Father's Day Shirts

Do you have a special Father's Day gift tradition?

Well, we do!  We have made dad a special t-shirt each year since we first became parents.

I hope to make this year's shirt soon, but in the mean time I thought I'd share the shirts we've made in the past.

Please note that these have been well loved, worn and washed several times...

the oldest being 7 years!  So some of the images aren't the greatest.

First Father's Day T-Shirt, 2004

Charlotte's baby footprints (I thought that would be easier than getting a hand print).

I used acrylic paint, brushed her feet, and carefully pressed them onto the shirt.  Easier said than done with a baby... ha ha.  I then added some fabric glue to make wings on either side, and added some sparkle.

I used a fabric marker to do the writing.

Father's Day 2005

          front of shirt                                                               back of shirt

Acrylic paint for the prints, and fabric marker for the names and heart on the front.

Charlotte used fabric markers to draw on the back (I made the heart with a heart-shaped stencil).

Father's Day 2006

front of shirt                                      back of shirt

Used fabric markers for this one.

Charlotte wrote "Dad" on the front, though it is quite faded now.  She also wrote the numbers on the back of the shirt, while I wrote each item they came up with for their "Top 10 Reasons".

Father's Day 2007

 front of shirt                                                               back of shirt

Acrylic paint for the prints, and fabric marker for the names and drawing on the front.

I had Charlotte draw her picture on a piece of paper.  I traced over her lines with a black marker, placed the drawing under the shirt, and traced her lines onto the shirt.  The fabric is hard for the little ones to draw on, so this gave us a nicer finished result.

 Father's Day 2008

Overlapping hand prints using acrylic paint.  Each in a different color.

Father's Day 2009

                             back of shirt                                                  front of shirt

Acrylic paint for the prints, and fabric marker for "we love dad!" on the front (written by Charlotte).

Father's Day 2010

  

                                      front of shirt                                                           back of shirt

Acrylic paint for the hand prints on the front.

The kids used Sharpie markers to each draw a picture on the back.  Sorry the back is so hard to see.

Not only do we make these for daddy...

but Papa sure loves to wear his custom shirts!  These are some we've made him.

Acrylic paint for the hand prints.

Charlotte wrote using a fine-tipped Sharpie marker, that I also used to outline the hand prints.

                                    Can't remember what the front of this one looks like... 

The kids used fabric markers to each draw a picture on the back.

 ...and my personal favorite!

the front

Painted with acrylic by Charlotte

the back

I used iron-on letters, the first letter for each kid.

Some of the transfers didn't come off completely... ack!  But a little white paint fixed that pretty easily.

I then added a print of each kid's hand on their initial, and painted their name over top of each print.

Some Tips for T-Shirt Decorating...

1)  Place newspaper or a plastic place mat inside the shirt prior to decorating!  This will keep your paint or marker from leaking onto the other side.

2)  Always pre-wash your shirts!

3)  BE PREPARED with paper towels, wet washcloth... near a sink perhaps... kids stripped of clothing... outside might be good.. haha.. anything to minimize the risk of getting paint or permanent markers where you wouldn't want them.

4)  Heat set your shirts when finished.  You can do this by using a hot iron or throwing them in a hot dryer.  This will help lock in the colors and paint prints.

Soon I'll have this year's shirt to share!

If you are trying to come up with some Father's Day ideas, perhaps one of these shirts will catch your eye.

My kids LOVE making them each year, and are so proud to see daddy and Papa wearing them.

Happy Father's Day!

Pudding Beach Cups

A super fun, super simple snack to whip up this summer.

We made these while camping last weekend...

Aren't they cute?

My Inspiration...

Sharks On The Beach

at My Posh Baby & Kids

Ingredients

Pudding (we used butterscotch)

Graham Cracker Crumbs

Blue Sugar Sprinkles

Paper Umbrella

Teddy Grahams

Fish Shaped Snacks (we used SpongeBob but I tried to find Nemo)

Fruit Roll-ups (for a beach towel)

Gummy Lifesaves (for an inner tube)

... I used the clear, plastic cups shown in the picture, but it was WAY more pudding than any kid would eat for a snack.  I would suggest using smaller bowls/cups, like the custard cups.

Directions

1)  Toss a couple of graham crackers in a bag and crush them, if you don't have any graham cracker crumbs on hand.  A ziploc bag, closed tightly, and a child with a couple of hands, works well.

2)  Fill a small cup or bowl with your pudding.

I'd suggest filling it close to the top for a nicer presentation.

3)  Using a spoon, carefully and generously cover part of the pudding surface with the blue, sugar sprinkles.

This will be your water.

4)  Next, carefully spoon your graham cracker crumbs over the remaining surface of pudding.

This is your beach.

You will have this...

5)  Cut a rectangle from the fruit roll-ups to be used a beach towel.

Allow your child to place the umbrella, beach towel, teddy grahams, gummy lifesaver inner tube, and fish on top to their liking.

Looks like a beach party to me!

6)  Last, but not least... ENJOY!

So simple, how could you not love it!

I thought this would make a super cute cupcake topper too, don't you think?

Summer Scholar Sunday #6

Welcome to our last week with our Summer Scholar Families!

Yeah... I know it's not Sunday.  My family was camping this last weekend, so I'm playing catch up now.

And... if you missed it last week, I'm offering a special on the Sun Scholars Summer Program through Sunday, June 19th.  Find the details HERE.  If you like what you see, and would like to learn more about my Sun Scholar Summer Program, click HERE.

Rubber Egg

Subjects:    Science

Time:         5+ mins (with 1 week observation)

Supplies:       Glass Cup or Jar, White Vinegar, Egg

Here is a scientific magic trick for your child to try with very interesting results!

Directions

·         Place a raw egg into a tall glass cup.  Have your child pour enough white vinegar into the cup to cover the egg.  You will notice soon after that bubbles are forming on the shell of the egg.

·         Set the egg aside.  After 24 hours, carefully drain the vinegar from the cup, and again pour enough vinegar into the cup to cover the egg.

·         This time, set aside where the egg will not be disturbed for 7 days.  Do not touch it, but allow your child observe what is happening to the shell, or what is left of the shell at this point.

·         After a week, carefully rinse the egg.  Let your child hold it but be very gentle.  What does it look like?  How does it feel?  Where did the shell go?

Want Some Answers?

Find the Rubber Egg Science sheet in the Printables section of this kit for the explanation of what is happening in this experiment.

this is from Week 11 - Hocus Pocus, of the Sun Scholar Summer Program

What have the Summer Scholar Families been up to?

Amy

My little ones dropped my camera, so it is in getting repaired, so I'm sorry there are no pictures. I really apologize. We have had such a great time with this program and look forward to the rest of the summer!! Thanks again.

We did the Secret Agent week this week. The kids really enjoyed the math puzzlers. They loved trying them out on their Dad when he got home. They also loved hiding the timer and trying to find it. We played that several times through the week. The I spy books were alot of fun. The secret decoder was also a big hit. We left secret messages all around the house and had fun decoding them. We even did a scavenger hunt with coded messages. The kids all loved earning their secret agent badges. What a fun week!! We have had a great time with this program and LOVE all the activities!!

Heather

The kids and I have been so excited to get back into the Sun Scholars program.

This week our kids had two favorite activities. Our daughter loved making the "Alphabet Beach Book", and our son loves science, so his favorite was the "Salt Water Science Fun". 

 

I am continually amazed at the activities contained in the program. Our kids all like different things, and they are different ages. With this program it doesn't matter, everything works for all of them. 

We are also a testament to how do-able the program is. With a two week old baby, we have still been able to fit the activities in to our lives and make them part of our daily routine, and I am able to help the kids with a baby in my arms. :)

We have also realized how well written the activities are. When I do have my hands full with the new baby, our 9 and 6 year old are able to read the activity cards out loud to me and we can talk about what we need and get things started. They understand the activity descriptions and really enjoy being a part of the planning. 

On top of that, we really haven't left the house since the new baby was born. This program has given us so many things to do with the kids so that they don't get bored or frustrated because we are home bound for a few more weeks. 

Every morning our daughter wakes up and asks, what are we doing with the "Sun" program today!!!

Melissa

This week we decided to follow the unit called "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie".....I used this unit mostly with my preschooler instead of my 1st grader.  We had a blast.

STORY TIME - I had to find the book at the library (we have every other book in the series except this one..lol)...we read the book, laughed a lot and then discussed it.  We really got into the cause and effect part of the book...if you have a cookie, then you will need a drink of milk and so on.  She loved the illustrations!

COOKIE COUNTING - using the great printables in the program, I printed and cut out 12 of the sugar cookies.  I then put numbers on them from 1- 12. I asked Molly to put them in order for me.  She had little trouble with it.  Then I got out mini-M8M's (program suggested chocolate chips, but we love our M&M's)...I asked her to put the same amount of candies on each cookie as the corresponded with he cookie (ie - on the cookie that had the 6 on it, put 6 M&M's)  This took a while as she counted and placed each on carefully on the cookies.  Then we had fun eating them all up!

MICE TEACHINGS - We read short scholastic mini-book that had to do with mice counting (up to 10) and talking about it. She counted each mouse on each page (it had a cat in it as well, so you know this did not end well for the mice..lol).   We also discussed and looked back at the pictures of the mice skeletons we found in our wall last month! (found a hole behind some molding and inside were two mice skeletons...SO COOL)

MILK MAGIC - on the more exciting experiments we have done in a while!  The Sun Scholar Program provides some great hands on fun learning!  This experiment was NO exception!  Simple and fun for all the ages (2 - 5) of my children.  If you take a plate (plastic or glass, no paper) and pour milk to cover the bottom of it.  Then take 4 diff. color food colorings and place a dot of each close together in the center of the plate. Then take a cotton swab and place an end of that in the center of the plate (so that the food coloring dots surround it but don't touch it) and watch what happens!  Then you take that cotton swap out and place a different one in the middle of the plate but this time have some dish soap in on the swab.  Watch what happens this time....fireworks!  Kids loved this and even had to do it for Daddy when he got home!  

Great unit!  Lots of fun and so many more things we will be trying with this unit!   

Emily

Thanks again for letting me take part in the Summer program.  It was really fun, and we're going to keep going on the program.  Here's our last week for you:  This week we did the Beach Party unit.

Go Fish 10: Math -  I enjoyed helping the kids add up the math.  For my older daughter I had her use the cards to add up to twenty.  For my youngest one I had him add to ten, but mostly just put the numbers in the right order.

Ocean Waves – We made this early in the week, and it was a hit with my kids.  I would find them constantly playing with it through the week.

Salt Water Science Fun –   The kids had fun mixing the salt solution for the floating egg and seeing how much salt it took for the egg to float.  We then used the salt water to freeze along with another cup of regular water.

  

Message in a Bottle – My kids loved this idea. They wrote to their cousins and were excited to put it into the bottle.    We didn't mail it, but were able to get it delivered.

Jell-O Ocean Cups: Life Skills & Math – I love this idea, but we didn't have blue jell-o.  So we made it with pudding and fish crackers.  The kids LOVED to eat this, I enjoyed it too.

Fill the Bucket: Health – We made this a family party, but after filling the buckets we decided to wash the car since we were already wet.  The kids loved this and I'm glad that we got out as washed our car when it was warm enough.

Thanks to the Summer Scholar Families for sharing with us this last month!

You are awesome!

For the Kids Friday #14

Did you catch the AMAZING deal I'm offering my 12 Week Summer Program for?  Seriously.. if you have kids home with you this summer, you won't want to miss this!  Find all the details HERE.

I have had SO much fun with my kids this first week of summer vacation.  We are heading out on our first camping trip this weekend and we are SO excited about it!  I hope to have lots of fun ideas to share with you all when I return.

And with that... check out some of the amazing link ups from last week's party.  I've said it before... you guys ROCK!  Thank you so much for being here each week!  I LOVE seeing what you have to share!  All of these will be added to my A++ Features, found on the tab above.

Featured below?

If so... grab this button to share on your blog!

<center><a href="http://sunscholars.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2h-nlx5tXfQI4Ax2Vt3jUENZlziJpjUMM3gW2bO3UZ0gOLDyihBvNEy7YGlZ1iYbh9Ze4gUccsesO6O_UWl6YCuC6z5yc5N-jXphavsEtkBxUuprb7p592jWzWPuRArQ6A3WZUBOy3ctf/s150/apple-5.jpg"/></a></center>

Homemade Fizzy Sidewalk Paint
at Hands On: As We Grow 

Photo Nature Scavenger Hunt
at Chadwicks' Picture Place: India Edition



A Collection of Unique & Fun Summer Activitiesat Momma Did It

A Collection of Weather Themed Crafts & Tutorialsat Red Tag Art

Ready2Read Level 1: Unit 3at The Moffatt Girls

Ernie & Bert Fruit Snackat Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons

Choose Wisely Summer Fun Boardat Craft Goodies

And now onto the party!

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1)  I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog.  (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2)  Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog.  Be sure to link back to me!

3)  Link up as many KID-RELATED activities, games, recipes, parties, gifts, clothing you've created, crafts, traditions, lessons, and so on... that you would like to share.  Please add a different link each week.  They can be old or new... this is just a place to share ideas for our kids to enjoy.  Bonus points to those that serve some educational purpose too!  Link must be to the specific post, and not your general blog page.  Please don't link to your store.

4)  Share the love and comment on at least one other link.  Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it!  Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

Summer Program Special

Ok... so I know I posted an offer earlier today.

I just wasn't feeling it.  So guess what?  I've decided to go with a new promotion.

Are you ready to make this summer a fun AND educational experience for your child?

If so, you don't want to miss this special offer!

Sun Scholars is a fun, simple educational program designed specifically for stay-at-home parents and caregivers to use with their children over the summer months.  Use the Sun Scholars Summer Program to enrich your child's summer, for summer school programs, daycare activities, childcare co-ops, and more.  This program has been created with primary school children in mind, though you will find that these activities can be altered to fit the needs of all the children in your care.  The goal is to keep your child's mind active through the summer, when skills learned in the previous school year are often lost.

This special offer has now expired.

Want to learn more about my Summer Program?

Click HERE

Want to check it out before you buy?

Click HERE

This offer won't last long, so don't miss out!

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

Lemonade Stand Learning

It is a hot, summer day, and your children ask if they can set up a lemonade stand in front of the house.

You say "Sure!" thinking it may keep them busy outside while you get some things done around the house.

But...

Did you ever stop to think of what an AMAZING learning opportunity this is for your children?

No?

Don't feel bad.  I'm sure most people haven't.

Therefor, let me share some of the many ways your children can learn through this fun, summer activity.
I've brainstormed a list of ways you can make your child's lemonade stand more than just "something to do" on a hot, sunny day!  If you have any other ideas to add, please share them!!

Check out the amazing lemonade stand my husband and father-in-law built for my kiddos!

They built it.  I painted it.  The kids create signs depending on what they are selling that day.

They even have a great counter space and storage for coolers below to keep their juice out of the heat.

How Lemonade Stands Can Promote Learning

Language
- Children can practice reading and writing skills by creating their own signs and posters.
- Your child can practice reading and writing by creating a shopping list of the items they will need.
- Children can read labels and follow the directions when making lemonade and other items they might sell at their stand.
- Encourage your child to write down ideas for items they could sell or the supplies they will need to gather.
- Have your child create a plan for their business.
- Critique at the end of the day:  What went well?  What did not?  What would they do differently next time?  Would they do it again?  Did they make a profit?  Was it fun?

Mathematics
- Help your child determine prices, and what the costs for each item is.  What is their profit at their chosen price?
- Calculating sale totals and counting money at the end of the day.
- Your child will need to know their coins, their value, how to count money, total a sale, and how to make change.
- Have your child keep track of their time, their sales, inventory, and customers each day.
- Children use math when following recipes!  How many cups of sugar, lemon juice, or water to make a pitcher of lemonade?
- Can your child calculate how many cups of lemonade they must sell to earn a profit for that day?
- How many cups of lemonade will your child be able to sell from each pitcher of lemonade?
- Let your child find ways of decreasing their costs.  What package of cups is the most cost-effective decision?
- Is it less expensive to make lemonade from scratch, to buy pre-made, or concentrate?  What are the price differences?

Social/Life Skills
- Shopping!  Let your child play an active part in making the purchase decisions.
- Interacting with customers is a great way for your child to practice their social skills.
- Preparing Orders/Drinks - following directions!
- Using manners and learning how to provide friendly, quality service.
- Counting Money
- Encourages Teamwork (if working with other children)

Art & Creativity
- Do you have a name?  Have your child come up with a catchy name for their lemonade stand.
- Creating signage.  Let your child create special artwork or posters to promote their stand.
- What makes your lemonade stand different?  What can your child do to make sure their stand is noticed?
- Ask your child what might attract people to their stand?  Do they sell something unique and interesting?
- Perhaps your child has designed or created their own stand, or played a part in doing so.

Business Sense
- Children can determine how to market their stand or their products.
- Determining the best prices and products to sell.   Do you just sell lemonade?  What is "your strategy"?
- What times are the best to sell?  Where is the best location?
- What will people want to buy?
- Have your child consider, "Why would people want to buy my __________?"
- Have your child critique their business when all is said and done.  (refer back to language)

Social Studies
- When would people be most likely to buy your products?  Are there times of the day or days of the week where you are likely to get more patrons?
- What kinds of things would people be most interested in buying where you live?  Are there lots of kids, or more adults?  Do people prefer sweeter drinks, or would cold water be more popular?
- Is your home a place where you would get enough traffic to make it worth while?  If not, is there another place you might be more successful?  Would a mobile stand be possible?

Science
- How hot is it outside?  What will you need to keep your products cool for your customers?
- Does the temperature outside effect your business?  Are there more or less people out in the heat?  Do your sales increase with the temperature?

Health
- What do you need to do to keep your stand a healthy environment?  Do you use gloves? Wash hands? etc.
- Do you have food items that will be unsafe to eat if they are not kept cold? or not cooked well enough?
- What about your child's health?  Do they have something to provide shade on a hot, sunny day?  Are they covered with sunscreen and adequately hydrated if they are out selling on a hot day?
- Do you want to offer healthy food and drink options at your stand?  What might those items be?  What makes them healthy choices?

Here's to Summer Fun and Learning!!

Sun Scholars On the Air

This Thursday morning I will be live, on air,

talking about Sun Scholars and my Summer Program at our local radio station. 

EEK!

I would LOVE to have you tune in!

Not only will I be talking about Sun Scholars, but I will be announcing a special I will be offering on my Summer Learning Program.  You won't want to miss it!

If you are not local to Dubuque, Iowa (ha ha... where is that, right?!)

you can still listen online at the Y105 link below.

Just click the "Listen Live" button in the upper right-hand corner.

Catch me THIS THURSDAY!

Between 8:15am and 9am CST.