Ocean Week

Sorry in advance for the blurry, half nude shots today!  No one wanted to get dressed this morning, and they were both quite wiggly.

For our fun project today we made coconut drums!

Shepard also wanted to taste coconut milk using the shell as a cup:

Debating...

Blech!

Then for our more educational project, the kids learned how blubber (crisco) keeps whales warm in cold water.

Riley was super excited to participate today!

Our bag of blubber:

Feeling how the blubber keeps your hand from getting cold in ice water!  And don't worry...  Riley was eating ice, not crisco.

Cool!

We also had a scavenger hunt!

Spider Web and Creepy Crawlies

Ted and I created a huge spider web for the kids to navigate this morning:

Action shot!

RQ wasn't quite as gung-ho about it...

Oops the web caught a fly :(

Its the end of bug week and Shepard has amassed quite the bug collection - mealworms, earthworms (in a homemade worm hotel), and a lightning bug.  Ick.  Thank goodness these containers seal tightly!

Larvas and Pupaes and Bugs, Oh My!

We bought some mealworms today to watch them (hopefully) turn into pupae and then emerge as adult beetles.  

We learned two things already.  1 - mealworms like potatoes.

And 2 - I deserve some kind of award for allowing these disgusting things into my home.

Someone's Lunchable came with Oreos!

Crazy sugared up baby:

Bug Week

We started the day with free play.  I had a conference call at 10:30, so my plan was to wear the kids out outside beforehand so they would watch TV quietly during my call (it worked!). We rode bikes, ran around, and played with homemade driveway paint...

I'll let you guess what Shep was pretending to do with the yellow paint...

The wonder of baking soda/vinegar explosions hasn't worn off yet!

After my call, we got down to bug business.  We learned about insect life cycles, but those pictures are boring.  The pictures of our bug slime, however, are much more entertaining!

Yuck!

Stay tuned for even more bug fun!

Last Dino Day!

Well this week was a hit!

For our first project of the day, we measured out paper to show how long different dinosaurs were, then made their corresponding footprints!  Educational-check!  Fun-check!  Messy-double check!

Then of course there's the ferocious Shepofasaurus Rex!

And the Rileyraptor!

Next, the requested lava pit with red jello!  Shep has been waiting all week for this!

Lava jello is just as yummy as swamp jello!  Who knew?

Frozen Dinosaur Eggs

Yesterday's project involved a one hour cleanup, so today's project made up for it.  Frozen dinosaur eggs-the only remnant mess is water!

First we tried helping them hatch with warm water:

We got one guy out with water, but it was slow going...

So...  HULK SMASH!

This guy was the most stubborn:

Whatever works!

Of course RQ had to try some ice as well:

Brain freeze!

So dramatic, as always!