Chocolate/Vanilla Chip Cookies!

I have been told these cookies are amazing - and I agree - I really enjoy them too.  Maybe I haven't had enough home-made cookies but I can't imagine a goo-y chocolate chip cookie straight from the oven could be bad!  But I have been told a number of times that these are the best chocolate chip cookies.  Since I've never made a different recipe - I wouldn't know if they really are the "best" - they are just the ones that we make around here.

This is a quick recipe - my six year old can pretty much make them herself.  It is an easy recipe that doesn't take a lot of time - so if you know me - don't be surprised if I show up with them next time I visit or drop them by your door as a surprise...remember, this recipe makes two dozen...and I'm only giving away half.  The other half is for me and a glass of milk ;-)

Chip Cookies Recipe

• 2 1/4 cups flour (I use unbleached flour, sometimes sold as bread flour)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt (I just use a sprinkle - I never measure salt so I always put in less than what a recipe calls for)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups or 1 package of chocolate or vanilla chips

How to

• Cream/mix both sugars with the butter. 
• Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until blended. 
• Add the flour, baking soda, and salt.  You can mix these in a separate bowl and then add to the wet ingredients or if you are trying to take a short cut - you can add the flour on top of the wet ingredients and then stir the baking soda into the flour with a spoon before using the mixer.  Sometimes my cookies don't turn out as fluffy without mixing the dry ingredients together thoroughly, but they still taste good even if they are a little flat!
• Bake for 10 minutes at 350.  Bake until the edges start to brown.

Enjoy!
 

Cupcakes!

Who doesn't love a yummy creamy cupcake?  My daughter just adores cupcakes and I'm all for eating them as a "junk food" snack - so long as they are homemade and filled with some yogurt to balance out the sugar and butter!

Here is our family's go-to favorite cupcake recipe.  You can eat them frosted or not (I will just leave them on the counter as a sweet treat without the frosting and the kids will eat them just as quickly!)

Cupcake Recipe

• 1 1/2 cups flour (I use unbleached flour, sometimes marked as bread flour)
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• salt
• 1 stick butter (softened)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup vanilla or plain yogurt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

How to:

• In one bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder a a pinch of salt.
• In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs (one at a time).
• Beat in the yogurt and the flour mixture alternating between the two until its all added.
• Beat in the vanilla.
• Pour the mix into lined muffin tin filling each about half-way.
• Cook in 350 degree oven for about 14 minutes or when a knife inserted into the middles comes out clean.

Icing

• 1 stick butter
• 2 cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar
• 2 tablespoons yogurt (plain or vanilla) and this ingredient can be left off if you don't have it.

How to:

• Melt the butter.
• Mix in the sugar and yogurt.  It may be a little lumpy or smooth - it tastes just as good both ways.
• Frost your cupcakes by dipping them into the bowl face-down.  Give it a little twist on the way up and the cupcake is perfectly frosted.  Plus the kids love to do this step!

Enjoy!

Sugar Cookies!

I am always on the hunt for a good sugar cookie recipe - one where the dough rolls out easy and the cookies don't stick to the table...ahhh...doesn't that sounds great!  If you happen to have one - let me know!  In the mean-time - this is the recipe that we have made countless times.  The dough can be tough to roll (you can put it in the fridge for a bit before to help but be careful not to leave it in too long), but it's manageable.  The dough will stick to the table without enough flour under it - you can roll it between parchment paper or wax paper to help.  But it's not too bad and it's all part of making cookies :-)

Sugar Cookie Recipe

• 2 sticks softened butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour (I use just regular unbleached, sometimes called bread flour, for everything)
• salt

How to:

• Use a beater to mix the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla in a large bowl until mixed.
• Add the flour, sprinkle the salt on top of the added flour.  Mix again with the beater.
• You can refrigerate for 30 minutes or not at all - your call ;-)
• Cut with cookies cutters and bake for about 14 minutes at 350.  You can add sprinkles before to decorate if you want.

Enjoy!

Pizza Pizza!

A Friday favorite for sure is PIZZA night!  The kids love eating it and I love that it cooks in 15 minutes and that my girls always help throw it together!  They snack on all the ingredients too, adding to the fun!

Pizza dough (easier than you would think)

This is one of the most forgiving doughs I know - you can let it rise all day or not at all.  You can add too much flour and it still comes out yummy.  It's a hard one to mess up.  The only thing messy about this recipe is that the quantities are difficult.  It takes 1 package of yeast to make a pizza and a half.  It can be stretched to two pizzas but halving the recipe seems to leave me a little short for a nice size pizza. This recipe I feel comfortably makes a pizza and a half.

• 1 package of yeast
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

• Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water for about 5 minutes (until a little foamy).
• Add the oil.
• Then add the flour and the salt (I just add the flour then shake the salt right on top.  I don't measure the salt and probably never put close to a teaspoon in).
• Mix and knead.  Knead until it looks elastic and all the same color (you can't see the flour).  It's probably a few minutes.  It's a very forgiving recipe so you can kneed for 2 minutes or 5 and it will still work out.
• Let rise (or not)
• Oil the pizza stone (a little bit of oil prevents sticking)
• Roll out.  Pizza dough is a bit tough to roll.  To save time I will sometimes roll it right on the pizza stone.  If you flip it while rolling it - it will stop snapping back into its ball shape. 
• Add the sauce (we use jarred spaghetti sauce - the same that we add to our spaghetti) and spread with the back of a spoon.
• Add toppings (bacon, pepperoni, tomato, pineapple  - whatever you like!)
• Add the cheese.  I recommend grating your own mozzarella instead of buying the pre-grated.  The taste difference is worth it!
• Cook for 10-15 minutes at 500 degrees.  It's ready when the crust is browning and the cheese is melted and browning a bit too.

Enjoy!

Chicken Enchilada Recipe

This is a favorite around here - lots of gooey cheese, homemade sauce; what can be bad about that!

Enchilada Sauce

This is easier than you would think.  For all my recipes, I use homemade chicken broth which makes it economical.  You can also make it ahead and freeze it.

This is taken from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/easy-enchilada-sauce-recipe/index.html and altered a little.  The original recipe makes a very thick sauce and I prefer a more liquidy sauce.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 cup chili powder

3 cups chicken broth

1 small can of tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

salt (I just shake a little in - I never use much salt!)

 

How To:

• Heat the oil and cook the flour for about a minute
• Add the chili powder and cook for about 30 seconds
• Add the chicken broth, tomato paste (it will mix in as it warms up), cumin, salt, and oregano and bring to a boil
• Keep it at a strong simmer for at least 15 minutes to let the flavors mix

 

Chicken Enchiladas

• approx 10-12 corn tortillas (Trader Joes has a great one for just 99cents and very few ingredients!)
• about a pound of chicken, diced (for my family, this is a leg, thigh and a breast but you could probably use 2 breasts)
• chili powder
• vegetable or canola oil
• onion, diced

 

To make the chicken, cook the onion and chicken with a little bit of oil (I prefer olive oil) in a frying pan until the chicken is cooked through.  Sprinkle with chili powder during cooking.

 

To make the tortillas, heat the oil in a frying pan until hot.  Fry each tortilla shell for about 10 seconds.

 

To make the enchiladas, dip the shells into the sauce.  Then add some chicken and cheese and roll it up.  Place in a baking dish.  When all the chicken and tortillas are used up, dump the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle any leftover cheese on top of that. 

 

Cook at 375 for about 30 minutes until warm and cheese in melted.

 

Enjoy! 

 

 

Science in the Park - Ghoulish Science!

This week at Science in the Park - we made slime, goo, and blew up balloons....with a chemical reaction!

Experiment 1: Slime

In this experiment we mixed together borax and glue to form goo-y slime!

Materials:

• Borax (bought it at Target!!)
• Water
• 2 mixing bowls
• Glue

How To:

• Mix 1 teaspoon borax in 1 cup water.
• Mix equal parts glue and water (ex. 1/2 cup water with 1/2 cup glue)
• Add a little bit of food coloring to the glue and water mixture to make it look cool!
• Slowly add one teaspoon of the borax solution to the glue solution and stir.  It will begin to stick together and form into slime! 
• Enjoy playing with the slime!  Wash hands after because the borax is a chemical.

 

The Science:

When the borax, glue, and water are mixed together, long molecule chains are formed.  These chains are called "polymers" which you may have heard when referring to plastics.  Plastics are a type of polymer!

 

Experiment 2: Goblin Goo!

In this experiment cornstarch and water are mixed together to form a fun goo!

Materials:

• Yogurt cup
• Cornstarch
• Water
• Food coloring

How To:

• Mix 1 part cornstarch with 2 parts water (example 1/4 cup cornstarch with 1/2 cup water)
• Add a little bit of food coloring to make it look cool!
• Push your finger in slowly and it will feel like a liquid.  Push your finger in quickly and it will feel like a solid!

The Science:

You just formed a "Non-Newtonian" substance!  This is a substance that doesn't follow Newton's law that a liquid flows at a predictable, consistent rate.  The reason why it acts the way it does is because the cornstarch is very fine and the particles are basically held in suspension in the water (they are not dissolved).  Since cornstarch is unique in that when pressure is applied, the grains of cornstarch will hold their shape and size - it reacts to pressure by holding its shape; but if you move slowly then you are not putting pressure on the grains and they moves out of the way.

Experiment 3: Monster Balloons

This experiment uses a chemical reaction to blow up a balloon!

Materials:

• Balloon
• Vinegar
• Baking Soda
• Water bottle (empty)
• Sharpie

How To:

• Put about a teaspoon of baking soda into a balloon. 
• Fill the water bottle about a 1/3 full with vinegar.
• Holding the ball of the balloon that has the baking soda in it to one side, stretch the bottom of the balloon over the water bottle.
• When the balloon is stretched over the water bottle - lift the ball of the balloon up and shake a little so the baking soda falls into the water bottle.
• The chemical reaction will create carbon dioxide gas that will blow up the balloon!
• Once the reaction is done - tie the balloon and use the Sharpie to decorate!

The Science:

The baking soda is a base and the vinegar is an acid.  When these two mix, they cause a chemical reaction whose byproduct is carbon dioxide which is a gas that blows up the balloon!

Enjoy!

Crafting Stories - What was I Scared Of?

Book: What was I Scared of? by Dr. Seuss

Craft: A pair of scary green pants with nobody inside them!

 

 

The Book:

This is a story about a little character that goes out in the night and keeps stumbling on the "a pair of scary green pants with nobody inside them"!  He gets scared and runs away until one time he finds the scary green pants crying...they bond and then the pants are no longer scary.  Then when they pass each other at night - they happily say "Hi".

 

 

 

Craft:

This craft will make a pair of green pants that can say "Boo" and "Hi".  Like the pants in the story, the craft pants can "scare" people with its "Boo" and happily say "Hi" to people.  My four year old hid behind the island when her Dad came home and put the pants with the "Boo" and "Hi" signs sticking out.  When her Dad saw the pants, she jumped out and said "BOO!" <pause> "Hi!".  Totally adorable!

 

 

Materials:

• Green construction paper
• A bright colored construction paper (eg yellow)
• A dark colored construction paper (eg black)
• Marker
• Scissors
• Hole puncher
• String
• Stapler 

How to:

• Cut out 2 pieces of green construction paper in the shape of pants (template: template link)
• Staple them together around the sides a bottom so that there is a pocket at the top.
• Cut a circle out of a bright color (we used yellow) and write "Hi" on it.
• Cut a circle out of a dark color (we used black) and write "Boo" on it.  We used "Boo" cut out of white paper and used a hole punch to make the circles for the "B" and the "o's".  You can also use chalk to write "Boo" on dark paper.
• Punch 2 holes in the pants.
• Punch a hole in each of the circle pieces.
• Tie one circle piece to each of the holes in the pants. 
• Decorate the pants!
• Scare somebody! 

 

Enjoy!

Crafting Stories - Bee and Me

We read the story "Bee & Me" and made a cool bee to go with it!  We love this story around here because it talks about how bees are good and that we should be kind to them!

Book: Bee & Me

Craft: A bee you can fly!

Book

Craft

 

Materials:

• Yellow construction paper
• Black construction paper
• Wax paper (from the kitchen)
• Yarn
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Tape
• Template (here)

 How to:

• We cut out the body of the bee and traced it on yellow paper. 
• Then we cut out just the middle section and traced it on black paper.
• Next, cut out the antennas and trace on black paper.
• And we cut out some rectangles for strips.
• The wings are cut out of wax paper.
• The kids assembled the bee by looking at a sample and using a glue stick.
• Then they drew on some eyes.
• And we punched a hole with scissors in the middle and added a piece of yarn, taping it on the bottom.
• Now - you have a bee you can fly!

Kids Cook - Chili

This week we had the kids cook us chili and cornbread for dinner!  It gives the kids some time in the kitchen and a sense of accomplishment because they "cooked" dinner!  So fun!

Chili Cooking

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of beef (or turkey)
• 3 stalks of celery
• 1 small onion
• 1 large jar of tomato juice
• 1 1/2 tomatoes (about a cup and a half chopped)
• 1 1/2 cups chili beans (home cooked - see recipe below or 1 can of beans)
• 1 can tomato paste
• brown sugar (the not so secret "secret ingredient")
• chili powder

Prep Work:

• Cook the meat with the onions and celery
• Sprinkle the meat with chili powder
• When cooked through - set aside
• Dice the tomatoes
• Prepare the beans (if homemade - see recipe at end)

Kids Work:

• In a large pot mix the meat
• Add the tomatoes
• Add the beans (with some of the sauce)
• Add the tomato paste
• Add the tomato juice
• Add a spoonful of brown sugar
• Add a spoonful of chili powder
• Mix everything together!

Cooking

Simmer on the stove for about a half hour to blend the flavors and warm it all up - then enjoy!

Cornbread Cooking

Ingredients:

• (for a full 13x9 pan; halve it for enough for a family of 4/5)
• 2/3 cup butter softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups milk
• 2 1/3 cups flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• sprinkle of salt

Prep Work:

Have all the ingredients and a hand-held mixer ready to go!

Kids Work:

• Kids love to use the mixer - just be sure little fingers stay out of the bowl and that if you leave the mixer to grab and ingredient - unplug it.  And make sure it is "off" before plugging it back in!
• Have the kids cream the butter and sugar (you can make the butter very soft by microwaving it for 20 seconds or so - a little melted is fine)
• Add the eggs and milk
• Mix again
• Then add the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and sprinkle with salt.  You can add all these on top of the liquid and just give it a quick mix to distribute the baking powder a little.
• Mix again - and done!

Cooking:

Cook in a 400 degree oven for 22-27 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Here's what you will have!  Yummmmmmm....

Home cooked beans

These are very easy to make and much tastier than the store-bought (and healthier too!)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups water (or more)
• 3 cups (or a little more) of dry pinto beans soaked in water overnights
• small onion (chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves (chopped)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1/4 cup taco seasoning (great homemade seasoning recipe: http://www.theyummylife.com/recipes/76 but I don't add the cocoa powder)

Recipe:

• Discard water and rinse beans
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat
• Add 1 small onion (chopped)
• Add 4 garlic cloves (chopped)
• Saute the onion and garlic until soft
• Add the tomato paste and stir to combine
• Add 1/4-1/3 cup taco seasoning (homemade seasoning recipe here)
• Add 3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth) and 4 cups water
• Add the beans
• Strongly simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, keep the water level just the beans (just add water when necessary) and cook until the beans are tasty and tender

Crafting Stories - If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

This week we read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and then followed it up with a craft to make a mouse puppet and (of course!) cookies!

Story: If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
Craft: Paper bag mouse puppet

First we read our story - If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

 

Then we did our craft - Paper Bag Mouse Puppet

 

For this craft, I printed off the template from http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/paper_bag_mouse_puppet.htm Then we cut and colored the pieces.  We glued them onto the paper bag to make a mouse!  Then we took some circles cut out of brown construction paper and decorated them to be the "cookies"!  Some of the kids glued a cookie into the mouth of their puppet.  So cute!

And since our mouse ate cookies in the story - we had to eat cookies too! 

 

Enjoy!


 

Our "A" Day!

My four year old and I had our very first letter day!  We talked about the sound that "A" makes, we hunted for the letter "A" at home and at the store, we found things that began with the letter "A", we made "A" crafts and we wrote a whole bunch of "As"!

The Sound

Use "A" as in "apple".  This is the short "A" sound - the long "A" will come later as the kids start to read.

Writing It

As I prepped the craft, I encouraged my daughter to write a bunch of "A"s - as many as she could squeeze in.  I made up a quick worksheet on PowerPoint  - link to worksheet.

Crafting It

Since "apple" begins with "A" and they are in season right now - we painted an apple tree and added pom-poms as the apples.  I first outlined the apple tree in black marker so that it would give my daughter a guide for how to paint the tree and so the black lines would show through at the end.  My daughter got creative and used a large purple pom-pom to look like a hole in the tree ("where animal lives!").  We also used this craft to talk about all the different colors of apples (red, pink, green, yellow).

Fun and Games

• We had two games - the first was to take a letter "A" that I had cut out of paper and glued onto a white back and find "A"s wherever we went.  Whenever she found an "A" - she added a sticker to the paper until she filled up the entire paper!
• The second game was to find things that start with the letter "A".  For this, she had a bingo sheet that I made up in PowerPoint - link to sheet.  As we went about our day, we found all the things on the sheet - some of them were stuffed animals we had around the house, some of them we found at the grocery, and some we found on our walk! 

Enjoy!

Science in the Park - Oil vs Water

This week we took a look at how oil and water just do not mix! 

Experiment 1 - Fireworks in a Jar!

In this experiment we will be making fireworks while exploring how oil and water do not mix.

Materials:

• yogurt cup (or other small container)
• food coloring
• oil
• spoon
• jar with water in it

How To: Step 1

Put a few tablespoons of oil in the cup and let the kids squirt a few drops of food coloring in it.

Step 2

Stir it up! If you skip this step - the colors will not look as pretty.

Step 3

Carefully pour the oil into the jar so that the oil stays on top.

While you watch the colors will fall through the oil and into the water where they will mix with the water and look like fireworks!

The Science:

The oil is less dense than the water - so it stays at the top of the jar. The food color is not so it slips down and then mixes with the water to create the fireworks!!

Experiment 2

In this experiment we used the principle that oil sits on top of water to paint paper!

Materials:

• Tins
• Water
• Oil
• Food coloring
• Card stock paper (the thicker paper works better)
• Fork
• Pipettes (or eye droppers or spoons if you don't have either)

How to:

• Add just a little bit of water to the bottom of the tin - you need enough to cover the whole bottom of the tray (approximately 1/8 inch).
• In a yogurt cup, mix a little oil with food coloring.  This needs to be mixed vigorously and with a fork.  Eventually (up to a few minutes) it will look like it is blended.
• Then take the pipettes and drop the oil on top of the water in whatever pattern you choose!

 

• Once the oil is added, take a piece of paper and gently lay it on top of the water.  It will soak up the oil and you will see this through the paper.
• Leave it there for 10 seconds or so and then pull it up and you will have a neat design on the paper!

The Science:

The oil sits on top of the water and so the oil mixed with food coloring is what sticks to the paper!  Oil and water do not mix because of the "like dissolves like" principle of science.  What this means is that water is a polar molecule and oil is not.  Since one is "polar" and the other is not - they cannot dissolve in one another; but rather they stay separate.  And since oil is less dense than water - it sits on top of the water. 

Experiment 3

Now that we've played with oil - let's clean it up!

Materials:

• The tin with the water and oil in it from the previous experiment
• A polyester rag

How to:

• Give the kids a small piece of polyester and challenge them to clean up the oil. 
• The polyester will do a decent job of cleaning up the oil!

The Science:

Polyester is a polypropylene - which is made of the same elements as oil (hydrogen and carbon).  These materials attract each other since they are the same; thus the polyester soaks up the oil!

Enjoy!

Crafting Stories

Today we started reading stories and doing arts and crafts that go with the story!

Story: A Very Hungry Caterpillar
Craft: Painting a caterpillar!

First we read our story - The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Then it was time for the craft! 

 Here's how:

• Moms drew three circles on white paper by tracing yogurt cups.
• We used Sharpies so that it would show through the paint.
• We also added legs and feet to our drawings and a nose, mouth and antennas.
• Then we gave the kids one paint at a time and asked them to paint each circle a different color.
• When the painting fun was done - they picked out a set of eyes and stuck it into the paint to make their own very hungry caterpillar!

Enjoy!

Field Trip - Balboa

Today we visited Balboa Pier and Island and we had a blast!

We parked near Balboa Pier (to find it - you can google maps "Balboa Pier Newport Beach") where they have a rather large hour parking lot.  It is a quarter every 10 minutes ($1.50 an hour) to park there but well worth it. 

First Stop - The Beach!

The beach is right in front of the parking lot and it is a great beach!  It is a long beach filled with crushed shells that wow-ed my girls.  The pier is right there and is a wonderful distraction.  There is a Ruby's Diner at the end of the pier too.  We spent an hour playing with My Little Ponies, searching for sand crabs and of course looking for the prettiest shell on the beach! 

Next Up - The Ferry!

We walked to the other side of the Peninsula and then a little to the left and there is the ferry!  The kids just loved the ferry!  We took it across to Balboa Island and walked around a little but unfortunately had to head back early for another commitment.  If we had more time - we would have brought scooters and toured the island.

Ferry Prices:

• Car and Driver: $2.00;
• Motorcycles and Mopeds: $1.50;
• Adult with Bicycles: $1.25 cents;
• Children with bicycles $.75 cents
• Adults: 1.00 cents, Children 5-11 .50 cents; Children under 5: free.

 

On the Newport side of the ferry - there is the Balboa Fun Zone which has a small ferris wheel and an arcade.  There is also a Nautical Museum called the ExplorOcean (http://explorocean.org/) and from the outside it looked really neat!  If we had more time - this would have been on our list of things to explore!  Next time!

Crafting - Puffy Paint

Today we had some time to kill....so why not make some home made puffy paint!  It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast seeing what their creations would look like when they turned "puffy"!

Materials:

• Thick paper for painting on (it's a heavy paint)
• Yogurt cups for the paint
• Paint brushes
• Self-rising flour
• Salt
• Water
• Food Coloring

How To:

• Mix equal parts of salt and self-rising flour (for example: 1 tablespoon of self-rising flour + 1 tablespoon of salt)
• Add food coloring (a few drops)
• Add water until you have a paste that is just thin enough to paint with
• And PAINT!  btw - you can paint on thin paper or more of a card stock.  The card stock seemed to work better but plain white paper worked too.
• Once all the painting fun is done - microwave the masterpiece for 10-30 seconds and ta-da!  You have a puffy paint picture!

This is my daughter's picture of her two cats!

Science in the Park - Colors!

This weeks science was all about colors!  There were 3 expiements meant to "wow" the kids into guessing what would happen next!

Experiment 1: Coffee Filter Science

Materials:

• Coffee filters
• Yogurt cups with water in it
• Scissors
• Markers

How to:

• Take a white coffee filter and cut it into strips. 
• Draw a thick line about an inch from the bottom with a marker. 
• Place the coffee filter below the marker line in the water and let the coffee filter soak up the water. Then the colors will bleed up the coffee filter paper and will separate.  So if the marker was green, you will see streaks of yellow and blue. 

 

Experiment 2: Magic Spoons

Materials:

• Plastic spoons (preferably white)
• Vinegar
• Yogurt cups
• Baking Soda
• Food Coloring

 

How to:

• Without the kids looking - put a drop or two of food coloring on each spoon. 
• Add a lump of baking to each spoon.
• Fill up the yogurt cups with vinegar.
• Give each kid a yogurt cup and a magic spoon.
• Stir the magic spoon into the vinegar.
• The baking soda and the vinegar react and if you keep stiring - the color is revealed!

 

The Science:

Vinegar is an acid and baking soda is a base.  The acid and base react to form a gas (carbon dioxide) which are the bubbles that excite the kids so much!

 

Experiment 3: Pipette-ing

Next we broke out the pipettes and continued the acid base reactions.

 

Materials

• Pipettes
• more baking soda
• more vinegar
• tray

 

How to:

• Put little lumps of baking soda in the tray.
• Put some vinegar in yogut cups (color them if desired)
• Instruct the kids to use the pipette to suck up some of the vinegar and drop it into the baking soda to get the "fizz".
• This gives the kids a chance to practice using a pipette and it's fun!

 

Enjoy!

 

Field Trip - Griffith Park!

Griffith park Field Trip

 

Today the girls and I braved the traffic on the '5' and visited Griffith Park!

The Observatory

Good to know:

• Parking is not easy - we visited on a weekday in the summer and it was crowded. There is parking on the hill going up to the observatory and there is a small lot at the top. All of it is free so we choose to cruise the lot and we got lucky - VIP parking for 3 happy girls!
• Bring a camera - the views of LA and the Hollywood sign are incredible!
• Prepare to spend some time - there is a lot to see - we spent about 2 hours there and we could have spent more time easily.

Observatory Road Map

• There is only one show for little kids - the first planetarium show.  The show is at 12:45 on weekdays. We were aiming to get to this show but traffic was heavy and it took us twice as long to get there so we missed it.
• As you walk in to the left are tickets for the shows.
• The exhibit in the hall to the left has a number of telescope and talks about telescopes and their components. It is very interactive.
• The exhibit hall to the right has a number of small rooms that talk about the moon and it's effects on earth. It is very interesting and gives the kids great visuals for tides and eclipses. There was also a map showing where it is daytime in the world and we played a game where we would say - "now my cousin is awake" and "now my grandma is awake". Totally cute.
• You can also go downstairs which has an amazing exhibit on meteorites that you can touch!  It also has a number of little telescopes that you can look through at a large star map. And there was a guy there allowing people to hold a real meteorite!  Super cool!!
• Then...there is the outside of the observatory!  The views of LA and the Hollywood sign were amazing!  You can climb all the way to the roof too!  And there is a few terraces too. It was a very cool experience.

Pony Rides

Next stop was the crazy pony rides that thrill my little girls!  If you leave Griffith and go back in the next entrance - that's where you will find the pony rides. I say "crazy" because the ponies run around the track in a pack with just a guy yelling at them. The ponies trot and walk and it a sight to see on a busy weekend. But the rides are only $3 and the kids absolutely love them!

Choo Choo

Next to the pony rides is a cute little train ride. It is quite long and you go kinda fast. You also go across a bridge and through a little town that thrilled even my 6 year old.

 

Park Play

Afterwards we headed to the carousel which happened to be closed...but if you go towards the back parking lot, there is a great playground!  It has three separate play areas complete with swings, monkey bars and A LOT of  play structures that are perfect for imaginative play.

   If we had more time we would have visited the travel train museum which has all these great old steam engines that you can walk around...in the middle of a city park - very cool!We had a great day!

Field Trip: Train Ride to Olvera Street

My girls and I love to "ride the rails"!  Today the destination was Union Station in LA and then a walk down Olvera Street.  With a 4 year old and a 6 year old in tow and teamed up with two other Moms with their little ones, we left Irvine headed for Union Station on the MetroLink.  Here are the highlights!

Train Ride to Union Station

The train is definitely a highlight of the trip.  We had maps of where we were going and coloring sheets to keep the kids busy on the train but they were more excited about riding on a train and looking out the window! 

Good to Know:

• Free parking at Irvine Station is in the garage across the street.
• Tickets can be purchased at the ticket machines.  Credit cards are accepted.  
• Children under 6 ride for free.   
• Tickets are checked on the train.  They were not checked this trip. 
• This trip cost us adults $21 each (it would have cost us more in gas if we drove!) 
• Navigating the station: figure out which track is headed north and that the train is going to the end of the line - Union Station.  Use the bridge to cross over to the other track if needed.  It also has a great view of the tracks and trains!
• Oh, and don't pick the "quiet car" with a bunch of noisy kiddos.  The muffled voice on the loudspeaker will tell you which car is the quiet car.
• Beware that the train stops for a quick 30 seconds - so have everything ready to go! 

First Stop: Union Station

Union Station is in the heart of LA.  It was opened in 1939 and it is still the hub of LA rail traffic today.

Conversation Starters:

• Look up at the chandeliers!  Some of them weigh more than a car!
• Look down at the tiles on the floor - they are made to look like rugs.
• Point out the "Spanish Revival Architecture" - tall window arches, the browns and yellows with the blues (earth and sky) 
• If you see a courtyard - step outside!  All the plants in the courtyards are "native".  Talk about the kinds of plants that grow naturally in LA - discuss how there isn't grass and trees with giant leaves.
• Peer over the wall to the ticket counter. Use your imagination caps to paint a scene of busy ticket takers and crowds of people.  Describe how people would have had heavy trunks instead of suitcases with wheels.  

Next Stop: Fire House No 1 - the Plaza Fire House

This is a great historic landmark that will "wow" the kids while you say "Don't Touch!"  It really is not a hands-on place but it is a quick stop and it's free - you can't pass up free!

History Highlights:

• The fire house was only in use for a short 8 years 1884-1892.
• It had housing upstairs for men (you can see a little bed if you look at just the right angle) and 3 horses.
• After being a fire house (the city apparently never actually owned the land it was built on) it was a saloon, a boarding house, drug store and according to our docent - a house of ill repute. 
• The turntable on the floor is very neat!  The horses would bring the carriage in and be disconnected and placed in their stalls at the rear of the building.  The the turntable on the floor would turn the carriage around so that the horses could be easily hooked up for the next fire and they would pull the wagon out straight.  Moving the turntable was done by the fire fighters.
• There is a lot of talk of the Volunteer 38.  This stands for the 38 volunteer fire fighters that worked at this station.  However...they were not so "volunteer" - they actually got paid per the number of fires that they helped extinguish.

Logistics:

• Once you exit Union Station - you walk across the street and through the square and on the other side is the Fire House.
• It is free but donations are appreciated.
• It is open only Tuesday through Sunday 10-3.

Up Next: Olvera Street!

Walking back across the plaza and a little to the left - you will quickly find the brightly colored Olvera Street!  It is filled with carts and stores and restaurants.  It smells good and you can feel the energy!

What to do with kids there?!

• Eat - we found a little taco stand where we ate some cheap yummy food and were serenaded by a mariachi band (for a tip of course)
• Shop - plan on spending a few dollars for a souvenir - and I really mean a few!  We brought home a marionette puppet that the kids love for $5 and a little turtle figurine that my daughter just had to have for a $1.50.  We also did a little birthday present shopping and bought personalized guitars for $12 each - but really - can you top a personalized guitar - that is a great gift!
• Bargain - go ahead and try to bargain.  Bargain out the sales tax or try to buy a few things and drop the price a little. You can bargain so you should - it is always good to practice bargaining and to demonstrate it for your kids.
• Experience - Look at the old tall buildings.  Feel the vibe of the market and the crowds.  

History Highlights: 

• Olvera Street is the oldest part of downtown LA. 
• Originally Settlers had set up near the LA River but were forced to higher ground by unpredictable floods.  The new location grew into El Pueblo de Los Angeles where Olevra Street is located.
• Olvera Street is the center for Mexican traditions in LA.
• The Plaza was initially the civic center of LA but as the 1880s brought a new influx of people to the city, the city center was moved it its current location.  Olvera street fell into disrepair and took on a new position of welcoming immigrating families. 
• It was Cristine Sterling who worked tirelessly to restore Olvera Street and close it off to car traffic.  She secured donations from local brick and cement companies.  Inmates were used to do the hard labor.

And Now - The Avila Adobe House!

The Avila Adobe House is a wonderful place that you can tour for free.

Highlights:

• In the courtyard - there are beautiful grape vines growing on trellises above your head!
• There is the actual Avila House that you can tour.  A docent was present to give you a little history.
• It is remarkable the number of religious items in the house.
• The house tour ends with a look at a child's bedroom.
• There is a movie playing in one of the buildings of the courtyard...oddly enough the kids didn't want to stop watching it.

History:

• It is the oldest standing house in Los Angeles.
• The walls of the house are built of adobe and are about 3 feet thick!
• Originally the floors were dirt and would be swept several times a day.  The wood plank floor was added later.

Logistics:

• It is located about halfway down Olvera Street.
• It is open every day 9-4.

And that was our trip - we headed back to the train station in time to pick up Starbucks for the ride home and hustled our tired kids back to the train for a fun ride home!

Science in the Park - Oranges and Colors!

This week - we looked at the buency of oranges and at colors. The kids has a blast!

Experiement 1: The Orange

Materials:

• glass
• orange
• salt

Action!

We first started off with a simple orange and a simple question - would the orange float or sink in a glass of water?

Kids think - it will sink!
Experiement says - it floats!

The Science:

The orange peel acts like a life jacket - it has a bunch of tiny air pockets in the peel that give the orange buoyancy in water.

Next Step

Peel the orange and ask the kids now what they think will happen - will the orange float or sink?

Kids think - Sink!

Experiement says - Sink!

The Science:

This one is somewhat obvious. If we took the life jacket off the orange - then it will sink to the bottom of the glass.

A Twist

Add a few tablespoons of salt to the glass and stir. Ask again - will the orange sink or float in salt water?

Kids think - Sink!

Experiement says - Float!

The Science:

The salt changes the density of the water; making the water and salt mix more dense and allowing the orange to float. This can be "kid" explained by saying that the salt mixes with the water to create a salt-water that has more in it to hold up the orange!

Experiement 2 - COLORS!

In this experiement we will be making fireworks while exploring how oil and water do not mix.

Materials:

• yogurt cup (or other small container)
• food coloring
• oil
• spoon
• jar with water in it

Step 1

Put a few tablespoons of oil in the cup and let the kids squirt a few drops of food coloring in it.

Step 2

Stir it up! If you skip this step - the colors will not look as pretty.

Step 3

Carefully pour the oil into the jar so that the oil stays on top.

While you watch the colors will fall through the oil and into the water where they will mix with the water and look like fireworks!

The Science:

The oil is less dense than the water - so it stays at the top of the jar. The food color is not so it slips down and then mixes with the water to create the fireworks!!

Enjoy!