Ladybug Cookies

I try to do some kind of baking each week with the kids. They love to be in the kitchen with me, so we decided to "wing it" and make these.

Here is the recipe:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Red Baker's Chocolate
Mini Chocolate Chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

Melt the Red Chips, then have the kids dunk cookies in the red chocolate and sprinkle with mini chips.

Simple, and good for an afternoon snack. :)

Made by the kids, for the kids.

Mmmm.

Ladybug Life Cycle

I went to THIS WEBSTITE to teach the kids about Ladybug anatomy.

It is very kid friendly.

Then we went on to discuss the life cycle of the Ladybug.

Printed THIS PAGE OUT , colored it and then made a real model of it with rocks!

Here!

 We painted Ladybug rocks.

 wrote some labels.

 drew on rocks

 then put it all together.

Thumbprint Ladybug Notecards

This was one of my first posts EVER! Thumbprint People it was so popular, that I got my first sponsor! That was like a million years ago (it seems) my babies are huge now! *sniff*

Anyway. My oldest daughter has had several friends move in the past few months, so we decided to make Ladybug ThumbPrint Notecards.

I did the antennae, she did the dots and wrote the notes.

We sent out about 8 of them. So adorable!

Edible Ladybugs

I started off this weeks theme by having the kids watch what I was making and guess what it was.

You need Cherry Tomatoes, Cream Cheese, Mini Chocolate Chips, Coconut or Chow Mein Noodles, and Raisins.

That was the big reveal. Each kid made their own, and actually liked the flavor combination! Weird.


Here is how you make them!

Then after they devoured them...they got to make their own crazy weird bug!

What a fun snack, weird, but fun~

Kidspace Museum, Pasadena CA

We took the kids on a 2 week vacation and this was one of our stops.

Kidspace

We had been there once before, when we only had 2 kids and thought now that we have 5 it might be fun to go again! It is a great place and here are some highlights.

Digging Deeper Exhibit is where all these "bug" themed pictures are from.

The new baby is sleeping behind this old baby. :)

This exhibit sparked a lot of questions in my family, so we will be doing bugs for the next few weeks.

I hope you like it! Also, if you have any ideas, please let me know!

Ivory Soap, Paint!

So, after you have turned it into a slightly stinky, but really cool cloud, you tear it up into pieces. The kids love to do this!

 Put it in a mixer, and add 1/4 to 1/2 cup warm water.  you want it to be smooth, but NOT runny.

 It looks so weird.

 Put it in baggies, and add the coloring, then let the kids smoosh.

 

 Awesome!

 Then, cut the tips off and explain to your kids how piping works, because that is what they are going to do in the tub! "Back to the tub, kids!" you will shout with excitement! LOL

 Then, let them have their fun!

 

 Here is what it looks like.

 Then, check out the designs and then let them swish it with their hands, for added enjoyment!

 Sensory Fun!

 

 Yay!

It is fun, clean, and - washable!

More to come!

Texture Play

Everyone loves PlayDoh in my house. Last night for family night we talked about impressions and fossils.

So, we had the kids search through the house that were different textures, or patterns.

They found a comb, coins, legos, a key, pipe cleaners, a dryer sheet, a chain, and bubble wrap. 

(we may have hinted to ideas)

Then it was time to have at it!

We do family night after bath, so please excuse the wet hair and jammies. :)

This is a great fine motor activity. It also helps distinguish textural differences.

 The kids all had a blast!

 Even the one year old took a stab at it...literally!

This was just another fun way to use play doh.

We talked about ridges, grooves, indentations, and textures. They each learned new descriptive words.

We also had them predict what would happen on the other side if they pushed too hard or too soft.

Really nice and quiet activity. :)