The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Activity

For Madi's birthday, I gave her a miniature butterfly garden. We were able to watch as the caterpillar's grew, created their cocoon, and turned into butterflies! Our activity this day was inspired by the caterpillar's (who had to come down to watch) and the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  The girls loved this one!

You will need

• Marshmallows 
• Toothpicks
• Paint (esp. green and red)
• Very tiny brushes for the eyes and antenna
• Enough pieces of paper to compensate for a whole caterpillar family, the child's castoffs/mess-ups, an experimental butterfly, and a "test out the color" sheet.  Apparently.  

The marshmallows act as stamps for the caterpillars head and long body.  The toothpicks stick into the marshmallow so you don't get your fingers in the paint and then on the project.  Relatively easy to stick and stamp.  

Word of advice: Don't let your kids try to wash the marshmallows and reuse them.  It doesn't work, and creates a bigger, mushy mess of discolored water dripping everywhere.  Just buy a whole bag and let them have fun.  Or use the stale bag that no one finished with the Christmas hot chocolate.

Madi painting.  Caterpillar's watching.

Some discarded marshmallows

The finished project!

(**Again with the phone pics!  I need to start bringing my camera with me!**)

Shaving Cream Art Activity

The girls and I are always on the lookout for new activities.  We decided to try to fit this one in before school - crazy and chaotic mistake, but great fun nonetheless ;) 

(** Excuse the phone photography**)

Shaving Cream Art

So, first gather all the supplies.  You will need 

• Shaving Cream (the foam kind, not the gel) (also, mens shaving cream tends to be cheaper, but it will leave the house smelling like a strange man stepped out of your shower. And you also may smell rather...masculine.)
• Food coloring and/or Liquid Watercolors
• Cardstock
• Plastic tuporware lid
• Toothpicks, coffee stirrers, or other methods of swirling the cream
• A cookie pan
• Lots of paper towels 
• Little hands excited to get messy and squeeze color everywhere

First lay paper towels or other form of protection beneath the cookie sheet, then let the little experimenter spray the shaving cream all over the pan.

And smooth it out.  She was so excited that I was going to let her touch it.

Squeeze the color onto the shaving cream, and have fun swirling and mixing!

Using hands for mixing the colors is not recommended.  Apparently food coloring stains...  *cough*

Once the colors are on the shaving cream how you want them, grab your piece of cardstock, lay it on the cream, and press.  Regular paper works fine, but gets limp and difficult.  Cardstock is far easier to manage.

Lift the paper up, scrape off excess cream, and lay to dry.  You will have a rainbow, marble, beautiful mess that will have everyone mesmerized.

Don't use your hands to scoop out the extra shaving cream.  Unless, of course, you like your skin purple and pink.  In that case, go for it.  It will stay for quite some time, so enjoy ;)