There's Something Fishy About Those Pinterest Pins - Camp Mom Week 7

Happy Tuesday! 

Can you believe it's already the last week of July? I actually saw first day of school pictures in my Facebook feed today. WHAT?!? That just seems way too early. We still have one month of Summer break left and we have so much planned! I know that time is going to pass by so quickly, though.

This past week was a blur. The end of last week wasn't the best and I had 4 big projects due in a 24 hour time period. My entire weekend was spent working, with the exception of going out to dinner with my husband for his birthday. And today? Let's not go there! I'm just now sitting down and it's almost 2 AM!

Although the kids enjoyed this week's Camp Mom activities, some of them were essentially a Pinterest fail. This was the first week I relied on Pinterest for more than one activity. Lexie really wanted to do a fish theme this week and she chose a few while browsing Pinterest. Well. Even the fails need to be shared, right? Even though they weren't quite what we expected, the activities were definitely fun!

For "Fish Week" we made a foil fish craft, created sensory bottle aquariums (Pinterest Fail), whipped up a Jello Aquarium recipe (Pinterest Fail) and made fish slime (Semi-Pinterest Fail). I'm learning that it's best to just alter some of our favorite activities instead of relying on Pinterest! For our "field trip" we planned to go to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, but it was way too hot outside. We changed our plans at the last minute and headed to the spray park instead!

Here's a recap of all the fish-themed Kids Activities we did this week:

Fish Slime - Camp Mom Day 31

SUPPLIES:

• 1 Bottle Blue Glitter Glue
• Borax
• Water
• Bowl and Spoon for Mixing
• Clear Bag
• Rubber Band
• Ribbon
• Plastic Fish

FISH SLIME RECIPE:

1. Mix 1 tsp Borax into 1 cup warm water.
2. Empty glitter glue into a bowl, add 1 tbsp warm water and mix.
3. Slowly add Borax mixture to the glue mixture while stirring.
4. Form slime into a ball and press a fish into the front.
5. Slide slime into clear bag, tie with a rubber band and embellish with a ribbon.

We made the slime according to the Pinterest recipe, but it turned out much too dark.  We tried it again using our slime recipe and it was a bit lighter, but still wasn't anything like the pictures on Pinterest. There's simply no way to see the fish if you put it IN the glitter slime, so we just pressed it into the front of the slime before sliding it into the bag!  Although it wasn't what I expected it to look like, it was still very cute and my girls loved it!

Foil Fish Craft - Camp Mom Day 32

SUPPLIES:

• Cardboard
• Aluminum Foil
• Sharpies

 DIRECTIONS:

1. Draw a fish shape onto a piece of cardboard and cut it out.
2. Cover the cardboard fish shape in a sheet of foil. 
3. Give the kids some sharpies and let them decorate their fish!

The foil fish craft is just a version of other foil crafts my kids have made before. It's really simple and doesn't require much preparation or assistance!

Sensory Bottle Aquariums - Camp Mom Day 33

SUPPLIES:

• Water Bottles with a large opening (I bought Voss water.)
• Plastic fish and sea creatures and shells
• Sand
• Water 
• Blue food coloring 

 DIRECTIONS:

1. Add about 1-2 inches of sand to the bottom of the bottle. 
2. Fill the bottle with warm water, add a drop of blue food coloring and shake.
3. Drop plastic fish and sea creatures into the bottle.
4. Seal the lid very tightly!

The sensory aquarium bottles didn't look anything like how they looked on Pinterest but the kids (especially Liam) loved shaking them and watching the sea creatures and sand swirl around. I think I'm going to have the kids make these again. We're going to skip the sand and just use blue hair gel so the sea creatures "float" better!

Jello Aquariums - Camp Mom Day 34

SUPPLIES:

• 2 small boxes blue Jello
• Swedish Fish
• Nerds
• Clear Cups 

 DIRECTIONS:

1. Cover the bottom of a clear cup with a thin layer of Nerds.
2. Prepare Jello as directed and allow to cool to room temperature. 
3. Fill the cups with Jello and refrigerate. 
4. After about an hour, carefully push the Swedish Fish into the Jello.
5. Allow to set for 4 more hours.

Okay. I'm going to be completely honest. Out of all the activities this one was the worst in Camp Mom history! Even though the Nerds looked pretty at first, the liquid made the Nerds start to melt and lose their color. The Jello was too dark and the Swedish Fish could barely be seen. I think the finished product looked just like swamp water. And remember those melted nerds? They made the Jello taste sour. No thank you!

Liam, however seemed to enjoy it. He had some after a meal of Spaghetti. By the time he was done he looked like a Zombie who devoured a Smurf.

My advice? Just make a cup of Jello and enjoy! Toss a few Swedish Fish on top if you're feeling inspired!  Just keeping it real...

Pinterest FAIL.

Spray Park - Camp Mom Day 35

 

Sometimes a last minute change in plans works out well. The spray park was a much cooler option than the zoo on a 95 degree day! Plus, it was even better with friends!

Here's to better luck next week!

Coming up next week:

• Banana Pops Recipe
• Sponge Bomb Battle
• "Field Trip"
• Sand Foam
• Window Garden Craft

You might also like the kids activities in these posts:

Camp Mom Week One
Camp Mom Week Two
Camp Mom Week Three
Camp Mom Week Four 
Camp Mom Week Five 
Camp Mom Week Six

Have you had a Pinterest Fail lately?

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Let's Get SLIMED!

SLIME.

So gross, but so much fun!  It's almost impossible to resist!




My weekly activity time with Lily just got a bit more crowded!  Now that school's out for the summer, Dylan and Lexie want to join in.  For this week's activity, Dylan, Lexie, and Lily chose "Make Homemade Slime" from our list of activities! 

We decided to make two of our favorite slime recipes.  Neon Slime for Dylan and Glitter Slime for the girls!  Both recipes are really easy to make!  Not only is it fun to do, but there's science involved!

Neon Slime

To make Neon Slime, you only need a few simple ingredients:  8 oz white glue (I used two 4 oz bottles), 1 tsp Borax (found in laundry detergent aisle), 1 cup warm water, neon food coloring, spoons for stirring, and 2 mixing bowls.



STEP ONE: Empty glue into a large bowl.



STEP TWO:  Fill glue bottle(s) completely with warm water (you will use 1/2 cup water), shake, then pour into the bowl that contains the glue.  Stir. 



STEP THREE:  Add several drops of neon food coloring to the glue mixture.  Stir.



STEP FOUR:  Mix 1 tsp Borax into 1/2 cup warm water. Stir until the Borax dissolves.



STEP FIVE:  Slowly pour the Borax solution into the glue solution while stirring. Keep a close eye on this process!  This is where the science aspect of it begins.  You will see the glue solution almost immediately begin to form into a solid as it meets the Borax solution!



STEP SIX:  Dig in and knead the slime!






STEP SEVEN:  Store in an airtight container or a storage bag.



See? I told you it was easy!!!



GLITTER SLIME

Glitter slime is a lot like Neon Slime.  For this recipe, you will need: 1 bottle of glitter glue, 1 cup warm water + 1-2 TBSP warm water, 1 tsp Borax, spoons for stirring, and 2 mixing bowls.



STEP ONE:  Dissolve 1 tsp Borax in 1 cup warm water.



STEP TWO:  Pour glitter glue into large bowl.



STEP THREE:  Add 1-2 TBSP warm water and stir again.  Isn't it pretty?!?




STEP FOUR:  Slowly pour Borax solution into the glue solution while stirring.  Once again, you will see the glue almost immediately start to solidify!



STEP FIVE:  Form a ball with the Glitter Slime and knead!



STEP SIX:  Store in an airtight container or storage bag.



The end result?  HOURS of fun!  



Later, you might even find your 10 year old, who is growing up way too quickly, playing with the slime!



If you keep it stored in an airtight container/bag, it will last for weeks!



What are you waiting for?!?  Go make some slime!!!