Operation Playtime-Day 10-bubbles

Today is bubbles, bubbles, bubbles over are Operation Playtime.

I really want to try and make frozen bubbles outside, but the temperature was in the 20's today, I think it should be colder to try this, so maybe another day.
We chose to make bubble prints by using bubble stuff-we used dish detergent and water, straws, food coloring and white paper.

I put the bubble stuff in a pie plate, filling it half full. We then put in red food coloring and carefully mixed it around.

Then Mark and Grace got busy blowing bubbles.

If your youngest children are 2 or

even if they are 3, don't let them try this. Even if you are watching them carefully, and try to grab the straw as they start to suck in, they inevitablely will swallow some, and then throw-up. (This adds time to the clean-up)

We did manage to get some neat "bubble prints" from this painting technique. When the pie tin was overflowing with bubbles we laid the paper onto the bubbles. It is a very interesting look, and the children that weren't throwing up enjoyed them.

Check out other bubble ideas today at Operation Playtime.

Operations Playtime-Day 9-Cornstarch and Water: Who Knew?

Today's official Operation Playtime theme was "Playdoh, gloop, and yuk!" We play with homemade playdoh around here a lot, so today I thought we would try something different. It was also a snowday for the older kids today, so I knew that I have re-enforcements to help clean up a mess!

We have never "played" with cornstarch and water before, but we have seen it highlighted on Mythbusters, so we were looking forward to experimenting with it.

I had no idea! The kids (big and little) played with this for over 2 hours. There is no way to explain the consistency of this mixture. You HAVE to do this with you kids! It is both a liquid and a solid. If you use force on it, such as squeezing it or smacking it, it is hard, but relax, and it immediately turns to a running liquid. TOO COOL!
Everyone got into the act as we began to mix the cornstarch and water together.

I also thought it would be messy, and it looks messy in the pictures, but it easily washed off with nothing but warm water.

Th "old" kids have a big plan for using pounds of cornstarch, water and a kiddie swimming pool this summer.

You can't beat this fun--or face!!

This constanstly moving 3 year old sat at the table for 2 hours doing stuff like this.

Now I just need to find where to buy large quantities of cornstarch for the lowest price.

Check out all the fun at Operation Playtime.

Operation Playtime--Day 7-Pretend

Today's Operation Playtime theme is: Pretend.

The kids around here are experts at pretending!! They do it all day long. All it took for several hours of pretend play today was newspaper hats (and one newspaper boat).

I gave a suggestion that the couch be a boat and the kids be pirates, the rug, of course, was the water.

At one point, Mark jumped off the boat and into a "jet ski", but he was supposed to be doing schoolwork, which came to a halt when the hats were made.

The big pirates

or sailors

or Robin Hood

A few hours after the initial fun, I looked into the living room and all the kids were in my chair fishing. (You see, they do know how to pretend.)

Goofy fishermen and women!

Make sure you go and check out all today's Operation Playtime ideas

Operation Playtime-Day 5-Paint

Today's Operation Playtime activity is paint. I thought that we would give fingerpainting a try. I don't believe my 4 littlest kids have ever fingerpainted. They didn't know what they were missing.
I found a recipe for homemade fingerpaint at the Creative Kids at Home website. I used the original fingerpaint recipe and I was very pleased with it. It also surprised me because it was so easy to clean up, it just dissolved in warm water-it is cornstarch based. I made the three primary colors with the intention of having the kids mix colors-it didn't really work out, but they did have a real lot of fun.

We used the shiny side of freezer paper to paint on, taping it down to the table.

I told the kids to use their pointer fingers and mix new colors. We made orange, green and purple, sort of....

Kimberly was very careful to use her finger

She made purple! She also wanted a washcloth near her because she kept getting so "yucky on my finger".
Great job.

Luke just couldn't stand the one finger rule and started making the color dark gray.

Mark didn't seem to comply to the one finger rule either.

Luke's picture started taking on a splatter effect. I wonder why?

Kimberly did get over the one finger thing-and the yuck factor with the help of Becky.

Yep! She is over her cleanliness issues.

Grace
Mark-

who didn't want to fingerpaint, but realized it was fun.

The only actual art is shown here, and that was done by a 20 year old! Everyone enjoyed today's Operation Playtime. Make sure you go and check out all the fun.

Operation Playtime-Day 4-Books

The theme today over at Operation Playtime is books. Books are not lacking in this house, and if you ask my husband, they may be my only vice.

Books have taken over around here. They are in the basement, closets,boxes, kitchen and in my mother's spare room in her upstairs. (See, I may have a problem.)

In the living room is a bookshelf with two shelves of books that the little kids pull out regularly. These I switch around occasionally. Of course, I also know about the library, and because these shelves don't provide enough reading material for the youngest people around here,
we go to the library several times a week. 7 of us have library cards, there is a thirty book limit, so we could have 210 books checked out at once. Usually our stack of books resembles the pile above.

Of course, if I take out the whole stack at once, I need to be ready to read aloud for an hour or so. Being homeschoolers, the kids are all used to listening to books being read aloud for a few hours a day. Whether for schoolwork or for fun-reading is always happening.
I looked back through old posts and found this, dated May 1,2007. It is the "books we read caterpillar" crawling along the top of our wall. This was for Mark and Grace, and is now gone. I have been wanting to make something similar for Luke and Kimberly, and this Operation Playtime theme made me get busy.

Luke's all time favorite thing is trains, so this is the logical choice for our new activity.

I found a train engine printable at my favorite site, DLTK . I then just free handed the two different train cars. I have now scanned them onto the computer in black and white to print out when needed. Grace helped to color the first four cars. I may color a few in different colors and save these on the computer for future printing because the kids will surely get tired coloring the same thing every few days.

Here goes our train, starting off on its journey. I may think of a reward for a certain number of books read, but for now Kim and Luke are young enough to just be happy adding new cars. I will tape the cars up on the wall once or twice a week, so our trains grows in impressive leaps and bounds.
ALL-ABOARD THE READING TRAIN!!

Make sure you go and check out other ideas at Operation Playtime-Books.

Operation Playtime-Day 3-Cooking

Today's unplugged playtime activity, sponsored by Operation Playtime, is cooking with kids.

Cooking with kids is something that I have been doing for over 20 years--the kids were always there, and I was always cooking, so we cooked. There is always someone willing to stir, dump, crack or lick. Sometimes I think they just want to help because they get to lick the bowl when we are done. Whatever their motives, my older children, by the time they are 13, can cook a simple meal for our family of 12, and the younger children are well on their way to this mighty accomplishment.

Today it was just me and the four youngest kids at home. A perfect day to mix something up, and I still had sugar cookie mix from Christmas waiting to be transformed into yumminess.
Luke and Kim were very excited to be helping. I have to admit, I do sometimes bake very quietly, as to not let these two youngest discover what I am doing, but today, I called on them to be my special helpers.

I am not sure what Luke thought of the raw egg.

Stirring and stirring

We got out the letter cookie cutters and cut out our letters of the week: A, B, and C.

All cut out and ready for sugar--Mark, being a boy, and being 9, wanted to help but showed up to the table with a re-enforcement.

Also, being 9 and being a boy, Mark also swipped sugar to lick out of his hand. I didn't notice this until he pointed it out in this photo.

As Kimberly found out, it takes way to long for the cookies to cool down.

Good to the last crumb!

And since there are only 4 kids here today, there are some cookies left for later!!!

Make sure you visit Operation Playtime to check out more fun cooking with kids.