"Stained Glass" Horses

On our last trip to the library Bria chose a book called "Where Horses Run Free" by Joy Cowley . It was about the wild mustangs being caught when the settlers headed west. She chose this book because it has horses on the front, and like most 5 year old girls, she loves horses! 

They were really excited to get to play with all the tiny, breakable horses.

Then I decided we could do a fun art project with our wild horses; "Stained Glass"  (based our project on the seasons project from Red Ted Art).  I started by using my Cricut to cut some wild horses out of black card stock (they are from the Old West cartridge if you want to make your own).

This seemed like a good time to review warm and cool colors.  So after cutting our tissue paper into pieces I organized them into warm and cool colors. 

I cut our contact paper into rectangles and added a 1" black border to the sticky side.

Then they just had to choose a few horses (stick them down first) and fill in the background with tissue paper.  

When they finished the back was quite a mess.  I added a second sheet of contact paper to keep it somewhat contained!

Then we hung them in the window! Each girl made a warm picture and a cool picture.

Nadia's

Bria's

I really like how they turned out.  I think the girls do too; although they wanted more horses! Definitely an activity we will do again, but it will probably be with different silhouettes.

Fizzy Painting

Initially I tried to make Fizzy Finger Paint; which didn't work as well as I had hoped.  I started by mixing baking soda into the finger paint.

The girls painted with it like normal.  They did comment on the rough texture, and how it felt like salt to them.

Then they got to paint over it with vinegar.  As you can see, it made a few bubbles; just not as many as I was hoping for!

It did leave an interesting texture on the page when it dried though!

Then we tried watercolors.  Only instead of painting with water we use vinegar and dropped baking soda on top.  The girls used tons of baking soda though, so I just brought out little eye droppers for the vinegar.  So they painting (using the vinegar), then sprinkled baking soda where they wanted it, and added more vinegar with the eye dropper.

This was not an exceptionally clean project!

But it gave some interesting results! The baking soda dried hard on the top of the picture and then flaked off.  It left behind a very smooth and peaceful look in the paint underneath.

You can tell where the fizz was and where it wasn't very easily by how clear the lines are and how bright the colors are.  

The finger paint may not have worked the best (although it did become a sensory activity), but I love the effect this gave with the watercolors! And the girls loved making fizz!

Presidents and the Environment Hot Topic Since 1960s

President Obama stressed the importance of making proactive efforts to change the effects of climate change in his recent inaugural address. According to E Magazine, Obama has made very direct references to climate change and its effects on the environment since his previous election in 2008, promising to tackle climate change.

At his inauguration this past month, he said, “We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms.”

The article in E Magazine goes on to report on how human-induced climate change is having major impacts on the environment—as well as increased storms, sea level rise, Arctic ice melt, and wildfires. It also points out that a healthy environment is highly correlated to a healthy economy.

Texas A&M University Press authors Byron W. Daynes and Glen Sussman focus on this issue in their recent book White House Politics and the Environment. They examine how Presidents and their administrations since the 1960s have become increasingly active in environmental politics, despite their touted lack of expertise and their apparent frequent discomfort with the issue. Check out more on their new book here.

Mom's Library (#5 for Me)

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Since we had our own icy fun this weekend, I decided to feature more ice!

My Featured Posts This Week:

A fun, icy, arctic experiment from No Doubt Learning. 

Shows you how objects can go underneath the icy layer on a body of water.

Gorgeous, icicles from Housing a Forest; we will definitely have to try this!

Icy sensory play from Gummy Lump. Ice is a such a fun and cheap sensory experience!

For more great features visit my fellow Librarians: True Aim Education, Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk, and Chicken Babies.

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Mini-Meatloaves

My husband HATES meatloaf. He had said this since before we got married.  In fact i was never a huge fan of it either, so it really wasn't an issue. That is until I started doing my freezer cooking. Sometime before the birth of my second daughter I started looking into freezer cooking.  I mean I had been freezing baby food for my oldest for a few months, and I didn't see why that couldn't be transferred to adult food.  I soon found there were many people who participating in freezer cooking! One of the more popular things to freeze was meatloaf. So I started looking for a meatloaf we would both love.  After combining 3 recipes this is what I came up with. And the whole family gobbles them up!

Mini-Meatloaves

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

3/4 C milk

1/2 C quick oats

1 egg

1 C shredded cheese (we like cheddar)

1/2 t salt

1/2 t seasoned salt (we like Lawry's)

1 t Worcestershire sauce

pinch garlic powder

pinch pepper

Sauce:

2/3 C ketchup

1/4 C packed brown sugar

2 T BBQ sauce

1 t mustard

1. Mix first 10 ingredients together and set aside.

2. Mix sauce ingredients in separate bowl.

3. Add 3-4 T sauce to meat mixture.

4. Form meat mixture into patties and place on greased baking sheet or use greased muffin tins!

5. make little divots in each patty and fill with remaining sauce.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  If I am freezing them I will usually bake them about 30 minutes  and then about 30 minutes again when they are thawed.

7. Enjoy!

My husband loves these little meat muffins (as he calls them), and they work great to freeze.  Freeze them on a cookie sheet and then place frozen ones in a freezer bag.  Pull out what you need and keep the others frozen! I usually make a double batch at a time, so I have enough to freeze!