Super Fun Science Kits

Right now Groupon has a deal for 50% off of their Magic School Bus Science Club Kits.  

These kits are perfect for helping kids enjoy science.  

They are also perfect to do over the summer break from school.  

Having ordered these before, this is a great price! 

Go check it out here.
(Look for "Goods Deals" once you are at Groupon and click on "more goods deals" where you will see the Magic Schoole Bus Groupon).

 

 
Earlier this year I got Jay a subscription to The Magic School Bus Science Club.  He seems to like science and I liked the idea of being lazy.  Actually, I loved the idea of not having to plan out any science experiences for him.

 A new kit comes each month with everything you need to learn about topics like magnets, weather, the human body, stars and planets, etc.

The kits are created by Harvard graduates and they looked like a great way to have fun with science.  That was about 4 months ago.  So how do we like the Magic School Bus Science Club?

We BOTH love these kits!

I love them because I don't have to think ahead and prepare anything and we can just jump in and learn about science.  They are well done, with great instructions and many activities in each kit.  Each comes with a booklet for Jay to record what is going on for each learning activity.

Jay (who is six) loves to see his special package arrive in the mail each month.  And then he can't wait to get started on it!
He looks forward to Ellie going down for her nap and science time starting.  Kay has loved getting involved too.  Jay loves doing these with me, but an older child could do many of the activities on their own.

So far, Jay's favorites have been making his own compass (with a magnet) and making our own petri dishes to learn about bacteria.

cool huh!

There are a limited number of them and only 2 days to go for this Groupon.  So don't miss yours!

Science with your kids doesn't get better than the Magic School Bus Science kits for half price! (Look for "Goods Deals" once you are at Groupon and click on "more goods deals" where you will see the Magic Schoole Bus Groupon).

How to make a Solar System

We have been studying the planets for the last little while at our house.  And we decided to make a {little} solar system of our own. Here's the "before" photo of our planets:

 

And the "after" version.

 

I decided to keep things simple and just pulled out the yarn bag for {this little project}.  I don't knit or crochet, but somehow I have a yarn bag.  There's a lot of fun to be had with yarn, as you can see :)

 We gave special treatment to the four "gas giants" and they got their sparkly rings via some chenille stems.

Jay knows his planets well and was very specific in how it all turned out.

So we made the variety of the sizes and colors are as close as we could come to "real life."

If you want to make {this little project} I recommend picking up this set of 8 foam balls at the Dollar Tree store.  It along with a few others gave us a nice variety of sizes to work with.  I used a straight pin poked through the end of the yarn to finish off the wrapping of each "planet".

 

The sun needed to be quite a bit bigger, so we followed the directions from {this little project} and used a balloon to make it.

I'm using nylon thread (from the fabric store--it's like fishing line) to hang them.  One great thing about these foam balls, as well as the covered balloon, is they are nice and light to hang.

 They will look great in Jay's room along with all the glow-in-the-dark stars we've been collecting. 
There may be a {little project} about constellations coming!

Spring Birds!

I've been meaning to share a {little project} we've been enjoying with birds for the past 2 weeks.  We've been watching LIVE bird cams that stream live video of a Great Blue Heron and it's egg in it's nest!ANDa Red-tailed Hawk and the eggs in it's nest!
My kids love watching the birds talk care of their nest and trying for a peek at their eggs.  You see different kinds of behavior watching at different times of the day.
Here's the link for the Great Blue Heron nest. And Here's the link for the Red-tailed Hawk nest camera. 

To go along with our bird learning, we've been enjoying 

this bird book en español.  (via spanish playground.)

 As well as some of these other {little} birds projects: birdie Baby toya fun art project  bird nest cookies (great for using up left over Easter candy :) baby birds and their nesttheir nests are easy to make with yarn!    Edible bird's nestanother good one for using up peeps and candy.  Enjoy!
 

My Memories Scrapbook Winner!

We have a Winner for the My Memories digital scrapbooking suite! 

And lucky number 18 is Debbie My Empty Nest who won with the comment:

"I subscribe for little project e-mail" 

(I need to hear back from you within 48 hours, or I'll have to pick a new winner.)

Though I wish I had more of this fun product to giveaway, I do have a $10 off code for This Little Project Readers!

Just be sure to use the code: STMMMS60806 for $10 off when you check out

Happy Monday!!

DIY Reusable Gift Wrap {Happy Earth Day!}

When you think back, do you ever just laugh at how some of your traditions got started?

It seems like some of our favorites traditions happened totally unexpectedly.
Our reusable gift wrap is a {little project} I started 2 years ago and it has turned into one of our FAVORITE TRADITIONS.

Go figure.

With Earth Day coming up this week, it's a perfect {little project} to try out.

 

Our reusable gift wrap is one of husband's favorite {little} things at Christmastime.  Since we still have {little} people at our house we don't wrap anything until Christmas Eve.  

(No matter what gift wrap we use it gets opened early, otherwise!)

And, since wrapping gifts isn't his favorite thing to do, he really loves these {little} bags that he just has to stuff and tie it closed!  Reusable gift wrap is super quick too!

Speaking of tying them closed, I love how {this little project} looks with tulle as the tie.  I'm a big fan of tulle.  It's cute, gives it a special look, and is so inexpensive.  You can use it again and again too.

The reason my kids love our reusable gift wrap is that they have their own special birthday bags.
Each birthday they choose the theme they want for their party and we pick out a special fabric that matches the theme to make a special bag with.

Here is Kay's choice from her "ballet birthday" this year.  It's fun to use the birthday bags from past years too and relive memories of previous events too.



We love that this reusable gift wrap lasts from year to year and we aren't throwing tons of waste away anymore.

And one of the best things about this reusable gift wrap is that it's a cinch to make!

Here's a burlap one I did (it's inside out in the photo)

 
I just used a serger across the top and then folded it and half and went down the 2 sides.
You don't have to use a serger, but burlap frays otherwise. I use the same steps with the other bags.  And of course, you can make them any size.

Sometimes I hem the top instead.  If I'm not being lazy :)

This really is a {little} project.  

It takes 5 minutes or less!



But you get to enjoy it for a long time. 
And the Earth will thank you for it!

Happy Birthday...or...Earth Day!

This year is 100 days old!

Jay came running down the stairs this morning to tell me that today is the 100th day of the year!I'm glad we made it back in time from our trip because we have a tradition of celebrating this day. 
 It's kinda like the 100th day of school for us.  We'll take any excuse for a party!
I've got a few {little projects} up my sleeve for this year...
Right now Jay and Kay are outside picking 100 dandelions.  It's always nice to sneak some yard work into learning--hehe.  Not that picking dandelions really counts....
Today's events will include a few projects en español since I'm feeling extra sneaky.
I'll try to share a few of our 100th day {little projects} in the coming days.

In the meantime, check the archives for more 100 day ideas of how to celebrate too!
List of  ideas from 2011 List of  ideas from 2010List of  ideas from 2009
Also, I recently picked up this CD of the 5 Browns, a group of 5 amazing pianists all in one family.  It was the prefect listening as we rolled through beautiful Pennsylvania this past week.  5 Browns with 10 fingers each.  That gets you 50 fingers.  Listen to 2 tracks and it's like 100 fingers...kinda.


p.s. Don't forget to enter the My Memories Scrapbook Suite Giveaway so you can preserve 100 memories ;)