a peek inside the fishbowl

22 Aug, 2011

Super straw

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Easy ways to make kids happy|Oh! Things!

As I had alluded to in last week’s post over at the UsedEverywhere blog, we’ve had to look a little harder for Things To Do around here at Casa Fishbowl. But when I think about what we’ve been doing the past few days I realize that we’ve actually been pretty busy. We’ve been taking the dog for super long walks, playing board games that we haven’t played for awhile, going up to the park for a round of tennis, hosting backyard campouts, watching movies, playing marathon sessions on the Wii… the list goes one. What’s more, Sarah has been exploring my old box of fabric and sewing her own clothing (!), and Emma has often been found with her nose in a book.

In a recent “I’m SO Bored Moment,” Sarah dug out these neat little straws we picked up once upon a time at the boutique at the National Gallery (which makes me weak in the knees because I love it so much). This “build-a-straw” set comes with a bunch of short straws and connectors so you (or, ideally, your child) can make a crazy straw.

They can whip up a quick batch of lemonade to go with it and voila, they’ve got themselves a project that will burn up a whole 45 minutes while you finish checking your email your report! :)

Other than making wild straw shapes (which is half the fun) other things to think about might include:

  • How long can you make your straw?
  • It is easy or difficult to drink out of a longer straw?
  • Can you take a drink if the glass is on the floor or across the table? (I think we found out the answer to that one.)

This is SCIENCE at its best people.

Super straw

Neat eh?

What have you been doing to keep the kids busy lately?


3 Responses to "Super straw"

1 | Bob LeDrew

August 22nd, 2011 at 7:13 am

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That would go well with…. a mojito. (not for Sarah though).

2 | Mark

August 22nd, 2011 at 10:38 am

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Yes, you could drink the Mojito from under the table thus adding a new dimension to the expression.

3 | Saving things, using things >> a peek inside the fishbowl

January 2nd, 2013 at 10:26 am

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[…] of drinking glasses – vintage bird-watcher type glasses that I bought for a song at a yard sale. (One of them is pictured here.) I think I started with a set of seven or eight: a blue jay and a couple orioles, tanagers, and […]

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The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Piper who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. We also have two human offspring: Emma (24) and Sarah (22). During the day I work as a writer at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

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