Snow and Halloween

Well, Ellie is sacked out in bed after a successful evening of trick-or-treating. She wore a kitty costume my sister made for our niece 12 years ago. Brigette is trying to dig out a picture of Kieron wearing it for a side-by-side comparison. Ellie really wanted to wear her cousin Eddie's old lion costume, but it was too small. We had awesome Halloween weather, which was a nice change from the 15 inches of snow we had earlier this week.

Here are the pictures:

Look at the size of those snowflakes!

Halloween, reverse order (because that is just the way Blogger is being tonight...)

Enjoying her candy:

So tired by the end...

With Jamison the Dinosaur (who she refers to as her brother, by the way).

Playgroup

Ellie had a couple of friends over this morning. We had a good time making "oobleck" and it entertained the little ones for over an hour. It did take me a good thirty minutes to clean my kitchen afterwords, but it was worth it! Avery and Jamison are both 3 (about 7 months older than Ellie) and it is so interesting to watch her learn things from them.


Hugs from Jamie:


All three of them watching the rocking Hallmark Christmas Dog bark Jingle Bells. Great-Grandma E. gave this to Ellie on her first Christmas and she still hasn't gotten enough of it (I may have though... :)

See the condition of my kitchen floors? What a teacher will do for "sensory experiences!"

Avery attempting to make hand prints.

Jamie is so excited!

If you have never made oobleck with kids before, and you have some to make it with, it is worth doing. Oobleck is not quite a liquid and not quite a solid. When compressed it will form a solid, but when let to sit it becomes a liquid and will pour. If you really want to add an educational connection, and your kids are about 4 or up, read Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Suess first.

The recipe:

It is basically equal parts cornstarch and water (colored water if you want to get creative). Add the water slowly; you might not need it all. If it gets too runny just stir in some more cornstarch. You can save it (uncovered, or it will get moldy) for a week. Just add more water to reconstitute it as needed. Have fun!