Hello Spring: Ladybug Release and Brunch

To welcome spring, we decided to have a ladybug release party and brunch with all our friends.

The brunch was pot luck style so everyone brought something yummy to share. The ladybug portion of the celebration involved the release of 2,000 ladybugs. The second I cut open the net bag they had been stowed away in, the bugs were crawling out all over me then one by one they started flying off into the air or unto the body of one of the many preschoolers who surrounded me.

Once all the bugs had evacuated the bag, I carefully sloughed off my body, any remaining bugs and the kids went ladybug hunting, searching the grasses with magnifying glass at hand.

We also had bug rubbing plates as an additional activity or for those who didn’t appreciate the possibility of being covered with the spotted insect but most of the kids didn’t mind at least getting within an arms length of bug examination.

I think this ladybug activity is seriously one of my most favorites to date! Since the food was pot luck the event cost a mere $10 for the bag of 2,000 ladybugs which I picked up at my local garden store. Worth every penny indeed!

A word of advice: if you do this acivity at home make sure all the kids are gathered around ready with their empty baby food jars and magnifying glass at hand before cutting open the bag. Those lady bugs won’t be waiting around for an audience before flying off into the wide world…(or a couple feet away in a sunny patch of grass). Also make sure your camera is charged and strapped around the neck of an assigned photographer. That way you won’t have to send one of the parents in your home on a camera hunt while the ladybugs have their best camera face on. (Of coarse I am coming up with this scenario completely off the top of my head, I have a good imagination ;)

Most pics here were taken by a couple friends of mine, Katie Murihead and Trent Covington, who were both gracious enough to take photos of the event.

Cress heads

Unfortunately I forgot to take any photos at the last make activity but I am submitting proof that the event actually did take place.

I personally found this project to be one of my favorites for making with a 3 year old. It wasn’t one of those drag-on projects that sound really fun at first but end up becoming a time-consuming mess. All we did was wet a little cotton, sprinkle a little seed, paint a little face and voila—all through! Our seeds began sprouting by day 2 for an almost immediately satisfying result plus we learned a little bit about the science of gardening along the way.

(a photoshoot casuality)

After a few weeks of plant care, we decided to play a little barber shop and enjoy an egg salad sandwich with cress!

Egg Shell Art

Today I wanted to share a little egg shell art that we made from, you guessed it, egg shells. I colored the egg shells from the eggs we had for breakfast (dying shells after removing colored both sides of the shell) but if you are planning on coloring eggs for Easter you could of course crunch up those shells for a little artsy fartsy rather than discarding.

I cut out some egg shapes from white cardstock and after painting them with white Elmer’s glue, Hendrix sprinkled and smashed the shells on top. Originally I was going to hang this craft as a display but now I am thinking we should glue them to a folded note card and send them as Easter greeting to the grandparents. What do you think?

(this one has a little feather action too)

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Speaking of eggs, if you have yet to decorate yours this year and need something a little more appropriate for the toddler variety you could use a cotton swab as a paint brush by dipping it in a little paint and then applying it to the egg, a cotton ball attached to a clothespin would work too. (via The Toddler's Busy Book). Another idea for little hands might be to use a toothbrush as an embellishing apparatus by tapping a paint-dipped one to the shell of the egg (inspired from this craft).

I also found a lovely natural egg dying technique HERE that all age groups would enjoy.

P.S. I colored the shells above using vinegar and neon food coloring (which I am crazy about) by Betty Crocker.

Bird Feeders and Old Ovens

We had a great time at our first official make creating bird feeder biscuits. I was a little frightened that the whole project would be a bust when I saw the million year old oven we had to use to bake our biscuits in. As it turned out though, I was just being oven-ageist, the ovens worked just fine—they just needed a while to warm up...(like an hour).

Anyway, if you were able to attend, thanks for coming. If not, we'll see you next time! Check out the following pics from the event.

One more thing, to those of you who had to take off before the biscuits were done baking, you can pick up the feeder in the church kitchen. Sadly, some of the creations crumbled after sitting over night. If your child's feeder was among the causalities I can give you some birdseed to create a new one at home.

If you were unable to attend but think you might like to create your own, see recipe, (snatched from the February Family Fun Magazine), below.

You will Need: 3/4 Cup birdseed, I Tablespoon Flour, 2 Tablespoons Water, cookie cutters, cooking spray, foil, cookie sheet, straw, and yarn or ribbon for hanging.

Mix ingredients together until pasty. Spray cookie cutter with cooking spray and set on a foiled cookie sheet. Spoon mixture into cookie cutter, insert a cut straw to create a hole for hanging after baked. Bake in oven at 170 degrees for about an hour. After cooling you can string up the biscuit and then hang in a tree for the birdies to enjoy!