Rainbow Week, Day 7

To finish off our rainbow games we played rainbow Sudoku.

(The sheet you see here is their starting clue sheet.)

It was pretty easy to set up, I just used Microsoft Word to create a 6x6 table and darkened the lines where needed. We used Post-It notes, cut to size for our pieces.

I Googled 6x6 sudoku and found a sight with quite a few and printed off some sheets. The most tedious part was color coding the numbers. (I did 2 copies, 1 for them to use to set the board and 1 as an answer sheet.)

I wasn't sure how well it would work because it requires a little more skill than the other games and a lot more concentration but the both completed about 5-6 puzzles (I did make KK's harder than KL's). 

Here's the action shots:

It also kept them relatively quiet for a while too. 

That's all for now, 

Jo!

Rainbow Week, Day 6

Today we emptied out some of the craft supplies with a color hunt.

I painted the rainbow on a piece of poster board a few nights ago (it's not perfect, nor does it need to be). When it came time, I pulled out anything that was safe for them to use (there's always something you don't want them getting into, right?) and let them at it. They used ribbons, and stickers, and scrap paper, and beads, and even sea creatures that are still floating around the house from ocean week.

I started them out with a jumbo glue stick each, but tacky glue and a stapler were used more often because some of the stuff just needed something stronger.

Here's a few action shots:

 (Please ignore the fact that I hadn't cleaned up the toddlers' lunch yet- I promise the Cheese Its aren't on the floor anymore. I usually get the girls started with their activity right after the babes go to nap and once they've got the idea clean up the mess.)

This project would be great for kids still learning color recognition.

That's all for now,
Jo!

Rainbow Week, Day 5

Yesterday we did rainbow archery.

This was originally found as a birthday party game (with a "Brave" theme) and I thought it looked too good to pass up.

Unfortunately I bought my bow and arrow at the dollar store, and it wasn't working with the Big Ks; I could get it to shoot but they tried and tried and got nothing from it. So we decided we'd just throw the arrows, which also made it so they didn't have to wait and take turns so it kind of helped.

I made my targets with poster board and a compass, it was pretty easy. Then I hung them from the clothesline (it was a little windy so I grabbed a few boards from our garbage, that had no nails and clipped them to the bottom for some weight).

Then I set up a bowl of every color paint and a bucket with water to rinse. We also had some paper towels to dry the tips.

And then they had plenty of fun. I think they spent over an hour just throwing the arrows at the targets, or getting a running start and throwing during the slide, at one point KK was sitting on the ground behind her target and throwing it up from under it - they were just having a blast.
 Here's the action shots:

 Eventually KL knocked hers off the line, so we put it on the ground and she was doing it that way. It really was pretty fun, however there were some spots that were so thick they weren't dry this morning.  Oh well, I left them on the line to dry so there wasn't any paint tracked through the house, except what was on their clothes.

That's all for now,
Jo!

Rainbow Week, Day 4

Today we played with rainbow tanagrams:

I made them myself so they're not perfect, but they work just fine to keep us busy and quiet while the twins slept.

I tried to find a template online, but the only one I could find were mini (meant for road trips).
But knowing how the square fits together allowed me to make my own set.
I started with a square pad/piece of paper (I had a 5x5)

Take a sheet and fold on the diagonal:

Then unfold and fold on the other diagonal (I used a highlighter to mark my previous fold):

That gives you the shape of the 2 large triangles, but also the basis for a few of the other shapes.
When you open up you have the big X across the square, I marked the second fold half way through to show the large triangle and measure half way through to second half of the line.

After this line is made, it's pretty much all just connecting the dots. Mark off the medium triangle by making a straight line at the end of the "half way" line (perpendicular, making a T, marked with a number 1 below). Then mark off the smaller triangles, by drawing a line straight down from the end of one side of line 1, making the square and 1 small triangle (line 2). Then mark straight down from the other side of line 1 and draw a diagonal to the inside corner (line 3). -- I'm sure this doesn't make sense while reading it, sorry, but I've got pictures so I hope that helps if you need to make your own.

After I had a template made, I cut each shape out of different colored papers (some patterned for fun- also there's 7 pieces and I've been using 6 colors, ROYGBV, so I added pink because I don't have indigo paper). And finally I used Mod Podge to attach them to magnetic paper, so they'd be sturdier and allow them to stay in place easier while the Big Ks were using them.

Here's the action shots:

That's all for now,
Jo!

Rainbow Week, Day 3

Today's game was dominoes!

It was pretty easy to make. I chose to use small craft sticks, just because I think they're cute! And then I painted them like dominoes, only using the color of the rainbow instead of numbers.

I planned on taking pictures when I made them but I forgot- oops!
It's not hard just remember to get all the pieces (also, I chose to paint but with craft sticks marker would work too).
Here's the run down of pieces in case you want the help:
R- R O Y G B V
O - O Y G B V
Y - Y G B V
G - G B V
B - B V
V - V
(I always find it easiest to start at the top and just work your way down.)

Here's the action shots:

That's all for now,
Jo!

Rainbow Week, Day 2

Today we played Tic Tac Toe:

This was pretty fun. I painted the rocks while the Big Ks were away (as seen in my previous post- 5 of each painted with acrylic paint on smooth/polished rocks). The board is a piece of reclaimed pallet wood that's been sitting behind my house waiting to be used (not that I used much) and I used a permanent marker to draw the lines on. I wasn't worried about being perfect but I did use a ruler to keep the lines straight.

I can't even count how many time my girls played this game. We had one game where they weren't paying attention and both girls won, another game where KL won in two directions, and plenty of tie games.

They had a blast, here's the action shots:

That's all for now,
Jo!

Rainbow Week, Day 1

Today we switch to a week of games!! I'd say it's a great way to get them up and moving, but a few aren't really up and moving games. Our new theme for this week is rainbows.

If you remember, I did all the painting while the girls were away (it's just easier that way). Painting the outside circle of paper plates (I did two of each so both Big Ks had a set) and a paper towel roll.

I took a circle cutter and cut out the middles (I'm sure scissors would work just fine too since there's a line to cut on already, no struggling to make an even circle).

To finish the stand I cut 1/2 inch slits up from the bottom, folded them up and taped them to another paper plate to secure it.

 (I did tape it all the way, this was just to let you see the way I did it. I took a piece of tape for each tab and overlapped the piece before.)

Then off they went:

(KL kept scooting forward)

That's all for now,
Jo!

While The Cats Are Away...

Here's what I've been up to while the Big Ks are gone for the week. 

Most of it has just been prep for upcoming activities. 

We have a week of rainbow games coming up, so there's been some painting: 

Also, I did some laminating of some math games (I didn't feel the need to take pictures of those, at least not yet). 

I also took the chance to make a birthday gift for my nephew.
He turns 3 next month and I found a cool sewing project for him here (there's also some cute photo's of the project in use there). 

Here's the final result: 

That's all for now, 

Jo!