Paper Plate Sunflowers

Today we talked about Sunflowers. Partly because they are yellow and partly because they are so interesting. First we drove to the field where they grow by the Reunion Building, and then pulled them and took them home to discuss.

We observed that they were yellow with black in the middle and that the stems were spiky. Then we smelled them.

After that we really pulled them apart to figure out how to make them.

I explained that the black part of the flower made seeds for new sunflowers to grow, and we can eat them too. Here we are trying them.

After that I showed them that the shell is not the part we eat, it is the seed inside. Now it was time to paint.

I have received a lot of questions about how I dry painted things so here is how we do it...

My door is magnetic so I hang them out to dry and it is so fast and GREEN! :P
Once they are dry you cut out the flower shape.

Then glue the seeds and leaves on.

Ta-Da!

Yellow Lunch

My son had a friend over for a swimming play date and we had a yellow lunch!

This what what it consisted of: bananas, ramen, pringles, lemon, pineapples and corn. You could use these items or add some more. I would love to hear what you did.

Then the kids tasted what was in each compartment.

Then we talked about salty, sweet and sour. Then did a little experiment.

Then we charted what eveything tasted like and which ones we prefered.

Thanks A for coming over...it's official you now have to come over for red, orange,green, blue and purple tastings. :)

Letter Y - Yellow Circles

Since it is Yellow Week we did the letter Y. Here is what we used.

Yellow paint chips, a Circle Punch, and White Paper.
While I cut the Letter Y out the kids punched the circles.

Then we glued them on.

This is the finished product.

I then laminated it and put it on our letter wall. We will be doing all the letters but I wanted to do them in a different order so they would know them better.

WINNER of GIVEAWAY #3

I am bummed we didn't hit 100 comments but 91 is great!

Using Random.org Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

62 Timestamp: 2009-09-25 20:11:41 UTC

Who is #62?

Jennie said...
Entry #3 I plastered it ALL over FACEBOOK, since I don't blog! :)
September 25, 2009 8:11 PM

Oh and since we were sooooo close to 1oo I am going to give away another dino stamp set to 2nd place instead of the gift card since we didn't quite get there and the winner is...

36 Timestamp: 2009-09-25 15:19:22 UTC

Who is #36?

Cardon Times said...
Boyd would love this! Oh and um...I found this blog because you posted it on FB! I do pass it along to others as well. I think it is a great blog.
September 25, 2009 3:19 PM

Thanks everyone for entering...
Jennie and Cardon Times please email itty_bitty_wittes@yahoo.com so we can send you your package.

Tell your friends!
We have another Awesome prize next month and there will be 3 winners!

GIVEAWAY #3 - Dinosaurs!

I was contacted by Amazon again and Melissa and Doug over my Dinosaur Unit to do this month's giveaway so here we go...get ready for some oohs and aahs...

Item #1

Melissa and Doug Wooden Dinosaur Magnets included with a chart and games on figuring out the different names of these dinosaurs.

Item #2

Land of Dinosaurs Floor Puzzle by Melissa and Doug. It's 4 feet long and has large pieces.

Item #3

Melissa and Doug Dinosaur Stamp Set (cause I love stamps!)

I am even going to throw this one in because my kids LOVE these.

Parasaurolophus (3D Wooden Puzzle kit) Not by Melissa and Doug but something I found when I was preparing my Dino Weeks.

If we hit 100 comments then Amazon will send you a $25 gift card that will be awarded to 2nd place! For any Dino Book(s) of your choice!

And here are the rules...
- In the comments section I want to know -
How did you find this blog?

If you are a follower of this blog you can enter 2x - if you aren't no biggie,
but you can only enter one time!

If you tell your friends on your blog you can enter a 3rd time.

Contest closes Saturday night at 9pm Pacific Time.
Winner will be selected Sunday at 12pm Pacific Time.
Good Luck!

Love, Valerie

Please tell your friends, the more followers the more giveaways! And we all like that right?

A Stegosaurus

Project #4 in Dino Week

I have been reading my kids this series for a while, but especially this week we have been pointing out what each dinosaur is because they are all labeled in the book! AWESOME!

There are 9 books so far in the series by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague. I love them and thought I would tell you about them. Here is their site.

Because we had our friend K over I downloaded this DinoEventKit from the Scholastic Website.
We did a story hour of all the books and then the kids picked out which dinosaur they wanted to make.

They picked a Stegosaurus. So here is how we made them! Now remember I used to teach so I have experience in the order of doing things and now you can benefit from my wisdom! HAHAHA.

What you need is paint (any color) and paper, scissors, glue and 1 wiggly eye.

FIRST - Trace 3 hands on one sheet of paper (they will be painting a total of 2 sheets)
Turn the hand prints over, then paint the lightest color first. In our case it was yellow.
Then the green then the brown. Let dry.
We did 3 colors because I wanted to make sure we covered the entire paper with paint.
Then you cut the hands out once the paper is dry.
Oh and I free handed a dinosaur shape. Now the reason we drew on the back first is so we didn't need the kids for this step. I did all of the cutting during nap time and saved the gluing for when they woke up. We also did this so you don't see the ugly pencil marks on the front of the project...see there is the wisdom part of the project! LOL
When they woke up they glued the eyes on and hand prints on and there you have it...a freaking cute stegosaurus! Your Welcome! Hahaha (just kidding)

Legume Dinosaurs

Project #3 in Dino Week

We had my nephews over to play and of course do a project. Here is what you need...

I put them on plates and then free handed 4 dinosaurs.

I glued the outline and then the inside...

Since dinosaurs were scaly we used beans to recreate their skin.



We let them dry for a few hours and they look terrific! I immediatley put them on my art wall because they look so good! :)


The beans were all under a buck a bag and it was fun and not too hard.
Thanks E,N, and Auntie V!

Dinosaur Rubbing Plates

Project #2 in Dino Week

Learning about Dinosaurs can be so much fun. When we went to the Discovery Science Museum in Fort Collins, CO last week they had these...

I liked them a lot and my kids did too. I found this everything dinosaur website and ordered these RUBBING PLATES. We are waiting for them in the mail but I know my kids will enjoy doing these later. So I am adding this to my dinosaur unit!

What we will do is rub all the dinos out and then look up their stats online and make a chart to put meat eaters in one pile and veggie eaters in another.

Dino Feet

Project #1 in Dino Week

Dino Feet - This is a lot of work on your part but once they are done they are fun for everyone! (with little feet)

You need 2 sturdy boxes, I used Capri Sun boxes because they are tough and the right size and I had 4 of them since I get to make 2 pair (lucky me) Paper, Scissors, Packing Tape and Paper.

Mark your holes and then cut with a utility knife.

Trace the circle you just cut out backwards so you can turn the paper over and see no lines and it still matches up. You can trim the excess box if you are anal like me and don't want to see it.

Cut your own crazy claw/toenail pattern and tape it to the box.

Then wrap the green paper over the box and get the short two sides as well. DO NOT COVER the BOTTOM, it will make them slippery!

Now let your toddler enjoy them. Wearing your pajamas is not a requirement!

We added scales to the feet with markers to give it a more authentic look, my son insisted!