OSU Hatfield Science Visitor Center - Newport, OR

OSU has an awesome free science center in Newport, OR located inside the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Visitor Center. They charge nothing for admission, but do accept donations.

It’s a small science museum, but they have packed in the hands on exhibits. The day we went there was an educational lecture on whales. They also have the Yaquina Estuary Nature Trail outside on the property that is open to the public from dawn to dusk. The trail is ½ mile paved and wheelchair-accessible.

Learning Exhibits

• Tsunamis and Earthquakes
• Sustainable Fisheries
• Tide Pools
• Invasive Species
• Octopus and Sunstars

Touch Pools

They had touch tanks full of fun sea creatures. Our kids spent most of their time here touching starfish and various anemones.
 

Hatfield Marine Science Center

2030 S.E. Marine Science Dr.

Newport, OR

541-867-0100

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ABC Mouse – Review and Giveaway

 When I found out ABC Mouse was going to let a blogger try out their site I jumped at the chance.

What is ABC Mouse you ask? 

• ABCmouse is an Early Learning Academy with a full online curriculum for preschool through Kindergarten. 

My youngest is in kindergarten and learning to read. I know they do a lot at school, but there’s 27 kids in his kindergarten class and it’s just too many. So, we’ve been trying to supplement at home which is not always easy.

We’ve actually tried another computer program and he hated it, so I wasn’t sure if he would even try ABC Mouse. I have two of their free phone apps on my cell and he plays those, so when I said ABC Mouse he already seemed to have a positive attitude towards it.

Much to my delight he immediately got right into it. I set him up on the learning path and he did 5 activities in one sitting. (If you have a high energy little guy like mine then you will know why that’s a huge deal.) He enjoyed it so much he discussed it with me and played again later that day. Since then he has play every single day. Sometimes he does the learning path that was customized for his age and sometimes he just does free choice. I love listening to him sing a long with the songs.

 
Another great things is the parents section. Here I can watch his progress and adjust his levels if I want. There’s also explanations of the various lessons. They’ve got hundred of lessons.

Win a one year subscription to ABCMouse.com

Here's your chance to win your children a one year subscription to ABC Mouse. You can also check out their Facebook page for more info http://www.facebook.com/ABCmouse 
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This was a sponsored post by thebloggerconnection.com. All opinions shared are my own.

Experiment with Water

Another fun  and easy science experiment for kids is this paper towel absorption experiment. You will need two paper towel, three clear cups, water, and food coloring. We went with blue water in one cup and yellow in another. In the middle you add no water. Wind up a paper towel and place it with one end in the water and one in the empty cup. Do the same with the other glass.
Kid's can observe how the paper towel soaks up the water, eventually moving it into the middle cup. This also helps teach colors to young children. My five year old now knows that blue and yellow mix together makes green.

How to make Donuts using Biscuits

Did you know that you can turn biscuits into doughnuts? Making biscuit donuts with kids is fun and it's easy enough that they can help make them.

I make simple biscuit donuts. Meaning I took a can of biscuits punched out the middles with a medicine cup to make donuts and doughnut holes. Then I fried them and rolled them in sugar and cinnamon. They kids are able to help with all steps of this except the frying.

Biscuit Donuts
1 or 2 cans of small biscuits
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
vegetable oil

Lay out a piece of wax paper or a cutting board. Spread the biscuits out on the paper. Using a medicine measuring cup as a cookie cutter, cut out the middles of the biscuits. Use the round biscuit dough you just cut out to make donut holes. The biscuits missing the middle will now make perfect donuts.

Mix up the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside.

Heat vegetable oil on medium heat in a frying pan/skillet. Once the oil is hot enough place your dough pieces in the oil and fry them until golden brown.

Once golden brown take them out of the oil and roll them in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. When you've coated them they are ready to serve and eat.

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7 Christmas books and activites

Here are 7 more Christmas books and activities that our family enjoys. These are a perfect way to interact with your kids throughout the month of December and change the focus from presents to the real meaning of Christmas.
A fun activity to do with kids.

Another kid friendly activity.

Christmas stories and poems by many famous authors.

Wonderful collection of Christmas stories.

A collection of poems, along with the history behind many Christmas traditions.

A fun book, especially for Boynton fans.

This book descibes a Mexican custom of reenacting Mary and Joseph's search for shelter the night Jesus was born.

6 Christmas Books to help you celebrate Christmas

There are many ways to prepare for Christmas. Here are some of the my Christmas books that we use for getting ready for Christmas. I attempt to keep the focus off of presents, but you know how that goes. But hey, as long as your try! Right?

I love all of Lisa Whelchel's books, including this one, which is quite different from many of her books. This book is a fun and handy guide that describes the significance behind your favorite traditions.

This is a daily Bible study for the month of November. Then is the month of December there are daily devotionals that reinforce your studies from November.  Lots of good practical steps.

An easy read full of fun and practical ho-to tips! This book will help you discover new ways to make your Christmas bright.

Discover the joyous message of Christmas through the delightful antics of Oscar the Christmas Lizard. This book makes for a great bedtime story.

The inspirational story of our favorite Christmas candy.

I love Liz Curtis Higgs books and was so pleased to discover she had kids books. This book tells the heartwarming tale of a farmer and his family who nurture seedlings into fragrant Christmas trees.

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Miracle Ranch Camp

My oldest son was lucky enough to go to camp at Miracle Ranch in Washington state to participate in Operation Extreme. If you are military and you live in the Pacific Northwest I highly recommend you check into it! It's the nicest camp I've seen. Much nicer than the places I always went! They offer lots of camps besides the military week.

Everything was a western theme, which fit perfectly with the horseback riding they offer. Other things they offered was swimming in the lake, water trampoline, volleyball, paintball, archery, and a ropes course.

The Easter Story Craft

The Easter Story craft is designed to help explain the Easter story to kids, especially toddlers.  You will need 12 eggs filled with the following:

1 - cracker
2 - dime
3 - rope
4 - purple cloth
5 - thorn
6 - cross
7 - nail
8 - sponge
9 - toothpick
10 - guaze
11 - rock
12 - leave empty

Be sure to number each egg.  I like to hide them around the house and let the kids hunt for them.  Then they can line them up in order.  This is a great way to work on numbers for smaller kids.



The Easter Story

1 - cracker     The Last Supper at the Passover was a time Jesus had a special meal together with His 12 disciples. They had the meal in an upstairs room of a house. Jesus took a cup of grape juice and a flat loaf of bread, and prayed a thank-you prayer. He told His disciples, "Whenever you drink this, remember Me." After dinner, Jesus and His disciples went to a garden to pray. After they were done praying, one of Jesus' followers named Judas came up to Jesus.

2 - dime     Judas had soldiers with him. Then he did a strange thing. He kissed Jesus on the check. The soldiers had paid Judas silver money to tell them which one was Jesus. Then the soldiers arrested Jesus. Next, they were very mean to Jesus.

3 - rope     They took rope to bind His hand so He couldn't move them.

4 - purple cloth     They put a purple robe on Him and made fun of Him because He told them He was the King of the Jews.

5 - thorn     They made a crown of thorns that they put on His head. They beat Him with a whip.

6 - cross     Then they wanted to put Him to death. He was going to go through all of this so we could be forgiven for our sins.

7 - nail     They took nails and hammered Him up on the cross and put the cross up.

8 - sponge     He was hungry and thirsty. To be mean, they put a sponge with something sour (like vinegar) up to His mouth. It tasted awful to Him - He spit it out! He hung there for 6 hours, the He died.

9 - toothpick     After they saw He was dead, the soldier took a spear and put it into His side.

10 - guaze     His friends took His body down and wrapped it in gauze getting Him ready to be buried.

11 - rock     They put His body in the grave and placed a big huge stone in front of it so no one could steal His body. Then soldiers were put on guard to watch.

The Good News is Jesus didn't stay dead! Early Sunday morning some women came to visit the place where Jesus was buried.

12 - leave empty     They found an angel and the angel said, "He is not here! He is Risen! He is Alive! Go tel your friends!

Lego Master Builder Academy

I just discovered a new program from Lego called LEGO Master Builder Academy.

A program that teaches your kids to build and create just like the LEGO Master Builders do. In this dual in-home and online experience, real LEGO Master Builders teach the process of design and LEGO model creation through the advanced techniques of LEGO building.  I am ordering MBA Kit 1
for my son for Christmas.  Each kit contains a 3-in-1 building set, an installment of the LEGO Master Builder Design Handbook full of lessons, enhanced building instructions and inspiration for new building ideas. Every kit also comes with alternating minifigure rewards: exclusive MBA minifigures with buildable minifigure accessories.  This program is more affordable then the Robotics program, only 29.99.

How to build a LEGO Snowman

Liepold Farm's Pumpkin Patch

Liepold Farm is located in Boring, OR about 20 minutes SE of Portland, OR.  It is one of my favorite pumpkin patches.  They have tons of family activities.
 
They always have an area set up where you can snap some family pictures.  There is a hay ride, corn maze, petting zoo, and pumpkin catapult.
 

Instead of a sand box they have a box full of kernel corn for the kids to dig in. They have a hay maze that the kids can go through.  They have to use a flashlight to see through it.
  

There is a fun area that is perfect for younger kids.

Tanner Apple

Lost in the Corn Maze

Pumpkin Catapult

Hay Maze

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