GOOP!

Indoor Winter Fun

Living in Calgary during the winter time with small children at home allows you to think of some very creative and fun activities to do indoors, or if you're like me that is what Pinterest is for! Here is the most popular activity of all of the fun things that we have been up to.

Goop!!!!

Goop is a fun activity to not only make but also play with. I made this one at home with my children, this not only kept them entertained for a couple hours but my husband and I had a hard time resisting playing with the goop as well. I got the recipe from Sugar Bee Crafts. We ended up making a few colors and it ended up last up to 3 weeks before it started to leek some gross liquid out of it. 

The kids loved using all sorts of baking and play-dough tools on the goop. We also made one with clear glue as well, it was fun but broke apart in crumbs and made more of a mess. I prefer the white glue goop. This was honestly their favorite activity to do for a couple weeks. 

Here are the directions:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of white glue
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/4 warm water
• 1/2 tsp of borax
• food coloring

Mix the white glue and water together in a bowl, add a few drops of food coloring (not too much we made that mistake and had blue hands for a couple days). In a separate bowl add the borax to the warm water and let sit for 15 seconds then mix together. Add borax solution to the glue solution. As you mix it you will see it is going to clump together. The more you play with it the more it turns into a solid clump of goop! 

Have fun! 

Pins that Have Improved My Life

Just like many of you out there I am hooked onto Pinterest. I have pinned more projects than I can ever manage to find the time to do and more food than I can eat in a lifetime! I have tried out a few pins and here are my favorite.

1. Menu Board

I found this wonderful pin and just had to try it out for myself. I have always tried to meal plan, but to sit down and write it out on a calendar just didn't ever seem too fun. Here is the one I made. I just used spare fabric on the back of the frame and on the card holder boxes (made from Dove soap boxes). I made a list of 40 dinners and printed them out on construction paper then cut them out individually, and finally laminated them. I glued card stock onto clothes pins with what day of the week printed on it. I make sure that I add new recipes (that I most likely have also found on Pinterest) every now and then to keep it exciting. 

2. Bow Kite

This is a super easy project that you can whip up in 20 minutes. I found this pin here. It is a kite made from a wire hanger that you can clip all of your little one's bows and barrettes on. This one looks so sweet hung up on the wall too. To make it I first stretched out the hanger to make a diamond shape. Then I straightened out the hook part. I hot glued my fabric to the hanger and then added the cross of ribbon on the front. Then I wrapped ribbon around the part of the hanger where the hook part of it was, glued it in place and left a long piece hanging. I also painted on an A for my daughter's first initial. Both she and I love this project!

3. Memory Jar

This is another really simple project that will mean a lot to you and your family. This pin popped up a lot right after new years, and I just had to try it. Essentially all it is is a jar and you write down things that have happened to you and your family throughout the year, then on New Years Eve you can all gather around and read all the funny, sweet and wonderful things that have happened. I cannot wait to go through these with the kids on New Years Eve!

4. Anything to do with Jars

I have a feeling that Pinterest has a stock in Mason Jars, because you can find a million uses for them on that site! And this is where I started my obsession with any sort of jar. I love the way they look all lined up together, I love how they can organize a messy cupboard, and I love how they keep stuff so well. I have bought a lot of jars at Dollarama (best place by far to get jars). I use them to keep my baking stuff in, and spices. I now just need to buy some adhesive labels or chalkboard paint to put on them...oooh the possibilities! I also have a few that I use for the kids, my Calm Jar, and my Incentive Jar. I will discuss those ones a little later.

5. Lunch bins

I LOVE organization, it really does make me feel soo good! I also dislike very much making school lunches, I tended to leave it to the last minute and then I would have stuff all over my kitchen counters in the morning while trying to rush to get everything ready. This pin has greatly improved my mornings! I bought two plastic bins at Dollarama, one for the fridge and one for the cupboard. On Sunday night I cut up all the fruits, veggies, cheese and other refrigerated snacks my son will need for his lunch and then bag them and put them in the bin. Then I bag all of the dried snacks, goldfish crackers, animal crackers, raisins, granola bars, muffins, popcorn and whatever else we have and stick them in the snack bin. Because we buy a lot of our snacks at Costco and in bulk this works great, then I don't have to have huge bags and boxes of stuff cluttering my cupboards. I also find making a big batch of popcorn then bagging it right away in smaller bags helps with my snacking too, makes it easier to grab something healthy when I am wanting something salty.

I put the fridge bin at the bottom of the fridge so that my 2 year old can pick out her own snack when she wants something too, she loves this!

6. Chocolate Covered Katie

I cannot say enough good things about this site!!!!!!!!!! I have been trying to follow my IBS diet restrictions,  along with trying to lose weight, but I still love to have treats and this site is my favorite!!!!!!! She makes wonderful decadent treats, but with all healthy and vegan ingredients! There is a chocolate pie to die for that is made with tofu (even my husband who gags at the site of tofu loved it!), cookie dough dip made with chickpeas, 1 minute chocolate cake and sooooooooo many other treats! You HAVE to check out this site and try some of her recipes, you will not be disappointed!
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/

7.  ALL OF THE FOOD PINS!

Pinterest is a foodies heaven! I LOVE looking at all of the wonderful recipes, and I have tried out quite a few of them as well. Here are my favorites:

Spinach Pasta 

Black Bean Brownies

Lasagna Rollups

Four Cheese Ravioli (I made this for Valentines Day)

Slow Cooker Tikka Masala

Cheesey Quinoa Cakes

9. Calm Jar

I sometimes have trouble getting my son to calm down when he is upset or frustrated. I saw this on Pinterest and Facebook so I thought I would give it a shot. It really helps him calm down enough for us to be able to talk about what is going on with him. I will give it to him when he starts to get really angry, I tell him to think about whatever seems to be the problem at the time, and then I tell him we will discuss it after he is calm. I shake the jar and he knows to just watch it until all the glitter has settled. He has even started to ask for the calm jar when he gets upset. I really like this idea, it gives both of us the time to collect our thoughts, rather than trying to deal with him right away which never seems to be a good idea. 

10. Incentive Jar

This is a new one for us in the last couple days and I am already seeing the benefits of it. I bought a bunch of Jelly Belly's and filled a jar with them. I told my kids that they have to earn a jelly bean if they would like one. In order to earn a jelly bean they must clean something up without being asked to. It can't be something like making their bed or cleaning their room because that is already expected of them, they must find something that is out of their usual chores to do all on their own. My son has really got into this, he is cleaning up messes before I can even think of getting to them.

Spring Break

I was worried about boredom during our spring break because we weren't going anywhere so I kept us busy with these activities during our Staycation :)

Spring Cleaning

We are moving soon, so we took the first weekend of our spring break to deep clean the house. The kids got right into helping us. I asked the kids to get on their "cleaning uniforms" and then gave them each a set of tasks that were their "jobs" for the day. My son (6) had the job of cleaning mirrors and glass, as well as organizing his toys. My daughter (23 months) "helped" sweep, vacuum and encouraged many dance breaks. It felt so good to get the house in order and spotless....if only it stayed that way :)

Drumheller, AB

My friend and I took our children to Drumheller for the day. Usually when you go to Drumheller it is to see the Tyrell Museum, but we decided to take the kids to see everything else that Drumheller has to offer. Surprisingly, there is a lot to do and see in Drumheller outside of the dinosaur museum. We first checked out Horseshoe Canyon, it was super windy and cold so we didn't get to walk around and check it out too much but I was able to get a couple nice pictures. It is beautiful there, I can't wait to go back again and explore.

Next we took a look at The Rosedale Suspension Bridge. This bridge was used for the miners back in the day, and it's pretty cool to check out. I have to admit that it is a bit shaky and the chain link on the sides of the bridge doesn't seem to be kept up very well. That being said it was fun for the kids to walk across, once they got over the fear ;)

After the bridge we checked out the Hoo Doo's. They have just started construction on a boardwalk pathway through the Hoo Doo's which will be nice to check out once it is done. We had a great time exploring here, there were tons of cool rocks and caves to check out.

This was one of the best day trips I have taken the kids on and besides gas all of these sites were free of charge which is awesome! We also found Atlas Mine, they do tours and train rides and will be open in the summer,  so we will be back in Drumheller soon! Here is a map that shows all of the great attractions in Drumheller so that you can plan your next trip!

The Zoo

We spent a day at the Zoo with some family and friends. If you don't have a zoo pass it is the best investment you can make with kids. We go to the zoo in winter, spring, fall and summer. They just opened the new penguin exhibit at the Calgary Zoo, it is awesome! You are so close the them they could reach out and touch you, my niece even got a surprise splash from one friendly penguin. The zoo is a good day out, there are a lot of different exhibits that are indoors so you don't need to worry about the weather, and then there is a large area to walk around outside, including a couple playgrounds. My tip is to pack a lunch, the prices for food are outrageous, save your money for the soft serve ice cream, it is honestly the best in the city! 

Puppet Show

I had the kids home one of the days along with some of the children I watch for my neighbour. I had taken the kids to the playground to burn their energy, but it seems that the walk home energized them again. I thought of the idea of a getting them to practice a puppet show while I made lunch and then they could put it on for me after lunch. This turned out to be a huge hit! It's amazing to see how their minds work, I really enjoyed watching the final product and they continued to play puppets throughout the day.

Light Show Bath

I saw this on pinterest along the way, and a few friends have posted this on their facebook as well. So on one of our indoor days we filled up the bath tub and had a light show! 

All you need are some dollar store glow sticks and a dark bathroom. Enjoy this one, it is fun!

Great Way To Teach Shapes

I made this activity at home for my 19 month old daughter. Just print 2 copies out the document, laminate one completely, cut out the shapes on the second and laminate them separately. Stick magnets on the back of the large copy and some more on each of the shapes. I hung this on the fridge and she got to practise her shapes with me and by herself while I was cooking. It only took a day for her to remember where each one went and if I asked her to point to a shape she could do it.
Shapes

5 Easy and Fun Activities for the Little Ones

I love finding new activities to do with the kids that a) are fun for the kids, b) don't cost very much and c) get their minds working. Here is a list of some of the things that we have been up to lately.

1. Monster Pet Rocks 

This craft is great! You will probably have everything you need in your craft supplies and in your backyard. 

What you need:

• Rocks (cleaned and dried)
• Acrylic Paint
• Googly eyes, or you can paint some on
• Hot Glue

First make sure you clean and dry off your rocks, then get them to paint the color they want their monster to be. Let them dry, hot glue their eyes and paint on a scary or crazy mouth. That`s it! They were super easy and the kids loved making them! I think they enjoyed finding the rocks just as much as doing the craft. 

2. Color Fizzies

I saw this one on Pinterest, all you need is a small bowl or plate with baking soda in it, then add some food coloring to a bit of vinegar. Get the kids to fill up an eye dropper with the colored vinegar and make drops in the baking soda. The vinegar and baking soda react and make a colored fizzle. Both my kids loved this one, and my son learned about chemical reactions while we did this activity. 

3. Growing A Plant

I bought some bean and sunflower started seed and pot packs from the dollar store a month ago. I then got the kids to watch a youtube video on how plants grow and what they need to survive. Then we planted out seeds, the kids liked getting their hands dirty. I got both the kids to water their plants and see how much they've grown each day. We had to replant all of the plants once they got a bit bigger, so we also made that into a project by painting each of the pots. The beans have taken off and the sunflowers aren't far behind. I have to say having the little bit of green in our house makes me happy.

4. Baking

My children LOVE to help me bake! Anytime we need to make a banana bread or cookies they are always willing to lend a hand. I enjoy this time with them because they get to see all of the different things that go into our food, and then enjoy the outcome! My biggest tip for baking with the little ones is to measure out your ingredients first, so that they can just dump them in and stir. If you are cooking with older children you can turn it into a teaching moment by asking them to help get the right measurements. 

5.Naked Egg 

We found this idea on Pinterest, like so many other great activities. Ultimately you stick an egg in a cup of vinegar and then let the vinegar eat away at the egg's shell over 24-48 hours. Once the shell is gone you have a rubbery naked egg. My son (age 6) loved this activity! He liked to watch the vinegar bubble away while it was eating the calcium on the shell. He then had a great time holding and gently squishing the egg afterwards. This was a great one for the kids to watch and learn. 

That Leprechaun is TRICKY!

My son has been curious about St. Patrick's Day so we started talking about the Leprechaun and his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (what else is it really about anyways? haha). I saw a pin on Pinterest awhile ago (which I can't for the life of me find now to site the source) about catching a leprechaun so I thought I would try to make it into a fun activity/scavenger hunt for the kids. First I got my son and daughter to find all things that are green to put into the trap, because of course that is the best way to lure a leprechaun. Next we set up the trap and then they had to go to bed with the anticipation of finding someone under their trap in the morning.

Well that leprechaun sure is tricky because instead of finding him they found a note under the trap.  

Now onto the scavenger hunt!

And finally they found his pot of gold, which I think they enjoyed way more than if they had found some tiny, grumpy weird looking fellow under their trap lol. 

Here are the steps I took to make the trap:

First I painted a terracotta plant pot, I wanted to do black but I didn't have any black acrylic pant, so I went with mixing my green acrylic and black finger paint, it turned out to be a dark green once dried.

Next I made the messages that the leprechaun left.

Leprechaun Trap

Then to set up the trap!

And finally my plan was to buy chocolate dollar coins, but that fell through when I sent my husband out to find them at the grocery store, even though I have seen them there numerous times he SWEARS they weren't there, hmmmm... So instead I used gold Lindt chocolate and left them in the pot of gold!

Great App for iPhone or iPad!

I know that people feel differently about children using iPhone's or iPad's, I believe that it can be a great educational tool if you find the right apps. Here is my new favourite for my daughter who is 23 months.
My A-Z, it comes with set pictures for each letter of the alphabet but you can also get creative with it and customize it with pictures of objects and people that your child is familiar with. You can also record your voice so that when they touch the picture you can say the letter and what the picture is. This is an app that you have to pay for but it's worth the $1.99!

Pin It