7 Year Old Phineas and Ferb Birthday

B celebrated his 7th birthday in September {Yes, I'm aware of the fact that it's October and I am just now posting this.  I'm on Fall Break so I have time to do this now.}

This year he told me that he wanted to have a Phineas and Ferb party.  After I picked my jaw up off of the ground {He has had 4 Toy Story Themed parties in a row for his 6th, 5th, 4th, and 3rd birthdays}.  I jumped at the chance to implement new party ideas!

A little Phineas and Ferb background:
Phineas and Ferb are brothers who challenge each other to make the most of their summer vacation.  Each day they use their science skills, along with some imagination, to build new outrageous contraptions.  Mysteriously they are able to create and enjoy their new machines, without their parents ever seeing them, despite their older sister's best efforts to bust them.

Invitations:

Brent found a Phineas and Ferb font. I used the it to create the invitations and he used it to create the banners.

Outside

Inside

Thank You Notes:

**Email me at uniquelyerinnicole@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing invitations or thank you notes.**

Decorations:

Brent created this banner that we hung on the front door. 

He also created this banner.  We hung it in our front room because the guitar rock out session would be held there {more on that later}.

I ordered the tablecloths online.  B picked out the blue plates, napkins, cups, and silverware from the dollar store.

Recycled cans from fruit were used to create utensils holders.  I wrapped them with yellow scrapbook paper and added a green strip with a character sticker attached to it.  When the party was over I saved the cans.  The covers can be taken off and the cans can be re-decorated to match the next party theme.

I always like to put a Sharpie out next to the cups so people can write their name on their cups.

I ordered the party bags online.  B and I went to Party City and found some Phineas and Ferb party favors to fill the the bags with.

Members of our family wore these shirts that I created from a website I found.  I bought the shirts and transfer paper at JoAnns.

B's shirt says:  Happy 7th Birthday Brayden.  Brent's shirt says: Blast you Perry the Platypus.

I found the onesie at Target.  It was in a pack of 3.  The other 2 onesies had patterns on them so I used the solid color one.  There is a picture of Candace, Phineas and Ferb's older sister, on it with a caption that says: "Mom, Brayden's having a birthday party!{Candace is notorious for trying to bust Phineas and Ferb}.

Activities:

Rockets 

We used recycled water bottles to create rockets.  The kids got to pick out nose cones and wings made from pieces of colored paper that Brent already had cut out.

They then taped them to the rockets.  I would suggest having multiple rolls of tape on hand for this activity.  We made it work with 1 roll, but it would have been easier to have 2 or 3.  It was also helpful to have other adults to assist the kids with the holding and taping.  {B is in this great, I'm 7 and I take goofy pictures phase, so please excuse his expressions in these pictures.}

After creating the rockets we took them outside to launch them.  We attached a cork to the needle of a bicycle pump.  Brent held onto the bottle and the cork while the kids pumped air into the rockets and launched them into the air.

After a few launches with the bicycle pump Brent got a great idea.  He tried launching the rockets using his air compressor.  The kids loved how their rockets flew higher!  {As each rocket was launched Brent added his Tim the Tool Man Taylor 'man' grunt.}

Rainbow Volcanoes

Once the allure of the rockets died down we moved on to making Rainbow Volcanoes with baking soda and vinegar.

I found the small containers, seen in the picture below, at the dollar store.  There were 10 of them in a package and they only cost $1.00 {I thought the price was right!}  I also liked that there were lids for the containers so I could easily prep them before the party started.

I put baking soda in containers so that each child got 2 containers with baking soda.  I used other containers to put vinegar mixed with food coloring in. Multiple kids were able to share a container of vinegar.

The kids used eye droppers to pick up the vinegar and drop it into the baking soda.  I found packages of eye droppers in the pharmacy department at Wal Mart.  Once the vinegar and baking soda met they created a chemical and it bubbled and fizzed like a volcano.  G was disappointed that his volcano didn't actually bubble over like a real volcano {Sorry to burst your bubble there buddy, but it's not that kind of a volcano.}

These are 2 of the baking soda pods after the food coloring vinegar mix has been dropped into it.  The kids loved watching the baking soda bubble up as the vinegar mix was dropped into it.

Rocking out with Guitars

Next, we decorated guitars.  I ordered these inflatable guitars.  I bought some permanent markers from the dollar store to decorate them with.  I was a little leery about giving the kids permanent markers, but surprisingly, they didn't make a mess at all.

When the guitars were decorated it was time to have a little jam session!  I ordered a Phineas and Ferb sound track for the kids to rock out to.  As an added bonus these stylin' glasses came in the box with the guitars.  The kids loved them!

Food:


I served snack foods that included: apples, bananas, cheese balls, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and Phineas and Ferb fruit snacks.

Cake:


The birthday boy and his Perry the Platypus cake {Again, here he is with the goofy 7 year old looks . . . aggg how long will this phase last?!}

I used a 13x9 pan for the cake.  Perry's eyes are made from powdered sugar donuts and black jellybeans {I used a toothpick to hold the donuts onto the cake securely}.  For his hat I used mini Hersey's bars.  His feet and beak are made from orange Airheads.

We all had a lot of fun celebrating Brayden's 7th birthday in Phineas and Ferb style!  Now I'm onto planning Baby M's first birthday!

DIY Bouncy Ball

Again, the boys were home today because of Student Led Conferences. After going to their school and talking with both of their teachers we came home for the rest of the day. I am trying to make the most of our time together. I found another activity for us to do today. Yes, I did find this one on Pinterest as well. Today we made bouncy balls. I bought a box of Borax specifically to make the slime that we made yesterday so I was trying to find activities to use the Borax again. I don’t want it to go to waste.

To make a bouncy ball you will need:

Borax, glue, food coloring (I used the food coloring that is used to color icing. It’s what I had around and it makes richer colors than the liquid kind.), a spoon to stir with, 2 bowls, a bag, labels, a marker, measuring spoons

How to make a bouncy ball:

1. Label one of the 2 bowls mixture and the other bowl solution.

#2

#3

2. In the bowl labeled Solution mix 2 tablespoons of water with ½ teaspoon of

Borax. Add food coloring.

#3

3. In the bowl labeled Mixture pour 1 tablespoon of glue. Add ½ teaspoon of the Borax solution to the glue followed by 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. DO NOT STIR. Allow the items to react with one another for 10-15 seconds.

#4

4. After waiting for 10-15 seconds stir the mixture until it is impossible to stir.

#5

5. When you are no longer able to stir the mixture take it out of the bowl and begin kneading it with your hands. ~It will be a little sticky, but not too bad.

6. When it’s less sticky you should be able to bounce it.

#6

*Store your bouncy ball in an airtight baggie.

My Review of the process and outcome:

My 3 year old and 6 year old were able to help with creating this bouncy ball. I measured the items and they poured them into the proper bowls. They enjoyed helping each step of the way. As we were measuring, pouring, and mixing we made predictions about what would happen when the items got together. B and G really liked watching the cornstarch absorb the food coloring and Borax mixture (step #3). Both boys were able to easily stir the mixture and knead it (step #4). We were not able to get the mixture to bounce. It seems to me like it made more of textured (because of the cornstarch) dough.

I’m not sure where we goofed in the process. We made 3 different balls (there is plenty of Borax solution to make even more than 3 balls.) The first time we let the mixture sit for 10 seconds as directed in step #3 before stirring. The second time we let the mixture sit for 15 seconds before stirring and the third time we let it sit for 20 seconds. We had the same outcome each time – textured dough.

It is my guess that some people would have referred to this experiment as a flop. I do not feel that it was a flop. First of all, my kids and I spent time together. There is never wasted time when it comes to being with my family. My boys had to work together and share throughout the process. We had good conversation and made great predictions. I think it’s good for kids to see that things don’t always go as planned, this is real life. They need to see that everything isn’t perfect and there are times when you have to step back and re-evaluate the process, which we did 3 times, and still no luck! Oh well, there’s always next time. B and G did enjoy the process and playing with the dough. I would not call this a flop at all I would more accurately describe it as an experiment with a hidden agenda!

Has anyone tried to make a bouncy ball and gotten it to work? Are there any predictions as to where I made a mistake in the process?