Join Us for FREE Baby Bootcamp in McKinney!

Tomorrow we are pleased to offer a FREE baby bootcamp class in McKinney, taught by our Kindermusik mom, Jill Schroeder! All you need is your stroller and a fun attitude!

Here are the class details:

Date: March 1, 2013
Time: 9:15-10:15
Location: Towne Lake Park** (1405 Wilson Creek Parkway, McKinney)

** If it is cold outside we will meet inside the McKinney Community Center

Love and Grow Crafts: Vinegar and Baking Soda

Given the odd weather of late, I have been searching high and low for suitable indoor crafts and experiments. The former Chemistry teacher inside me just loves anything science-related so this craft was right up my alley.

The original source for this idea came from Two Big Two Little. This is literally the easiest craft yet, and you will always have the supplies on hand.

Here is what you need:

Vinegar
Baking soda
Food coloring

Here's what to do:

Pour the baking soda onto a tray. Fill small cups with vinegar, coloring each cup a different color with the food coloring. Then, show your kids how to drop the food coloring onto the baking soda for a cool "reaction."   When they run out of food coloring, they can smush the final product in their hands for a great sensory experience!

Here's my sweet Lucas experimenting!

Make Your Own Snowflake!

As a former chemistry teacher, this craft is right up my alley! Aside from being incredibly easy, all of the supplies for this project can be found at home! For those that don't know, Borax is a naturally-occurring mineral that is used for cleaning; you can buy it for super cheap at stores like Walmart. You can find the original "recipe" here. I recommend you use gloves when handling the Borax. Adult supervision is always required and you can also make a snowflake using sugar or salt!

Source: www.ask.com

1.            The first step of making borax crystal snowflakes is to make the snowflake shape. Cut a pipe cleaner into three equal sections.

2.            Twist the sections together at their centers to form a six-sided snowflake shape. Don't worry if an end isn't even, just trim to get the desired shape. The snowflake should fit inside the jar.

3.            Tie the string to the end of one of the snowflake arms. Tie the other end of the string to the pencil. You want the length to be such that the pencil hangs the snowflake into the jar.

4.            Fill the widemouthed pint jar with boiling water.

5.            Add borax one tablespoon at a time to the boiling water, stirring to dissolve after each addition. The amount used is 3 tablespoons borax per cup of water. It is okay if some undissolved borax settles to the bottom of the jar.

6.            If desired, you may tint the mixture with food color.

7.            Hang the pipe cleaner snowflake into the jar so that the pencil rests on top of the jar and the snowflake is completely covered with liquid and hangs freely (not touching the bottom of the jar).

8.            Allow the jar to sit in an undisturbed location overnight.

9.            Look at the pretty crystals!!! You can hang your snowflake as a decoration or in a window to catch the sunlight :-)

Tips:

1.            Borax is available at grocery stores in the laundry soap section, such as 20 Mule Team Borax Laundry Booster. Do not use Boraxo soap.

2.            Because boiling water is used and because borax isn't intended for eating, adult supervision is recommended for this project.

3.            If you can't find borax, you can use sugar or salt (may take longer to grow the crystals, so be patient). Add sugar or salt to the boiling water until it stops dissolving. Ideally you want no crystals at the bottom of the jar.

What You Need

•               string

•               wide mouth jar (pint)

•               white pipe cleaners

•               borax (see tips)

•               pencil

•               boiling water

•               food coloring (opt.)

•               scissors

Free Music Download - Winter Wonderland

Courtesy: kindermusik.com

Kindermusik is offering a free download of Winter Wonderland. Singing is a wonderful way to make family memories! The entire album is also available on the Kindermusik website.