Summer Play Book: Slime

Well today the boys had a play date at our house.  We had a total of 7 boys under the age of 7.  It was loud and crazy!  Since it was 118 here today, I didn't figure they'd be playing outside too much, so I thought we'd make slime! It was messy & fun, absolutely perfect for little boys!  I will say it's more of a flubber consistency than slime!  Not that it matters!  :)

They each were able to mix up their own (with some assistance).

Not sure what Noah is protesting!

The clown

Mixing in the glue

Glue/water/color mixture

 I wasn't able to get many good pictures of the slime after.  It was a bit chaotic!  :)

Here's a few tips:

*Since we had 6 boys making slime, I dug out the handy Dollar Store bowls.  We used 2 bowls per boy.  One for the borax/water mixture and then one for the glue/water/coloring mixture.
*We used plastic spoons to mix.  I wasn't sure what the borax would do to our "real" ones.  Probably nothing! :)
*The directions said you could use either white glue or clear glue.  We used both.  We liked the texture of the white glue better.  It was more smooth.  But the clear glue had a more true slimy look.
*After it was all mixed up, there was quite a bit of water left in the bowl.  We just took out the slime part and let them play with it on a plate.  That way there was less splashing!

They all loved watching it "transform" into a blob when they added the borax mixture.  It was pretty cool to watch.  There were lots of giggles, references to balls of snot, and of course the sounds of passing gas.  You know, normal boy chit-chat! :)  We put it in Ziploc bags and so far it's keeping pretty good.

This was a great activity.  It was inexpensive and quick!  Perfect!  I know that your little man or little gal will love it!  With the heat this weekend you made need an extra activity to help keep you sane!  :)  Let me know if you try it and how your team likes it!

~Kristee

Trainable Moments: Hey Sexy Lady!

Well this year brought a pretty catchy song to the forefront...Psy's " Gangnam Style, in which he calls out, "Hey Sexy Lady."  Even though it's a catchy little tune, the message just really bothers me.  When did we decide that it was acceptable to call out to women in such a way?  And why should we let our children sing it?  True, this is just a song and it is everywhere.  You may say, "So what's the big deal?  It's just a silly song."

The big deal is that it plants a seed that being "sexy" is of high value and that it's acceptable to view women as an object.  As a parent of 4 boys, it's certainly not what I want them to learn.

Well a few months back Eli came home from school, singing this little diddy.  We told him that "sexy" was not a word that was appropriate for a 7 year old to be saying.  He was fine with that and didn't ask what it meant.  Well...it kind of had a trickle down effect.  Noah quickly caught on and began singing it quite frequently.  Noah is our more sneaky child.  He will do something on purpose with the intent to annoy you.  I blame the middle child syndrome (that same syndrome is also responsible for some of the funniest storytelling around).

I thought we had gotten them over that song...but it's made another appearance this summer.  While Noah sings it to annoy me, Eli sings it because he's OCD and can't get it out of his head.  So today at lunch we had a trainable moment.

They were all sitting at the table eating (a fairly rare occurrence) and Eli started singing it, again.  I decided it was time to explain to him what it meant and the meaning behind it.  I explained that sexy was really just another word for pretty, but that it could be used in a disrespectful way.  I told them that when they were older and were thinking of dating girls, that it shouldn't just be because a girl was pretty that they should date them.

I asked them what other things were important about choosing a girl to date.  Eli said, "they should like the same things you like."  Noah said, "they should like to eat at the same restaurants as me."  (Whoever Noah ends up with is going to have to be a fabulous cook, because food is the boy's love language!:)

I told them those were both very important but the most important thing is that they love God.

 Eli said, "Oh yeah!  I am definitely not gonna marry someone who loves the devil.  That would not be a good idea!  We would fight about my job since I'm gonna be a Pastor!"  Oh he cracks me up!

I explained to them, that above all else we have to show girls respect and always talk to them with respect, because that's what God expects of us.  They were all listening very well and I think were understanding what I meant.  I'm guessing we will only have to have this conversation about 1,000 more times!  :)

We always joke about Jonah having so many girlfriends.  I think he's up to 5 now!  I've realized I need to do a much better job of pointing out their character traits to him instead of just focusing on their outward beauty.  They are all absolutely beautiful, but he needs to be able to recognize their other traits as well.

As important as it is to train up girls to be modest and not focused on their appearance, I think it's equally important to train up boys to be respectful and to look at a girl's heart not just her body.  I want them to be able to see women through God's eyes not the world's.

I love these trainable moments with the boys.  The ones that come out of just talking.  I love being able to share with them at times when they aren't in trouble and I'm not losing my temper.  Not only do they learn, (I hope!), but I can sit back and just see how much MORE training I have to do with them.  They are growing up before my eyes and I know that they will be gone before I know it.  It's my job to help mold them into men, men who love God, men who are providers, men of integrity, and men who treat their wives with respect!  What a big job!  I'm so glad I get to do it just one day at a time! :)  And with 4 boys, that means I have 4 tries, surely I'll get it right once! :)

Well as soon as our serious conversation wrapped up, Noah asked, "Mom, how old will Micah be when you and Dad are dead?"  Seriously?  Help me! :)

~Kristee

Summer Play Book: Water Transfer Experiment

Yesterday we did the Water Transfer Experiment from our Summer Play Book, and I have to admit, it was pretty interesting.

We started with 5 glass containers.  In 3 of them we added water, and the other two were left empty.  In the 3 filled with water each of the players added one of the primary colors, red, yellow, and blue.

Noah added red.

Jonah added yellow.

Eli added blue.

Happy Boys!

We spaced them like this.  We wanted our colors to make green and orange.  If you want purple, just add your red by the blue!

Goofy!

 The boys couldn't figure out how we were going to end up with water in the empty ones!  They thought it was a trick and that I was going to pour water in when they weren't looking!  I guess they think I'm sneaky!;)

Next we tore up some paper towels and rolled them up into 4 different strips.

We put one end of the strip in the full container and the other end in the empty one.  We waited and watched!

Micah even enjoyed it! :)

 The water actually traveled much more quickly than we thought it would.  We could watch the color travel up the paper towel.  It was pretty cool.  Within about 30 minutes we had these.

Things are starting to happen!

This was after about 2 hours.

This is what they looked like when we woke up.  The yellow had turned green and the green was teal!

This activity was really fun!  In the original post she suggested doing it at night and seeing the results in the morning.  I would recommend starting it in the morning, that way you are able to watch it progress!  The boys really had fun watching what was happening. 

This receives 3 thumbs up from my team... 4 if you count the Momma! :)

Give it a try and let me know how your team likes it!

~Kristee

Notes from the Trainer: $$ Dollar Store Impulse

So the Dollar Tree got me again!  It made me eat my Mommy words!

I've always been the mom who exclaimed, "I will never let my children play with toy guns!"

It's kind of strange considering I grew up on a farm and was around hunting a lot.  I myself have never shot a "real" gun.  I once shot a cousin's BB gun.  That's about it.  My dad worked for the Department of Conservation, and I remember spending lots of time at the deer check station with him, sticking tags on the deer's legs.  I've seen cattle and hogs butchered.  I'm assuming they were shot, although I can't quite remember.  My dad had a .22.  I never shot it but I knew not to mess with it.  Guns were just part of life.  They didn't seem scary but they didn't seem like something to play with either.

So I'm not really sure how being raised around guns translated to "No toy guns"!  I have no idea how I jumped to that.  But I can tell you, that I had NO idea that these boys wouldn't need guns to play guns!

Since becoming a parent 7 years ago, I've seen these boys use EVERYTHING imaginable as a gun!  You name it, they've used it:  train tracks, cars, wii remotes, tooth brushes, forks, pencils, and shoes.  My personal favorite is the legs off of their children's chairs from Ikea.  They are hollow and you can put your hand into them and instantly turn your hand into a weapon.  (FYI...they also make great peg legs for a pirate!)

These are regularly used to play "Iron Man".

So back to the Dollar Tree....I had Noah and Jonah with me and we decided to check out the new one that opened at AZ Ave. & the 202.  (BTW it's super nice...for you locals).  I told the boys they could each pick one thing to purchase.  As usual, deciding took quite a bit of deliberating.  They'd each get settled on one item and then they'd change their mind.  Well Jonah finally settled on a FBI kit.  It contained glasses, a billy club (Seriously, I guess China thinks that's what FBI agents carry! Maybe they do, I don't know!), a watch, a phone, and a GUN, all for the bargain price of $1!  He was so excited when he showed it to me!  He said, "Please Momma, there's a gun!"

I caved!  I wanted out of that store! So I let him buy it!   I am now the Mommy who eats her words!

He was so excited!  I made him wait until we got finished running errands and were home before he could open it.  He held the package all the way home!

Well within 2 minutes, the "lens" fell out of his glasses and the watch is too small for his chunky wrists (or any normal size toddler for that matter).  But let me tell you what works like a charm...the GUN.  It makes a glorious clicking sound every time the trigger is pulled.  Glorious to a 3 year old anyway! :)

He has had lots of fun these last few days with his trusty new gun!  Several new characters have emerged, my favorite being a gun-toting baby who needed to save his "brufers" (brothers) from the bad guys!

I have to remember he is just 3.  I'm fairly certain that pretend play won't make him a psychopath!  Pretend play leads to so many conversations with your kids.  These are wonderful teaching opportunities that happen spontaneously.  These conversations can often be more meaningful and effective than the ones you have in times of discipline.

This point of this post was not really about gun control, but rather those "gray areas" of parenting.  You know, the decisions you have to make in which there is really no right or wrong. When the decisions are just left up to your best judgement or personal preference.  Sometimes those decisions are the ones that bring me the most stress!

I know as I mom, I have the best intentions when it comes the "I will never...!  They will not...!" statements.  I'm finding that sometimes these boys sneak one over on me.  I guess I just have to go with it.  I'm still learning.  It's only by God's grace, that I'm able to keep trying.  There are so many days that I get so many things wrong.  But just like my walk with God, each day is a new day with these boys.  God doesn't expect perfection from me as a mom, but I believe he doesn't want me to settle for less than I'm capable of.  So if I have to eat my words from time to time in order to grow as a mom, that's OK with me!

Sometimes a little boy just needs a little green toy gun and that's OK!  Don't you think? :)

This is how he fell asleep that night!  I LOVE this boy!

So any other moms or dads out there who've eaten their words?  Please tell me I'm not the only one!  I'm sure this won't be my last time!

~Kristee

Summer Play Book: Bottle Cap Stampers

So our latest effort to complete our Summer Play Book was our Bottle Cap Stampers.

I have been saving the lids from milk jugs, juice bottle, Gatorade bottles and everything else I could find, for quite some time anticipating this activity.

The team thought it was somewhat fun.  They had fun digging through all of our foam stickers choosing the ones they wanted to use.

But when it came to the painting part, that was a different story.  They became a little frustrated.  (As evidenced by Eli's hands on his head and pouting face.)  Our dollar store stickers are just not very thick.  So when dipped in the paint and then stamped, it didn't leave a very good impression on the paper.  You could see quite a bit of the bottle cap on the paper.  That made it difficult to make out the shape of some of them.

We will definitely try it again, but next time with a few adjustments.

*I'll splurge on some thicker stickers.  I've seen some at Walmart that are pretty thick.
*I'm gonna have them try an ink pad instead of paint.  The stamp got too much paint all around the sticker.  I think that the ink pad might help this problem.

It's worth a try.  Let me know if you try it out and how it works for you! :)

~Kristee

Summer Play Book: McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park

So Poppa came to visit last week and we wanted to take a morning trip somewhere. (Before the afternoon heat set in.)  We choose the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale.  I'd heard great things about it and based on the website, we thought it looked like a great outing for our team.

This team's opinion...it was AWESOME!  Super affordable, close, plenty of room to run and be loud, & fun...a perfect recipe for a great outing with our team!

Here are the highlights:

Train Ride:  At 2 tickets per person, it's a steal of a deal.  The ride was pretty long for the price.

Carousel:  Also 2 tickets per person.  It seemed to go on forever!  (Of course I was standing and riding backwards and my players had to ride it 2 times.)

Play Structures:  3 different ones for all ages.  Some really cool elements not seen at our local parks.

Old West Area:  Out in the sun and the sand got pretty hot.  They have a stagecoach the kids can crawl on
as well as a slide and a jail (makes a great photo).

Model Railroad Building:  It's air-conditioned, so it's a great way to cool off.  It's completely free.  They have 3 really neat sections that are works-in-progress.  LOTS to look at!

Hartley's General Store:  We stopped in for some yummy, cold ice cream.

*Tickets are $1/ea or you can buy 10/$12.

**Pullman car exhibit was closed.

They also have plenty of picnic tables space for a picnic lunch!

Riding the train.

Jonah & Poppa

The whistle was a little too loud! :)

Coming out of the tunnel...Eli was scared for Noah! :)

They all had to wear hats since Poppa came to visit!

Spinning around

Model Railroad building.

Lots of really cool details

Scowling criminals

Fun on the stagecoach. 

Old west area

For our Gaggie, who used to be a Hartley! :)

It was a really great morning!  I would highly recommend this day trip.  The only way it could be better...if it was fall! :)  I hope you check it out with your family!

~Kristee