Somewhere Over the Rainbow Party

 It’s a good thing we don’t do birthday parties every year.  I think I might have a heart attack.  I love simple birthday parties.  I really do.  But I had too much fun planning (AKA “pinning”) this incredibly fun Wizard of Oz party that I couldn’t help myself and I may or may not have gotten a little out of control.  It doesn’t help that I think The Wizard of Oz is one of the greatest films of all time.  It does help that the Young Women had a big Wizard of Oz night just before I got released and I rescued A LOT of decorations from premature death in the garbage bin.  I’m all about recycling. 

Here is the front yard.  The sign says “Bell out of order.  Please knock.”  When Mark walked up to the house he asked, “Why doesn’t the door bell work.”  Sigh.  The “bricks” are made with sidewalk chalk paint and a roller.  Incredibly easy but three cups did not go as far as I thought.  Probably a good thing since it was 100 degrees when I was painting.  And please note that the door adornment is not keeping with the theme.  At least I showed some restraint.  Even though it really bugged me.

 Here are the inside decorations.

 

"Look, they're here."

Most of the party come from this Lady.  She really saved the day. The party started with craft.  The winged monkeys destroyed the Emerald City.  The girls had to build it using play dough, glitter, jewels, and beads.  I was surprised how many of them had never seen the movie and had no idea what I was talking about.  So sad!  But I fixed that! 

 

Glinda came to deliver an urgent message.

The Wicked Witch scrambled the Scarecrow's brain and had to put it back together again to receive the next clue.  The girls had to dance to "If I Only had a Brain" and then one at a time, had to pop their balloon to get the clue piece.

The girls weren't too excited about popping balloons.

 The puzzle clue told them the Witch stole something and put it on ice.  They had to melt it to retrieve it and return it to the owner.

  It was heart bead that they returned to the Tin Man.

 And then played pin the heart on the Tin Man to receive their next clue.

 The next clue was a letter from the Cowardly Lion that said the Witch had stolen the clue.  They would have to use water balloons to slow her down and get the clue.  Good thing the Witch was armed with silly string.  Some of those girls have quite the aim!

 Their next clue told them to find the Witch's broom and bring it to the wizard.

 Who congratulated them on a job well done. Then Glinda told them all they had to do was close their eyes, click their heels together and say "There's No Place Like Home" three times.

 

And then time for for cupcakes!

I must say they turned out adorable and were super easy, my favorite kind.  I was surprised that girls even went crazy for the fruit rainbow!

 

 Next was opening presents.  And they we still had an hour left of the party!  They were a lot faster than I expected! 

 

We painted our nails with Ruby Red Slipper nail polish.

 Some girls wanted to work on more of the Emerald City.

 

Logan was a real hero and come straight from band camp to do some face painting.  Aurora said it was her favorite part of the party!

 

 Our goody baskets of poppies, rainbow lollipops, Glinda's Bubble Potion, Glinda's wand, an apple and rainbow chalk.  Whew, what a party!

Volcano Week

Welcome to Summer!  We started our summer themes with a BANG this year learning about Volcanoes!  I cheated and  signed up for the Magic School Bus kits that send you a package of experiments each month for a year, hence the unusual choice in theme for our family.  But we had a blast!  I didn't take many pictures (have to get back in the habit) but you can use your imagination.

Monday we started reading our chapter book Vacation Under the Volcano by Mary Pope Osborne.  Then we talked about the layers of the earth and made a Earth Layer Quesadilla.  Tortilla=crust, Peanut Butter=mantle, Jam=inner core, Strawberry=outer core.  This was literally a last minute "craft" because the girls were hungry and this was an easy way to steer them away from junk with distraction.  They picked the layers so it kept them happy.  We also watched a real Volcano movie which kept them moderately happy.

Tuesday we talked about the parts of a volcano and made a paper mache volcano.  Then we made "Volcano Cookies", another split second snack decision. They are really Nutella No Bake cookies that I tried to make healthy and they just turned out gooey.  They tasted okay and served their purpose but man, what a waste of Nutella!

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar (I used Splenda--don't)
½ cup butter (I used coconut oil--don't)
½ cup cocoa
½ cup skim milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup Nutella (what a waste!)
Directions:
In a large bowl, mix together oatmeal & Nutella.
Heat sugar, butter, milk and cocoa in a large pot and heat to a boil. Boil for one minute (not 45 seconds, not 75 seconds, exactly one minute). Remove from heat and add vanilla.
Pour mixture over your oatmeal and mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper. Store in an airtight container.

Wednesday we had friends come over, we read The Magic School Bus book and we painted the volcano.

Thursday we talked about pumice and then dropped it in water to see if it would float and compared it to a rock.

Friday we tried different experiments to see which measurements were needed to make the perfect explosion and then we did it!  It was pretty cool, I have to admit.

Then we watercolor painted volcanos.

Other Books we read:

Journey to the volcano palace by Abbott, Tony

Thea Stilton and the legend of the fire flowers by Stilton, Thea

Volcano! By Prager, Ellen

Volcanoes on Earth by Kalman, Bobbie

The magic school bus blows its top : a book about volcanoes by Herman, Gail