Blue/Yellow Color Mixing Discovery Bottle

I was so excited to see this color mixing discovery bottle since color mixing is an activity that we spend a lot of time on.



To make this discovery bottle, I filled the bottom one third of the bottle with water colored with blue food coloring. Then I heated cooking oil and mixed in yellow powdered tempera paint. I stirred and stirred to try to get the paint to dissolve. It eventually dissolved enough, and I spooned it into the bottle. (I did this slowly because I was try to avoid putting any undissolved powder into the bottle). I'm not completely happy with the bottle because the yellow oil clings to the sides and makes the blue a little cloudy, but I've worked on it for several days, and I think this is as good as it's going to get.




The liquid turns a nice shade of green after shaking it vigorously. Then it immediately starts to separate into yellow and blue again.



I have to admit that I am much more impressed with this than the girls are, but they have had fun with it, too.  I'm looking forward to making more coloring mixing discovery bottles for E(2)'s science shelf!  (I'm hoping to find blue lamp oil because I think this would work much better with blue lamp oil and yellow water).

Loving the Lightbox!

The girls' grandaddy recently gave them a lightbox that he used to use for work, but no longer needs.  I was SO excited because I've been wanting to make a lightbox for almost a year.  The girls LOVE it, and we've all had lots of fun playing with it.  O(5) loves to make new creations each night while I'm cooking supper.

Here's a recent lightbox creation.




I love that there are so many different creative ways to use a lightbox, and I'm pretty sure that I'll be writing many more lightbox posts on this blog!

Maps and Money...Argentina!

O(5) didn't feel well on Tuesday, so she stayed home from school and dance class.  This gave us lots more time to study Argentina!

We looked at our American flag and the Argentinean flag and talked about how they are both similar and different.  E(2) really enjoyed playing with the flags, and I loved hearing her talk to herself as she played.  She said "This flag American flag and this is Argentina flag."



After we talked about the flags for a while and read an excerpt from a library book telling us about the Argentinean flag, the girls colored pictures of the flag (printed from Activity Village).



They both really enjoyed coloring the flag.



Then E decided to cut her flag.  She's very into cutting lately.



O(5) was proud of her finished flag.



In addition to studying the flag, we also had fun looking at the Argentinean coins and bills.  O put the bills in order.



We all really like the coins with the sun on them.



We compared/contrasted American coins to Argentinean coins and did a few coin rubbings with crayons.



We looked at the sun on the flag and on the coins.



They sorted the American money from the Argentinean money.



The girls love their stickers that Maria Elena included in the package!



E(2) brought this to me and said "I made this just for you. It's a baby. Where's the tape so I can tape it to your furniture?"



They also love the heart magnets.  They divided them up, and then decorated the refrigerator.











It was another fun day at our house!  We are all really loving these cultural exchange packages, and I hope to continue coordinating these exchanges throughout our homeschooling years.  This is just such an amazing experience and such a fun way to learn about other countries and cultures.

Bissell Power Sweeper Review

Bissell sent us a Power Sweeper to try and review.  We've had it for a couple of months, and it's great! We left out the middle section of the handle when we put it together, so it's the perfect height for the girls to use.  E(2) can even us it with one hand behind her back :)




And with a piggy bank in one hand!


The Power Sweeper turns on easily just by pressing your foot to the button on the base.  It is cordless and rechargeable. The girls use it to sweep the floor and rugs almost every day. It is easy to empty the dirt catcher. Overall, it's a great way to get kids easily involved in cleaning the house.

The Power Sweeper was sent to us to review at no cost to us. I was not paid for this review, and the opinions expressed are my own.

Fabric Scrap Paper Doll Kit

I was pretty excited to find  this Fabric Scrap Paper Doll Kit  (I added another link for the printable dolls at the bottom of this post) idea via Pinterest a couple of months before Christmas.  I put together a set for my girls and my niece.  The girls and I have had lots of fun with it so far.

I put the kit in these Christmas suitcases that I bought at Hobby Lobby after Christmas last year.  As soon as I can find a replacement suitcase, I'll switch the kit out, so that I can use this suitcase for something Christmasy next year.





Within the suitcase are several bags of scraps...fabric scraps, ribbon scraps, and yarn scraps.





 I printed the dolls on cardstock and cut them to fit in the suitcase.  I also included 2 pairs of scissors, 4 glue sticks, and a bag of buttons (for my button loving girls!).





This morning E(2) asked for "the suitcase work," and she got right to work after we opened the suitcase and bags.  She loves to cut the fabric, yarn, and paper.  She likes to place the fabric on the dolls and occasionally glues it down.  Usually, she just rearranges over and over and over again and never actually finishes a doll :)













This is the perfect kit to take when you have time to kill and space to spread out and make an easy to clean-up mess.  The girls and I had to go with Elliott to work on Saturday, so I grabbed this kit on the way out the door.   Thank goodness I did!  We were at his office for 2 and a half hours, and we worked on our dolls almost the entire time...perfectly content in our creativity!





I have to admit that I've enjoyed this kit as much as the girls have.  It's so much fun to play and create with my girls.






Evidently, she needs lips!  O(5) added thick pink yarn for her lips :)






Here is my finished doll.






E just couldn't decide what she wanted her boy to wear.






This is one of the easiest "handmade" gifts that I've ever put together!  And it's fun for all ages!  Here's another link to more printable dolls...click here.