Paper Mache Pinata

 I so wanted to write a successful paper mache pinata story this weekend. We were going to make it into a tennis ball and let the dog break it open for his birthday on Saturday. We even used an edible "glue" and "paint" mixture. The dog still got to break it open, but we didn't get to put the finishing touches on it because the pinata collapsed while the paint was drying! 

All was going smoothly. After watching numerous YouTube videos about paper mache, I decided to make our own "glue." We used 2 cups flour, 3 tbsp salt, 2 cups warm water for the glue. That worked beautifully. I believe our main issue happened when we left a hole at the top of our paper mache ball, so we could put Zeus' new birthday toys inside (I believe we should have paper mached the entire thing, then cut a door in later). I realized our mistake when we removed the beach ball (that was easy peasy and happened flawlessly), added the goods, and began to paper mache over it. I knew that part was going to make it weaker.

Yes, my child licked the "glue" just to try it. All completely edible.

We painted it with no issues too. At that point I decided we'd be able to pull it off and just photograph the finished product with the "good side." But when I checked on the pinata 24 hours later, it had collasped. Of course it worked out like that.

We used the same "glue" recipe, but added food coloring for the "paint." That way we didn't have any worries if the dog decided to eat part of the pinata. He didn't, but I am VERY surprised by that!

Since it was dry, we decided to celebrate the dog's birthday a few days early and let him break the pinata open. That was the best! Despite the pinata not turning out as we had hoped, it made for a great art project and we know how we might do our next one. We're crossing our fingers that one doesn't collapse on us!

The anxious pup smelled his treats in the pinata and was not-so patiently waiting for it!

And the video of our week and a half long project being taken down in seconds:

Happy Earth Day

 

We love our Earth. We place on emphasis on recycling everything we can in this house. The minis are eagerly awaiting our recyclable build this summer (they requested to wait until we could use the backyard for more space), so I had to come up with a new activity for this Earth Day. Naturally, in daycare we covered the importance of recycling, what can be recycled, how plastic can hurt our Earth, and little things we can do to help. We watched a couple of shows on PBS about Earth Day, then we took an eagerly awaited walk around the neighborhood. If we saw a piece of trash, we picked it up.

But the main reason for the walk was to place our "happiness rocks" they painted and decorated the day before. We did this last year for the first time and everyone loved it, so we brought it back again this year! Daycare painted rocks using this kit, while my homeschoolers used a paint pouring kit. Some of the rocks from the paint pouring we held back for this weekend when we visit State Parks. I thought it would be fun to spread our cheer all over the state.

A late night art class with the minis. These dried overnight, but were still sticky the next morning. After placing in an open window, they dried fairly quickly, but still on the sticky side.

All around the neighborhood we walked (an astounding 2 miles. I was holding the youngest's hand and he kept up like a champ!), putting our kindness rocks, in trees, along the sidewalk, next to the creek, on near the bike path.

This was the sweetest moment: each big held a littles hand (or as the bigs say, they were "in charge of that kid"). The little "lost" one of her rocks in her pocket. The big helped fish the rock out of the depths of the pocket, all while talking to the little, telling her it was going to be okay. I had to stand back and capture the moment.

Can you spot their rocks? 

We're coming off a cold streak here in Iowa, so the sunshine felt amazing! We stayed outside after we returned from the walk so we could color with sidewalk chalk. Several kids drew pictures "of Earth Day."

With the few remaining minutes we had left of our morning, we broke out the dandelion play dough. I felt that was perfect for Earth Day! We made the play dough this weekend (using this recipe) and it's still just as fresh today as it was on Sunday. This recipe is a keeper!

While the littles slept (after our long morning walk, it was a much needed rest time!) in the afternoon, the bigs walked around the neighborhood picking up trash. Only one kid fell in water (I'm fuzzy on the details, but everyone came home unharmed, so I let it go), one kid picked up dog poop around the neighborhood instead of trash, and one kid had burs stuck to their pant leg. So, all in all, I think it was successful.

A go-to Earth Day activity for us is to plant flowers or our garden. Unfortunately, it's been too cold to plant flowers, but we have our flowers and garden ideas ready to go for next month!