SMMART MATH:

SUCKING SPOOKS

You'll need:
Straws
Bat cut outs
Pumpkin cut outs
Two bowls
(*Optional: Karo syrup and red food coloring)

PREP:
-First you'll need to cut out a few small bat and pumpkin shapes from colored paper.  Make sure the shapes are small enough that you can pick them up with the end of  a straw as you suck through the other end.  Write a number on each cut out.  For smaller children, you'll want to use simple numbers and for older children, you can use more complex numbers.

-Now drip a drop or two of red food coloring into a small amount of Karo Syrup and stir until the color is ubiquitous.  Drizzle a little of the "bloody" syrup onto the rim and sides of your bowls.

GAME:
-Give each player a straw and lay a bowl in front of him.
-On the count of "Crows feet, Broomsticks and Warlocks...GO!", each player will suck on their straw and try to pick up the bat and pumpkin cut outs with the other end of their straw.  They'll drop the cut out into the bowl.
-Players continue to pick up all the cut outs until they are gone.  Then, each player dumps out his own bowl of cut outs and looks at the numbers on them.
-As quickly as they can, players will add up all of the numbers on the bats and subtract away the numbers on the pumpkin cut outs.  When a player has figured out the final answer, they yell the number out loud.  After a quick check to make sure their math is correct, that player is the winner. 

Of course, this could be a lot of fun for older children if it was MULTIPLY the numbers on the bats and DIVIDE the numbers on the pumpkins.  Younger children can sequence the numbers in 1,2,3 order or sort similar numbers into groups. This game adapted from (http://familyfun.go.com/halloween/halloween-games/)

SMMART MATH: Counting Eyeballs

Counting Eyeballs (Halloween favor)...or marbles, or bouncy balls...

We just happened to have a water noodle that had been bent, bit and loved way too much.  Instead of tossing out your worn water noodle, cut off a 1 to 2 foot piece and slice it down the middle to create a long channel for a ball to roll down.

Place a cauldron (or a bowl) on the floor on one end of the room.  Have your child stand by you on the other side of the room.  Place a small ball on the edge of the noodle channel while your child holds it horizontally. 

Your child will balance the ball on the noodle while he walks across the room.  When he reaches the bowl, he will attempt to drop the ball into the bowl.

Sing a spooky halloween song and see how many eyeballs your child can drop into the cauldron by the time the song is over.

Decide how many points each eyeball is worth.  If you want to practice counting by 2s, then each eyeball is worth two points...5 points if you want to practice counting by 5s...10 points to practice counting by 10s...

Together, you can count up how many points your child won.

COSTCO MAGAZINE!!!

I am so excited to be in the "Member Connections" section of the October 2011 issue of Costco Magazine!

(Sorry, I couldn't get the two layouts to overlap)

http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/201110#pg99
Below, I posted the "Ghost Krispie" activity that was pictured in the magazine.

Thanks to Maria Bellos Fisher for a great write-up!
If you like these activities, be sure to "Follow" my blog!

SMMART SCIENCE: RICE KRISP GHOSTS

BOO!

Why do toasted rice crispies SNAP, CRACKLE and POP?

"When Kellogg's* Rice Krispies are toasted the cooked and dried rice "berries" expand their size (puff) to many times their normal size. Since the weight of the rice berry and its material mass remains nearly the same, the rice material is stretched to form very thin walls of the Rice Krispies structure. This is much like a very thin glass crystal. When subjected to a change in heat, a severe "stress" is set up and the thin wall fractures - creating a Snap, Crackle and Pop!
This happens in the cereal bowl when cold milk (i.e. heat stress) is poured in the Rice Krispies and presto SNAP! CRACKLE! POP! The sounds are made by the uneven absorption of milk by the cereal bubbles." (http://www.kelloggs.ca/whoweare/scp.htm)
Pour your child a bowl of crisp rice cereal and let her listen to the little rice "berries" after you pour a little cold milk on them. Observe how the toasted rice "crystal" cavities fill with milk.
Now for the experimenting...Set up a few bowls of dry cereal and a few cups of different liquids. Let your child pour the different liquids onto the dry bowls of toasted rice.
Do the rice "berries" make the same amount of sound when you pour a different type of liquid on them?

Try warm water, cold water, soda, warm milk and cold milk. Talk about your observations with your child.

After eating a bowl of toasted rice cereal, we made RICE KRISP GHOSTS:
Whip up a batch of "Rice Krispie Treats":

-Melt 1/4 cup butter

-Add 10oz marshmallows and mix around in the butter. Put back in microwave for about a minute so the marshmallows are melty
-Stir together to help melt the marshmallows down.
-Add 8 cups of toasted rice cereal and stir mixture all together until rice cereal is mixed in well.

-Pour mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape the mixture into a ghost form...like a hay stack.

-Sit the mound onto another sheet of plastic wrap and smoosh the bottom of the mixture to flatten the bottom.

-Refrigerate to allow mixture to harden.
-Melt white chocolate chips in microwave. Remove chocolate and stir till smooth. Use a spatula to smooth chocolate over the toasted rice/marshmallow mounds.

-Refrigerate till chocolate hardens.

-Use a little melted white chocolate as "glue" to secure two black chocolate chips onto the ghosts as eyes.

These make fun little Halloween gift treats for your friends (wrap in celophane and tie with pretty black and orange ribbon!)

YUMMY!

SMMART TIME-OUT for TIDBITS

Halloween is right around the corner.

Here are some great safety tips word-for-word from:

http://www.halloween-website.com/safety.htm

Halloween Costume Safety Tips:
Wear flame retardant costumes.

Make sure your Halloween costume is colorfast so the color doesn't run onto your other clothes if it rains.

Try on costumes before Halloween to allow time for altering.

Hem your costumes so you don't trip and fall.

Apply reflective tape to your Halloween costumes.

Avoid cumbersome masks. Use make-up instead.

Make-up should be hypoallergenic and non-toxic.

Wear comfortable, practical shoes.

Double tie your shoelaces so you don't trip.

Keep your costume and wig away from candles.

Don't carry fake swords, guns, knives or similar accessories that look authentic. Make sure they're flexible and cannot harm anyone.

Trick-or-Treating Tips:
Carry a flashlight with fresh batteries after dark.

Take along money for a phone call. (Charge your cell phone)

Wear identification that's easy to read.

Always trick or treat in groups, accompanied by an adult.

Follow a curfew and take a watch with a backlight.

Plan your route ahead of time.

Stay on the sidewalks and out of the streets. Cross only at intersections and designated crosswalks.

Walk. No running.

Don't trample through flower beds and gardens.

Watch out for open flames in jack-o-Lanterns.

Trick or treat in familiar neighborhoods.

Walk with your head up and be aware of your surroundings.

Only visit well lit houses. Don't stop at dark houses.

Don't enter any houses unless you know the people.

Carry a spare Halloween bag -- in case yours breaks or you fill your original one.

Don't approach unfamiliar pets and animals.

Don't cut across yards and stay out of back yards.

Follow traffic signals and don't jaywalk.

Always watch for cars backing up or turning.

Review the "stop, drop and roll" procedure in case your costume catches on fire.

Never accept rides from strangers.

Respect other people and their property.

Be polite and say "thank you."

Don't eat any candy until it's inspected for tampering under bright lights.

Avoid candy that has loose wrappings, is unwrapped, has puncture holes, or is homemade.

Small children should not be allowed hard candy they may choke on.

Report any suspicious or criminal activity to an adult or the police.

Consider having a party instead of Trick or Treating.

Happy Trick-or-Treating!!!

SMMART SCIENCE: Atmosphere

Even WITH the strata of our earth's atmosphere, the sun's penetrating heat is so powerful, that it warms the earth, and can burn our unprotected skin after a few hours

"We are enveloped by an atmosphere that consists of 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen and 1 percent other ingredients. The atmosphere affects Earth's long-term climate and short-term local weather, shields us from much of the harmful radiation coming from the sun and protects us from meteors as well: most of which burn up before they can strike the surface as meteorites. Earth-orbiting satellites have revealed that the upper atmosphere actually swells by day and contracts by night due to solar heating during the day and cooling at night."(http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Earth&Display=OverviewLong)

These activities will  help your child recognize two purposes of our atmosphere-to insulate, and to protect.
Gather five mason jars or mugs and fill them each with a cup of water.  Place various covers on each mason jar lip and secure with a rubber band.  You could use wax paper, a wash cloth, celophane wrap, and a brown paper bag piece.  Leave one jar uncovered.  Place the jars in the sun for a few hours.  Have your child use a thermometer, or just use their finger, to determine which jar holds the hottest water.  Which cover allowed the most sunlight through and which jar cover allowed the least sunlight through?  All of the covers insulated the area inside of the jar.  By definition, Insulation prevents or reduces the passage of heat, electricity or sound.  Did any of the jar covers reduce the passage of the sun's heat the best?

This activity shows a visual effect of the sun's power: 
-Cut the top and bottoms from 5 rinsed tuna cans.  (You could also cut 5 strips of construction paper and tape into a circle to use as your base.) 

-Place covers on four of the cans and secure with a rubber band.  You could use wax paper, a wash cloth, celophane wrap, tin foil, or the bottom of a balloon stretched over the rim. Lay the cans on top of a piece of construction paper in a sunny area for the day. 

-Label the paper beside each can naming the type of cover on the can.  After a day, have your child remove the cans from the construction paper.  Notice the faded circles on the construction paper.  Observe which cover allowed more of the sun's rays through and which covers allowed the fewest rays through. Explain that our atmosphere protects the earth, the plants and our bodies from too strong of sunrays.  The more faded circles had an "atmosphere layer" that allowed more penetration than the less faded circles.(http://www.kids-science-experiments.com/)

SMMART SCIENCE: ANIMAL CARE

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus

"Fully Charged"

How to approach and pet a Dog

Can you believe that the Circus is almost in Utah...September 22-25th!  Not sure if I would ever be bold enough to kiss a tiger, but you can have a chance to get an up-close look at the animals of the Ringling Brothers Circus during the hour pre-show, 90 minutes before the performance (free to all ticket holders).   "Dance with the dancers, high-five the high wire act, take pictures with acrobats and aerialists, laugh with the clowns, and enter to win an original pachyderm Picasso created by Asia, the painting Asian Pachyderm."

You will also have a chance to meet the circus animals' care-experts and learn about the lives of these amazing animals.  It's an opportunity to ask questions about your favorite circus animals!   Great care is taken to provide a healthy environment, medical care and respectful training of these animals. 

You may not see exotic animals outside a trip to the zoo or a circus visit, but our children have opportunities to interact with animals almost daily.  It's important to remind them of how to properly care for (or avoid dangerous) animals in our  neighborhoods.

My cousin, who is visiting this week, is in her third year of Vet school.  My girls have loved spending time with her and her dogs, Homer and Zoe.  The first thing that Cousin Ann taught my girls was how to correctly approach a dog.  This is a good reminder for all of our little ones before sticking their hand out to an unknown animal:

-Never approach a stray dog or a sleeping dog. 
-Never sneak up behind a dog
-Don't try to take a toy or food away from a dog.
-Ask the owner if it's okay to pet his dog and if it's friendly.
-Approach the dog from the side and not head-on, but be visible.
-Put your hand out and let the dog approach you. 
-Pet the dog on the shoulders or back, or wherever the owner says you should pet their animal.
-Give the dog a treat if the owner has one for you and says it is okay.

Share these tips with your child and be safe playing in the neighborhood!

(See more photos under "belly" at http://jenbullockphotography.blogspot.com/)

SMMART BABY

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He's finally arrived...and we are in love...again!
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Thank you for your patience as I regroup after our son's birth. His three older sisters are showering him with LOTS of love:)
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I'll start my weekly Monday post again...soon!