Thursday, September 13, 2007

Spray-Dye Shirts and the Snapping Turtle Who Went for a Swim


Kids Spray Dying Tie Dye Shirts
We decided to try attending this homeschool learning co-op today that meets every Thursday in the next town over. Several homeschoolers from our group are members and I have been wanting to go for a couple years now, but our schedule hasn't allowed it until this year. While we were there, the kids got to tie dye t-shirts (my daughter dyed a dress) outside in the neatest way. Instead of tying knots and dipping the shirts in dye, the dye was in spray bottles. The kids really had fun spraying their shirts with the colors they picked out and they could put the colors wherever they wanted them. The shirts (and dress) turned out great!

Today was mainly a planning session and the kids were split up into groups to decide what activities they wanted to do for the year. They also got to play with a big parachute and run around in the adjoining park. There was an area set up inside for dress-up play (complete with various costumes and cast-off clothes), which my daughter did just about the entire time we were there. Next week they will be having a pirate theme, so I want to track down some pirate activities to suggest to the group.

While we were there, some of the kids there noticed a common snapping turtle swimming around in the Wave Tech pool, which is right next to the building the co-op meets in. I took several pictures of it because it was one of the biggest snapping turtles I have seen around here. We were initially afraid he was stuck in the pool, but he did eventually come out and try to squeeze through the fence. He is really hard to see in the pictures I took of him swimming in the pool, so I just posted a couple of the ones I took of him walking around. I have no idea how he got in there, but hope he figures a way back out soon!


Common Snapping Turtle

Common Snapping Turtle
Common snapping turtle websites:
Common Snapping Turtle - Wikipedia
Snapping Turtle Page
Common Snapping Turtle, Cheldyra serpentina

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a question about the spray-dye T-shirts: did the kids tie them too, or just spray?

I am going to attempt this for my dd's birthday party on Wed, and was wondering how it would turn out if we just dyed, instead of tie-dyed. Just to keep it simpler!

Thanks!

N

Melinda said...

They literally just sprayed them. The spry pattern is what gives them a "tye-dye" look. It might be neat to try tying them, too. We lay them out on the ground to dye, then lay them on clothes racks to dry.

We still have these shirts and they look as good as the day we made them last year!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Melinda! I am a bit worried that I'll be sending them home unrinsed - I don't want to ruin anyone's load of washing. I guess I'll have to attach a warning note!

We have had to change at last minute from a pool party at an outside venue to an "Arty Party" at home, and spray dye sounds fun and not-too-messy.

Thanks again,

Nikki