~~~~~ocean in a bottle~~~~~

OCEAN IN A BOTTLE

 clear plastic bottle - a big soft drinks bottle is best

Some water

a few drops of blue food coloring

cooking oil

Directions

Fill one third of the bottle with water. Add a few drops of blue food coloring and shake the bottle until the water turns blue. Fill the rest of the bottle with the oil.   Tilt the bottle from side to side. Since the water and oil don not mix the blue water will look like an ocean!

***For Tanner we talked about density.  Very simple...some liquids mix but others do not because oil is less dense so it sits on top of the water.  Shake it up and it will separate again.  I briefly talked about molecules...he wanted to see one...hum!

take the mess OUTSIDE

Our easel lives outside in the summer.  My kids LOVE to paint...i don't mind a mess but

SAM IS A REBEL! He'll paint on anything!

Tanner learned the concept..."paint goes on paper" very quickly...he's a rule follower.

Sam is my clown...he loves to make people laugh or make someone mad so he can get a good laugh. 

!!!milk fireworks!!!

Milk Fireworks

milk

food coloring

q-tips or toothpicks

dishwash soap

plate or bowl

Pour the milk into your dish.  Squeeze food coloring into the milk...several colors.  Dip the q-tip into soap.  Dip q-tip into the food coloring drops.  The The food coloring mixes with the water in the milk.

"The soap is attracted to both the fat and the water in the milk. When you add it to the milk, it immediately begins to grab those parts, which results in a lot of mixing and movement, which, thanks to the food coloring, you can see. The soap also breaks the water's surface tension, allowing all kinds of movement to occur." from Science Matters Blog

-We have 3-4 different milks in our house typically.  I drink almond, Tanner lactose free, Sam 2% and Chris likes Whole...yuck!

We tried our experiment with the milks: almond, 2% and lactose free.

The boys made some abstract art by dipping paper onto the milk plates.  I wonder how it will smell when it dries???

Happy Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day the weekend before Father's Day!  Chris went on a deep sea fishing trip with friends. I wasn't sure if he be home or just be exhausted when he got home!  We had a mini celebration when he got home...lucky daddy 2 celebrations!  I had the boys answer questions on this

"All About My Dad"

sheet, then they drew a picture.  It was really sweet the boys were both so proud of their work...love it!

**WE TOOK THE BOYS TO SEE MR. PENGUINS POPPER'S AT THE MOVIE THEATRE  TONIGHT.  I can't believe we are at a stage where we can take both boys to see a movie!  It was so much fun...of course I'd be lying if I didn't say we feed Sam the WHOLE time...popcorn and lolipops...it did the trick!!!

Jones Orchard

I can't believe it was in the 80's this morning. We were soooo excited to be outside without sweating our buns off!  We talked about what to do for a few minutes but then Tanner suggested we go to the "farm" to pick fruit.  So we loaded up and headed to Millington to go to Jones Orchard.

Tanner was totally in his element as always...dirt, outside, hard work...heaven!  Sam loved picking too...I think he ate a few blackberries along the way.  Sam was definetly tired by the end of our picking.  We got to pick blackberries, plums and peaches.  Picking blackberries was our favorite!  Sam quickly learned to pick the black ones not the red ones...Tanner showed him.

When I was little, my grandparents owned the lot next their house and had a HUGE veggie garden.  I think the garden was behind the house too?  Anyway...they had fruit trees...I think pear, peach and apple!  We loved picking the fruit from the trees, picking/digging up veggies and looking for pecans.  It kept us busy for hours...literally.  I know my boys would be in heaven if we had a big garden of veggies to pick...I wonder how many would make it until they were ripe!

When we came home the boys helped me clean the fruit, we cut it up and froze some for smoothies, then made a peach pie...YUM! 

when daddy goes out of town...

Chris doesn't go out of town very often but we are headed into day 4 and Mommy is beat! As soon as I put the kiddos to bed, the thunderstorms started.  With all of the tornadoes lately, my kids are conditioned to get in the hall and watch a movie.  I decided to just move them to my bed and set up the lanterns and to give them books.  We snuggled for a little bit then they both fell asleep after an hour or so...now I will have to move them or just sleep in the twin beds...we'll see!  Thankfully, a friend invited Tanner over after VBS today and Sam had MDO at SKF so I actually had a few hours to  myself since bedtime was extra late tonight!  We are 7:00/7:30 kind of people!  I had lots of errands I really needed to run but I decided to have some "me time".  I think my last "me time" was in 2005.  I ran to a few of my favorite antique shops, clothing stores, went to the bookstore(and sat in the grown-up section) and had lunch at Bogie's BY MYSELF!!!  I really wanted to get a pedicure but I BROKE my toe last night... yes I was getting up from prayers with the boys it got caught and we literally heard it snap...gross!  It's a lovely shade of purple and pink.

Being without Chris for several nights has reminded me how much he helps in the afternoons.  Chris has "school teacher" hours so I am spoiled by a husband who typically walks in the door by 3:45 or 4:00.  Now with that said, he is long gone by the time we are moving in the morning...so my mornings are crazy.  Being solo from 3:45-8:00 every night is exhausting after putting in a 10 hour shift with the kiddos!  But back to Chris...he walks in the door exhausted from works and never sits.  He jumps right in with whatever we are doing...love him!!!  Miss him! 

summer list 2011

summer list 2011

Cornstarch chalk Water gun targets to shoot Milk fireworks

Mud pies Building blocks…with stumps or sliced tree branches

Jumping frogs Make bubble blowers Ocean in a bottle

Worm compost Ant farm Water ballons…war and paint drop

Mud dough Paper airplanes mAke library bags VBS Catch fireflies

Watch the stars Cars 2…with daddy and candy Car wash POOL

Beach House Frozen hidden treasure Art collage with seashells

Playdough ice cream shop Shaving cream sensory Read

Garden stepping stone Marshmallow shooter Beach sensory bin Fish

play CHESS Ice sensory bin  "ocean unit”

Make smoothies Swim at night Sprinkle ice cream sandwiches

Camp out Make smores have a sword fight Paddleboat

MOVIE NIGHT…on the big screen Make bubbles Treasure hunt…backyard

Build a robot Sling shots super hero day

make monsters...read about monsters

pick...blueberries, peaches, strawberries and blackberries

make pies:)