L is for Lollipops and Lambs

I kind of giggle every time I think about the fact that I chose lollipops and lambs for the letter L.  I don't know why, but it's just funny to me.  I keep picturing lambs frolicking with lollipops in their mouths.  Weird, I know.

Lola the Lollipop Fairy is super cute.  Kate and Reagan both enjoyed reading it several times this week.

 Kate is thrilled whenever I mention looking at anything on the computer.  We looked at pictures of lambs.

 I traced Kate's hand on black construction paper and added some glue to the "palm".  She added cotton balls and a googly eye to make a lamb.

 She liked that craft so much that she actually made a second lamb.

 Kate is REALLY INTO stacking right now.  She stacks blocks, books, toys, and of course the stacking pegs.

 I prepared a make your own lamb snack for Kate.

 At first, she wanted NO PART of putting the marshmallows on the plate.  Oh NO, those marshmallows went directly into her mouth.

 Finally, she added one.  Then she ate it!!!  But, eventually (she was probably stuffed) she made her lamb.

 And then she ate it!

K is for Katelyn

 I certainly do not expect Kate to spell her name, but I have been pointing out the letters in her name every chance that I get so that hopefully she will be able to recognize her name in print by the time she is three.

Fizzy Snow Dough

 Reagan stayed home with a stomach ache today, so I made two batches of snow dough for the girls.

 Of course Reagan got her hands right in it, and Kate used a spoon to mix it up.  Here is the recipe I used:
2 cups baking soda
2 TBSP salt
Mix well
Add 1 tsp of dish soap (I used Dawn, but I would think any kind would work)
Mix well
Add 8 TBSP water
If you can form the dough into a ball, then the dough is right.  If it is too dry and crumbly, add more water 1 TBSP at a time until you can mold it into a ball.

 Reagan enjoyed making her snowman and decorating him.  I made a snowman for Kate and she added all of the accessories.

 Then I filled a squeeze bottle with vinegar and let the girls squeeze it onto their snowmen.

 Both girls ABSOLUTELY LOVED this part!!!!!!

Hooray for fun sick days!

Matryoshka!???

Collin came into the kitchen the other day all wrapped up in a blanket, and I immediately thought he looked like a matryoshka doll.  I had to put these pictures side by side!!

Mardi Gras Gymnastics Meet

Reagan competed in her fourth gymnastics meet over the weekend.  The meet had a Mardi Gras theme.  Each of the gymnasts received a mask to decorate.

Reagan is on the right with the purple mask.  Courtney is on the left.

Reagan competed on vault, bars, floor, and beam.  She placed sixth on beam!  There were gymnasts from four gyms, and over forty girls competed.

This meet was held at a gym in Rhode Island that is very tiny, so it was difficult to take video.  Here are the videos I was able to take during the meet:

Floor routine

Bars

Beam (this video is very difficult to see because Reagan is kind of far away and there is a lot of activity going on in the gym)

It is nice to see Reagan improving so much.  She is so determined to do well, and she works very hard!  Congratulations Reagan!!!

Ice Tunnels

This morning, I set up a fun science activity for Collin, Reagan, and Kate.  We used blocks of ice, rock salt, and watercolors to create ice tunnels.

I put a different watercolor (you can also use food coloring) in each of the six muffin cups and added a heaping tablespoon of rock salt to each cup.

I had filled a few small containers with water and put them in the freezer earlier this week with this experiment in mind.  I put the blocks of ice in our water table, and gave the kids eye droppers to use with the salty watercolor mix.

Boo was interested in this activity for a minute or two, but luckily he decided a nap was in order. There was obviously a lot of salt used in this experiment, and salt is very dangerous for dogs.  I was happy he decided to nap and I didn't have to work extra hard trying to keep him away from the salt.

This is an experiment that takes time and patience.  At first, the color is just dripping down over the ice, but as the salt starts to melt the ice, tunnels are formed and the color drips into the tunnels.  It is a good experiment to show why salt is used on icy winter roads, and it is just a fun activity.  All three kids enjoyed this, mostly because they just like using eye droppers and pretending to create concoctions!

 Here you can see the tunnels forming.

 Kate continued to play LONG after Collin and Reagan had stopped!  She really liked using the eye droppers, and it is great fine motor practice!

In the end, I was probably the person most impressed by the tunnels of color in the ice, and that is okay.  It's all about the process and learning a little about the effects of salt on ice!  Plus, it's a very cool art activity with some fine motor practice thrown in, and even a sensory element with the ice!  All around cool!

I almost forgot to mention that we have done this before with regular table salt.  The rock salt works much faster, and I think it creates better tunnels!