Toffee Crunch (TC) doing the new cat thing by hiding in her litter box

There’s a saying that you will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats. Given that my chances of convincing the spousal unit that we should have a nonstrange cat were nil, we compromised on fostering cats. I liked the idea of helping adorable kitties who were traumatized or unsocialized get a chance to find a permanent home, and Mark liked the idea that after a few months, he’d never see that particular animal ever again. Ok, I jest, but only a little.

So this new category will be a view into the challenges and benefits of cat fostering, demonstrate the progress (or potential lack thereof) of each cat, oh, and bear witness to the power of lots of gratuitous cute cat pics, amirite??

So given the choice of three cats who were all in need of a break from the shelter, we decided on Toffee Crunch because she had been there almost a year, and started off almost feral. She had also come to the shelter with a litter of kittens. All and all, a heavy load for a pretty young cat!

We started her off in the bathroom with the door closed, where she crouched in her litter box, and later in a corner on a huge sweatshirt I have. After we left the door open, she proceeded to new hiding spots over the course of a few days: under the dining table, inside our hollow electric organ, and currently underneath my bed. Lest you think how horribly traumatized she must be to hide so much, she is now coaxable out of these spots, and trades purrs for scratches and rubs. She just must feel more comfortable in enclosed places still.

Last night I was pretty frustrated because she had hid in the organ all day, but after the din of kids ended with their bedtime, I eased her out with kitty treats. We spent an amiable and quiet evening together, her kneading the carpet while I worked on a project, she occasionally begging to be petted and sitting squat on my fabric like any reasonable cat must. Perhaps with her under my bed now she’ll find her way to the infinitely more comfy bedspread tonight!

I’m using the description of a local summer camp as inspiration: “Join us for a magical week of wonder in Webkinz-ville! Each camper designs and makes a miniature bed so their favorite Webkinz has a place to rest throughout the week. Throughout the camp, we learn how to make unique accessories, draw all kinds of popular Webkinz, and will have a blast with fun hands-on activities. At the end of the week, we perform a small play with our newly accessorized pals, with a cast of only Webkinz!”

I, however, have the added challenge of planning for a wide range of ages: 3, 6, and 8. The more complex activities can be done while the 3-year old sleeps.

Already planned:

1. Designing and making a quilt for their animal. They bought the fat quarters of fabric earlier on a whim. I’ve created a quilt graph paper PDF for them to color and design–we’ll probably do a 10×10 grid of 2″ squares. I’ll probably let them spend a little time sewing squares together, but assume that the majority of sewing will fall on me.
2. Choreographing a play at the end of the week, using whatever clothes and props we make earlier
3. Making a menu and meal in their Webkinz Restaurant ostensibly for the animals to eat
4. Taking their animals to play at the park

Still brainstorming:

1. Party games which explicitly use the animals for something.  Problem is, I’m not familiar with the online Webkinz games and gimmicks. I’ve checked out the party ideas on their website, but that still doesn’t give me a clue what the really cool things are.
2. Potentially one other craft, one that the 3-yr. old can participate in. A shoebox bed? Accessories like mini jewelry?

If you have any ideas, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll credit you when I use them. Stay tuned for updates of what we do…don’t let me get lazy!

It also contains several recipes for each “type” of brew, and while one may have an obscure ingredient, the others might be made with ingredients you already have. Overall, it’s an eye-opener to what things are possible with basic chemistry and mixing around the home, and a good go-to idea book. Even for categories I thought I understood, it offered refinements and corrections of things I hadn’t done optimally. But to quote Levar Burton, you don’t have to take my word for it–look for it in your own library first.

Chapter headings:
Clays and Doughs
Salt Map Mixtures
Papier-Mache
Plaster of Paris
Glues and Pastes
Paints
Natural Dyes
Bird Food and Bird Feeders
Crystals and Crystal Gardens
Non-Newtonian Fluids and Slimes
Bubble Solutions and Bubble Frames
Volcanic Actions and Other Chemical Reactions
Invisible Inks
Soaps
Candles
Recycled Papers
Dried Flowers, Potpourri, and Pomanders
Breads
Edible Art
Dairy Products
Treats the Students Can Make
Miscellaneous

Anyway, as playlist creation is rather fun, and the system is easy to work with, I started trying it out on rdio. I’ve created a sample list for about the second run of the second week, but couldn’t resist the siren call of everything being a They Might be Giants song, with the energy TMBG has. You can stream it here if you’re a member (if you want an invite, let me know). You’ll note that my walking songs are a little shorter than they maybe should be. That’s just a short TMBG song or album for you.

1. The Guitar (3:48, warm-up walk)
2. Why Must I Be Sad? (4:08, brisk walk)
3. Twisting (1:55, jog)
4. Sleeping In The Flowers (4:30, brisk walk)
5. Destination Moon (2:27, jog)
6. How Can I Sing Like A Girl? (4:26, brisk walk)
7. Subliminal (2:45, jog)
8. Spiraling Shape (4:24, cooldown/walk home)

If you’re familiar with TMBG, you’ll notice a trend with the songs, in that they’re from only 4 albums. I hope rdio is still building up the music database. I also hope that the 3rd party tools available for Spotify will also be developed for Rdio (including tools to convert a playlist from one service to another).

Background

Grab a few small bins or large disposable food storage containers and freeze water ahead of time for a fun summer activity getting wet and “sculpting” ice. This is one that is perfect to start the night before, but with minimal effort either then or the next day.

Materials Required

• Small storage bins or large disposable food storage containers
• food coloring, optional
• ice cubes
• bucket of warm water
• items for carrying and dispensing water (e.g., medicine dropper, ladle, measuring cup, baster, spray bottle, squeeze bottle)

Directions

1. The night before, fill containers with water, keeping in mind that they’ll need to fit in the freezer overnight. One large block per child is enough. Let your kids dye it. (The dye won’t freeze as the water does, but it makes a good mini science experiment–pure water will freeze out first)
2. The next day, unmold the blocks outside.
3. Fill a clean bucket with warm water. This is the “medium” for sculpting the ice–i.e., it’ll melt select portions.
4. You may want to demonstrate that ice will stick to itself as it melts and refreezes, hence the ice cubes. Theoretically you could build  an ice cube structure on the bigger blocks, but my kids became too distracted by the spray bottle.

A dozen old yogurt containers suddenly feel useless

Even if you never try any exotic kitchen chemistry, chances are your kids ask to make goop, or play with baking soda and corn starch, or even mix all the ingredients in your cooking shelf together. If you’re like me, you’re content letting them use your good measuring devices, or scrounge for clean recyclables, despite constant food coloring stains in your cheap Tupperware knockoffs, and having to take time to find everything they might need. I decided this summer that a set of plastic labware would be a modest investment in repeated kitchen chemistry experiments, as well as a good beginning to reading measurements, estimating, and lab protocol and safety!

My first stop, as usual, was to see what American Science and Surplus had in this way. Though I did end up buying a pack of 50 little plastic test tubes for $3.95 (and probably should’ve gotten the test tube rack for $3.50), the majority of their offerings were glass (well, Chinex), and my kids weren’t going to be heating anything on a bunsen burner for a long time, sorry kiddies. The plastic pieces were expensive ala carte and didn’t cover everything I wanted. Actually, overall I was a little shocked at the cost of a random Erlenmayer flask, even on a discount site. Anyway…

So after searching in a few places, I discovered that the same exact generic “20-piece student plasticware kit” is sold by multiple companies, and is the only offering I could find. The best price happened to be at Science Company ($20.50, plus shipping), where I also picked up a metal scoop (to save my sets of teaspoons!), junior safety goggles, and a couple of basic chemicals. I’ve listed the set pieces at the end of this blog in case you don’t want to go to the store’s website to see.

A couple of the pieces seem less useful to us so far (we’ve done one project to start), mainly the wash bottle and a drip bottle, but it’s nice having something dedicated For Science! at the cost of a random toy. And this way my cooking doesn’t accidentally end up tasting of, well, too much borax and white glue.

Plasticware kit contents:

• 4 – Bottles with screw cap, 60ml. (useful so far for storing projects long-term)
• 1 – Drop-dispensing bottle, 80ml.
• 1 – Graduated cylinder, 10ml.
• 1 – Graduated cylinder,100ml.
• 6 – Pipettes, graduated 3ml to 5ml. (useful for dispensing liquids, food coloring, moving liquids)
• 3 – Poly test tubes, 15 x 125mm.
• 1 – Funnel, 65mm with short standard stem.
• 1 – Wash bottle, 250ml. (kids may not have a use for this, but it’s a fun toy )
• 2 – Beakers, 100ml and 250ml.
• All kept in a storage box with snap-on lid, 11-3/4″ x 5-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ deep.

Katya, of course, wanted to paint a dolphin on her shirt

Background

Proper batiking requires melted wax and chemicals, neither of which are good for children. But kids still can have fun watching their design “resist” the dyes using gel glue. Younger kids might enjoy creating a freehand, random design best, and thus won’t be frustrated if their slightly clumsier hands cross colors over their lines.

Materials Required

Elmer’s gel glue (the blue kind, store brand acceptable)
Dye-na-flow paint (you can get a variety pack of small bottles for $12–these work for this project because they wick across the fabric, are vivid and permanent, and can be mixed and diluted)
Scrap cardboard
Clamps, masking tape, embroidery hoop, or some other way to stretch your project
T-shirt or some other material to work on

Directions

1. Find or create a simple design you want to recreate on your project. The gel glue bottles also work well for improvising a random, organic design. Keep in mind that wherever glue is will be white when you’re done, and any area you want to stay one color needs to be fully enclosed with a line.
2. If using an embroidery hoop, you don’t need any cardboard, just stretch it smooth and taut. Else place the cardboard under your project, clamp together or use masking tape to pull smooth across your surface. We didn’t use a hoop and had some dye wick under the glue (most noticeable on the horse, where my younger daughter used a lot of dye and wasn’t as patient).
3. To recreate a picture, place the picture under your fabric and trace the design either right away with the glue, or use a disappearing fabric pen to trace. Practice with the gel glue first to get a feel for it. Closing the tip of the glue bottle more will make a smaller line, which will appear neater.
4. After the glue dries you’re ready to apply your paint. The Dye-na-flow wicks rather quickly and a little goes far, so watch your boundaries and don’t apply too much at a time. To dilute colors, the suggested amount is a max of 25% water, but we used more and were fine.
5. Once the project is dry you simply iron the design at a heat appropriate for the fabric for 3 minutes (set a timer and multitask). The glue initially resisted (heh) washing out, but it just takes a few washes. Since it’s almost clear compared to the opacity of the paint, you can just wash and wear and let it come out gradually.
6. For additional effects you can sprinkle salt on wet areas and let it create a starburst pattern. We eventually used fabric markers to outline parts of our designs and draw in small details like eyes.

Based on: Dharma Trading tutorial

Thus is my usual attitude towards the fun of summer, teacher supply stores, and the 372 section of the library (the one for elementary education, where all the manuals, idea books, science activity guides, etc. get placed), and the end result of planning educational activities for my children that also serve to entertain me. Of course, my follow-through is generally where I flag, but I’m determined this summer to enact all the ideas and plans that I want to try with my kids. I’ve found the following 3 tips useful so far in staying focused:

1. Keep it simple, but be prepared. I’ve nixed activities that require too much planning, but also bought the supplies ahead of time for things that I really wanted to do so I had no excuse.

2. Use my kids both as aids in follow-through, but also in ensuring I get something out of it too. Our current system is that they can randomly choose an activity before bed, so they’re excited for the next day and encourage me to get it ready (of course, this also lets me gather any materials we’ll need). But when they get up in the morning, they’ve been left any assignments they’ll need to finish before we can do our activity (cleaning a space in a room we’ll be using, for example).

3. Build on hobbies or topics that I also want to explore. This may not work so well with only younger children, but at aged 6 and 8, my kids have enough dexterity and intelligence for us to share. So when I wanted to learn how to batik, I also found a form of it they could try (and thus we could also share the supplies, making it more cost-effective). More on the batik later!

I believe that every parent can fill the same role with their children, and have fun doing it. This is especially is important during the summer, when children need to retain knowledge, skills, and good work habits. This summer I’ll be sharing the resource lists, reviews, tips, and ideas that I build. Hope you also have fun!

Dated 5/6/09

I think my mom is 35 years old. [she overshot a little]

My mom’s favorite color is green. [sure, why not!]

I like it when my mom cooks macaroni/ravioli

I like it when my mom takes me to Children’s Together Park [it's only the coolest park in town, that's why]

When I cry, my mom helps me.

My mom call me Emma. [Not according to this]

My mom’s job is working at her computer. [sigh, that was before I had legitimate "work" reasons to be at my computer ]

My Mom

My mom is a great mom.

My mom likes to cook a smootie. [smoothie]

My mom knows I’m cute.

My mom says clean your room.

My mom can nurcher her child. [you figure it out! my daughter is a suck-up]

My mom wishes that one of my teeth will fall out.

My mom loves her children.

My mom is a great mom.