Summer Nature Table

With the first official start of Summer here, it was time to change out our Nature Table! We've been on many adventures since school let out and have already quite a collection of sand and pebbles and shells, so we knew just what was going in! We cleaned out the shells with water and a funnel and the kids had a blast putting it all together!

I tied in a shovel and a small bowl of blue water to mimic the clear blue water of the oceans!

I pulled out our shell and coral collection and put that jar next to the box. The books behind are TREES and BUTTERFLIES, both make awesome field guides while out on a nature hike!

Do you have a nature table? Please link me to it in the comments! I would love to see it!!

Adventures in the great Midwest! Part 3

Do you know what I love about NOT living in a big old city? The farms, the farmstands, the Farmers Markets, the fruit stands etc! Right down the road (we go by bike!!) is an apple orchard that opens early in the summer for berry picking and stay open right through early November with pumpkins and apples! We love to go berry picking and can easily kill hours here! The kids each get their own buckets and we have a blast! There is no limit, we can never have too much or too little, so it's no big deal! We leave whenever everyone is ready to head out!

The blueberries are the easiest to pick at they are growing right on trees with no thorns and they fall right into your hands! These are so fun to pick and taste soooo sweet! YUM!

The raspberries are harder as they are usually in the middle of very thorny bushes! Guess which my kids love to pick more? The raspberries!!HAHAH!! I guess they love a challenge!! We are headed to a strawberry farm in the upcoming week to get some sweet delicious you pick strawberries and lettuce, this one we have to drive to as it's about 10 minutes away and no sidewalks!

What have you explored in your town recently?

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Cotopaxi Volcano!

If you are following our Virtual Vacation this Summer, you know that we landed in South America on Monday and just this morning arrived in Ecuador from Brazil. The flight was 5.5 hours and what a better way to stretch our legs than on a hike to check out one of the World's most active volcanoes?! We learned all about Cotopaxi in the Andes Mountains and decided to build our own! It's so easy that you most likely have all the ingredients at home!

You will Need:

Play Dough

Tin Foil

Baking Soda

Plastic Cup

White Vinegar

Food Coloring

Deep Dish to catch the 'lava'

optional items: Trees and Native Animals

Cover your cup in tinfoil, careful to go over the lip and mold a mountain shape. Ours looks a bit crazy, but I loved letting the kids do it to their liking.

 Iron out the clay so that it becomes flat sheets and then press it over the foil. This seemed to be their favorite part as it took forever!!

Add in trees and animals if you would like and place 2tsp. of baking soda into the cup.
(we made the trees out of pipe cleaners). We used animals from the Rainforest Toob and some other randoms that the kids had on hand.

1 cup of white vinegar with food coloring to make it the color of lava!

Pour in the vinegar mixture a little at a time.

Watch your volcano EXPLODE!!!!

Over and Over again!

The kids have had so much fun with this, that I actually had to empty it out and scoop out the baking soda at the bottom, so that they could erupt it for Daddy too!

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Thrifty Thursday!

Thrifty Thursday is here again! I always have to seem so many ideas that when Thursday rolls around, there is just no time for a post about thrifting! These finds are some of my best yet! Maybe because many were found in free boxes, but mostly because they are all excellent learning tools!

The 4 books were each had for .25 each: (For more info on each title, just click on it)

A trip to the Zoo

Guide to South Korea

BATS

Bats Night Fliers

3 Fraction Dice were in a free box! Can't wait to come up with a fun game to use these with!

Animal Counters and Math Cards were also in the free box! These are perfect for my kindergartner and pre-k kiddos, since they need to get started on learning these!

The 4 board games were .99 each and are each complete, in fact 2 of them were NEW IN PACKAGE!!

(For more info on these, just click on the title)

The Scrambled States of America

My kinder and 1st grader need to know all the states and their capitals and this is a fun tool to teach, while having a blast! I already own the game, so this backup is perfect for using in different ways! I plan on laminating the mini maps so that they become portable and wipeable! (New in package!)

Quiz-N-Learn Sight Words, I unfortunately cannot find any information on this game online, but it is fantastic! 

It's a sight word BINGO game that really helps to reinforce what they are learning through reading and flashcards. It makes word recognition and recall quicker!

Match It Shape Shuffle this was the other new in package game with everything still shrink wrapped! It's a great pattern and matching game! My youngest has a ball with it, but there are enough pieces and cards that multiple children can play it together!

Wiggle & Giggle, not quite a learning game, but it's awesome physical activity and these balls are perfect for a  variety of activities!! I'm actually taking them with us for an obstacle course I made!

 
Thrifty doesn't always have to mean thrift shop! I sometimes find and love great deals found in stores or make my own with coupons! I found these blocks at a church tag sale for .49 and they are FANTASTIC phonics block. I figured I would make up a great game for them and added in a 4 pack of dry erase boards from Office Max (.99!!!!) and a pack of Dry Erase Markers from Michael's! (1.50 with 40% off coupon AND an additional 20% off entire purchase coupon!!). This game has proven to be a favorite already! There is something about kids and wiping writing off a board!

Link up in the comments with your Thrifty Finds!!

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Virtual Destinations and Beyond! Brazil

We are having a blast touring Brazil on our virtual vacation and I will go into deeper depth on Monday's post, but for now, have a look at the activities we have been doing!!! This has been a fantastic experience and we even took a boat ride down the Amazon!! Wait until you see all the fun things we have been up to!

Craft in a Minute: Take Away Tic-Tac-Toe

My kids are obsessed with Tic-Tac-Toe at the moment, it's a game that seems to occupy them for hours and they never ever get bored! I decided to make a fun portable game board that can work anywhere, all they have to do is get creative with the playing pieces. A small dish towel and some fun colored tape makes an awesome game board! This is their beach version, rocks vs. shells. At restaurants, they have chosen sugar packets vs. creamers. In the waiting room of the Drs. office, they used nickels vs. pennies! The items are endless and the game is so much fun so far! Easy to do and so portable!

On a quick side note, here is an awesome deal! These inter-locking people are at the TARGET dollar spot! I had to pick some up as soon as I saw them and I plan on going and getting a few more still!! This is an awesome Math Manipulative and a great item for Pattern Practice!

A quick reminder to head on over to My Craft Coupons and get your 20% off coupon from Michaels!
There are some great sales going on this week too, that I just couldn't resist popping in and getting some essentials! Yes, that is my journal up there in the photo! If you get a chance, head on over to my FACEBOOK PAGE and answer my question as to how and if you journal!

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#78. Go For Sushi

Summer is off to a great start and we are having a blast and keeping very busy! Our Bucket List is getting checked off left and right and we have already completed 16 items on our list, which puts us about 5 behind, but many of the items can be done in 1 day and also because we have added in additional things to do!

#78. is to go out for Sushi and we had an absolute blast! This fantastic place has a boat bar where you sit on the outside and just grab whatever plate you want out of the boat! Each plate is 2.75 and with the 3 kids and I we ate about 8 plates and split 1 plate of chicken fried rice. The kids are still talking about this place and are eager to try it out again!!

I am trying to post as much as I can on the blog about our Summer, but an easier place to keep track of our bucket list, would be on My Facebook Page where I have an Album dedicated to the Bucket List! It is still a work in progress, so check it out often! I am adding photos daily!

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A Call to Chicago Area Mommy (and Daddy) Bloggers!

Hello everyone! A quick shout out to area bloggers! As many of you know from my posts, we are members at every major museum in Chicago and Rockford, Brookfield Zoo and are also about to become Milwaukee Zoo members. We are passionate about learning and hands-on environments, memberships help out these amazing places and also give us the opportunity to explore these places at our leisure, since we know we can always go back.

With many of our memberships we are given many guest passes that we don't always get a chance to use. I am throwing this offer out there as a PAY IT FORWARD to 1 Chicago Area blogger. I love giving people an opportunity to explore new places and this is your chance! I have 2 adult guest passes and 2 Child passes to the Brookfield Zoo to share with you! Please keep reading for rules and restrictions!

1. I want someone with over 100 blog followers.

2. It will have to happen during the week (my weekends are insane and over booked as is! haha) and parking is not included (9.00).

3. Our schedules will have to line up as I have to be present to get you in.

4. I will want 1 photo op of our group, but after that you are free to explore on your own.

5. Your Blog must be active with at least 3 posts a week.

6. You MUST blog about this event within 1 week of visiting the Zoo.

7. I can only give 2 adult and 2 child passes, if you have more people than that admission is up to you.

The idea behind this, is for 2 people to give their perspectives of the Zoo and to pay forward what we have been blessed with!

Food can be pricey, we tend to bring snacks and then eat our meal there, but they allow picnic lunches and coolers and such if you want to bring your own!

Here is our last view of the Zoo!

If you are interested, please leave a comment here or just email me! My contact information is at the top right corner of this blog!!

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Exploring in Nature

After a full day of staying inside and studying, we wanted to do something fun! We opened up our Nature Guide and picked a page at random and then picked a date. We ended up with a hunt for wild mushrooms! We packed into the van and headed off to the nature center in search of some mushrooms.

On my last trip to the science store in town, I picked up these specimen dishes, which were perfect for this up close look into the different types of mushrooms we found! I used the green coasters to add a little color to the background, so the mushrooms were not the same color as the tray! (Coasters from Ikea .49).

Placing mushrooms in a variety of containers, allowed each child to explore on their own time and not have to wait for their turn. This definitely helped the project last longer.

I set up the station on a 'tray' which is really just an old wooden puzzle frame that had lost all it's pieces! We also used large magnifying glasses and tweezers from the Teacher Store. Everything had it's own place where it belonged and this was perfect for the kids to realize that everything had to go back where it came from.

The kids easily played in this Science Station for over an hour. They traded samples, broke off pieces and even looked up information! It was an AWESOME learning experience.

Afterwards, I handed this worksheet and had them fill it out (I helped the youngest one!) and it was AWESOME reading what each child thought of the day we had! Hands On makes such a difference, than just seeing pictures of mushrooms in a book!

What do you like to do out in nature??

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Virtual Destinations and Beyond!

Our virtual trip to Mexico was absolutely delightful, but this could be because we have actually toured this Country and can refer to actual photos and memories!

We had fun in the kitchen making a taco bar and quesadillas! We had a blast with papier mache making a pinata (that the kids are NOT allowing to be broken) and enjoyed hopping on SKYPE to talk to some of our family members in Mexico! Now if only the rest of our Countries we had we have on the list we had actually been to, that would be fantastic! haha!

So it's time to stamp your passport and hop on the next flight! We are headed to Brazil and Ecuador!
Here, we plan on touring the equator, Exploring the rain Forest, Peeking in on Carnival and maybe taking a Samba Lesson! We will be making Carnival masks and making Empanadas!

See you in South America!!!

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Adventures in the great Midwest! Part 2

The second part of our series takes place at the Brookfield Zoo! We are members here and LOVE to make a day of it! This week we were lucky enough to get there at opening, which is no small feat with 3 little ones and a 9:30am open time. What time did we leave you ask? After closing!!!! WOW, what a day, but what memories we made.

The kids love the Play Zoo, which makes everything Hands On for the little ones and there is so much to play and explore here! Their favorite part was dressing as a bug and going through the bug walk. Here they could look for bugs in their environment and also read signs that explain everything. 

This zoo is perfect on hot days when the temps shore in the Chicago-land area, because there are a lot of stay cool zones! 4 sprinkler areas and even 1 pop jet water area where the water comes up from holes in the ground! In between that and the air conditioned houses and shops, staying cool is a breeze! the best part of all these splash zones? There are signs all about the water and where it comes from and what it does! This sprinkler helps water the garden area that surrounds it!

There are so many sculptures that are kid-friendly and okay for climbing! This is always a plus, because kids seem to want to climb EVERYTHING! haha!!

While sitting in the kids green house, I came across this book and straight away put it on my MUST HAVE list! It looked great and was perfect for all the activities we have going on!

It's amazing how 1.00 sprayers and a large green house can keep the kids occupied for hours! They sprayed and squirted to their hearts content and it's all okay at this part of the zoo! They learn about plants and stay cool while doing it!

Even though we go for the animals (And yes, we saw a lot of them!), the zoo is an awesome place to explore so much more! We are proud members of this zoo, because even though we can stay from open to close, we still don't even come CLOSE to seeing and doing everything! We haven't touched the sting rays this year yet, gone into the butterfly house, ridden the carousel or milked the cows! Oh well we still have more time left!!!

This was written for the AROUND MY TOWN Saturday blog post, which is hosted by:

Michelle from Heartfelt Balance Handmade Life

Jenn from Coolest Family on the Block

Bernadette from Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

and Me, Michelle from MichellescharmWorld

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