As we snuggle into Autumn and get ready for Winter, we also find a new home for BirchLeaf Designs! Please bear with us as we sift through all the changes with our new website…Suggestions are welcome!
New Site for BirchLeaf Designs!
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Category Archives: Indoors
Blow it out your Egg Hole!
The children were inspired to blow out eggs and paint them all pretty.
Taking Volcano Building to the Next Level
How to build a volcano with Plaster of Paris
by Kiah and Milo
(special thanks to storm the castle)
Here we go…
First, get a cardboard box and cut it how you want it. It is helpful if you keep the sides up a little and the back at least as tall as the volcano. This will prevent a huge mess and allow you to draw a picture on the back of the inner workings of a real volcano. You will also want to cut a hole on the bottom of the box so you can remove the plastic bottle for cleaning later.
Next, take a plastic bottle and wrap it in a plastic bag (so it doesn’t stick to the plaster of paris).Lastly, cut out a bunch of cardboard strips to place around the bottle like Milo is doing.
Place the strips in a fashion that looks similar to a volcaco and tape them all together.
Next, stuff your cardboard volcano with wads of newspaper.
Begin to mix your plaster of paris according to the directions on the box. We mixed it 2:1 (plaster:water)
Measure the water…
Add the water to the plaster in a big tub.
Mix away…
After the water has been added to the plaster, be sure to work quickly as the plaster will set up quick! Begin to dip strips of newspaper in the plaster mix and then carefully place pieces on the cardboard volcano. Try to keep them as smooth as possible while overlapping them different ways.
Keep mixing up plaster of paris in small batches until you have enough to cover your entire box and volcano.
Let the plaster sit until it is completely dry…about a day or two.
Then get out the acrylic paints and have fun! Paint scenery if you like…we used red, yellow, blue, green, brown, and grey.
Voila! This volcano is ready for action! We will take out the bottle from the plastic bag, put the bottle back in the volcano and add the ingredients for a great explosion!
For the explosion, we suggest you do it outside the first time!
Here are the ingredients for those of you that just can’t wait for the next volcano eruption post…
1.Take the bottle out of the volcano and fill it just about full with water.
2. Put 4 or 5 drops of Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Soap or any dish soap right into the water.
3. Add 2 Tablespoons of Baking Soda to the water.
4. Put the Volcano over the bottle so it is in place and ready to go.
5. Pour some vinegar right into the volcano bottle and watch it Erupt!!
Volcano Building Basics
Science is so much fun! If it were up to Milo and Kiah, they would do science all day, every day!
Here are the directions to build a simple, yet effective volcano…
First, you will need a tub to put everything in and a pint-sized mason jar (or any jar for that matter) to hold the “volcanic” ingredients.
Next, follow Milo’s instructions: Please note that we only had apple cider vinegar on hand…it is recommended to use white or distilled vinegar. Also, any dish soap will work, in this instance, we used Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds.
Once the “volcano” has been built and packed around the jar, Milo also says you can ”add some prettiness if you want, like stones and little trees”.
Finally, gather around with friends, follow the steps above, and Wah Lah!
We found that the “explosion” happens rather quickly, so if you add a bit more vinegar at the end, you will get a second explosion!!
Milo does a jig!
Milo created a new product for the booth!
Handmade T-N-T! It’s dyn-o-mite!
He was using the waste ends from our streamers but they ended up being such a huge hit, we had to buy him wood to make more! He sells more dynamite than we sell streamers…
To help Milo be more independent with his creations, His Papa, Mojo, made him a “jig”.
Now he can make his little packs of T-N-T all by himself!
Wah La!!!
