Dancing Colored Milk

My kids 'ooo-ed' and 'ahhh-ed' as they watched their dancing milk.   They would shout things like 'Look what color mine is now!' or 'Wow!'

And it was such an easy experiment and it opened up discussion as to why that is happening to the milk (so we did some research on the internet about it)

What You'll Need:

- A little container/dish/ or bowl

- A little bit of Whole Milk (you will need enough milk to cover a little bit more than just the bottom of your dish).  (skim milk won't work...this experiment has a lot to do with the fat content in the milk)

- Different colors of food coloring (liquid NOT gel food coloring)

- Liquid Dish Soap

The How To:

- First, fill your container with a little more milk than you would need to cover the bottom of it.

- Next, add a drop here and there of the food coloring of your choice to the bowl.  You can use as few or as many colors as you want.....just remember that too many different colors may produce a muddy color)

***Tip-  I found that this activity is best done on a surface that won't shake if bumped (we ended up doing this on the cement outside).***

- Now comes the magic......add a drop of the liquid soap to the milk (if you are doing this with little kids, you may want to add the drop of soap for them.....we found that too much soap kinda ruins the dancing effect.

- Then sit back and watch your milk!

We had fun looking at the different patterns that would show up and the colors that would disapear and then reappear later.

Honestly, these pictures don't do this activity justice!  But give it a shot with your kids!  Mine sure loved it!

Fruity Soap

What You'll Need:

- Clear pure glycerin soap (I found mine at my local craft store)

- Silicone muffin pan

- Pureed fruit, herbs, or berries of your choice

The How To:

 - First puree (or zest) your ingredients.

- Next, melt your pure glycerin soap according to the directions on the package.

*Note: I melted 8 blocks of my soap and it gave me 11 small soaps.

- Now it is time to mix your different fruits/herbs/berries into the melted soap.  Be sure to start with adding small amount at first (like a teaspoon of the fruit/herb/berries at a time) until you get the desired consistency and/or color.

- Then pour/spoon it into the muffin pan.  (I put 2 Tablespoons of soap into each muffin slot)

- Let you soap cool according to the package directions (probably a couple of hours) until it is hardened.

- Next pop the soap out of the silicone muffin pan and, waalaa, you have some fruity smelling soap.

Oh and be sure to use it within a couple of months.

Some of the different things i tried in my soaps were: lemon, strawberry, mint.  Then a couple of combos of the above: lemon + strawberry, mint + strawberry

Since Valentines is right around the corner I think my girls would think it would be fun to each get their own heart shaped fruity soap.

Take along Ice skaters

You know how when you are at a restaurant or at the doctors office and the kids start getting restless and bored?
Well, here is a fun little toy that you can take along with you anywhere to help entertain them.
It fits in a mint tin.

And it is pretty easy to make.

What you will need:

- A mint tin (as in an Altoids mint tin or something similar)

- Computer and printer

- Pliers

- Paper clip

- Glue stick

- Magnets (note:  I had to use some fairly strong magnets for it to work well)

- Scissors

What to Do:

- First I did a search on the internet for an ice skater image that I liked.

- I had to resize it to about 1 1/2 inches

- Then I made a copy of the image and flipped it.....so it looked like a mirror image (shown in the photo below)

- I lined them up so that the edge of each ice skater was touching.

- Next print the ice skaters

-  Now its time to pull out those handy dandy scissors and cut them out.

-  Next grab your pliers and paper clip.

-  Take your paper clip and straighten out one end of it with the pliers. (After I straightened it I bent the very tip of it over to help reduce the risk of my kids accidentally getting poked by it.)

- With the other end of the paper clip use the pliers to twist it until it looks similar to the photo below.

- After twisting the bottom to look like below, try to make sure that it is flat on the very bottom of the paper clip...this is the part that will help keep the ice skater standing up.

- Now, fold your cut outs in half at the points where they meet.

- Then coat the inside of the ice skater with glue and place the straight end of the paper clip inside of each skater.

And that is pretty much it.

- When your kids want to play with it they stick the magnet(s) on the underside of the tin bottom (or lid) and the ice skaters on the opposite side. So they can guide them around from the underside of the tin.

- And when they are not playing with it just put the skaters inside of the tin and close the lid and stick it in your purse or pocket.

-And if you wanted to I'm sure you could use some scrapbook paper and modge podge to decorate the outside of the tin too.  =)

My kids love playing with this.  And since there are 2 ice skaters and a top and bottom to the container I chose, 2 kids can play together.

And the ideas with this are endless....

you can do ballerinas, cars, animals, bugs, dinosaurs.....


Have fun with this and if you have any questions feel free to ask away!

Journal Jar

I have always had kind of a hard time writing in a journal.  Can’t think of something meaningful to write about or it just seems that my same-old-same-old day after day routine wouldn’t be interesting enough to write down.

Well, here is a way to get ideas of what to write.  A great way to help your kids and future family to know about you…..a journal jar.

You don’t have to decorate your jar, but I chose to make it a little more pleasing to the eye to have sitting out.  I added scrapbook paper and ribbon to it….super easy.

What You’ll Need:

- A jar (I used a canning jar found at the grocery store)

- Mod Podge (I prefer mat over the glossy finish)

- Sponge brush

- Scissors

- Scrapbook paper

- Ribbon

The How To:

- First trace the lid of your jar on to your paper.  Then cut it out.

- Next ‘paint’ mod podge all over the back of your paper cut out with your sponge brush.

- Place the paper on your lid and then paint mod podge on the top of your lid.  Be sure to ‘paint’ the edges of the paper well with the mod podge.

- While that is drying.  Cute some ribbon to tie around your jar. And then tie it on.

- When the lid is dry you can then place it on the jar.

Now here comes the fun part of filling the jar……below are some great ideas to help you get started on your own jar.  You can add new ideas or remove the ones that don’t apply to you.

- Write or print the following ideas (that are at the end of this post) on to paper of your choice.

- Then cut, fold, and put them in your jar. And then your journal jar is all set!

When you start to put your journal jar to use….don’t think to hard about the topic that you pull out of it.  Write down the first thing that comes to your mind. Every little tid bit recorded will help your family and future generations to know you better.

Now all you need is a pen and some paper to start recording YOUR story on!  =)

IDEAS/TOPICS for YOUR Journal Jar :
My favorite holiday
Nickname’s
Summer time fun
Favorite Music
What I like to do in my spare time.
Most embarrassing moment
My childhood Best Friend.
Clothing styles when I was 16.
We went camping….
A typical Saturday for me.
My very first memory
at Grandma’s House….
My favorite road trip
The first time I kissed a boy
Going to the county fair.
Christmas as a kid
My childhood house
My favorite home as an adult
When I got engaged..
Donuts
What we did all summer.
If I had a day all to myself.
Visiting a foreign country
My hairstyles.
The first time I sewed…
Christmas as a mom.
Reading books to my kids.
My wedding day.
Foods I love.
Foods I hate.
When I was 12….
Childhood pet.
Sports I can play.
I cried.
Grandpa.
5 things I wish I’d done, but I was too scared to.
the first time I voted.
our childhood car.
I lied.
A trip to the beach.
I was in the school play.
Hidden talents.
songs I still have memorized.
the price of food from a grocery store.
Someone I love passed away.
My baby was born.