Adventures of Kids Creative Chaos

Homeschool Jamboree Eagle Creek

Eagle Creek Park Homeschool Jamboree

If you are looking for Indiana Homeschool Programs, Eagle Creek Park is a great place to start. You can take classes at the Orinithology Center or the Earth Discovery Center. The Homeschool Jamboree at Eagle Creek Park started as a fall progam, but now is also offered in the spring too. Don't delay in signing up, because they fill up fast. Enjoy!

Homeschool Jamboree Eagle Creek.

What you Need to Know:

Their website is bit tricky to navigate and not well updated, but here is a link to their calender of events for 2016:

Eagle Creek Park Event Calendar 2016

Registration is $15 per child. This is an all day event. Parents are welcome to stay with their children, but they can drop them off too. Children ages 8-14 can attend.

The best place to register is Indy Parks. To stay up to date on activities, follow Eagle Creek Park on Facebook.

Wear comfortable shoes.
Bring a bag and an extra pair of shoes. (You might get muddy.)
Bring a sack lunch. (You store it in the building.)
Dress for the always changing Indiana weather.
Don't be late.
You can sign up with a friend.
Parents can stay with their children or leave.
There are a lot of students. Remind your child to stay with the group and LISTEN to instructions.
There are nice, clean restrooms in the center.
There is plenty of room and things to do in the center. If you have small children, you can keep busy inside while your child attends classes.

Eagle Creek Park Homeschool Jamboree.

Choose from a variety of environmental activities. Here are a few of our favorites:

Orienteering (Nope, not rowing related. Learn to navigate your way through the woods by reading a compass.)

Orienteering class with a compass.

Tree Climbing (This is the real thing. They teach how to use grappling hooks.)

Water Safety

Learning to Not Leave a Trace (Save the Environment.)

Canines

Endangered Species

Animal Tracking

We attended the spring session this year. I took the opportunity to have some mommy me time, and I missed the tree climbing! I had hoped to watch the kiddos and take some photos of each event.

On the way to the Homeschool Jamboree at the Earth Discovery Center.

It is crowded! Here, they are lining up for their classes.

Learning how to use a compass. There is a lot to know!

Mayhem orienteering.

Once you complete the lesson, you get a prize.

Online Ornithology Lesson

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products. *We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

By: admin

Circle Time Activities Handbook

Get Camp Activities and Hand Games for Group Circles of all ages Handbook

Remember those hand games and fun group games activities you played in summer camp? Maybe you played games in an after-school program? You remember how much fun they were, maybe you remember the tune or the the general idea, but you just can't remember all the words or just exactly how it goes. Our Circle Time Handbook is made for you. Learn (or relearn) how to play your favorite large group games in a circle.

Post contains affiliate links.

Circle Time Games Handbook Elementary Teen Preschool

We've compiled the 39 most popular group games played in a circle with toddlers to teens in a reproducible format. Print them out, place them on your clipboard or share them with your summer camp counselors. These large group circle activity games are perfect for icebreakers and team building. Play them with adults, senior citizens, and youth groups too!

With the complete easy to follow Group Game INSTRUCTIONS, you can play these GROUP TIME Activities right now! All you need is a group of people from toddlers to teens.

Prefer a nice paperback with 8 1/2 x 11 reproducible pages? Order your hard copy on AMAZON, you can also get the Kindle version here. Just click the image to make the purchase on Amazon.

Can't wait? Get the Digital PDF Version of our Circle Time Activities Handbook to start playing right now! Just click the image and visit our TeachersPayTeachers store.

Lora Langston (that's me) is the creator of Kids Creative Chaos blog. For over fifteen years, I taught enrichment classes in after-school programs, classes at parks for preschoolers, and summer camp.

When it comes to lyrics and how to play games, I have a terrible memory. Every time we played a game, I had to look up the instructions!

Time Management Group Activities: If you are sitting in a circle, waiting for parents to pick up the kids or transitioning to the next activity, sometimes you need an impromptu activity to fill up time. Inevitably, the kids will ask to play a game they've played before, but they don't know how it goes. Been there. Done that.

Now, you have all of those old favorites group activity games at your fingertips! Just print a copy from one of the reproducible pages and attach it to your clipboard. Problem solved. And, it cost less than $10. Enjoy!

Circle Time Handbook Popular Games no Equipment

Circle Time activities handbook pdf download.

Sure, most of these circle time activity games are out there floating around in the public domain. I've been playing many of them since the 1980's! The rest I learned from the kids in my programs from the late 90's to 2012. It sure is convenient to have them all in one place with easy access whenever you need a quick group activity.

If you've played these group games too, and played a different variation, we would love to hear it! Let us know, and we'll add it to our game's post and then send you a thank you Tweet.

Recommended:

FREE Games for Circle Time

FREE Camp Songs for All Ages

Pin it!

group hand games camp games for teens elementary afterschool preschool

Group Hand Games and Camp Games Book to be played in Circles.

By: admin

Massachusetts Avenue Indianapolis Things to do with Kids

Mass Avenue Indy Families

Whether your looking for things to do on vacation or you are a resident of Indiana, you won't want to miss Mass Avenue in downtown Indianapolis. There are lots of things to do with kids on Massachusetts Avenue. We've shared our favorites. Enjoy!

Massachusetts Avenue Indianapolis Things to do with Kids.

Of course, there are many things to do in Indy with kids. We are highlighting Mass Avenue, but sharing some other things you will enjoy. Click the links for more detailed information about downtown Indianapolis activities for families.

Take a stroll along Mass Ave during the day, and take a peek inside all of the unique shops. Don't miss the Mass Ave toy store. The staff is friendly and testing out demo toys is encouraged! The staff is also happy to demonstrate some of the more challenging toys, so that the kids can play with them on their own.

Mass Ave Toy Store.

While you're walking, pay attention to the street art! Be sure to get a picture making you the "I" in Indy. Apparently, the sculpture moves all over downtown. If you miss it, there is plenty of other street art, as well, as art exhibits.

After all that playing and walking, you'll be hungry. There are two kid approved pizza eateries on Mass Avenue: Bazbeauxs and Pizzology.

Catch a kid-friendly show at the nearby Murat Theater, now the Old National Centre. If you arrive early, there is plenty of parking.

Lobby of the Old National Centre.

Csz (Comedy Sportz) and the Theatre on the Square are both located in the Mass Avenue district.

The Fire Station Museum is the perfect refuge for those who dream of becoming firefighters. Open Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Fire Station Museum, downtown Indy. Photo courtesy of Warbirds and Airshows.

Find detailed information and more pics at Warbirds and Airshows.

Now, to the best part of Mass Avenue- Desserts! Get big, beautiful cupcakes from The Flying Cupcake. Top off your cupcake with Mass Ave ice cream from Sub Zero. They literally make the ice cream right before your eyes using liquid nitrogen.

Sub Zero Ice Cream made from scracth right before your eyes!

So, we wanted to show you a picture of our ice cream, but we ate it too fast. Besides, you know what ice cream looks like! At Sub Zero, it starts as sweet cream. They also have gluten-free and dairy-free options. If you are really hungry, they serve sandwiches too! The best part, they stay open until 10 p.m. Catch a show and then catch some ice cream!

Sub Zero, downtown Indy.

Recommended:

Central Library - More than just a library, worth a visit.

Greater Indianapolis Field Trip Ideas

Apple Picking and Picnic Time in Mooresville.

By: admin

What is Yummly?

Wondering How to use Yummly?

Yum. Yummy. Yummly. What the heck? Have you heard of Yummly but have no idea what it means? What is Yummly? If you are wondering how to use Yummly, we've got answers. Enjoy!

What is Yummly? Get Recipes!

Yummly is a social media platform for sharing recipes. We'd seen it floating around the internet. We even had quite a few nice referrals from Yummly. But, time. Oh time. There just weren't enough hours in the day for Yummly. Until one day...

One of our friends in the real world, who doesn't do a lot with social media, mentioned that she would rather use Yummly than Pinterest to find recipes. Huh. That's weird... What is Yummly?

She started writing recipe posts for us, and we started Yummly-ing them. Well, will you look at that! Yummly is giving us some nice referrals. More referrals than some of the major search engines. And, since Pinterest referrals are down- what happened Pinterest?We decided to try our hands at Yummly!

How do you use Yummly? This is our recipe box.

Like everything, there is a learning curve. Somehow on our recipe box, we have posts that aren't recipes. So, by the time you've read this, we'll have cleaned those out of there (hopefully).

So, what is Yummly?

Yummly is your recipe box, the one you have on the kitchen counter, but now you can have it on your kitchen counter or in your tablet or phone and save counter space!

Here's what Yummly has to say: How does Yummly work?

Yummly puts every recipe in the world in your pocket. The most powerful recipe search, the recipe sites you love, your digital recipe box, recipe recommendations just for you, and a smart shopping list - all with you wherever you go. Yummly has the #1 iPhone, iPad and Android apps in addition to millions of website visitors. As recipes get more Yums, they get exposed more often throughout all of our platforms and features.

How to use Yummly

To use Yummly, go here and sign up: Yummly Sign Up.

Great, but now your recipe box is empty. How do you get recipes on Yummly? How do you get them into your recipe box?

Here's what Yummly has to say:

How do I get my recipes on Yummly?

The best way to get your recipes on Yummly is to add the Yum button to your blog or website. Once the Yum button us up, make sure you or your readers Yum your recipes so we can make sure to get them all on Yummly.

How do I Become a Yummly Publisher?

This seems like a good question. Why do you want to become a Yummly Publisher? More Traffic. More Notoriety. More Yum!

Here's what Yummly has to say: How do I get featured on Yummly?

Follow the steps above (add the Yum button, announce to your readers, and then fill out this form). Once you have taken all of the steps, you will be eligible for inclusion in various features on our website, apps, social channels, and email.

What are some best practices to increase the exposure of my recipes?

More Yums on your recipes equals more traffic. Bloggers who educate their readers, encourage use of Yummly, and promote their Yummly publisher page see more Yums and more traffic. Volume of recipes is also a factor. More recipes on Yummly will lead to more referral traffic from us.

How do I manage my publisher page on Yummly?

Currently, there is not an option for you to access and change your publisher page, but we plan to add this feature very soon. In the meantime, we will update your page for you if you fill out this form.

How do I find my blog's publisher page?

If you've added the Yum button and started yumming your recipes, a publisher page will be automatically created for your blog on Yummly. To find this, you can go to your personal user profile on Yummly and check to see if the recipe you Yummed has processed yet. Once it has processed, it will show a link on the recipe card to your publisher page. If you need help finding this page, email publishers@yummly.com.

Have a question that isn't already answered on our help desk? Email publishers@yummly.com

Important Note:
We read how to add the code for Blogger on another blog. It was missing a few steps. So, our code didn't work. Carefully, follow the instructions here and be sure to look for two instances of 'post-header'. We found 3, but only the two with this text matter:
'post-header-line-1' .

That's it, your own your way to Yummly recipes!

By: admin

Pizza Mac and Cheese Recipe

Easy Pizza Flavored Mac and Cheese

If your kids have unadventurous palates, you may find yourself making a lot of mac and cheese. Sometimes, we make a big pot of homemade mac and cheese with Velveeta and then change up the leftovers. Want something different, but delicious? Make easy homemade pizza mac and cheese with this recipe. Enjoy!

Pizza Mac and Cheese Recipe.

Easy Pizza Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:
Leftover mac and cheese or make it from scratch
Milk
Pizza sauce or favorite spaghetti sauce
Oregano
Mozzerella Cheese
Salt, Pepper, and Parmesan
Pepperoni or Sausage (Optional)

The day after mac and cheese usually requires some freshening up. My daughter says "it's frozen" when she sees it hard and congealed.

The best way to doctor leftover mac and cheese is to place it over low heat on the stovetop and stir in milk until desired consistency.

Then, depending on how many leftovers you have, add 1/2 - 2
Cups pizza or spaghetti sauce. Don't add too much or it will taste like spaghetti soup. It should look orange and creamy (see picture).

Add pepperoni or sausage if desired.

Add a cup of Mozzerella Cheese.

Stir in a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

Next, add a dash of Oregano to desired taste. Keep stirring over low heat until heated through.

Plate out, and sprinkle on the Parmesan.

Delishhh!

Recommended:

Velveeta Mac and Cheese*

More Easy Recipes

Mac and Cheese Story*

By: admin

Homemade Pan Fried Fish and Chips

How to Make Pan Fried Fish and Chips

Did you catch up a mess of fish? Maybe you just found a great deal at the fish market, er, grocery store. Either way, you'll need an easy recipe for homemade fish and chips. We've got it! In this recipe, Lisa shares how to make pan fried fish and chips at home. Enjoy!

Spring Break! My son had the opportunity to clean his first fish this week. And, I got the opportunity to cook them. Two big firsts for our nature-enjoying, convenience-loving family. This pan fried fish recipe was a hit for the fresh, black crappie. It would be good with your store bought fish, too. The homemade chips round out the meal.

Homemade Fish and Chips Recipe.

Spring Break Pan Fried Fish and Chips

Ingredients:

Fresh fish

almond flour (other flours may be used but all-purpose gets doughy)

Milk

Italian seasoned bread crumbs

Ground mustard

Salt and pepper

Olive oil for frying

Large potatoes

Parmesan Cheese

Italian Seasoning

Cooking Spray

How to make fish and chips at home.

Chips

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees F.

*2. Microwave large potatoes about half on the microwave recommended time. The potatoes should still be firm.

3. While potatoes are in the microwave, mix 1/2 c. parmesan cheese and 1 t. Italian seasoning in a large bowl.

4. After the potatoes have cooled to the touch, cut them into wedges.

5. Coat the potato wedges with the cheese mixture and transfer to a baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Turn the potatoes and continue baking another 10 minutes.

Pan Fried Fish Recipe.

Fish:

1. Prepare 3 shallow dishes as follows:

a. Mix 1/2 c. almond (or other) flour, 1/2 t. salt, 1/4 t. pepper, and 1/2 t. ground mustard in one shallow dish. (Note: Depending on how much fish you have, you may need to make multiple batches. Make multiple batches, however, instead of doubling the size of the batches because the breading can get doughy after awhile.)

b. Add 1/4 c. milk to the second shallow dish.

c. Add 1/2 c. seasoned break crumbs to the third shallow dish.

2. Pour enough olive oil into a skillet to cover the bottom. Apply medium heat.

3. Coat each fish fillet in the flour mixture, followed by the milk, and finally the bread crumbs.

4. Fry the fish about 5-10 minutes until golden brown, turning once to cook both sides. Fish should flake easily. Add additional oil as needed.

By: admin

Make Edible Egg Coloring Dye to Use with Your Dudley Egg Spinner: Recipe

Replacement Edible Dye for Egg Coloring Kits

Make your own DIY Egg Coloring Dye with this Edible Egg Coloring Recipe. It is simple, quick, and works just as good! We have a Dudley Egg Spinner, but ran out of coloring dye. So, we made our own. Enjoy!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.

Make Edible Egg Coloring Dye to Use with Your Dudley Egg Spinner: Recipe.

By: admin

Science Online Activities: Lessons and Games

Homeschool Science Ideas for Projects, Experiments, and Lessons

Whether you are looking for Homeschool Science Fair Projects or Ideas for Experiments these online science lessons and curriculum are perfect for classroom or homeschoolers. We gather the best games, videos, printables, and science curriculum so you don't have to. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Homeschool Science Online Activities: Lessons, Projects, and Games

Homeschool Science Online Activities: Lessons and Games.

Homeschool Science Projects, Experiments, and Lesson Ideas:

Recommended:

Science Books for Kids

Homeschool Lessons

By: admin

Easy Baklava Recipe with Inexpensive Ingredients

Easy Peanut Butter Baklava

Baklava is a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made from layers of phyllo dough and chopped nuts. It's a lot of work and can be quite costly, depending on the type of nuts chosen. This easy mock Baklava recipe allows you to make a baklava-inspired dessert more easily using inexpensive ingredients. If peanut allergies prohibit the use of peanut butter, other nut butters can be substituted. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.*

Easy Baklava Recipe with Inexpensive Ingredients.

Learn more about Baklava history.

Baklava Ingredients

Syrup

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. honey

1/2 c. water

1 T lemon juice

1 cinnamon stick

2 whole cloves

1/2 t vanilla

Filling

1/4 c. crunchy peanut butter

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. chopped peanuts (opt.)

1 t. ground cinnamon

1 carton flaky biscuits

Easy Peanut Butter Baklava Recipe.

1. Bake biscuits at 350 degrees F until no longer doughy but not golden brown. If the tops get hard, you can just discard the top layer later. Allow the biscuits to cool. Leave the oven hot.

2. While the biscuits are baking, start to prepare the syrup:

a. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.

b. Turn the stove to medium. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

c. Continue to heat with occasional stirring until the syrup reaches 225 degrees F, or until the syrup thickens.

d. Remove the syrup from the heat.

3. Prepare the filling:

a. Melt the butter in a small bowl in a microwave at low power.

b. Stir in the peanut butter, cinnamon, and extra peanuts, if desired.

4. Prepare the baklava:

a. Lightly grease a small baking dish. I used a 6" x 6" square dish.

b. Peel about half of the biscuits into layers. Cut them in half if using a square dish.

c. Put a layer of biscuits in the bottom of the pan. Be sure to fill up the edges of the pan so the syrup doesn't pool at the edges later.

d. Spread a thin layer of filling on top of the biscuits.

e. Continue to alternate biscuit layers and filling until the filling is consumed, layering more biscuits if needed. End with a layer of biscuits. I did not use the whole container.

f. Pour the syrup on the baklava.

5. Bake in 350 degrees F oven for 10 minutes.

6. Allow the baklava to cool completely. ut the baklava into desired shapes.

Recommended:

Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Don't want to make it? Buy Baklava*

By: admin

3 Science Things to do with Eggs: Includes Bouncing Egg

3 Fun Science Things to do with Eggs including Bouncing Egg

We've got chickens and ducks, so we've got a lot of eggs! We're always looking for new uses for them. We don't want them to go to waste. Since we homeschool, we decided to try some kid science things to do with eggs. Have you seen the bouncing egg experiment? So, how do you make an egg bounce? Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience*

Kids Science Egg Experiments Rubber Bouncing Eggs

Which came first the chicken or the egg? Oh, that's not the egg science experiment we're doing..

EXPERIMENT #1

For our first egg science experiment, we tried to find out. Will it float? You'll need two eggs and two glasses of tap water.

Bouncing Egg Experiment with Results.

Drop one egg in each glass.

Do they float? Why or why not? Write down your hypothesis in your journal or a Google Doc.

Slowly add SEA SALT (table salt works, you just need more). Now, what happens? The more sea salt you add what happens?

To find out what is happening, click here: Results.

That was fun! Don't waste those eggs. Keep them for the next experiment! Leave your egg in the cup.

Add enough vinegar to cover the egg.

Check it after 24 hours. Record any changes in the egg in your Science Journal or a Google Doc.

EXPERIMENT #2

Can you make an egg bounce?

Can you make an egg bounce?

Instructions for the next experiment call for a boiled egg, but we tried it with an unboiled egg- Just to be different.

We used a chicken egg and a duck egg. Since the duck egg has a stronger shell, the results were much better.

You can try it with boiled an unboiled eggs, but remember to test it outside. Do an experiment with both types of eggs and record any differences or similarities that you find.

How is the duck egg different from the chicken egg?

So, how does the egg feel after 24 hrs.? 48 hrs.? 72 hrs.?

We tested our egg after 48 hrs. See the results below.

VIDEO: Unboiled Egg Test Results

Here are ten more cool egg science experiments to try.

EXPERIMENT #3

Easter Egg Dye Experiments

What else can you do with eggs? Of course, we dye them for Easter. You might want to try to dye your Easter eggs naturally. We tried it as a Science Experiment. Let me just say, we failed miserably. One reason is we neglected to follow all of the steps.

Natural egg colors: How to dye eggs naturally.

Duck and chicken eggs from our farm. Use a Sharpie to write the date of collection.

If you want to dye eggs naturally click the links below to follow the instructions, and use these all natural ingredients that are proven to work.

Red Cabbage Eggs

Yellow Tumeric Eggs

We tried Dandelions...

Can you dye eggs with Dandelions? Maybe.

We tried Violets and other purple wildflowers...

Can you dye eggs with Violets? Maybe...

Soaking an egg in Violet juice.

Can you dye an egg with Halloween Candy?

Dye eggs with old Halloween Candy.

Heat the candy slowly over low heat. Green candies turn into a brown, sugary goo.

Orange and Red candies turn into an orange goo. Guess what? It works, sort of...

Beautiful natural shades of our eggs.

Egg soaked in melted orange and red candy.

The results of our egg-periment. For us, only orange and red candy worked.

Recommended:

Free Homeschooling Lessons

Cool Science Experiments Books*

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

By: admin

Homeschool Jamboree Eagle Creek

Eagle Creek Park Homeschool Jamboree

Circle Time Activities Handbook

Get Camp Activities and Hand Games for Group Circles of all ages Handbook

Massachusetts Avenue Indianapolis Things to do with Kids

Mass Avenue Indy Families

What is Yummly?

So, what is Yummly?

How to use Yummly

How do I Become a Yummly Publisher?

Pizza Mac and Cheese Recipe

Easy Pizza Flavored Mac and Cheese

Easy Pizza Mac and Cheese

Homemade Pan Fried Fish and Chips

How to Make Pan Fried Fish and Chips

Spring Break Pan Fried Fish and Chips

Make Edible Egg Coloring Dye to Use with Your Dudley Egg Spinner: Recipe

Replacement Edible Dye for Egg Coloring Kits

Science Online Activities: Lessons and Games

Homeschool Science Ideas for Projects, Experiments, and Lessons

Homeschool Science Projects, Experiments, and Lesson Ideas:

Easy Baklava Recipe with Inexpensive Ingredients

Easy Peanut Butter Baklava

Baklava Ingredients

3 Science Things to do with Eggs: Includes Bouncing Egg

3 Fun Science Things to do with Eggs including Bouncing Egg

EXPERIMENT #3

Easter Egg Dye Experiments

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