Birthday Party: Jackson Pollock Theme

SPUD'S 4TH BIRTHDAY PARTY | IT'S TIME TO SPLATTER PAINT

The 4 Cats Arts Academy actually has 7 locations on Vancouver Island and around Vancouver. I've just been to one and it is such a cool space. They have loads of courses, summer art camps, and themed birthday parties.

Thanks to KR for taking all these gorgeous shots!

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Jackson Pollock Birthday Party Invite

This Monday, our little guy is turning the big 4. And we are hosting a little paint splatter party to celebrate. This is the little invite to his wee buds.

Spud and I practiced on this poor T-shirt. It will function well as his birthday suit on paint splatter day though.

MATERIALS
Old Tee
Cardboard or triple layer of paper [prevents soak through]
Fabric paint
Paint brushes
Old plastic containers
Water for thinning out paint [practice a little to get desired consistency]

We actually did this project in the tub. I'm sure doing it in the backyard makes clean up a bit easier.

Next time I'll stick with black and white. Okay, and maybe a little hot pink.

N'ice Cubes

MATERIALS
Ice cube tray[s]
Small Bits and bobs from the bottom of the toy box
Coins, buttons, marbles
Food colouring

Freeze each item in its own compartment in the ice cube tray. Fill with water. Add a small amount of colouring. Stir. Freeze.

These work well in the tub or when 'puddling' in the sink. Each cube slowly reveals its own surprise. It's also an opportunity to talk about water and it's different forms and characteristics.







Note: If you get too much colouring in the cubes they can be a bit messy. No harm done but if some of the colour gets on skin directly [before being diffused through the tub water] it can leave a temporary mark. Something to think about if you are having your wee one in wedding photos the next day or something.

Playdoh Cupcakes

FUN WITH FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Delicious Baby gave me the idea of using silicone cups for Playdoh to make mini cupcakes. And given my recent quest for fine motor skills activities that Spud can get into, this sounded perfect. He loves cupcakes after all.

Lace a Snake

FUN WITH FINE MOTOR SKILLS
And continuing my quest for fine motor based activities that my kid actually likes doing... this one worked.

Materials:
·scrap cardboard
·hole punch
·felts
·shoelace

The little guy likes snakes quite a bit so he and I made a snake maze for him to lace up. He's usually pretty shy about projects like this one but he really warmed up to the snake, naming it even. Next time I will try a car.

Pancake Sandwiches

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER PANCAKES



I throw them in the freezer, between layers of wax paper. To thaw, I simply throw them in the toaster. Next I make a sandwich out of them. This past weekend I used maple butter and apple slices.

Spud also loves good old PB + J this way and sometimes I put in some banana slices too. I slice it into quarters so it can fit in his bento box.

Easter Basket

I know, I know, Easter baskets are old news. Bear with me while I document some of the fun we had this past weekend ... I will enjoy reviewing it next year.

So this was my second year decorating a basket. My goal is always to try to do it with stuff I find around the house. I realized this year that I have some pretty crazy stuff around the house. Okay, and I did cheat with a couple of items I found at the dollar store last Thursday.

First, my husband added a coat hanger handle to an existing IKEA basket we borrowed from Spud's shelf.

Here is some of the stuff I collected to use for the project:
·Felt dirt for the sides of the basket. I wanted it to look like the eggs and creatures were growing from the soil, like in a garden.
·Felt Easter creatures double-sided taped to the end of bendy straws. Spud and I also decorated some paper eggs and taped them to the end of straws too.
·Large paper blades of grass for decorating and some reusable shredded plastic for making a bed of grass for the coloured eggs.
·A micro string of lights, IKEA [yes, we did just have it around ... which is a little embarrassing]

And then some dirt-coloured ribbon and a wire-o-leafy-garland-thingy for the handle.

Et voilà.

Last year's bunny basket was also made up of stuff around the house. We had the googlie eyes, the construction paper, chenille wires, cotton balls and a 4 litre milk jug. As far as I'm concerned, it only has to last the weekend, and then I cannibalize it for next year, or other crafty projects.

Space Centre

ONE OF SPUD'S FAVOURITE MUSEUMS | VANCOUVER



The 'menu' of what's going on in this establishment can be quite overwhelming. It's best to march right up to the ticket booth, look a little stunned, and they'll map out your day for you. In 2 hours you can easily fit in a Planetarium show, 2 stage shows, and a motion simulator ride. In between show times, the highly interactive Cosmic Courtyard has loads to offer ... like touching a real meteorite.





Planetarium
Stars for Starters and Harold's Solar System are just 2 of the shows they have in a day.


They call this thing Harold. It's a 360 degree projector that simulates the night sky overhead in a large theatre.

GroundStation
Rocket Lab and A Day in Space are two of their live stage shows. We took our 3-year old Spud to the show on rockets. At some point he asked "why is she talking so much?" and then declared "this is boring!". At least I'M now up to speed on Newton's 3 laws of motion. She really had his attention when she made a rocket though. It was well worth the wait. And the 6 to 8 year old crowd were well engaged all along.

Virtual Voyages
Mars Motion Simulator Ride. More details here.

WHAT ABOUT SOME LUNCH?
The famous Siegels Bagels is on the way [1883 Cornwall Avenue at Cypress]. Considered by most to be the most authentic Montreal-style bagel shop in the city, first kettle boiled and then baked. Try ordering what's just coming out of the large wood burning oven ... warm and oh so good.

Mad Scientist Bath

GET CLEAN, HAVE FUN.



Tonight's bath included a few drops of food colouring, some baking soda and some vinegar. A little of this and a little of that and our wee one is making purple and asking questions about the mighty frothy bubble. Spud didn't want it to stop. "What other sorts of experiments can we do?".

Next: The Delights of Density
Will it Float? [sung like Paul Schaffer]
I'll collect various items from around the house in a container and ask the little guy to make predictions before tossing each item into the drink. This will be my first batch: a cotton swab, a coin, small toy dinosaur, a sponge, 2 bottles — one filled with water and one not, and a straw. That should be a good start.

And After That: Conservation of Liquid
Having fun with the idea that a quantity remains the same despite its change in appearance. For example, fill a tall thin container with bath water and tell your wee one that you are going to pour it into another [short, fat] container. Ask if it is the same amount of water. Famous French Child Psychologist, Jean Piaget, says kids typically don't get the concept that the amount of water doesn't change, until age 6 or 7 but hey, you can have fun with it in the meantime.

Making Magic Mud

My wee guy refused to put his fingers in this delightful goo. But he helped stir and I glooped and glopped while showing him how playfully the substance goes from a solid to a liquid and vice versa.





5 T. cornstarch
3 T. water
a few of drops of food colouring

Bentolicious II

Here are some pictures of last week's bentos. Also see Bentolicious I.


Clockwise from the top left:
Dried apple rings
Lima bean skewers
Cheese stars
Turkey sausage [leftovers]
Ritz crackers, wholewheat
White chocolate chips + craisins
Kiwi balls
Cucumber fish


Olives stuffed with feta cheese
Strawberry tomato bacon skewers
Red pepper, baby corn + cucumber
Berry mix [from the freezer]
·Veggie sausage patties
Red tortilla chips [in separate container]


Cuke + cherry tomato
Peach slices + mango cube [from freezer]
Flower-shaped cheese slices
Almond butter + jelly sandwich strips [sprouted grain bread]
Apple sauce


Lemon white fish + shrimp + aspargus [leftovers]
Baby carrots
Lima bean bacon skewers
Poppy seed crackers
·Nut butter balls [coated with ground shreddies]


·Nut butter balls [coated with ground almonds] [hiding behind the cute carrot and pepper separator]
Strawberry tomatoes, red pepper strips
Mashed potato balls [leftovers]
Feta stuffed olives
Turkey meat balls [from the freezer]
Apple sauce [in container]
Orange slices
Cuke slice

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