Posted by Jen E @ mommablogsalot | Posted on 10-07-2009
Category : Featured Reviews, Momma's Say
Tags: bartholomew and the oobleck, books, corn starch, dr seuss, fun, kids, oobleck, project, reading, recipe, science
Yesterday Dan came home early from work, which normally just means, “Hurray, he gets to help me make dinner!” But he happened to come home early at a pretty terrific moment because I was just getting ready to make Oobleck for the very first time. If you’ve never heard of Oobleck (maybe I’m the last person on earth to hear about this stuff, but then again, maybe not) it’s pretty fun stuff! It’s named after the strange material that falls from the sky in Dr. Seuss’ book, Bartholomew and the Oobleck. You can find recipes for oobleck all over the Internet but I’ll save you some google searching / link clicking and just type it out for you here because it is easy peasy.
- Mix 1 cup of water with a couple drops of food coloring
- Add in 2 cups of corn starch and mix until combined
- Add in extra corn starch or food coloring if desired
Dan found that our potato masher (click the link to see what ours looks like, as they are all different) worked the best for mixing this stuff – you want something fairly sturdy that can get in there and make sure all the corn starch gets mixed in. Once it’s all mixed in and colored to your liking, get your hands in there and get ooblecking!
So what is this oobleck stuff? Well, it’s a bit of a mystery mixture – it doesn’t seem to know if it’s a liquid or a solid – you can roll it into a ball in your hands but if you stop applying pressure it will ooze through your fingers. Punch the mixture and it will feel as hard as a brick wall (or so) or touch it gently with your finger and it will be as ooey gooey as it looks.
If your kid gets really messy (as they should) and it splatters on the table or you let it sit on your hands long enough, it will eventually dry to look something like glue. Crush that dry stuff with your finger and it will turn to dust. The dust can be vacuumed or swept up and thrown away – which makes for easy clean up. My husband also found that if you dip a tissue into the mixture (carefully) and remove it, the gooey oobleck will turn dry right away because all the moisture will be taken out of the mix. Science is fun!
- Want to store your oobleck for another day? Put it into a Ziplock bag and refrigerate. You might want to label it – I’d hate to be the person who tried to eat it – yuck!
- Word of warning: Do NOT dump your oobleck down the kitchen sink – it can clog the drain!
Posted by Andrea @ Red Knows How | Posted on 28-04-2009
Category : Featured Reviews
Tags: broke, cheap, free, fun, things to do with your family
We are saving for a house, while paying our current mortgage. Plus between all sorts of bills popping up I’m pretty much without spending money. So lately we have been trying new and fun ways to enjoy life without spending alot. Here are a few ideas we’ve come up with on things to do with the family that are FREE (oh, yes, I said free) that everyone can enjoy.
- Go to a local park. Sure everyone says this, but we barely ever do it. What we’ve been doing is trying new parks. Going out of our comfort range and seeing what the local parks have to offer. I never knew that one of our local parks has a Bat House (Not like the Bat Cave), until we went there and read all about it. Take a drive and stop, get out and enjoy. Wonder around and see what you can find. Be sure to bring a camera because the near by Parks and Playgrounds provide the best background for long lasting pictures. Not sure where to go? Check out Kaboom! Where you can see and rate your local playspaces.
- Learn a little (or a lot). Go to your local Museum, Learning Center, or even Zoo. I know, this can be super expensive to do. We have a family of four and I’ve felt the crunch of trying to get us all to go to the Boston Aquarium or one of the other local attractions. What I have learned is that alot of these local places have free days. Once a month, usually on a set day, you can attend for free. So give them all a call and write down those days. Yes, it will be much busier that day but the trip will be worth it. Also, if you are a Bank of America card holder you can go to alot of local attractions for free by just having their card. Look into it B of A customers, it could be well worth it for you!
- Go Camping. In your backyard I mean. Don’t have tents? Put up some bug repelent stuff and drag out the blankets! Enjoy your own backyard in this camping adventure. It’s basically no cost and can be fun for the whole family. Start a safe fire and tells stories around it. Rent a library book about astronomy and look at the stars.
Over the next few weeks I will be growing the list to include more great ideas as me and my family experience them. Is there anything your family likes to do that is free/low cost? I love ideas!
