Spooky science experiments plus GRAND Social link party No. 76

With only a few days left until Halloween, it's time to squeeze in a bit more holiday fun with the kids before the creepy occasion has come and gone.

I received some Halloween treats from Kiddie Academy and with their permission, I'm sharing one with you today. It's a booklet of Spooky Science experiments using items you likely have around the house. Click on the following graphic to access the .pdf file (you'll need the free Adobe reader), then print it — or save to your computer — and try one or more  of the Halloween-themed experiments with the kids at your place.

Because my grandsons are far away, I've not tried these experiments with them, so please do share your success stories with me once you sample the spooky science fun with your kiddos. Enjoy!

Time now for GRAND Social No. 76. Thank you for participating!

How it works:

• All grandparent bloggers are invited to add a link. You don't have to blog specifically about grandparenting, just be a grandparent who blogs.

• To link up a post, copy the direct URL to the specific post — new or old — that you want to share, not the link to your blog's home page. Then click the blue button marked with "Add your link" below and follow the directions.

• You can add up to three posts, but no duplicates, contests, giveaways, or Etsy sites, please.

• Adding a mention such as This post linked to the GRAND Social to your linked posts is appreciated. Or, you can post the GRAND Social button anywhere on your page using the following code:

<a rel="nofollow" href="/" target="blank"><img src="http://grandmasbriefs.squarespace.com/storage/GRANDsocialbutton.jpg " alt="Grandma’sBriefs.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

• The GRAND Social linky is open for new posts through Wednesday evening, so please come back to see those added after your first visit.


• If you're not a blogger, you have the pleasure of being a reader. Bloggers who link up would be honored to have one and all — other bloggers as well as readers — visit, read and, if so moved, comment, even if just a "Hey, stopping by from the GRAND Social."

47 Halloween jokes to make kids howl

Time again for another round of holiday jokes. This time, it's horrific Halloween howlers to share with the kids — or easily, cheesily amused adults.

Why did the vampire need mouthwash?

Because he had bat breath

What is a mummy’s favorite type of music?

Wrap

When does a skeleton laugh?

When something tickles his funny bone

What do goblins and ghosts drink when they're hot and thirsty on Halloween?

Ghoul-aid

What's a monster's favorite bean?

A human bean

Why are vampires tough to get along with?

Because they can be a pain in the neck

Where do ghosts like to dance?

Anywhere where they can boo-gie

Why didn't the skeleton dance at the party?

He had no body to dance with

Where do ghosts go when they're sick?

To the witch doctor

Why didn't the mummy have any friends?

Because he was too wrapped up in himself

What position does a ghost play in soccer?

Ghoulie

What are a ghost's favorite pants?

Boo jeans

What instrument do skeletons play?

Trom-bone

Why is a ghost such a messy eater?

Because he is always a goblin

What do you call a goblin who gets too close to a bonfire?

A toasty ghosty

What was the favorite game at the ghosts' birthday party?

Hide and shriek

What do the birds sing on Halloween?

Trick or tweet

What are ghosts' favorite kind of streets?

Dead ends

What do you call a haunted chicken?

A poultry-geist

Why don't bats live alone?

They like to hang out with their friends

What do ghosts eat for breakfast?

Boo-berries

What's it like to be kissed by a vampire?

It's a pain in the neck

When is it bad luck to meet a black cat?

When you’re a mouse

What food do vampires hate?

Steak

How do you fix a broken Jack-o-lantern?

With a pumpkin patch

Why are cemeteries loud?

Because of all the coffin

Why did the vampire go to the doctor?

To ask about his coffin

Why did the vampire flunk art class?

Because he could only draw blood

What can't you give the headless horseman?

A headache

Where should a 500-pound monster go?

On a diet

What's a ghost’s favorite dessert?

Boo-berry pie

What's a monster’s favorite desert?

I-scream

What type of dog does every vampire have?

Bloodhound

What did the skeleton order for dinner?

Spare ribs

What do you call a skeleton who won't work?

Lazy bones

Why do witches ride brooms?

Vacuum cleaners get stuck at the end of the cord

What do you call a witch's garage?

A broom closet

What do you call two witches living together?

Broommates

What is a witch's favorite subject in school?

Spelling

Why won't skeletons go see scary movies?

They don't have the guts

Who are some of the werewolves cousins?

The whatwolves, the whowolves and the whenwolves

Why didn't the zombie go to school?

He felt rotten

Why did the cyclops stop teaching?

Because he only had one pupil

Where do vampires keep their money?

The blood bank

What is a vampire's favorite fruit?

A neck-tarine

How did the ghost say goodbye to the vampire?

So long, sucker

What did the grandma ghost say to the grandson ghost?

You are the most booooooooo-tiful thing I have ever seen!

Today's question:

When did you last dress up for Halloween (and what were you)?

What I learned this week: Pepperoni Bird beats out Bomb Bird

My grandsons love, love, love Angry Birds.

When I visited my grandsons last April, Mac delighted in his Angry Birds crackers.

When Bubby had his birthday in June, he was thrilled to receive from Gramma and PawDad a stuffed Bomb Bird — has all-time fave Angry Bird — to play with indoors plus a Bomb Bird wind chime to listen to outdoors.

And then there's the Angry Birds tattoos I told you all about last week.

Yes, my grandsons love, love, love Angry Birds.

Bubby plays Angry Birds on Daddy's iPhone every chance he gets. Sometimes he gives Mac a turn at playing it, too. Amazingly, Mac — who just turned 2 in June — actually knows what to do.

Considering their obsession with love for the grumpy feathered friends, I knew when I saw this Angry Birds pizza on the Gombby Facebook page a while back that I just had to surprise Bubby and Mac with it during my recent visit.

Now, I don't really know a darn thing about Angry Birds, other than the black one is named Bomb Bird. I have never played the game, have seen just snippets while Bubby and Mac played. Still, I think I managed to pull off the Angry Birds look fairly well — despite using a hard-boiled egg for the eyeballs instead of the mushrooms that were supposed to be there. (Meh... mushrooms or eggs, the boys would eat neither anyway, so why waste the money on mushrooms that would be pitched before the pizza was cut?)

I told the boys the pizza was named "Pepperoni Bird." They seemed pretty pleased with the moniker as well as the overall look of their surprise pizza.

Sure, it wasn't quite as cool as a Bomb Bird pizza might have been. But I have no doubt that despite looking Angry Bird awesome, a pizza covered with black olives would have gone directly into the garbage quicker than those boiled-egg eyes did.

Bomb Bird may be a hit in the game — and as a stuffed toy and a wind chime, too — but when it comes to pizza, Pepperoni Bird always wins out.

And that is what I learned this week.

Have a lovely weekend! See ya back here Monday for the GRAND Social and more!

Today's question:

How would you rate your Angry Birds skills?

Beat-the-heat treats

The temperatures in the desert during my visit to see Bubby and Mac were, as I expected, ridiculously high. Spending time in the pool or at the water park was a great way to stay cool, but because we're not fish, other ways to chill out had to be devised.

Yesterday, the last day of my visit, Megan offered a frozen treat to the boys that I thought was quite clever — and yummy, too. The night before, she dropped gummy bears into the bottom of plastic cups, filled the cups halfway with 7 Up, then added a popsicle stick and froze the cups.

Bubby and Mac (and Megan and I, too) enjoyed licking the icy pops to free the candy bears from their frozen confines. So cool!

I'm not sure what Megan's treats are officially called — I think she found the idea on Pinterest — but the way the boys enjoyed them reminded me of snow cones of summers past. Frozen fun on a hot summer day made all the difference in surviving the heat with a smile. It still does.

With that in mind, I found the following feature — used with permission from Family Features — for a similarly syrupy sweet and frozen treat that grandparents still have time to make for the grandkids this summer.

Frozen Summer Treat is Frosty Blast from the Pastcourtesy Family Features

Cool down this summer with a rainbow of color and flavor. Just like skipping through the sprinkler when the sun is shining bright, homemade shaved ice offers sweet relief on a hot afternoon. Plus, making this frozen favorite is a fun family activity.

"Celebrate the flavors of summer with Easy Fruity Shaved Ice," said Mary Beth Harrington of the McCormick Kitchens. "The secret is in the flavorful syrups, which come together in just a few minutes with less than five ingredients, including fruit extracts and food colors."

Add raspberry, orange or strawberry extract to a simple syrup and mix in a few drops of vibrant food color to create this classic frozen treat. But don’t stop there. Bring the family together and let their imaginations run wild as they create their own personalized color and flavor combinations. Here are a few tips from the McCormick Kitchens to get you started:

Make it snow at home: If you don’t have a shaved ice maker, crush ice to a snowy texture in your blender or by wrapping a plastic bag of ice in a kitchen towel and smashing it with a rolling pin or mallet. This can be a fun project for kids so long as they have adult supervision.

Mix and match: Store syrups in small squeeze bottles and mix and match flavors in each shaved ice. Create layers of color and flavor in the ice, and then gobble them up before the creation melts. You’ll have a different summer treat every time!

Easy Fruity Shaved Ice

Prep time: 5 minutes

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

desired flavoring/color (options below)

Blue Raspberry Syrup:

2 teaspoons McCormick® Raspberry Extract

10 drops Blue McCormick® Assorted Food Colors & Egg Dye

Strawberry Cotton Candy Syrup:

2 teaspoons McCormick® Imitation Strawberry Extract

10 drops McCormick® Red Food Color

Crushed Orange Syrup:

1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Orange Extract

8 drops McCormick® Yellow Food Color

2 drops McCormick® Red Food Color

Lemon Blast Syrup:

1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Lemon Extract

10 drops McCormick® Yellow Food Color

Bring sugar and water to boil in small saucepan on medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. For desired flavor syrup, stir in extract and food color. Cool to room temperature. Pour into squeeze bottle for easier serving. Pour syrup over shaved ice. Makes 2 cups syrup.

For more cool summer ideas, visit www.McCormick.com, www.Facebook.com/McCormickSpice or www.Pinterest.com/mccormickspices.

Note: This is not a sponsored post.

Today's question:

What is your favorite beat-the-heat treat?