I Need More "flubber"...summer Project Ideas??

We have 2 interesting things we are doing this week with my 4 and 6 yr old. First I have 2 canvases that are about 4ft X 4 ft (bought for another project that never happened). We are making a group painting for dad. It has taken a good 3 hrs over the last 3 days and still has another hr to go. The other activity was inspired by the constant pestering to buy toys. I gave each girl a list with 12 chores on it. I said whoever completed 7 of her chores in one day got a dollar and a trip to the dollar bin. Many chores were easy (brush the dog), but I also had harder ones (sweep the deck). They actually got really excited about the idea of immediate money.

If you boil red cabbage in water, the red water that results is an acid-base indicator:
add a base (baking soda) it turns bright blue
add an acid (lemon juice) it turns bright pink
You can make your own litmus paper, test everything in the kitchen. It's a mess, but it's good for hours of entertainment.

If you mix corn starch and water the resulting muck behaves a lot like quicksand. Move quickly and it behaves like a solid, stop moving and it melts.

Melt-beads are a craft project that is good for hours.

Coffee filter stained glass!! All you need is coffee filters, washable markers, paintbrushes, and a cupe for water! First, you flatten coffee filters overnight in big books, have the kids use the markers to draw pictures or designs or just a bunch of squiggles (doesn't matter how little or much you draw on them), then dip paintbrushes in water and brush them completely across the coffee filter (you can use the paintbrush to streak the colors or smudge them or whatever!), then lay flat to dry on newspapers. Once they're completely dry, tape them on the inside of any window and when the sun hits it, the coffee filter will resemble stained glass =) This is a basically free craft since most moms have all this stuff already, and it keeps them entertained for hours! We like to send them to family and friends, and my mom liked hers so much she framed them! Lol

Ice Cream made in a bag.
http://crafts.kaboose.com/ice-cream-in-a-bag.html

Ice Cream made in a can
http://ezinearticles.com/?Home-Made-Ice-Cream-Recipe-for-...

Crafts
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/crafts-by-age/

I also used to bring home giant cardboard boxes and let he kids paint them, color them, tape them together to make a tunnel, Make a playhouse, make a boat.

I would park our car across the bottom of the driveway. Then we would use sidewalk chalk to make streets, with stop signs, yield signs, parking spots and gather all of the vehicles and let the kids drive around. I was the police and directed traffic. Then we would trade and let the kids be the police..

At lunch we would play restaurant and the kids would make a menu then be the waters then be the cooks..

We would play grocery store. take all of the can goods and fruit and pretend we were t the store.. the kids worked at the store as the can man (shelf stockers) the cashiers, the baggers..

We would set up our tent in the back yard and camp out in our own back yard.. Or take a nap out there..

Make smores on the grill.

Play hide and seek with stuffed animals inside the house.

Go on a treasure hunt while taking a walk in the neighborhood.

Dance really fast, really slow. Wear our clothes backwards. Make our own movies.

Turn off all of the lights, close all of the blinds, move the sofa to the center of the living room like a movie theater.Make popcorn and watch a video we have never seen.

Play Simon says, red light , green light.. Let the kids be the caller.

homemade playdough, you can scent it with koolaid
Homemade bubbles or reg bubbles and make your own wands from pipe cleaners.
tie dye an old sheet --messy messy messy
If you have a chain link fence you can weave crepe paper through it.
tape paper to a fence maybe with a thin plasic table cloth between the paper and the fence if you need the protection. and paint on your "easle" outside.
any cooking activity or Make your own popsicles

there is a book Kid concotions might be the title, this might be what you are looking for

make a volcano days of fun!

Moon sand is an outdoor activity at my house WHAT A MESS
at that age my kids LOVED water color books --like coloring books you painted
listen to Books on CD we like skippy jophn jones

Make your own playdough. This site has several cool variations that kids love, so you could stretch this out over several days : )
http://www.simplymoms.com/art/playdoh.html

Flubber is one of the best! You have gotten some other great ideas too.

If you have dogs you could make dog treats. Very simple recipes on the internet. Kids love to roll out the dough and then cut out the treats with cookie cutters...or since dogs don't care what they look like the kids can just form them by hand. If you don't have dogs package them up and bring them to neighbors or a local shelter. Always nice to teach kids to do nice things for others.

Two of my favorite sites to search for ideas are http://teachers.cmhouston.org/ (Children's Museum of Houston ideas...some great, some you have to sift through because some are written like a classroom lesson plan) and another GREAT site is http://www.howtosmile.org. Tons of ideas from museums around the country...very cool stuff! Flubber, oobleck, boats, water exploration...too much to list! :)

What's flubber??

Yes, I'm going to google it after I finishing typing here. :)

For some reason I thought it was a dolphin!! Flipper?!?

OK, googling now....

What the heck is flubber???? We are bored too!!

You might want to plan a trip to the library and look for more fun science activities to do! Ask the librarian to help you find a book with ideas for your age children. Pick up a few books and plan a theme--that will help you think of fun things to do. Many of the books will have a list of activities you can do--camp inside and read stories with flashlights, read about bugs and then do a craft where you make bugs, etc. etc. Have lots of fun this summer.

my son and i used to make our own paint. i would use a muffin tin to hold the different colors and just cover it with some plastic wrap when not in use. it's 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons cool water, 1 cup boiling water, and food coloring. mix the cool water and cornstarch. add the boiling water and stir. it thickens as you stir. when it's cool, divide into cups or muffin tin. add your food coloring and mix. it will stain, so put paper down before you paint and wear old clothes! here's a recipe for silly putty: 1/4 cup liquid laundry starch, 1/4 cup elmer's school glue. mix together. some people find it easier to mix inside a plastic bag. keep in the 'fridge or a plastic container. I also used to mix food coloring with shaving cream for my son to play with in the tub.

Do you want to make something, or just have something for them to play with?

My kids, like Moon Sand.
They got it as a gift.
It keeps them busy.
Just an idea for a "bought" thing.

I have my kids play with it, on a large mat. Then you just dust pan it up, and put it back in the bag.

Yesterday we played dress up. Today we played on the slip and slide.
A couple of weeks ago we also made pictures by cutting out different color squares from magazines. Then i mixed a bit of water with glue. We made pictures by using a paintbrush and brushing glue on. Then stick the paper on. We drew designs on the back of paper plates thick ones. Then you paint over the paper with the glue mixture. I made a rainbow. Even my 2 yr old enjoyed it!