Interesting information

The link for this blog post came across one of my homeschool groups. It is out of the British Red Cross and talks about why, at times of disaster, they prefer monetary donations rather than donations of goods--even things you think might be useful like tents and medicines. It is well written and explains the situation quite clearly.

Valentine's Craft

I had planned to do several crafts for Valentine's day. Unfortunately we have been too busy lately and haven't had a great deal of time at home. I am trying to rectify that, but it didn't happen in time for Valentine's day.

We did however, manage to pull together this one.

I was reminded of the idea here, via One Pretty Thing. But really, this is a craft for all seasons. We might be doing shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, eggs for Easter, flowers for spring, stars for Independence day, apples for September, pumpkins for Halloween, etc. I have a stash of colorful tissue paper, and this doesn't really take that much.

I did some prep work to make the activity flow a bit better. I cut a heart out of a piece of pink construction paper (I folded it in half and drew my heart, first, to make sure I got as much out of the paper as I could). Then I cut another heart out of the center, a little less than an inch from the edge. Then I did another heart, about the same distance from the inside of that heart. This left me with two heart outlines of differing sizes and one small filled heart. We didn't use the small filled heart for this project.

I did that with 4 sheets of paper--2 red and 2 pink--so that the kids would each have 2 of each size, 1 red and 1 pink.

Then I cut some tissue paper into little pieces. This is where the kids started to participate. I cut strips of tissue paper which they then cut into smaller pieces. We had shades of pink and purple, red, white, and some special papers with snowflakes, spirals and stripes. The kids did a great job of cutting it into small pieces and putting it into the cups.







I had cut contact paper to the appropriate size, and I laid their hearts on the paper. Then they set about putting the tissue paper on it. This is a great project for multiple levels to do at the same time. The one thing I forgot to emphasize was that once you set down the tissue paper it was going to be stuck. I had to carefully peel a couple of pieces of tissue paper off the contact paper before they got the hang of it. Kiddo was very into the smiley faces. Kutey didn't completely cover either of the two she did. She made one with just a smiley face (have to be like big brother!) and one that was more random. I think she would enjoy just putting the tissue paper between the contact paper, without the shape. Maybe we'll try that sometime.

Once they had everything covered with tissue paper, I put another piece of contact paper over the tissue paper. I trimmed that to a heart shape, and that was it! Clean up was minimal, which is always great for a craft project. We each put one in the window, mostly because Kiddo didn't like how faded and brittle the Christmas trees we put up had gotten on the side facing the sun.

The Snowy Day

My kids thoroughly enjoy going to the theater. And I love taking them. I kind of try to hit one play every 2 months--give or take. I also try to hit different theaters, different types of performances. Last fall we went to "Bert and Ernie, Goodnight!" at the Children's Theatre Company. Big production, very professional. We followed that with a community education production of Winnie-the-Pooh. Much smaller scale production, much less professional, held in a middle school auditorium with the old bowl fiberglass chairs and the swing up desks. The kids loved both productions, and that is kind of the point!

Our February production was at a smaller theater that partners with a couple of special area schools. Stages Theater is a gem! We saw The Snowy Day, based on the book by Ezra Jack Keats. The book is a favorite around here. We own at least three copies. Kutey used to recite it (as a two-year-old) as we drove from place to place. It was so cute. So when I saw it on the schedule, I knew we had to go. In spite of our balcony seating (I usually prefer the main floor, and a little closer to the action), the production was very engaging. It was very loosely based on the book, sort of the important pieces were there but were definitely expanded and added to. It was a musical, with lots and lots of singing and dancing (there were even kids who danced on in-line skates which stood in for ice skates--pretty impressive!) There was a cast of about 20 kids and 3 adults. And every one of them was fantastic.

The story itself was very well done. The scenes that were needed to keep it close to the book were present--the snowball, the mountain climbing, the tracks, the stick, the bathtub complete with funky tile. They even managed to make Peter's snow clothes look like the book--with the pointy head! There were moments that made me cry, though, because the story is about a little boy and his imagination and how some day he will be a man. Yeah, the stuff of tear-jerkers for moms' who just want their little ones to be little for as long as possible.

I think it was especially fun for the kids to see how great a performance featuring kids can be! We won't likely make it to another Stages theater production this season, but judging by the list for next season, we will be back!

The Great Backyard Bird Count!!

I am frightfully behind! The Great Backyard Bird count is this weekend! Last year we had terrible luck. We had very few birds. To stave off disappointment (mine more than anyone else's!) this year, there has been no build up. I have also made plans to head to grandpa's house in the country to watch some birds, too. Grandpa has bird feeders, and lots of feeder birds. The likelihood of seeing something there is far greater! I am frantically trying to get things ready--binoculars located, bird books found, checklists printed, etc. We'll be ready tomorrow to start the four days!

Participation is so easy! Pick a spot and watch for at least 15 minutes. Then fill out a form, and submit your results. The results are fun to explore, too. Go, take a look! I'll let you know how our count turns out.

It Snowed!

Well, actually, it has been snowing since Sunday. I think it is about done. I hope it is about done. I shoveled this much yesterday:

I shoveled this much, off part of the driveway, this morning:
and the remainder this afternoon.

and I shoveled this:

off of the end of the driveway where the plow had gone through. I am not sure that the yard stick hit the ground there. The snow was kind of packed. I think it was probably a bit deeper than this shows! I shoveled for nearly 2 hours and I still only managed to clear the driveway and enough of the plow pile to get the van out of the driveway!

I am so ready for spring!

Muffin Tin Monday--Themeless 4

It is Muffin Tin Monday, again! I have missed posting several of these, so I am adding them slowly. Last week's Dr. Seuss theme is here! The kids loved that one. We might just have it again on Dr. Seuss's actual birthday!

Here is this weeks, though.


There was no theme, so I let the kids decide what they wanted. One week in January they actually filled their own tins. This time, they just told me what they wanted and I filled them up. Kiddo was determined to have chips in his and kept emptying a space for them. In the end he didn't get chips, and was still pleased as punch to eat the contents of his tin.

We had cornbread muffins (leftover from the Super B*wl dinner we had), dried fruit (a new favorite of Kiddo's), yogurt, crackers with cream cheese, pepperoni, cheese, and applesauce.

I'm looking forward to the color themes. I love that green will fall St. Patrick's Day week. We'll be having a couple of green meals that week! Join in the fun!

Muffin Tin Monday--Dr. Seuss

This week's theme for Muffin Tin Monday was Dr. Seuss. Given my lack of motivation, and the fact that we were cramming our lunch in between Lego League and art class, I began with the obvious--Green Eggs and Ham. I scrambled some eggs and added 2 drops of food coloring. If I had been thinking a bit more, I might have tried to mix in something that would have made the eggs green more naturally--like spinach! But this is what we had to work with. I cut stars out of cheese--belly stars from Sneetches. And I cut up apples and gave them each 10 slices--Ten Apples up on Top.

This was definitely one of their favorite tins! There are some very creative folks who did this theme, too! Make sure you check them out!