Summer Doings

I know, I know, it has been forever since I posted on this little blog of mine, but that does not mean that my boys and I have not been busy.  It is quite the opposite actually.  This summer has been a lot busier and gone a lot faster than I had anticipated.  I planned to share a lot of the things we did on my summer fun list, but, most times I chose to be present for the activities, rather than trying to get the perfect shot, so I didn't do so well with posting this summer.  I did snap a few pictures of some of the activities we completed this summer and I thought I would share them here, along with my take on them.

We tried these fizzy explosion bags.  I don't think the size of zipper bag was specified on the instructions, so I put everything in a gallon sized bag.  We got to watch the bag inflate, but there was never enough pressure created to make the bag pop as promised, and the boys were pretty disappointed.  I then tried the same thing in a sandwich bag, which popped almost the second I got it on the ground, which was also disappointing, since there was no anticipation.  So, I think you probably need a quart sized bag for this activity, or adjust your amounts of baking soda and vinegar according to the size bag you are using.

We made firecracker sugar cookies for the Fourth of July.  I didn't make the blue sugar as instructed in the tutorial, but used the blue pop rocks in stead.  They were cute, but a little too pastel to look very patriotic.  The pop rocks did pop in your mouth when you ate the cookies, but with a lot less force than when the pop rocks are eaten alone.  The pop rocks need to be put on the cookies right before serving, because they do start to dissolve.  If you have any leftover, the pop rocks will be completely dissolved by the next day.  Overall, we had fun with these and would make them again.

Sharpie plate/cup art.  The boys had a ball decorating up their cups with Sharpies.  I then baked them as instructed at 300 for 30 minutes.  The boys used them that day and then I decided I would wash them by hand, rather than in the dishwasher - just in case the art wasn't as permanent as promised.  As soon as I started washing them, the artwork started coming off.  I quickly placed them back in the oven at 375 for about 45 more minutes and that seems to have set the artwork better.  I have washed them in the dishwasher since then and noticed that the artwork is fading a little.  However, for $1 apiece and some sharpie ink, I think it was a totally worthwhile activity and the boys loved, loved, loved it!!

We had a picnic one day and I let the boys have chips in the little individual packages - which is a real rarity around here.  We saved the empty bags and then made chip bag shrinkies out of them the next day.  I was worried about the toxic fumes that were sure to be coming from my oven, so we did this activity first thing in the morning when I could have the doors and windows open.  Surprisingly, I didn't notice any noxious smells, and the bags shrunk up just as promised.  The boys thought this was pretty cool, but weren't overly excited about keeping their shrinkies after they were done.  I think this was an activity worth doing once and discussing the science behind it, but I am not sure we would repeat it.

So, there you have it.  A few fun summer activities and my advice if you try them yourself.

Little House Books - For Boys Too

When I was young, I loved the Little House on the Prairie book series.  I read all of them several times.  When I was a young adult I saw the entire series for an excellent price on one of my mom's book orders (she was a kindergarten teacher).  So, I bought it, and saved it to recommend to my daughters someday. 

Not too long ago, I was cleaning the garage out and ran onto the bin that held the books.  I remembered that my older brother had said that he had read the books to his boys when they were young and they had really enjoyed them, so I pulled them out for my eight year old.  He agreed to read them with me.  Not only has he read them, he has really liked them.  In fact, we just started By the Shores of Silver Lake, and he actually had to blink back tears when Jack died. Now admittedly, he will freely admit that Farmer Boy was his favorite book in the series, but he still likes them and looks forward to our reading every night.

So, even though I don't have a daughter, I can still share some of my favorite childhood books with my kids. 

Alphabet Memory

My little boys and I have been playing alphabet memory.  I love this game.  It is always a bonus when the kids can have fun playing and still be learning at the same time.