas out. We don't need the time to Pinterest because some of the things they come up with are just fantastic and simple. My older son can write already so he comes up with his list draft of himself. Younger son and baby girl brainstorm with mom and I jot down their ideas. The reason I write down their ideas because it's showing them the credibility that what they say adds value to our conversation and what we want to do with our lives.

If you are reading this post, please post a comment below on what you liked - or didn't  - about this read. Does the topic interest you and you want to know more? Submit a question and I am happy to tackle it.

In my business life I am a marketing and event planning consultant. My strengths are in the planning, project management process, as well as budget management. So the skills translate into my personal life and to many summers and spending with my family out and about. Lots of our Summer Bucket List is lots of things that are for free, and within the surrounding Chicagoland area (have car - will travel).

So the next series of posts that I am drafting, will include the adventures on our summer bucket list 2015, The weekly playdates with our cousins and friends that live in the surrounding area, as well as our lazy days we enjoy often. 

As an aside, on my personal bucket list will be how to capture obvious fantastic moments that we share into a photo album. I struggle with keeping up on our scrapbook/photo albums. I still have to make my baby girls maybe scrapbook and it's three years later. And touching up my younger son's scrapbook, and I'm throwing all our 2000 and pictures into a Photo album. And fairly good at checking into places on my Facebook page as well as posting pictures from the days events, and I heard there's some great apps out Facebook pictures into an album, and I think this may be my solution or summer bucket list by year. 

Happy Summer

Make Mistakes, breathe, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud 

Happy Halloween Book of Doom, Written by Older 9YO Son

On the day of Halloween, a snowy Friday in Chicago this year, my older son came home from 4th grade with a "Happy Halloween Dictionary / Book of Doom." he wrote it before the end of the day at his school Halloween party. I love that his vocabulary is large, but he's still working on his spelling. Werewolves was spelled "wearewholf," Frankenstein was only missing the 1st "e," and Pumkins without another "p." regardless, it's a great creative little story. It highlights his awareness of the roles of each creature, and the totality of their supposed powers coming true all in one night. I love this kid and his creativity! Happy Halloween. Book of Doom written by Older 9-year old son "Werewolves Jump at night At the moon of fright. Franknstine knocks on your classroom door. In your window bats fly. Pumpkins talk when your back is turned. Ghosts fly in front of your face. Zombies eat you one at a time. Hope you survive this Halloween. From, Older Son" Make mistakes. Breathe, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud.

Going for a Walk, Again, and Again, and Again...

When my older son was born we went for walks every single day, sometimes even twice a day. Regardless if it was the warmest, sunniest day or the chilliest winter in Chicago, every single day we walked again and again and again.

Update: January 2015

Snowstorm "Lucas" dropped over 19 inches of snow on the Chicagoland area. We were flying back home from Las Vegas that day and we were one of the last flights into O'Hare airport. It's now two weeks later in a beautiful 28° day in Chicago, nearly 10 inches of that snow has melted. So baby girl and I are going for our daily walk. As you can see we still have about a foot of snow.

Back to the Original Post: 2014

My grandmother, his great-grandmother's age old advice, baby should get fresh air every day, and get a little bit of red in their cheeks, that makes for a healthy happy child. And I continue that philosophy even till now, a whole nine years later with my younger son and baby girl.

I'll have to admit, it is nine years later, and we own a home and I have three children and I feel like there's lots more to do. We're also continuing some renovations in our basement and kitchen, so walking every day I'll admit is no longer my priority. However that doesn't mean it's not just as important as it was nearly a decade ago.

Taking a walk is such a simple thing, and I know moms can often feel overwhelmed when they see these great ideas from their friends on Facebook and Twitter doing crafts and activities with their kids. But honestly the best activity that I could've ever done with my children is the simple act of taking a walk.

It doesn't matter when, in the morning, in the afternoon, going to a nearby park, or even an after dinner stroll which is another frequent activity of ours. Walking is just one of those excellent activities because you can be completely engaged with your child. Talking about the changing colors of the trees and the leaves, I'm inspired because it's fall now. Or even in the winter time looking at the snow, throwing snowballs, enjoying the chill in the air, and then of course there's the nature fact even though we live in an urban area of Chicago, there is nature all around us. We listen to the squirrel squeak at each other or the birds chirping trying to identify the call of Blue Jays or Robins.

I had the benefit of starting early with my kids, and I've heard some of my neighbors say they think it's not that we walk around so often, that "their kids" would never want to do something as boring as taking a walk. So if you can start them early, otherwise try and engage your kids in simple acts on the walk, like see how many different colors we can find, how many shades of green there are, how many animals we can find, ooh - what's that sound you hear. As for the older ones try to position it as you-and-me time. I want to head about your day! it's just a way of connecting with them and you listening (i phone left at home for a whole 20 minutes) and not talking.

The other thing I love about walks, is it has built in education and concepts that all her kids need to learn. Clothing that's appropriate for the weather, reminders for moms and dads when we should wear hats gloves and scarves, when do we wear our snowboots versus our boots for fall. Gym shoes or crocs today? Did you remember to go potty before you left the house? Do you have socks on? All things we need to consider and teach our kids, at any age.

So I've been lazy, it's Halloween and there's lots of decorating and pumpkin carving, and we haven't been doing our double walks every day. After lunch I would usually take a stroll with baby girl before her nap, because all the fresh air makes for a well deserved nap that is nice and long. However we of course walk every day to go pick up the boys from school. Older son and younger son are now in a full day program at school which just leaves me time with her. And maybe that's where the laziness sets in? Being Taipei isn't easy. When I'm not overloaded with work, I also feel ironically unmotivated. I know isn't that silly? When I'm not tempting to all three of the children, I feel like I'm being lazy which then turned out to be true laziness because I don't do much.  (I know, its like an illness, my version of don't do much, is not the version of most people's time too much, I admit it.)

Today is a vest day in Chicago. It's a nippy 48°, with a high of 55. Tomorrow is Halloween October 31, 2014. And I'm taking a walk with my baby girl.




Make mistakes. Breathe, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud

Mommy Made Hand Assembled Toddler Hospital Homecoming Gift

Our little cousins had surgery recently. As a home coming gift for him and his siblings we assembled a hospital homecoming gift.

Kids are stellar in play based learning. Kids understand the basics if what's happening to them and these ideas are solidified in play. This was a mommy made gift when I didn't find much in ideas online. I wanted something simple that the kids could play with based on their understanding of the experiences that were happening not only to the sick nearly one-year old, but for his brother and sister, who were also experiencing this illness crisis (because when our kids are sick it really is a crisis).

This little Hospital Homecoming kit makes a fun gift, but it's also a fun simple kids activity to assemble at home too.


Handmade Kids Birthday Gift and Hospital Homecoming, a photo by areyousureaboutthatblog on Flickr.

Our Homecoming from the Hospital Kit:

- A new Elmo doll
- Elmo wrapped in a stretchy piece of bandage (from home)
- a bandaid on the bandage
- a box / container for our Doctor supplies: a small sponge square, an empty travel size shampoo container (which we use in the tub so we have plenty), a small notebook for writing down symptoms and a pen, get better stickers, pill bottle, bandaid box with 5 real bandages, and a small cup for water or syrup sipping.

Some parents feel children shouldn't open pill bottles, we advocate for teaching responsibility and never playing with real syrups and medicines. Also, parental supervision should be included so the blue bandage which is removable doesn't go around a toddlers neck.

Of course my kids made a handmade get well card too. We don't feel spending loads of cash is necessary to make fun, heartfelt gifts.

Make Mistakes. Breathe, Reflect. And Laugh.Out.Loud

Easy Kids Activity: Tell Me a Story with Magnets

While online gift shopping I came across this nice idea for a storytelling game. "Story cubes" are dice with pictures on them, roll the dice and kids have to make up a story based on the images they rolled. Well of course why buy when you can make your own story telling game. This type of activity is easy and it helps kids build creativity skills, pre-reading skills, and a great way to keep them busy so you can get things done. Like my dinner...



Making dinner can be a challenging time. The Kids like to stay with me in the kitchen so I include them in the cooking whenever I can. But then terse times I need to occupy them. My younger son was playing with his Refrigerator magnets making the pieces "talk" to each other. When I asked a few questions about his story, eureka! A new Kids activity struck me.
We have many, many, many magnets that we have collected through the years. Alphabet letters, Melissa and Doug animals and dinosaur magnets, vacation souvenirs, a farm book with farm animals, and responsibility / rewards chart magnets. I keep things in a storage "just in case bin" or circulate some of these through so we don't get bored with them. This is a sample of the magnets from the fridge. 

Easy Kids Activity: Tell Me a Story Magnets, a photo by areyousureaboutthatblog on Flickr.

Our Tell Me a Story Game:

1. I grab 3 - 4 magnets from the storage bag and put them in a row on the fridge.

2. We talk about the picture on each magnet.

3. Then the kids "take a minute to think about a story using these 3 magnets." (At first, I had to make up the stories so the kids would get the idea of the game. Since about a dozen times playing, the kids now get more detailed, and very elaborate in their stories. Which may require more "thinking time.")

4. When my younger son is ready, he starts telling me his story.

5. PARENTS NEED TO LISTEN. Even though I am cooking (usually), I always stop to fully listen to the story. Its often short and I can spare the 1-2 minutes it takes him to tell me.

6. Then its moms turn to make up a story. I go last because I have found over time that my son simply imitates my story on his turn and just changes a few things around.

7. Pick new magnets and keep "story telling."




Variations:

-- Sometimes the kids pick their own magnets to use.

-- Or they pick some out for mom to make up a story.

-- Baby girl likes to take the magnets and "act out" her stories. Or she repeats segments of the story like "Roars" when my son said the Lion Roared at the Farmer. She is learning the game early on and will be vary familiar as her vocabulary grows.

-- We often put criteria on the story depending on what new things are happening in our lives. For example we have required many stories to "take place in Japan," when my husband and I were traveling there. Or my son makes the characters repeat an activity he learned in school that day.

The options are endless. We have also made up stories using the action figures we take to the car, and we have even started making up our own endings to the books we read at home. That's been really fun.

I hope we have introduced an easy, low-cost, game that's fun for kids.

Make Mistakes. Breath, Reflect. and Laugh.Out.Loud

Creativity in Kids: Inspiration is Everywhere, If Parents Let Them Lead

My young son was inspired today... on his own. My mom job was to help him get the necessary parts. The cup he's holding in a musical instrument. His "guitar drum." He's been telling me all week his classmate Sean is having a "musicians theme birthday party" and "I just have to pick what instrument I want to have mom."

Creativity in Kids: Inspiration is Everywhere, If Parents Let Them Lead, a photo by areyousureaboutthatblog on Flickr.

I didn't receive any invitation to said party. However it's a frequent topic at home lately. So today we were watching Curious George on PBS and it's was an episode where a colleague of the man in the yellow hat made an instrument. Then the commercial break showed kids making their own instruments from bowls, pots, cups, and the almighty multi purpose rubberband!

Here's my sons guitar drum. Wearing his ninja headband, because at nap time we read Magic Treehouse Night with the Ninjas.

To learn more visit my blog at areyousureaboutthatblog.blogspot.com

Homemade White Clay: Why we need to Fail with our kids

Homemade White Clay: Why we need to Fail with our kids, a photo by areyousureaboutthatblog on Flickr.

Don't you love finding those great homemade crafts on Pinterest. My Pinspiration "White Clay" activity caught my eye because of the gorgeous bright white color of the dough. And the cute cookie cutter ornaments made with the dough, and the ability to paint the baked ornaments.... Yada Yada Yada!!! All looks nice on the PIN.

Venting time: can't do any if this fun "white clay ornaments" and painting them afterwards if the dough flakes and when you finally do get an ornament made it disintegrates coming out of the oven. Vent complete.

We totally enjoyed the mixing, measuring, stirring and talking about our science, err um, I mean fun craft. I squeeze I learning everywhere we can!!! We ate lunch as the dough cooled for about 10 minutes or so.

Project Fail, White Clay Dough
Recipie we followed:

Bright White Clay Dough

Ingredients:
2 cups of baking soda
1 cup of cornstarch
1 cup of water

Directions:
1. Combine baking soda, cornstarch and water in a medium pot and stir over medium heat until all ingredients are dissolved.
2. Continue to stir over medium low heat until mixture thickens.
3. Once thick, immediately remove from heat and transfer mixture into a mixing bowl. Be careful, mixture will be hot!
4. Cover with a cold damp dish cloth until cool enough to knead.
5. Knead dough until soft and smooth. If mixture is too dry, add a few drops of water at a time and knead until a softer, workable consistency is reached.
6. Roll out dough to 1/4" and cut into shapes as desired.
7. Bake finished creations on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet in a warm oven (I do mine at 175 degrees F for about two hours, flipping them over about half way through baking.) Allow to cool completely in the oven.
8. Once completely dry, finished creations can be painted with acrylic craft paints and sealed with a craft sealant.
9. Wrap unused dough in plastic wrap to keep it fresh.

We did make the dough by heating ingredients in the pot. My first tip that is failed was the smooth texture of our version. It should have been "stickies" and looked more lumpy. And just as every good scientist knows, you will learn during the process, and learn from your failures.

Here's younger son enjoying the warm dough.

Here my younger son is enjoying how warm it is to his hands. He's been under the weather so mommy's homemade chicken soups in the pic too.

My next indicator of failure was the lack if bonding in the clay / sticking to the table and not as pliable as it should be.

Younger son loved playing with his "mountain." He wasn't into ornaments and cookie cutter shapes. He instead had the "cat" eat the "fish" but applying one cutter image over the other. And I can't say enough about the gross and fine motor skills needed to push, press, pinch, and shape the dough.

He was not frustrated - as was the adult in the room (me) - with the dough flakes, pieces and chunks that were falling off said mountain.

Baby girl enjoyed watching us, and touching the warm dough. Otherwise he was more into the cookie cutter shapes, and less into playing with the dough.

I rolled out the dough, into thicker and thicker segments. The cookie cutter shapes would break apart. Then the dough would stick to the table. Just frustrating. Add the flaking dough and it was not fun (for mom).

However baby girl loved flaking pieces all over the floor. And throwing cookie cutters on top.

Afterwards I took my dozen ornaments in animal shapes into the oven for 60 minutes at 175.

Here's our table after the experiment. Younger son is putting flakey dough remnants into a Baggie (so older son can enjoy after school).

And like our favorite clean up time song says: "you can clean where it's small and I can clean where it's tall." For the first time my 4 year old used the vacuum cleaner and picked up the flakey pieces. Baby girl and I wiped up the table each with our own sponges.

Cleaning may have taken longer then the entire project - cooking and molding together.

As for the baking, everything went smoothly. Then I removed the ornaments, and as the tray cooled I nudged one, and the leg came off. I nudged the duck beak and it flaked apart. All the pieces disintegrated. All of them. And the little rolled "balls" of dough we thought we'd make marbles from, they cracked, and dented. So interesting flops all the was around.

But even with the failures, we had fun. And we lived a real experiment. We need to fail with our kids too. Talking about our projects. What we were making. How it felt. It was "fun mommy." And then as you know real life doesn't work 100% of the time. So my kids also need to experience failures so they know how to handle disappointment. And they can learn to persevere, and try again, and again until we reach success. And you can't beat that.

The flop
We think we didn't add enough baking soda. My younger son remembers adding 1 cup of everything instead of a single 2-cup ingredient.

We will revisit this project. And try a smaller batch recipie. It's a low cost flop, but a high impact failure experiment... Again positive for my kids experiences.

Make Mistakes (like I did). Breathe. Reflect. And Laugh.Out.Loud. It helps with coping skills and failures.

Young Son Wrote the Word "MOM"

Young Son Wrote the Word "MOM", a photo by areyousureaboutthatblog on Flickr.

I am so completely crying right now. As we eat our lunch my young son wanted to color in between bites.

After I prepped our lunch and took a few bites, I look back at his sheet and he wrote "MOM." That's his first written word, besides his name.

"Where did you learn that word?" He replied "it's in your necklace.

My Son Loves to Read, But Why?

My Son Loves to Read, Buy Why?, a photo by areyousureaboutthatblog on Flickr.

Maybe I should ask How Come my older son loves to read? What makes him LOVE books so much?

I remember growing up and my mom constantly reading books. I'd be up watching late night TV and she'd be in bed, reading!

We always had a library at home too. Bookshelves covered in books, and then a whole room dedicate to books! I wish I read as much as I used to. I am still surrounded by books that I've never had a change to read, but I can't bear to part with.

As for my so , he definitely has the reading bug. We finish our bedtime book and he's off reading for another 20 minutes or so. I can only assume his love of reading comes from two factors:

My son reading in bed, after our evening story. He's really into the Diary of a Whimpy Kid Series (which he completed all 4 books since summer, over a 6 month period). Here he's feeding (yes, it's like he's feeding on it) on the Nate Series...

1. Ever since he was 6 months old we've read out loud. We've read a book every night for the first 5 years. And during the day - our before school was in our life routine included reading, as we woke, as we ate meals, before naps, and after afternoon play. Concluding the day with, yup, 2-3 bedtime books! Hmph.... I think I'm onto something.

2. Another big factor in reading at home is our own library. The kids always get to buy books when we are out thrifting. They pick whatever they like, even if the books above their age reading ability level. We had a 3rd grade school numbers math activity come home. "Count how many books you own at home." So we did.... 71 on the bookshelf, 25 on his bed night stand, 50 in the closet on the shelf, 45 in the book basket in his sisters room,... you get the idea. We also included the toy room, the kids basket in my room and our lunch time kitchen books. And the grand total was 512 kids books!

I'm still shocked! That's absurd right. Don't assume we hate read them all. Again, as we started the counting activity I didn't think that we had 512, I guesstimated it would be 150, maybe 200? As we counted the books we reminisced what each one was about. There were only a handful we hadn't read, or read fully because they were question and answer books, or reference books, or a dinosaur directory.

Why does my Older 8 year old son love to read? It could be our no TV during the week policy and being surround by 512 books.

East Kids Nature Project: Leaf Rubbing

Incorporating nature into our lives and our art is a regular activity. And so easy. Just walk outside your door for that "in-season" inspiration you may need. And some much needed exercise / energy release and running around for the kids.

On a recent walk around the block. we collected leaves of various shapes and colors. Then we proceeded to lay them out in my Older Sons particular order....we secured paper by taping it down on all sides of our cardboard, and rub impression onto paper with color crayons and viola!

This was a fairly easy project to put together. It hung in our front window after we admired it an talked about the interesting "veins" and patterns the leaves made.

Here he is just starting out the rubbing. It was a quick project to get thru, once he picked his colors he was done in 15 minutes or so.

Areyousureaboutthatblog Older Son Picking his Color Scheme

Areyousureaboutthatblog Color Scheme and Variations on the Leaf Details

Areyousureaboutthatblog Close Up of the Leaf Veins and Detail

Nature Project: Leaf Rubbing

Level of Difficulty: EASY

Time: Collecting leaves, may vary. Not including getting coats and shoes on a few minutes. More selective kids may explore the leaves longer, being VERY specific about shapes and colors. That's part of the fun, so don't rush the to pick out there leaves and quickly get to coloring. The outdoor exploring is just as vital!


What You Need:

• Bring Enthusiasm!!
• Leaves, easily collected on a walk through your neighborhood, or around the block.
• Paper, white works well
• Hard surface. Place leaves on the floor and then tape paper over it - watch out for coloring over the edges. If the floor is hard wood, or tiled, the "edges" or flooring detail may poke thru the rubbing effect / might be pretty cool!!
• Crayons, preferably with paper removed slightly or completely. When rubbing or "coloring" just using the crayon tips, less of the leaf detail comes through.

Questions to ask during the project:

When Outside Collecting Leaves - explain the project "We are going to collect some leaves. We want big ones, and little ones, and as many colors as we can find. Then we are going to do a neat magic trick and copy the leaves onto paper using our crayons. It will be amazing!"

Just conversation starters.... don't grill you child with these questions, engage them in conversation!

What color leaves did you find?
Is this a red leaf?
I wonder why the leaves are changing their colors from green to...yellow, red, etc.?
Is that leaf bigger then your foot?
Gee, good thing the leaves are on the ground, so we don't have to climb a tree to get them...why ARE Those leaves on the ground?

At Home:

Layout the project, encourage your child to pick which leaves and allow them to layout out as many or as few as they'd like to prepare for the rubbing. Their is no "right way."

Then tell them it's the "adults part of the job to do" - taping the paper down.

What colors will you pick to rub over your leaves?
What do you think will see when you start to color?
What are those lines on the paper from?
Looks like magic, the leaves are coming thru the paper...
Which one is your favorite leaf rub?
Why do you like it?....(again there are no "right" answers)


Enjoy your quality time together. This quick project will leaf memories for months to come.

The Days are Long, the Years are Short.

Make Mistakes, Breath, Reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud.

Early Math Addition Game with Dice: Math Facts Addition and Penmanship Practice all-in-one

My older 3rd grade son needs to continue learning his math facts (adding through answers to total 20). And flash cards are just so boring, but a necessary evil right?

Not so much. There's lots of ways to practice math facts without worksheets and flash cards. We got a nice dice game idea for my sons teacher. Roll the dice, shout the answer. We played a few times this way, my son loves the "pressure" to tell the answer out.

Now we have added a penmanship element. We have to write the addition problem from the dice and then write the answer. The first person to complete the math problem rolls again. If the other players still writing the previous math problem he might not even see the next roll, and that's okay, it's part of scoring. Whoever has the most problems written at the end of the game wins. We set the kitchen timer for 1 or 2 minutes, and off we go.

areyousureaboutthatblog Math Facts and Dice Game

The first game was a test... To "get the hang of it." But round two was fun. My son really caught on. He lost by one math problem less then I. In the test round he lost by 8. 

For round 3 my pre school younger son wants to roll the die too, so I had to wait to write the math problem until my son rolled his color die and said the color. It helped slow mom down for the 3rd grader to get a fair(er) shot at winning.

This adds penmanship practice, and math all in a fun game!

Make mistakes. Breath, reflect. And Laugh.Out.Loud

More sensory bags... Some Details on What to Use

Here's some things I've discovered while making our Sensory bags and Learning Trays.

-- Baby oil adds a richer color to the paint or food coloring.

-- Dollar store hair gel dissolves. But it's a nice science lesson on liquids and their forms. 

--Baby Oil will stay intact and floats on top of the water. Olive oil sinks and stays on the bottom because it heavier then water. And gel melts away, leaving only bubbles. All are a nice science lesson on liquids and their forms. 

As we filled our jars we used terms like:

Half

Full

h2o 

--Kids fill their own sensory bags or bottles with their pre selected items.

-- Kids first add "items to their jar, on their own they pour glitter and leftover beads and sequence. Maybe add a funnel for easier clean up. Parents usually have to hold the funnel. 

-- then Fill w 2 squirts of paint (infer paints are nice).

-- Don't add water to bags for walls or widows, it's too heavy and doesn't allow for finger play. Gel works better, alone, as does paint only in the bag. If you will tape a sensory bag to the table, Table bags are okay to add water too. 

-- Baby oil floats on top of water I bags and bottles. Adding a Cool effect and beautiful colors.

--Make a rice "I-spy" bottle without water. All oil. The "flow" of objects is smoother and again teaches about textures in liquids.

Have fun!! There are no mistakes here.

Make mistakes. Breath, reflect. And Laugh.Out.Loud

A Birthday Treasure Hunt

My big boy is has just turned 8 years old. I didn't know what I was going to get him, but I always have the best of "last minute luck." I get an idea in my head and BOOM there it is, I'll see the potential for what I need to make my idea happen. Mostly out of the box thinking. But I believe we can train our minds to be more open to seeing the potential in things. Below you'll see my spontaneous treasure  hunt map. It was a great addition to his birthday experience, but really, you can have a treasure hunt for a bag of candy for NO Reason on an Any Day of the week

We were at the Salvation Army in Indiana and I found this kids trampoline for $9.99. I didn't want the large ones in our yard because, well there HUGE. My uncle has one at our former house and its a pain to work around. Don't get me wrong, if you don't have a garden to manage (front and back), our kids activities and supervision, a dog to collect poop everyday, and picking your seasonal harvest of red currants, cherry tomatoes, pumpkins and  have I mentioned weeding all season! Well, I do enough and the headache of a big trampoline - no thanks.

But this little beauty is small enough for baby girl yet enticing enough for my 8 year old.

That's it hidden under the blanket I always keep in the trunk. My son was with me in the car when I picked it up.

I also picked up this card - sitting on a shelf into clear view. How awesome. I knew instantly I'd make a "treasure map" with clues for m son to hunt down his new gift.

So the next morning while I was making breakfast I made a instant treasure map. First using two color if pen and later highlighting areas in a third color. I usually don't use more then 3 colors on anything because it'll look too busy.

This is a map of my moms property in Indiana where we celebrated my sons birthday. He chose "an experience" this year instead of a party. The experience was spending 4 days at my moms, having ice cream everyday and going to the beach, alot!!

I also had a "clue keeping" page for

My young son to help in the adventure.

My older son stopped to take Notes of the clue hints, the other two tagged along.

When they found the trampoline there was some fuss, but birthday boy went first and the other two waited (fairly patiently) for their turns.

Notice were all barefoot fairly quickly.

The days are long, the years are short, enjoy every moment NOW.

Making a MESSterpiece

I've never been a mom to worry about my kids getting dirty or messy. Childhood is the time to experience dirty hands, face and feet because, lets face it, when were older your boss or significant other ain't havin' it! When I was little my mom tells me that our family pediatrician always said "Happy kids are dirty, and barefoot." Well my babies have obviously taken after me because we certainly do both.

My husband actually can't even walk around barefoot because his feet are so sensitive to pebbles and the concrete. We think that since his mom grew up in a poor country, having shoes (and wearing them) was a sign of wealth. There was NO walking around barefoot, period. My poor MIL probably thinks I'm nuts, but then again that could be why she always buys the kids gym shoes.



areyousureaboutthatblog Barefoot is Best!

We are playing outside - totally barefoot.

But that's an aside. We also love getting messy, well within limits.

My young son wanted to paint water colors one afternoon. So we did. I took out our large tray and we got to work. Baby girl too. After a little actual drawing time with their water colors, he wanted to "Do it with my fingers mom." Of course I said. So finger painting began... Then "finger tips" became "fingers submerged in paint"... which became "let's mush it all around our hands..."

areyousureaboutthatblog Making a MESSterpiece... Full On and IN

Areyousureaboutthatblog Baby girl loves MESSterpieces too.

Midway through this experiment - both kids were set up within my sight on the kitchen floor. So when they started getting silly I reminded them "only touch the paint and paper - nothing else or were closing shop!" He understood and baby followed his lead.

When the painting project was winding down, I realized the kids hands were COVERED IN PAINT, which is perfect to make HANDS PRINTS!!! So I quickly grabbed some fresh paper for "mom's project time" and took these hand prints, making use of some very well colored hands for a keepsake piece...to come, after cleaning up. 

areyousureaboutthatblog Making the Most of Painted Hands

Eventho the kids know how to wash their hands with soap and water, I was extra concerned about my walls. So I told the kids to "fold their hands with fingers locked up tight" (interlaced) and I escorted them (by holding their hands in the air so they wouldn't get the urge to touch anything). Into the bathroom and I turned on the water, I handed them the soap, I pulled the sink stopper plug to fill the basin and let them splash around and wash up. 

Life is good with kids who can freely and safely - within boundaries we parents establish - experiment and explore there messy fun world.

Make mistakes, breath, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud!!

The days are long, the years are short. Enjoy life now, in the moment!! Even when it's dirty!

Re-finish Frames for Fathers Day gift.

You will notice I'm writing this on August 19, and I'm not early for Fathers Day next year,  writing about the one that passed in June 2013.

I have a board on Pinterest with hand, finger and foot print ideas.

These were the inspirations. 

Work in progress. First sanding the ugly gold color frames (okay not ugly, but they don't match our homes style).

My any 'ol box for laying frames in for spray painting so it doesn't go everywhere and all over.

Then I spray painted the frames, about 3 coats letting them dry 10 minutes in between each coat. Baby girl was getting antsy by the end so I gave her a small outdoor water tub and some plastic cups to occupy her for a little longer. 

Here's the finished product hung up at home. Dad loves them, mom too. Thank you Pinterest!

Thing 2 - is my young sons nickname. We even have Thing 1 thru 3 t-shirts from Wisconsin Dells this year. That one has a phrase from "Oh the places you'll go," relevant because my husband read this book to the teachers on the first day of school as a "modeling exercise." But relevant to him too.

 

My older sons hands and feet.

 

Baby girls feet say "the best things in life aren't things." 

 

Here is young son about to wash off the colors form his hands when we made the Thing One and Thing Two imprints.

 

And finally the aftermath and Inspiration that my young son and baby girl enjoyed after we washed the paint off. They decided to paint the sidewalk with the remaining ink on the paint brushes and also "paint" with the water.

Um, this is NOT recommended as we used acrylic paint (for permanence in the project and Kid Art.... it is STILL on my sidewalk a year later).

The days are long the years are short. So enjoy the moment NOW. Paint and All!

Make mistake, breathe, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud.

 

Paper Chain Links Project to Help "Count Down" our Return

My husband and I are going on a Once on a Lifetime trip Overseas. I am having major anxiety at the idea of being away from my kids for two weeks. Especially considering I haven't been away from them longer then 1 to 2 nights!! So to help them cope with missing us we are making a "Count the Days" paper link chain. I don't know yet what will help me cope with missing them?

We kept this project super simple, so we don't drag out the longing and missing that will be going on. We kept it positive and used the crafting time to talk about our feelings and the fun things they will be doing at grandmas house.

What you need:

-scrap paper, we used colorful construction paper
-kids scissors, one per child
-markers and crayons
-a ruler
-a pencil
- a glue stick

Mom used the ruler to draw out straight lines on the long side of the paper - roughly 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch wide pieces. Each child would get a piece and start cutting along the line. My 7 year old son showed me his "creative wave cuts" he learned in art class. The 4 year old cut the same wave lines, however unintentional.

areyousureaboutthatblog.blogspot.com cutting our paper strips

areyousureaboutthatblog.blogspot.com cutting our paper strips

Then my oldest and I wrote "messages" to each other and the things as dictated by my younger son. They each colored "art" onto 1-2 strips as well.

areyousureaboutthatblog.blogspot.com writing our messages

Last we glued the paper strips into loops with the words facing out. Then I explained to the boys that Each day we are away from them they will rip off one loop and read the message.
 
*Little MATH BONUS *:
- We needed to count on the calendar how many links, or many days, mom and dad will be away.
- Then we started cutting the strips, and half way thru cutting, we "guesstimated how many more we would need."
- I explained that after they rip off one link, they can "count how many days are left until mom and dad return from their trip."
- Another math bonus is the kids started measuring the length of the chain compared to their height.

Areyousureaboutthatblog.blogspot.com starting to measure our Paper Chain

- Then we estimated how many links it would take to get to their respective heights. It was a wonderful sidebar of learning.

What my kids don't know is I included a fun activity message in two of the strips to encourage they (and grandma) have some extra fun. One strip has a "nature scavenger hunt" (inspired from Pinterest) activity paper clipped in and the other tells them to use there glow sticks that night.

Some of our messages/reminders to each other and include:

"I wonder if mom bought my Japanese Fan and Sumo Wrestler toy yet?"
"Baby girl, don't pull your brothers hair!"
"Mom, we love you!"
"Go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt! Mom included your checklist."
"We probably miss our Babcia and Ciocia at home, let's call them and see how they are doing."
"Mom and Dad Love you and Miss You Bunches! We can't wait to see you soon!"
"Go to the beach today. And if you did already/did that yesterday, then go eat ice cream instead."

Areyousureaboutthatblog.blogspot.com Surprisingly a wonderful coincidence,
the Paper Chain is as tall as my young son.

I am certain we will all enjoy our time away from each other. And I will certainly enjoy returning home to my darling kids. In the meantime, I think this Paper Chain will keep them remembering a fun project with mom!

 

"The Days are Long, the Years are Short."

Toilet Paper and Telescopes

It's our first day of summer vacation!! I woke up to happy kids watching cartoons and enjoying their self poured cups of apple juice. I needed to change baby girls diaper and I already had her in the changing table but I didn't replace my toilet paper roll. I don't use baby wipes, instead it's a squeeze bottle rinse (read more here) on a few squares of Toilet Paper.

So I asked my older son to fetch me a roll. "Mom when your done, make sure you save me the roll so I can make a telescope." Flashback to two days ago, I was packing a huge mirror gift for my cousins 40th birthday party and used up the remaining roll of wrapping paper. And I didn't toss the inner cardboard roll. I put that in the kitchen near our craft station - knowing we'd need it sooner or later. Little did I know how soon.

I told him where he can find the ideal size telescope roll, and he and his brother felt inspired to create.


areyousureaboutthatblog.blogspot.com

I love when these boys make something from their imagination. This telescope will be around for a few days. They usually make a craft, play with it that day, use it the next day, maybe end up outside playing with it, and after 1-2 weeks it'll be found, completely used up :-) To Mom's complete satisfaction too.


"The Days are long, the Years are Short"

Kids Create on the own Inspired Time

One of the BEST pieces of advice I received for my toddlers "creative growth" was to have craft materials be accessible. When kids feel inspired they want to instantly produce what's in their minds eye. My older sons preschool teacher gave us parents a welcome packet with a wonderful article about kids creativity.

So we now have a craft station. This shelf is in out kitchen with he kids art materials fully accessible. When they feel inspired to create the don't have to ask for their paper and crayons. Today, my younger son felt inspired.

Here he is creating and his final art work.

This same preschool teacher had the kids journal every two weeks or so. The kids would either get an alphabet letter they write and then draw things that start with that letter sound or listen to a story they can draw about and retell in their journal. Usually it's their favorite scene or a continuation of the story.

After the drawings completed, kids bring up their art to the teacher who writes a word for the objects the kids point out ". with the story project the kids dictate a story (if applicable) in addition to the object labeling.

Tips:

You art station can be as simple as a basket with paper and crayons that always kid accessible. This is how I Started.

Look around the House, I am certain you have items (pens, pencils, scrap paper) readily available.

Sit with your child the first time they draw. Don't interrupt them in their thoughts. But when their done ask questions like: "this is beautiful, can you tell me what's happening here?" And "what is this scene about?"

Date and sign the art. We have a folder I can sort thru later when we decide what goes into our keepsake folder.

Good luck, an happy crafting!

"The days are long, the years are short."

Salt Glue and Paint Toddler Project

Yet another Pinterest inspiration. The original idea came from here at Hands On As We Grow. Love her icy paint idea. So we had to try our own version.

Materials you will need:

-- Tray (to catch the salt and possible paint spills)
-- Glue
-- Construction paper or sturdy paper - any color
-- Paints, we used professional grade water colors and drenched in water. I would recommend craft acrylics watered down for an even deeper color.
-- Salt, we used koscher salt for a more gritty feel, but regular table salt will do
-- Paint brush or eye/ water dropper

If you are reading this post, please post a comment below on what you liked - or didn't  - about this read. Does the topic interest you and you want to know more? Submit a question and I am happy to tackle it.

1. Glue away on your sheet. Any design or pattern will do. Let you child experiment - during this step they might make thin lines or large globs. Once you get thru to step 4 they can see the various effects of salt absorbtion and color mixing, etc.

areyousureaboutthatblog

2. Cover you glue with salt. Be generous. We let our salt sit for at least 15 minutes to absorb into the glue. So we went and played freeze dance while the excrutiating time passed.

covering the glue in lots and lots of salt, areyousureaboutthatblog

3. Pour off the excess salt (we saved it into another container for a sure to be future project). We used water colors an eye dropper to pick up the water and drop it on the salt. A paintbrush will work just as well. We drenched the salt in the paint. This picture doesn't do justice to the cool way the color spread thru the salt and the depth of color.

start applying drops of color to the glued on salt, areyousureaboutthatblog

4. We let our masterpiece dry for 3 days on the tray. Most of the salt stayed glued on to the paper even tho we used alot of color dropped on. I think the color would have been much richer if we used my acrylic craft paints.



the happy artist with his new color salt work of art! areyousureaboutthatblog



Enjoy kids activities and playtime as much as you can. We certainly do.

The days are long, but the years are short - Chinese Proverb

NEW UPDATE :: YOUTUBE CHANNEL INFO ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT BLOG

Our family has had many adventures through the years. Mom, the @Minstr0Interior had an a-ha moment . . .  Suddenly I See what we will have filled our life with, ADVENTURES! We travel, craft, sing, dance, collect insects and spend loads of time together. Sometimes too much time together. Our kids have recently begun to document their own adventures, and so this channel was born. Enjoy our adventures. Or not. WANT MORE? If there is a blog post accompanying this video we will share it here. Sometimes we will include the ingredients list of the craft or recipe, or the itinerary of our trip. In the meantime click play. 

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Make mistakes, breathe and laugh. out. loud! 

Originally published on February 28, 2013