Clubhouse "Teeth"

A few hard boiled eggs, some jars, and a couple of items from the refrigerator. 

Thus begins our Dental Health Month adventures.

Clubhouse Paint, Just add Muscle

Today being Valentine's Day, we were definitely going to enjoy creating Valentine masterpieces for the people we love. To me this meant it was the perfect day to introduce another another new paint to the Clubhouse.

The Art table had our card stock paper, different colors and sizes. Crayons, markers, glue sticks, hearts and heart shaped cookie cutters were also available. I wanted the kids to be a part of mixing the colors and making the paint, so I had a variety of food coloring and little cups full of corn syrup.

Letting the kids add a few drops of food coloring to each container of corn syrup, they were able to make a variety of colors. They mixed red and blue to make purple. They mixed red, blue and green to come up with a "chocolate brown" color. They also left a few without color, liking the "invisible" paint idea.










Once all the colors were mixed, they used the heart shaped cookie cutters to paint hearts. Cookie cutters make pretty good stencils!


















After the hearts were painted, we went outside and got involved in a pretty wild game of baseball. I blame the Pitcher for all of the high flying balls.
Yes, I was the pitcher :)


By the time we were done with our baseball game and a quick snack, the hearts were dry. Now the kids got back to work, using the glue sticks to add glitter hearts and Valentine banners I had cut out of an old scrapbooking kit.

Then, the painting continued. At this point the corn syrup paint had thickened somewhat, so the kids had to work a little harder to mix it, and the paint strokes required a little more effort to get the paint all over the paper. This made these kids want to work harder to cover up just about every inch of white paper in color. They were working hard and extremely focused.

"I'm using my big muscles!" (Let the bodybuilding competition begin...)

"I can paint a lot because I have strong muscles!" (Yes, this is where a little bit of flexing started to take place.)

"You need more muscles to paint with the color Green." (For some reason, that particular color had thickened up a bit more than the rest.)

This is just another reason I am excited to explore many different paint recipes in the classroom. The activities become that much more stimulating, and the kids get that much more involved. Suddenly painting was a sport and I was surrounded by athletes. Amazing what a few items from the pantry can do, no?

In the end the creations dried bright, shiny, textured and colorful. They were very proud of their work, and that is always the best part.

The photos never capture the actual shine in a painting, but these were taken once the paintings were completely dry, and they still look wet. Now that's shiny!

The heart shaped cookie cutters will probably be retired later this week, but the Corn Syrup Paint is definitely here to stay!

Hope your Valentine's Day was as colorful as ours,

Ms. Liz

Clubhouse Painting, Just Add.. Gum?

The easel is always a popular spot at the Clubhouse. New paintings are frequently being added to the drying table outside, and then eventually making their way onto classroom walls or parent refrigerator doors. Since we have so many budding artists, I have decided to introduce a new "paint recipe" weekly so we can explore different textures, colors and even scents!

First week, painting with Epsom Salt. I just so happened to have a bag full of it back from the days where I did Pilates twice a week, and Zumba on weekends. Really, what  was I thinking? I have since decided that chasing children all day is more than enough exercise for me. Anyways, I digress.

Epsom Salt, 2 cups.

Hot Water, 2 cups.

Food coloring, just a few drops.

I combined the epsom salt and hot water, and then distributed the paint mixture into different cups, coloring them all differently. The mixture was warm when I added it to the Art table, but not hot, of course.

Speaking of the Art table, I set up some heavy card stock paper, different sizes and colors. Glue sticks. Crayons. Chalk. Markers. They went to work right away, as they often do when they see they are using glue sticks!

As they glued and colored, I introduced the paint mixture...

and then things got really exciting.

The epsom salt I used was scented, and a minty scent immediately filled the classroom. The kids LOVED this. 

"This paint smells like gum!!"

"This paint smells like toothpaste!!

They grabbed their brushes and dipped in, immediately noticing all of the chunky salt pieces in the paint. I probably could have heated the paint mixture longer to dilute the salt, but I wanted them to see and feel the texture differences as they painted. Trying to get as much salt on their paint brushes as they could, they completely saturated their papers. (Which is what I thought would happen, and why I used the heavier card stock paper.)

Digging to the bottom of their paint cups to collect all the salt chunks on their paintbrushes, they carefully balanced as much salt as they could to get it onto their papers. Inhaling with every paint stroke, they kept talking about things that smelled similar to this new paint they were using. Spreading the salt all around their papers they commented on how it made noise as they painted, the salt rubbing on the paper.

I love any activity that engages different senses, and this one was a winner indeed, with 4 out of 5 senses actively engaged. Surprisingly, although it smelled like it might be delicious, no one attempted to engage the fifth sense. Yay! You just have to love that breakthrough age, where not everything goes into the mouth anymore ;)

Sidenote: The toothpaste comment did allow us the opportunity to get into a conversation about brushing our teeth (dental health lesson bonus!)

Once the papers were officially and entirely covered, we took them outside to the drying table, and talked about what we thought they might look like once they were dry. They kept running to the table checking on the pictures, noticing how they changed as they dried. Looking at them, touching them, smelling them...

"It's getting shiny!"

"It doesn't smell anymore!" (This was a very disappointing discovery.)

"It feels like sand!"

"It's turning WHITE!!" (This was a very exciting discovery.)

In the end, painting with epsom salt was a success. The paintings did end up drying very white, as you can see from this one painted by my Son, who insisted we hang it in the kitchen. 

The crystals and the "shine" don't come through very well in the photo, but his excitement about his creation definitely came through as he exclaimed to his Daddy, "I painted with GUM!!!"  

I think I'll soak in the leftovers,

Ms. Liz

Clubhouse "Cloud Dough", Dinosaurs Attack!!

We have made every type of Play Dough under the Sun here at the Clubhouse, but this new "Cloud Dough" recipe I kept seeing pop up everywhere was completely new to us, and we love trying new things!

The first recipe I stumbled across called for 4 cups of Flour and 1/2 cup of Vegetable Oil. I have since seen different renditions using Canola Oil and calling it Moon Dough.  I wanted a Chocolate-ish Dough so we decided to venture out on our own with this one.

I wanted the dough to be the color of Sand, so we went with Whole Wheat Flour. For the Chocolate effect we added Cocoa Powder to the recipe.

We were doing this activity in the sensory table so I went with a larger quantity of ingredients, hoping for a pretty large batch.

• 7 cups Whole Wheat Flour    
• 1 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil

I just let the kids dump it all in and start mixing. They thoroughly enjoyed getting their hands in there and mashing it all together, and I must admit it smelled delightful! The cocoa powder added just the scent we were looking for.

It didn't take long for it to start to form into this dough I have heard so much about. I don't know why it gets it's name from the Clouds or the Moon, it actually felt like that perfect combination you get when you add just the right amount of sand to water. That sand that makes the best sandcastles.

Once it was all mixed up I added some cups, heart shaped cookie cutters and silicone molds, which are available throughout the Clubhouse Classroom.

Little hands went right to work stuffing and sculpting and building, every once in awhile stopping to inhale that scent. I'm not kidding, it smelled fantastic!

When packed nice and tight, it held the shape of the mold. 

The sensory table smelled like chocolate and was full of hearts and castles. All the kids were focused on their creations. 

It was lovely... 

..and
then
suddenly,

we 

were 

INVADED!!!

The kids are always bringing items from other parts of the classroom to the sensory table, and I encourage such exploration. That is what learning is all about. It's amazing how they use the sensory experience to complete their own research, and often times they take the activity in an entirely different direction. 

As is the case here.

Goodbye hearts and castles, 

Hello Dinosaur World.

The castles turned to towers, and weren't built fast enough before a Dinosaur came along to destroy them. They took turns being the Dinosaur who built the tower, and the Dinosaur who got to stomp it all down. Yes, these were very polite Dinosaurs. 

Then they started to explore the imprints the Dinosaurs made, comparing the size of their footprints and deciding that the bigger the foot was, the bigger the Dinosaur was. 

It didn't end with feet though. Now they wanted to see if they could leave teeth marks behind... (which worked, by the way!)

On and on the Dinosaur exploration went, and to think... it isn't even Dinosaur Week ;) 

One of my favorite things about this age group is how fluidly they can shift into a new direction, and how as a Teacher (or Parent) you get to enjoy the ride as they explore and learn.

Learning is what happens when you're busy making lesson plans, right? 

In this case, Dinosaurs are what happen when 

kids have had enough Hearts for one week :)

I'll tell you one thing though, these were the best smelling Dinosaurs I've ever met.

I think I'll call it Dino Dough,

Ms. Liz

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Clubhouse Jar of Hearts, Healthy Hearts that is!

We like to add another sensory jar/bottle to the classroom at least once a month. Last month we made our Glitter Jar (If you missed that one, check it out here.) Not a day goes by I don't see a child shaking it, observing the glitter as it settles, rolling it to watch the glitter stick to the sides of the jar.  This month, a Jar of Hearts! You may think this is another cute Valentines Day idea, and it actually is, but here at the Fit Kids Clubhouse we are also learning about having a healthy heart... more about that in a minute, let's get to the jar making already.

Start with a jar. You can use plastic bottles if you are more comfortable with that. I often prefer jars as the heaviness of the jar adds to the experience for the kids. They are always cautious, careful as they manipulate the jars.

Add some colored water, about a cup in this case. The kids chose red water for our Heart Jar. It's always a little risky letting the kids do the pouring, but letting them pour is all part of the learning experience. Sure I have to clean up messes from time to time, but around here we never cry over spilled color water.

Next, add some corn syrup. There are many ways to "thicken" the solution in sensory jars such as this one, but to me corn syrup is the easiest way to go. No boiling, no preparing, just let them squirt it right into the jar.

I love the little faces as they squeeze the corn syrup bottles. This is a good place to ask some questions.

"Does the corn syrup pour out like the water did?"

"Why do you think the corn syrup takes longer to come out?"

The answers the children provide allow you to have a conversation about the differences between water and syrup, a bonus Science lesson!

I'd like to tell you exactly how much corn syrup was added, but I must admit I wasn't measuring. I just let them squirt until the jar was about 3/4 full. Once there's enough corn syrup, it's time to add some hearts!

I found a bag of different sized confetti hearts that worked perfectly. We didn't add glitter to the water since the hearts were already covered in glitter. They were different colors, and some were whole hearts while others were just heart outlines. Exactly what we wanted.




Once all the hearts were added, I secure the lid tightly and let them mix it all up to see what happens next. (Lids are later glued on for added security since these jars will be getting a lot of use.)



This is the part where they get to explore how the hearts slowly flow through the water, how some float and some seem to sink, how even their colors change.

Sensory jars never get old around here. Every time we make one they are entertained for quite awhile, amazed at how everything moves around in there.

Now we start to discuss our own hearts, and the importance of keeping them healthy.

This may not seem like an exercise in heart health, but it is. We discuss how exercising keeps our hearts healthy and we talk about our favorite exercises.


We talk about how important it is to eat healthy foods for our heart, and what those healthy foods are. We even start a nice long list of foods that are not healthy for our hearts, and why even though they might be yummy, we shouldn't eat them!

All the while the kids are rolling the jars around, peering inside, watching the hearts. You may think that playing with the jar is a distraction to what we are learning about, but it is actually an addition to what we are learning about. The Jar of Hearts is now associated with ways we can keep our hearts healthy! How do I know they made the connection? Well just look at where they decided to keep the classroom Jar of Hearts...

...right in the Clubhouse Kitchen where we have our 

healthy eating food group collages.

Now that is definitely an association that will stick! ;)

How about making your own Jar of Hearts this month and not only using it to celebrate Cupid, but to celebrate ways to keep your hearts healthy in your home?! 

Hearts are not just for Valentine's Day,

Ms. Liz

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