Category: Kid Fun

Mission: Lego Store

If you ask my kids they will tell the bestest place to go in the whole world is the Lego Store. They are in a state of bliss every time we go there. This last time we went we were actually headed up to the mountains when we encountered a massive dust storm coming over the hills. We hightailed it to a great mall near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The boys were so excited I think that helped them get over the fact we were not heading up to the mountains.

I used to dread going in to the Lego Store, it was always crowded and there was merchandise everywhere. Ugh. Much to my surprise, they remodeled it. Let me tell you that it is so cool now! What a great experience. The Lego Store at Colorado Mills remodeled and it looks much better.

See all the merchandise on the side walls, LOVE IT, no more scattered in the middle.

They have these supercool display cubes all over the store.

Lego Batman

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE! This is the new line for girls, I would have LOVED these when I was a girl.

Wouldn’t this be cool in a dream home? Lego Wall for all!

Beautiful!

OK so now onto the coolest thing, ever! A 3D interactive display for a preview of products. You pick out a specially marked box and hold it up to a TV screen/camera. They tv displays a 3D video of that product in action! It was really neat.

You can’t really see it that well, you must see it person, it is cool!

March 26, 2012
Homemade Puffy Paint

Have I told you I love Pinterest? Of course I have! My most recent inspiration came from a Microwave Puffy Paint Pin, which led me here: Mom’s Crafty Place. She posted really great pictures, my kids and I were sold. We did it right there and then. We loved it and used every last bit, will do this again!

Thanks to Mom’s Crafty Space for the inspiration!

March 11, 2012
All Systems Go – A Space Odyssey Adventure

We recently spent an afternoon at the Space Odyssey Exhibit at our local Museum. The boys took some day long workshops and then they spent 2 hours taking in the Space Odyssey. It was a treat for me and my husband to watch their enthusiasm soar.

Preston learning about telescopes

Sam explores the exhibits

Learning how water affects the earth

Playing with light

Experimenting with a heat sensing (Thermographic) camera

Adam and Earth

Oliver watch the changes on the model planet

Oliver’s favorite exhibit

Preston with Mars

SuperSam in space

Sam with some astronaut friends

We will definitely go back again and again! I found some online printables from the Museum that you can use to learn every more during your visit. Can’t wait to try them out!

March 4, 2012
Our Trip to The Shoppe

After our exciting field trip to the United States Mint we wanted to take the boys some place fun to eat. So that is what I googled “fun places to eat in Denver”. BINGO, one of the first results was for The Shoppe, a cupcake and cereal eatery! I have always wanted to go to a place that served cereal. Don’t think of those lil boxes that Dennys serves. This is more like a “Cereal Bar”. It is a fairly new trend, they stock a mind-boggling amount of cereal, you get to try any kind and can add extra toppings if you like.

Delicious Varieties!

This place has such fun decor too!

They have a massive game collection! Craig and Preston jumped at the chance to play Monopoly while Oliver and Adam played Chutes and Ladders. Samuel kept himself busy with Don’t Spill the Beans.

Our order, pretty huh?!

Oliver and his cupcake…

…it was Death by Chocolate

Sam ordered the Cookies n Cream, he gobbled up the Oreo that was on top before I could snap a pic. This was delicious, it was ice cream looking frosting on top, there was an Oreo inside too!

Craig and I shared a Salted Caramel Cupcake, this was amazing. The cake is to die for. Amazing.

My sweet Nephew and his huge bowl of Corn Pops

We had such a fun time hanging out, playing games, enjoying yummy food and great conversation.

Did I mention that you can write on the bathroom walls? Too cool, the entire bathroom is made of dry-erase walls and there is a big basket of colorful markers. Loved this idea!

Make time to go down and check this place out, your kids will LOVE it!

You will love the cupcakes!

February 2, 2012
Denver Mint Field Trip

Today we went to Downtown Denver and took a tour of the Denver Mint. We went for two reasons, homeschool and Cub Scouts. We are learning about money in Homeschool and my oldest is in Cub Scouts, their assignment is to start and display a coin collection. He decided to collect State Quarters. So, I thought we should take a trip to the Unite States Mint. I went online to get the scoop and it turns out you can make a reservation online. Convenient, easy and guarantees you a spot on the tour.

We lined up and waited, an armed guard came out to tell us the “rules”. No cameras :O( for obvious reasons. We went through the metal detectors into a 2 story room with diaramas and other displays, placards on the walls gave us the history of the Mint and of money. The Tour Guide was so friendly, he took the time to take my kids to a display and talk about it before the tour started. We came face to face with a giant tube filled with 147,000+ shiny pennies, the boys were in awe.

We moved on and watched a video, then on to a room that overlooks the machines. We saw samples of the sheets that the “blanks” are cut out of. We learned how coins are made blank, then heated up until they soften, a die stamps both sides, to finish them off they put a rim around the coin. The rim helps keep the impression on the coin, extending its street life. This Mint can produce up to 50 million coins per day!

We also got to see 100k in gold dollars, so pretty!

To end the tour, they take you thru the original building that housed the mint since 1906. Miners used to bring gold down from the Rockies and trade it for money. We got to see a replica of the Assay Office, very neat & cool!

This part of the building has original light fixtures and gorgeous marble walls. We ended up going down stairs that were one side of a gorgeous, double staircase. wood banisters, iron fixtures, we could see up a few stories to an atrium. We got to see the 350 pound Tiffany Chandeliers, exquisite wood molding, it was truly breathtaking. I was blown away. I wish I could have taken pictures.

The kids really liked seeing all the coins, my oldest was so attentive when it came time to listen to the tour guide. He was very much into it.

Since I knew we would be downtown I researched some fun places to eat. I came up with The Shoppe. That post coming up next… this place deserves a post all its own!

February 1, 2012
A Field Trip to the Denver Zoo

A Field Trip to the Denver Zoo

Thanks to Groupon we were able to spend 5 wonderful hours at the Zoo. We went in late November. It was chilly that morning but I checked the weather and it promised to be warm. It ended up being about 57 degrees, for a Coloradan(oan?) that is practically Summer, lol.

When we arrived we were all bundled up and the skies were gray, it was 9:45. By the time we left, we were hot, without coats and the skies were blue. I love Autumn in Colorado, bright blue skies, brisk fresh air.

There were not many people there, so we took our time, enjoyed every sight to see. We rambled along and learned a lot, talked about everything. We sat and had a leisurely lunch next to the Seals, they are so cute and fun to watch. We were happy to have Cousin Adam along with us. The entire field trip was fantastic.

How far can you jump?

Cute little Snow Fox

A Unique Creature – The Okapis – a cousin of the giraffe (look at his head). He had a super-velvety coat.

The Majestic Lion

Samuel with a lizard, I love his reflection on the glass!

Playing iSpy fish

Climbing the Hippo Statue

I love these animal flags! This picture was taken on the way out, check out the blue sky and compare to the first picture, that is why I love Colorado!

After such a fun-filled gorgeous day, we didn’t want it to end so we topped it off with some choclate milks at a downtown Starbucks.

Brothers enjoying a beverage.

Checking out the sights

In the words of my oldest “This was one of the best days ever!”

January 25, 2012
Vanilla Snow Shakes

This past Wednesday we had our first snowfall, this called for celebration! My boys love the snow and they were so excited to be getting a storm. They woke early Wednesday to peak outside…

I have never seen them get dressed and ready so fast, they bundled up and headed out.

Talk of the coming storm was mentioned on many Facebook pages’. My friend Tom had a comment on his wall talking about Vanilla Creams made with snow. My boys love eating snow (against everything my husband stands for, lol) and I knew they would love to use it in a recipe. We strayed a little from the recipe and ended up with delicious Vanilla Snow Shakes.

After coming in and putting warm jammies, we made these delicious concoctions.

Pour Milk into Snow, add Vanilla and Sugar

Whisk together until creamy and smooth, pour into cups

Enjoy!

October 28, 2011
Adventures in My Father’s World Week 2 -Jesus Suncatcher

We are loving Adventures in My Fathers World. The Bible portion starts with Jesus, His birth, on to when he starts preaching. We are also learning the different names of Jesus. During week 2 we got to make a Jesus suncatcher. The was fun and easy. This final result is pretty!

You need Wax Paper, crayon shavings, glue, scissors, construction paper, an iron and newsprint.

Cut out 2” letters from construction paper

Arrange the letters on wax paper and sprinkle on the crayon shavings, be conservative.

Place another sheet of wax paper on top, cover with newsprint and iron on low. Be sure to have paper under the wax as well.

We added construction paper border to match our letters.

hanging in the window

We will definitely use this technique to create other projects in the future. I am thinking maybe a Mayflower silhouette with blue and white crayons shavings, with yellow for a sun.

October 5, 2011
Our Classroom for a Perfect Autumn Day

A couple of Fridays ago we took class outdoors, what a breath of fresh air! It was amazing, fantastic, refreshing and down right FUN!

We love going to Hudson Gardens, several acres of God’s beautiful creation! We searched for leaves, watched ducks and geese, chased butterflies and bugs, tumbled in the grass and climbed a rock cave, we even did some bird watching.

Since we are now into to the Fall, we were thrilled to see the …

Hay Maze!

and…

Pumpkin Patch!

We also checked out a Leaf Explorer Pack from the Office, we learned all about leaves and trees. There were a ton of fun activities and surprises in the pack.

We also took along this, (thanks Scribbit!):

Thank you God for the Best classroom we could ever ask for!

October 2, 2011
Kick-Off: Let Fall School Projects Begin

Love this time of year! Who doesn’t, really? I think I write about it every year, unlike the other seasons. Just something about the Fall. It officially starts today, yay! Thought we would kick off the many, many Fall activities we will be doing this season, so excited! We started by doing a leaf study. I purchased this really cool kit from the Used Curriculum sale at my local Homeschool Convention.

The kit includes many samples of leafs, each in their own plastic sleeve and label. The Tree Finder book has every kind of tree you can find in North America, comes with illustrations and descriptions. The workbook, guides you through lessons on trees and all their parts. Yesterday I let the boys look through everything in the kit. We will start the lessons on Monday.

The next project we worked on was leaf rubbings as seen here on Pinterest, which is where I saw it. It is originally posted on this blog.

We collected leaves from around our neighborhood.

pretty leaves.

Then we taped the paper down to the table with masking tape. We used crayons that had the labels taken off so we could rub properly. I stressed to the boys the importance of holding the bottom of the paper tight once they placed their leaves under the it.

After the leaf rubbings we read 2 books about Fall. One is a family favorite about all seasons but it seems best for Fall it is called The Acorn and the Oak Tree. The other book, of course, was Clifford’s Leaf Season. All in all, this was a great start to celebrate my favorite season.

Happy Fall!

September 23, 2011