Magic

I think everybody needs to know how to perform a trick or two, especially parents. I'm not a big fan of tricks that use a fake deck of cards. Nor can I do any of the coin tricks.

So here are two simple ones that everyone can learn. They don't require any special equipment or skill. And they are really easy to master.

Balloon on a Skewer.
You will need:
-balloon
-wooden skewer
-a dab of dish soap.

Watch Steve Spangler demonstrating it here:



It really works! Beware that some kids might get upset when they see you popping the balloon. Make sure it's not the last balloon in the house.




Have a tougher audience? Try this Arm Twisting trick that David Copperfield and David Blaine often used in their shows. It IS easy to do. Just watch this video.



If you like illusions better, check out my post about thaumatrope.

What's that number?

Little N., who is 4.5yo, can count from 1 to 100, she understands the value of the numbers (like 10 is less than 100), she also knows the names of 100s (one hundred, two hundred, etc); what she can't do is count by 1 from 100 on (101-102-103, etc) or to name the 3-digit numbers (123 is not called "one-two-three"). So, to help her learn that I've made a home version of Montessori Decimal Cards. You can buy them for $20 plus shipping, but the fact is, that for many activities you need more than one set, and then it becomes too expensive.

I've printed out mine on a regular paper for now before I get the time to make the cards from the Sturdy Board. You can also either glue the print-out onto the card stock, or laminate it.

Before you begin, make sure that your child can name all the 100s, 10s and single digit numbers. Or use the cards to teach her what they are called. This is a first step. You can use the decimal cards in many ways, but I'll only tell you about one "game" today. It's primary purpose it to help the child figure out the concept of naming 3-digit numbers.

He's how you do it. First, show the cards to the child. Ask her to name them. Start with ones, then do tens and hundreds. If she gets bored quickly, then randomly draw some cards out and ask her to name them.

Next tell her that you are going to make some numbers and learn how to name them. The numbers on the cards are color coded (all the 100s are red for example, and 10s are blue). Take one of the 10s card [50, e.g.], put it down and say [50]. Then take a single digit one [4 e.g], put it on top of the 10s card so it covers the 0 [say "4"]. Say [54]. Now ask your child to make and name a 2-digit number.

Now do the same thing but using the 100s, 10s and 1s. If your child says 2 instead of 200, take the top cards off and show her the bottom card. Say: "this card is called 200, not 2. You should say the name of this card". Do groups of numbers like 101, 110 and 111 (pattern wise). Note that the numbers like 213, 314 (the ones that have teens in them) might be more difficult to decode.

Don't forget to praise your child's efforts. Practice this game a few times, and you'll be amazed how quick she'll learn it.

The video of little N. calling out the numbers is coming soon. And also the template so you could make your own set.

How to clean your toothbrush

Everyone knows that it's recommended to replace the toothbrush every 3 months, but I'm not sure I know anyone who actually does that. The toothbrushes are of such high quality now that they can live much longer than that IF you clean them well (and don't chew on them). It is not enough to just rinse them thoroughly after use. This is how I "deep clean" ours.

Fill a cup (one per each toothbrush) with 1:1 solution of hydrogen peroxide and hot water. You don't need much, but it has to cover the head of the brush. Put a toothbrush in there head down. Leave for a few hours. If you around, you may want to swish the brush sometimes, but it is not essential.

There's going to be some fizzing. All the yucky stuff that was on the brush will fall off. Rinse. Enjoy your clean brush.

Proper pencil grip in 3 easy steps

Teaching a child to hold a pencil correctly is important, and since you've landed here, you probably know that. This is the easiest way I've found so far. I did not invent it, I saw it in a japanese activity book for kids. Below are the pictures of me demonstrating the 3 easy steps. It works equally will for lefties.

If you're looking for more handwriting tools, I recommend checking out Handwriting without tears workbooks or for smaller kids getting one of the Grasshopper kits. Check out my earlier post on them here: "getting small hands ready for school".

Cookies and Shrinky DInks.

Imagine the kids disappointment when they've been promised a trip to the beach but woke up to a rain. But apparently, once they heard "Let's bake some cookies", they forgot all about the beach and the rain.

And so we've made some vegan allergen-free chocolate chip cookies (for a 4yo who's allergic to milk and eggs) and some walnut puffs (also vegan, btw) for everyone else. From scratch. We used up all the flour, butter, nuts, colored sugar that we had in the house.
Oooh, yum yum. These melt in your mouth. I don't even mind setting the smoke alarm off. Something is wrong with this wax paper, it starts to smoke very fast...

Then the kids got another surprise treat - Shrinky Dinks. I collect the tops and bottoms from the take-out containers made from #6 plastic, and that's what we used. They got out Sharpies, drew some pictures, and, armed with a flashlight, set in front of the oven window watching their creations bubble and flatten again. They called it a "magic show" and were super impressed. And here's a little how-to, if you've never done shrinky dinks before.

Take a piece of #6 plastic (or a special shrinky dinks plastic sheet), cut it into a desired form. It should be 2:1 or 3:1 in size (meaning that the result will be 2 or 3 times smaller than the original). Don't worry about the colors being dull as they will get more vivid after "baking".

Bonus: If you have older kids, you can ask them to measure their shrinkies before and after and calculate how much they've shrunk. 

Decorate it using permanent markers. This is a picture of our cat as drawn by my 4yo daughter.

Put it on a sheet of aluminum foil and into a hot oven, 300-350F works fine.

Watch it carefully. The "baking" only takes a couple of minuted. Enjoy the "magic show".

Take it out as soon as it's flat. You have a few seconds to flatten it more before it cools down completely. You can use them as game tokens, or drill holes in them and make bag tags or necklaces.