Financial Friday: Broken Toys

Tearing up broken toys!

I saw this on Pinterest months ago: giving your kids broken toys and a screwdriver. We had a garage sale a bit ago, and we cleaned out the house for old toys and nonworking. I tried putting new batteries in this ABC game, and nothing. I declared it toast, and gave it to Ty and Za to "fix." They were thrilled.

Ty really thought he could fix it. He was very methodical in taking it apart, and separated the pieces.

He tried to reassemble, but never could figure out why the toy stopped working. I couldn't either - nothing was too obvious.

They spent the large part of an afternoon working on it and then threw it in the trash. It was broken, so I consider this a free project!

Note: I suggest spreading a tarp or old blanket down for the kids to work on. We spent lots of time finding tiny screws and pieces of plastic.

Picture Frame Dry Erase Board

Three weeks until summer! I need some ideas for these three months - please give me ideas.

The finished "dry erase" board, with the first word of the day.

I believe school should be year-round. I thought that as an undergraduate, as a teacher, and now I think it as a parent. I even write about the benefits of year-round school.

That will not happen in the foreseeable future, so my family must adjust. The kids are signed up for t-ball (they have quite the handsome coach as well!) and a few educational camps. While schooling should not have a three month gap, I also believe in the power of "down time."

Maintaing that balance is difficult and keeping their minds exercised is on my to-do list. Kids learn constantly whether parents want them to or not, but teaching through example and from household chores will not fill all the hours in the summer.

I need a plan, or at least some ideas. I've consulted Pinterest and found some great sources. Crafty people posted examples of making your own dry erase board, only with glass.

Turning an old picture frame into a dry erase board took less than an hour. I had this black frame downstairs. The back is broken in one place, and two of the mattes are missing, so I don't use it for "good pictures."

Falling apart a bit.

It did clean up and my husband helped me fix the back with a piece of wood. I added colorful scrapbook paper and I am pleased with the results:

Child not included.

Now I have to decide what to put on the squares, which is where I would like some input. Should each square be designated for a fact, or quote? Should I do one each day, maybe Monday-Thursday?

My ideas to fill the squares:
* Word of the day.
* Bible verse of the day.
* Quote of the day. (Dr. Suess?)
* Math problem of the day.
* Chores.
* Goal of the day. (Give each other compliments, help a neighbor?)

Any ideas? I would love some input!

Financial Friday: Birthday Decor

An inexpensive and fun birthday surprise. 

We've been sick this week - almost all of us - so I have neglected my blog. I did feel like posting a quick activity that I did a few months ago for Ty's birthday.

I saw this decorating tip on Pinterest, and adapted as I went. I used leftover crepe paper, balloons, and ribbon along with tape and scissors.

I circled the strips, and then made one cut.

I found it easiest to tape a group together, rather than hang each piece individually.

I used painter's tape because I was going to tape to a wooden door frame.

The longest part was hanging and taping everything up. Plus, I had to wait until he was SOUND asleep for the night, so I was actually up late working.

The next morning, he was surprised and thought the decorations were fun. Very inexpensive, and hopefully memorable, birthday surprise.

White Vinegar

Happy Financial Friday! Today we are talking about, white vinegar.

Sounds pretty boring - white vinegar. It is cheap though, and that is what Financial Friday is about.

I first started using white vinegar when the kids made baking soda fizzies. I had a ton of white vinegar left over, so I went back to Pinterest and found people cleaning with the stuff. I have now used vinegar to clean by:

* adding it to my dishwasher, and my dishes have less soap scum.
* adding it to my front-load washing machine, and my towels seem softer and the machine less stinky.
* added it with Dawn and scrubbed bath tubs, and it worked.

It's inexpensive, versatile, and the kids can help clean because it will not hurt their hands. Plus, I'm not dumping money on cleaning products with environment harming chemicals. What other ways does white vinegar clean? Any other tricks?

Group Work and Christmas Trees

Group work is increasingly "pushed" in schools

I've sat through countless in-services as a teacher, and many of them "pushed" teachers to add group work to their list of activities. As far as educational theories go, the need for student collaboration and general cooperation is needed, thus group work. The reasons for teachers using group work are plentiful:

1. Students will experience different personalities and methods of learning from peers.
2. Students will learn how to get along with others and develop tolerance.
3. Students will work with others at a job some day.
4. Students will realize satisfaction from completing a large activity rather than a smaller one alone.

Alas, group work often fails, as this meme floating around Pinterest illustrates:

Students struggle with group work because students do not play fairly. Teachers feel bad about giving different grades to individual students in each group. Some students cannot work after hours or travel to other students' homes. Parents are frustrated. The entire situation lacks control. Even though teachers know students need skills acquired from group work, there are countless reasons why teachers do not assign group work.

The skills are still important, and teaching them at home may help the situation teachers face. Today I took down our two Christmas trees. The kids immediately clambered on the plastic containers and dumped out boxes. I almost banished them to the basement playroom, when I stood back and put it in perspective. As the "group leader" I established some rules:

1. Many ornaments and decorations are glass, so we must be careful.
2. Do not climb on the trees.
3. Do not run.
4. Everyone will have a job, and that is each person's focus.

This is the box of kid ornaments for their tree.

Overall, the process was a success. Just like with students, I repeated the rules a few times and had to halt the process because Ty or Za *forgot* to be safe and soft with glass. They worked together and neatly arranged their Christmas keepsakes. I encouraged them and applauded their efforts.

I'm very glad I did not send them to the basement to take down the trees alone, like I almost did.

Is group work a skill that needs taught at home? Should the basics be taught at home? Would this encourage more group work in schools?

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Science Post: Volcano

We get a bigger, better volcano when dad is involved.

I am working my way through my Pinterest boards. We've made baking soda fizzies and I've gotten healthy food ideas for the kiddos. Ty and Za especially love messy projects - science projects, so I decided to make a volcano. I wanted a small one, but my husband took over, and we ended up with a large one. It was fun, messy, and pretty inexpensive.

Supplies

A pan/ cookie sheet and mixing bowl
Flour
Baking soda
Salt
Oil
Water
Small, empty bottle (We used a water bottle, but I wish we had a shorter one).
Food dye, if desired
Dish soap
Vinegar
Directions. We used the recipe from Moms Who Think, but tons of directions are on the web. 

We mixed the "volcano's" outside, which made a sticky, sticky clay. My kids loved it, and it definitely taught them patience - it was very difficult to form.

The dough was heavy, and it kept falling off the bottle. We finally figured out that it took two pairs of hands - and a blow-dryer to get it formed correctly.

At this point we realized we forgot food coloring. The kids really wanted to dye it, but wanted their volcano brown. So we used - soy sauce. Don't judge.

The explosion was great, and the kids loved it. Pictures? I was too busy supervising and keeping little hands back. Safety first, but it is true they had a blast!

Reflection

The kids practiced patience and witnessed their father and me getting along and problem-solving. (The blow-dryer was genius, honestly). I still need to beef  up on my science knowledge. I can tell the kids this is a chemical reaction, but I don't get much further than that. Any advice, maybe from the science-inclined?

Yogurt Drops

Teaching healthy life choices is so, so hard sometimes.

Za does not have the best selection in food. I am in charge of her diet, so she does get vegetables, fruits, and on, but I want her to enjoy healthy food so when I am no longer in charge she chooses healthy food. I'm going to work on this because she would alternate chicken and pbj for every meal if she could.

I researched I saw an adorable pin on Pinterest for frozen yogurt, and pinned it to my Healthy Food board. Frozen yogurt - in cute little shapes?

I don't have a cute shape-maker, though. I did the next best - I scooped the yogurt on a cutting board, and froze the drops - and I think they were cute:

Most importantly, Za ate them. They were a nice snack, and easy to store:

I thought about taking small pieces of fruit, putting them on top, and then freezing them. Maybe next time.

Baking Soda Fizzies

I use Pinterest regularly. (By 'regularly,' I mean several times a day). I have close to twenty boards and love finding activities for my kids. The problem? Teaching full-time last year, I carried out very few of these pins with my kids. I really want to change that, because not using all these great ideas is just silly.

Getting started.

One idea that I felt my kids would really enjoy was the baking soda and vinegar project. We wouldn't make a volcano, but instead little 'fizzies' as my kids called them. The pin is in my elementary kid activities board and the link goes to this awesome blog, Playing House.

We used medicine droppers and that nose-sucky thing the hospital gives you.

The entire project cost less than $3.00, which is fabulous. I bought each kid a container of store-brand baking soda, and a container of white vinegar. I already had food dye, so I just used that. If I had to buy some, the project would have cost $5.00, which is still inexpensive for a science experiment for two kids.

Ty was quite specific about placing

his little fizzies.

Za did lots of dumping, trying to get a bigger "fizz."

Za played with the project longer than Ty did, but he has asked to do it again. They both enjoyed themselves though, and they spent about an hour playing with it.

Explaining the science behind it.

I really wish I could have captured how happy they were with the fizzies.

Finished! So proud

Sometime into the project, I thought, I need to explain why this happens, so I told them that the baking soda and vinegar reacted chemically, a chemical reaction. WHY. I googled it (because I don't know) and found Think Quest, which explained this:


The acetic acid (that's what makes vinegar sour) reacts with sodium bicarbonate (a compound that's in baking soda) to form carbonic acid. The bubbles you see from the reaction come from the carbon dioxide escaping the solution that is left. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air, so, it flows almost like water when it overflows the container. 

Yikes. I read that to them from my phone, and they just looked at me. Ty then commented that trees work with carbon dioxide and how we breathe. I'm not sure the long explanation took hold, but he did relate it to something he already knew, which is a success.




Our first attempt at ticking the pins of the Pinterest list was overall great!

What would I do differently?

1. I would have researched the concept a bit more. I am not a science person, and I think my explanation for the kids was pretty lousy. I know they are young, but when they ask 'why' I want to be able to explain it to them. 

2. If I had thought ahead, I would have bought red, blue, and yellow food dye. I knew I had some dye at home, so I just used that. The kids would have loved to make new colors, and that could have been an additional science aspect to the project.

They loved the project so much that I'm sure we will do it again, and I will have the primary colors, and hopefully a bit more knowledge.

Welcome to a new sponsor!

While we are covering cost-effective products with for our children, I would like to extend a welcome to Aptus Insurance. Aptus Insurance offers free quotes on life insurance, and even has a financial guide for helping new parents. The company is realistic with new parents:

Having children has a huge impact on your financial life, affecting everything from your budget and insurance needs to retirement, and should be planned for accordingly. As you welcome a child into the world, it's the perfect time to take stock of your finances and make some adjustments to your game plan.

This is true! I remember the days of being pretty willy-nilly with money, content with my teacher retirement plan. Having kids changes that in a huge way, and the New Parents Personal Finance Guide is worth a read!