News with Naylors

We have been having all sorts of fun with florescent paint the past few weeks! This activity was quick and easy to put together and one that my three year old really enjoyed. Okay, I really enjoyed it as well. I may have had my own pan of oil to join in on the fun. I found this amazing idea on Growing a Jeweled Rose . Here's what you need:  Round Cake Pan (or something similar - like a pie tin) Baby Oil - I bought a 10 oz. bottle from the Dollar Store. You'll need one bottle per cake pan. Warm Water Cups or containers to hold the water Florescent Paint  - I bought a set of six colors from Walmart for $2.97 Black Light Pipettes 1) Pour one bottle of baby oil into a round cake pan. Set aside. 2) Fill a cup with warm water and florescent paint (we used about 1/2 cup of warm water and 1 teaspoon of paint). Mix well. We used four of these neon cups  and four different colors of paint. 3) Turn on a black light and let your child explore. I p...

Can I just tell you how much my boys LOVED this! This is definitely one of the best science activities we've done at home. I didn't know what to expect putting this together, but my boys played for a long time until we were out of big container vinegar. Try this one! Click the link to view other  Letter N Activities . Supplies: Numbers Mold (I bought a more expensive mold that comes with letters as well here ). If you don't want to buy a numbers mold, a regular ice cube tray would work great! Baking Soda Water Vinegar Twisty Droppers OR Pipettes Directions: 1) Add 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup water into a bowl. Mix well. Fill a twisty dropper with the mixture and squeeze the mixture into the numbers mold. Continue filling the numbers until all the letters are filled. Note: I placed my mold on a cookie sheet, so it could easily be transferred to the freezer. 2) Place the mold in the freezer for a few hours (until numbers are frozen) or ov...

I found this activity at Growing a Jeweled Rose . It was so easy to put together and only requires three ingredients, one being water. All the supplies can be found at The Dollar Tree. Both my boys (ages 3, 1) really enjoyed making these lava lamps. They helped me add the oil and water and my one was so excited about the "bubbles". We made these as a part of our Letter L Activities this week. SUPPLIES : Clear Container (I found hard plastic cups at The Dollar Tree) Water Baby Oil (Dollar Tree) Alka Seltzer Tablets (look for the off brand at the Dollar Tree) Optional: Food Coloring DIRECTIONS : 1) Fill your container 3/4 full of baby oil. Fill the remaining 1/4 with water. Make sure to leave a little space at the top of the cup, so the reaction doesn't bubble over.  2) Add multiple drops of food coloring of choice. Wait a minute for the food coloring to settle to the bottom of the cup.  3) Add broken Alka Seltezer tablets to the lava lamp...

Don't forget to check out how we made Frozen Dinosaur Eggs in our  10 Days of Dinos  unit! I want to start by saying how much fun my boys (ages 3, 1) had playing with icy insect eggs!  NOTE : You'll need to prepare these a day in advance as it takes time for the eggs to freeze. It's snowy and cold outside, so we decided to do this activity in the bath tub. I placed all the eggs in a plastic bin and my boys tried to get the insects out with their hammers and tools, salt and warm water. The colored eggs colored our tub water, which just added to the fun. Don't forget to check out our other Letter I Activities !   Supplies:  12 Plastic Insects (I found ours from The Dollar Tree).  12 large water balloons Food Coloring (optional) Salt (optional) Directions: 1) Place the insect and a drop of food coloring, if desired, inside the water balloon. I found it was easiest to put my index and middle fingers inside the balloon and sli...

We love making elephant toothpaste! My two loved watching the "toothpaste" ooze out of our water bottle. The reaction produces heat, so it's normal for the foam to feel warm. My two couldn't wait to touch the foam and play with our toy elephants. He insisted on doing more and more colors, until we ran out of ingredients. Here's what you need: 1 teaspoon dry active yeast 2 tablespoons water 1/2 cup  Salon Care Clear Developer - 20 volume  (I bought ours for around $5 at a local beauty supply store. I always handled this, as it contains hydrogen peroxide). Dawn Dish Soap (do NOT use anti-bacterial) Funnel 15 oz. plastic water bottle, emptied Optional: food coloring, cookie sheet, toy elephants and scrubbers Here's what to do: In a small bowl, mix 1 teaspoon of yeast and 2 tablespoons of warm water together. Mix well and set aside. In your water bottle, add 1/2 cup of the Salon Care Developer (I used a funnel for this part), any food colo...

Worm Painting : I saw the idea of painting worms with noodles  on lasting thumbprints. Instead, I had a bag of gummy worms for our other activities this week, so I thought it would be fun to paint with gummy worms! I drew a "Letter W Worm" on a piece of paper and had Easton dip the gummy worm in washable tempera paint and onto his worm. Easton really enjoyed this activity. Growing Worms : I remember going to restaurants when I was little and loving to make "worms" grow. For this activity, you'll need: A straw with a wrapper, water, and a pipette. Gently slide a straw wrapper down to the bottom end of a straw. The wrapper will look like a spring or accordion.  Remove the crinkled straw wrapper from the bottom of the straw. Use a pipette to drip a few drops of water onto the wrapper, and watch the worm grow. Worm Sensory Bin : I saw an  Ooey Gooey Worm Sensory Bin on the Measured Mom blog, and decided to make a similar one using gum...

Volcano Video : I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, but these were the best ones I could find:  Geography Lesson: What is a Volcano?  from Youtube. and  Volcanoes 101  from National Geographic. Volcano Craft : I love how this craft turned out! We used the Letter V for the initial lava coming out, and then glued on "smooshed" squares of tissue paper for the hot lava and cotton balls for the  clouds.  I found a  similar Volcano Craft  using crayons for the lava on Ashley Aymara. Volcano Sensory Bin : This was the highlight of our week! We used a cookie sheet for the base. Easton and his friends help mold old play dough around a large spice jar to make our volcano. They stuck play trees around the volcano, and the fun began! I filled the jar with baking soda and each child took a turn dumping a cup filled with vinegar and red food coloring into the volcano. They loved watching the reaction. We had so many turns we ran out of sup...

Vase Craft : I found a very similar craft on the  Letter V Crafts List  from the Measured Mom blog. The vase is shaped as a Letter V to reinforce our letter this week. Easton helped me hole punch the flower color of his choice and glue on the stems and flowers. We used this  flower hole punch . Water the Flowers (Shape Review) : I found a similar activity using letters  on mom inspired life. I used sidewalk chalk to draw a Letter V for the vase and shapes for the flower. I would name a shape and Easton would "water" the matching shape flower. All the activities on my blog are meant as invitations for toddlers to learn and explore in their own way. After finishing this activity, Easton spent another 45-minutes outside watering rocks, grass, pine cones, dirt, etc. We had a lot of fun with our watering can today! Dyeing Flower Experiment : I have seen this science experiment all over Pinterest and have always wanted to try it! I finally had an excuse - ...

Up Balloon Science : After reading "Great Day for Up" from our Letter U Booklist, we did a science experiment with baking soda and vinegar. We filled an empty water bottle half way up with vinegar and made the vinegar yellow with food coloring. Next, we used a funnel and Easton helped me dump baking soda in our balloon. I carefully placed the balloon on top of the bottle and lifted the balloon up, making the baking soda fall into the vinegar. Easton loved watching the bubbly reaction and seeing the balloon fill up! Click here for a  detailed tutorial  from Imagination Express Preschool. "Up" Movie : I rented the movie "Up" from the Library and watched it together. I had Easton identify the Letter U on the movie title and we talked a lot about the balloons lifting the house into the sky (see craft below). "Up" Craft : To go along with our movie and theme, we made an "up" craft. Easton helped me glue on the house and draw line...

Magic Leprechaun Rocks . This is one of our very favorite science experiments on our blog! Make these amazingly colored rocks and hide them around the yard. They make leprechaun water bubble leaving an exciting surprise. Click the link for a tutorial - idea from Gift of Curiosity. Bubbling Colored Pots . Another amazing science experiment to do with kids. My boys (ages 3 & 1) loved watching each pot bubble a different color. Click the link for a tutorial - idea from Little Bins for Little Hands. Saint Patrick's Day Coin Hunt  from Little Bins for Little Hands. Another baking soda and vinegar science experiment. This one looks like a lot of fun.  Magic Shamrocks  from Growing a Jeweled Rose. Another baking soda and vinegar science option. Hide coins inside these shamrocks and watch them bubble to reveal a surprise. Crystal Shamrocks  from Housing a Forest. Make Rainbow Treasure Slime (pictured below from Growing a Je...