Family Field Trip Fun ~ The Holtsville Ecology Center

The girls and I had so much fun visiting the Holtsville Ecology Center today.  We have been coming here since Emily was probably about 2 1/2 years old and always enjoy seeing and learning about the different animals.  I have to admit, we probably haven’t visited in at least a year, so when I saw a friend post pictures of their recent trip on Facebook, I knew we had to visit during our Spring Break from school.  It is about a 40 minute drive from our house, but it is totally worth it.  The girls always have a great time checking out the animals and then there is also a playground and a picnic area, so you can really make a nice day trip out of it.  Plus, since it is still an off season it was free to get in. (Although starting May 1st it is only $5.oo a car, which is totally worth it!!)

All ready to check out the animals!!

Emily and Clara really enjoyed feeding the goats, so I made sure I had a handful of quarters with me to buy the pellets to feed them.

A great view of the foxes.

Emily and Juliette really liked reading the information about each animal. They were very interested in their lifespan and how the different animals got here. The ecology center is a place for animals to live that can not be released back into the wild. The two bald eagles that live here have wing injuries and are unable to fly. We also found out that one of the foxes never learned to hunt and relies completely on humans to be fed.

I love that Emily and Juliette are at the point where they can read on their own and are actually looking to find out more information by reading the signs and plaques at the different places we go to.

It’s hard to pick a favorite animal to visit.

The farm section has chickens, cows, goats and a pig.

Inside the education building we found an Iguana

There was also an exhibit of stuffed animals, owl pellets and other interesting things.

Check out some of our other family field trips.

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Helping Others ~ Bookmark Making

Emily is participating in the Presidential Service Club at her school, which provides the students with some opportunities to participate in community service projects. So far they have made pillows and blankets for a nursing home and helped clean up litter around the school.
Most of the hours are meant to be earned on their own. I really had no idea where to start, since most volunteer oportunities are for children that are older. I was very encouraged as I was looking on the internet for projects that we could do together to earn the service hours and have found a few local organizations that we have really enjoyed working with.

One of the organizations I found to work with is The Book Faries. They are an organization which provides books to teachers and students in underprivliged areas. Emily and I were able to go to their warehouse and help sort the many boxes of book donations one Saturday afternoon. There were many teachers that came in to pick out books for their classroom libraries and it was so awesome to see them getting excited about the books they were able to take for free! It was also cute for me to see Emily finding books that we were sorting that we own or have borrowed from the library. She would say “ooh I loved this one” or “Mommy we have this one too!”

I found out that when they have free book fairs for the children at these schools to pick out a book to owen they also give each child a bookmark. I thought this would be a great project for all of us to work on together. My sister was kind enough to provide us with lots of different scrappaper, punches and stickers from her huge collection of scrappbooking supplies and we went to work.

After we finished designing the bookmarks I laminated them and the girls helped me cut them all out. I like that they are laminated becasue they feel more sturdy and will last much longer!

Even Clara got in on the fun and colored these bookmark pages that I printed for her from Stories by Storie .

I am so excited about this fun and creative way to help other kids, especially since we love reading so much and now can share that with other children!

What kinds of volunteer activities do your participate in with your younger children?

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Clara’s Strawberry Sprout

In Tot School last week Clara planted some strawberry seeds. We placed the container on the windowsill and have been waiting for the seeds to sprout. We were all so excited when we checked on it and found this little green sprout!!

We can’t wait to watch it grow. In the meantime we will be working on lots of fun plant art and science projects and reading books all about gardens, seeds and planting.

We have already really enjoyed these great books about plants and gardens:

The Small Seed, by Judith Nicholls ~ We are loving that this is a touch and feel book. It starts out with a small seed being planted and grows, roots a shoot and then a stem. Finallly, there is a beautiful sunflower. All done in a fun rhyiming text. Clara loves finding the touch and feel part on each page and I think the tactile interaction helps her retain the information better too.

The Surprise Garden, by Zoe Hall ~ This is a fun book that shares the journey of 3 children planting a garden that surprises them with all the wonderful food that grows from the plants. I really liked how it talks about the different parts of the plants that we eat. All of the girls have really enjoyed this book which is always nice. We also really enjoyed the collage like illustrations in this book.

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, by Kate Messner ~ I really love this book because it shows young readers what is going on not only Up in the Garden where the plants are sprouting and growing, but down in the dirt in the hidden world where the roots are growing and insects creating creating tunnels and burrows. This is the story of a garden over the course of a year. We really enjoyed looking at the illustrations and finding all the fun details on each page. At the end of our book was a quick refrence page that gave a few facts about the different animals that were introduced in the garden and explained that some are helpful and others are not. Again I liked that this books was fun for all the girls to read together.

What are some of your favorite planting themed books?

For more planting fun and activities be sure to check out some of the plant and garden projects we have done already!!!

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Muffin Tin Monday Revisited

It has been a LOOOONNNGGG time since we have had a Muffin Tin Monday meal in our house. My older girls used to love them and I was always amazed at how much better they ate when they had a meal in one of our many different types of Muffin Tins. Recently, I was talking to my sister in law about how to get our girls to eat a little better and remembered Muffin Tin Meals. After talking she tried it with her girls and actually texted me a picture of my nieces muffin tins, then I knew I had to start this up again with Clara. Of course the first one we did she said she did not want and that she does not eat muffin tins. This time I just put together her lunch and placed the Muffin Tin infront of her. She loved it and ate every last bit!! I am so excited about bringing Muffin Tin Monday back into our routine and am looking forward to sharing our different meals here.

Clara’s Muffin Tin Lunch

Top Row: Homemade Hummus and Pita Chips

Bottom Row: Grapes and Watermelon Chunks

Also check out our other Muffin Tin Meals

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A Tie Dye Party for Emily’s 9th Birthday

This year for Emily’s birthday party she decided she wanted to Tie Dye shirts with her friends at her birthday party. My first thought was, that would be great if your birthday was in the summer and not the winter. How was I going to be able to have kids Tie Dy inside my house. Then I remembered seeing a way to tie dye shirts with Sharpie Markers on pinterest. After looking it up and testing it out a few times I decided that this was something we could definitly do and it turned out to be a lot of fun and not very messy either!!

I set up our dinnning room table with a tray for each girl to work on. In the center were all the Permanent Markers and rubber bands we had for the girls to use.

I gave each girl a plain white t-shirt and showed them how to roll and tie up their shirt with the rubber bands. Then they got to work coloring the different sections in with the permanent markers.

When the finished coloring, while they were still tied with the rubber bands I sprayed them I sprayed them with rubbing alcohol enough to saturate them, but not to completly soak them. The rubbing alchohol makes the permanent markers ink run and spread out over the material. It is really cool to watch the colors spread and blend together.

After about 5 minutes the girls took off their rubber bands and I hung the shirts up to dry. Once they were dry they should go into the dryer for about 5-10 minutes to set the ink or be ironed.

I had made Emily a shirt to wear on the day of her party and my husband came up with the idea to have each of her friends sign the back of her shirt. It is a fun keepsake from her birthday party. 

While they were taking turns signing her shirt I gave each girl a rainbow scratch door hanger for them to work on. They really had a good time with this activity and it lasted a lot longer than I anitcipated.

I had fun making these tie dye t-shirt cookies for the girls to have with the cake and I also indivitually wrapped one for each girl to put in their goody bags.

The part that I loved the most about Emily’s birthday party is that she decided that instead of asking for presents for her birthday she asked each girl to bring a pair of pajamas for her to donate to Jake’s Jammies. This is a charity that provides a comfy pair of pajamas for children that are in the hospital. When the lady came to collect all the pajamas that Emily collected I was so proud of her. I started to tear up as she told me how worried she was that there wasn’t going to be that many pajamas and how it made her birthday so special when she saw our coffee table overflowing with pajamas that she knew were going to make children in the hospital SO happy and comfy.

We always like to do a photo booth at the girls party so that we can get pictures of the girls with their guests. I was hoping to find a nice tie dye table cloth, however there really wasn’t that much available. My husband did find really cool tie dye print Duct tape which we used for a picture frame photo prop. With the pictures that I took I turn each one into a photo card and send the personalized card as the thank you for coming to the party.

The girls after the party with their finished tie dyed shirts!

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BOO at the Zoo!!

We love visiting the Bronx Zoo and since we have the Family Membership we try to visit as often as possible.  We have never had a chance to visit during the Bronx Zoo’s Boo at the Zoo, but after seeing all the fun that they have to offer during this time of the year we will definitely need to make a trip this fall!

Check out below to see all the fun festivities that will be going on during the next five weekends!!!

There is no other venue in the tri-state area that offers as much Halloween fun as the Bronx Zoo's Boo at the Zoo. Festivities run for FIVE weekends beginning Saturday, October 4th in addition to Columbus Day and Halloween. Activities range from a magical illuminated pumpkin walk to costume parades with stilt walkers and giant puppets to musical theater, Broadway show performances, magic, crafts, treat stations and more! Families can also check out our animal exhibits of bats, owls and other winged icons of Halloween. Guests can also embark on a trip back in time with a ride through the Dinosaur Safari before it goes extinct!

This year don't miss the premiere of the mesmerizingg Jack O 'Lantern Illumination – Creatures of the Night. Be amazed by more than 1,000 hand-carved and beautifully lit Jack 'O Lanterns, meticulously sculpted into various animal shapes, ranging from bats, to reptiles, marine creatures, mammals, nocturnal birds, and bugs.

     

Sand Sculpt USA is back for in-person carving of fabulous 3-D pumpkins. View their artistry as they sculpt animal mothers and babies, a fantastic Komodo Dragon and other lizard species and a Dracula lion. There will be a spectacular grand finale during Halloween weekend consisting of a 3 day carve with 3 sculptors utilizing a 600 lb. pumpkin!

Boo at the Zoo offers families a safe, fun-filled way to celebrate the beloved Halloween holiday.  It is THE go-to event for everything spectacularly spooky and family-friendly. It will bring a guaranteed day of fun for the whole family so be sure to make a trip to the Bronx Zoo and embrace the Halloween season!  

Visit www.bronxzoo.com/boo for specific details and times for all of the wonderful Boo at the Zoo activities.

What: Boo at the Zoo at the Bronx Zoo

When: Weekends starting Saturday, October 4-Sunday, November 2; includes Columbus Day and Halloween

Where: Bronx Zoo

2300 Southern Boulevard

Bronx, NY 10460

718.741.8294

Don't miss Boo at the Zoo celebrations at Prospect Park Zoo (October 25-26) and Queens Zoo (October 31-November 2) as well. Check out ProspectParkZoo.com and QueensZoo.com for more details.

Ghost Town at Sundown :The Wild West~Poppins Book Nook

 

Emily loves reading and is working her way through the Magic Tree House series.  I love these books because they combine fiction with non-fiction to create a fun story that children can actually learn from.  For this month’s Wild West theme she read Ghost Town at Sundown (Magic Tree House).  In this book the Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie back to a ghost town in the Wild West around the 1880’s. They meet a mustang herder named Slim and also some rattlesnakes, horse thieves, a lost pony, and even a ghost.

Both Emily and Juliette had fun decorating their own Cow Girl Boot to go along with this book and the Wild West theme. 

I found a great Cowboy Boot Template that the girls used as an outline. I set them up with our box of markers and bin of collage materials and let them decorate however they wanted to. 

Ready for some more Wild West fun? Then be sure to check out the co-hosts of Poppins Book Nook and if you have a book and activity post that fits with this month’s Wild West theme, feel free to add it to the linky below. 

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