{The Wednesday Hit List}: Top 5 Children's Books (Age 4)

In the past, I've been pretty indifferent to Wednesdays. But now that I have started this new weekly series, I have become pretty fond of them. Wednesdays were made for lists, I tell ya! 
This weeks Wednesday Hit List is Our Favorite Children's Books at age 4. 

Favorite Books by julia-crystal on Polyvore

1. Mouse Cookies and More: A Treasury
 I got the original "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" book at my baby shower and fell in love the first time I read it. It is such a cute concept and Myles still loves and asks for it four years later. I recently found this compilation at a sale and had to pick it up. I didn't even know that she made more of the books, so I was stoked. This set includes the original, "If You Give a Moose a Muffin",  "If You Give a Pig a Pancake", and "If You Take a Mouse to School", plus tons of extras like songs, games, and recipes. It is a super deal!

2. Giraffe's Can't Dance

My mom bought this for Myles last year and we just brought it out. Because he already has so many books, I try to save the new ones until he is really bored of the currents. That way we keep a steady rotation of books and I don't lose my mind reading Pete the Cat for the 100th time in a week. This book is a little longer and more wordy than some of our others, but it really keeps Myles engaged. It is a fun story, but the message is what I really love. The giraffe is made fun of  because he can't dance at the jungle party, only to discover that he really is a great dancer when he finds his own special music. Be different, find your own unique way, and march to the beat of your own drum, kids!

3. Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
 This is our favorite book in the car right now. It is short, simple, catchy, and fun. I think Myles is getting to be too old for it, but it's been a favorite for so long that we just can't let go yet. Usually when that happens, I just add it to our car book stash and let it ride out (no pun intended!) the rest of its life with us in there.

4. Peanut Butter and Cupcake

Myles got on his third birthday from my mom. I was a little skeptical at first. I didn't think it was something that Myles would be interested in, but boy was I wrong! He thinks this book is so funny and gets super involved when we read it. The story line is cute, but the illustrations make this book a top for me. It does get a bit repetitive, but I can 't deny how much Myles loves it.

5. Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You

If you are an emotional person (i.e. a mom), this book will tear you up. My aunt got this for Myles a couple months back. She gave it to him when we were having a get together at the ice-skating rink/playworld. I thought 'oh cute book, let me read it right now'..... cue bawl fest. This book, being about loving someone no matter where they are, really hits a nerve with me. It is so hard living away from all our family and friends; I am so beyond grateful that they continue to show us so much love, even from 2000+ miles away. I know our situation is very common, especially among many of my fellow bloggers (why many start blogging), and it can really be hard for the little ones to understand. This book is a really good way to teach them about love and distance. 

Again, please let me know if you are interested in this becoming a link-up or even better, co-hosting! It would be open for old and new posts alike; the only requirement is that the post contains a list like a ranking or favorites.

Petaluma Classes and Entertainment Guide

Moving across the country to a city that you know absolutely nothing about is a very humbling experience. Besides a year in Florida, I had lived my whole life in the same city in Illinois. It is a decent sized city (second to Chicago), but it doesn't take long to learn everything the place has to offer (kids entertainment, food, classes, schools, etc.). People complain that there is nothing to do there all the time, but still I think we all find huge comfort in knowing a place well. 

It has been exciting discovering a new city (and surrounding areas), but it doesn't come without its frustrations. Even today with all the technology (apps, websites, social media), it can be hard to find everything that is available. And as a (mostly) SAHM, I need to know all the possible options to help get us out of the house. In my efforts to do so, I have come up with some pretty comprehensive lists. I figured others would find them of good use as well, so I am sharing them here publicly on my blog. I have broken them down into different categories and here is my first: 

Classes and Paid Entertainment:

This is an index of classes for children listed by category. At the end, I also added paid entertainment/entertainers to hire for parties. The file is uploaded to Google Drive in PDF format, so click the link above or below to open it. You can download and either save it, print it, or screen shot it from your smartphone. That way you can always have it.

Petaluma Children's Classes and Paid Entertainment Guide

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6zXXO15vpz_N3pXdi1Wa3Fld00/view?usp=sharing

Also, if you have any additions or suggestions please comment below or email me juliacanderson85@gmail.com. 

{Bay Area Kids Fun}: Children's Natural History Museum

This will be my only Bay Area Kids Fun review this month. I am going back home to Illinois next week and will not be touching my computer for 6 whole days! So I will see you next month and if you are really missing me and Myles, follow along on Instagram (@julia_crystal17) and SnapChat (@HTBWTB96)!

When I decided to start doing this series, I went through tons of apps and websites to put together a list of places that would fall under the category of children's activities. I came up with a wide variety of choices and put them into categories (children's museums, educational museums, indoor play, parks/playgrounds, zoos, etc.) that way I could keep like places together for when I write up my summaries for the Mother's Club newsletter. Last month was two children's museums and so this month I thought I would do an educational museum.

Children's Natural History Museum
I knew almost nothing about this place before we went. The museum itself is fairly small in size, but the history of the items in the museum is pretty big. The main attraction there is the Wes Gordon Fossil Hall, which houses a collection of fossils found by Wes Gordon and his group of boy helpers during their 10 year dig at Bell Quarry in Irvington (a little town near Fremont). The area is now covered by a freeway, but this museum was gifted many of the finds there including
one of the "best ice age fossil finds of large mammoths, saber toothed cats, mastodons, wolves, giant sloths, short faced cave bears, camelids, western horses and many other creatures." The museum has since added many other science exhibits and is one of the sites the Math Science Nucleus uses for classroom teaching (ongoing classes, summer camps, field trips, public events, etc.) Also on their website has tons of FREE science-based curriculum.


Now as for the museum, admission is $3 each (3 and under free). All kids 4-11 receive a scavenger hunt check list and when completed, get to pick out a little prize!
This is the list for the younger kids:


The first exhibit in the museum is the Hall of Stars. It houses a Stardome, a few different size telescopes, and a short history of space, Earth, and life dating back 4.6 billion years to the present. Myles is super into outer space right now, but didn't really interact with much in this area (he is 3 1/2).

The next room is the Tools of Early Humans. Here they have some examples of the equipment California Indians used during daily life. You will find mortars and pestle, spears, arrowheads, and fishing weights all made from local rocks.


In this area was also a little history and activity about salt. In every room (or exhibit), you will find a learning activity with an explanation/guide card next to it. Myles (3 1/2) was able to do most of them on his own with me reading the card to him. This one was putting the salt samples in order from biggest to smallest (big chunks versus tiny granules).


Nature Hall is all about the animal kingdom. Against all of the walls are shelves housing stuffed (real) animals such as bears, mice, birds, and rabbits.


In the middle of the room is a table with several activities. Most of them are matching, which I love; it's a simple activity, but can be catered to a wide age range. The young ones can match on their own (with help reading) and the other ones can focus more on learning the names of the bones, animal classification, etc. This one showed examples from each one of the animal kingdoms and you had to match the animals to the correct names on the cards.


The other activities here were bone matching. Myles was able to match the bones to each shape himself and the older kids can learn the names of each bone, what animal they belong to, and their function.


The newest addition to the museum is the Hall of Shells. Besides the fossil exhibit, Myles spent the most time in here. It was one of the smallest rooms, but had a nice display of a variety of shells and marine animals.


The reason Myles spent so much time in here was because of this water table filled with shells and sand. He loves digging, especially for shells, so this kept him occupied for quite some time.


Next is the Hall of Small Wonders. The name is pretty self-explanatory; they have some microscopes set-up with different fossils and sands to look at. Myles is too little to really understand what he was looking at, but he did like pretending he knew what was going on (lol). However, I was all over this exhibit; I am always so fascinated by the complexity of tiny microscopic material.

The Mineral and Rock Hall is located in the corner of the big fossil hall. Not much Myles was interested in over here, but I can appreciate the beauty of these minerals/rocks. It also has good information on the formation and chemical make-up of the rocks/minerals on display.


We left the best for last with the Wesley Gordon Fossil Hall. This is where all of the Irvington Fossils are located. The collection includes mammoths, sabertooth cats, giant cave bears, dire wolves, camels, western horses, sloths, and pronghorn antelopes.


 

The activity in this exhibit was matching modern vertebrate bones (fish, birds, mammals, fish, and amphibians) to their shape and name on the board, then (for the older kids) comparing the modern skulls/bones to that of the prehistoric ones in the fossils.

Myles had the most fun in the boy paleontologist room. They have an 'excavation table' set-up to let kids get a feel for how the boy paleontologists worked on finding fossils in the quarry over their ten year dig. As I mentioned in another review, I love when museums have exhibits showcasing the tools, equipment, materials, etc. that are used in professional careers. Giving kids a chance to work with the 'tools of a trade' is so beneficial, even at a young age like Myles.


And you can't go wrong with DINOSAURS! Tons of learning and imaginative play going on here:



Cost: 
 $3 a person (with 3 and under free).

Pros:
No crowds or rushing (not overwhelming either); only two other families were there.
Very educational, but also engaging enough to keep the younger kids occupied.
Cost
I liked the scavenger hunt as another activity to keep the kids involved if they start to stray off.
Very helpful and courteous staff.

Cons:
Not really appropriate for under 3 (may be hard to keep younger siblings entertained).
Many items on display are not to be touched (also hard with younger ones).
The museum itself is fairly small (but we did spent about 2 hours there).

Overall review:
8/10
I really had no idea what to expect from this place and even at first glance I wasn't sure it was worth the drive, but after really taking in all that the museum offers, I was so very pleased with our total experience. I could tell Myles had fun, but also learned a lot and the rich local history is so unique and quite unrivaled in the area.

Bay Area Kids Fun Posts:
Children's Creativity Museum
 Habitot
Children's Natural History Museum
Children's Fairyland
 Lawrence Hall of Science
Sonoma County Children's Museum
Exploratorium 

 

{Think Outside the Toy Box} Ice Cream Cones: Edible Sensory Bin

This week marks the halfway point of the Think Outside the Toy Box Summer Fun Series. It feels like we've done so much already and participating in this series has helped keep our summer interesting and exciting! I have loved planning and creating each project for Myles and he has definitely had a blast being my little helper and then trying everything out!

If you are here for the first time or want to check out all the details again, take a look at the post introducing the Think Outside the Toy Box summer fun series. Also if you have missed any previous weeks, here are the projects we have done so far:
Glow-in-the-Dark Bowling (and bath)
Plastic Bottle Waterfall
Astronaut/Alien Costume
Foamy Bathtub Paint

Now on to this week's fun with:

  ICE CREAM CONES

This week's item totally stumped me! I couldn't believe how hard it was to come up with something to do with ice cream cones. It took the longest time for me to think up
anything, so by the time this item rolled around, I didn't have a lot of ideas to choose from... well any really. This was pretty much the only thing that came to mind that was worth doing for me. I wasn't sure how it was all going to turn out, but I had high hopes. Anything messy is great play time for Myles... and me! In the end, we had a great time and Myles did a lot more with all the food than I thought he would. So without further ado, I give you:

  Edible Sensory Bin

What You Will Need: 

A bin, large container, or water table
 Any edible sensory food
What I used:
Ice Cream Cones (sugar and waffle)

Spaghetti

Rice

Marshmallows

Cheerios

Rice cakes

Jello (two different kinds)

Kool-Aid flavor packets

Food coloring
Ziplock baggies

Directions: 

1. The night before, make all the food that needs to be prepared. For me that was the jello, rice, and spaghetti.

• Prepare the jello using the directions on the package.

• Spaghetti: Cook the spaghetti according to the package, but add 3 extra minutes onto their time. Drain, rinse, and let cool for at least 15 minutes. For each color you want, you will need a gallon Ziplock bag. Fill the bag about 1/4 the way with cold water. Then add either the food coloring or Kool-Aid. I used food coloring for the green and Kool-Aid for the purple and red. I used 2 packets of Kool-Aid for each bag and about 7-8 drops of food coloring. Add the spaghetti and close each bag. Let them soak overnight.

• Rice: The rice is made the same way. I figured Myles wasn't going to eat the rice, so I didn't cook it. But if you do, just cook according to the package, drain, rinse, and let cool for 15 minutes. For the rice, I used smaller sandwich baggies. I filled them 1/3 of the way up with water and added the food coloring. Then I added the rice, closed the baggies, and let them soak overnight. 

2. This is completely optional and depends on what kind of container you're using, but the night before, I also lined the water table in tinfoil. I didn't want any of the food to stain the table and I didn't want Myles eating off of the table as well. *Plus it makes for an easy clean up; you just fold up the foil and throw it away; keeps you from having to clean the container.*

3. The next morning, drain all of the rice and spaghetti. The easiest way is to use a colander. DO NOT rinse. Once they are all drained, lay them out on wax paper/foil to dry. I let mine dry during the day. By night time, the rice was still a little damp, but that didn't really effect anything.

4. When you are ready for play time, assemble the bin/table. Below is the order in which I put my bin together:

• First I started with the ice cream cones. While they were still in the bag I crushed them. I used four of these bags. 

• Top Left: I placed the crushed sugar cones along the outer part of the bin. Then I added the waffle cones. I crushed a couple of them, but I left the majority intact so Myles could scoop and build with them.
• Top Right: I added the spaghetti, keeping the colors separated and some cheerios. 
• Bottom Left: I added the red and blue jello, some big marshmallows, and the rice. I tried to prop the cones up and put the rice in them, but a couple of them kept falling over, so I just put the the rice around the cones. I also put a couple rice cakes in there.
• Bottom Right: I laid out some rubber mats in our backyard and placed the bin on top of them. Myles knew exactly what to do!

5. EAT and PLAY!

Myles is not a fan of marshmallows. I already knew this, but I wanted to see if he would like them this time... I guess not! He tried to take a bit three different times and every time, this is what happened:

Testing out all the yummies. I knew he would love the jello, but I didn't think he would try anything else... I was so wrong!

This is my favorite! He did not hesitate with the spaghetti. He grabbed it by the handful and shoveled it into his mouth several times.

Once I showed him he could put stuff in the cones, he had to test out everything; marshmallows, jello, rice, and the spaghetti all got stuffed into an ice cream cone. 

Lastly, we built. We tried to make towers out of the food. It was a little challenging, but we did manage to stack a couple things.

And then.. this happened. He decided to throw the spaghetti on the ground and stomp on it. Apparently it was so much that he had to do it over and over again! I tried to stop him at first, but then I just said whatever and let him have his fun. I was able to throw most of it away by picking up the mats and dumping the debris in the garbage. The bin clean up was a breeze though. I just wrapped up the foil and threw it out!

It was really neat seeing him try everything. He was hesitant at all and was really adventurous with all of the foods. I was very surprised at how much he interacted with this activity. I could definitely tell that it got his little brain working and really awakened and engaged his senses.

 Thanks so much for checking out week five of the Think Outside the Toy Box Summer Fun Series! Also don't forget to check out what all of the other ladies put together for this week's item in the link-up below. 
  And if you have a post (new or old) that you created showcasing ice cream cones in a kid's project, craft, game, experiment, etc., submit it below as well. No post this week? No problem; join us next Monday when we will be using pool noodles! 

 

Also just in case you want to get a head start, here is the complete list for the coming weeks:
June 30 - Pool Noodles
July 7 - Wax Paper
July 14 - Puzzle Pieces
July 21 - Paper Cups
July 28 - Plastic Milk Jugs

{Think Outside the Toy Box} Kool-Aid: Foamy Bath Paints

I can hardly believe we are already into week four of the Think Outside the Toy Box Summer Fun Series! Summer is in full swing and we are continuing to have a great time with this series. I hope this series has brought as much inspiration and fun for you all as it has for us. I love how involved Myles is getting each week and to see his creative and imagination growing has been really fulfilling for me!
 

Now, if you happened here for the first time or want to check out all the details again, take a look at the post introducing the Think Outside the Toy Box summer fun series. Also if you have missed any of the past weeks, these are the projects we have done so far:
Glow-in-the-Dark Bowling (and bath)
Plastic Bottle Waterfall
Astronaut/Alien Costume 

Now on to this week's fun with:

  Kool-Aid

I had been tossing around a couple of ideas for this week's project for weeks. I really didn't know what direction to take, but I was leaning towards using it as a dye in some sort of craft. I had a couple of back-up plans (Kool-Aid Popcorn and Kool-Aid Chalk Paint), but was really holding out on coming up with something more exciting and interactive. And boy am I glad I did! I happened upon this idea for bathtub paints when I was searching for nontraditional uses of Ivory soap. I changed the recipe a bit to make it finger paints and added the Kool-Aid, but it still turned out awesome! It was pretty messy, but totally worth the clean up. Myles and I love messy sensory play and this did not disappoint!

FOAMY BATHTUB PAINTS

What You Will Need: 

A bar of ivory soap

Wax Paper

Microwave 

Measuring cup

Blender

Hot water

Several small glass or plastic containers

Different colored Kool-Aid packets (I used three)

Spoon

Directions:

1. I did this project in two major steps: one at night and the other the next morning. The first step is conducting the Ivory soap experiment. I never even knew this was a thing until last week when I was searching Pinterest for uses of Ivory soap. The Ivory soap experiment came up everywhere, and of course, the pictures and videos were too astounding to not want to try it out. 
All you do it get a bar of Ivory soap, take it out of the wrapping, place it on some wax paper, and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. You will seriously be amazed at what happens next!

It becomes this big fluffy cloud of crumbly soap. This what it looked like in the microwave and then on the table. 

And this is the video I took while it was in the microwave:

2. I took the cloud out of the microwave and placed it on the counter to sit over night. I don't think this is completely necessary, but I just wanted to be sure it was cooled and ready to be used for the paints.
The next morning, we began the bathtub paint making.

3. Start by boiling water in a pot (about 2 cups). While the water is boiling, fill a measuring cup with 1 cup of the Ivory soap. Take a handful and crumble into the measuring cup until it's filled to the 1 cup line. 

 

4. Pour the crumbled soap into the blender. When the water is ready, take a small measuring cup (1/3 or 1/2 cup) and fill it with the boiling water. Add the water to the blender, a very small amount at a time. I added just enough to make it moist (about a 1-2 teaspoons). Pulse the blender on low 4-5 times or until the soap is mixed with the water and is a frothy texture.

5. Repeat steps 3-4 until all of the the soap is used up. 

*Make sure not to blend too much or add too much water, the texture should be like yogurt or a frothy milk.*

6. Pour soap mixture into small containers. I used three because I had three different colors, but you can make as many as you would like. 

7. Add the Kool-Aid. You only want to add a very little bit, less than a teaspoon. I would suggest to just sprinkle like you would when seasoning with salt. Mix and then add more to change color. You don't want to add too much because then it will just turn to a liquid.

 *Example of what not to do!*

I learned this the hard way: I let my son do the Kool-Aid dumping so he could be a part of the process. I let him dump two packets in and when I stirred it all up, it turned into a liquid! Oops! I was really worried it wasn't going to work after that, but I tried the next one and only sprinkled a very tiny bit into the soap. I mixed it up and it worked perfect!

 8. Play! I took Myles up to the bathtub to play. He loved that he was able to get all messy and there were no rules! I even got in on the action! We made a couple of very artistic and inspiring murals on the walls :)

 Towards the end, he grabbed the last chunk of the paint and rubbed it on the wall.

 Then I put the rest of the paint on him. He loved it and started rubbing it all over himself!

Then we got a nice bath! It was a pretty easy clean up though. Slippery, but also fun!  

Other options: You can use a paint or foam brush. 

Different colors and mixing colors.

You can put the paints into plastic ziplock bags with a hole cut in the corner. Then use it like you would to pipe icing onto the tub walls, etc.

  And with that week four of the Think Outside the Toy Box Summer Fun Series is complete! Also don't forget to check out what all of the other ladies put together for this week's item in the link-up below. 
  And if you have a post (new or old) that you created showcasing Kool-Aid in a kid's project, craft, game, experiment, etc., submit it below as well. No post this week? No problem; join us next Monday when we will be using Ice Cream Cones! 

 Also just in case you want to get a head start, here is the complete list for the coming weeks:
June 23 - Ice Cream Cones
June 30 - Pool Noodles
July 7 - Wax Paper
July 14 - Puzzle Pieces
July 21 - Paper Cups
July 28 - Plastic Milk Jugs