Space Week Part 2: Paper Straw Rocket

Taking the simple straw rockets we expanded a bit to make our own since the straws we buy at the store don't come with paper wrappers.

You'll need a straw, paper, tape, and paper clip if you'd like.

Wrap the paper loosely around the straw and finish off with some tape. (you might need some help for this part)

Fold the top down and secure with tape or a paper clip.

You can create fins with extra paper for the end of your rocket (would be fun to see how the fins change the rocket's flight)

When you're ready to launch put your rocket on your launcher and blow!

As always make it your own by changing it up a bit. Use less paper, different paper, less fins, more fins etc.

Unplug and Build (a Revell Giveaway)

We've made the decision to work on stepping away from the electronics and purposefully interacting with our boys more often. We do try to spend a lot of time together as a family but we want to make sure that we are setting aside time specifically for them. They love to talk about what WE used to do as kids. You know, back in the olden days.

----------------> Click HERE to read more and enter for your chance at one of 2 $50 Hobby Lobby Gift Cards and a Revell SnapTite Model Kit of your choice!

Building Week Part 3: Chain Reaction

This is SO fun your kids will want to do it over and over. Mom Trusted has a great chain reaction you can build from popsicle sticks that will surely create some giggles.

Want to see one in action? It will surely make you run to the store for sticks!

Pirate Week: Part 3

Since I'm only one person and can only do so much in a week I thought I'd load you up with lots of pirate inspiration from others today!

Make a treasure map from a paper bag from B.Nute Productions

Egg Carton treasure box (and treasure) from Nurture Store

Jello boat snack from The Remodeled Life

Build a pirate ship from Kate's Creative Place

Walk the plank from Chick a Bug

Between a Dog and a Hard Place has a GREAT pirate week up on her blog (good for younger kids too!)

A Pirate play date from The Busy Budgeting Mama

A sand jewel hunt from The Fickle Pickle (you could do this in the park)

and pirate sensory play from Momma's Fun World

from Crayon Freckles

And Navigating the Preschool Years

PIRATE WEEK: PART 2 - WATER PLAY

This is another one of those make it your own activities. Depending on the age of your kids or their attention span there are so many different ways to play with boats and floating objects.

ALWAYS watch your kids around water.

We planned to do this project in our pool but we got some crazy winds and the pool is a disaster so we moved it indoors to the tub. You could do this in a plastic bin, kiddie pool, sink etc.

First we made a paper boat. You can use the instructions we posted on our hat/boat/life jacket post using a regular piece of paper instead of a newspaper

The paper boats DO float - make sure you pull open the bottom a bit to stabilize.

Then we turned it into a "let's see what floats" experiment

Of course minifigs got involved.

I try to leave activities like this open ended even now as they are older so it can go where they want it to.

For the building portion leave plenty of supplies at their disposal to create and experiment with. We went the quick and easy route with some styrofoam packaging. It makes a perfect boat.

I love that activities like this lead to natural questions and experimentation (the best way to learn). Build off of these activities and see how much each floatation device can hold before sinking.

Have fun!

Pirate Week!

Welcome to Pirate Week! This week we'll share some fun activities and inspiration for all your little Pirates including a fun giveaway! But first your pirate must be outfitted in proper attire which includes a hook.

You may have seen this DIY hook before - it's super easy. Just cut a hole or slit in a plastic cup, form a hook from some tin foil and slip in the hole. I was informed that pirates did NOT have blue hook bases so we covered our cup with black duct tape.

However, everyone knows that a good pirate doesn't just have a hook.

A pirate can't eat sushi without chop sticks ;)

And a pirate can't draw a treasure map with a fork

And apparently a cookie needs to be eaten with a spoon

This is a fun way to incorporate activities for a party or an at home pirate day. Give them different inserts to complete different tasks. You could even use this for doing chores - cleaning the countertops is so much more fun with a sponge hand than without.

Spy Week: Part 3 - Fingerprint Matching

Now this might be more detective than spy - but I don't mind if you don't! This is a fun game/activity that can be switched up for just your own kids or a whole party of kids. Start by taking everyone's finger prints. For your own family you can do all the fingers but if you have a whole party of kids you may just want to stick with the thumbs.

There are 2 easy ways to do finger prints. A less messy way is with a regular pencil and Scotch tape. Scribble a square of pencil on a paper and place your thumb into the square.

Then press your thumb onto a small piece of Scotch tape

Peel off the tape and place on a sheet of paper and you have a perfect little finger imprint.

If you want to go the more traditional route  you can use stamp ink

For this game you'll need 2 sets of each finger prints. One is the record to go off of and the other will be for the crime scenes.

For a party you could hide all the presents at some point and place one of the fingerprints in the area. If you're just doing this at home you could place them around the house. Once they find a fingerprint they can try and figure out whose it is using their magnifying glass and their record of prints.

I love how this game can be changed up to meet your needs. For little ones it might be fun just to examine their fingerprints and then hid them around the hosue for them to find (with their magnifying glass of course!)

See more from SPY WEEK

Spy Week: Part 2 - Printable Decoder

Every spy needs a way to send messages to his partner. The circle decoder is the perfect tool!

You can have your kids make their own or print out this one

Cut out the circles

Arrange from smallest to biggest and use a brad in the center to attach them together

Now you're ready to create a message and decode!

You'll need to decide which code you're going to use. You line up the "A" on the smaller circle with the letter on the larger circle that you've chosen. Some do the first letter of the day of the week so today would be W for Wednesday. We wanted to be cryptic so I chose "V" for this one. When writing your message use the outer circle for plain english and the inner circle for the decoded message.

Once the message is written out - mess up the decoder so not just anyone can figure it out. The person decoding will need to match up the "A" with the secret letter (in this case "V") 

You use the outer circle for the plain english message and the inner circle for the decoded message. So in this case he found the "O" on the inner circle and change it to "I" to decode.

Now you have a way to send special messages. To make it harder you can run all the decoded letters together!

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