We are 100 days COOLer! :)

While I have been taking a bit of a blog break - or maybe a really, reeeeaaallly long one - I found I had some free time on my hands for a few evenings and thought it might be fun to jump back on for another post.  However, I'll be keeping the wording to a minimum (unless you take the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" literally).

This year, our 100 day celebration came during a bit of a rough patch of illness for us.  We'd been cooped up, and it just seemed like a bit of excitement was in order...

 

We'd already completed a winter themed 100th day at least 2-3 years ago.  However, my kids seemed to be really lamenting the lack of snow this year, so I felt it might be time to have a "snow day" once more. 

 

 Cover each activity with a snowflake once completed!

 

What an easy way to incorporate 100 with these melting snowman kits!  Simply give them 100 seconds to build a snowman and then enjoy the wonder of watching it melt...

 

Snowman necklace with 100 white beads!

 

Toss the "snowball" in a cup and add the numbers.  First child to reach or cross over 100 wins!

 

This was a more time consuming activity - consider yourselves warned if you attempt this at home.  I had each child lie down in a snowball fight pose (except for the youngest who stood against the wall) and traced around him/her.  They then painted themselves and broke open a bag of 100 cotton balls (snowballs) which they glued to the mural.  We actually ended up opening two bags because one just wasn't enough!

 

We counted out 100 cotton swabs and the kids used them to make snowflakes - even our toddler was able to participate in this one with a bit of help.   

 

Snack time!  We counted out 100 items (usually in groups of ten such as 10 pretzels, 10 yogurt covered cranberries, 10 mini rice cakes, etc.) and created our own snow mix for munching. 

It is hard to tell, but these melted snowman pictures are puffy and came out so cute!  We made the puffy paint by mixing roughly equivalent amounts of white glue and shaving cream.  It can be a lot of fun as long as the children are old enough to realize it should not be eaten (or you are sitting right next to your toddler).

 

Spelling practice - the kids practiced spelling snow/winter words in whipped cream.  Yes, our toddler enjoyed participating in this one as well!  The whipping cream was on top of brown (unbleached?)  wax paper.  This was definitely a finger-licking activity!  

Note:  Make sure you do this one AFTER the shaving cream painting above to avoid confusion regarding what can be eaten.   If you do them in reverse order, you run the risk of a toddler assuming that if you can eat one puffy whiteness first, the other is fair game as well.  

Happy homeschooling!  :)

100th Day of School!

I know, I know.  I said I wasn't planning on posting much the next few months as I attempt to rest and hopefully better recover from an ongoing health issue.  However, it was the 100th DAY OF SCHOOL, ya know?!  I couldn't just let that go by without a peep, right?  I'll make it quick though - promise.

Our theme was "Snow excited for the 100th DAY OF SCHOOL!"  Yes, you read that correctly - I decided to incorporate winter into our fun day mix (it is January after all).  

The picture above shows the sign that greeted my kids that morning (I also hung some snowflakes above the table).

Hunting in the "snow" (flour and salt mix which I later turned into play dough) for 100 cents!

Once they found all one hundred, I traded the pennies for a dollar bill (actually, I gave each one a dollar because that's just sooooo much more impressive than splitting the cents and each only getting $0.50).

Our themed shirts.  :)  Several days beforehand, the kids and I stamped one hundred snowflakes and snow dots on these.

This picture also shows one of the crafts they made - a snowball necklace with one hundred snowballs (beads in groups of ten).  The groups of ten are separated by some snowman face beads (just wooden beads I painted to look that way).

I was inspired by this post to make a surprise snowy breakfast.  I also made a "100" out of a sausage link (the number one) and pancakes (the zeros).

This was a craft where the kids glued one hundred snowballs (cotton) and one hundred snowflakes to a mural depicting a snowy day.

A game where the kids had to wear a snowman nose and try to keep a balloon (snowball) in the air until we counted to one hundred by tens.

Yum!  The kids helped me count to one hundred as we made a snowy snack mix for our 100th day (we would switch snack pieces after every group of ten we dropped in - ex. 1-10 macadamia nuts, 11-20 yogurt raisins, 21-30 bunny crackers, etc.).

We ended the day on a sweet note by making igloos with one hundred mini marshmallows (using white frosting as glue).  Let me just say, this wasn't as easy as I first thought it would be - but it was tasty!  :)

(Not shown but noteworthy - I issued a snowball challenge to my kids and husband.  I told them that if they could design/create a catapult that shot a snowball one hundred inches or further, they would all get a prize.  I am happy to report that they rose to said challenge and earned their prizes!)

If you are celebrating your 100th day milestone now or soon -  a huge CONGRATULATIONS to you and your kids!  Hope it is "snow" wonderful as you make new memories together! ;)

100th Day of School - Homeschool, That Is! ;)

Woo hoo!  Yesterday was the 100th day of our school year!  I must say I was a bit worried that we had missed it with all that has been going on at our home lately, but as I caught up on attendance/homeschool day records, I realized (JOY!) we hadn't passed that mark yet after all.   I even had a few days to quickly come up with some ideas...double JOY!

So being the Pinterest lover that I am, I headed that way for some inspiration.  Thank you once again Pinterest for helping to save the day (someone seriously needs to come up with a button saying "Pinterest to the rescue!"  Actually, they probably already have...and pinned it.  But I digress...).

Here's how the day went...

Miss A burst through a "100" sign when she got up in the morning (it was taped over the doorway).

A "100th Day" balloons and bear sign graced the table (a freebie that I colored).  I also added a little pizzazz to some breakfast muffins by sticking crazy candles on top.

We decorated more freebies - these ones for wearing: 100th Day of School hats and glasses.

Crown link here.  Glasses link here.

One of our first activities involved a Smarties hunt to go along with the "Congratulations - you are 100 days smarter!" note.  I had the kids use spoons (although at the end they switched to hands) to dig through the mix of cereal in a pan and then place the Smarties on a hundreds number chart.  

Once all the goodies had been recovered, it was time to practice some subtraction...in other words:  time to indulge those watering, patient little mouths.  You must admit, it is kind of amazing that all the Smarties actually made it onto the chart!

Then it was time for a weighing activity.  Notice that I posted this even though I was the only thing listed as weighing more than 100 pounds.  I'm not sweating it, but I DID have Daddy add his name to the list when he arrived home.

Snack time was an extra special affair - a make-your-own 100th day snack mix with some little surprise treats included (like M&M's).  I gave Miss A a paper on which to record the groups of ten items each as she counted them out from the ten paper plates to reach the big 1-0-0.  

Yummmm - definitely a hit!  :)

And knowing what the snack was going to be, I chose to do this activity afterwards to use up that sugar.  "How wise of you, Michelle" you might be tempted to think - but hold that thought...  

I suddenly realized that I was going to be roped into doing most, if not all, the exercises as well - why I didn't plan for this when I was coming up with exercises is beyond me.  BUT, I made it through our little workout - thinking more than once how this part or that part of my body would probably be sore later on...

This was another activity we found time for during the day, AND it was another freebie (find it here).  :)  I LOVE Miss A's responses - definitely going in the memory box!   Some of you may already know how to read Childrenish, but for those who have yet to discover the pleasure, here's a key for some of my favorite words/phrases:

"bracking throo a sin" = breaking through a sign

casols = castles

hawis = houses

noospaprs = newspapers

pickchurs = pictures

yun = young

I also like how her "this is what I look like today" and "this is how I think I will look in 100 years" pictures look the same except for the size.  Obviously, she would be more grown up in 100 years.  ;)

After that activity, we spent a very brief amount of time discussing aging and the elderly.  So this was how she made herself look in this picture showing her as a 100 year old woman.  

Another fun phrase completion:  "When I am 100 years old,  I will be too old to put up wreaths."  Cracks me up.  Definitely not what I would have written or thought of, but that is the beauty (and cuteness) of such open-ended possibility questions.

Well off to bed and then on to Valentine's Day activities...

Linking up here:

http://www.theeducatorsspinonit.blogspot.com/

www.homeschoolcreations.blogspot.net

www.tatertotsandjello.com