art party: glitter bottles

Unshaken on the left, shaken on the right.

Nothing is more fun than a glitter bottle! We've made many different kinds over the years, but this type was one of the easiest and least expensive to create.

Materials Needed:
Clear plastic bottles with screw-on lids
Glitter glue (1 regular size tube per bottle)
Fine glitter
Water
Food coloring
Super glue

Once you have your materials ready, you can make these bottles very quickly. Start by squeezing an entire tube of glitter glue into each bottle; this is a good task for kids to practice eye-hand coordination and build fine motor strength. Fill the bottles halfway with water and add one or two drops of food coloring, followed by the fine glitter. Then fill up the rest of the bottle with water, leaving about a quarter inch of air at the top. We screwed on the lids and gave each bottle a good shake to make sure that we liked the coloration, and added more glitter or food coloring if necessary. Once they looked good, we used super glue on the inside of the lids and screwed them on tightly. Now our glitter bottles are ready to be party favors for this weekends art birthday party.

art party: paint chip banners

My oldest one is turning 5 years old at the end of the month and we are having an art party. Preparations have been going on for a while now, and I plan on posting the projects as we complete them and/or after the party. A few of the decorations have already gone up around the house, since it can be a long process and last-minute decorating isn't my thing. Here are the small paint chip banners we made.

Materials Needed:
Paint sample cards
Large paper punch
String
Clear tape

The most important step is to gather lots of paint sample cards from home improvement stores. We have been grabbing a handful every time we go to Lowes or Wal-Mart, and the kids love picking out a variety of fun colors. We used a large circle paper punch and were able to get two circles out of most of the paint cards. After we had a giant stack of circles, I measured out different lengths of string and taped circles to each one. I connected three strings of circles together before taping them up on all of the interior doors. I hung the banners high enough on the doors that the kids can't reach them, and reinforced them with enough tape that they won't be coming down without lots of work. I am glad to have a small part of the party planning completed, even if it is the easiest step!

ice cream in a bag

It has been a hot summer in Denver, and with the heat comes lots of extra time indoors to avoid the sun. My dad found a clever recipe for making your own ice cream and wanted to try it with the kids. The best part (besides getting ice cream) is that it requires lots of movement from the kids and wears them out!

Supplies needed:
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup half and half
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (or other flavoring)
¼ cup rock salt
Ice
1 gallon-sized Ziploc bag
1 pint-sized Ziploc bag

Fill the gallon Ziploc bag halfway with ice and add in the rock salt. The salt decreases the temperature of the ice, making it cold enough to make ice cream quickly. Mix the sugar, half-and-half, and flavoring in the smaller bag and close it tightly. Bury the smaller bag inside of the ice in the larger bag, making sure it is completely surrounded; add more ice and rock salt if needed. Seal the large bag and wrap it in a towel, then let the kids go crazy jumping and shaking! The ice cream needs to be shaken for at least five minutes. This makes a good serving for two people, and should be eaten right away. My dad and sister enjoyed doing this project with the kids, and the kids really enjoyed the results.