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Rock Creatures

Rock Creatures

Posted by on Jul 10, 2013 in Camping, Outdoor Activities, Painting, Rock Activities | 2 comments

My boys love collecting rocks, especially when we’re camping. I remember being obsessed with rocks as a kid too. I must have driven my parents a little bananas because wherever we went anywhere I was always on the hunt for a unique rock to take home and add to my expansive collection. There was a time when I could go through each individual rock and tell the story behind it- where it was from, who was with me, what we were doing, how I found it- but my teenage self flippantly dumped all of them in our alley one morning, in order to make room for more important things like CD’s, and magazines :(. It’s funny how our priorities seem to come full circle as we grow; it’s only once we’ve reached late adulthood that we finally realize how wise we were as children, to actually see and appreciate the wander and beauty in all the “little things”.

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Frozen Dinos

Frozen Dinos

Posted by on Sep 22, 2012 in Dinosaurs, Outdoor Activities, Sensory Bins | 0 comments

Summer is all about playing outside in the backyard, searching for bugs, lounging in the kiddie pool, water fights, Popsicles, BBQs and frozen dinos! M is really into dinosaurs lately, so I thought he would enjoy a little problem-solving activity involving dinosaurs and ice. All I did was fill a flat basin with a bit of water, added in some plastic dinos and few drops of blue food colouring, and placed it in the deep freeze overnight. The next morning I put a wooden hammer and chisel, a water-gun and watering can, and the frozen block of dinos into M’s DIY Sensory/Water Table, and told him to try to get them out. Then I sat under the umbrella and started to read my book 🙂 🙂

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Nature Scavenger Hunt and Contact Paper Collage

Nature Scavenger Hunt and Contact Paper Collage

Posted by on Sep 19, 2012 in Camping, Contact Paper Art, Outdoor Activities, Science Activities, Spring Crafts and Activities | 0 comments

I haven’t added a new post to my blog in literally months! Summer is such a busy time for everyone, and it always seems to just zoom by. My family and I do a LOT of camping in the summer. Between my siblings and I we have five boys (ages 7-1) and one sweet baby girl, which means it’s a good idea to have some activities planned when we’re all camping together. Some of the things the boys enjoy doing are painting rocks, playing with cars and trucks outside, exploring the paths, riding their bikes and simply just running around. This time I thought it might be fun to organize a little nature scavenger hunt that was challenging enough for the 7 year old, but not too difficult for the 3 year olds.

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DIY Sensory/ Water-Table

DIY Sensory/ Water-Table

Posted by on Aug 2, 2012 in Outdoor Activities, Sensory Bins, Water Play | 8 comments

I’d been looking into purchasing a water-table for M, but I really didn’t want to buy a cumbersome, plastic play table that’s difficult to store and would eventually end up in the landfill when M and B have outgrown it; so instead I convinced my awesome husband to make one out of PVC pipe and a couple of clear plastic tubs. I know what you’re thinking, ‘that’s still plastic!’ True, but you can always reuse plastic tubs for storage, and when you put it away for the winter, it’s easy to dismantle and it hardly takes up any space. It’s also a super inexpensive way to have sensory tables in your classroom for your students to experiment with different textures and measurements.

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Green Thumb

Green Thumb

Posted by on May 18, 2012 in Outdoor Activities, Plants and Gardening, Science Activities, Spring Crafts and Activities | 0 comments

Just to be clear, I am definitely NOT the one with the green thumb in our family, that would be my husband, but that doesn’t stop me from trying! I really love this time of year (minus the crazy snow days…) when the trees and flowers are in bloom, and everything just seems to come back to life overnight. My husband and I spend a lot of time in our yard and M and B really enjoy being outside as well.

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