simple Analogy

May Kid's Craft Along: Lavender Bath Salts Teacher Gift

School is almost out! The kids are getting squirrely; the teachers are getting antsy. As a teacher (homeschool mom of 11 years) I can speak from experience. The teachers are just as ready as the kids are to be out of school, maybe more so. Her last few weeks are spent trying to cram those last few lessons into the minds of her students - minds that are already tuned in to what's going to happen as soon as that "last day of school" bell rings. It can be trying at best and maddening at worst.

What your teacher really needs for her end of school gift is the gift of relaxation. This month's craft along is just the ticket... a nice long soak in a lavender scented bath.

Supplies:

epsom salts

dried lavender

jar with lid (recycle a mason, spice, or baby food jar)

paint (optional)

fabric or ribbon

Approximate cost: $5 (will make several gifts)

Directions:

In a disposable bowl or cup, add one cup of epsom salts.

Add a small spoonful (not quite a tablespoon) of dried lavender to the salts. I prefer to just use the dried flowers because lavender is a strong scent, but if you like add two drops of lavender essential oil. Go easy though! A little goes a long way!

Stir to combine.

Spoon into a clean, dry jar.

If needed, paint the lid of your jar and let dry completely. Screw on tightly.

Print out labels. You may need to resize them depending on the size of your jar.

Tie a ribbon or strip of fabric around the top of your jar and add the label.

Suggestions:

• Dried lavender and a variety of essential oils can be found near the soap making supplies at your local craft store.
• Don't like the scent of lavender? Try making citrus scented bath salts. Substitute dried orange peel (recipe here) for the dried lavender and add a few drops of orange oil.
• For future reference, these make a great Mother's Day gift as well.

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Share pictures of your salt creations in the Kid's Craft Along Flickr pool!

Research Happens

At the same time that the boys are in the middle of their yearly research papers (of which I am very much a part since I am their teacher), I'm in the middle of a research project of my own...

I'm in the planning stage of adding a little seating area in the nursery at church.  Since I don't have a pinterest account (dumb old pinterest requires a facebook/twitter account to join - I'm bitter) wanna see what I love? 

source

source

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And pull it all together with this.

source

As you can see, this is World Market heavy!  I did all the research online to save myself time and gas then hit the brick and mortar store to "kick the tires" a little.  I could spend hours there just looking around.  So inspiring!  Of course my eyes are a little bit bigger than my budget, but hey - start with the main pieces (couch and chair) and add the rest as the budget allows.  That's my plan. 

If you sign up for their email you'll get a 10% off coupon!!!

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Oh, and just in case you need help with bibliography pages, try Bibme.  I'm tellin' ya - kid's these days have all the good stuff!

Saturation

painting horses of a different color

 

brewing tea-shirts  (I know that was bad, but I couldn't help it.)  I added some vinegar to this batch per one of my reader's comments to help set the color.  Makes sense, right?  You do it with Easter eggs- why not tea stained shirts?

making gold

listening to toddler campfire songs and making CDs  (The Marshmallow Song is my favorite!)

It's pretty much full VBS mode from here on out to the end of the month.  I'm saturated in all things western right now...

Glow in the Dark Pickup Sticks

Noah found two batches of glow in the dark bracelets in my stash and came up with this fun game...

Find a dark place in the house with no windows:  closet, laundry room, etc.  Break all the glow bracelets at the same time.  Play a game of pick up sticks in the dark.

A good middle-of-summer-kids-are-bored-to-death-rainy-day idea!

Speaking of summer break, here are some things we're doing once a week to keep from being bored this summer:

• go to the library
• make a new flavor of popsicle
• go to Grandma's (but then we already did this weekly)
• play tennis
• going out for lunch
• keep one day of the week open so that we can do WHATEVER we want to do, be it mini-golf or hanging around the house
• work with dad (landscaping)

If you'd like more summer ideas, Wise Craft has a list going on and lots of ideas in the comments!

Alone

I'm sure you know what this is by now.  Yes, another one!  I can't keep away from these notebooks, especially when I have hours in the car to fill.  I doodled around with concentric circles and came up with this design... not exactly a flower, but it could pass for one.  Also the yummy yellow peaking through reminds me that fall is on the way.  And school...

The house is very quiet this morning.  Just me and the dog.  The bigger guys are working and the youngest is swimming at grandma's.  It is the calm before our homeschooling storm begins on Monday.  With one in high school this year, what we have to accomplish is a little overwhelming.  We'll do fine, I know, but until things are in a routine it'll be a little crazy.

I love homeschooling my kids, but this morning I am enjoying one of my last days of summer freedom.

Book Fair: Day Three

Sea Life Art and Activities 

I am about to be submerged until July 9th.  The VBS theme this year is under the sea (SeaQuest).  Sooo fun!  What better way to find crafts for my preschoolers than utilizing the resources at the library.  I went searching for this one.  From all the sticky tabs at the top you can see how useful this book was to me.

Favorite Things:

1.  When it says "Creative Learning Experiences for 3 to 7-Year-Olds"  it really means it!  The projects/activities in this book are perfect for that age group.

2.  The craft projects.  Duh!  They are really easy for the children, and not too much preparation for me as the teacher.  And fun!  Actually, I'm in love with the paper plate seahorses.  I'm making a ton of them to use for decorating my seascape.  I used my finger to "brush" glitter glue onto the fan and glued sequins to the tummy.

   

3.  The suggested learning activities/games are fun and educational at the same time.  Can't wait to toss some seaweed (green bath pouf) around with the kids.

4.  Poems and rhymes.  This poem is to be said while playing the game "London Bridge".

  

5.  Story Corner.  At the end of a 4 hour session with the kids I'm pretty tired and so are they.  What better way to decompress than to read some fun books together!

We'll have more fun than Ariel and all her friends in our underwater adventure thanks to this book!

 

Oh! By The Way...

* Chocolate Cheerios are my new favorite cereal.  They aren't too sugary (like Cocoa Puffs).  The chocolate doesn't taste like chemicals (like Cocoa Puffs).  And the chocolate takes the *blah* out of the Cheerios.

* Our school subjects are dropping like flies - science, logic, spelling last week.  History and Bible this week.  We'll be done early!  WEE HAW!!!!!  That's a Magdis saying. 

* Both research papers are completed and graded.  Joel is no slouch of a grader when it comes to things like this.  He's tough.  They both got high A's which means they were really good!  I couldn't be happier.

*  Landon's diagramming sentences for today reminded me just how much I love homeschooling.  Not only do my kids learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, they are also building character.  LOVE THAT!!

When faithfulness is most difficult, it is most necessary.

Whom you associate with is most important.

When a man's temper gets the best of him, it reveals the worst of him.

Who bravely dares must sometimes risk a fall.

When God gave His Son, He made the sacrifice that will never be forgotten.

* Errands are much more fun if you have a friend along to run them with you.  We'll have to do it again, Mom!

* It's amazing how many recipes you forget about until you are asked to come up with some for a church cookbook.  I received a frantic email a couple of weeks ago saying that more recipes were needed, and seeing as how I hadn't yet done my part, I quickly linked to several here on the blog.  Ahem, for those of you who received the same email and haven't submitted yours yet...

* Plastic pellets are much better for beanbags than pony beads.  They just feel so much better.

* Dana and Disney are cooking up some ideas for Mother's Day if you need some inspiration.

* I'm also getting the next Kid's Craft Along ready.  It will be Mother's Day/Spring/Flower-ish.  Check back May 1st.  This project is really easy, so you can totally have it ready by Mother's Day.

Art + Science

 

This smacks of jellies!  Pun intended.  We've been studying marine animals this semester in science and jellyfish in particular this week.  That is the only reason why I know that a group of jellyfish are called a smack.  OH!  Now I get the pun!  What a surprise that this week's art lesson was to draw a scene of the sea.  I told the boys they had to draw at least one jelly in their scene.  As you can see that's all I really wanted to draw!  That poor little fish.  Look how I backed him into a corner, facing that smack all alone.  What must he be thinking?  The lady who drew this was evil - that's what he's thinking.  Maybe he can pull a Marlin/Dory move and bounce right out of harm's way.  Sorry little guy!  I was so caught up with the jellies.

Noah's drawing has a good assortment of animals that we have studied:  sea snake, jellies, sea turtle, anemone, angler fish, crab, sea urchin, fish, shrimp, and his playful take on a box jellyfish.

 Landon's is more of a smack with one scared, inking octopus thrown in for good measure.

A Little Extra On the Side

As an extra project for the missions conference, I set up a few tables at the back of our craft area and stocked them with blank postcards, magazine cut outs, glue, scissors, and markers.  The children made DIY Postcards all week long.  We collected them and gave them as presents to all our missionaries.  I was amazed how much the kids enjoyed this extra "on your own" craft.  You can see some of the postcards in our gallery.

Now before I sign off on multicultural crafting until next year, I must say a big thank you to Megan who was my partner in crime this week.  It's so much fun working with her.  We'd start a conversation, have to stop and give directions to kids, and start right back into our conversation like nothing ever happened.  It was a pleasure, madame!  Oh and you must see her Pi Day treat.  Too fun!

There is a new category in the sidebar to house all these and previous year's crafts.  I hope you've enjoyed this years edition of Multicultural Crafts for Kids.  Until next year... 

Multicultural Crafts for Kids - Mexico

Viva Mexico!  When I think of Mexico, I think of fiestas.  And what do you see at every fiesta/party?  Yes, pinatas.  Unfortunately for the children, I have neither time nor patience to get into the mess that is creating pinatas.  What else do you see at fiestas?  Those beautiful paper banners with all the intricate cuts in them.  Now that I can do.

 

They are actually called papel picado, and are usually made out of tissue paper.  To save on the frustration of working with tissue, we used brightly colored paper.  I pre-folded the top inch along the length of the paper to make a casing.  For the younger children, I folded the paper in half and then folded the edges of the paper in about an inch or so.  Since many of the children in this group are just learning to use scissors, I drew simple triangle shapes on the paper for them to cut out along the folds.  Curves just would have been too hard.  You could also use this template.  Megan, who helped me all week, took this group.

 

For the older kids, I folded the paper in the same way, gave them instructions, and let them make their own design.  I had markers on the table so that they could draw their design first and then cut it out.  Making your own design work the way you want it to takes a bit of thought and sometimes several tries are needed, so I had lots of extra paper on hand.

When the children were finished cutting, they inserted a string in the casing (not shown in my pictures), and stapled the casing closed.

 

Again, these are my samples.  It's just too hard to teach the process, patrol the scissors, and get pictures at the same time.  I really had a fun time preparing this project.  The more I did it, the more creative I got.  Some of the children were asking me how I did the whale.  Tricky - that whale!  He's part symmetrical (body, fluke, and spout) and part just regular cutting (tail).  I also never got a picture of my banner hanging.  It looked great - just use your imagination!

Extra Activity:

Color the Mexican Flag.