Mad Science Monday: Oobleck!

     I have so much to do this week to get prepared for the little munchkin's birthday party this coming Sunday and I was thinking about skipping Mad Science Monday.
    BUT she had a long day at school and a rough afternoon that included a meltdown with lots of uneccesary tears and drama. But, hey, it IS Monday... noone likes Mondays!
    So...in honor of Dr. Seuss' book, "Bartholomew and the Oobleck", I decided that we would make some Oobleck today after all.
    It is a great sensory experience and is just like water, in that kids can play in it for long stretches of time!. She needed something to keep her calm and relaxed after the afternoon drama and I had a feeling this would do the trick!

 I was right! It kept her busy the whole time I prepped and made dinner!

This photo says it all:

    Making Oobleck is super easy. All you need is Corn starch and water. 

We added in food coloring and some glitter for extra fun!

A cup & a half of cornstarch and a cup of water is all you need to make a decent size batch. 

Oobleck is like a slime with the properties of both a solid and a liquid. 

She was very intrigued by the texture of it. 

It feels so weird: Wet, yet dry at the same time.

It's one of those things that calls for you to touch it!

Even big brother came along to dip his fingers into it.

To add some fun, we mixed in blue with red to try and make purple. 

And I threw a little cup in there for pouring and dumping fun!

Even though she had a small tray to play in, we ended up with a huge mess!

 Oobleck was everywhere! 

Table, clothes, her hair, the floor...everywhere! 

Somehow a few drops made it onto one of the dogs!

BUT hey, if it's not messy, it's not fun right?!

AND- it was just what she needed after a rough Monday!

March is Birthday Month!!!

   So in March, I will be celebrating THREE very important birthdays!

    March 10 was my little one's 4th Birthday.
    March 13 is my husband's Birthday.

   AND the month of March is my Blog's Birthday!

 Yay!! Lots to celebrate!!

   This past week, while I was trying not to lose my mind in the classroom, I was busy prepping for my daughter's party. I was a little worried, when by Wednesday, I did not get more than 2 RSVPs! I was starting to get disappointed that all my hard work (and money!) in planning her Dr. Seuss party was going to be for nothing!

   But by Friday, everything was looking SOOO much better. I had a few more people confirm that they were coming AND my sister came into town-- along with my mom and my niece (who I did not know were even coming!)

   Anyhow, here are a few of the birthday pictures!  (Many were inspired by wonderful ideas on Pinterest)
   I decorated her playroom using Dr. Seuss quotes and the lovely collectible books and stuffed animals from Kohls.

I made my own banner with my awesome Cricut machine and found these fun Fluffy Decorations at Party City to make Truffula Trees!

The food  and treats were all centered around different books.

 And each guest received their own crazy straw cup (or just a crazy straw) to fill with their choice of juice!

 I found these AWESOME cupcake fondant toppers on Etsy, handmade by MJ Tabush Sweet Designs.

And my mom created a mini Cat in The Hat cake!

The kiddos made sun catchers and had a great time keeping themselves entertained in the playroom!  

Can you tell????

EVEN the cats were enjoying the party!!!!!

We played Pin the Fish in the Fish Bowl and "Seussical Chairs"

When it came time to sing Happy Birthday, the Birthday Girl decided to get super shy. 

(Or maybe it was because she had been so excited throughout the party and didn't realize she missed nap time!)

 And here is my little one enjoying her birthday cupcake!! 

It was a FANTABULOUS Day!! 

(and the clean up was lots of fun too! --- NOT!) 

Tomorrow is my hubby's birthday and THEN...

It will be time to prepare for my BLOG'S BIRTHDAY!!

Or should I say "Blog-iversary"?

(Hmmm... I need to think of an awesome giveaway!)

Stay tuned.... more details to follow SOON!!

Not a happy Monday...but Dr. Seuss fun always makes me feel better!!

   Wow, what a start to the week.  Makes me feel that this is just  going to be a very LONG week!
   I think this is going to be my mantra all week:

   Today really made me wonder what parents these days are really teaching their kids and wonder what kinds of things parents and other family members say and do around these little kids! It makes me sad, really. 
   I have a few kiddos who are so disrespectful, it makes me sick. All I can say is “wow”. But when I lay down the law- and tell them my exact expectations for their current behavior-(in a very harsh tone), I find that some respond to it and start making better choices.

    I know as a preschool teacher we have to state our expectations explicitly (and repeatedly) but how much of MY job is it to teach the kiddos respect and how to determine right from wrong choices?? ESPECIALLY when these things are not reinforced at home! 

   Here are my EXACT thoughts on this:

   

   Anyway, I have had a long Monday… here’s hoping to a better Tuesday!

   On a much lighter note, here are a few more Dr. Seuss activities that we did last week in honor of Dr. Seuss.

   We read the book “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” and followed it up with an art activity!

   This is one that was all over Pinterest and we wanted to do it!

   We had some kids who only wanted one color fish and some who wanted two different colored fish!

   We had a brave parent come in to read “Fox in Socks” and then each munchkin decorated their own felt sock, using only fabric paint!

Here are the Socks we made for Mr. Socks!

   Maybe today was just a funky day. Maybe I am just in a funk. Maybe I am sick of winter and I am ready for Spring… I don’t know!  

   All I know is that today is over and I am ready to hit the bed and wake up with a refreshed attitude for tomorrow!

Green Eggs & Ham, Anyone?

  “Would you, like them in a house? Or would you like them with a mouse?”

   I love Green Eggs & Ham! Such a fun book that my kiddos loved!

   We had a parent come in to read this book  and the kids were thrilled to hear someone else read- other than myself or my assistants!

   I actually struggled with thinking of a fun activity linked to this book that I felt the kids would really enjoy.  

   When my assistant and I put our brains together, we came up with a way to use this cool solution that we have in our art closet. We have a paint product called Bio-Color that can be used in many ways! We have used it to create water colors (using one type of solution) and then have used it to create a gooey putty like substance, using a different solution.

   So we decided to make a green egg!

   We put a few drops of green paint into a bowl of solution and they mixed it up until they had a putty like substance. Then they had a blast playing with it and slapping it onto an egg yolk shape!

   During gym time, we worked on balancing skills, as each child had a turn in balancing plastic green (and yellow) eggs on a plastic spoon. It was funny to see them so concentrated and focused on not dropping the eggs!

 And for snack, we had green pudding with vanilla wafers. We poured the pudding onto a plate and then stuck a wafer in the middle to make a Green Egg! (Sorry, no ham here!) 

    I can tell that the kids are having such a fun time learning about Dr. Seuss and the classroom library has been a popular place this week, as they have been exploring all the books I have put out for them!

   Tomorrow I will share some of the other books and activities that we have read and done this week!

   But right now, I need to go raid my closet and put together a wacky outfit for our Wacky Friday fun! I can't wait to see what kinds of wacky outfits the kids come to school in!