Water Beads 2

Our bowl of water beads is still growing strong. They have shrunk a little, but have remained mostly the size of a small marble. I guess if I wanted them to shrink further I would have to regularly drain the water from the bowl to dry them out. For $2.50 (2 packets), they are pretty good value.

We added on the weekend a few scoops of water beads to some paint. The beads were too light to be rolled through the paint, so K had fun moving them around with her hands.

It was like finger painting with the added sensory experience of the now slimy water beads.

Once the paper looked as if it had had enough, we took it out and replaced it with Shaving cream.

K has only played with shaving cream once or twice before, and is still fascinated by the initial long strands that emerge from the can.

It was fun trying to find the water beads amongst the foam.

Even Dad was keen to have a go.

Soon our fish and a dinosaur joined the party, and then some glittery shapes as well. The shaving cream had a delightful pink tinge from the paint.

Although I thought I scooped most of the cream into the bin and washed the container in the laundry, the kitchen sink later that day became blocked. I wonder if some expanding water beads had washed off my hands and had lodged in the kitchen drain?? A trip to Bunnings to buy a plunger was needed to remedy the situation and the dishes eventually got washed.

Stay tuned for more water bead posts in the future. I have a few more ideas...

Kids' Festival

We enjoyed the Bunbury Kids Festival in 2011 and decided to make it back this year. The format remained the same - a few different activities set up across different stations, with some well thought out improvements for 2012.  Primarily the venue was much larger which meant that it was far less squishy. K enjoyed being able to see things and observe her surroundings without a crowd of people around her.

We stayed for about 15 minutes of the Chipmunks show. Although K recounts this as a memorable part of the day, it was incredibly boring at the time.

K planted a strawberry seed in rolled up newspaper.

The Department of Sport and Recreation had a few pieces of equipment for the kids to play with.

K made a pencil box at the construction area, sponsored by BHP.

Two large man made cows patiently provided a milking experience.

Several tables of old fashioned type writers were set up.

On closer inspection - each had a pre typed evaluation sheet to fill in. K typed her name, age, home town and favourite part of the day. She found it amusing that she had to hit each key very hard to produce the required letter. I have never seen this used as an evaluation tool before and I thought it was quite clever.

At the Under 5 area there was space to chill and read a story if one desired. K played with the toys and then sat down with the other kids to write her own story.

The Young Talent Team performed well for the young crowd. This was enjoyed by the children aound 8 years and above. K found it a bit loud. The concert quality speakers didn't have a huge crowd of dancing adults to absorb the sound so the singing was very loud.

K has become increasingly interested about 'performing on stage' but is still very shy when even Mum or Dad ask her to sing at home. It will be interesting to see how she goes at the end of the year, performing her one acrobatics song as part of her Dance School's end of year concert.

Overall the Festival provided a good 2.5 hours of activity. She was too young for the science themed exhibits and as the morning progressed, became more anxious and tired with the growing crowd. We enjoyed our picnic lunch whilst watching Young Talent Time then headed for the car.

Building on the day, I would like to:

* Find some real dairy cows for K to visit and watch being milked;

* Continue to seek out opportunities for K to watch other young people performing and demonstrating confidence;

* Keep an eye out for a type writer we could purchase to add to our writing experiences at home and

* Successfully grow some strawberry plants.

Cold Weather Walk

Even when the weather is cool, it is still fun to head to the beach. K wasn't particularly interested today in collecting shells or looking for other treasures. She simply enjoyed the walk and looking across the landscape.

K welcomes Natti to the beach.