Cotton Clay

Cotton clay recipe:
3 cups cotton balls
2 cups water
2/3 cup flour
food coloring (optional)

• Tear cotton balls into small pieces and put in a saucepan
• Add water
• Stir in flour 
• Cook over low heat, stirring constantly for approximately five minutes or until mixture begins to stiffen
• Remove from heat and allow to cool on a towel
• I then split it in half and put it into two containers with a few drops of food coloring (red for C and purple for R)
• Begin sculpting, squishing, and just having fun

If you create a structure that you would like to keep, just leave it out to dry for 24 hours.
*Edited to add:  The clay is very wet and the best way I can describe the texture is goopy.  I'm not sure how long it will last, but we stored it in a ziploc bag and it is still moldable two days later.  I hope this answers your questions!

Wolves

We are learning about wolves this week.  Some of the books we have read so far are:

• Wolves by Duncan Searl
• The Boy Who Cried Wolf retold by B.G. Hennessy
• The Wolf Who Cried Boy by Bob Hartman
• Big Wolf and Little Wolf by Nadine Brun-Cosme and Olivier Tallec

We also brainstormed to come up with all of the fairy tales we know that have big bad wolves in them.  This led to a discussion about why wolves have been perceived as "bad" animals and how they are endangered.

C and R also made paper bag wolf puppets.  We used the puppets to tell the story of Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs.

 Don't tell me you have never seen a purple and pink wolf!  R would have it no other way!

 I also made some yummy wolf paws for C and R to enjoy.  I was inspired by Gourmet Mom on the Go's idea for dinosaur claws.  I covered Nutter Butters with melted chocolate and then added cashews for the claws.  These were so good!

Stay tuned for more wolf books and activities!

Presidents Day

This Abraham Lincoln craft was made by C in school.  Isn't he adorable?  If you are looking for a simple hand print craft to honor our presidents today, this would work perfectly.  I love Abe's hand print beard.

Chinese New Year and a Sweet Valentine

Happy Chinese New Year!  We couldn't resist making some dragon claws for good luck!  The recipe is from Gourmet Mom on the Go.  They are Nutter Butters covered with melted chocolate and cashew claws.

We are also very excited about Valentine's Day today, and I was thrilled to receive this box of Godiva from my children!

I'm going to enjoy them now!  Happy Valentine's Day!

A Winter Hike

We went out for a long winter hike yesterday.  It was tough, but the kids did great.  Everyone got some exercise and fresh air.  My favorite thing about winter hikes is the lack of mosquitoes!

 

 

A Chapter Book

Can you guess which chapter book I am currently reading to C? 

The Year of the Tiger

We read two books in honor of Chinese New Year (February 14th this year).  D is for Dancing Dragon, A China Alphabet by Carol Crane and Zong-Zhou Wang is a nice way to learn a little about China.

This year is the year of the tiger.  We read Who is the Beast?  by Keith Baker.  This book is not about China or Chinese New Year, but it is a great picture book featuring a tiger, and we happen to love reading it.   

After reading this book, I gave C and R white card stock with the outline of a tiger's face drawn by me on the paper.  They placed the paper in a cardboard box, added a few squirts of orange and black paint, and dropped in a few marbles.

They worked together to shake, tilt, and spin the box for some fun marble painting.

Once the paint dried, I cut out their tiger faces.  Then we cut out holes for the eyes and attached craft sticks to the back for them to hold.

Happy Chinese New Year!