Treasure Hunts

I have such fond memories of treasure hunts in my child hood. One summer my brother and I woke up to find that my dad had devised a humongous treasure hunt for us to do while he was at work. It was amazing! It was all over the house and outside over four acres of land. We had to use a compass for some clues and I think one of the clues was frozen into a block of ice that we had to figure out how to melt. We even had to dig for the treasure which was a note from my dad saying that the real treasure was the experience we had working together and discovering new things. The joy is in the journey and the material things in life aren’t important. And there was a silver dollar for each of us, which was totally awesome at the time.

The picture below is my parents’ back yard. Wouldn’t you love to go on a treasure hunt through a wild willow grove like that?

I remember my uncle Damon creating a treasure map for me and my cousins and making up this story behind the treasure and the map. I can’t quite remember the story, but I remember totally believing every word. I thought it was real treasure and a real map! He took us out to some big rocks that were perfect for climbing around on out in the middle of nowhere and we had to figure out where the treasure was. It was a big bag full of arcade tokens and he then took us to the arcade to play games with him. It was awesome!

This is a picture of a map my grandma made of her house and land. Don’t you just love the creative names she uses? She holds a cousin camp every year with loads of activities and crafts and games for all her younger grandchildren. She is amazing. You can make a map look old and worn by crumpling up paper so much that it becomes kind of soft and leathery. You can also burn the edges for an even older look. Or just draw the map onto some other kind of material like leather, a paper bag, or wood. My grandma made this map with out of a paper bag. She cut it into the shape she wanted and drew on it with markers. Then she crumpled it and got it wet. Then She smoothed it out, let it dry, stained it with instant coffee (you could also use strong tea or light brown paint brushed or rubbed on and off.) Then she got an old rag and oiled the finished map very lightly and put it between paper towls to soak up the excess. Voila…a very cool treasure map!

Not only did my grandma make this cool treasure map, but she had a whole quest planned out. The cousins had to follow the clues in a little book and find treasures that were all around the property in order to save grandma, who was taken captive by the “Evil Witchypoo.”  As part of the quest they had to fight a dragon (a stuffed dragon hanging from a tree), fight off horned devils ( the goats they had at the time), find the skeleton of the ancient kind (made from cut out pieces of foam core board), and find the flag of the king ( a pillow case on a broom handle). They also had to fight off a giant (my cousin Brick who is close to my age and very tall and buff). They found painted rocks in the sand box and edible treasures along the way to sustain them. At the end, grandma crowned them all and gave them badges of honor (cardboard circles with their names on string). I wasn’t able to get any pictures of that day, but next time I visit my grandma I will take a picture of the dragon. It is pretty cool.

I recently made a quick, easy treasure hunt for my little cousins. I just wrote out clues and hid them in the correct order around the house. If you decide to make a treasure hunt, try to challenge the kids. Don’t make the clues too hard, but give them a little challenge. Make it simple if they are little and more difficult with for older kids. The treasure doesn’t need to be anything expensive or fancy. Most kids will be happy with whatever it is. The bigger the treasure it is, the more it says, “ treasure is what it is all about.” You want the experience to be what they cherish and remember.

My cousins looking for a clue in the dishwasher.

They found another clue! The little guy in the orange is learning how to read and it was really good practice for him to read these clues.

Marbles!

One of my favorite child hood memories is playing marbles with my little brother, Riley. We had a huge collection of marbles. They were awesome. We had lots of little “mibs” and a bunch of big shooters.  We even had some made out of metal called “steelies.” When we would play marbles, it was all out war. We created bunkers for our marbles where they could hide out until they were used. And we had prisons, where we would keep the captured marbles. We even named our marbles. I remember there being one that was brown and a little bit transparent that I always named “root beer.”  All you need to do is take turns flicking a marble toward the other player’s marble. The first person to hit the other player’s marble wins that round and gets to take the other marble prisoner. Once some one runs out of marbles, the game is over and the person with all the marbles wins. Start with as many marbles as you want, depending on how long you want the game to last.

Another game that you can play with marbles is called, “RINGER”.  To play this game you need to make a circle on the floor. The bigger the circle the harder the game. Use tape or string to mark out the circle. Or you can just draw it into the carpet with a finger like we did in this picture. Pick on marble to shoot with and scatter the rest within the circle. Take turns flicking the shooter at the marbles within the circle. Try to knock a marble out of the circle. You can keep taking a turn until you fail to get one out of the circle, then it goes to the next person. You can keep shooting from where the shooter ends up. If it ends up in the circle, you can start from within the circle, unless the other player knocks it out. The person who wins the most marbles, is the winner! To see a cute video on how to play and the official rules click here.

 

Another fun thing to do with marbles is playing with a marble run. My great aunt Paunie used to have an old wooden one. You know, those tracks that you send marbles through. You can buy cheaper plastic ones that you can put together.

 

They are fun, but I think it would be a fun science experiment to have your kids create their own marble run track out of house hold items. The important thing is to let gravity do the work. You can use toilet paper rolls that are cut in half for tracks and tape them to a wall. You can also place these on a peg board to create a slant. You could also use PVC pipes to create the track. If you are really ambitious, make it go all over your house or use a pulley system. Watch this video below for inspiration:

You can get a bag of marbles a Walmart or and some dollar stores. Inexpensive fun!

Top picture: In flagrante Collecto

Homemade Gummy Bears (or what ever shape you want)

I LOVE gummy bears. I think I might be addicted to them. My mother in-law gave me a 6 pound bag of them for Christmas and they were gone weeks ago. I did share ( a little bit). The only way I can choke down vitamins is if I buy them in gummy bear form. And then I really have to use will power not to eat the whole jar and die of vitamin toxicity.

Did you know that you can buy a 5 Lb. gummy bear that is 9 inches tall? I want it.

Did you know that gummy bears were originally named Dancing Bears?

Did you know that you can also make home made gummy bears!!!

Well, now you know. And I am going to teach you how:

Ingredients:

• 1 box (3 oz.) of Jello, any flavor (I did apricot)
• 2 (1/4 oz.) packets of unflavored gelatin
• 1/3 C. water
• candy molds

Directions:

1. Put water into a small pot. Sprinkle Jello and gelatin over the top. Let sit for about 5 minutes.

2. Turn the heat on to medium and stir until it becomes liquid and the gelatin dissolves.

3. Let cool for 1 minute and pour into molds. If you need to, transfer into a more pourable container first.

4. Let cool for about 20 minutes, or cool in the freezer for about 5 minutes.

5. I have heard that it is good to sprinkle the backs with powdered sugar or corn starch to prevent from sticking to the plate or together, but I didn’t feel like it was necessary. Mine did not stick together.

6. Peel from the molds and enjoy!

Make all kinds of flavors and colors and shapes. Let your kids help make them.

IDEAS FOR MOLDS:

• Silicone ice cube trays (you can buy all kinds of shapes)

• The the guts of one of those chincy Christmas advent calendars

This is what the inside looks like. I just happened to have an old advent calendar hanging around.

 

• Candy molds (about $2.00 online)

Recipe from Skip to my Lou

Homemade Clay and Volcanoes

I made homemade clay with my nephews the other day. This is a really easy recipe that you can make with ingredients that you probably have at home already. After letting them play with it for a while, we turned it into a volcano with baking soda and vinegar.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tablespoon cream of tartar (find it in the spice section)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 cup water
• food coloring (gel food coloring will give you the most vivid colors)

For Volcano:

• empty medicine bottle
• baking soda
• vinegar

Directions:

1. Mix together all the dry ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Mix together the water and food coloring until combined. Add the colored water to the dry ingredients and mix together. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it starts to come together, about 3-5 minutes.

2. The dough will start to clump and become difficult to stir. At this point remove it from the pan and knead it for about 5 minutes. (Have your kids help with this). Store in an air tight container or a Ziploc baggie in the fridge.

To Make the Volcano:

1. Mold the clay into a volcano shape. Create an opening and squish in an empty medicine bottle or small container.

2. Pour some baking soda into the medicine bottle. Pour some vinegar into the opening after the baking powder and watch it foam and bubble up. If you want to, add red or orange food coloring to the vinegar to make it look more like lava.

Note: I am not sure at what temperature or for how long, but you could probably bake it to make a more sturdy volcano. I rinsed the dough off with water and kneaded in a little bit more flour and let the kids keep playing with it. It kind of smelled like vinegar, but it was still usable.

Out of the Best Books

There is nothing better than reading a good book! Reading with your children not only provides quality time for bonding, but it opens up opportunities for discussing various topics.

I invite you to take a look at my sister  (in-law) Jessica’s blog called Out of the Best Books… She has posted reviews of books that she has read recently. Her little daughter also helps with the reviews of the children’s books. I think it is a really neat thing that the two of them work on together and I know it has brought them closer to each other. Just go to the labels on the side to see the reviews of kids books and reviews by little Lydia herself.

Here are some of my favorite children’s books:

The Tale of Despereaux

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear

Where the Wild Things Are

Owen

I Spy

Frog and Toad

Note: Some communities participate in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.  This program, set up by Dolly Parton, mails a free book every month to children under 5. Click on this link to see if you are eligible to sign up.

What are some of your favorite children’s books? Leave a comment.

Recycled Chunky Crayons

I got this idea from my sister in-law, Lydia. She is such a fun mom! She posted this idea on her cooking blog (check it out by clicking here).

Lydia says, “It is a great way to use up all those broken crayon bits and the kids can help. My daughters were busy peeling crayon wrappers for almost 2 hours straight! It kept them very busy and they were quite determined. :) Their little fingernails were just stubs by the end, but they thought it was worth it. My oldest said that, "This is the best day of my life!" It doesn't take much to please them, does it? They love their new crayons- their favorite feature is that they stack. Easy project and your kids will love you for it! :)”

Instructions:

1. Find all your broken, stubby crayons and remove the wrappers. Break them into smaller pieces. Have your kids do this part.

2. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and fill each cup with crayon pieces. Feel free to mix and match colors. Use could also use mini muffin tins, cookie cutters, or silicone ice cube molds or candy molds.

 

3. Preheat the oven to 274 F. Bake for abou7-8 minutes or until melted. Carefully remove from oven and let them cool completely. Pop them in the freezer to cool faster.

4. Tap the back of the muffin tin to pop the crayons out.

5. Color away!

Note: Use old muffin tins or ones you find at the thrift store if you are worried about eh crayons leaving wax residue. They do leave a little bit of a waxy film. Or use silicone muffin tins.

Idea from Put A Lyd On It ( originally from Make and Takes and Kiddin Around)