Bubble Bottle (6 months and up)

In one of my weekly e-mails from BabyCenter they included the following activity for fun. It's like a mock-up lava lamp. 

Bubble Bottle by Babycenter.com

Remember the hypnotic effect of watching a lava lamp? Here's a toy that will have the same impact with your baby, and you can make it yourself for pennies. It's sure to become a favorite around the house.

Appropriate for: 6 months and up
Skills developed: Dexterity, familiarity with colors
What you'll need: A clear plastic bottle with a tightly fitting screw-on lid; food coloring; vegetable oil, water, an Alka-Seltzer tablet

Fill a large, clear plastic bottle, such as a soda pop or water bottle, three-quarters full of vegetable oil. (It's helpful to have a funnel for this step, though not necessary.) Fill the rest of the bottle almost to the top with water. Add ten to 12 drops of food coloring. Then break the Alka-Seltzer into small pieces and drop one into the bottle. Put the cap on and watch it start bubbling! When it stops, you can add more Alka-Seltzer to start the bubbling all over again.

Remember: Each baby develops at a different pace, so if yours isn't quite ready for this week's activities, don't worry — just try them again in a few weeks.

Just for laughs

Need to smile today? This is just cute! Check out the giggling quadruplets

Frosting Fun

Here's a fun way to teach kids primary and secondary colors from a lesson I taught while student teaching years ago:

1. Divide white frosting into three bowls
2. Add food coloring to each bowl to make yellow, blue, and red frosting
3. Give each child a spoonful of each color (in a triangle on paper plate to leave room for mixing between colors)
4. Talk about Primary colors ("starter" colors)
5. Take equal parts of two colors (i.e. red and blue) and mix with a plastic knife on the clean space between the two colors. Have your child guess what color they'll make.
6. After all secondary colors are made (and any other combinations-yellow and 2x blue) spread frosting on graham crackers for treat.

Got a fun craft, activity, or lesson? Share the fun! Leave a comment or send me an e-mail (with pics. if possible).

Stuck at Home

My first post on this blog was about what to do in the summer. I talked about fun and free places to take your kids. One reader however brought up a good point: What if you can't go places and have to entertain your kids at home? If you're a one car family and it's too hot outside to go anywhere, the day's can get long and mundane. Her situation can be particularly boring at times because she only has one child (no playmates but mom). I know, I've been there. We have one car and my husband's work is about 45 minutes away, so not like I can just drive him there. So what do you do to keep your sanity when you're caged up?

(I'll post my ideas as a comment, you do the same)