tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55656989826941930372024-03-08T05:33:52.948-06:00Tired, Need Sleep.Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.comBlogger535125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-89398770739862001152013-05-20T14:12:00.000-05:002013-05-20T14:12:03.714-05:00Blogging again... probably, maybe... well, I hope so anywayHello dear, dear friends!<br />
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Life is beginning to settle into a somewhat predictable routine (hooray!), and I'm contemplating blogging again. I say "contemplating" because if I make it sound like it is a for sure thing the gods will make all of us sick or strike us with some sort of catastrophe just to make it impossible for me to actually keep my word.<br />
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Homeschooling has been wonderful! It was a hard year in many, many ways, but homeschooling was a bright point for all of us and turned out to be a much more positive experience than I'd even hoped. We will try it again next year (double hooray!).<br />
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Baby Joseph is growing, Matthew is growing, and even I am growing... and after much thought I've decided to start a different blog. I'm not transferring anything from Tired, Need Sleep over to the <a href="https://feedingthewildanimals.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">new blog</a>, but I will leave it up here for those of you who enjoy using the printables. In fact, if I make any more printables, I will most likely post them here and/or on my Learning by Heart site. I want the new blog to be more about us and less about ideas/projects in my head... more of a journal, I guess. Something the grandmas can read without thinking I'm crazy. Something more about the positive side of homeschooling than what I've written here (which was a lot of defensiveness of my desire to homeschool, I know). It will be a little bit of everything, I think. I'm sure to ramble, so prepare yourselves. If you'd like to join me <a href="https://feedingthewildanimals.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">there</a>, please go sign up on the right sidebar! Not many posts are up yet, but I'd love to read some comments!<br />
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Happy, beautiful spring to all of you!<br />
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NicoleNicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-80897790693350535842012-11-07T09:41:00.001-06:002012-11-07T09:41:47.835-06:00Advent 2012 – The Jesse Tree<p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/--jvgCuOSNEE/UJqBL4RyO3I/AAAAAAAAGEA/yMLVCtefvE0/s1600-h/jesse%252520tree%252520button%25255B4%25255D.png"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="jesse tree button" border="0" alt="jesse tree button" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-OYQ1Z_3PSvk/UJqBMxG-vtI/AAAAAAAAGEI/k8EXdTT6pLA/jesse%252520tree%252520button_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="172" height="165"></a> </p> <p>Advent is almost upon us! How did that happen?! I hope you are all more on top of your holiday planning and gift buying/making than I am… oh my. I’d forgotten just how much time caring for a newborn takes. Totally worth it of course (but I do miss blogging)!</p> <p>I’ve had about a dozen emails in the past few days asking about this year’s Jesse Tree packet. Thank you all so much for reminding me to get this together! I needed that little push and it is nice to know many of you use it.<br><br>Thankfully it was super-easy to put together this year. Last year Advent had 27 days – the maximum number of days possible for any year. So this year I am re-publishing the pack of ornaments, prayer cards, and Scripture references we used last year. You will have 4 extra ornaments, etc. because Advent is only 23 days this year (it begins on Dec. 2nd).<br><br>I’ve included a schedule specific for this year (click on the image to download it):<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/112384613/Jesse-Tree-Schedule-for-Advent-2012" target="_blank"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-MDyYtOuKuQ0/UJqBNocHD3I/AAAAAAAAGEQ/ixZUlIthbkk/image%25255B6%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="271" height="350"></a></p> <p>This is the schedule my family will be using. We have taken out the ornaments for the second, third, and fourth Sundays as well as the ornament for the prophet Daniel. All the other ornaments will be used in order, showing the lineage of Jesus and the history of his plan of salvation (from the creation of the world to his birth).</p> <p>However, if taking out 4 different ornaments/cards makes more sense for your family, feel free to make up your own schedule! I feel it’s important to keep in all the people that were Jesus’ ancestors, so I take out the Sunday ornaments and then begin taking out prophets until we’ve reached the correct amount of ornaments for the particular year we are in.</p> <p>Click the image below to download the pack of ornaments, prayer cards, and Scripture references.</p> <p><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/112384894/Jesse-Tree-Ornaments-Scripture-References-Prayers" target="_blank"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ec6GgvNXGLQ/UJqBOUde8hI/AAAAAAAAGEY/EZrT2UVIKoY/image%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="264" height="350"></a> </p> <p></p> <p>Have questions about the Jesse Tree? Please feel free to leave them in the comments. I will do my very best to answer them!</p> <p>Enjoy!<br><br><strong><font size="5" face="Curlz MT"><em>Nicole</em></font></strong></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-55485534962551328092012-09-01T11:50:00.000-05:002012-09-01T11:50:20.578-05:00More Good News!We are homeschooling!! We are going to try it out with Kindergarten - I am so excited! With a new baby the flexibility of homeschooling will be so convenient. We'll be officially starting in October, so September will be a busy month for us - adjusting to our "new normal" around here and planning lessons, ordering last-minute curriculum and maybe, just maybe, even getting organized (just a little, please?).<br />
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Just wanted to share the good news with all of you who know just how much this is an answer to my prayers!<br />
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Have a beautiful day! <br />
Nicole :)Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-10486448918661210982012-08-21T11:29:00.001-05:002012-08-21T11:29:48.679-05:00Announcing…<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlXWbsoXu36lcUhros7E4rTIluFdsf5Ga6PVwQzq0TU7dIW2NO0uPO5wETxxNrYSUTfusFFEPI84w30xEMSNLOJ6puHDZlsVfqQXGwYlMYq3HG6LHNM-pfYZIoQEBTgzhjNI0TntcUVmI/s1600-h/DSCN0206%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSCN0206" border="0" alt="DSCN0206" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7k1D5BrwtxU/UDO3e-VjdjI/AAAAAAAAGDQ/mI_fA4HPkQA/DSCN0206_thumb%25255B8%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="508" height="266"></a> </p> <p>Joseph Daniel – born at 5:48 on 8/13/2012. :) He weighed 8lbs, 8oz and was 21.5 inches long (just like big brother in length). He is perfect and so, so precious. We are so blessed!</p> <p><strong><em><font size="4"></font></em></strong></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-12616462240816049142012-08-09T19:24:00.001-05:002012-08-09T19:26:39.807-05:00New Website for Free PrintablesHello everyone :)<br />
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Just a quick note to let you all know I've set up a new website (Google Sites) for all the - over 100! - printables I've created over the past couple of years. It is <b>much, much</b> more organized than the blog page that you had to scroll through previously. I hope you find it user-friendly! The url is <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/learningbyheartprintables/">https://sites.google.com/site/learningbyheartprintables/</a>, and there is even a cute little button for it over there in the left sidebar. I've named it <b>Learning by Heart </b>since that's the title I've used for all our learning posts. <br />
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In other news, I've been on and off of bedrest with this little one, who is due sometime this month. Currently I am on strict bedrest (again, after being off for 2 weeks) with "mild pre-eclampsia". So, this seemed like the perfect time to get a little computer/blog work done and what-do-you-know I actually finished this website project! :) <br />
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I have a couple of other exciting news items to share with you all (including baby's arrival at some point), but want to get all my ducks in a row first. Enjoy the new printables website and let me know what you think of it! <br />
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Have a beautiful day! :)<br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nicole</b></span></i></div>Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-12000163871805370662012-07-03T09:42:00.001-05:002012-07-03T09:42:45.302-05:00Independence vs. “parental proximity” (a false dichotomy)<p>Since publishing <a href="http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2012/06/kindergarten-blues.html" target="_blank">this post</a> about feeling possibly called to homeschool and yet potentially not being able to, I’ve received some emails from those of you who find yourselves in a similar situation. My heart goes out to all of you, and this post is for you… to encourage you, comfort you while your convictions are questioned, and (if you want) to give you ideas of what to share with the people in your lives that, well, may simply think you are crazy. ;)</p> <p>The general consensus amongst those of us in this situation seems to be that, hidden behind the ever popular “socialization” worries (which can be pretty easily refuted), is this idea that we really just don’t want our children to become independent… we are anxious, hovering mothers, who can’t “let go” of our babies. </p> <p>This frustrates me to no end because if all the people in my life truly knew what an introvert I am, and how much I value time to myself as well as peace and quiet, they might have an idea of just how hard it is for me to do what I am convinced is best for my child. I am a very selfish, self-centered person, and it is a daily struggle, battle even, to do what I see as my vocation, and do it well. <strong> I am convinced, however, that joy and peace are found in doing what <em>I feel is right</em> instead of simply what <em>I feel like doing</em>.</strong> The first path is based on thoughtful discernment, and the second is the one really based on emotion.</p> <p>Sometimes our feelings about the education of our children do come out sounding emotional… due to an overwhelming sense that something just isn’t right, and the inability (on my part anyway) to spit out logical information in a detached way, without using that terrifying phrase, “<em>I</em> <em>feel”. </em>I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to be detached emotionally from any topic that affects a member of my family… but I don’t necessarily see that as a weakness, just as part of who I am… if mothers weren’t the <em>heart of their families, </em>after all, where would the world be? It doesn’t mean that everything we say and believe, while having an emotional component, should be completely disregarded as emotional drivel. (I have to say I’m blessed to have a husband who listens to me {<em>when I finally spell things out for him instead of hoping he can read my mind}</em> and isn’t disrespectful in the least, but I know that isn’t the case with everyone’s husband or extended family members.)</p> <p>It’s hard to be in a place where your motherly intuition is telling you what your child is and isn’t ready for, which style of education might be best for them, and which lifestyle might be best for your family; and yet to be misunderstood and not taken seriously by those around you who tend to see you as a hindrance to your child’s growth instead of seeing you as an <strong>advocate for the healthy growth</strong> <strong>of each individual child</strong>. Personally, I think much of this stems from a general misunderstanding and lack of respect for the importance of motherhood in society today . But that is another (very opinionated) post for another time. </p> <p>I like the encouragement David Guterson gives in his book, <u>Family Matters: Why Home Schooling Makes Sense</u>, as he comments on the affects school has on the parent/child relationship: </p> <blockquote> <p>“[The intuitive sense of parents that something isn’t right] is part of the growing alienation they feel from their children, who gradually become estranged from them as they become ever more deeply immersed in the universe of their school peers – an alienation parents erroneously conclude is a ‘natural’ part of their children’s growing up, a necessary prerequisite to their independent adulthood. <strong>This distance, though, is far from natural, and the dismay parents feel about it ought not to be repressed</strong>.” (emphasis mine)</p></blockquote> <p>I recently came across a book titled, <u><strong>The Well-Adjusted Child: The Social Benefits of Homeschooling</strong></u>, by Rachel Gathercole. In it she discusses this idea of “parental proximity” and why it’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it might be a <strong>good thing</strong>! Perhaps our current culture doesn’t understand because it views the family unit itself in a rather poor light. I want to share some of what I’ve read with you, as I found it very encouraging and interesting. </p> <p>So enough blathering from me. I will simply share a few quotes with you… </p> <p>Rachel Gathercole quotes many homeschoolers – parents and children – in her book. I think this quote from a homeschooling parent about <strong>peer dependence</strong> is a good one to start with… <strong>Independence from parents at too early of an age doesn’t necessarily lead to <em>independence</em>, but simply to <em>dependence</em> of another sort: </strong></p> <blockquote> <p>“… I believe the decay of family unity is at the heart of many of the social problems our culture is facing today. Our culture is in a hurry to rush [little children] off to school, where they are placed in a room full of ten to twenty other little children with only one or two teachers. Then parents are shocked and horrified when these same children, years later, have become completely peer dependent and cannot identify with their own family. But peer dependence is the natural outcome of [this type of] education because a child has a real and intense need for relationship. When that need for relationship cannot be met by an adult (a teacher who is working with many students), then the child will turn to the only other available person, the peer in the classroom. Consequently, a child comes to value the opinions of his school-age peers more than those of his family… <strong>Our children are starving for meaningful relationships and will engage in all kinds of unhealthy activities and behaviors to fulfill that innate need for intimacy.</strong> What a tragedy that we have divided the family for the sake of ‘education.’ Strong family relationships and unity are at the heart of healthy communities – the latter cannot exist in the absence of the former.” – <em>Amy, homeschooling mother of three, upstate New York.</em></p></blockquote> <p> </p> <blockquote> <p>“School socialization, ultimately, is really just training for a <em>school </em>environment. Family and community-based socialization, on the other hand, is preparation for family and community living (in other words, for <strong>real life</strong>).” – Gathercole, p. 178</p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p>Regarding independence Gathercole writes:</p> <blockquote> <p>“The idea that early and abundant independence from parents is desirable may be part of an overall societal pressure on kids and parents toward early, forced independence… More and more research is showing, and parents are discovering, that strong attachment bonds between child and parents, not forced independence, creates happy children and healthy socialization. </p> <p>The idea that the kids need freedom from their parents at a young age seems based on the premise that parents are a ‘crutch,’ to be cast aside as soon as physically possible. However, many homeschoolers believe that children need their parents directly available to them for much more of their childhoods than conventional schooling allows. They want to teach their children what they consider to be healthy social skills, rather than send them to learn whatever skills they might happen to learn from their peers. And they want themselves and their children to experience the closer family relationships that homeschooling seems to encourage.”</p></blockquote> <p>and</p> <blockquote> <p>“First [children] must watch their parents model years and years of good decision-making, and they must observe their parents making the careful decisions that they believe are in the child’s (and whole family’s) best interests. In this way the child can learn firstly, that he is worthy of taking care of and should thus take care of himself, and secondly, that just as his parents make decisions with the whole family’s best interests in mind, so, too, can and should he make decisions that take into account both his best interests and the best interests of others. The family is the perfect, naturally-designed situation for learning these things.”</p></blockquote> <p>and</p> <blockquote> <p>“… As kids <em>do </em>reach an age when they can handle and need greater independence, homeschool parents – who have already spent a great deal of time with their kids – are generally very willing to give them a healthily increasing amount of freedom and independence.”</p></blockquote> <p><strong>Healthy independence just happens when it naturally <em>should</em> happen. It does not need to be rushed into or forced.</strong></p> <p>She also writes this:</p> <blockquote> <p>“Of course, children do need to be exposed to serious and meaningful things, and this can happen while children feel completely safe, carefree, and not under pressure to rely on their own social savvy before they are prepared to. Childhood is a time in life when a person can be free and observe, take in, and learn about the world while living under the blanket of safety of parents who are in control and protect them. Indeed, this may arguably be <strong>the very reason children have parents at all</strong>.”</p></blockquote> <p>And one last quote from another homeschooling mom:</p> <blockquote> <p>“We all want our children to be able to face life challenges, peer pressure, and all the evils of the world with strength and integrity. They have a much better shot at this if they have the time and support to develop and grow first. Children cannot make wise choices until they have the perspective and information about themselves and what’s in front of them. When they are young, they are mostly influenced by their environment. It takes time for them to be able to understand an issue to be able to make judgments about it and to act in their own best interest and in the interest of others.</p> <p>At each age there are things they can handle with wisdom and things they cannot. Our schools inundate children with things they are not equipped to handle. I want my children to experience age-appropriate amounts of challenge and difficult choice-making. I want to help them think it through. I want to control, to some extent, the amount of exposure they face to the challenges of peer-dominated cultural influences, because I believe that our country is assuming that children should be rushed to grow up, and it is hurting them. They are toughening up to it but at a personal cost. And that will cost us all.” – <em>Janice, homeschooling mother of two, Durham, NC</em></p></blockquote> <p> </p> <p>The entire book is well worth reading, by the way, and I hope the little bit I’ve shared here motivates some of you to read it for yourself. You can find it here. It would be an excellent resource to hand to someone who has honest questions about the socialization of homeschooled children.</p> <p>Have a beautiful day with your beautiful children!<br><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual"><em><strong>Nicole :)</strong></em></font></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-57802692117989095402012-06-20T12:04:00.001-05:002012-06-20T12:04:23.131-05:00More Books, Please – Chapter Books<p> Have you ever heard of someone who would write the first of a series of blog posts in January, and then not write the second post until June? I mean, really, who would do that? Someone that disorganized should not have a blog in the first place. Sheesh.</p> <p>Ahem.</p> <p>So… <em><a href="http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2012/01/more-books-please-poetry-in-morning.html" target="_blank">a while back</a></em> I wrote about our poetry sessions at breakfast. I haven’t done the best at keeping a poetry book around (we usually get them from our library, and somehow it’s hard for me to stay on top of…. kind of like blogging), so this has been an on and off thing for us lately. M has actually been asking for poems in the mornings, so hopefully that will give me the motivation I need to pick something up, like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Bill-Martin-Book-Poetry/dp/1416939717/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340194078&sr=8-1&keywords=bill+martin+big+book+poetry" target="_blank">this</a>.</p> <p>In <a href="http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/One-Myth.html" target="_blank">this article</a> about the importance of reading aloud to children, Andrew Pudewa points out that we sometimes forget about the importance of <em>listening</em> as part of communicating. We teach children to read, write, and speak correctly, but we overlook listening. <br><br>When you think about it, it seems obvious that language is learned by listening… the human brain is simply geared that way. Children will learn to speak their native language by hearing it spoken. They will pick up on correct grammar, vocabulary, etc. naturally. Listening is the primary means of learning to speak correctly. Reading is something that has to be taught, and communicating clearly can not be taught solely by good reading skills.</p> <blockquote> <p>“In fact, it’s an interesting observation, but many children who become early readers, independent readers—good readers--often do not store complete and correct language patterns in their brains. Good readers read quickly, silently, and aggressively. They don’t audiate (hear internally) each word or even complete sentences. Generally, comprehension increases with speed, but speed decreases language pattern audiation because good readers will skip words, phrases and even complete sections of books that might hold them back. And to the extent that children don’t hear (frequently) a multitude of complete, reliably correct, and sophisticated language patterns, such patterns are not going to be effectively stored in their brains.” – Andrew Pudewa, <em>One Myth, Two Truths</em></p></blockquote> <p>So it’s important to read good, quality literature <strong>aloud</strong> to your children, even if they are super readers! </p> <p>I want to share some of our favorite chapter books with you, and hope you’ll share yours in the comments section. </p> <p>I try to pick out well-written, wholesome, and developmentally-appropriate chapter books for us to read together as a family. Think <u>Little House on the Prairie</u> types. :) Although, interestingly, Little House doesn’t hold M’s attention yet… perhaps he doesn’t get that same little thrill from reading about sweeping out the house and airing out the mattresses as I did when I was little. :) Maybe in another year or two? </p> <p>Keep in mind that audio books are an excellent way to get in some story listening too. They are wonderful for car trips and quiet time. We will read a chapter or two of our current read-aloud book at lunch and/or bedtime; then at rest time (when it happens) M listens to an audio version of a different book – sometimes he will keep resting in order to listen to an entire book (up to 2 hours!). See – that makes you want to keep audio books around, doesn’t it?</p> <p><strong>Our absolute favorites:</strong></p> <p>I’ve noted the age that M was at when reading these books, just as a basic guideline for appropriateness.</p> <p> </p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4871873056/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=4871873056"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51gYrFEXCwL._SL160_.jpg"></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/0451527690/?_encoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addFiveStar&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51esj3QmKkL._SL160_.jpg"></a> (age 4)</p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4871873056/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=4871873056"><strong><u>The Story of Doctor Dolittle</u></strong></a><strong> and </strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/0451527690/?_encoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addFiveStar&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957"><strong><u>The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle</u></strong></a><strong>,</strong> by Hugh Lofting (1920 and 1922)</p> <p>The idea of talking to and understanding animals captured M’s imagination right from the start. There are some hilarious parts in this book, and it is no wonder it is a classic. <strong>Warning:</strong> some negative racial language is used, and you’ll want to read ahead and determine how you will handle this (edit? read as is and have a discussion?). It’s a shame because it is <em>such</em> a wonderful story. I think more recent editions have been changed slightly to avoid this… I’m not a fan of editing classics, but in this case it might be for the best. These are books that shouldn’t be left unread simply because of a few politically-incorrect sections. <strong>You can also find these complete books online (ready to load to an e-reader) </strong><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=hugh+lofting" target="_blank">here</a><strong></strong><strong>,</strong> and there’s an audio version!</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486276341/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0486276341"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51oi%2BCakLtL._SL160_.jpg"></a> (age 3) (This image links to a set of 5 of Burgess’s books, but there are a LOT more!)</p> <p><strong>The Thornton Burgess series about animals.</strong> These were all written between 1910 and the mid 1950s. Burgess wrote a couple of picture books, but his chapter books are what M loves. These are actually the first real chapter books I read to M. They are <em>wonderful.</em> Some of these are available as online downloads, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?sort_order=title&query=thornton+burgess">here</a>. These make great jumping off points for unit studies about animals, forests, and that sort of thing too!</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1486151868/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1486151868"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ftNFTkGHL._SL160_.jpg"></a> (age 5) </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1486151868/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1486151868"><u><strong>The Enchanted Castle</strong></u></a>, by Edith Nesbit (1907) – full of magic, in rare places a bit dark… I found I had to edit parts that would disturb M. Overall well worth reading. M used the enchanted castle in his pretend play for weeks while we were reading this. Download <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=the+enchanted+castle" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_tc_2_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3AJohn+Peterson&keywords=John+Peterson&ie=UTF8&qid=1340209229&sr=1-2-ent&field-contributor_id=B000APRQ3E"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51kDhJlOzLL._SL160_.jpg"></a> (age late 3, 4)</p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_tc_2_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3AJohn+Peterson&keywords=John+Peterson&ie=UTF8&qid=1340209229&sr=1-2-ent&field-contributor_id=B000APRQ3E#/ref=sr_pg_2?rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3AJohn+Peterson%2Cp_82%3AB000APRQ3E&page=2&keywords=John+Peterson&ie=UTF8&qid=1340209240"><u>The Littles</u></a></strong> (first published in 1967) – a cute series by John Peterson (look for the chapter books, not the easy readers!)</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1590174607/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1590174607"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51tzhrWLDOL._SL160_.jpg"></a> (age 5)</p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1590174607/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1590174607"><u>The Rescuers</u></a></strong>, by Margery Sharp (1959) – super exciting adventure.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9991205551/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=9991205551"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51uChQsu8uL._SL160_.jpg"></a> (age 4)</p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9991205551/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=9991205551"><u>Stuart Little</u></a></strong>, by E. B. White (1945) – funny little adventure and story about friendship.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807508527/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0807508527"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/511IYRueg4L._SL160_.jpg"></a> (age 5)</p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807508527/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0807508527"><strong><u>The Boxcar Children</u></strong></a>, a series by Gertrude Chandler Warner (First published in 1924) – there are so many books in this series you will never run out of anything to read! These are about adventurous children who love to work and are always polite, and they solve mysteries. :) Exciting and character-building at the same time. These also come as audio books, complete with voices for each character (check your library). There is a more modern series about these same children (different author), which are also very good, but we prefer the originals. </p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1887840133/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1887840133"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51jXH2SWg4L._SL160_.jpg"></a> (age 5)</p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1887840133/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1887840133"><strong><u>Understood Betsy</u></strong></a>, by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1916) – great story about a little girl learning to be independent (if you are a fan of Montessori, you will love this book!) Download it <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=UNDERSTOOD+BETSY" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591881013/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1591881013"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/512lLS%2B13bL._SL160_.jpg"></a> (age 4)</p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591881013/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1591881013"><strong>Hank the Cowdog Series</strong></a> by John Erickson (1982). There are a LOT of these also. Hank does not have the best grammar, but he is hilarious and we all laugh at these books. </p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/072325804X/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=072325804X"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51tsL8rUp6L._SL160_.jpg"></a> (age 3)</p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/072325804X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=072325804X"><strong>Beatrix Potter books</strong></a> (published beginning in 1902) – wonderful stories; you can download them <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Beatrix+Potter" target="_blank">here</a>, and some are available as audio downloads. (age 3)</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525457232/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0525457232"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51rTvb9VIfL._SL160_.jpg"></a> (age early 3)</p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525457232/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0525457232"><strong><u>The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh</u></strong></a>, by A.A. Milne (1926) – very loved, gentle stories about childhood. Great vocabulary too!</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0152058109/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0152058109"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZWVmpx8uL._SL160_.jpg"></a> (age 5)</p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0152058109/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0152058109"><strong><u>Mary Poppins</u></strong></a>, by P.L. Travers (1934) - this is what we are currently reading, and there is a whole series to explore. These are magical and imaginative, and much better than the movie (which M has never seen)… although the movie is great too, don’t get me wrong! I’m so glad we found the books, though!</p> <p>Which chapter books does your family love to listen to?</p> <p>Have a beautiful day!</p> <p><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual"><strong><em>Nicole :)</em></strong></font></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-56740361131364216512012-06-05T06:00:00.000-05:002012-06-06T11:51:49.270-05:00Kindergarten Blues<p>We are looking into registering M for kindergarten this fall at the private school associated with our church.</p> <p>I can not stop crying.</p> <p>A little word of advice to any husbands out there: If your wife is very, very pregnant, and her <em>first child</em> is also getting ready to start kindergarten – this might be too much for her, especially if she is unsure that this is in his best interests. Don’t send her out to get info, tour schools, or sign registration papers on her own. She just might not be able to force herself to do it. Regardless of how much you might think you are on the same page, there is no guarantee that a mama in this situation is not going to just flip to another page or switch to an entirely different book altogether. And if she’s pregnant, don’t expect to get many coherent thoughts out of her when she’s in the middle of crying. She might be the most practical, articulate, logical-thinking woman on the planet, but when you’re talking about taking her heart of our her chest and handing it over to someone else, you are not likely to get the most objective of responses.</p> <p>I’m just sayin’.</p> <p>So. I’m not sure what I want the point of this post to be… maybe it’s just an opportunity to vent (code for: ramble on and on while I indulge in self-pity and defensiveness), or an attempt to think things through on virtual paper so I sound a bit more coherent than the usual “wah, wah, sob, sob… my baby!” that I’ve been doing of late. If you can stick with me, your comments are welcome!</p> <p>First of all, I believe with all my heart, that parents have a very serious God-given responsibility when it comes to the education of their children. It is such a serious responsibility that they need to take time to figure out what their own thoughts, beliefs, and philosophy of education are, and then diligently seek out the best way of giving their child this sort of education. It’s more than just saying, “Well, he’s six years old now, time to go to school!” and then sending him off. It’s more than basing the decision of where to send him on something as simple as “do they have half-day or whole-day kindergarten?” or “do the start and end times work for our family and transportation?”. These things might be important, but really, they shouldn’t be the whole basis of decision. If we are going to be held accountable for the education of a child’s mind, heart, and soul – and we are, I believe – then we’d better be pretty darn serious about the <strong>details</strong> of it.</p> <p><font size="1">(I am talking here, of course, about parents who have a choice in educating their children… unfortunately so many parents do not. Thankfully we find ourselves in a current situation where we are able to choose to send M to a private school, public school, or home school. I know the fact that we have a choice is a blessing in itself, but there’s still a responsibility to make the best choice possible.)</font></p> <p><font size="2">So, if and when we have thoughtfully (and prayerfully) made the huge decision to delegate this responsibility of educating our children to someone else, it’s our right to know what that someone else is going to be teaching them, the style of teaching, and various other things. </font></p> <p><font size="2">I was disappointed to learn that the particular school we are looking at uses computers and other screen technology, quite often, to “teach” 5 and 6 year olds. I just don’t see how this is the best way for children of such a young age to learn. Why is everyone impressed with technology in schools? Does it help the child <em>learn to think </em>or is it simply glorified worksheets and busy-work? Isn’t it likely that most small children will become so enamoured with the computer itself that the actual learning of the material will take a back seat? And shouldn’t children be doing more hands-on learning activities anyway? Any technology they learn now will most likely be obsolete by the time they need to prepare for a job. I just don’t get it, especially given the damage (yes, <em>damage) </em>that this sort of impersonal education can do to someone of such a tender age. </font></p> <p><font size="2">I’m a big believer in intuition and instinct… and intuitively I have a problem with government telling my family that we must now send our child away for several hours a day for the next 13 years in order to educate him. (By the way, I’m not crazy for thinking this way – there were many parental protests when schooling first became compulsory in Massachusetts in 1852. Little by little those voices were ignored and quieted and now society simply sees this as the "way things are”, but compulsory schooling and our current system of schooling in institutions is a pretty recent development.) Let me be clear – I am pro-learning! Learning is what childhood is all about. Learning takes guidance and direction by someone… but ideally that guidance and direction is geared towards the individual child – his abilities, needs, interests, etc. <strong>Individuality</strong> – the dignity of each person’s uniqueness – is highly disregarded in today’s society and nowhere more so than in schools where children are lumped together and taught the same thing at the same age - things decided by people who do not even know them. Teachers do their best to get to know the children and help them learn, but there are so many handicaps blocking their way that it’s difficult for even the best teacher to achieve this for each and every student.</font></p> <p><font size="2">Anyway, back to government being involved… I was happy to learn that our potential school has developed and uses its own curriculum… and then disheartened to learn that this coming year they are switching over to state standard curriculum and will be doing state standardized testing as well. My heart sunk at this news. And the person hosting our tour wasn’t able to give me the names of any of the curriculum that will be used (it’s weird, apparently, that a parent might want such precise <em>details</em> of what their child will be learning). Perhaps the teachers themselves would be able to give me more information, but I’m not sure we’ll have the opportunity to be in touch with them about this before making a decision about registering.</font></p> <p><font size="2">Standardized testing leads so often to “teaching to the test” instead of really focusing on helping each child learn. I’m not a fan, at all, of such things… or homework or multiple choice questions or a host of other things either, if you really must know. :) </font></p> <p><font size="2"><em>Learning to think</em>… this is what we need more of today. Andrew Pudewa makes a beautiful statement in his talk about Freedomship Education (which you can download <a href="http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/fea-e" target="_blank">here</a>), in which he discusses a classical <strong>education – developing character, knowledge, and skills</strong> - the kind of education men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and other great men early in our country’s history had (<em>before </em>compulsory schooling). Andrew Pudewa says:</font></p> <blockquote> <p><font size="2"><strong>“We want to raise children who know how to think, and who have the knowledge, the wisdom, the character, and the skills to be able to speak the truth in a world of liars during a time of crisis.”</strong></font></p></blockquote> <p><font size="2">(This is a great talk to listen to, by the way… he also talks about the history of compulsory education, it’s real purpose [which is <em>not</em> teaching our children to think on their own], the problems with standardized testing, multiple choice tests, etc.)</font></p> <p><font size="2">So, where does one find a classical education today? There are one or two schools around that would provide this for M, but they are e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e! And at least one of them is for older children only. Thomas Sowell, an advocate of classical education, points out that parents seem to be more qualified and capable of giving their children a good education than professional teachers: </font></p> <blockquote> <p>“It is common for ordinary parents, with no training in education, to homeschool their children and consistently produce better academic results than those of children educated by teachers with Master's degrees and in schools spending upwards of $10,000 a year per student-- which is to say, more than a million dollars to educate ten kids from K through 12. <p>Nevertheless, we continue to take seriously the pretensions of educators who fail to educate, but who put on airs of having "professional" expertise beyond the understanding of mere parents.” – Thomas Sowell, <a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2008/08/20/amateurs_outdoing_professionals/page/full/" target="_blank">“Amateurs Outdoing Professionals”</a></p></blockquote> <p><font size="2">Sowell discusses all sorts of educational problems in early elementary schools in the first part of his book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Inside-American-Education-Thomas-Sowell/dp/0743254082/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338834605&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><u>Inside American Education</u></a>, if you are interested in a good summer read. </font></p> <p><font size="2">So here I am, where I’ve been a million times before, as you long-time readers know – face to face with my admiration of homeschooling. It comes down to this… wanting peace for my family. And the idea of homeschooling brings me more peace than any of the other options I’ve considered. And I’ve considered them very, very hard – praying that God would either give me peace about sending M to school, lessen my desire to homeschool, or just out and out give me information to prove me wrong. The opposite of all of these things has been happening – I feel less peace about sending M after learning more about this particular school, my desire to homeschool is growing, and all the information I’m finding is making me more and more certain that conventional schooling is not the road to go down for the best education for M.</font></p> <p><font size="2">The heartbreaking part of this is that with current circumstances (my husband has reservations about this, and I do feel he should have the final say so we can be sure we are doing the right thing) I have to be open to the idea that this is not God’s will for our family at this point in time. But I feel so conflicted about doing something I don’t believe is the best for my son, thereby not being the best mother I can be and am called to be. What’s a mama to do in a situation like this? </font></p> <p><font size="2">Here’s the idealistic little picture in my head of a <em>unified education</em>, where learning is not a separate activity, done somewhere else, among other people, but as part of the whole of a child’s life: a child in a one-on-one setting, with a nurturing grown-up’s arm around his shoulder, teaching him to read, to solve math problems, to love God, to love his neighbor, to learn about the wonders of nature via science, to learn about the creativity in his heart via art lessons, to learn about history, music, chores, being polite, everything under the sun (!)… along with a lot of affection, firm discipline, encouragement, guidance in all things related to mind, heart, and soul, all in a real-world setting of family and community (versus an artificial environment where everyone is the same age and treated as if they are all at the same developmental stage)… a <em>holistic</em> education of the entire individual, by someone whom God has placed in a position to really <em>know and understand</em> <em>and deeply love</em> <em>that particular child</em> – the way <strong>He</strong> loves that child – <strong>as an individual</strong>.</font></p> <p><font size="2"><strong>And, to me, that sounds like a mother doing the work God has given her by entrusting these little souls to her and her husband. </strong></font></p> <p><font size="2">I have to wonder if, when God created families, He thought it would be best to take the children away from their families several hours a day in order to educate them – or did He place them in their particular families with the intention that education would, for the most part, happen there?</font></p> <p><font size="2">And it’s an idealistic picture, yes, I know that. And I’m pregnant and emotional, and not the best at dealing with reality right now – yes, I know that too, which is why I’m thankful to have a more objective husband. But I’ve been on this road for 5 years now and looking back I can clearly see how this dream has developed and blossomed in my heart and maybe my current state is just an honest admission of what I’ve wanted to believe and say all along. Barring any major change in our circumstances, having a baby will keep me at home for another 5 years. I’d love to have both of my chicks nestled under my wing (I’ve had to let too many of them go too soon – maybe that is part of this too?), all of us learning together… and there are some practical and financial advantages as well. Taking advantage of homeschool groups would be a large part of this too; I have no desire to suffocate my children or prevent them from being part of a larger community.</font></p> <p><font size="2">Am I being too overprotective? Too controlling? Hm. Perhaps. But I do know that <strong>someone</strong> is going to be in control. If M goes to school, the system will be in control of <em>what</em> is being taught; teachers will be in control of whether he is learning as well as <em>how </em>he learns (so often you hear, “teacher wants us to do it <em>this way</em>, not <em>that way, </em>despite the fact that <em>that way</em> might be correct too, which I’d have to say undermines the intelligence and authority of the parent who might be just as correct); other children will be in control of his socialization (social skills should be taught by mature adults and older children, I firmly believe), and their actions and words will control, at least in part, how his personality develops – monitoring may be done by an adult, but the real learning of social skills will be taught by his peers. It seems to me that if someone is going to be in control of these things, and we know someone <strong>must</strong> be, that someone ought to be the parents.</font></p> <p><font size="2">Some quotes that sum up my feeling about this “overprotective” issue:</font></p> <blockquote> <p>“If you were going to grow tomatoes in Canada, you do not take the tomato seed and go outside and stick it in the ground, do you? No. What you do is get a little cup, maybe several little cups, and you carefully select and control the soil, control the amount of water, light, and heat it gets. You don’t do all this, then stick it outside in the back of the pickup truck behind the barn. You keep it inside on the windowsill or in a greenhouse area and you carefully control all the elements around that little seed as it grows. You know where it needs to go, but when do you do that? You do it when the <strong>plant is tall enough</strong>, the <strong>trunk is strong enough</strong>, the <strong>roots are deep enough</strong>, and you know the place where you are going to put it is <strong>safe enough</strong>, you take that seedling and put it outside where conditions are not under your control anymore. There are going to be variables, but at least that plant has been prepared adequately to handle those variables. When it all comes together you get a great plant because you did it all when the roots were deep enough and the stem was strong enough.” – Steve Moitozo – from <em><a href="homeschoolmedia.net/audio/10myths.wma" target="_blank">10 Myths of Socialization</a> (free audio download)</em></p> <p>and</p> <p>“We are not home educating because we <em>fear</em> the world. We are not building an impenetrable fortress within which we will shield our children from the onslaught of the enemy. Rather, our goal as Catholics is to nurture our children, like young plants in a nursery, so that they will stand tall for Christ.” – Kimberly Hahn – <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Education-Homeward-Useful-Schooling/dp/0898705665/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338834814&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><u>Catholic Education: Homeward Bound</u></a></p></blockquote> <p>There. Venting done. For now. ;)</p> <p>I am simply unsure of where to go from here. I pray for the strength to trust that all things will work out for the best, despite the possible heartache of.going against my convictions… it’s a tough place to be for this mama.</p> <p><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual"><em>Nicole</em></font></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-86043392282386699972012-06-04T08:41:00.001-05:002012-06-04T08:41:47.370-05:00Catching Up… a rambling post that you should probably skip if you value your time<p>Hello there, friends. :) I am back from my fall off the edge of the earth.</p> <p>I *just* remembered that I have a blog. And that I have a lot of unfinished projects pertaining to said blog. And that it’s always after I prematurely announce said projects (migrating printables to new site, opening Etsy store, upcoming blog posts, etc.) that life takes over and everything is left half done. <em>Sigh.</em></p> <p><em>Will I ever learn?!</em></p> <p>I have not forgotten that I am pregnant, although I may be in denial about how much energy it takes to grow a baby and how having a body twice its normal size can considerably slow a person down. And I<em> may</em> have forgotten once or twice that I have a husband and son. Apparently pregnant me is not all that big on reality… preferring instead to escape into a good book or barring that, escape by being just grumpy enough to scare everyone away for a while.</p> <p>I have been about as stellar of a wife and mother these past few months as I have been a blogger. </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-WQsdWJ6Ugow/T8x13gi7LjI/AAAAAAAAGCI/IXgfML8xE-M/s1600-h/mothersdaykissingbaby2.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="mother's day - kissing baby" border="0" alt="mother's day - kissing baby" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Z4hHtECmtCM/T8x19r-tUII/AAAAAAAAGCQ/tQX8NaSul30/mothersdaykissingbaby_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> (M kissing Baby – my view from above… this happens <em>all the time, </em>proving that M is much, much sweeter than his mama, and that I do not deserve such a blessing. I love that boy.)</p> <p align="center"> </p> <p>The first 4 to 5 months I was miserable and somewhat depressed – for a variety of reasons: <br></p> <ul> <li>Going cold turkey off of all caffeine <li>Going off my tiny little sleep helper (and mild anti-depressant), also cold turkey <li>Hence, not sleeping! (A big one for me, just look at my blog title.) <li>All day “morning” sickness and fatigue <li>Lack of activity because we weren’t sure how much I should be doing (I was on some sort of bedrest my entire pregnancy with M… and strict bedrest – no sitting up, lying on left side all day – the final 3 months) <li>The messy house that resulted <li>The lack of social interaction that resulted <li>Beating myself up for not being totally joyful despite all the above circumstances – what kind of mama am I if I’m not happily sacrificing anything and everything for a new baby? (Now this is NOT at all what I would say to someone else in the same situation – sacrifice is sacrifice and not pleasant by definition – but this is what I said to myself… because I am crazy that way.)</li></ul> <p>I was given the okay to do more about a month ago (we are currently at 29 weeks), and things have brightened up since then. We did take a trip to Missouri to visit my family prior to that (in which I did nothing except sit on my mom’s couch and eat home-cooked food), and since being given the okay to do more I’ve felt better. But I can’t do all I want to – I get tired! I’m huge and I move much, much more slowly! I’m temperamental and emotional and you’d be surprised at how much time goes by during a good crying session, or how much time the endless apologizing takes up! My feet swell up in the middle of productive times and I have to go lie down and put them up instead of actually accomplishing something – curse those feet of mine! <br><br><strong>But, I’m back on caffeine and that makes things a little better.</strong> No sugar, no salt, hardly any carbs (I’m borderline gestational diabetes, and have had some bouts of high blood pressure)… so you are not going to take my one cup of weak coffee away from me. <strong>No.</strong></p> <p>Maternity clothes have been the bane of this entire pregnancy. My tummy will tolerate <strong>no elastic. </strong>Frankly, it complains about anything other than ultra-soft woven cotton or knit fabric. So, dresses would be my friend, wouldn’t you think? Except they are so expensive!! And the ones from when I was pregnant with M fit my expansive middle okay, but there is no space, <strong>at all</strong>, for the <em>girls</em>, if you know what I mean. Or, as M says, pointing a wiggly finger in the general direction of my chest, “those round things that have gotten so big”. (Indeed they have, M, and thank you for noticing. But please stop trying to cop a feel every time you stand next to me in church.) </p> <p>SO… I have been sewing up a storm, and neglecting everything else. Snipping tight-busted-dresses into halves and making them into soft-waistbanded skirts, altering other skirts so they have soft waistbands… sewing some things from scratch, and even drafting my own patterns. Whew. The energy that was going to go into creating baby things for my store (and my baby) has been re-directed into a desperate attempt to clothe my growing self.</p> <p>I’ve learned a lot, and have been frustrated a lot, but I have a working wardrobe and that is what matters. A wonderful friend sent me a fancy dress and two extra skirts plus a couple of t-shirts, and I think I am set until the end of this here thing, unless we have cold weather because I have no pants that fit. But I’m not thinking about that. </p> <p>Busy, busy, busy, I’ve even made two pairs of dress pants for M, which he decided to outgrow within 2 weeks, thankyouverymuch. </p> <p>Wanna see some of what I’ve been up to? Of course you do!</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-od8vkxiKBS0/T8x2E3vYQfI/AAAAAAAAGCY/esIOKwBLaIE/s1600-h/collage0015.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="collage-001" border="0" alt="collage-001" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-CZ3pUeM8pH0/T8x2GyNKoUI/AAAAAAAAGCg/ioIzgmlJzwA/collage001_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="462" height="462"></a> Starting at the top, going to left to right:</p> <ul> <li>cotton dress, fully lined, made from a maternity pattern which had to be altered 10 times in order to not look like a tent. However, I LOVE how it turned out. <li>quick dress I made from a t-shirt and cotton fabric – no pattern, just wrapped that fabric around my waist and gathered it to the t-shirt – love this one too! <li>no pattern skirt made from soft, soft microfiber fabric with a knit waistband – sooooo comfy <li>another comfy skirt made from a dress I cut in half, with another comfy waistband. <li>skirt from my friend that I altered to have yet another knit waistband (can’t see it in the pic, but it’s a wonderful long, soft, slinky skirt. <li>shirt from a pattern that I altered to have a gathered neckline – so cute and simple, and LONG enough to cover my tummy; why are maternity shirts never long enough?? <li>another long shirt made from the same pattern as the pink dress <li>an attempt at capris – fully lined – from a pattern I drafted myself using measurements. They are far from perfect. Pants are a hard thing to get just right. <li>shorts sewn from another pattern I drafted myself – love them. Flat-front waistband with elastic in back, I wear these every day. They really need to be washed. <li>A little nightshirt for M from the softest knit cotton ever. Also drafted this pattern myself – with raglan sleeves, which were super easy. <li>Current project – more shorts for myself <li>Next project – maybe a dress, maybe another top <li>brown dress pants for M <li>black dress pants for M</li></ul> <p>And all of that within about 3 weeks. Are you impressed? :) </p> <p>Hope you are having a wonderful spring/ beginning of summer!</p> <p>Have a beautiful day!<br><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual"><em>Nicole :)</em></font></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-38055698303566604622012-03-20T16:15:00.001-05:002012-03-20T16:15:13.340-05:00Daffodil Craft<p><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0388" border="0" alt="IMAG0388" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-iI5bgO1GubY/T2jzG32LetI/AAAAAAAAGAc/afA2RUPF-pk/IMAG0388_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="326"><br>When we were dating, my husband always gave me daffodils on St. Patrick’s Day. I love them; they just yell <em>spring! </em>to me. We are far from having real daffodils yet, but M and I decided to whip up some pretend ones to brighten up our kitchen. :)</p> <p>This little craft was taken mostly from <a href="http://www.sillyeaglebooks.com/2011/03/kids-spring-craft-tissue-paper.html" target="_blank">this post</a> over at <a href="http://www.sillyeaglebooks.com/" target="_blank">Silly Eagle Books</a>. </p> <p> Cut several leaf shapes from yellow tissue paper by folding the tissue into several layers:<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ocxfZAAt7FI/T2jzIEfKUzI/AAAAAAAAGAk/4FGXHU6xg6A/s1600-h/IMAG0381%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0381" border="0" alt="IMAG0381" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Vr5VkP5LpKg/T2jzJjGYF3I/AAAAAAAAGAs/v6-ELFD7dew/IMAG0381_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="224"></a> </p> <p>Draw and cut circles from contact paper:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm30Crz6Rqkk6l1IeJglBTqeIksyAeBeuhG9nuclGmHCOcFeY8TOAKslNbzVnFzjHnihBwy0m8iP1RlqeHv03M5CkNyFCmkRkzYZ2M2ct7Gx5hsK2V320TP0r06inVhhIRsyAluUUMzo4/s1600-h/IMAG0383%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0383" border="0" alt="IMAG0383" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-_DPWC7-Ps04/T2jzLSi5LyI/AAAAAAAAGA8/Q7w_BMgIE6k/IMAG0383_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> </p> <p>Poke a green pipe cleaner through the center of a circle, bending the end into a little nub on the paper side. <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Ss0beOHfKC4/T2jzMTkhhWI/AAAAAAAAGBE/CPD7x11qwyA/s1600-h/IMAG0384%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0384" border="0" alt="IMAG0384" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-iAwQe9GoA5k/T2jzNCzPwzI/AAAAAAAAGBM/EqW4GSSFaAo/IMAG0384_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="298"></a> </p> <p>Peel away the paper and place six petals around the sticky contact paper: circle:<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-T-lEGGaKIT8/T2jzN77ZwMI/AAAAAAAAGBU/aGJ3zdfIGwo/s1600-h/IMAG0385%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0385" border="0" alt="IMAG0385" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-HJsB_kVy0ko/T2jzPa3C2gI/AAAAAAAAGBc/lWVZmVxjTRU/IMAG0385_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="377" height="350"></a> </p> <p>Wrap another pipe cleaner (we used yellow and a sparkly orange) around something to make the trumpet part of the daffodil. We used a small peg doll to wrap ours:<img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0387" border="0" alt="IMAG0387" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-jybAO2zyAXU/T2jzUEtIDQI/AAAAAAAAGBk/TsAZ1Z6LQEU/IMAG0387_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="314"></p> <p>Attach the trumpet to the flower by twisting the end of it around the end of the green pipe cleaner “stem”:<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-MOFNMNh7zVU/T2jzV0rAI7I/AAAAAAAAGBs/glYBe4Z_CBQ/s1600-h/IMAG0386%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0386" border="0" alt="IMAG0386" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-IXCbN3Pvqks/T2jzXP46D-I/AAAAAAAAGB0/b9qIgIcnZ_Q/IMAG0386_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> </p> <p><em>Voila! </em>Sunshiney daffies:<img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0391" border="0" alt="IMAG0391" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-obf2JvAn0OE/T2jzXtnbafI/AAAAAAAAGB8/Jf80e5rHHm4/IMAG0391_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="305" height="350"></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p> </p> <p>Have a beautiful day! <br><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual"><strong><em>Nicole :)</em></strong></font></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-42032589013266562622012-03-19T19:35:00.001-05:002012-03-19T19:35:53.448-05:00Spring Wall Collage<p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-otb_5kbRreE/T2fQXYX66lI/AAAAAAAAF-Q/PFEHP6p2yQo/s1600-h/IMAG03731.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0373" border="0" alt="IMAG0373" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-DLuCbW7HZJ8/T2fQdjaDt0I/AAAAAAAAF-Y/sz18AqyxixQ/IMAG0373_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="298" height="390"></a></p> <p>Apparently the Powers that Be heard all my complaining about snow and cold and took pity on me because March has been out-of-this-world beautiful! We’ve slept with the windows open a few nights, have had several late night campfires, and have even brought out the sunscreen! And technically it is still winter. Winter! Until tomorrow of course. But still. Winter here normally lasts well into April. </p> <p><strong>This little project was all M’s idea</strong>, and actually took place a couple of weeks ago <strong>before </strong>all the nice weather, right when we were starting to get a bad case of cabin fever. </p> <p>It started off as a simple flower art project. We were going to try blowing watered down paint onto flower shapes with a straw. <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Fq1tatCax9k/T2fQeVYsRvI/AAAAAAAAF-g/FLc7ytAHYa4/s1600-h/IMAG03462.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0346" border="0" alt="IMAG0346" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-5F_IiSM0lpM/T2fQfqbRWYI/AAAAAAAAF-o/ehior5I8WhM/IMAG0346_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="284"></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-U5VsRsS1Eys/T2fQi3MAEQI/AAAAAAAAF-w/kqRCRuXssl0/s1600-h/IMAG03552.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0355" border="0" alt="IMAG0355" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-wA1jUq15M3I/T2fQlaVVofI/AAAAAAAAF-4/Lf7FLXjZVQk/IMAG0355_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> </p> <p><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0358" border="0" alt="IMAG0358" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-hi1R-YFInPs/T2fQmv9FOpI/AAAAAAAAF_A/xhjgrdxOnng/IMAG0358_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="294"></p> <p>But that was <strong>really</strong> hard work! We obviously didn’t have the paint watered down enough. I thought we were both going to hyperventilate by the time one flower was done. :) So M decided to paint the rest with a brush. </p> <p><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0356" border="0" alt="IMAG0356" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-39c45Aeuvmo/T2fQoUKLbnI/AAAAAAAAF_I/gqXKh1dTdLQ/IMAG0356_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="262" height="350"></p> <p>We made the centers of the flowers pop out a little bit by adding them on top of two layers of mounting foam:<img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0359" border="0" alt="IMAG0359" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-_wV9CEjSACw/T2fQpqy2pmI/AAAAAAAAF_Q/vwhRutG4jNI/IMAG0359_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></p> <p> </p> <p>Pretty flowers:<img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0369" border="0" alt="IMAG0369" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-8LS1vE_wmzc/T2fQru1J7tI/AAAAAAAAF_c/lKimK20z3fY/IMAG0369_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="377" height="350"> <img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0368" border="0" alt="IMAG0368" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-kVy3pWgnVIU/T2fQszACW8I/AAAAAAAAF_k/ffsyUjmz-v8/IMAG0368_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="334"></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>But that just was not enough spring inside the house</strong>. That evening M made big plans to decorate the closet doors (this closet is in a little nook off of our living room) with a giant springtime collage. At the time it was covered with coffee filter snowflakes – which were getting pretty old and boring – blah!</p> <p>The plans were all his, and he did all the cutting and taping. I simply drew a few shapes for him to cut, all according to what he wanted.</p> <p>The rainbow was made by layering half-circles of color:<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-o5Cbr4TzXQg/T2fQxme_0dI/AAAAAAAAF_s/XVIERLUJE3I/s1600-h/IMAG03672.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0367" border="0" alt="IMAG0367" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-LQv7pGNpEEE/T2fQzWTFZHI/AAAAAAAAF_0/Zbtp28vnh-Y/IMAG0367_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="250"></a> </p> <p>Top of closet doors:<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-_wumJxWXK4w/T2fQ0dvnowI/AAAAAAAAF_8/y-RYZ2CzqVY/s1600-h/IMAG03702.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0370" border="0" alt="IMAG0370" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-XJzR-9dvUhs/T2fQ3HbqFhI/AAAAAAAAGAE/f2PKvlEaIQ0/IMAG0370_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> <br>Bottom half:<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-xTkSVJQEfqI/T2fQ4NTNS_I/AAAAAAAAGAM/oFd48N5xpX8/s1600-h/IMAG03712.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0371" border="0" alt="IMAG0371" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-anz8cpQZ9x8/T2fQ5qlw4OI/AAAAAAAAGAU/Nc8eOxDo7BY/IMAG0371_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a></p> <p>There are even a couple of butterflies. :) </p> <p>I love looking over at our closet doors. :) Such a happy space made by a happy boy!</p> <p>Have a beautiful spring!<br><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual"><strong><em>Nicole :)</em></strong></font></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-59414893862643116582012-03-06T13:48:00.001-06:002012-03-06T13:48:12.104-06:00Easter Printables<p>Have your plastic Easter eggs made an appearance in your home yet this year? I love bringing them out about now; love how they brighten things up a bit with their pretty colors. :) I <strong>crave </strong>color this time of year. <strong>Crave it.</strong></p> <p>I’m in the process of going through all of my printables and moving them to a site where they can be a bit more organized and just… prettier than the current printables page. I found some Easter-themed printables and thought it would be fun to post a little reminder about them.</p> <p>One of M’s still-favorite games to play with our plastic eggs is our <a href="http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2010/03/easter-egg-games.html" target="_blank">Easter Chicks in Eggs</a> game. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPF0JkfsX8GrX9lNtasTeTaW3Fqxkn1Uum0cLrVG7IY6mz99AoQuXugNucQ5OuvGzBwvWdocCMzpz7AvkcDzb3xLdru-IEfX1U2Yq6bckEftl5uAl7WfaYkqM0aj9Ivfdq-_6sQLkUtHI/s1600-h/image%25255B7%25255D.png"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-vWyUk44OyA8/T1Zp4uAyhFI/AAAAAAAAF9c/pUrgPzpHv4U/image_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="183" height="242"></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-F8exwT6xBY0/T1Zp5D--7GI/AAAAAAAAF9k/852WXyIosis/s1600-h/image%25255B10%25255D.png"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-oAfTniZcO44/T1Zp6VdbqVI/AAAAAAAAF9s/Y9QOE9dgHXw/image_thumb%25255B6%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="194" height="246"></a> I made this for him a couple of years ago and it is still a lot of fun – for him <em>and </em>the grown-ups around here. </p> <p> </p> <p>Another favorite when he was 2 or 3 years old was this <a href="http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2010/03/easter-basket-counting-game.html" target="_blank">Easter Basket file folder game</a> (I have to say I’m really looking forward to re-using some of these handmade activities with our new little one!). <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-wyeVk8j0cQA/T1Zp7rNgbwI/AAAAAAAAF90/4wDp_UG1JG8/s1600-h/image%25255B13%25255D.png"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVL9DFFOQ8fyeRPM7pUjW8i53dnwkipZfbYmptf71-0-5ZnVlNvBNAio6RgoB7KmEGZDspwDjQIG8Y0jrK8HVdEfW12kr_Aa4X7vU0dOGbHEyTkzQcpx-iflYkYHscPuLD_jVrzgTv2Ls/?imgmax=800" width="243" height="244"></a> This is a fun way to work on one-to-one correspondence and practice counting to 10.</p> <p>I also want to share this little Bunny Shapes Craft with you. <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/83212813/Easter-Bunny-Shapes-Craft" target="_blank"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-VwVaAH-9Imk/T1Zp-tG_T8I/AAAAAAAAF-E/RLUUZXVm27E/image%25255B19%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="202" height="350"></a> I made this for M a couple of years ago, but for some reason never shared it on here. He went through a phase where he <strong>loved</strong> putting little animals together with shapes. This is a fairly closed-ended activity, but it’s good for shape recognition and learning to follow directions!</p> <p>Have a beautiful day! <br><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual"><strong><em>Nicole :)</em></strong></font></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-78169532002795598202012-03-01T11:31:00.001-06:002012-03-01T11:31:20.006-06:00Learning by Heart – Outer Space<p align="center"> </p> <blockquote> <p align="center"><strong>“<em>The mother’s heart is the child’s classroom.” – Henry Ward Beecher</em></strong></p> <p align="center"><strong><em>{M is 5 years old}</em></strong></p></blockquote> <p align="left">Goodness. It’s been a while since I wrote up one of these posts! We’ve been “doing school”, but it’s been sort of a haphazard here and there these past few months, and my motivation for writing about it has been null. I’ve been lazy on many levels since late November… M had the flu, then I had the flu, then there was the first trimester of my <a href="http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2012/01/surprise.html" target="_blank">pregnancy</a> in all its miserable glory, not to mention Christmas thrown in somewhere along the way… and well, we got a little off track to say the least. And the house is messy, maybe even <em>dirty</em> – and while I have no desire to actually <em>clean anything up</em>, still I feel guilty blogging when there are so many other things that need doing. :)</p> <p align="left">Yet here I am. So I guess I’ve succeeded in pushing down those guilty feelings. ;)</p> <p align="left"><strong>Anyway. M is totally into outer space these days,</strong> which I think happened about this time <a href="http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2011/04/learning-by-heart-i-see-moon.html" target="_blank">last year</a> too. This time he’s all about <strong>the planets and the sun</strong>. He reminds us of the little boy in <em>Jerry McGuire</em>, with all the interesting facts he spouts off at random times… “<em>Did you know that if you could go to Jupiter, you’d get instantly <strong>squashed flat</strong> because it has so much gravity?” “Did you know that without the sun we’d all be <strong>dead and frozen</strong>?” “Did you know that if you could get close to the sun you would instantly <strong>burn up and melt</strong>?” </em>I think it’s safe to say he’s entered that phase where the morbid is utterly fascinating. :)</p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left"><strong><u>Books:<br><br></u></strong>We read the books in the carousel below. His favorites were the <u>Magic School Bus – Lost in the Solar System</u> (audio version), and the Cat in the Hat <u>There’s No Place Like Space</u>.</p> <p align="center"><OBJECT classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab" id="Player_dd7a4dc7-84fd-481c-8bc6-263fcb11a2d7" WIDTH="400px" HEIGHT="150px"> <PARAM NAME="movie" VALUE="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Ftireneed-20%2F8010%2Fdd7a4dc7-84fd-481c-8bc6-263fcb11a2d7&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate"><PARAM NAME="quality" VALUE="high"><PARAM NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="#FFFFFF"><PARAM NAME="allowscriptaccess" VALUE="always"><embed src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Ftireneed-20%2F8010%2Fdd7a4dc7-84fd-481c-8bc6-263fcb11a2d7&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate" id="Player_dd7a4dc7-84fd-481c-8bc6-263fcb11a2d7" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="Player_dd7a4dc7-84fd-481c-8bc6-263fcb11a2d7" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="150px" width="400px"></embed></OBJECT></p> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="left">I also picked up the video version of the Magic School Bus: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000089QB3/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000089QB3"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q19ZBBP1L._SL160_.jpg"></a> which was a big hit! This was the first time we’ve checked out Magic School Bus items and I have to say I was very impressed with both the video and the book. I know I’ve heard nothing but good about them, but I’m happy to say they both exceeded my expectations (and I’m very picky when it comes to what M is allowed to watch!).</p> <p align="left"><br>Most of our learning came from these books and the video. The rest of what I’ll share was mostly for fun and to feed M’s interest…</p> <p align="left"><strong><u></u></strong> </p> <p align="left"><strong><u>Sensory:</u></strong></p> <p align="left">We made <a href="http://www.skiptomylou.org/2009/07/15/diy-moon-sand/" target="_blank">homemade moon sand</a>. I did not get a good photo of the items used in the sand because M was always so busy playing with them. They are all either buried in the sand or awaiting their trip to the moon in these photos:<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-wtXcuWuDlSg/T0-yAqjsYNI/AAAAAAAAF68/unhT8CGUUog/s1600-h/IMAG0059%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0059" border="0" alt="IMAG0059" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNnfyO60H80fvrGK28GcGHqeB624YXIPgP16OMuxYnc1LQP4tvzz9jyc-j3w8W8Dc2biPvxRNEIUMpGLPtV-L4Gq93aPJ93P_KX7h5OMDTWSyqS7GKdC0mIO1imWI-XKF_S7XCCN8ZPbk/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="300"></a></p> <p align="left">I used a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BNC9P0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000BNC9P0">Space Toob</a>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BNC9P0/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=tireneed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000BNC9P0"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41R3vYEsh2L._SL160_.jpg"></a>, which was a big hit (and which you can get for a reasonable price at Michael’s if you use one of their 40% off coupons). I also added in a couple of scoops just for fun and M used a wooden ball for an asteroid. He really enjoyed having it land on the sand and make craters (his idea!):<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-fMC_CpgTDbc/T0-yClBEeHI/AAAAAAAAF7M/C0eJjZd3rCI/s1600-h/IMAG0049%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0049" border="0" alt="IMAG0049" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-oI6H5dVja40/T0-yE42qJbI/AAAAAAAAF7U/SSrGOJSGCos/IMAG0049_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="338"></a> You could use large rocks for pretend asteroids too, which would be a bit more realistic. </p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left"><strong><u>Tan Grams:</u></strong></p> <p align="left">We worked together to figure out how to use our wooden tangrams to make a rocket on the fridge:<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-u5EEG_Xm4NQ/T0-yFdKGBsI/AAAAAAAAF7c/KY--0q2l3o0/s1600-h/IMAG0191%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0191" border="0" alt="IMAG0191" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-t0qlytpCezU/T0-yGJHOWxI/AAAAAAAAF7k/N1maH1gdzRo/IMAG0191_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="213" height="350"></a> </p> <p><strong><u>Science:</u></strong></p> <p>M received a telescope for Christmas and we used it to look at the moon one very beautiful full-moon evening. We also caught sight of a couple of planets (which just looked like big stars with this low-power telescope). All very exciting stuff! It was neat to see the craters on the moon enlarged.<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-_EjdMgnpiAc/T0-yGhIi8rI/AAAAAAAAF7s/6RZ4MuX2-GY/s1600-h/IMAG0163%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0163" border="0" alt="IMAG0163" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-aXRTvWl1Qcw/T0-yHZvbVCI/AAAAAAAAF70/J-YdynY3SCQ/IMAG0163_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="244"></a>Shots of the telescope at night didn’t really turn out very well, but here you can see him spying on the neighbors during the day. Heh. He said he was looking at a tree, but I’m pretty sure it was the neighbors. :)</p> <p>M <strong>loves</strong> a pack of outer space flash cards I picked up at Target a year or two ago. I pulled out the ones with pictures of the planets, and he decided to line them up in order on our window sill. He memorized the order of the planets, and I didn’t even know it until I saw him doing this!<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-QaoYS3yc9iw/T0-yH3UZf6I/AAAAAAAAF78/TJ6WrzbFa7w/s1600-h/IMAG0084%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0084" border="0" alt="IMAG0084" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-7i5bnuWtZU4/T0-yItfFgcI/AAAAAAAAF8E/XtSeDGRF0xU/IMAG0084_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> </p> <p>I made up some little planet name cards with pictures, laminated them, and he traced their names with a dry-erase marker, then matched them up to the appropriate flash card. You could just use these to place in order, if you don’t have pretty flashcards.<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JgUbe9mY7Ng/T0-yKUkdn8I/AAAAAAAAF8M/iyfWS15cPf8/s1600-h/IMAG0107%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0107" border="0" alt="IMAG0107" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-OHkmNE4mNZc/T0-yLiMOOTI/AAAAAAAAF8U/ektIoL4IRj4/IMAG0107_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> You can download the cards <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/83352257/Planet-Names-and-Order" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p>Next, he decided to copy the planet names down in his handy-dandy, never-far-away notebook. :) (This little notebook is going to be a <em>treasure</em> when he is older!)<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-7uCcgpBBl_A/T0-yM72m_xI/AAAAAAAAF8c/tPHr90bKZmM/s1600-h/IMAG0108%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0108" border="0" alt="IMAG0108" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-YJUiiylVQ0I/T0-yOSn4VyI/AAAAAAAAF8k/9mOJsvfPZnU/IMAG0108_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> </p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left"><strong><u>Crafts:</u></strong></p> <p align="left">M made a rocket from a paper towel tube (similar to <a href="http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/2011/04/preschool-astronaut-and-space-unit.html" target="_blank">the one in this post</a>, but not nearly as pretty):<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-m4Vl765yMC0/T0-yPRQZiSI/AAAAAAAAF8s/XRubkU3S6CM/s1600-h/IMAG0315%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0315" border="0" alt="IMAG0315" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-o1knn9VEJB8/T0-yQyTBLvI/AAAAAAAAF80/YBNSGqKiXWU/IMAG0315_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a>He lobbed it around the living room until Daddy came home and made him stop. I am <em>sooo</em> much more lenient about this sort of thing because <strong>busy boy equals resting mama </strong>and there’s quite a bit I’ll allow in order to make this happen these days!</p> <p align="left">We also made little straw rockets to blow around:<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ueKluIxX6dA/T0-yThLxEeI/AAAAAAAAF88/mb3xXruMJgs/s1600-h/IMAG0319%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0319" border="0" alt="IMAG0319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1p4kkYxuQwdlG1UAwcqR_PbroalFylkUNIJ73O5NoqyX3oSGmJ9LyMrSfS2bsd-5WdoiNk-EjxilSZofiMooVkKNL8MPZawE5JMwDpO42ZkVPaA4CpKeO09VDzwSqW5hPyp1gTOMLB_k/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="150"></a>Wish I could’ve gotten a shot of this in action – I even enjoyed playing with these! You fold a 2” length of paper in half lengthwise, tape it shut except for about 2” at the end, cut the open end into strips, fold the tip into a point and tape, then insert a straw and blow the rocket into the air. Very fun! </p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left">Linking this post up to <a href="http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/search/label/Preschool%20Corner" target="_blank">Preschool Corner</a> and <a href="http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/search/label/Weekly%20Wrap-up" target="_blank">Weekly Wrap-Up</a>. Check them out for some great homeschooling posts!</p> <p align="left"><br>Have a beautiful day!<br><strong><em><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual">Nicole :)</font></em></strong></p> <p align="left"> </p><noscript></noscript> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-33500419378731742472012-02-29T12:39:00.001-06:002012-03-06T13:07:38.210-06:00Spelling Names and free printable Bookplates<p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-_QtIqVlmZfs/T05r_uOrD6I/AAAAAAAAF6M/Vhh5kttSh08/s1600-h/image%25255B14%25255D.png"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-AWwT60iXngU/T05sAozgAmI/AAAAAAAAF6U/jm_owxITVu0/image_thumb%25255B19%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="268" height="225"></a> </p> <p>M has been spelling his first name for a good 1 1/2 years now, but I am always on the lookout for some way to help him learn how to spell our last name <em>and practice</em> spelling it. He is just not interested in learning it, mainly because it is quite long and a little intimidating. </p> <p>But he LOVES writing his name on the inside cover of books, so I made up some cute robot nameplates for him to use on as many books as he wants. These are sized at 4 inches by 3 1/3 inches – a standard shipping label size. Print them out on shipping labels, have your little one stick them in his books, then write his name on the lines. The deal around here is you have to print both first <strong>and last</strong> names to be able to use these.</p> <p>Click an image below to go to the download page.</p> <p><strong>Robots and Rockets Nameplates:<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/83128197/Bookplates-Robots-and-Rockets" target="_blank"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-A7_w_F-IoH0/T05wx0WpoJI/AAAAAAAAF6k/uBUT1Bp3rn4/image%25255B15%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="276" height="350"></a> </strong></p> <p> </p> <p>I also made up some more “girly” ones, in case anyone is interested!</p> <p><strong>Flower Fairy Nameplates:<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/83123668/Bookplates-Flower-Fairies" target="_blank"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-uliyy4Udyo4/T05wy1_7-EI/AAAAAAAAF6s/UOrWEhpMa_E/image%25255B20%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="275" height="350"></a> </strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Flowers and Hearts Nameplates:</strong><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/83218681/Bookplates-Flowers-and-Hearts" target="_blank"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8cgx3Z3jsn8/T05wzVyd0BI/AAAAAAAAF60/cEJUdQwp5u4/image%25255B4%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="273" height="350"></a> </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.abcand123learning.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="abc button" src="http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/meyeringk/ABCGraphics-Page003.jpg"></a> </p> <p> </p> <p>Have a beautiful day! <br><strong><em><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual">Nicole :)</font></em></strong></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-32615427792698395832012-02-28T10:43:00.001-06:002012-02-28T10:43:46.699-06:00Spring Fever<p><strong><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-zi1ytjTY8nA/T00D8KRK57I/AAAAAAAAF4U/S6sMa1Fl4Cg/s1600-h/2IMAG0222%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="2IMAG0222" border="0" alt="2IMAG0222" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8V8Dst_-zoo/T00D-had7kI/AAAAAAAAF4c/La6Iq2unWbA/2IMAG0222_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a></strong></p> <p><strong>Spring fever has officially hit our house.</strong> </p> <p>Grumpiness, restlessness, a desire to run away – far, far away from Minnesota… and that’s just Mama. It definitely hits me the hardest. My husband is an eternal optimist – <em>February always makes me happy because I know it’s not much longer now until spring </em>(he says while I shoot eye darts at him along with mental warnings to just shut it because he knows full well what I consider real spring is at least two more months away); and M always has the <strong>hope of coming snow</strong><strong> </strong>to break up the monotony of our days (while I shoot eye darts at the skies and wonder just how did I end up in this cruel, cruel cold wasteland).</p> <p>So. There you see the real me. The real <strong>pregnant</strong> me,- because throwing up all of January, just to be hit with gray skies and snow in February does not. seem. fair. We need some happy yellow daffodils poking up through green grass. Not more grayness, covered with an occasional layer of whiteness and blah-ness. </p> <p>We recently went here, as everyone in the family is desperate for Mommy to act somewhat normal again: <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-vYdjQFmh5sI/T00D_1HOGJI/AAAAAAAAF4k/Y5q5NR1AYoE/s1600-h/IMAG0230%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0230" border="0" alt="IMAG0230" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/--3S6EUwGpWc/T00EA0GzwcI/AAAAAAAAF4s/NYx3b-ecpkY/IMAG0230_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a></p> <p><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0219" border="0" alt="IMAG0219" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-X3gfwA3oW0w/T00ECgfz0DI/AAAAAAAAF40/juz24RAR3OU/IMAG0219_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnrRzFzoKtNccGwI7_6aAk_C6UIP6Eb-rZTH1_nIyNxYpvClP-uVa8SHQWx9M9mKH3JaAUwAV3ac2utcgYn0B3aq_rLQt1jdsVF_jhJkdfwIUcOdj7trPmem18pnAOJ_rKdSOJWAcl1p8/s1600-h/IMAG0234%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0234" border="0" alt="IMAG0234" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-b5ICxYJtdVo/T00EEFvFGOI/AAAAAAAAF5E/mMfPlJprGrA/IMAG0234_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> I kept thinking how lovely it would be if they would just leave me here for a week with a pile of good books and a pillow (and please try to get rid of the rest of the people milling about. Because sometimes they talk.). </p> <p>And it seems M has caught the flower bug. He has grand plans for his very own garden this year. He spent an entire afternoon looking through a flower book and marking all the flowers he wants to plant:<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-YQpTY7iOLUc/T00EEw9VCQI/AAAAAAAAF5M/5cxNGJuVVUU/s1600-h/IMAG00612.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0061" border="0" alt="IMAG0061" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNriyjOYiztXUVgpr_Hi0GMnZHWDeG2hyi0bVzVPFy1BITHz3GBWBklQT-kunFauqoFuFJMv0EaFuTvEnbofGXjxzbxaop9crK1S8kZ0L_eZDuepfp0Lk8ZyNPjieRiSmHa-X2c8Ux17o/?imgmax=800" width="475" height="356"></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-QzLMk0oD9oQ/T00EHWHcsqI/AAAAAAAAF5c/Mn9jZSa13ug/s1600-h/IMAG00622.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0062" border="0" alt="IMAG0062" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-NeugBtwTiHE/T00EKuM7-gI/AAAAAAAAF5k/koIxat6Egas/IMAG0062_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="475" height="356"></a> </p> <p>I didn’t have the heart to tell him that here in Minnesota (sigh) you have to choose based on hardiness, not prettiness. So here’s what the book looked like when he was finished with his page marking:<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-5aA_1ifKB3w/T00ENs0hQfI/AAAAAAAAF5s/b85owouY0jc/s1600-h/IMAG00632.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0063" border="0" alt="IMAG0063" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-BOy2S-AomaM/T00EObn3VyI/AAAAAAAAF50/UmBD8fYcJlk/IMAG0063_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="475" height="269"></a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>He wasn’t actually finished… he just got to the “G”s and ran out of bookmarks. :)</p> <p>My husband saves things like vegetable trays from Sam’s Club, thinking that they’ll come in useful “someday”. I fake-smile at him and mentally scream things like “<em>Declutter! Peace! Sanity! Small home!”</em>, while he thinks things like, “<em>Useful! Recycle! You never know!”. </em>As long as he stores his “stuff” out of sight, I am okay with it. And, clever man that he is (and he is, I admit) he used a little super glue to attach an upside down cover to a tray, then poked some drainage holes through the bottom of it. M will be using this to start his garden – hopefully sometime this week we’ll get around to actually planting the seeds:<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-urtyVsJic_g/T00EPGwihHI/AAAAAAAAF58/s9dagkmcgOM/s1600-h/IMAG0314%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0314" border="0" alt="IMAG0314" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-zZdrGPUkzP8/T00EP89jrKI/AAAAAAAAF6E/JkJF6L-TpM8/IMAG0314_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> </p> <p>Because in this cold and cruel place you have to start your seeds inside, two months before spring, if you actually want anything to grow. </p> <p>Now I’m off to continue my hibernation attempt (if only everyone would leave me alone, I’m sure I could sleep through March). </p> <p>Your little ray of sunshine, <br><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual"><strong><em>Nicole :)</em></strong></font></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-40162953489786722442012-02-24T06:00:00.000-06:002012-02-28T08:45:00.458-06:003-d nature art – hot glue style<p> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-U-RhU9pdDXM/T0U9iGJq4hI/AAAAAAAAF2U/7-YwDCjmdqc/s1600-h/IMAG018711.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="IMAG0187" border="0" alt="IMAG0187" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-RVOcJ2ZeN0k/T0U9jDujtUI/AAAAAAAAF2c/SVoCWPwNknM/IMAG0187_thumb7.jpg?imgmax=800" width="494" height="209"></a> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I haven’t mentioned much here about M’s enthusiasm for the glue gun. <strong>He loves it</strong>. He uses it only with supervision, is extremely careful, and is responsible enough that I trust him with it. I would not advise a glue gun for every 5 year old’s art supply set though. Ours is a low temp gun; I can not use a high temp gun without getting blisters – I would never allow M to use one.</p> <p>The wonderful thing about hot glue is the freedom it gives you to build upwards when creating art. Regular white glue would not hold as well, nor would it dry as quickly. Quick-drying glue is important when you are 5 years old and building something as fast as your imagination can go. :)</p> <p>I started with setting out a few supplies:<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-dPJTkmN0Mn4/T0U9kFgrJjI/AAAAAAAAF2k/ZFf1BjBT9HU/s1600-h/IMAG01742.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0174" border="0" alt="IMAG0174" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-D7oAsMeVQgY/T0U9nTMJGRI/AAAAAAAAF2s/omyzvcgmGP4/IMAG0174_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="254"></a> Glue gun, glue sticks, sea shells, glass stones (florist style, flat marble), wooden beads, craft sticks, pine cones, and a sturdy surface to place everything on. A thick piece of cardboard would work… we ended up using tagboard from the back of a certificate frame. A piece of wood would be lovely as a base as well!</p> <p>Then I sent M out to scavenge in the yard. Since we’ve had a mostly brown winter it was easy for him to find several interesting things:<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-2dupGO5z5m4/T0U9p6KvckI/AAAAAAAAF20/PMsLi7TzJPI/s1600-h/IMAG01752.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0175" border="0" alt="IMAG0175" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-mtiktN0AJ5E/T0U9qguYVYI/AAAAAAAAF28/1WtM0RGf7uY/IMAG0175_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="276"></a> </p> <p>Then the fun began. M was very particular about deciding just where everything should go. <strong>He absolutely loved this. </strong>He finished two masterpieces and begged to do more. If I’d had enough material for bases, I think he would have done this all afternoon!<strong><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0178" border="0" alt="IMAG0178" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-fbGbtHCxhEw/T0U9rb0rnYI/AAAAAAAAF3E/HnWfl9jfhOo/IMAG0178_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="348"></strong></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSweorOxbrnmLNt9qrw6op3HsZtTRo-a4uPtrtNGYh03puXff1mnyNZaACRuWWic-ZXSa4njABeH2keTimjJt1222n2NsqHiU5YmSTHfRZqk2fuugkpR5x3m6JUDdFsIRMdQ-3xcvo-AI/s1600-h/IMAG01762.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0176" border="0" alt="IMAG0176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxQQYjnVMAiV6j2P7SjckxSrbhFnyG5uwpYC0vHY5Xi1q-x9ra2E6TjZQ3AnuNpO8rDU5IDM75x9KUqVNka6rhuWPW826q3uxvv8l2iT43HH1i8anhv8mTcEn76AvdaJ1-G9h4Re-NOk/?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> </p> <p>The finished artwork… Can you tell what they are supposed to be?</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-urDmHouMqDY/T0U9t3VwpqI/AAAAAAAAF3c/MG7Ljv9G5_E/s1600-h/IMAG01867.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0186" border="0" alt="IMAG0186" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-uPv6UvALdNU/T0U9vFBpM5I/AAAAAAAAF3k/pMta7p5C2Lo/IMAG0186_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="341"></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ZXRv5-KMNYY/T0U9vhCO4TI/AAAAAAAAF3s/l81-NdJop24/s1600-h/IMAG018910.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0189" border="0" alt="IMAG0189" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-LqKIBnzPmWY/T0U9xhkgqGI/AAAAAAAAF30/UVtdrhcDM0Y/IMAG0189_thumb10.jpg?imgmax=800" width="373" height="350"></a></p> <p>Playgrounds! We added some peg people the next day:<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ebLgNgmssFc/T0U9zQqgF6I/AAAAAAAAF38/c3keuYDbAYM/s1600-h/IMAG0195%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0195" border="0" alt="IMAG0195" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-OQ1uO8Bewng/T0U90-SCwxI/AAAAAAAAF4E/IkBpWQnUiJU/IMAG0195_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a><br>I love that he built miniature play areas… it reminds me of a fairy land sort of thing – something I’m not sure he’s ever heard of (poor child) – beautifully made with bits of nature and, of course, the <em>amazing</em> hot glue gun! :)</p><a href="http://www.abcand123learning.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="abc button" src="http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/meyeringk/ABCGraphics-Page003.jpg"></a> <p><em>Have a beautiful day! :)<br><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual"><strong>Nicole</strong></font></em></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-79092254018192281612012-02-23T06:00:00.000-06:002012-02-27T09:21:35.736-06:00Holy Week 3-part or sequencing Cards<p><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/82373574/Holy-Week-Sequencing-Cards"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-08NOmxHqH3g/T0RGkuQ26JI/AAAAAAAAF1U/sjxYU7WwJ6Y/image%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="271" height="350"></a><br>I created these cards for use during Lent, especially Holy Week (the week between Palm Sunday and Easter). I wanted to share them early in Lent so you can use them however you want. They would go nicely with the <a href="http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2012/02/jesus-loves-me-lenten-activities-e-book.html" target="_blank">Jesus Loves Me, This I Know e-book</a> that was released earlier this week! This was actually something that <a href="http://royalbaloo.com/" target="_blank">Erin</a> and I wanted to include in the e-book, but just couldn’t get it completed in time. The pictures used on these cards are vintage illustrations, and beautiful, I think. :)</p> <p>There are a total of 8 cards illustrating everything from Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem to his resurrection and appearance to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. </p> <p>Each card has a label, like traditional 3-part cards, as well as a scripture reference. To use these as 3-part cards, you will need to print 2 copies. Leave the label attached to the illustrations in one set, and separate the labels from the illustrations in the other set. Have your child match up the pictures and the labels. These would also make wonderful sequencing cards for telling the Easter story!</p> <p><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/82373574/Holy-Week-Sequencing-Cards" target="_blank">Download here</a>, or click on the image above! Enjoy! </p> <p>This post is linked to the Celebrating Lent Link-Up Party at <a href="http://exploreandexpress-sheila.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Explore and Express</a> and <a href="http://easterkind.blogspot.com/">Wonderful in an Easter Kind of Way</a>.</p> <p><em>Have a beautiful day! :)<br><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual"><strong>Nicole</strong></font></em></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-69522812289740409392012-02-22T06:00:00.000-06:002012-02-28T08:40:02.207-06:00Ideas for Making Lent Meaningful<p><strong>Lent has officially begun!</strong> I thought I’d share some links for you to check out… these are what we did for Lent last year, and what we plan to do again this year. You can see our <strong><a href="http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-lent-went.html" target="_blank">crafts/artwork</a>:<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6PG9Fz_Ea0E/T0QVkSGVOUI/AAAAAAAAF0k/mzrduBiLAcs/s1600-h/image%25255B9%25255D.png"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-3F_mfnz90DA/T0QVk5_obxI/AAAAAAAAF0s/uNs4iMvd4GY/image_thumb%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="70" height="185"></a> </strong><br>our <strong><a href="http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-lent-went-2.html" target="_blank">Lenten Basket</a>:<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gG7-TY1p5dw/T0QVrYqjxII/AAAAAAAAF00/dd9aR3gLHBY/s1600-h/image%25255B4%25255D.png"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-5YKFvqCxZPw/T0QVsP1dyDI/AAAAAAAAF08/PGfSaTg5rcM/image_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="219" height="177"></a></strong><br>and our <strong><a href="http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-lent-went-3.html" target="_blank">Lenten Countdown Cross</a>:<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-XbixF9hxKv4/T0QVuEtPnWI/AAAAAAAAF1E/GO6nNAn5UN0/s1600-h/image%25255B14%25255D.png"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-DsatNeehjL4/T0QVv9rTUkI/AAAAAAAAF1M/aD0vqIGyYEw/image_thumb%25255B8%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="151" height="215"></a> </strong> </p> <p>I hope these inspire you to create some Lenten traditions in your own homes!</p> <p>I mentioned in those posts, rather presumptuously, that I was planning on making a second set of the Countdown Cross to give away; and that I planned to offer everything as a printable this Lent. It seemed like I had <em>so much time</em> to get all this done! Silly girl. With two computer crashes to deal with in the past year all of my saved items for the printables were lost, and while I <em>did</em> plan to re-do everything in time for this year’s Lent… well, I ended up pregnant and in some sort of pregnancy-fog, and that’s my excuse these days for every single failing I might be accused of. An excuse I’m sticking to until I can claim the new baby as one. After that gets old I’m sure I’ll come up with something else. ;)</p> <p>Of course there is still the new <a href="http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2012/02/jesus-loves-me-lenten-activities-e-book.html" target="_blank">Lent / Easter e-book</a>! Go check it out if you haven’t yet! </p> <p>This post is linked to the Celebrating Lent Link-Up Party at <a href="http://exploreandexpress-sheila.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Explore and Express</a> and <a href="http://easterkind.blogspot.com/">Wonderful in an Easter Kind of Way</a>, as well as: <a href="http://catholicicing.com/2012/02/lenten-link-up/" target="_blank"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-G5t8uxPWwDg/T0UBIEkHm6I/AAAAAAAAF1k/Wt9SRzofq38/image%25255B6%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="113" height="128"></a> </p><a href="http://www.abcand123learning.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="abc button" src="http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/meyeringk/ABCGraphics-Page003.jpg"></a> <p><em>Have a beautiful Day! :)<br><strong><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual">Nicole</font></strong></em></p> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-33689222111833614062012-02-21T13:40:00.001-06:002012-02-27T09:20:38.318-06:00Jesus Loves Me Lenten activities E-Book!!<p>Well, it’s up and ready to go! There was a bit of a delay; thank you all so much for your patience!</p> <p><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/82322719/Jesus-Loves-Me-this-I-know-e-book-for-Lent-and-Easter" target="_blank"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="book" border="0" alt="book" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-kXilLlWCaxY/T0PzSUYIpaI/AAAAAAAAF0M/xZId6XlJdzg/book%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="278" height="350"></a></p> <p>This e-book is the brainchild of <a href="http://royalbaloo.com/" target="_blank">Erin over at Royal Baloo</a>. Erin organized it, edited it, put the actual book together… and put <strong>a lot of hard work</strong> into each part. I simply helped with some ideas, a handful of printables, and photographing and writing up a few of the crafts. It was a pleasure to work with Erin and I’m so glad she offered me the chance to do this with her!! You can read more about the e-book in her <a href="http://royalbaloo.com/the-easter-e-book-is-ready/" target="_blank">post</a>. It’s our hope that this will be a help to you as you teach your child about how much Jesus loves them, as shown through the story of Easter.</p> <p>You have the option of downloading the e-book from <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/82322719/Jesus-Loves-Me-this-I-know-e-book-for-Lent-and-Easter" target="_blank">Scribd</a> or <a href="http://www.4shared.com/get/izh1aekV/jesuslovesmethisiknowebook.html" target="_blank">4Shared</a>. Click on either link to go to the download page. <strong>This e-book is totally free!</strong></p> <p>This post is linked to the Celebrating Lent Link-Up Party at <a href="http://exploreandexpress-sheila.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Explore and Express</a> and <a href="http://easterkind.blogspot.com/">Wonderful in an Easter Kind of Way</a>.</p> <p>If you’re going to do the activities and blog about it, please add your blog to the linky list below! <p><br>Have a beautiful day! :)<br><font size="5" face="Scrap Casual"><strong>Nicole</strong></font></p> <div style="margin: 10px 10px 10px 0px; float: left"><?xml:namespace prefix = g /><g:plusone size="medium" expr:href="data:post.url"></g:plusone></div> <p></p> <p></p> <p> <script src="http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=132379" type="text/javascript"></script> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-30686432823239916462012-02-16T09:28:00.001-06:002012-02-21T08:38:07.137-06:00Art Project – Making Paper Beads<p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-OvtDS7-ysIQ/Tz0gbUilEkI/AAAAAAAAFyA/ecjbTc-DlQk/s1600-h/IMAG0116%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0116" border="0" alt="IMAG0116" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-5YTT-q5P1C0/Tz0geCKnIZI/AAAAAAAAFyI/5fxYKcKNUaI/IMAG0116_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="348"></a></p> <p>Honestly, this was a little project for <strong>me</strong> – I have wanted to try this since I first found out about paper beads a few years ago. I was not sure that M would be at all interested, especially since the process includes the possibility of <em>glue touching your fingers</em> (oh the horror!). But, as it turns out, he LOVES to make paper beads and happily kept at it long after I was finished.</p> <p>I keep old calendars with pretty photos around just for projects such as this:<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-54Fh7zSXhr0/Tz0gfJPxnDI/AAAAAAAAFyQ/j3RyBmAOETI/s1600-h/IMAG0086%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0086" border="0" alt="IMAG0086" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-NaZDjScmzRs/Tz0gfmul3hI/AAAAAAAAFyY/qQLcZSsu4PA/IMAG0086_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="220"></a> </p> <p>I picked a few pretty pictures and cut them into long triangular strips. I did not measure these in any way, just eyed them and cut. The main thing to keep in mind here is that the broad end will be the width of your finished bead, so keep it fairly small. You could also cut (or tear, for a bit of texture) simple straight strips. The triangular strips allow you to see colors from the whole piece in the finished bead, though, so we chose to do it this way.<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-xwedFxvEpJA/Tz0gghGJiXI/AAAAAAAAFyg/rAfHNV9Iuxk/s1600-h/IMAG0088%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0088" border="0" alt="IMAG0088" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-K8tHE8PN-OE/Tz0ghX8xzSI/AAAAAAAAFyo/Sp9YZdqCiVI/IMAG0088_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> </p> <p><strong>Other supplies:</strong><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ByC5foY3Nno/Tz0ghzNIQPI/AAAAAAAAFyw/QMFfICPM4UY/s1600-h/IMAG0092%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><strong><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0092" border="0" alt="IMAG0092" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Z8wV4OzbwO8/Tz0gigbYZLI/AAAAAAAAFy4/h_-TOTSnASU/IMAG0092_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></strong></a><strong>Glue, foam paintbrush, wax paper, toothpicks, styrofoam (or something to poke the toothpicks into), and a thin paintbrush or skewer for rolling.</strong></p> <p>M picked a strip and began rolling it around the thin paintbrush. I showed him how to stop once the strip is halfway rolled and paint glue on the rest of it:<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-UsQf16IekGA/Tz0gkOFybyI/AAAAAAAAFzA/oVprageCv-E/s1600-h/IMAG0094%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0094" border="0" alt="IMAG0094" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-zstosq65Ivs/Tz0glKymZEI/AAAAAAAAFzI/9PHsFl9xmdY/IMAG0094_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> </p> <p>Continue rolling it up, then pop it off the paintbrush and onto a toothpick and stick it in your foam to dry:<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-71vwvJzB3Xc/Tz0glnWEQEI/AAAAAAAAFzQ/XZoHmBrsXls/s1600-h/IMAG0099%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0099" border="0" alt="IMAG0099" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-DUvn68M1oro/Tz0gma_oRlI/AAAAAAAAFzY/ahnQLlHrUA0/IMAG0099_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="262" height="350"></a> </p> <p>Pretties:<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-qhtQ2P3SdAE/Tz0gnZwZO2I/AAAAAAAAFzg/Hf8W4b3vCYE/s1600-h/IMAG0106%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0106" border="0" alt="IMAG0106" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-o-VYvoh3JD0/Tz0goUZhjdI/AAAAAAAAFzo/LI_Mlr9hScc/IMAG0106_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="285"></a> </p> <p>Once these were dry, I did take them outside and spray a finish on them, just because I happened to have some. But M continued to make beads, and I did not spray them all (it was way too cold to go out and do it more than once!). I don’t think we can tell the difference between the finished ones and the unfinished. If you want to seal them and don’t have a spray finish, you could simply brush another coat of glue on the finished beads.</p> <p>M was so excited once they were finished and ready for stringing – he got right to work!<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-TT4B-xuv4Yw/Tz0gp-uOurI/AAAAAAAAFzw/NTLEvnCPG7k/s1600-h/IMAG0119%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0119" border="0" alt="IMAG0119" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-wHbQFMWOR48/Tz0gqgKzqaI/AAAAAAAAFz4/lwyTc5dzNOg/IMAG0119_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="262" height="350"></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.abcand123learning.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="abc button" src="http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/meyeringk/ABCGraphics-Page003.jpg"></a> Have a beautiful day! :)<br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/298/89E5650FFE83B607C630167FEABDC315.png"></a></p> <div style="margin: 10px 10px 10px 0px; float: left"><?xml:namespace prefix = g /><g:plusone expr:href="data:post.url" size="medium"></g:plusone></div> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-58767951961329176622012-02-13T15:21:00.001-06:002012-02-13T15:21:49.220-06:00Ice cold hearts for Valentine’s Day<p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-hv8cFhnuf2g/Tzl3dXthg5I/AAAAAAAAFwA/n8zPAeb4ymg/s1600-h/IMAG00797.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0079" border="0" alt="IMAG0079" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4ek_s_NlR28/Tzl3fBzMzlI/AAAAAAAAFwI/0YTflEU_Ffw/IMAG0079_thumb5.jpg?imgmax=800" width="475" height="356"></a> <em>Early Valentine roses from my sweethearts – just had to show them off. :)</em></p> <p> </p> <p>We did something different this year and made <strong>hearts from ice</strong>. I saw an idea similar to this recently <a href="http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/2012/01/valentines-diy-no-4-hearts-of-ice-by.html" target="_blank">here</a>. It looked like fun, and they sure were pretty, so we decided to make our own version. M is all about freezing things – he has loved to make colored ice since he was very little, so this was a good twist for that favorite activity.</p> <p><strong>Supplies – water, sparkly things, food coloring, silicone heart mold, and freezing temps outside.</strong></p> <p>First M filled the molds a little more than halfway with water. We tried pouring, but decided to use the baster instead:<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-dgHtSbCKtnk/Tzl3k1bheII/AAAAAAAAFwQ/2Cu6CVpIQLo/s1600-h/IMAG00114.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0011" border="0" alt="IMAG0011" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-6i__BBB6tTI/Tzl3mP0wRfI/AAAAAAAAFwY/8o85Qezc-cw/IMAG0011_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="240" height="400"></a> </p> <p>Then he added in some heart confetti and sequins, which pretty much floated on top. I had foreseen this, and that’s why we only filled them halfway. After freezing them we filled them the rest of the way and set them out to freeze again, so the sparkles were all contained in the middle of the ice:<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-uwNBSxSnKKA/Tzl3sM70j5I/AAAAAAAAFwg/adfy649bLIw/s1600-h/IMAG00123.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0012" border="0" alt="IMAG0012" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-L80hTpt40pw/Tzl3uNSSHFI/AAAAAAAAFwo/3lUNlAcUsAQ/IMAG0012_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="475" height="321"></a> </p> <p>We added yarn to the hearts prior to freezing so we’d be able to hang them up later:<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-_ZRZ-c9W1Sw/Tzl3xP7uCBI/AAAAAAAAFww/55ffzuCC0-s/s1600-h/IMAG00145.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0014" border="0" alt="IMAG0014" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gYBpMF0YNVk/Tzl-qUwiDLI/AAAAAAAAFw4/hxJf2-YOM6M/IMAG0014_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="325" height="400"></a> </p> <p>See the wire rack in the photo below? It’s best to place the mold on top of a rack or tray of some sort before adding all the water! This makes it easy to transport. I found this out the hard way. :)</p> <p>After the hearts were totally frozen:<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-pz4ZQSNiZWM/Tzl-uPjz5VI/AAAAAAAAFxA/N--owdgjPtw/s1600-h/IMAG00523.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0052" border="0" alt="IMAG0052" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-S6b7nFqtGA4/Tzl-wfCj_8I/AAAAAAAAFxI/Kcna7HaBRTA/IMAG0052_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="278" height="400"></a> </p> <p>We added some salt (see the bits?) and a couple of minutes later we added drops of food coloring, then stuck them back outside to freeze again:<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lP4bqvOFqVs/Tzl-yCrNe4I/AAAAAAAAFxQ/LSu2JrOfJ4U/s1600-h/IMAG00573.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0057" border="0" alt="IMAG0057" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICEKTNmyCe1VGWFLk6f2ad6m_vZBzVa31XL3he2shHoyUryhIhIHJKaS6rGDi-v9WAK9VZ9fQACz1uYVvuJqXfG1mrOTOepcccRu5B8jPRbzDDKWLSM32SUUJrN5qI1wDB6UvnwjQwFw/?imgmax=800" width="295" height="400"></a> </p> <p>After we remembered them (3 days later!) we popped them out and hung them up:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFv0hpEOG0iupmqZK-PQsiXLaF7VIk8r_TdIhn-VIEUFK17AmtF6XiFvB_ztAzjUKbTzKnF38Vpa9FF1Te2OBe8eFnroNwmuJuUV2FKVFkhlPcTkA5usy2F1txflx8F5W30gIIWy6ubs/s1600-h/IMAG00753.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0075" border="0" alt="IMAG0075" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-DJ_cQlvDC7M/Tzl-4AGPUyI/AAAAAAAAFxo/ecIclEgz_kg/IMAG0075_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="475" height="356"></a> </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-6KjovgI3OG8/Tzl-54q8ujI/AAAAAAAAFxw/RUm8m6hqtIE/s1600-h/IMAG00763.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0076" border="0" alt="IMAG0076" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-eHUIjanulDw/Tzl-6xQdPII/AAAAAAAAFx4/Js_oJzrlBn0/IMAG0076_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="475" height="356"></a> <em>They are prettier in real life than these photos would suggest.</em> </p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left">We worried, a bit too late, about the sequins falling out when the ice melts. M decided they will just make pretty decorations for the tree, but I’m thinking maybe pine branch tips or tiny pine cones would have been a better choice than sequins. Oops!</p> <p><br>Have a beautiful day! :)<br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/298/89E5650FFE83B607C630167FEABDC315.png"></a></p> <div style="margin: 10px 10px 10px 0px; float: left"><?xml:namespace prefix = g /><g:plusone expr:href="data:post.url" size="medium"></g:plusone></div> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-80869860944484850642012-02-09T10:23:00.001-06:002012-02-09T10:23:51.398-06:00Coming Soon! Easter E-Book<p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-vXB_mqtb0Vs/TzPzC6ThmtI/AAAAAAAAFtM/xB1MxalUOiY/s1600-h/thinpaperback_thumb%25255B7%25255D.png"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="thinpaperback_thumb" border="0" alt="thinpaperback_thumb" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-wGGLa2Wa_Gk/TzPzEu28MPI/AAAAAAAAFtU/p9eZdtpk0Zw/thinpaperback_thumb_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="381" height="479"></a> </p> <p align="left">I was honored and excited when Erin over at <a href="http://royalbaloo.com/" target="_blank">Royal Baloo</a> asked if I’d like to work with her on an Easter e-book for children. We’ve been coming up with crafts, activities, discussion tips, and printables to help little ones get a hands-on understanding of what Easter is all about. The activities span the 7 weeks prior to Easter, so it’s perfect for doing during Lent (or pick and choose what you like and create your own schedule!).</p> <p>Visit Erin’s post about the e-book <a href="http://royalbaloo.com/coming-soon-easter-e-book/" target="_blank">here</a>!</p> <p><br>Have a beautiful day! :)<br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/298/89E5650FFE83B607C630167FEABDC315.png"></a></p> <div style="margin: 10px 10px 10px 0px; float: left"><?xml:namespace prefix = g /><g:plusone size="medium" expr:href="data:post.url"></g:plusone></div> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-27124359432664072412012-02-08T06:00:00.000-06:002012-02-08T06:00:08.373-06:00What Mama’s been working on<p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-jGwnis4r8y4/TzFZgKzVMyI/AAAAAAAAFs0/IUF0_Iyj3LY/s1600-h/IMAG0017%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0017" border="0" alt="IMAG0017" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-RhC3AbchKKA/TzFZgg-mYWI/AAAAAAAAFs8/5u2DrQ540uY/IMAG0017_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="245" height="200"></a></p> <p>I’m so happy with how this turned out, and couldn’t resist showing it to the world. :)</p> <p>If Baby is a boy, we will use M’s baptism outfit for him (which just happened to be Daddy’s too, so it’s very special!), but if baby is a girl we will use this:<img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0009" border="0" alt="IMAG0009" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-1hlqI9esTbA/TzFZg9B1S1I/AAAAAAAAFtE/SZWCFaEq5xw/IMAG0009_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="297" height="347"></p> <p>Now, I am a simple sort of girl, so this is about as frilly as I want anything to get around here. Isn’t it sweet though? And I designed it myself, so I like to stare at it in amazement every once in a while. There were times I did not think it would even resemble a dress. It still needs buttons on the back, but otherwise it is finished. </p> <p>It’s enough to make me ok with oceans of pink (well, ponds maybe) around here, if we are blessed with a girl. ;) </p> <p><br>Have a beautiful day! :)<br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/298/89E5650FFE83B607C630167FEABDC315.png"></a></p> <div style="margin: 10px 10px 10px 0px; float: left"><?xml:namespace prefix = g /><g:plusone size="medium" expr:href="data:post.url"></g:plusone></div> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-44222741316479354262012-02-07T10:51:00.001-06:002012-02-07T10:53:53.651-06:00Sweet Valentines<p>I couldn’t resist sharing the Valentines M has made so far. Actually, these were all made within 24 hours of finding his <a href="http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2012/02/valentine-art-box.html" target="_blank">art box</a> last week. He was a busy little cupid all day. :)</p> <p>Can you see a theme running through most of these? Apparently making heart faces is big this year.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-vI5QlbnnhUE/TzFWqZu47UI/AAAAAAAAFso/WdqnFr5hFRo/s1600-h/IMAG0021%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0021" border="0" alt="IMAG0021" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-DWPSin0-D0E/TzFWe7imAGI/AAAAAAAAFsw/NBUBA9w4b74/IMAG0021_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="440" height="250"></a>(Ignore the date in the corner – my camera’s settings obviously need to be fixed.)</p> <p>M hardly bothered to write anything on most of these, and then I ran across the one for his favorite cousin Sophie and on the back it said this:<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Z-HxdqQTtOM/TzFWfXLDYSI/AAAAAAAAFro/5nD36uiin40/s1600-h/IMAG0023%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0023" border="0" alt="IMAG0023" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-7buoWuFrGKc/TzFWfi6dNcI/AAAAAAAAFrw/ZWEARIKv0jQ/IMAG0023_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="258" height="367"></a>“Watch out for Captain Hook and Peter Pan!” Haha – this is my favorite – such an unexpected (and mysterious, don’t you think?) message! Little boys’ minds work in interesting ways, don’t they? I hope his romantic messages improve beyond this at some point… or maybe I don’t, now that I think of it. ;)</p> <p>And the sweetest valentine of all… a <strong>valentine pillow for baby sister or brother</strong>. He worked for an entire day on this – sewing two pieces of felt together, with ribbons pinned on – so there’s something blue just in case – and then stuffing it up.<img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0004" border="0" alt="IMAG0004" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-iruhxYYe9X8/TzFWgI1jAWI/AAAAAAAAFr4/xknwRVCm2ig/IMAG0004_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="268" height="378"></p> <p>Check out that blanket stitch, he was so very particular about everything:<img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0008" border="0" alt="IMAG0008" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-dmgby6iEXos/TzFWgd38QvI/AAAAAAAAFsA/0DqPWDSupPU/IMAG0008_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="405" height="231"> </p> <p>He was so proud of himself when it was finished! He was going to glue more felt pieces on one of the sides to make a face (more faces!) but that hasn’t happened so far, and I love it just the way it is: <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-oMufIpYjJpk/TzFWhPaYF7I/AAAAAAAAFsI/x6g0MN9XYyM/s1600-h/IMAG0003%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0003" border="0" alt="IMAG0003" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-7fNksE028Gs/TzFWhUFaaaI/AAAAAAAAFsQ/VXUvio5OUj4/IMAG0003_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="305" height="243"></a> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-AOv9Sto5dqI/TzFWj1c7uLI/AAAAAAAAFsY/cf2OyTYSK2M/s1600-h/IMAG0002%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0002" border="0" alt="IMAG0002" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-8tSVO-Wh3WE/TzFWkanRwZI/AAAAAAAAFsg/he8rMw8UnrM/IMAG0002_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="305" height="220"></a> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><br>Have a beautiful day! :)<br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/298/89E5650FFE83B607C630167FEABDC315.png"></a></p> <div style="margin: 10px 10px 10px 0px; float: left"><?xml:namespace prefix = g /><g:plusone size="medium" expr:href="data:post.url"></g:plusone></div> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5565698982694193037.post-29461387710033939512012-02-01T06:00:00.000-06:002012-02-01T06:00:01.256-06:00Valentine Art Box<p>Let the Valentine-making begin!!</p> <p align="center"><em><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-rkKEHemCL0U/TyhYIKxFY_I/AAAAAAAAFrQ/q1A8ktc-yW0/s1600-h/Picture%252520065%25255B16%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Picture 065" border="0" alt="Picture 065" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-sHf-ifWF6Fk/TyhYI6nF2BI/AAAAAAAAFrY/XUfHt6qB34A/Picture%252520065_thumb%25255B10%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="269" height="354"></a> Whew, that’s a lot of pink and red!</em></p> <p>I’m keeping it simple this year – just a few basic supplies. I am neither in the mood nor energetic enough to do a lot of art cleaning up right now. </p> <p>In our box this year… red and pink construction paper (cut in half); Valentine stickers – regular, foam, and scented (yum!); a couple of paper punches – a heart and a swirl, glitter in pink, purple, and an iridescent white; scissors, glue, a container of sequins and googley eyes (there are regular-shaped sequins and heart-shaped sequins); markers in shades of pink, purple, and red; a kit of foam finger puppet valentines (from Target dollar spot).</p> <p>The foam finger puppet kit is basically <a href="http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2011/02/preschool-craft-valentine-piggy-backs.html" target="_blank">this craft</a> that we did a couple of years ago:<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-N2VIkV8nPl0/TyhWvhbEMJI/AAAAAAAAFrA/7_hI_AIfnnc/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9H4hmSNaYA9Cs5KtVyZrcwAJr5Oke5yWIpGVzDj7PF4MLWTo42N3fT3PtmFPB_lH5fdRarBhCONP1OGnTYrc6_Pw-DNzxOSq2Jk4HNzdTpDloH6K1Ol_iZtkEG81Vs1dpng4p5-5_-A0/?imgmax=800" width="262" height="350"></a>(Target, quit stealing ideas from my blog – this is not the first time I’ve seen something we’ve done made into a neat little kit and placed in your aisles.) (What? Other people might have the same ideas because mine are not that original? Nonsense!)</p> <p>Happy month o’ love, everyone! </p> <p><br>Have a beautiful day! :)<br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/298/89E5650FFE83B607C630167FEABDC315.png"></a></p> <div style="margin: 10px 10px 10px 0px; float: left"><?xml:namespace prefix = g /><g:plusone size="medium" expr:href="data:post.url"></g:plusone></div> Nicole {tired, need sleep}http://www.blogger.com/profile/13395532136969657091noreply@blogger.com0