Christmas STEAM activities

Christmas is fast approaching so I decided it was time to sit down and write out our ideas for Christmas activities. I tend to try and make our activities educational whilst fun and here is a collection which covers both plus the fun of Christmas (which basically means: add glitter, and sparkly stuff)!

In the run up to the big day, we give the boys a Christmas envelope each day which holds their activity. Their elf usually has it in his hand each morning so there is great excitement to find Frazzle (yep, that's his name) and find out what they challenge they have to do!

Here are the first 6 ideas to get you started and make your Christmas fun and productive, enjoy!

Day 1: Make a fireplace and decorate the tree. This has become a big tradition in our home and is a great way to kick off the celebrations.

Day 2: Have a dinosaur disco. Put on some Christmas music and get out the tinsel. After they can draw pictures of their dinosaurs and add lots of sparkle (substitute dinosaurs for other favorites as needed).

Day 3: Make some Christmas slime. We have tried a few methods for this one and have two recommendations. One, add as much glitter as you can stomach! And two, use glitter glue as a base for the slime if you're not a huge glitter fan. The glitter in the glue is much more cooperative at staying within the slime and a little less on the children!

Day 4: Make candy cane tree decorations. These are simple but look fantastic. We used pipe cleaners and chunky red and white beads. I tied one bead to the pipe cleaner then the boys threaded more on in any pattern they wished. Once they finished, I tied the last bead around the pipe cleaner and got them to bend the tops in a curve and hang them on the tree. They actually repeated this activity most days until Christmas and loved giving them out to friends and family for their trees too.
 

Day 5: Make plastic and use it to make tree decorations. This was a great recipe using just milk and vinegar. Oh and the glitter of course! Heat one cup of milk and add 4 tablespoons of vinegar. The liquid will separate and look pretty disgusting! Sieve the mixture and collect the hard residues. Press the mixture into Christmas molds and leave them to dry. Make sure you remember to put a whole in the top of your decoration so you'll be able to hang it up. 
Once it's dried out it should be easy to push out of the mold (we used silicone molds and Christmas cookie cutters). Add a ribbon and hang them on the tree. I was asked about the smell of these once they dried as both milk and vinegar can have quite pungent aromas. Well, our experience was that once they were fully dry they left no smell behind. I will say we didn't keep them for another year so I cannot comment on their durability but for a few weeks they were great.

Day 6:  Make a circuit to light up fairy lights.
This was so much fun, both for us adults and for the boys. We had a set of fairy lights that was so tangled it was beyond repair! We cut off several of the lights and exposed the wires slightly. Next we asked the boys to roll up tinfoil into lines and then talked about how the tinfoil could conduct electricity. Next we added the lights into a circuit with the tin foil. Finally, we left a small gap suitable for a 9V battery. We allowed the boys to press the battery onto the two ends over the gap and watch the lights shine. We later added another gap where they tested many of their toys for conductibility. 

Next week I'll post more of our Christmas ideas. In the meantime if you have any problems/doubts just write us a comment. Below you'll find (affiliate) links to many of the items we used (or would like to use this year) for these activities.

Perfect

Parenting is hard

Heard it, thought it, felt it, right?

But, this is also the best moment of my life and it took me a little while to figure that out.

You get pregnant and there are so many celebrations and, that rush you get each time you tell anyone. But then the nausea starts. And you think, 'once this phase is done, it's gonna be great'. And for a while it is, until you get too big to be comfortable. Then you think 'once the baby is born...' Oh yeah BIRTH. 

Then, the sleepless nights.

If you're lucky enough to have a baby who sleeps through the night you can just stop reading right now. But if you're not one of the lucky ones (and we are many) then I can sympathize with how tough it can be. So tired. There is no comparison. And the worst part is, you don't even want any help. Just a few hours sleep. And you think once the baby sleeps through the night things will get back to being perfect.

It goes on and on.

But do you know what? 

This is the perfect. Every second. I promise, you won't remember how tired you were. You won't remember the foul nappies and puke covered tops. You'll remember gummy smiles and a snuggling baby as they feed. You'll remember how only you could calm them down and how you held them even closer in the middle of the night. And one day, you'll miss it.

Then they grow.

The two year old tantrums. The three year old tantrums (that will just about destroy you). 

But do you know what you're gonna remember?

The first time they say something. The laugh. The huge smile they give you when they didn't see you for half an hour. The smell of cookies, apples, and grass all mixed up in their hair. And the bedtime snuggles with books.

Then they grow more. They are them. How did that happen? Where did the tiny baby go? Now they are proud when they achieve something. They strive to be more. They ride bikes and read and so many other things. 

But once in a while they still need me. They still like a bedtime snuggle and to hear their favorite book. They still enjoy sharing their news and discoveries. I'm still very much important in their eyes. 

Parenting is hard. But it's also the best time of our lives.

So, revel in their smallness, hold them tight and fall asleep smiling that this is the best moment of being. Because before we know, it'll have passed and they will be bigger. 

But for sure, life will still be perfect. How could it not?

Hex Bug Projects

We have come up with a couple of simple projects to do with the Hex bugs and thought we'd share. These are inspired by Pinterest!

Hex bug Lego maze. Simple Lego board and regular pieces to make a maze the Hex bug will walk around. 

The boys also made little box habitats to keep their bugs safe!

Hex bug drawing bot. Three pens, a chunk of blu tac and an elastic band is all you need to make your own robot that draws! The mostly draw in circles but if you rearrange the pens slightly to different heights they will do some wobbly lines too!

Check out videos of the drawing and maze over on Instagram #independent-individuals #independentindividuals

Get yours here

Do you walk with your kids?

Do you walk with your kids?

This post address the importance of walking with your child and shows some of our latest routes on the beautiful island of Florianópolis, Brazil.

Last year we really upped the amount of hikes we did with the boys. At ages 2 and 4 they were able to walk for up to two hours at a time through different terrains.

When I say walk what do I mean? Definitely not battling through a busy town center on a Saturday morning trying to get to six places before the kids have meltdown! What i mean by 'walk' is a meandering pace where the child takes the lead and has time to explore, ask questions and have some undivided attention. 

Chasing each other - parque corrego grande

We have always walked with the boys since they started those first wobbly steps (and before that in their pushchair or sling). The walks we did right at the beginning were at local parks or around the village where we lived. The time these walks took varied depending on their day but the idea was for them to take the time they needed. We were not on a mission to get anywhere specific or by any particular time but more to enjoy the process of walking. These first outings set us up for a love of walking. During these first walks they would stop every 30 seconds or so. Sometimes resisting the temptation to say 'hurry up', 'let's go', was really hard. But once we got into the swing of it we managed to control our adult need to rush. Often our walks would take us to visit the cows at the bottom of the road or feed the neighbors goats or around the park to see different things. Having a destination in mind did help them to walk a little faster but we had to make sure we have sufficient time for them to get pleasure from the journey.

Balancing stones

Now when we walk they collect small treasures (feathers, stones, sticks, leaves etc). They choose a snack to take with them (often fruit or savory biscuits or something we have baked). They often stop to look at insects or interesting stones etc. Yesterday on our hike to a waterfall they stopped to balance rocks like we had seen on a video the day before. 

Swimming in icy waterfalls

What we have noticed from these walks is how they develop their movement - climbing up rocks/hills, stumbling over a forest floor, balancing on a fallen log, basic walking and running skills. Climbing on park equipment is great but the challenge of climbing in nature is much more intense. The questions they ask is great. Yesterday we reached a waterfall where the boys had a swim in the icy water and they were curious as to why it was so cold. They came up with hypothesis such as 'maybe it comes from Antarctica' and when we explained they were fascinated. The questions don't stop there. Once we are home they often ask more about things we saw or other theories they have come up with. What better way to learn about the water cycle than experiencing it? Yes, we have been caught out in the rain before and at the time it can be pretty uncomfortable but they remember that walk the best and excitedly retell the tail to all who will listen. The other walk where a bird decided mummy was a bathroom and we had to wash a t-shirt in a puddle! 

Poucao - starting our walk

These adventures stay with them for years and the quality time we get with them is wonderful. The time and effort is demanding but worth every minute. So we encourage you to grab your backpack and have a super adventure. And if you do, send us a photo either here in the comments or on our facebook page.