Scientists Explore: Science Week

Sink or Float? Each child took a turn putting something in the water to test whether it would sink to the bottom or float on top.

Our next experiment: What will happen to popcorn kernels once they get hot? EVERYONE knew the answer to this one, but they were still fascinated by my popcorn popper. Here we are cheering for the popcorn kernels to finally POP, POP, POP!

And of course they ate the popcorn for Snack Time once it was popped!

"More popcorn please!"
Monday after quiet time, I pulled out some huge moving boxes for Jon and Emily. They had a blast using them to make their own fort. And then I left them out all week long so my students could explore in them during Science Week, too.

Another science experiment:
How many children can we fit inside the sandbox crab? :)

We had a few more experiments, but this one was our last one, and one of the favorites: What will happen if you put a pinwheel in front of a fan? Nicole and Jonny are having fun finding out the answer!

Gone Camping!

Sorry I've been a little MIA with blogging lately. I haven't been on the computer as much to post to my blog or leave comments on all of your blogs. Summer Camp and my big editing project are both finished, so I was actually able to clean my house yesterday (for the first time all summer...haha) And I even made muffins and bread for the family reunion. But my bread burned...don't tell the that!

4 days off. good food. crazy cousins. sleeping outdoors. no showers. walks with my mom. What's not to love? I'm so excited!



PS) new posts coming soon!

Let's get Movin: Dance Week

my fearless boy...

...who's napping again by the way. Can I get a "Hallelujah!" from the crowd please? Thank you! I guess it wasn't THAT bad taking away his binky. It was hell for a month, but now we're back to normal...normal 2 year-old behavior that is, complete with stubborn "I do it myself" independence, tantrums, body slamming his sister, constantly begging for candy, and still biting once in a while. But from reading a lot of your posts, I know you've experienced it, too and can relate, right? Jonny really is happier and cuter now that he's napping and sleeping through the night again. And all I have to say to that is, "Hip hip hooray, the Super Readers save the Day!" Oh my, did I just quote SuperWhy? I really need to go to bed! haha

Anyway, back to the reason for the post, which was Dance Week at my Summer Camp:

For Snack Time, the children pretended their gogurts were dancing sticks (or lightsabers) before gobbling them up.

(Confession: I think I was 18 before I learned the correct pronunciation of the word "lightsabers." I thought they were called "light SAVERS!" Pretty sad for a girl who used to have the biggest crush on Danny Frost, a.k.a Harrison Ford look-a-like. Did I just type that? Well, it's a good thing it's a private blog because I don't want him to know!)

Wow, I'm getting off the subject tonight.

Here's Juliet and Regan holding onto the animal train. The children each took a handle and we danced around and around singing all sorts of fun songs, including their favorite, "Ring Around the Roses!"

My 3-4 year olds dancing like butterflies with their scarves as wings
Miss Elizabeth, Cannon, Jonny, Zach, and Nicole
Once the children made their ribbon wands, they created their own dances with them. They loved it! I even made one for myself. Those things are awesome!
Nicole, Emily, Jonny, Zach, and Cannon

Emily has loved Summer Camp at mommy's preschool and gets excited when her friends come over that are HER age; HOWEVER, she has been extremely whiney and naughty on the days I teach the 2 year-olds. She says that they're babies because they go poo poo in their diaper and that she doesn't want to play with them. It's insane that she acts up so much with my younger class because she's so happy and well-behaved in my 3-4 year-old class.

So to help her improve her attitude and behavior, I gave her the responsibilty of being teacher's helper rather that "one of the little kids" whenever I teach the 2 year-olds. I gave her this special necklace to wear so she would feel BIG, and I have her sit next to me during Circle Time and help me lead the songs and hold my books, before and after I read them. I even tell them to call her "Miss Emily" and she's been liking the posivite attention and power. ;)

Celebrating the 4th

We started the day with a Neighborhood Breakfast. Just as we were about to take a family picture, one of my student's moms wanted to say "hi" and talk to me for a minute, and my family was getting tired of waiting, sooooo...

...my sister, Ruthanne, jumped in the picture to take my place.

(Katie stop laughing, it's not THAT funny! haha Okay, so it kind of is)

This is how the family picture really should look. Don't you think Wade and I make a better couple that Wade and Ruthanne anyway? lol
Austin and Ruthanne playing some baseball
Then it was Jonny's turn to be up to bat.
The Candy Cannon was a hit, as usual. It's a cannon that shoots out candy for the kids...and adults, too, of course. ;) I don't know how I was so lucky to capture it just as it was shooting off. Pretty cool, eh?

waiting for the candy to fly out of the cannon

Then we went to another Neighborhood Celebration, where they had a parade with the kids riding their bikes and scooters, a bounce house, and some lunch.

After naps, we hung out with Trent and Alix in their backyard. We couldn't ask for better neighbors. We love these guys! Here's Juliet, Em, Isaac, and Jonny at the sand & water table.
Cooling off in the pool and eating popsicles. Life doesn't get much better that that!

What the heck? Who let the big guy into the kiddie pool? ;)

That evening, we had a nice visit with Grandpa and Grandma Reed in Tooele, and then had a BBQ with Grandpa and Grandma Stoney and the fam at Tonya and Tyler's home in Grantsville. Here's Emily with Grandpa Stoney and Daphne, the dog.

Ah, sparklers...good times!

Emily and Jon kept dipping their noisemakers into the water bucket (where we put the used sparklers) and were "water-painting" all over the sidewalk.

the whole group watching the fireworks

Grandma Stoney and Emily talking to each other through the noisemaker :)

Create It: Art Week

Art Week was awesome! They painted,

created their own designs using cheerios, colored with sidewalk chalk, and even "water-painted."

Note to moms: You have to try this! You just give the kids a bowl of water and a q-tip as their brush, and they paint with water all over the sidewalk. And then clean up is a breeze. They pick up their used q-tips, throw them away, and the water on the sidewalk and on themselves dries within minutes...

...which is a good thing because once everyone is finished water painting, Jonny takes the opportunity to make a killer mess with the water EVERY time we do it! Here's my 3-4 year old class finishing up their American flag by gluing the white lines, adding the blue paper, and adding star stickers

Here's my 2 year-old class showing off their beautiful artwork. Before they finished their flags, I showed them a book with some unique patriotic-themed artwork by Norman Rockwell. They loved it, and I hope it got them ready to celebrate the 4th of July!

After circle time, dance/movement time, snacktime, and art time, my 3-4 year old class decided to make a bear cave under my big blue table. So after we drapped blankets on top and made it dark, I told them ghost stories. It was their favorite part of the day!

Emily and Nicole pushed their babies in the strollers and said, "We're good mommies, huh?"

Just in case you ever wondered what my children do while I prepare to teach and while waiting for their friends to arrive each morning, now you know...they have tea parties, using a water bottle to fill up their cups. And of course my little cowboy always has to have his horsies nearby!

New Gate and New Tenants

We are so excited our gate is finally installed! We live on kind of a busy street, and this gate gives me much more peace of mind for when Jon, Emily, and my preschoolers play in the backyard. The sandbags on the bottom right of the picture are to prevent any more flooding in the basement. That's right, with all this rain we've had in Salt Lake, our basement flooded a bit, but it was a huge blessing that it happened just as the old tenants were moving out, so we only had pay to have the carpets cleaned once. I think I've mentioned before we have a cute 2 bedroom apartment in our basement that we rent out. Because we live so close to Wesminster College and the U of U, it's not difficult to find new tenants. So there is usually only one day the apartment is empty after the old tenants have moved out and before the new tenants move in. My kids always have a HAY DAY on the day it's empty. They run all around the apartment and hide in the closets and shower. It's hilarious to me how it can entertain them for so long!

PS) We LOVE our new tenants! They are two single LDS girls who both have nanny experience, so they insist they want to babysit for us. Sweet! I may have them just listen to the baby monitor while the kids sleep upstairs, so Wade and I can catch a movie at 9pm or make a Denny's run at 11pm. haha I'm kind of liking this idea!

Splish! Splash!

Last Tuesday, I had a baby shower in Orem for Wade's cousin, so I went down a few hours earlier so I could visit my Aunt Anne and my cousins, Kristen and Karen. I had a good time chating with them, while Mattison, Isabel, Meg, and Ethan showed Emily and Jon how to work it on the slip-n-slide. They loved it!

Ethan, Emily, and Jon being crazy in the pool

Thursday, after I taught Summer Camp, my sister, Ruthanne invited us to swim at her apartment complex with her. She even watched my kids so I could run an errand to Wal-Mart. Thanks again sis! Funny Emily :)