homeschooling

Homemade Bubble Recipes and Songs

All kids LOVE bubbles (I know a few adults too!)!  You can easily buy bubbles at any dollar store, but the real fun is in making bubbles at home with the kids and then enjoying them outside!  It even incorporates some fun science while you are mixing!

 

Making your own bubble solution is easy.  The secret ingredient seems to be glycerin which can be found at most pharmacies, but corn syrup or sugar will also produce a great result.

 

bubble recipes


 

Here are a few recipes to get you started.

 

Corn Syrup Bubbles
11 Cups Water
4 Cups Ajax dish soap (anti-bacterial works best)
1 Cup corn syrup

 

Glycerin Bubbles
2/3 cup Joy dishwashing soap
1 gallon water
2 to 3 tablespoons of glycerin (available in pharmacies or chemical supply houses)

 

Sugar Bubbles
1/2 cup of dishwashing liquid (Dawn or Joy)
2 cups of water
2 teaspoons of sugar
*you can add a few drops of food colouring to this recipe, but then the bubble solutions should be used outdoors only.

 

 

Singing a little song while you blow can make it even more fun with your child;

1.

"Bubbles Bubbles everywhere, Bubbles Bubbles in the air"

(add new rhymes as you blow them low, blow them high)

 

 

2.

"There are bubbles in the air, in the air.

There are bubbles in the air, in the air. 

There are bubbles in the air, there are bubbles in your HAIR, there are bubbles in the air, in the air"

 

"There are bubbles on my shoe, on my shoe.

There are bubbles on my shoe, on my shoe.

There are bubbles on my shoe, and I don't know what to do, there are bubbles on my shoe, on my shoe"

 

"There are bubbles way up high, way up high.

There are bubbles way up high, way up high.

There are bubbles way up high, and I'll pop them on my thigh, there are bubbles way up high, way up high"

 

Whether you blow bubbles the old fashion way or have a fancy bubble machine, bubbles are one outdoor activity that amuses kids (and parents!) of all ages.

 

Recipes submitted by momstown Oakville

 

Posted by momstown team on 01/06/2013 - 23:31
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

10 Fun Winter Outdoor Activities with Kids

Now that the weather has turned colder and we have mostly moved indoors, it takes a bit more creativity to keep active outside and get in some fresh air. 

 

Here are 10 fun outdoor winter activities submitted by momstown Oakville for kids that will make outdoor time as much fun as it can be when the temperature dips into below zero territory!

 

10 fun winter outdoor ideas for kids
 

 

1. Make snow paint. Simply add food coloring to water or add water to some washable paint and put in a spray bottle, then go out and paint your yard!

 

 

2. Blow bubbles!  Bubbles in the winter?  Why not?  Kids will love seeing what happens when they blow bubbles in below zero temperatures.  For a great homemade bubble recipe, click here.

 

 

3. Set up an obstacle course in the yard with jumps, tunnels and other challenges.

 

 

4. Forget mud pies, make snow pies! Borrow some pans from the kitchen. Use them to create cakes for a cold-weather feast.  Or make a snow castle using pails and shovels from your summer beach toys.

 

 

5. Pitching practice. Paint a bull's-eye target on a piece of cardboard or wood and give each colored ring a point value. Attach it to a tree or put it up against a wall and kids can try to hit the target with snowballs.  Keep score for a prize like extra marshmallows on a post game hot chocolate!

 

 

6.  Have a coloured ice cube scavenger hunt.  Add food colouring and water to your ice cube trays and then hide them around the yard for kids to find.  You can assign each child a colour.  To avoid wet glove you can give out big spoons or tongs to use to pick up the ice cubes.

 

 

7. Snow faces.  Use snow to make faces on large trees.  Pack the snow onto the tree to make eyes, a nose and mouth.  Make a funny face, a happy face, a sad face, a surprised face, etc.  I totally remember doing this as a kid!

 

 

8.  Snow Soccer!  Play the same fun game by kicking the ball into the net on the snow and not the grass!  Makes for silly fun when you fall down!

 

 

9.  Can you make a snow angel?  How about another snow shape?  Use your body to make animals in the snow....can you stretch out your arms to make an elephant's trunk?  You can even get together with friends to lie down in the snow to make letters!  Grab a friend to make a letter "T"!

 

 

10. Shovelling!  Kids love to help move the snow around with their little shovels or buckets.  Make it a game, a race or even put on some music while you get that driveway cleared!

 

 

And of course making a snowman, a snowfort, going sliding and going for a walk through the snow are always great too.

Posted by momstown team on 01/06/2013 - 23:03
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

Little Scientists: How to Make Magic Mud and Silly Putty


Our momstown Victoria moms and kids did something incredible at our Little Scientists program last month! Science whiz and on-leave primary school teacher, Glenn Kachmar, demonstrated the amazing properties of both "Magic Mud" and Silly Putty!


Magic Mud is a suspension of cornstarch in water that has the bizarre property of being a liquid when it is resting or moving slowly, but solidifies once you slap, punch or squeeze it. The science behind it? “The cornstarch is ground into such fine particles that the molecules line up like little plates. The plates stay rigid when squeezed or slapped, but slide around when released and there is little or no pressure.” (Dianne Pratt, Hey Kids! You're Cookin' Now!)

 

Glenn mixed up a huge blue batch and let our lil' scientists dip their hands into it, squeeze it into a solid, and punch the surface which would become instantly hard. Amazing! You can also do a lot of other cool tricks with Magic Mud (also known as Oobleck,) like using sound waves to make it take on life-like movements, or running across a huge container of it!

 

little scientists at momstown

 

Magic Mud Recipe:


Stir together approximately:
3 or 4 parts cornstarch
1 part cold water
Optional: several drops of food colouring

 

how to make magic mud

 

Next we made silly putty!

 

Glenn gave each of us a cup and added Elmers Glue, water and food colouring. We mixed and mixed our ingredients, and then added a solution of borax and hot water. When the ingredients started to solidify, we took them out and started to squish and knead. Voila, silly putty!

 

Like Magic Mud, silly putty is another non-Newtonian fluid. It has characteristics of a fluid and will form a puddle if left to rest; but it has elastic properties and can stretch and bounce, or even break if given a sharp blow. Our kiddies had so much fun playing with these bizarre properties!

 

how to make silly putty

 

Silly Putty Recipe:

 

1. Mix 250 ml of hot water with 7 ml of borax powder until all the borax dissolves. Set this solution aside. It is called borax solution.
2. Get a cup and mix 30 ml of Elmers White Glue with 20 ml of water. (Elmers works best!)
3. Add two or three drops of food colour to the glue/water mix.
4. Once the glue, water and colour is mixed together well, ad 20 ml of borax solution. Stir this lal together.
5. Take the mix out of the cup and knead it in your hands (it's messy). Be sure to pop all of the bubbles of glue. More borax solution can be added if it is very gluey. Knead it until it has a consistent texture. You now have silly putty.
-Keep it in a closed ziploc bag when you are not using it.
-Experiment. Does it bounce? Does it stretch? Can you break it?

 

how to make silly putty
 

Kids, do try this at home!

Thank you, Mr. K, for this incredible momstown Little Scientists workshop! We can't wait to see what you have planned for us next!

 

 

Posted by momstown team on 11/13/2012 - 17:47
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

Alphabet Soup- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Crafts

This past week when momstown Burlington met for Baby Basics, she read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  It's one of her favourite alphabet books of all time because of the rhythm of it, and the sound of the words.

 

chicka chicka boom boom crafts

 

Here's a fun way to take this story time and create a fun alphabet craft!

When I held up the book, I'm not sure that all the mommies were entirely convinced that their babies would like story time (and to tell you the truth I was a little worried myself).  But all our babies were totally entranced, there were smiles and giggles, there was bouncing and hand clapping - but most of all we had a room of thoroughly engaged babies.  That's what a really good story can do.  It can capture even the youngest baby, even if they don't understand all the words.  And your voice and enthusiasm can go a long way in bringing the authors words to life.  Never underestimate your own abilities to entertain your little one!

 

After we read the story, we made our own coconut trees - with our feet.   In this craft, brown construction paper becomes coconuts and the tree.  A little green paint on a foot (or alternatively a hand) makes for some excellent palm fronds!   And heading up the coconut tree were the letters of our name.

 

chicka chicka boom boom alphabet craft, momstown


Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Will There Be Enough Room?

 

If you love his craft for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, try the Jungle Alphabet Tree, T is for Tree and A is for Alphabet.

 

And if you're looking for other great Alphabet Books to add to your home Library, check out this list from childrensbookguide.com on the Best ABC Books of All-Time.  Scrolling down I found even more of my favourites - and a few new books to try.  Hopefully you can too!

Posted by momstown team on 11/13/2012 - 10:42
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

Spider Web Science for Kids

Spiders are often associated with Halloween, but they are fascinating creatures at any time of year. This easy, fun, and active spider web science experiment is a wonderful way to teach your preschooler or kindergarten student about how spider webs work, and even toddler junior scientists will enjoy the sensory fun and gross motor skills challenge it provides.

 

Spiders produce a special sort of silk that is sticky and incredibly strong. If you were to compare an equally thick piece of steel rope and a spider's silk, the silk would be stronger. Scientists believe that spiders may have begun to spin webs to protect their eggs, but most spiders now use their silk to capture insects that the eat. A spider will spin a web, or even leave a "trap line" of sticky silk. Unsuspecting insects get stuck to the web, and are trapped there. Spiders themselves don't stick to the silk because of a special oil their body produces.

 

To learn more about how the strong, sticky spider webs work, we built one of our own.  All you need is masking tape and cotton balls!

 

 

First, we stuck strips of masking tape across a door opening, criss-crossing them in spider web fashion with the sticky side of the tape facing out.

 

Next, we gathered a bag of cotton balls to represent our insects.  If you want, you could even use a marker to draw eyes on each cotton ball.  After gently touching the "web" to see that it felt sticky, we stood back and tossed the cotton balls at the web.  Sure enough, many got trapped on the sticky tape.  We then got up close to the web to see just how everything was sticking:

 

 

This was a fun and easy activity that helped us understand a little bit more about the science behind spider webs. It was also a fun sensory experience and an effective way to incorporate gross motor movement activities into our day.  Deconstructing the web and playing with the resulting cotton ball and tape balls was pretty fun too. 

 

If you would like to learn a little more about the science behind spiders, make sure you watch the "Along Came a Spider" episode of "The Cat in the Hat" on Kids' CBC.  After the main characters in the show, Nick and Sally, discover that their soccer goal has a hole in it, the Cat in the Hat takes them on an adventure to see Mabel the spider, who teaches the kids how she spins webs and fixes holes. 

 

You could even finish your afternoon of spider science off by making these yummy chocolate rice krispy spider treats. 

Posted by momstown Teach on 10/25/2012 - 13:37
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

Are We There Yet: Our Virtual Trip to the United Kingdom

In our house, we love to travel and learn about different cultures and countries. From taking an actual trip to visiting an ethnic restaurant or listening to music from another part of the world, the kids are almost always game.

 

One of our favourite shows to watch together is "Are We There Yet? World Adventure" on Kids' CBC. "Are We There Yet" features real life kids who travel around the world and share their adventures through travel logs, journal writing, and on-location narrating. The hosts' participate in a variety of activities in each country they visit, from exploring historic sites to sampling the local cuisine and participating in sports that are popular in the region.

 

Inspired by the show, this summer we decided to begin a virtual trip around the world. We will pick a country, find its location on the globe, prepare recipes from the area, and learn about its culture through crafts, games, stories, and music. As the host of this year's Summer Olympic Games, the United Kingdom seemed like a natural place to start.

 

Over the past few weeks, we have been enjoying books such as "Katie Goes to London" by James Mayhew, "This is London" by Miroslav Sasek, and of course, "A Bear Called Paddington", by Michael Bond. We have listened to the music of famous British composers Georges Handel (who was born in Germany but later moved to London and became a British citizen), and Gustav Holtz, and drummed along to "The Best of Scottish Pipes & Drums".

 

 

Two nights ago, we had a United Kingdom theme night. Before dinner, we played football ("soccer") and a few rounds of "London Bridge is Falling Down" in the garden ("backyard"). Next, we headed inside to enjoy the Cornish Pasties we had prepared earlier in the day:

 

 

 

After dinner, it was time to have fun with our Flags of the United Kingdom puzzle and playset again:

 

 

We ended our night off with chocolate flapjacks for dessert:

 

 

 

We are looking forward to learning more about the United Kingdom as we watch the Olympics over the next few weeks.  We are also looking forward to watching more episodes of "Are We There Yet" so that we can decide where to go next on our virtual trip.

Posted by momstown Teach on 07/26/2012 - 19:44
Labels:
ShareThis share this post
12next ›last »