Creating a Weather Station on It's Playtime

Did you know you can create your own weather station from a single item found in nature?  Last week on It's Playtime, Science Sparks showed us how.  

All you need to create your own Pine Cone Weather Station are....pine cones!  Go to Science Sparks and learn to read your pine cones, then get out in nature and start collecting.  You'll not only enjoy the outdoor activity with your kids but you'll be teaching them the science of prediction.

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."    

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

These activities plus more can be found over on the It's Playtime Pinterest Board.  Happy Pinning! 

Now, on to this weeks play date! 

It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Anna : The Imagination Tree
* Rachel : Quirky Momma
* Jamie : hands on : as we grow
* Jenny : Let the Children Play

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

It's Playtime: Reading Fun

School is right around the corner.  Some of you may homeschool while others are preparing to send their kids to preschool or elementary school for the first time.  It's been proven that reading starts at home.  I myself have been reading to my kids since birth....and I mean birth.  As soon as I was able to balance my newborn and a book, I read to them.  With my daughter, it helped to develop her verbal skills early on; she began talking around 9 months (I'm sure it helped that I talk constantly, even to my newborns).  With my son, he has a dedicated love for reading...even if it's the same book over and over.  In my own life, some of my earliest memories of my dad are of him reading to me.  He loved Bill Peet, so we read books like The Wump World and The Whingdingdilly.  We didn't have a TV so that was our special time.  As I grew older, I would read to my step-mom as she brushed and styled my hair.  We read classics such as Little Women and The Secret Garden.  This was our special time.  Reading brings us together and teaches us to fly.  We can learn something new or get lost in our imagination.

This week on It's Playtime, let's read!

Books on CD are fun but also expensive.  Why not create your own?  Raising the Cameron Clan shares how you can create your own Books on CD.

Lego Duplo has been promoting their new Read and Build sets like crazy.  Head over to The Educators' Spin On It and check out their Tips and Printables for the Lego Duplo Busy Farm Set.

B-Inspired Mama.com shows us how to create a Simple Grocery Game turning shopping into a fun and educational activity.  Not only does it keep the kids entertained but matching labels promotes basic reading skills.

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

These activities plus more can be found over on the It's Playtime Pinterest Board.  Happy Pinning! 

Now, on to this weeks play date! 

It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Anna : The Imagination Tree
* Rachel : Quirky Momma
* Jamie : hands on : as we grow
* Jenny : Let the Children Play

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

It's Playtime: Slimy Creatures

Every day in my house, we have bugs.  We have beetles, pincher bugs, rollie pollies, and of course, snails. This week on It's Playtime: a tribute to the slimy creatures that capture our children's curiosity.

Our snails would love this beautiful Snail Garden created at StrongStart.  I love how the kids helped in the designing as well as the creation.  Perfect for preschool, homeschool, or just for fun!

Primary Learning Log has put together an entire theme (preschool, homeschool, etc) surrounding Worms.  Check it out for great ideas for art, sensory, math, and much more.  Who doesn't love worms?  

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button." 

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

These activities plus more can be found over on the It's Playtime Pinterest Board.  Happy Pinning! 

Now, on to this weeks play date! 

It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Anna : The Imagination Tree
* Rachel : Quirky Momma
* Jamie : hands on : as we grow
* Jenny : Let the Children Play

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

From Art to Science: Solids and Liquids

I wanted to paint the other day, but my son had other ideas.  He asked to melt crayons again.  Thrilled he was interested in creating anything, I plugged in my griddle and prepared to grant my son some melty fun.  

 He started by drawing, first a single crayon, then a handful of crayons.  

Then he decided to experiment.  He wanted to find out what would happen if he placed crayon pieces onto the griddle.  He was excited to see them melt into puddles.  Suddenly this art project turned into a lesson in solids, liquids, and heat.  When we made applesauce, we discussed heat and it's power to change things.  But apples don't puddle, only soften, so we decided to experiment with other items and discover what would turn into a liquid and what would remain solid.

We started with butter, then added a chocolate chip.  

But I also wanted him to see that not everything will melt, so upon my suggestion, we added a carrot and a grape.

After a few minuets, Michael noticed the carrot and the grape weren't doing anything exciting, and the butter was melted, so we added an ice cube too.

 He watched intently as the ice melted, the butter spread, the chocolate began blending into the mix, and the carrot and grape remained the same.  I asked him to show me which items were liquid and which were solid.  Then as suddenly as the lesson had begun, it ended (4 year old attention span).  We'd enjoyed some impromptu science...

while making a pretty cool piece of art!  

Additional: 

Later, while reading The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, we discussed the snowball Peter places into his pocket.  I asked Michael what would happen to the snowball in the house.  He said, "it will melt".  When asked why, "because it's warm in the house".  By George, I think he's got it!

It's Playtime: A Winter Feast for the Senses

I've often expressed my love of sensory bins.  I'd hoped to create my own winter "snow" bin at my house but bags of plastic snow disappear early in the season (us southern Californians find snow where we can).  I guess I'll have to be as creative as these wonderful posts shared on It's Playtime!

There's the fake snow I was looking for!  Winter White Sensory Tub from Make, do & friend

I love all the different elements this Christmas Sensory Tub from Pre-school Play has to offer!  The mirror "pond" is my favorite.  I remember one of my grandmothers having something similar when I was a child and I loved imagining the characters ice skating over it.  

H is for Homeschooling also put together a Christmas Sensory Bin.  I love how completely different it is from the one created by Pre-school Play!  

We Can Do All Things shared their Homemade Iceland created from colored salt.  The little penguins look so happy!  

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."   

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

Now, on to this weeks play date! 

It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Anna : The Imagination Tree
* Rachel : Quirky Momma
* Jamie : hands on : as we grow
* Jenny : Let the Children Play

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

30 Days to Hands on Play: Concoctions: Elephant Toothpaste...Sort Of

Day 10 of the 30 Days to Hands On Play challenge brought excitement to my little world.  The challenge was Concoctions, and boy, did I know what I wanted to do with my kids....Elephant Toothpaste!  If you've never seen Elephant Toothpaste then check out this video:

I checked my ingredient list and found I had everything...except the beauty supply bottle of hydrogen peroxide...but regular ol' hydrogen peroxide should work...right?

According to the video we needed hydrogen peroxide (HP from now on), dish soap, warm water, yeast, and food coloring.  I was thrilled to find we had an empty soda bottle in the garage as we hardly buy the stuff.

 Ariel pours the HP into the empty soda bottle.  

 Michael adds the dish soap.  

 I mixed the yeast with the warm water.  It became a bit pasty.    

Then we added the yeast mixture to the HP mixture.  Here's how it goes....*spoiler alert* it's a dud!

We waited...and waited...and waited...then we gave up.

 But the kids were able to play in the bit of foam we created.  

 They felt it, splashed it, and practically took a bath in it.  

 And Michael, being the tool man he is, experimented with the funnel.  

What we learned:

• Regular HP is only about 3%.  Beauty Supply HP has a higher concentration, at least 6%.  The higher the concentration, the better the reaction.  You can purchase 8% from Amazon!    
• If at first you don't succeed....we'll be trying this one again!  

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