Compare, contrast, and describe!

At story time today we read a book about the differences between turtles and tortoises.

We decided we would compare and contrast in the backyard! 

So we started by comparing the trees....

Some had smooth bark and some had rough bark.

Then we found soft grass and hard stone. 

We also found some spikes plants and some smooth plants. 

We also found purple flowers, 

Yellow flowers, 

And brown dirt.

We even compared big leaves and little leaves. 

 All while wearing stickers and a hockey helmet!!!

Enjoy!!!!

Fine motor skills planetary style

Clothespin Planetary Orbit!

I found this free printable with all the planets.

I cut them out and used self laminating sheets to keep them sturdy and nice.   

Then used some silver duct tape to tape them to the clothespins.  

I got out a regular old mixing bowl and clipped some around the edges and the rest in the bowl so Evin would get the idea!

Invasion of the ICE ALIENS

Space week (three weeks) is slowly wrapping up....we only have a few more activities to share!  

This one was a ton of fun!

I found these great ice cube trays at the dollar store and pulled out some fun alien parts from our craft boxes.  

Our first round of fun was first thing this morning (before we headed to the pool).  

We added ice and antenna and parts to our ice trays.  

Then threw in the freezer and headed to the pool.  

After the pool, a few errands, and a failed attempt at a nap we headed outside!

Evin lined all his aliens up. 

Sorted them by colors. 

Counted their eyes. 

Watched them melt away.  

Nicole explained that our planet was just too hot for these aliens and that maybe they'd be better off on Pluto!

Shredded Potato Casserole

The midwest left its mark on me.....I love casseroles, I love to make them, I love to eat them, I love that they don't need "sides" everything is all in one place.  

This one takes one bag of shredded potatoes (30oz), 5 TB of butter, and salt and pepper for the first layer.  

Next layer is 1 lb. of ground beef, browned.

Then a can of mushroom soup and 8oz. sour cream mixed together and spread on top of the beef. 

Next sprinkle some cheddar cheese.  

Then melt the rest of the stick of butter (3TB) in bowl.  

Coat corn flakes with butter and then spread on top of the casserole.  

Cover with foil and cook for 40 min. at 375!  

YUM and DONE!

Balloon Rockets

This was a fun one.  

I cut a rocket ship out of foam and taped it to a straw which then I taped to a balloon.  

Then we threaded the straw on a piece of yarn stretched between 2 dining room chairs.  

(We don't have a dining room currently as we are ripping out a few walls to make a more open concept space.....yikes!)

The first time we tried....it didn't work....we figured it had to be the length of the straw or the type of string we were using so we changed both.  

The new black cord with longer a straw meant our balloon rockets zoomed down the string.  

We had a great time counting down 

3, 2, 1 BLAST OFF!!!!

Learning for Two had a great time with this activity too!

We got featured on Let's Hear it for the Boy!!!!! Sara from Mom Endeavors  picked our Star Sandwich Constellations as her favorite!

Thanks Sara!  We're honored!

Playdough Space Creaturess

I first found this idea over at Rainy Day Mum and we thought it was a great addition to space week!  

We compiled a bunch of random alien parts and our play dough. 

I used my new microwavable no need for refrigeration play dough recipe  and instead of mixing in black and glitter I made a third of it blue  and a third of it green with neon flood coloring!

Then it's concentration face time!