Learn and Color Animals

National Geographic has an amazing selection of coloring pages for kids, each page comes with a little fact about the animals.

Loggerhead Sea Turtles

Loggerhead sea turtles are known for their giant reddish brown heads. The head helps support powerful jaw muscles that allow the turtles to crush shellfish. Loggerheads eat shellfish, jellyfish, mussels, shrimp, and other marine animals.

One turtle in this picture (bottom) is wearing a National Geographic Crittercam. Crittercams include video cameras and other information-gathering devices. They can be attached to animals without hurting them. Crittercams help scientists study the animals that wear them.

Keep them Learning this Summer

Summer begins for us this week, I have a little game plan for some summer learning.

To keep our writing skills sharp we are playing with Sidewalk chalk, writing letters, names and any other words we want. This is usually followed by a crazed coloring frenzy and a little discussion( dare I say fight) over who gets to spray the water to wash it off.


We also plan on writing some letters to family and friends, I found some sweet "G" cards. I am excited to see what fun stories G wants to write about.

Science will be explored by learning about the planets! I found some great Beginner readers from Scholastic books about the planets!
My sister in law also gave me a great website on Science to do at home HERE! They sell different kits but also at the bottom of the page are links to the Top 10 Science Experiments the first it the Mentos/Diet Coke. Check out the Corn Starch GOO Wow we are ready to explore maybe we should get some sweet white coats! *hint hint* if you see any!

Reading- I have been stocking up on a few new books from Scholastic and am using a website that was referred to me by G's preschool teacher called Starfall.com .I found magnets with "Site Words" on them at Wal Mart by a company called Active Minds

Art/Hands On G Love's foam stickers, if you have received any art from her lately you will have noticed this trend. I found a Butterfly and an Ocean Pack of foam stickers for her to work on. Watch out world hear we come!


Pudding Painting, I love to paint with pudding, I just make up an instant pack of vanilla, divide it up into different bowls add different colors and we have edible paint for all! It is a big smearing, eating mess of a time, maybe do it out side!

Over all learning I found great workbooks at Costco, Wal Mart and Barns and Nobel select the Grade level
Kumon Books
American Education Publishing Everything for Early Learning



WHAT are you doing to keep the kids happy this summer! Share your ideas! Please..........

Campfire You can Eat (Summer Kits)

This has been one of my favorite projects in the SUMMER KITS trade I did, so I thought I would share, My daughter is 2 1/2 and with a little help she love it, we did have to explain that we "build" first and then get to eat! I would do this on a camping trip, or an evening of fun and follow up with roasting marshmallows.

** it also teaches some fire safety ie. fire safe line ,having water on stand by and dirt to "put out" the fire.

This project gets 4 Stars, easy prep, a little help for younger children, teaches safety and the best for the kids, satisfaction that they made something that taste sooo yummy!


RECIPE INGREDIENTS: (per child)
12-inch flour tortilla 1 (we just used a plate)
Red licorice rope 2
Peanuts approx 25
Peanut butter 1-2 Tablespoones
Fried Chinese noodles small handful
Tootsie Rolls 10
Mini pretzel sticks 10
White grape juice powder or fozen juice
Hot cocoa powder 1 Tablespoon
Candy corn 7

1. To make an edible campfire, first clear a space on the table to build a safe fire. Lay down a tortilla fire base and wrap a licorice rope safety circle around the tortilla about an inch in from the edge. Build a peanut rock ring halfway between the safety circle and the center of the fire base. Spread a circle of peanut butter in the center of the fire base, then lay a small handful of fried Chinese noodles on top for kindling.



2. Lay Tootsie Roll logs around the peanut butter circle. Use mini pretzel sticks as fuel wood to build a tepee inside the ring of logs and over the kindling, sticking the pretzels into the peanut butter at a 45-degree angle.





3. Add another layer of logs, setting them across the corners of the first layer to form a box around the tepee. Lay a few more pieces of fuel wood across the logs.

4. Make sure buckets of water (glasses of grape juice) and dirt (hot cocoa powder) are nearby to put out the fire if necessary, then light the fire by adding candy corn flames.

5. After the camp director approves the fire, throw dirt on the fire to put it out. Now, the moment the fire builders have been waiting for: Eat your fires!


Familyfun.com