Outdoor Color Station

My kids love being outdoors during the summer months. While they enjoy spending time playing with their favorite outdoor toys, I like to introduce some new activities every once in a while. An Outdoor Color Station is simple to set up and provides lots of opportunities to learn about color and practice fine motor skills. We recently had some friends over and used plastic cups for beverages. I cleaned those cups out when we were done with them and gave them to my kids to use in their water table. I used the same cups, some water and liquid water colors to create an Outdoor Color Station. You can use food coloring for this if you don't have liquid water colors on hand. Be sure to get the kids in their play clothes because things can get messy and wet!

You will need:

• Liquid water colors or food coloring
• See-through cups or containers (large and small)
• Droppers
• Water

The set up for this color mixing activity is pretty simple. Get some small containers (I love reusing applesauce and fruit cups) and pour in a few drops of food coloring or liquid water colors. Add water to dilute the color somewhat. Set these colorful cups up outside along with some larger see- through containers filled halfway with water. Provide some droppers as well.

Now just let your kids explore with the colors.

There is so much to be learned in this activity. My daughter discovered if she added more drops of a color to the water, it would turn darker.

She also learned about what would happen when she mixed different colors together and she experimented with many different color combinations.

Color mixing can also be a collaborative effort. "Hey, what will happen if we mix your purple with my yellow?"

In addition, squeezing the droppers provided a great fine motor exercise. My daughter tried different grips when squeezing the water in and out of the dropper.

When the girls filled their large cups nearly to overflowing, they dumped them and refilled their cups with fresh water from the water table. 

I was surprised that this color station occupied my kids for so long. They played all afternoon, mixing colors and creating concoctions.

For more fun color activities:

         10 Colorful Activities                                                 Fine Motor Straw Necklace

     

Want more Mess?
Subscribe via Email or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Google+

Cranberry Banana Bread - Food Fun Friday

I don't remember baking much with my mom when I was kid. She was working hard to support our family and if I am being honest, she is just not a baker. She can cook Italian food like nobody's business though. Baking however has never really been her thing. I love baking, and love it even more when I can do it with my kids. It is an opportunity to teach them a recipe, learn to follow directions, and work on our patience as we wait for our creations to bake. This family friendly recipe offers a twist on traditional banana bread. I added cranberries and white chocolate chips, which are two of my favorite cookie ingredients. I used applesauce in place of butter to make this a little healthier. You can do this without missing any flavor or moistness. This Cranberry Banana Bread will almost melt in your mouth. It is that good!

You will need:

• 1/2 cup of applesauce (I used unsweetened applesauce)
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 mashed bananas
• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the applesauce and sugar in a medium bowl.

Mix the applesauce and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.

You will need 4 mashed bananas for the Cranberry Banana Bread. The most kid friendly way I have found to mash bananas is to place them in a zip top bag and let your child crush it with their fists.

This was so fun for my daughter and it gets out any aggression you might be feeling. I may have to try this banana smashing method myself the next time I feel stressed out!

When the bananas are completely mashed, add them to the applesauce and sugar mixture along with two eggs. Stir until thoroughly combined. 

In a separate, smaller bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 

Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and add the vanilla.

Add the dried cranberries.

Add the white chocolate chips. 

Stir until all the ingredients are combined.

This required quite a bit of work on my daughter's part. After a few minutes, she said her arm was tired so I took over. 

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. Check on your banana bread while it is baking. After 40 minutes the top of mine was fairly brown, but the inside was still wet when I poked it with a toothpick. I covered the top with foil for the remainder of the cook time.

Let the Cranberry Banana Bread cool for few minutes, and then remove it from the loaf pan and enjoy. My daughter had two helpings at snack time. I limited myself to one, but it wasn't easy. This banana bread is so moist and delicious. The cranberries add a nice chewiness and flavor.

This bread would also be great with some chopped nuts, I am thinking walnuts or pecans. If you don't have dried cranberries, try the recipe with raisins. 

For more fun ways to bake with kids, check out:

          Irish Soda Bread                                      Soft Pretzels with Butter

       

Want more Mess?
Subscribe via Email or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Google+

Kid Made Father's Day Gifts from The Kids Weekly Co-Op

I don't know about you, but Father's Day just crept up on me. A lot is said and done for Mother's Day (with good reason) that sometimes Father's Day gets lost in the end of the school year shuffle. But I found lots of clever Father's Day ideas that were linked up last week at The Kids Weekly Co-Op. Every Thursday, creative bloggers link up their ideas and activities for kids. This week, I am sharing some Kid Made Father's Day Gifts that were linked last week. I will be making a few with my kids. Don't forget to link up your kid friendly project below. If you have been featured this week, grab a button!

Thursday is Sharing Day over at the Mess for Less facebook page. Share a link and photo of a kid or family friendly post you have done. To see what everyone is sharing, click on "Posts to Page" on the lower left hand side. I will be pinning and sharing posts on facebook throughout the week. See you there!

Father's Day Card from Little Fingers Big Art
I just love this necktie card. You can use any variety of pattered paper you have to make these.

Father's Day Gifts from Kids from Pre-K Pages
If you Dad loves cookies (and what Dad doesn't?) there is a great idea for creating a cookie container.

10 Father's Day Gift Ideas that Kids Love from Frogs, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
Some fun ideas for cards, a handmade apron and more!

95 Cool Father's Day Ideas from Tip Junkie
No matter what Dad's interests, you are bound to find something he will love. There are ideas kids can make as well as adults.

Coupon Book for Dad from 3 Boys and a Dog
If your budget is a little tight, these printable coupon books are sure to be a hit. I mean what dad wouldn't want help with the yard work?

Father's Day Pack from Enchanted Homeschooling Mom
Free language arts and math activities with a Father's day focus.

Father's Day Ideas from The Mad House
If Dad is a coffee addict, he will love this personalized mug.

A Father's Day Gift: LEGO Card Holder from Planet Smarty Pants
Does your child love LEGOS? They can help to build this unique card holder.

King of the Grill Printable from Fun Handprint Art
This lion craft is made all the more cute because it uses your child's hand and foot prints.

World's Best Dad Printable from Artsy Mama
This free printable has a place for your child to be creative. I will be printing out a few for my kids.

<a <span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">href</span></span>="http://<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">weeklykidscoop</span></span>.com/" rel="<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">nofollow</span></span>"><<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">img</span></span> title="The Weekly Kids Co-Op" <span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">src</span></span>="http://b-<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">inspiredmama</span></span>.com/<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">wp</span></span>-content/uploads/2013/05/The-Weekly-Kids-Co-Op-150px-Button.<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">jpg</span></span>" alt="The Weekly Kids Co-Op" target="_blank" /></a>

<a <span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">href</span></span>="http://<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">weeklykidscoop</span></span>.com/" rel="<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">nofollow</span></span>"><<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">img</span></span> title="I Was Featured at The Weekly Kids Co-Op" <span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">src</span></span>="http://<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">weeklykidscoop</span></span>.com/<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">wp</span></span>-content/uploads/2013/05/Featured-on-The-Weekly-Kids-Co-Op-150px-Button.<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">jpg</span></span>" alt="I Was Featured at The Weekly Kids Co-Op" target="_blank" /></a>

An InLinkz Link-up

Want more Mess? Subscribe via Email or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Google+

Fizzing Sidewalk Paint from 101 Kids Activities

I received a copy of 101 Kids Activities for review. All opinions are 100% mine. There are Amazon affiliate links in this post. If you chose to buy the book on Amazon via the link below, Mess for Less receives a small commission.

If you are a regular reader at Mess for Less, chances are you have a child and are looking for ideas and fun activities to do with them. When I am looking for inspiration, one of the first places I go is Kids Activities Blog. You can imagine how excited I was to hear that Holly Homer and Rachel Miller, the creative minds behind the blog, have come out with a book, 101 Kids Activities. This books is chock full of activities (and beautiful photos) that your kids will ask to do again and again. I was so thrilled to receive a copy that I was doing one of the activities with my kids within an hour of getting the book. This is our take on Fizzing Sidewalk Paint from 101 Kids Activities.

From 101 Kids Activities by Holly Homer and Rachel Miller, printed with permission of Page Street Publishing June 2014

This activity trumps ordinary sidewalk chalk with a little science magic by creating a chalk-based paint and then spritzing on a little fizz. It all starts with pH. When solutions that are pH base mix with an acid, action happens!

Materials

+ Large mixing bowl

+ 1 (1-pound [454 g]) box baking soda

+ ½ cup (63 g) cornstarch

+ Warm water

+ Several containers to hold the paint

+ Food coloring

+ Paintbrush(es)

+ Spray bottle filled with vinegar—1 per child

+ Buckets for cleanup

In a large mixing bowl, mix the baking soda and the cornstarch together. Add the warm (almost hot) water, stirring until it is the consistency of pancake batter. Split the recipe into several containers, adding the food coloring color of your choice to each.

Use the homemade paint to create a scene or flick it with a paintbrush into a modern masterpiece. It is best to work fast because the paint dries quickly (but can always be diluted with the addition of more warm water).

Once the painting is in place, it is time for something a little extra. Spray the artwork with the vinegar-filled bottle and watch what happens. Your artwork will sizzle and pop!

About Cleanup

A bucketful of water splashed across the art can make it disappear. Because that is fun, too, you might not want to wait for rain.

Modifications for Younger Kids

If a paintbrush is hard to negotiate in the paint, give your children a spoon and let them drip or drop spoonfuls of paint onto the pavement. For the little ones, be sure to fully supervise when they spray vinegar. It can sting little eyes.

Modifications for Older Kids

This activity is an easy way to work in a lesson on reactions between acids and base chemicals and talk about why this works. Maybe you can have your budding scientists adapt the recipe to see whether they can get bigger bubbles and more fizz in their next batch of paint.



TIP

Do you have a prewriting preschooler? Use a turkey baster to squirt vinegar at the paint. The grasping and squeezing helps strengthen finger muscles they will use when they are writing.

Our Experience with Fizzing Sidewalk Paint

I love how easy it was to customize the color of the paint just by mixing different colors of food coloring. We created a beautiful rainbow of colors!

My kids used both a paintbrush and a spoon to paint the sidewalk. They preferred the spoon because they liked watching the paint splatter as it hit the ground.

When they were done painting, they got to spray vinegar on the paint and watch it fizz. What fun! This was their favorite part.

My daughter painted a sun and was excited to see it fizz when she sprayed the vinegar on it.

My kids added way more vinegar than was required because it was so cool to watch the sidewalk paint bubble up.

Besides being a fun painting experience, this activity teaches kids a little about science and reactions, while the spraying of the vinegar helps to strengthen little hand muscles.

I can't wait to try the remaining 100 activities in the 101 Kids Activities book. You can pick up your copy on Amazon.

For more paint recipes check out:
          Bubbling Glitter Paint                         Glitter Finger Paint

    

Want more Mess?
Subscribe via Email or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Google+

What I Keep in my Summertime Road Trip Essentials Kit

It's the time of the year when soccer fans turn their attention to Brazil and The Big Game. Although my kids haven't gotten into playing soccer yet, that doesn't stop us from celebrating goals. This past year has been a big one for my twins. They started kindergarten last Fall. Though going to "big kid school" was somewhat intimidating, it has been a huge success. The girls have grown academically and socially. It has been wonderful to see how they have blossomed this year. To celebrate completing kindergarten, we decided to take a summertime trip to Disneyland. Before we left, I headed to Walgreens to create a Road Trip Essentials Kit.

I am a Balance Reward Member at Walgreens (free and simple to join) are was happy to take advantage of the program that allowed me to earn 3,000 points for purchasing these select Johnson & Johnson products: AVEENO®, BAND-AID®, LISTERINE®, NEOSPORIN®, NEUTROGENA®, TYLENOL®, and ZYRTEC®. Whenever I earn 5,000 points I can redeem them for a $5.00 reward.

If you have ever taken a road trip, then you know it's best to be prepared. I grabbed some staples at Walgreens that should be part of any road trip kit, like Band-Aid bandages, Neosporin and Neutrogena Beach Defense Sunscreen. 

I always like to have all the essential items I may need with me in one place so I can move everything to different backpacks and bags as we set out each day. You don't need a fancy bag for this. I find a gallon zip top bag works perfectly. So what exactly do I keep in my Road Trip Essentials Kit? 

• Sunscreen (I like a broad spectrum SPF like Neutrogena Beach Defense)
• Band-Aid Bandages
• Neosporin ointment
• Thermometer
• Hand sanitizer
• Baby wipes
• Tissues

Pack all of the above items in a large zip top bag. I make sure to first pack my tissues in a small zip top bag just to make sure they stay dry in the event that any items in the kit leak. This kit really came in handy during our trip to Disneyland. With all the walking we did, there were a few trips and falls and it was great to be able to clean up a small scrape with a baby wipe, use some Neosporin and a Band-Aid, and be on our way.

Each morning, before we left the hotel parking lot, we would all spray on Neutrogena Beach Defense. I prefer using spray with my kids since it is quicker and the kids love the cool feeling as it goes on their bodies. Just spray and spread evenly over the body 15 minutes before sun exposure and you are good to go!

The kids had a great time celebrating at Disneyland. The rode on rides (my twins were finally tall enough for the more thrilling ones!), met characters and enjoyed fireworks and parades. Of course my youngest, who is 4, is now looking forward to her Disneyland trip to celebrate finishing Kindergarten. What have I started? Luckily that is a few years away, so I can start saving now. 

Thanks to #CollectiveBias for helping us to #CelebrateEveryGoal. 

Want more Mess?
Subscribe via Email or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Google+