Summer Stem Wrap Up

 Well we made it to Labor Day Weekend, finished 3 weeks of school and we finished our Summer Stem Challenge before the end of summer!  I call that a win!  So, what better way to celebrate than to do a quick wrap up on what we did. 

I'll be honest with you.  I had great intentions and pinned so many activities and we only got to 6, which was my goal.  I like to do these summer challenges because it gives the kids and I kind of a direction to head as we decide what we are going to do on our stay home days.  We are serious homebodies during the summer and when we aren't traveling, we hide out in our home and do our thing.  It's pretty great.  So, I loved this little opportunity to challenge myself as well as my kiddos. 

Some of you may be wondering, what the heck is STEM anyway?  Well, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.  All of those things. . . not so much my strong point (I am more of a sentence diagramming, book reading, in the kitchen baking kind of gal.  But, it really wasn't that hard to throw this activities together for my kids (and sometimes their friends!).  The reality is all 4 of those subjects are really fun to study and most often than not, our kids are doing it on their own, so why not provide them an opportunity to expand their horizons and explore their curiosity a little.

Here are the 6 projects and the links to get to their post pages with all the how to's and what not's that I wrote regarding each activity.  

Foil Boat Experiment

Pom Pom Catapults

 Balloon Race Cars

Microscope Fun

Toothpick Building

Crystal Garden

I think that one of my favorite things about this project was not only watching the excitement in my kids eyes when they did something amazing or saw something magical, but also watching my friends have their own fun doing STEM. 

If you are curious about adding some more STEM into your kids play time, some of my favorite STEM tools (some might call them toys, but really, they are tools to aid in your child's imagination.  You never know what they might discover or build) are right here:

Legos - start with a box of classic pieces and let your child just build with no directions.  It's amazing what they come up with.  This book is also really cool!  Both my boys have it and the things they've been able to make are really neat!

Magnatiles - These are just the coolest!  Sometimes they get made into structures that house their hot wheel cars or even race tracks.  Other times they just make magnificent buildings or monuments.  

Snap Circuits - My nephews introduced us to these and they keep my kids so busy.  We even bought them for another nephew and he just thought they were the coolest!  Each kit comes with directions for a bunch of different ways to place circuits and make them do different things, like light a light bulb or make a fan spin. 

TEGU blocks - I've had my eye on these for awhile, but they rarely go on sale (super sad face!).  Weston got to play with them on our vacation trip and we fell in love!  They are fun colored wooden blocks in different sizes that are magnetic. 

KEVA blocks - These blocks are just simple, thin wooden blocks that are all the same size.  They have a lot of different challenges to build things out of them. 

And really, letting your kids just be kids and allowing them to explore their curiosity is the key.  We don't really give them much time for this is our super structured lives and it is so much fun just letting them discover this really amazing world we live in on their own.  I listed just a few of my favorites and their a lot of other products out there.  Maybe you have a favorite. . . I'd love to hear from you! Who knows, maybe your idea will end up under the Christmas tree this year!  

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend! 

Easy Peasy Copy-Cat Souffles

 My kids went back to school two and half weeks ago and I finally feel like we are getting into a groove.  I know that it will be short lived once soccer season starts and we start juggling soccer practice on top other things, but I think it will be worth it.  This year, Ethan's class has a no homework policy and I can't tell you how thrilled I am!  Just read and study for tests, and be a kid!  Weston has a little bit of homework each night, so it doesn't fill up his afternoon, so we are having plenty of time for building with legos and playing catch in the back yard.

Because school has started, I had to think about making sure I had some fairly healthy breakfasts prepared for my kids ahead of time. I may be a stay at home mamma, but I most often than not don't have time to cook a complete breakfast in the morning.  They are 7 and almost 10 (next week!!!), so they know how to use the toaster and the microwave. . . so anything they can help with to get breakfast ready is a lifesaver.  Plus, I really think it teaches them responsibility and gives them a little independence.  Isn't' that our jobs as parents?  So, when I was thinking up of what they were going to eat for the first day of school breakfast, I wanted it to be something special, but also protein packed and super yummy!  The best way to get my kids protein in the mornings is to fix them eggs.  They LOVE eggs!  In fact, Ethan's all time breakfast food is a souffle from Panera.  Weston can only dream of eating them because they are not dairy free. . . bummer!.  So, I got a little creative and now my kids are begging me to make more!

This recipe totally came out of looking in the fridge and seeing what was lying around.  We had some bacon left over from dinner, a can of crescent rolls just begging to be made into something, and eggs.  Oh, and cheese. . . the dairy free kind!  So, I cut pieces of crescent rolls up into triangles and stuck them in a muffin tin with some egg mixture and stuck a piece of bacon on it.  Seriously.  Easy Peasy! 

 The best part was that my kids thought these were the best.things.ever!  Weston was so excited because I made them allergy friendly and well, that's just the coolest when you can't have cheese (seriously, dairy allergies are kind of depressing!).  The next best thing was that they FREEZE!.  Yes, folks, you can makes these ahead of time and freeze them.  Just stick a frozen egg cup on a plate and zap for about a minute or so and instant breakfast of champions! 

 That, my friends, is what I call a win!  Eggs for breakfast that I don't have to make so I can also get ready.  Also, they are way cheaper than a souffle at Panera, so another win?

Do you have a favorite go-to breakfast that you like to make?

Easy Peasy Egg Cup Souffles

Ingredients:
4-5 large eggs
1 Tbsp water, per egg
salt and pepper to taste
cheddar cheese*
Cooked bacon
1 can of crescent rolls

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*

Crack eggs and scramble with a fork.  Add water, salt and pepper.  Scramble some more.  Grate cheese with a fine grater (I used my hard cheese microplane).  Add into egg mixture and scramble some more.

Spray  your muffin liner with spray and place small triangles of crescent rolls in to muffin tin.  Pour in cheese mixture and top with bacon.  Place in oven and bake for 10-20 minutes.  Use a cake tester to make sure nothing is uncooked in the egg tin.

Eat right away or let cool and stick in a freezer bag and toss in the freezer.

* we used Diaya Farmhouse Cheddar Block and grated it super fine.  Nobody could tell the difference. 

Summer Stem Challenge: Crystal Garden

 Today marks the end of the second week of school for my kids and many of you haven't even headed back yet, which makes me not feel an ounce of guilt for not finishing this Summer Challenge before the kids went back.  I mean, we did technically.  I just haven't finished blogging it.  Not biggy.  But today is the day.  Today is the sixth and final Summer Stem Challenge of the summer amd I am so excited because it's probably my most favorite one.  I really did save the best for last!  Salt Crystals are so much fun to make and teach your kids patience because you can't push a button for the magic to happen.  It takes time and patience, which is something that is hard to come by in our very instant gratification world. 

This is one of those science projects that will stick with your kids forever.  It did with me! I remember my third grade teacher doing this with us and it was just the coolest!  My third grade self was super impressed!  Then, when I got to be a third grade teacher (my favorite age to teach, btw!), I did this with them.  It's super easy and so impressive! It's also one of those projects that has some history.  People used to make them with coal during the depression to give their home a little pick-me-up.  They called them "depression flowers."

It also has nothing to do with a chemical reaction.  It simply is evaporation at it's finest.  In fact, this same kind of evaporation happens in the everyday world.  My friend was telling me that crystals like this form when their water starts evaporating in their saltwater tank.  They call it salt creep and it looks just like the crystals that form in this project.  Mrs. Stewarts bluing is blue powder that is mixed with water and sold in a blue bottle in the laundry section at your local grocery store.  It is used to whiten clothes, not to dye them (seems contradictory, but apparently it works because they've been doing it since the late 1800's). These crystals form from the evaporation of the water from the salt and bluing, creating these beautiful white crystals. 

This project needs some plastic containers, either those target brand plastic containers or an old cool whip container (did your family keep those and reuse them or was it just mine?), some sponges, Mrs. Stewarts bluing, water, and regular salt.  If you live in a more humid environment add some ammonia. If you have trouble finding bluing, make sure it's Mrs. Stewarts.  Target and Walmart didn't carry it, but my local grocery store had it in the laundry section.  I searched for it and it turned up a block away from my house! 

Cut up your sponges and dampen them a little then squeeze them out.  You don't want them hard as a rock, but you don't want them oozing water either.  Place them in your container. 

Mix up your solution with 2 tablespoons each of the salt, water, and bluing.  We did it outside because I didn't want to risk staining.  We added ammonia the first time, but it stinks really bad and we live in a incredibly hot and dry area, so it's not really necessary.  It just aids in the evaporation process, so if you live in a humid climate, and it doesn't work, you might want to add a bit of ammonia. However, it stinks really bad and so use it outside.  

Have the kids stir the solution trying to get the salt to dissolve.  It won't all dissolve and will be pretty sludge-like.  That's perfect.   Pour it carefully over the sponges. 

And then you just let it sit.  We added ammonia to our mixture and it sort of sped up the process.  After about an hour, little crystals started to form.  The kids went from a little under excited to "wow! This is so cool" and proceeded to keep checking on it.  Like I said, memorable!

The next day, you probably won't be able to see your sponges and that's okay.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of salt over the top.  Then the next day, mix that same solution that you made the first day and pour it over the salt and crystals.  Add some food coloring drops all around and wait a few hours for new, now, colorful crystals to start forming. 

 Isn't that cool!?! 

My kids were impressed and learned a little bit about what happens when water starts evaporating from salt.  It's really quite magical, and one of those things that reminds me how creative God is when we look closely at his creation, even in the little things.  This little crystals are so pretty and came from being patient with something so ugly, and if you used, ammonia, so stinky!   We just have to be patient to see the beauty sometimes. 

Wow! Instant object lesson. 

You can read more about this project at the Mrs. Stewart's Website. 

Did you do any Stem projects this summer?  I would love to show them on my wrap post next week.  Email a picture of them or your project at jolieklassen@gmail.com.  
 

Simple Blueberry Peach Handpies {A tutorial}

Every 4th of July, my husband's family gathers for some delicious food, swimming, fireworks, and the occasional magic show.  It's pretty much the only time in the summer that I feel inspired to cook or bake or really anything.  I think it's because I'm cooking for other people and the rest of the summer it's just hot and we are too busy having fun to do much in the kitchen.  The past couple of years, Weston has asked for little pies.  I'm pretty sure they one of his favorite desserts.  They are always a big hit and it's pretty much a safe bet for something he can eat (because allergies!). 

I made a quick batch the other day so I could share this tutorial and the kids were so excited.  I love making them in the summer because there is just so much fun fresh fruit, but apple hand pies in the fall would be so much fun, too. 

So, to get started.  Make sure you have some refrigerated pie crust, fresh fruit, tapioca pudding mix (not made up), sugar, egg, and turbino sugar.  (exact measurements will be down in the recipe). I used a peach and some fresh blueberries I found at Sprouts for 99 cents. . . seriously, summer fruit is the best! As much as I am longing for fall weather, I will miss all the summer fruit! 

Chop up a peach (1 should do it) and rinse and pat dry about a half a cup of blueberries.  I left the skins on.  I'm lazy.  No one could tell.  And it's where all the fiber goodness is, so I vote just leave it on.  You do whatever makes you happy though. Add about a Tablespoon each of Tapioca from the little red box and some sugar.  Give it a little stir and let it sit for about 20 minutes so all the sugars can start forming. 

While that's sitting.  Go make yourself a little iced coffee or grab an ice cold sparkling water out of the fridge.  Sit down, enjoy yourself for a few minutes.  Maybe catch up on social media.  Or figure out what you are going to make for dinner. When you are done resting,  grab a small prep bowl and break an egg and give it a scramble.  Then add some water and scramble it some more.  Sprinkle some flour on the table and take out one of your refrigerated crusts and unroll it on the flour.  Roll it out with a rolling pin until you get it a little bit thinner than what it comes as.  Cut out circles with a glass or biscuit cutter or your favorite shape cookie cutter.  Even a glass cup will work. 

Take one of your circles and dip your index finger into the egg wash.  "Finger paint" around the outside edges of the circle.  Then take a spoonful of your fruit mixture and place it in the middle of the round.  Don't fill it too much or you won't be able to seal it and it will make a huge mess!

Take another circle and place it over the top of your fruit filled circle.  Rub our fingers along the outside edges.  Then, get your fork out and start going around the edges so you can seal it.

Just like this. Then set it on a parchment lined cookie sheet. And keep doing it until you run out of pie crust or fruit. 

Brush each pie with the same egg wash you were using.  Then taking a sharp knife, cut 3 to 4 tiny slits in the top.  Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar.

Bake about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Then test taste one and go share them with your friends. 

Now, don't you want to go make some for yourself and your friends?  They are so easy!  They take a little bit of time, but they are so simple. Plus, I am really bad at making actual pie crusts look pretty, so I stick with these, because they are fun and get the job done, no silverware or plates necessary! Perfect for a picnic or family get together!

I know that we just started back to school, but technically it's still summer and we can't stop hanging out with our people!  Challenge yourself to make some pies for your friends before the summer is over. 

Simple Blueberry Peach Hand Pies

Ingredients:
1 peach, chopped
1/2 cup blueberries, rinsed and patted dry
1 Tbsp tapioca pudding mix (the powdered stuff in the red box)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
flour
1 package of refrigerated pie crust
turbinado sugar (optional)

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees or whatever you refrigerated pie crust recommends. 

Mix together fruit, tapioca, and sugar.  Let sit for about 30 minutes. Keep pie crust in fridge until ready to use.  Roll it out onto a floured surface, just a bit thinner than what it comes as.  Using a cookie cutter or glass rim, cut out circles until you run out of dough. 

Make an egg wash with the egg and a bit of water in a small bowl.  Stir it all up until it is nice and light yellow.  Using your index finger, paint egg wash around the edge of the crust circle.  Put a small spoonful (don't over do it!) of fruit onto the center of the crust circle.  Cover with another crust circle and pat down edges.  Take a fork and press into dough all the way around, so you can seal it shut.  Stick on cookie sheet.  Do that with the rest of them.  Make a couple of slits for air vents in the center of each pie.  Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. 

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. 

Enjoy with friends. 

Summer STEM Challenge: Toothpick buildings

My kids went back to school this week and this mamma is pooped!  I think I spent all week just putting the house back together.  I am not really complaining, all the disaray, just meant my kids were busy creating things and conquering their summer!  But, we still have a few Summer Stem Challenges to cover, and some people out there don't start school until September.  While I am slightly jealous of those schedules, I keep reminding myself that our 3 weeks off in December is one of the best things ever! 

So, back to STEM.  My kids build.  A lot.  Legos are seriously the most played with toys in our house.  Something is always being built and while it's a pain to step on them, I love seeing what my kids come up with when they are building.  When I was picking which STEM activities we were going to do this summer, I really wanted to give them a different way to build and use their imaginations/novice engineering skills.  So, I gave them a plate of toothpicks and sour-patch watermelons and told them to build.  Both had done similar things with marshmallows at school, we just picked our favorite junk food!  I gave them no guidelines, except that it needed to be 3 dimensional and stand on it's own.  I wanted to to see what they did.

They got so creative and it's fun to watch how their brains work.  It's also fun to watch how siblings  are similar and different in one little project.  They each got to eat 3 watermelon candies after it was over, then the rest went into a zip lock bag to be saved for later (I'm not that crazy!).

This was a super easy and inexpensive project to just give a change of pace at the end of the summer.  Something to build (because they love building) and a new way to do it.  Plus, candy makes it fun! 

I hope you all are having a great first week back or enjoying the rest of your vacation.  I am off to have lunch with my husband for the first time since May.  I'm so excited!

Enjoy your weekend! 

Friday Favorites: Back to School Edition

Today is bittersweet.  It's the last official day of summer vacation and I am so not ready! We have had so many fun adventures, done so many science related projects, some arts and crafts, binged watched some TV and full on summered. But, my kids totally need a change in scenery and are jumping up and down to go to school, so I guess, I will be ready.  I mean, bring on Starbucks and Target with out kids, because I'll be honest with you that I am ready for.  Also, Costco.  I just cant even think about that til Monday.  Anyone with me?  Please tell me I'm not alone! 

We kind of sort of finished our STEM projects this week, so blog posts to come.  We have to redo the one I was going to blog about this week, because it totally flopped.  And that's okay.  We learned not to settle for a similar ingredient when we couldn't find the right one.  So, today, I want to take a few minutes to share some of my favorite things that keep me somewhat sane for the start of the school year and beyond. 

1.   Staying Organized.
This was my planner from last year.  This year, I am using a spiral bound Day Designer Planner combined with all the planner stickers I find at our local craft stores (it's like the 10 year old Lisa Frank loving tween comes out in me!).  They help me stay organized and make lists and put everything in one spot.  We also keep our master calendar on our phones that are all connected (thank you apple!).  So, when my husband puts something on it, It alerts me that something was added and vise versa.  Each week, all those things get transferred here and on our family command center so I always have access to what we need. This has minimized the amount of lists that I have had to make. . . So that's a lifesaver!

2.  Backpacks and Lunch Pails that don't bite the dust.

Having backpacks that don't fall a part is so important.  No one really wants to  have to buy backpacks twice in one year. . . I mean, no matter where you get them, they really aren't that cheap.  We have been so impressed with Pottery Barn Kids that we buy them every few years.  This will be Ethan's second year, with his camo backpack and Weston's third year with his shark backpack.  They hold up so well.  This year, Weston is using his same lunch pail as last year (and I think kinder, too!) and Ethan got a new one because his was just getting worn out (but still not that bad and will be used as a back up in case they get left at school).  They aren't the cheapest backpacks on the market, price wise, but the fact that they last so long and so well makes them well worth it.  This year, we knew we were buying a new lunch pail for Ethan so I kept my eye out and found the one that matched his backpack on clearance for 9.99 and free shipping.  I recommend getting on their email list so you can find out when they have stuff on sale, because it's so worth it!


3.  Bento Boxes. 

We love these Easy Lunch Boxes so much!  They are inexpensive and work great for giving my kids a balanced lunch that they need to give them all the energy and brain power to get through the craziness of the school day and their after school activities.  I have several blog posts about it that I will link to at the bottom of this post. 

4.   Morning Routines are a Must. 

I am a firm believer that if you give your kids clear expectations on what you want them to accomplish in the morning, then they will most often do it successful (I won't lie, they have their mornings when they don't want to do anything. . . they aren't perfect).  They each have their own laminated version of this checklist clipped to the refrigerator with their own magnetic dry erase marker (black comes off best).  This keeps them on task so this mommy can also get ready, 'cause I have my own issues with mornings!  We also have a rule that it all has to be done by 8:00 so that we can walk out the door at 8:10 to get to school on time.  If it isn't done, they don't get to watch TV in the afternoons.   That kind of hurts. . . and motivates. 

 5.  Love on your Child's Teacher.

 I am not sure if I can express this enough, but your child's teacher needs all the love, support, and prayers that you can give them.  They work their butts off preparing for your child and want them to succeed.  It's definitely a partnership and it takes all of us to make successful children.  I like to bring our kids teachers treats every now and then just to make their day. . . especially when it's a hard day or week.  We bring cookies the first day because they need a little bit of sunshine. . . they've been working so hard to prep for our kids that they just need to know how much we appreciate them from the start.  Also, pray for your teachers.  Pray that they have wisdom to deal with the chaos and crazy of each day.  I will put links at the bottom or printables.

And that's it.  That's my 5 favorite things for back to school.  I would love to hear what your favorite back to school things are, feel free to leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you! Enjoy your first week or your last week of vacation.  Enjoy what ever moment you are in, whether finishing up the summer or starting the school year. 

Here are some quick links:

Helpful hints for Back to School

Cookie Printable Gift Tag

Lunch Inspiration

Our Family Command Center

 In a few short hours, we are headed to our kid's back to school night where we will meet our kids teachers, catch up with friends, and quite possibly eat tacos (because rumor has it, there will be a taco truck hanging out at school. . . how cool is that?!?)  Anyways, one of my projects this past spring and this summer was finish the work area/command center that we made in a corner of our family room.

Last Winter, we changed the way we organized our kid's room, giving them more space to build, but also make it a bit more mature, since now we have an almost 10 year old and a 7 1/2 year old.  In that process, we decided that the desk that Ethan had in there was more of a place to pile stuff on than a place where homework could actually be done.  Plus, it was taking up  space we wanted to use in another way.  Plus, Weston wanted a desk and there was no way we were going to fit two desks in the bedroom that they share. 

So, we headed to our favorite place for inspiration (Ikea, of course!), and measured and took notes and didn't buy a thing.  I had an idea to build from sratch, because I wanted it to go from the wall to the walk way between the kitchen.  We spent so much time in the office/desk area of the largest IKEA ever, which included one of the kids needing to go to the bathroom (ever been to IKEA when your kid has to pee. . . it's quite the maze!)  Anyways, my original idea wasn't going to work because it just wasn't long enough.  I actually got really frustrated, but found this one narrow black desk that might work. . . we measured it and then added the measurements of the Ikea drawers.  We have two of them in the office and love them, so we knew they would be a great fit for art supplies and learning supplies to keep us organized through the week.  We ordered them from the Ikea website with minimal shipping (compared to the gas to drive 3 hours to our nearest store).  We didn't order chairs, because my plan was to get some metal stools that I found at Target. 

Unfortunately we tried those metal stools and another pair of stools from Target, but they were just too high.  We new we wanted something stool like, because of it's ability to completely push under the desk, making a clean walkway between the desk and the couch when it's not in use.  I really didn't think it would be as hard as it was to find something that worked and looked nice.  I found a lot of pin on our favorite inspiration sight and realized that people were just using these cool step stools from Ikea.  So we ordered two and saved a ton of money!  They work perfect and if I feel like painting them in the future, I can. 

My goal for this corner was to make everything accessible for the whole family.  There's a computer for the kids to use for homework, or for drawing their favorite book character on Art Hub (thanks to my sister in law for that recommendation!).  The old milk crate on the floor is where we store our library book bags and books and the kids backpacks hang on the metal hook basket.  Everything is accessible to the kids and us.  We also keep our monthly calendar, a weekly calendar and our menu plan for the week to help us keep things organized for the week. 

 Each kid has a desk drawer with markers, pens, pencils treasures, and a place to put their notebook. I love how my oldest has a stash of baseball cards in there for safe keeping. 

 We've been using this set up for a few months now and we love it!  It took a lot of planning and creativity and returns, but once we figured it out, we were happy!  One thing I love is that the computer is accessible to the boys.  We really didn't feel comfortable with it being in their room (they love watching YouTube videos a little bit too much), and being in a room where everyone is watching keeps everyone accountable.  Plus, when they need help with homework,  someone is always close. 

We are far from being completely organized, but this has really helped!  Do you have a family command center or a specially designated spot for homework?  How does that work for your family? 

Where to find everything:
Desk: Micke by Ikea in black brown
Stools: Beckvam by Ikea in white
Drawers: Alex by Ikea in black brown
Wire Basket with Hooks: Home Goods
Burlap Bulletin Board: Home Goods
"Blessed" sign: Hobby Lobby
Fake plants and planters: Ikea