Bubble and paint art

I saw this idea here for an art project that I thought the kids would love. We mixed bubbles with paint and then blew the mixture onto the paper (I used card stock paper). I have been trying to do art with them a couple times a week. I would love to do it everyday, but I don't always have time to get everything together. This project was actually very easy and the kids really enjoyed it.

One of Anna's masterpieces. She made several. She seemed to enjoy it the most.

James'

Ryan's

Learning ABC's with chalk

Ryan is a very hands on child. He seems to learn better if he is active. Yesterday when we were outside playing, he decided to draw and then hop out each letter. I was amazed by how well he did. We would draw a letter then go back to the beginning and hop all the way down to the letter that he had drawn last (if that makes sense). He would then stop, draw the next letter then go back to the beginning and do it all over again. He was saying the letters out loud as he did it.

Making Play-Doh

Today in school for art we made Play-Doh. I have always wanted to do this with the kids but never have. I must say it was pretty easy. Here is the finished product. I got the recipe from this site.

Ryan's book list

To see Ryan's book list for Kindergarten go here.

Excited about chores

I think I have found a way to get my older kids motivated about chores. I have tried many different types of checklists. They always work for a week or so, and then fizzle out. Well, in my search to find something better I found this. I am very excited about using Handipoints as a resource. It is a virtual chore chart (you can also print it if you want). You sign your child up, assign chores on a chart you create, then they are assigned their own cartoon cat. With each completed task that they check off, they earn points that they can use to build a house and get clothes and accessories for their cat. Both Anna and Ryan love doing things on the computer so I think this will be a great way to encourage them. Oh, there are also demerits that you can assign (which take off points) for things like fighting, being mean to siblings, not listening, etc.

We let our kids go on the Internet but only under supervision. We use FireFox Glubble. If you have never heard of it I encourage you to check it out, it is a safe way for kids to use the Internet. They can only view sites you allow. The Internet can be a great tool, but we choose to use it carefully.

*I am not being paid to endorse these programs. They are just tools that we have found that work for us.