Monday, October 31, 2011

Halloween crafts

I wanted to show a few of the crafts that we made this past week in homeschool kindergarten. The first one is a handprint bat. Bats are a fascinating part of God's creation, and we talked a little about them. I found the directions to make the bat online here.



Another one is an owl's face, we talked a little about owls too.
Directions: 
1. Cut a brown circle out of brown construction paper (dinner plate size or slightly smaller.
2. Cut out two white eyes- trace a cup top or bottom.
3. Cut out two black pupils, tracing a quarter or punch them with a 1 1/4" circle punch.
4. Cut a diamond from orange construction paper, and fold in half.
5. Cut an eyebrow shape from yellow construction paper. (trace two half circles?)
6. Glue it all together.


Another one is a paper plate pumpkin. We've talked a lot this week about how pumpkins grow, and how a pumpkin with a face cut in it is called a jack-o-lantern. So I guess this should be a paper plate jack-o-lantern, huh?
Directions:
1. Paint a paper plate with orange paint. We mixed our paint from red and yellow tempera, and talked about making orange.
2. Allow paint to dry. While drying, cut out face shapes from black construction paper. We discussed shapes a lot, and we punched out circles (scallop too!) and the square from punches we had on hand.
3. Glue shapes onto pumpkin to make face.

Another one is a black cat. We discussed cats and the idea that black cats are bad, which we don't believe is true! All of God's creatures are wonderful!


SHOWING THE TAIL DANGLING DOWN...
Directions:
1. Draw/ Trace black cat shape, and cut it out.
2. Cut out white strips from construction paper for whiskers.
3. Cut two diamonds from green construction paper.
4. Add two green sequins to the diamonds, one for each eye.
5. Glue eyes and whiskers onto face, adding an orange pom-pom for the nose.
6. For the tail, cut out a swirl of black paper, and glue it onto the back of the cat.

cat pattern to trace


Feel free to use any of these ideas in your homeschool! They were all fun for my crafty daughters to create!

Friday, October 28, 2011

NEW laundry soap recipe!

I had posted my laundry soap recipe a while back, and I have been using and making it for a while. It was a good recipe, but I noticed that my whites were not as white as I wanted them to be, just dingy looking. I asked a friend who makes her own laundry soap, and she gave a similar recipe to me. Also, I was looking at some other blogs recently, and found this recipe below. You can see her post here. I tried it and I have been liking it more!

The main difference is...
OXI-CLEAN!!

But there is also 1/2 cup more Borax. 


Here is the recipe:
1 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1/4 cup Oxi-Clean (optional)

Use 1 tablespoon detergent per load (2 Tbs for heavily solid loads) 



I used Oxi-Clean that I had on hand, and I think it has made a big difference for my whites. I think I will keep using this recipe! I was disappointed that the cost of my detergents used in my recipe were raised, but I think it is still cheaper than buying any other detergent on the shelf. The above blog link where I got this recipe has a wonderful $ break-down. I checked her prices at Wal-Mart and they were correct! This recipe is still a money saver!


Do you make your own laundry detergent? It is a great way to save money!
Let me know if you try it, I'd love to hear your review!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

American Girl class: Kirsten week 1

This week in our class, we had a very fun craft-- making yarn dolls! They took a bit of time, but they turned out cute!

Here are a few pictures, but only a few, since I was pretty busy helping the girls! It was an all-hands-on-deck kind of craft!
The 1:00 class, braiding the hair:

more braiding...
The 2:00 class, working on the arms...



There were directions to make yarn dolls in Kirsten's Craft book, but I decided to use these directions from Jamin instead: 

To make the Yarn Dolls you will need…

A piece of cardboard cut to 5"X7"
30 yards of yarn for body
10 yards of yarn for arms
1 yard (same as arms) for waist and tying arms.
 Three 2 yard pieces of yarn for hair (I gave our girls three 1-yard pieces)
2 blue beads for eyes
red felt for mouth
white thread and needle to sew on hair and eyes
glue to attach mouth


Step 1 – Wrap all the body yarn around the cardboard in the 7" side.  Use a small piece of the same color as the body to tie off the top tightly and then remove from the cardboard.

Step 2 – Wrap the arm color around the same way.  Remove from cardboard and cut one end.  Tie a small piece of yarn to secure the end that still has a loop. Braid the arms together then secure the cut end with a small piece of yarn (or rubberband).  Cut the loop end so both ends are the same.

Step 3 – On the body use a small piece of the body color to tie around and make a neck.  (You now have a tassel.)

Step 4 – Cut the bottom of the tassel so it is now loose (We cut the tassel after we removed it from the cardboard). Divide the tassel in half.  Insert the arms and then use a piece about 3 inches long of the arm color to make the waist.

Step 5 -  Take the 3 yellow pieces for the hair and braid into one long piece.

Step 6 – Arrange hair on head and stitch with needle and thread.

Step 7 – Use needle and thread to sew on eyes.

Step 8 – Glue on felt mouth.  (You could use yarn to make the mouth.)


HERE IS MY FINISHED YARN DOLL!
We ran out of time in class to finish the doll (we only have one hour!), so the girls each took two blue beads and a small piece of red felt home to finish them. We did the best we could in the time we had...


For snack we had Swedish Meatballs. Most of the girls liked them!


We did not begin our on-going project, since I knew this craft was going to take longer than most. We will begin our project next week with more braiding!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Caleb's new mural!

NANA CHALKING CALEB'S WALLS!
Our son Caleb's room was quite plain when we moved into our home a little more than a year ago. My mother-in-law is a wonderful watercolorist, and we asked her if she could paint a mural on his wall. She agreed, but then her back pain worsened, and worsened. She had a back surgery a few months ago, and has been mending ever since! We were delighted when she agreed to come to town and paint this past week! We're thrilled that she was feeling well enough to complete the task!
PUTTING IN THE FIELD...
SKY FILLED IN, SIGN STARTED, FIELD LINED...

WORKING ON THE SIGN...
ALMOST DONE...
THE FINISHED PRODUCT! SOOOO COOL!
WE REARRANGED HIS ROOM TOO...

Thanks, Nana! It looks awesome and we love it! You're the best painter-Nana we love!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Pumpkins lapbook

Here is another lapbook that we did when my daughter was in 3rd grade. We got the supplies for it from a variety of online sources. First, here is a great unit from A Teaching Heart about pumpkins. I used some of the pictures and poems in our lapbook. Some of the other printables that I used (Shine for Jesus, Five Little Pumpkins min-book, Words found in Pumpkin Patch printable, Parable of the Sower, What Spices are in a Pumpkin Pie) were all from Lilliput Station Adventures' lapbook, and I can't find any current links for it. Sorry. :(  
Here are some other links on my friend Jamin's page.

 The pumpkin for the cover was found here: http://www.first-school.ws/t/cp_seasonal/f_pumpkin.htm 
 Left folder, flap closed: Pumpkin poem, found here: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/fall/pumpkinpoem1.htm

Left center folder:
"Mr. Pumpkin" poem from A Teaching Heart unit, see link above.

Right flap: Christian Pumpkin carvings poem: http://www.annieshomepage.com/halloweenprintabletext.html
Picture from A Teaching Heart's unit, see link above.
 Right flap: Poem- "I'm dreaming of the Great Pumpkin", found in A Teaching Heart unit, link above.
and pictures of carving our pumpkins.

 The Peter Pumpkin Eater craft found here: http://www.first-school.ws/activities/nrhymes/peter.htm
Make a Pumpkin pattern page: http://www.bry-backmanor.org/actpag264.html

This is our back cover:
You can find the pumpkin sewing card here: http://www.abcteach.com/free/p/pumpkin_sewingcard.pdf


Here are some links and ideas for a pumpkin lapbook: http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/2007/10/pumpkins-lapbook.html

Here are more fun links about pumpkin activities: http://homeschoolblogger.com/amtell/403687/

I hope you've found some fun things that you can use to make a pumpkin lapbook of your own! It was a fun lapbook to make and we look at it every year in late October!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Hats!

 Last week in our homeschool, it was H week for my kindergartener. We talked about different hats people wear, why hats are worn, read hats books, made a hats collage with magazine pictures, and made HATS of course! Here are a few of the hats we made...


The hats theme set my mind to thinking about all the "hats" that I wear in my life...

-The "Mommy" hat- the one that I wear when helping my children solve their battles, encourage them to be kind, pray with and for them, discipline them, talk to them, offer advice and assistance, read books about how to care for their needs in a new way...

The "Teacher" hat- the one I wear while homeschooling them, teaching them to write their letters, read, how to add, subtract, multiply and divide, helping them with their social studies lessons, reading maps, reading books to them, teaching them to tie their shoes, how to write a letter, how to write an essay, and much, much more...This hat is also upon my head when I am planning and teaching my American Girl class in our co-op each week...

-The "Wife" hat- worn as I listen to, respect, love, adore, speak to, laugh with, work alongside, parent alongside, shop with, and play with my amazing husband!

-The "Pastor's Wife" hat- my husband is the Worship Pastor at our church, and so I dress up a little more for church, pray for others in church, minister in small ways, support my husband, suggest songs to him, pray for him, sing alongside him at times, and worship in and amongst our body of believers. What a blessing it is, and this hat usually gets me walking a little lighter...

-The "maid" hat- washing the dishes, doing the laundry, putting it away, picking up toys, and anything that gets tossed on the floor, couch, stairs, where it doesn't belong...

-The "chef" hat- I wear this while concocting delicious food combinations, trying out new recipes, scouring cookbooks for a new set of directions on how to make something delicious!

-The "seamstress" hat- worn while crafting a new pattern into a shirt, or a curtain, or a bag! Also worn while tediously hand-sewing a button, a patch onto an AWANA vest, or a torn seam on a skirt...

-The "friend" hat is not worn as much as I'd like, but I do wear it as I talk to other moms at MOPS and church, talk to my old college roomie on the phone, make a new friend at the park, and sometimes while talking with my hubby...

-The "Sister/ Daughter" hat- I do speak to my parents & siblings frequently by phone, and also connect with them via Facebook and Twitter. We try to get together as often as we can, usually on holidays. My hubby's family mostly lives nearby, and we see them several times a week, and we speak on the phone with his Mom-sister that live an hour away...

-The "cousin" hat- is not worn too often, but I do wear it when I reply to a post or check out cute photos of my cousins and their kids on Facebook. I love seeing pictures since I live so far away from most of them and don't physically see them but maybe once a year...

Have you seen a person wear two hats? It looks a little funky, and it feels kinda funky when you wear two hats. It can be done, but not always done well. That's how it feels when I try to blend my roles, some of them are blended easily, others, not so much... I can make dinner while I talk on the phone to my sister, but the dinner may be burned! Sometimes I can wear them both with ease, being a mother and a sister at the same time isn't too hard, being a friend and a wife to my husband usually works, being a mother and a wife is usually easy... but all that hat changing can get exhausting! No wonder I am tired every evening!

Amy Grant has a song about this phenomenon, called "Hats", here are the lyrics, found here. This is not a favorite song of mine, but I can identify with the message more now as I am *ahem* older....

Hats lyrics
Songwriters: Eaton, Chris; Grant, Amy;

The sun goes up
The breakfast show
Can't you see me running?
It's crazy, don't you know?
(Don't you know, don't you know?)

The moon is high
I'm workin' through the night
Will somebody tell me
Where do all the hours go?
(I don't know)

Well, it don't stop
No, it's never gonna stop
Why do I have to wear
So many things on my head?
(Hats)

One day I'm a mother
One day I'm a lover
What am I supposed to do?
(Hats)

Working for a livin'
All because I'm driven
To be the very best for you

The water is hot
(So hot)
The phone don't stop
(Hello, good bye)

So how do I manage
To hold on to my sanity
(I don't know, baby, I don't know)

The red dress on
Time for having fun
(Time for having fun)
But can I really be
The girl you think you see me?

The spirit is willing
But the flesh is weak
Why do I have to wear
So many things on my head?
(Hats)

One day I'm a mother
(One day I'm a mother)
One day I'm a lover
(One day I'm a lover)
What am I supposed to do?
(Hats)

Working for a livin'
(Working for a livin')
All because I'm driven
(All because I'm driven)
To be the very best for you
(Hats)... 
repeat chorus...
repeat bridge...


This book also spoke to me about the different hats we are called to wear. Sometimes others try to put a hat on us that doesn't fit-- too big, too small, makes us trip, but we feel obligated to wear it since they gave it to us. God has given us each a "hat"(or several) to wear, so wear it well!


"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues[d]? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts." 1 Corinthians 12:27-31

Friday, October 21, 2011

Crockpot Italian Beef Roast

Recently, my parents were coming to visit and I decided to try a recipe for beef roast in the crockpot on the evening that they arrived. It was easy and nice to have in the crockpot, since I was not exactly sure when they would arrive that evening. I tried this recipe from the Slow Cooker Suppers cookbook that I had gotten recently for free, and it was DELICIOUS!

Here is the recipe:

Italian Beef Roast
3 pounds Beef Roast
1 cup Italian dressing
6 medium potatoes, quartered
1 pound baby carrots

Place roast in slow cooker.

Arrange potatoes and carrots around roast.

Pour dressing over all.

Cook on low for 8 hours.

Simple, easy and yummy- my favorite combination!

But I didn't take a picture! Guess I was in a rush with family being around... you'll just have to trust me that it looked AND tasted good!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

American Girl class: Josefina Week 6

This week we had our last class all about Josefina! We read Changes for Josefina and discussed the book. We talked a little bit about New Mexican weddings and proposals using the Welcome to Josefina's World book. Then we made   “Memory books” with wrinkled brown kraft paper, folded white paper & yarn. The girls each got a piece of brown kraft paper, 9" X 12", folded in half (hamburger way, not hot-dog way. :-D) They colored a picture on the front of their book, then crumpled it up to make it look old. I gave them each five pieces of white copy paper, they folded it in half, and placed it inside their kraft paper. Then I punched two holes through all of the pieces, and they put yarn through the holes and tied a bow
2:00 class...
 For snack, we ate Homemade bread. In the 1:00 class, it was Sourdough bread that was still warm- yum! In the 2:00 class, it was Fry Bread with honey- yum!
snack...
Today we also finished our weaving work on hand loom, took it off the cardboard loom and tied it off. The girls were able to take home their woven piece, which they could use as a mini-rug, or attach a stick to make into a wall-hanging. 


Such a neat design!
Taking it off the loom and tying the knots...
 The 2:00 class finished their weaving too- so fun to see the woven piece off the loom!




A mom helping the younger girls...
She worked hard on her book cover!
Look at that happy smile!
You can find directions on how to finish the cardboard loom here. (You'll find it under "What the Children Do") I tried to give a paper explaining how to complete the weaving and take off the loom to each girl that didn't finish it in class. Most of them got the weaving completed, what a joy it was to the girls and to me, to see the culmination of SIX weeks of work done!


Next week we'll begin Kirsten, and a new ongoing project! 

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

"Buy it back" box

I posted in the past about organizing, and using our "buy-it-back-box... you can find the original post here.
"Make it clear that leaving personal belongings unattended may result in their being held for ransom. If a family member wants his or her stuff back, he or she will have to do an extra chore. If anyone chooses not to do the extra chore, you know that the item isn't important enough. Give the item away to charity without guilt.

We do this last one with our kids, and we call it the "buy-it-back-box". When the kids go to bed and leave their toys/ belongings out, we put it in the buy-it-back-box. Then they have to do a job/ chore the next day to get it back. I love that- and it's amazing how it motivates them to grab their toys and clean up before they go to bed. There are some things that have stayed in the box for a while, (a month maybe) and... off they go to Goodwill!"
THE JOB JAR...
PICK FROM THE JAR BUT DON'T LOOK AT WHAT IT SAYS...


When they go to grab a job, they get to take out the "job jar' which is filled with jobs that the kids can do. Here is my list:



“Job jar” list of jobs for kids to do

Clean all door knobs
Clean all light switches
Wash closet doors (one or two rooms)
Wash/ dust front door
Vacuum edges of carpet with small vac
Clean fridge top, door front & inside door
Clean one fridge shelf
Spot clean kitchen floor
Wash laundry room doors
Clean computer & TV screens
Dust one bedroom
Vacuum one bedroom (Mom’s choice)
Wash/ wipe walls
Wipe bathroom scale, toilet bottom
Wipe floor in bathrooms, entry way
Clean out trash, toys in van, vacuum
Sweep front walk/ porch/ step
Clean/ wash trash cans
Clean stove top and microwave
Wipe down dishwasher door & stove door fronts
Wash baseboards
Vacuum couches 
Sweep garage floor
Shake out rugs 
Wash windows (Mom’s choice)
GRACE
GRACE
GRACE
Do sibling’s job
Sweep kitchen floor
Wash all windowsills
Wipe kitchen counters
Help Mom with laundry
Dust family room or front room
Sweep back sidewalk
Vacuum stairs



This is our simple list of things to do in our home. When we moved, I had to change a few that we didn't need anymore- like clean sliding glass door, became clean laundry room doors, since we now have doors on our laundry room! So you can adjust it to your needs.


 We do use clorox wipes (or generic) for the younger kids, and even my two-year-old can clean some things to get a toy from the box! I have a handful of jobs that I know she can do, so she doesn't get to actually choose a job. For her, she can wipe doorknobs, sweep (a little), spot-mop the kitchen floor with a wet rag, wash baseboards, wipe lower windowsills, and dust low shelves without cleaners. I like this practice because it gets the kids to take care of their own things, clean up after themselves, and teaches them to clean under my supervision, which is a skill they need to know for the future! And I love having a clean home! Also in the jar are incentives, which is another post! :-D


My sister-in-law posted about this on her blog about a year ago, you can find that link here.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

By His Blood...

My husband is a hero. Not just to me, though. He is a hero because he goes once a month, gets his arm poked, and donates platelets at our local hospital blood center. Voluntarily! He's been donating blood for many years. I've given blood a few times recently too, and it feels good to know that I am helping someone else in a tangible way. (Platelets are irregularly-shaped, colorless blood cells. Platelets add in the clotting process to prevent or stop bleeding and are used in the treatment of serious illness, including cancer and leukemia, and for heart and transplant surgery patients.) Sometimes he wears this shirt that I gave him several years ago:


My mom and I donated blood in high school. I have a rarer type of blood, and they like to get my type since it is more rare. Sometimes a person may have troubles with their blood, whether they suffer blood loss in an accident, or if they have a blood disease. That's is why blood donation is important. They need more volunteers all the time. Blood can give life to another human being.

It reminds me of passages in the Old Testament of the Bible that talk about how blood was important to God, and sacrifices needed to be blood sacrifices.

Blood of the lamb protecting the Israelites in Egypt during the Passover:
"Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs." Exodus 12:7


The priests offered blood sacrifices in the temple:
"You are to slaughter the young bull before the LORD, and then Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting." Leviticus 1:5

The people were commanded:
"But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat." Deuteronomy 12:23 (emphasis mine)

In the new covenant that is established through Jesus, He promises...
"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ." Ephesians 2:13



"And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body (blood) of Jesus Christ once for all." Hebrews 10:10


"Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin."
 Hebrews 9:22


We have Jesus' blood that was shed for our sins to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If you need more information, or have questions, you can read more here. While I can't save someone from their sin through my blood, I can give them a longer life.

I like all the catchy slogans that they have for blood donation now:
Join us for a pint (that's how much you're allowed to donate)
Give blood, save lives
It takes all types!
Have a big heart, give blood!
Be someone special, Be a blood donor!
Got blood? Save lives! 

So are you a superhero? If not, what are you waiting for...?
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