Dollar Store Bonanza

When we go to the grocery store, I have to say no a lot. No, we can't buy a five gallon tub of ice cream. No, we're not going to buy new lawn chairs today. I figured out the trick to saying yes. The dollar store! I told my girl that she had five dollars and could pick out five things. She was just about as happy as a little girl could be.

ABC's

I've seen these 'letter crafts' all over Pinterest and I love them! We've been slowly working our ways through the ABC's (actually, we've only made it through A, B, and C, but D is coming today). This is what we have so far:

A is for Alligator.

 B is for Butterfly.

C is for Caterpillar. 

This one is made out of a sock and it's my favorite.

I Knew I'd Been Saving Those Lids For Something

They're great for sorting, stacking, making into shapes, or throwing into a jar.

Ramona Was So Wise

In one of the Ramona Quimby books, Ramona has the brilliant idea to give her bratty toddler neighbor a box of tissues as a present. It is a big hit and entertains the child for quite a while. I love the Ramona books, and thought about this part of the story the other day while at the grocery. For $2 I bought a box of tissues for both of my kids and let them go to town. Ramona was right, it was just about the best present a 2 year old could ever get.

 

Colored Ice Cubes

I apparently used too much food coloring when I made these because by the time they had all melted, all of our hands looked liked tie-dyed t-shirts. The kids played with these until they were down to the very last little icy pebbles. They put them in the sandbox, watering can, stacked them, threw them, and tried to eat them.

Q-Tip Painting

Almost as much fun as painting with a paint brush. I say this because half way though her picture, my little girl asked me if she could trade for a paint brush.

Balloon Science

We filled a balloon with baking soda and a bottle with vinegar. We placed the balloon on top of the bottle, dumped its contents, and VOILA!

It inflated itself.
Afterward we tied it off and started the process again. The really interesting thing to me was that it felt a whole lot heavier than a regular air-filled balloon. I guess that's an experiment for another day.