Creating Art on the Light Table

I got this idea from the Play at Home Moms. I bought some frames from the Dollar Tree and I already had the gems. We used clear glue to get the best results. The kids really had fun doing this. I need to buy more frames! Disclaimer: I know I've said this before, but I feel I need to reiterate: Callie dresses herself. Currently she has this need to wear Josh's undershirts. We have a very odd child! :) I love her quirkiness.

Pouring the glue on.

Starting to create.

Callie decided to write her name on hers...

so Josh decided he needed to also.

The finished products, with no help from me.

After they were done, I pulled out some words made for the overhead projector and Callie and I had fun creating silly sentences and reading them to each other. Josh also had fun just putting the words in various orders and having me read them.

Some Light Table Fun

I was browsing pinterest one day and spotted these awesome treasure rocks from Growing a Jeweled Rose. They looked like lots of fun, so I decided to make some for the kiddos. They were super easy to make, just baking soda, food coloring, and water. I found various treasures from around the house to hide in the middle. I let them dry over night and the kids played with them on the light table the next day. They really enjoyed it.

Just ignore the sorry looking red rock!

Touching them to see what they felt like.

Spraying the vinegar onto the rocks.

"I think I see something!"

Finding the treasure. I love Josh's expression in this one.

Digging in the rocks to find more treasure.

Spraying was too slow, so we just dumped the rest of the vinegar in.

When they were done with the treasure rock, I cleaned out the tub and poured our water beads in it. They grabbed a couple of their plastic cups and started scooping and pouring. I really need to figure out how to take better pictures with my camera because the water beads look awesome on the light table, but I just couldn't capture it. The kids enjoyed playing with these for awhile before they got too bored.

Oh the concentration!

And of course I can't sign off without showing a few pics of our newest member. We don't do school time with her, so she just doesn't get in on all the pictures!

Sleeping Beauty

Two of my loves.

Alphabet Ice

Since having Riley (and honestly a few weeks before having her) I haven't really been doing a formal school time. I have just been plain tired! I am trying to get organized so that we can hopefully start again in February. I do try to come up with an occasional activity for the kids to do though. One night I froze some plastic alphabet letters in square ice cube trays. I pulled them out the next day and plopped them in a bin on our light panel. I provided some various kitchen utensils and some clear plastic egg cartons. It was fun to see their imaginations take off.

The alphabet ice in the bin.

Look how cool it looks with the light on!

"Look mommy, we're making alphabet cakes."

Great hand-eye coordination work.

Playing With Light

I am not a good photographer and I really need to learn how to use our camera, because we have a nice one, but you can still get the idea in these pictures. I bought a pack of glow sticks at Michaels a month or two ago, and this is the second time they have played with them in the bathtub. It looks really cool, especially when there are a lot of bubbles.