So I declared that I was going to use all that free time to blow through some 475 Pinterest projects that I've pinned for the last 5 years or so. I've got time! I've got nothing but time! Let's burst out those glue sticks and glitter and get cracking!
4 weeks later, and summer is half over, and I'm like, shit! We've barely done any!
Coincidentally, next week is celebrated Shark Week on Discovery channel, which if you know my boys is the equivalent of saying that Christmas is around the corner. But, since we don't have cable anymore and they are going to be at VBS next week, we declared this week Shark Week. And I have a solid dozen Pinterest pins to use up for the occasion!
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| We met a Lego man dressed as a shark last week at Legoland. It was a sign. |
Today was "Day 1" of Shark Week. My overachieving goal was to have a science experiment, a craft and a snack related to it. You know not just throwing on shark documentaries on Netflix and calling it good. We have Pins to use dammit!
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| They're ready. I even found a pin to make Shark Hats |
Today's science experiment was learning about ocean layers. I found this brilliant-yet-fairy-easy project here (on Pinterest, because obviously). It took a little bit of prep work, so the kids played Lego Shark Awesomeness versus Scuba Man Bob (some of you from my childhood MUST remember Lego Scuba Man Bob) while I did the prep:
To start, you collect 5 containers and fill them with various types of liquids and dyes (as stated on the website, which you can look up yourself, because I don't feel like retyping what liquid you dye what). Liquids included common household items, like water, and cooking oil, dish soap, rubbing alcohol, and corn syrup. I had to buy the corn syrup for this experiment, because who the hell keeps corn syrup around?!
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| All of the zones, before we poured them in |
Then, the kids and I poured the different "layers" into the jar. It's important to follow the directions and pour the right liquid in the right order, or else they will mix. As we poured in each layer (going from deepest ocean layer - trench -, so the closest to the surface - sunlight -), we discussed just how far down it was, and what types of sealife lived in it. I did a bit of a Pinterest-Fail and dyed the two deepest layers too similarly dark, so it was hard to decipher between the two unless you held it up to a light. But otherwise, it turned out pretty awesome. The kids loved the photos of the creepy ass sea critters that live in the darker zones (thanks, Google images) and was interested to know that Hammerhead sharks prefer the Twilight zone, while most of the rest of the sharks live in the Sunlight zone.
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| Ocean zone jar! You can't really tell, but the Trench Zone on the bottom is black, and the Abyss Zone is purple. |
Then of course, Lego Shark Awesomeness took over the zone jar. Even Batman was prepared, on the surface. I was surprised at how engaged the kids were with this experiment, even after it was over.
Note: this isn't something you like, keep around. After a couple hours the liquids slowly started to spill into each other. I'm not even sure I want to keep the jar, because who wants to clean out dyed corn syrup? Not me.
After the excitement of the experiment wore off, I found some shark documentaries on Netflix (it's called..."Shark". Well that was easy) while I cleaned up and made lunch. And because it's Shark Week, we had to have a themed lunch. So, bologna and cheese sandwich islands with Bugle palm trees (but I wasn't so ambitious as to find something green and leafy for the plans, so they were dead palm trees), blueberry coral reefs and shark fruit snacks. Oh and an octopus gummy. Because of course.
The craft for the afternoon was a newspaper shark. Not super exciting, but it was cute on Pinterest, stupid simple and the kids loved it.
It was as simple as having the kids cut out the shape of a shark head out of newspaper (that I got for $1 yesterday at the grocery store, since no one actually has newspaper floating around their houses anymore). Calen chose a hammerhead shark and Camden did a great white. Then, they glued their shark heads to light blue construction paper, glued on some googly eyes, and cut out/added a black mouth and white teeth. Once their shark was finished, they cut out dark blue "waves" and glued it on top of the bottom of the shark.
Done, done and done. Shark Week Day 1 in the books. All 3 of us had fun.
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| Calen's hammerhead shark (with "splashing water") and Camden's great white. Excuse the poor lighting, it was dark when I realized I forgot to take a picture. |
Bonus round: we went to the pool afterwards, which seems like it should be a part of shark week. Also they had been inside all day and it was time for them to get out of my face for an hour.
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