If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!How Do You Make a Helicopter from Paper? You can make something that spins when you drop it as though it were a helicopter, with its turning blades. http://www.af.mil/media/photodb/photos/030513-F-0000C-002.jpg (Photo credit: Wikipedia Materials: A piece of rectangular paper, like notebook paper Staples or paperclips Scissors. Instructions: Fold up the bottom third of the paper; crease; unfold Fold down the top half of the paper; crease; unfold Cut a notch on each side of the paper, cutting a wedge along the fold... (Read More ...)

Butter and a butter knife (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Why Would You Put Butter In the Well? You would put butter in a well if you had no electricity and lived too far out in the country for a weekly purchase of ice to keep everything cold. June Pair Kilpatrick’s memoir about growing up in the 1930s and 1940s, Wasps in the Bedroom, Butter in the Well: Growing Up During the Great Depression, describes this low point among the 21 places she lived the first 21 years of her life. “While my parents,… no doubt, wondered if they would ever again be able to leave the rural life they had both escaped... (Read More ...)

Do You Make Popcorn on the Stove or in the Microwave? When I was growing up, on Sunday nights it was Dad’s turn to feed the five of us. Kernel and popped popcorn (Photo credit: Wikipedia) He rotated between grilled cheese sandwiches and popcorn. I still remember the grating of the skillet as he scraped it back and forth across the burner on the stove. And, I remember the smell of fresh popcorn and freshly melted butter filling the air. We all dug in and went into the den to watch t.v. together, over full bowls of popcorn. Today’s activity is a test to see how popcorn reacts when you make it... (Read More ...)

Learn more about the stages of childhood at WikiMommy.com (Photo credit: Wikipedia) How to Do Nothing with Nobody. Robert Paul Smith, Author of How to Do Nothing with Nobody All Alone By Yourself, cherishes the long, lazy days of his childhood. He and his friends made up things to do with materials at hand – spools, bits of leather, cedar cigar boxes, chestnuts, peach pits, and wishbones. The 2010 reprint of his 1958 book includes this warning to parents about the activities he describes, as many of them use knives and ice picks: “Parental Advisory: “This book describes activities that may... (Read More ...)

Can You Make Popcorn Kernels Dance? Fun with Grandchildren. How do you make popcorn kernels float up and down in water, as gently as a fish floating in the sea? Macro photograph of coca-cola bubbles. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Materials: Shallow pan Drinking glass 10-20 unpopped popcorn kernels One cup of water ¼ cup of vinegar 1 teaspoon baking soda Instructions: Put the glass in the shallow pan Pour the popcorn kernels in the glass Add water to the glass Add vinegar to the glass Add baking soda to the glass (do not mix) What Should Happen? The glass will overflow into the shallow pan as... (Read More ...)