Thursday, February 23, 2012

How to make circle paper fans

Here are instructions on how to make circle paper fans. 
These are great for decorations at any type of party.  They can be placed on tables, hung to adorn windows, hung on doors,  hung on walls, hung from the ceiling, etc. .
Choose pieces of scrapbook paper that fit your style/theme/colors.
You will need 2 - 3 pieces of the big square scrapbook paper for each fan.

Step 1: Take your piece of square scrapbook paper. Fold it accordian style with your folds being no wider than 3/4 - 1 inch. (If you make smaller folds, you will only need 2 pieces of paper. If the folds are wider/bigger, you will need 3 pieces of paper.)

 Step 2: Cut the paper in half along one of the folds.


Step 3:Fold the folded paper in half as shown.

Press the ends of the inner folded paper together and hot glue or staple it together. (It should form a semi-circle. ) Do the same with the other half of the paper. You should now have 2 semi-circles. Hot glue or staple the 2 semicircles together to form a circle. 
You can hole punch and hang with ribbon or hang by thread.


To make small fans, cut a piece of scrapbook paper in quarters. You can use 2 small squares to make a mini circle fan.

To make a double sided fan, put 2 pieces of paper back to back (wrong sides together) and make per instructions.


Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Superbowl Activities

There are come fun football worksheets out there. My kids really liked this one - http://www.printactivities.com/Mazes/Math-Mazes/Football-CountingBy1s.shtml

Game Idea - Pin the football in the goalposts
We played "pin the football in the goalposts", a play on the classic pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game.
Cut out a goal post out of construction paper and tape to a wall, window, or poster board.
Cut out little brown footballs. Blindfold the kids, spin them, and let them see if they can score a field goal!

Fun Football Food Ideas
Football brownies! I think boxed brownies are gross and most of the "recipes" out there call for a box mix when making these.  Try "Katherine Hepburn Brownies".   They take only a few more minutes than a box mix and are a million times better.   

Tub paints

Last week, I made tub paints (with food coloring, dish soap, and cornstarch). The kids had a blast painting in the tub!

**Be careful! The tub gets very slippery!

French Toast Rollers

The Sneaky Chef tried this kid recipe with her children and they loved it.
I finally tried it on mine and they loved it too!
It's a fun twist on french toast - rolled up style!
Here is the recipe (with a few alterations)...

French Toast Rollers
3 large eggs
¼ cup milk
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla
6 slices bread

In a large shallow baking dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. Set aside. Using a rolling pin, roll out each slice of bread on a cutting board until flattened. If desired, spread 2 tbsp filling on each flattened bread, keeping about ¼ inch away from edges. Roll up each slice of bread, pressing to seal the edges. Dip each log in the egg mixture until saturated on all sides, then cook in a well greased skillet over moderate heat, turning to brown each side. Remove from heat and dust with powdered sugar.

Optional fillings –
- 1 tbsp peanut butter,
- 1 mashed banana, nutella,
- 1 tbsp cream cheese + 1 tbsp jam,
- granola (to make a crunchy rollup).

Dancing Raisins

We tried a science experiment and made "dancing raisins".
You turn on your favorite music (for the effect), pour 7-up into a tall glass, then throw in a few raisins. Then watch them "dance".
Here are more details and the science behind the experiment...