Starry Night

Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation. ~Lois Wyse

Mia made a horse with rider.

K made a D for daddy!

Today, at camp, we were thinking about stars and constellations.  Each grand created his/her own constellation using dark blue paper, chalk and toothpicks.  After the dots and lines were drawn, the grands used the toothpicks to punch holes into the dots.  When the papers were held up to the light, you could envision the way the stars might look in the night sky to form the constellations.

Ty's Tee-Pee


PJ Made a Constellation Viewer using a tin can, nail and small mallet. After he drew his constellation design on the circular yellow paper...

 Make sure you use a can-opener that leaves smooth edges.  

he used the nail and mallet to punch the design into the bottom of the tin can.  

After placing a flashlight into the can, we tested the image on the wall of a dark room. We were so pleased with the result.   

During game time, we had a relay race using a bowl of jello and about 40 marbles.  The grands had to take one marble at a time out of the jello and run to the wagon where they plopped the marbles into their own cups.  At the end, each grand counted how many marbles he/she collected during the relay.  It was messy fun!

Pops planned a Christmas Mad Relay for the grands.  Each grand took a turn pulling a piece of paper out of a paper bag and after reading what was on the paper, they had to do the activity. 

I think this was their favorite.  They had to decorate a tree with something from the yard.

I just loved the imagination that went into the decorating!

They used a frisbee...

jump ropes, a bucket...

and a straw for a candy cane! 

Grandmas never run out of hugs or cookies.

Mom-Mom made her famous sugar cookies and the grands had fun decorating and eating them.

Pops lead the grands in a review of the Bible story about Mary and Joseph finding no room in the inn as they traveled to Bethlehem. 

After we read these books...

the grands took a look at this picture...

Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night...

                                                                                          found in this book!

And then they...

painted their own Starry Night pictures using lines to make the waves of the wind

and circles to make stars.

The grands had fun shooting silly string (shooting stars) ...

all over the yard!


At lunchtime we made bread with cheese stars.

Flatten a tube of refrigerated pizza dough and cut stars with a cookie cutter, bake! 


Remember our toad in the flowerpot toad house? 

We now have babies! I guess she liked the house!!

So sweet!

'til next week - it's grand to be a Grand!

Christmas in July

Uncles and aunts, and cousins, are all very well, and fathers and mothers are not to be despised; but a grandmother, at holiday time, is worth them all. ~Fanny Fern

Today we stayed cool by celebrating Christmas in July.  We began by spraying a large round ice mound with colored salt water. 

We froze the ice mound in a round bowl.


We learned that the melting point of ice is 32 degrees F.  When we sprayed the colored salt water on the ice mound, it lowered the melting point of the ice so that it melted more quickly.

We sprayed...

and sprayed...

and sprayed some more until...

the ice...

began to...

look like this.


The grands had fun playing croquet! 

 They smacked those (snowballs) all over the lawn. 

After we read this book by Claire Freedman...

the grands used these materials to make...

Christmas Cards!!

They mailed their cards to...

 friends...

and family!

Pops lead the grands in a skit about the creation of the world. 

They had to jump through a machine which transported them back into time.

         At lunchtime, the grands made star- shaped tortilla sandwiches.





Yummy!

Merry Christmas from Nana, Pops and the Grands!!!

To The Moon and Back

Praise Him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars. - Psalm 148:3

We began our day today with Mia spontaneously creating necklaces out of Wikki Stix.  We called them our "Moon" necklaces.

Mia's Moon Necklaces!

Rocket sequencing from the biggest to the smallest was a fun introduction! 

This is a great math activity!

 

The grands made moonscapes by using rolled out plain-colored playdough. After the dough was rolled out they made holes that  looked liked the craters on the moon by dropping heavy objects onto the playdough. We talked about how gravity is the force that pulls those objects downward.

They dropped potatoes, rocks and a baseball.

The grands creating craters in the playdough.


Next, they painted their moonscapes, using washable paints...

 and then placed a piece of paper on top to lift the image.

So beautiful!

Ta-Da!

We read these books today...

and painted "moon rocks."

 

We also made space rockets with our MacGyver boxes using recyclable materials. They were amazing and I loved the creativity and imagination that the grands used to create their rockets.      For more information on how to put together MacGyver boxes, see www.tinkerlab.com.

Pops lead the grands in a skit about Noah's Ark.

Pops is wearing his snowman hat!  Since it was hot today, his hat made us feel cooler!


We made "Moon Pizzas in a solar oven for lunch.

 We used a pizza box to create a solar oven. For complete instructions, see Sharon Lovejoy's book Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars.

 Each grand assembled his/her own pizzas and then we set the solar oven in a sunny spot. 



Mom-Mom made Moon Rock Cookies for dessert.



Yummy!



The grands had fun with rocket ballons ...

and played in the sprinkler!


'til next week - It's grand to be a Grand!