Setting up for the Muppet Pirate Party

The Muppet Treasure Island Pirate Party set up:

Michael's Gift Table.  We made books for both boys for the guests to sign so the boys will

remember all who came to their Muppet Pirate Party.

                                                            Treasure for the guests!

                                             Pirate ships for playing in and for the relay game

Driftwood painting for the kids

 

 Muppet Puppet Making Area

 Face Painting set up.  Thanks to Aunt Bonnie and
Brigitte for doing all the designs!

                                              Science table: experimenting with  baking soda and vinegar.
                                                                       And Play-do



                                                         Bubble table

                                       

                                             Fozzy  Bear ball toss and ball throw game.

                                Action figures to set up and play with.

                                               


                                               DJ Toddee setting up.  He was so great!

Kermit Cupcakes

Go Fishing Game

Nathanael's gift table.

More pictures to come from the actual party time.  My camera ran out of memory and so I had to rely on others to snap shots of all the kids and adults having fun.  I hope that there are lots of pictures of all the kids and adults doing the hokey pokey.    More to come...

Science Experiment

Vinegar and Baking Soda Fun





Fill a pan with baking soda and then fill cups with vinegar and food coloring.

 Get the colors all stirred up to the darkness you like.  Michael wanted them really dark so he added lots of drops to the vinegar.

Spoon the colored vinegar into the baking soda with different containers and watch the mixture
fizz.  Michael was so excited to see the bubbly mix.

 Transferring the colored vinegar took much concentration to not spill.  Michael was so caught up in the activity, so careful in his fine motor skills.  He spent fifteen minutes scooping and pouring and observing.

The mixture was a bubbly multi-colored design.  Really fun.

                                    I love his curiosity and concentration as he learns new things.
                                      I want to give him experiences to observe, question, and
                                              experiment with to learn more about the world we live in.

Echo

Inside Echo everything was a new experience to take in together.  Nora and Michael raced about and I let them direct the day, stopping when they wanted and rushing on when they spotted something new to examine.  Nora commented on previous visits to give Michael some information.  I let them relish in the way they wanted the day to go.

There were bubbles to follow up,
fish to trace their swimming,

and boats to pretend in and overcome some fear of dimly lit places.  Nora went back and held Michael's hand while they ventured to the back together.

There were playhouses under fish tanks with viewers,
 a general store,

 and a sailboat to play in.

The kids spent time making starfish puppets with much concentration.

Then there were starfish to touch,

 mountains to form,
and Beluga Whale Fossils to unearth.

 Then it was time to get wet!

The kids had so much fun and were excited to know that they can come back again and again.

Waterfront Visit

Day Trip to Echo and the Waterfront

Grandma  bought a family  membership to Echo for Michael's birthday and of course Nora was added as part of the family!  So we went the other day and I was happy to observe the kids in their play.

Play is a lot of work.  So much to take in, observe, experience, touch, think, and try to understand.  We started out by Lake Champlain while we waited for the museum to open.

The kids watched the ducks swim and then proceeded to splash rocks into the water.  They watched the ripples and each tried to find an unusual rock to toss.

We climbed up the giant rocks and made our way to the swing.  The kids giggled as they went back and forth.  I looked out to the boathouse and the sailboats and yachts and wondered what that kind of life was like.  So close and yet another whole experience.

They had so many smiles and the water seemed to call to them again for they had to run back down and be by the water.

While we sat by the lake we spotted a white flower with a ladybug on it.  The kids were so excited to see and touch the ladybug.  We watched it crawl on the flower and then onto our hands.

So much to observe and experience and we hadn't even gotten into the museum!  

My next post will be inside the museum.  It is amazing to watch the kids

enjoy places with the eyes of a first time visitor.  Everything is interesting

to take in and really live in that moment.

Moments really do count.