Preschool Dance Party

Recently I hosted a fun little dance party for the preschoolers in my Friday Funday program. Kids love to dance, so giving them the chance to live it up with their friends, complete with disco ball, is the perfect wake to spice up chilly or rainy days.

There are so many great songs out there for kids, with new artists adding albums every day. And since you can download music directly to your computer or phone, it's so easy and fast to create your own custom playlist.

I love to start with classics. Everyone loves "The Hokey Pokey," and the version by Dan Zanes & Friends on Family Dance is fantastic. I also love "If You're Happy and You Know It" by the Big Kidz Band on Indian Elephant Tea. The camp classic "Father Abraham" from Lisa Loeb's Camp Lisa is a great track too. You can also find many versions of "The Chicken Dance," "The Limbo" and "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" to enjoy.

Another fun participation dance to try is They Might Be Giant's “Clap Your Hands” from the album No. And Raffi's "Shake My Silles Out" is lots of fun to act out. And don't forget great rock and roll songs like Chubby Checker's "The Twist," "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang, "Y.M.C.A." by The Village People and "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles. Or download a pop hit like “I Like to Move It” from the Madagascar soundtrack and groove.

For some modern dance tracks check out Yo Gabba Gabba's Music is Awesome for fun songs like "Get the Sillies Out." Or try The Fresh Beat Band for danceable tracks like "Music (Gets Me Movin')."

Whatever music you put on, there are some great games you can play too. Kids always love Freeze Dance, where you randomly stop the music and they freeze. You can play Hot Potato too, passing a balloon, ball or other object. Or just get everyone into a circle and give each person the chance to share their moves and take the center. If you have musical instrument, be sure to take those out and let the kids jam along with the tunes.

I can't wait for my next preschool dance party. Until then, my kids and I will have to dance around our kitchen at home. (Making dinner is always more fun that way!)

Dino Party Time!

Recently, I was asked to help plan a dinosaur party for one of our Kaleidoscope Kids. Of course, I jumped at the chance! I knew it'd be a ton of fun to make this little girl's 3rd Birthday a blast!

Her mom is pretty darned crafty, so for an activity she created dino tails for each attendee. She used brightly colored sheets, which she cut into triangles and sewed together. Along the top seam she sewed ribbon in, to look like spikes. She stuffed them with newspaper and attached ribbon to hold them in place around their kids' waists. At the party, everyone used sparkling foam stickers to decorate their tails. It was a big hit!

To complete the dinosaur outfit, I made a pair of dinosaur foot stamps. I simply used a template of a foot to trace the shape onto some scrap plywood. Then I used a jigsaw to cut it out and a bit of sandpaper to take off the rough edges. I painted the tops of the feet with acrylic craft paint. Once that was dry, I traced and cut the template out of craft foam. Using E6000, I attached the foam to the bottom of the feet and trimmed as needed. I weighted these with a book and allowed them to dry overnight. In the morning I just attached elastic with a staple gun, so that kids could slip their feet into the elastic and wear them as "shoes."

At the party, I squirted Crayola Sidewalk Chalk Paint onto plates and had the kids step into it while wearing the dinosaur feet, then they stomped around making footprints on the pavement. The younger children needed some help getting the hang of it, but once they did, they created tracks everywhere!

After we were done playing dinosaur, it was time to dig for dinos. First we cracked open "rocks" that contained miniature dinosaurs inside! To make the rocks, I used a recipe I found at Surviving a Teacher's Salary. Simply combine the following:

1 cup used coffee grinds

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

1/4 cup sand

up to 3/4 cup water

I doubled the recipe to make 12 rocks. Be very careful adding water! I added too much at first and had to add more flour. To make the rocks, I just grabbed a chunk of dough in my hand, placed the figure inside, and wrapped the dough around. It'll be sticky. Then I shaped it and place it on a lined cookie sheet. I baked them at 170 degrees for about an hour, flipping them once, until they were dried well.

The day of the party, we used tongue depressors to crack open our rocks and find the prize inside.

The last activity was a dinosaur treasure hunt. I used a long, low rubbermaid bin (the type for storing clothes under a bed) and filled it with two 50-pound bags of  multi-purpose sand. Then the all kinds of dinosaur figures, special rocks and plastic plants were hidden in the sand. Our young paleontologists just LOVED this activity. The older kids enjoyed identifying all the dinos!

When the fun was winding down, the mom brought out her fabulous dinosaur cake. She cut her's free hand, but there are great cake pans available that make it even easier.

Finally, we handed out gift bags. The bags were just plain white paper gift bags, which I sprayed with liquid watercolors (green) and some Perfect Pearls Mist (heirloom gold). Then I used a metallic bronze Sharpie to write each child's name on the bag. I used dinosaur foam stickers to decorate the bags. Inside I added a "Prehistoric Fern" plant and a handful of stickers. 

Mom also made sure each attendee got a super cool dinosaur temporary tattoo as well.

It was a really fun day, and I thank the Kelleher Family for making me a part of it!

Fun with dry ice

Let's face it, dry ice is fun. A super cold solid form of carbon dioxide, dry ice sublimates at room temperature, creating an eerie fog. Not only is dry ice great for science experiments, it's fun for parties too.

Luckily it's not that hard to get either. I have a local distributor called The Ice Factory, where I can drive right up and ask for a 30 lb. block any day of the week. You need to bring a cooler with you, or your frozen treasure won't last very long. A good pair of work gloves are needed to allow you to handle the stuff. I often ask to have it pelleted, for ease of use. But, as you'll see below, a big block of dry ice can be a lot of fun too.

So what do you do with your dry ice, once you've got it at home? I like to let kids explore the pellets alone first, observing the fog and talking about what's happening. Then we add warm water. The warmer the water, the more fog you get, because the difference in temperature affects the rate of sublimation. If you use a large clear container, kids can also see the bubbling as gas is generated. A little food coloring helps.

Then I like to add some dish soap. Suddenly everything changes, and big cloudy bubbles emerge from the container. Popping them releases the fog held inside. It's a ton of fun. Again add a bit of food coloring for added excitement.

Later, when all the dry ice is gone, the frothy, frozen soap will be left behind. It's lots of fun to play with too!

Remember how I said I like to get a big block of dry ice as well? If you use a power drill to add a wide hole to the top of the block and smaller ones to the sides, you can create a really amazing demonstration. You'll need magnesium ribbon as well.

Magnesium is a common alkaline earth metal. It's highly reactive and burns readily, producing a bright white light. Which is pretty cool all by itself, right?

When you place the magnesium ribbon in the dry ice and light it, things get dramatic. The burning magnesium can seal oxygen from the carbon dioxide in the dry ice, burning brightly without the need for other oxygen. In turn, the exothermic reaction speeds the sublimation of the dry ice, resulting in even more fog. The science is fun, but the visual is even better!

If you decide to try this at home, be sure to do it outdoors, or in a well ventilated area. And be sure to remove flammable items. This can get hot and bits of magnesium can be thrown off.