Week 3 Day 3 - Where on Earth?

Today we made a model of our solar system.  We took the easy route and bought a kit, but you can make it out of almost anything. Here are two more ways you can make your own solar system:

* Use paper and crayons or markers to draw the planets and the sun. Then cut them out, hole punch them and connect them all to a hanger with yarn or string.

* Use Styrofoam balls and paint them. Then stick them with wire and connect them to the sun at varying distances.

We are still working on our modeling clay aliens. My kids were a bit tired of painting after making the solar system earlier, so we'll paint them tomorrow.

Don't space out and hopefully we'll see you tomorrow.

Week 3 Day 2 - Alien Autopsy

Today we played with modeling clay. My kiddies love it! We made little space aliens. After they air dry we will be painting them. Then tomorrow we will make little space ships.

We also played with these little bendy aliens we found at a local dollar store. They had fun posing them and putting them in all kind of funny situations - like falling out of bed, hanging from a lamp, etc.

Then we went to the Free Family Film Festival by Regal Theaters. Here is there link:  http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx.  Movies are held on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 10 a.m. at select theaters and all are rated G and PG. Today we saw Astro Boy which my little girl really likes.

Week 3 Day 1 - A Star Is Born

Today is the first day of Week 3 and we started off the day putting together a puzzle. It was one I picked up from the dollar aisle at Target. I find lots of neat stuff in the dollar section.

The neat thing about this puzzle is that it glows in the dark. It's just a little activity, but it's hard to sit back and not pick up a piece.

Next we went online. By accessing http://www.astronomy.com you can see which stars, planets, etc. are in the sky over your home. It will tell you exactly what is over your head when step outside and look up.

We also went to our local library and looked up pictures of the planets. We learned about stars, galaxies, and even black holes. If you want to see some really incredible photos check out the ones from the Hubble space telescope by going here:  http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/entire.

Have fun and see you tomorrow.

Theme for Week 3 is Out of This World

Week # 3 is Out of This World

This week is all about space. We will cover astronomy including planets and stars, and even aliens.

Week 2 Day 5 - Go Take a Hike

For Day 5 of our Back to Nature week. The kids and I went on a hike and found a playground we hadn't been to in a while. The kids love exploring a playground they haven't visited in a while. We try to visit a playground every week during the summer. We live in an area where there are plenty to choose from, so we make it a different playground each time.

The funniest moment was when we were almost attacked by a hawk. The bird dive bombed us. It was freaky. Here's a shot of it.

Even my son's fave toy got in on the action. He went "WILD" according to my kids.

Hope you had a fun week. See you next week.

Week 2 Day 4 - Scavenger Hunt

 Today we went on a scavenger hunt.  I created a printable that you can use or you can make up your own.

Download it here:
http://helpingmomsathome.com/scavengerhunt.pdf

After that we watched "Over the Hedge", but here are a couple other movies also cover nature. "Bee Movie", "Horton Hears a Who", "A Bug's Life",  and even "Swiss Family Robinson".

As a craft we did leaf rubbings. Put a leaf under a sheet of paper and rub the paper with a crayon. Pretty simple craft. You can take the finished product and frame them to make them look nice.

Have fun and see you tomorrow.

Week 2 Day 3 - Nature Walk

Today it was another rainy day here, so in the morning we did some painting. These are ceramic bird house we found at Target in their $1 section. The even came with paints and a brush. You may be able to find something similar in a dollar store or a craft store.

The skies finally cleared up this afternoon, so the kids and I managed to go on a nature walk. We managed to see this really neat frog or toad (I don't know which).  We also saw lots of birds, little bugs, pretty flowers,  some squirrels and even a bunny. It was fun.

My kids tried to catch this frog but like for me it got away. I like frogs, but I didn't want another pet. :-)

Hope you have a great day and see you tomorrow.