Lasso The Moon

Election Day

I surprised Emma by getting her out of school yesterday to go vote with me.  I thought I'd have to talk the office ladies into letting me have her, but they seemed really excited and impressed that I would let her see how the process works.

While I've heard stories of crazy-long lines, and multi-hour waits, there were only a few voters at our location in the middle of the day, so we were in and out in a matter of minutes.  I wanted to get a picture of Emma turning in my ballot, but they tend to frown upon things like cameras at polling stations.

Before going back to school, we took a quick detour to Starbucks, since they were giving away these cool bracelets.  So patriotic.

I might have shared a sip or two of my coffee...

The caffeine and sugar only affected her a little bit.  I'm sure her teachers could handle it.

I'll have to brainstorm to come up with some other school-office-approved-midday outings.  I miss them so much when they are there all day!

After school, when Ethan found out I'd taken Emma on a field trip, he felt scandalized.  I cheered him up with a project I had set up for them both.

I found a map online that was complete with electoral college points.  During the election coverage, I gave Emma a red pencil, Ethan a blue, and set them to work keeping track of the votes as they became official. 

This way they felt completely engrossed in the outcome of the election.  They weren't able to stay awake for the end, but when they woke up this  morning, they were both curious to hear what the result was.

I don't believe in involving children in the grown-up politics and emotions of the presidential election, so I didn't make any big deal about which side I was going for, but it was fun for them to feel connected to it, and get an art project in at the same time.

Next time I might have them add up the electoral votes while they color.

Craft Wednesday - Land, Rocks, Plants

 ^{Gen 1: 9} Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. ¹² The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. ¹³ There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

We are starting with the reveal shot on this one.  Instead of warming up with play-doh or chalk today, I had them run around the yard looking for interesting leaves for leaf rubbings.

Peel some crayons (fun!) and place the leaves veiny-side-up under a piece of thin paper.  We used tracing paper.  Experiment with patterns, shapes, and overlapping colors.

Then it's off to the next project:  Hot Rocks!

I first learned about hot rocks years ago on this blog.  It's a favorite.

Collect or buy some smooth, clean stones--about the size of your palm.  We got a package of rocks at Walmart, in the flower-arranging craft aisle, for about 5 bucks.

Place the rocks on a foil-lined cookie sheet at 350 degrees.  Warn the kids 20-25 times not to touch the rocks with their hands.  Set the rocks in front of them, and protect your work surface from the heat with some padding.  (We made a bed of paper towels, covered with a piece of foil.)

Grab some crayons and start drawing on the rock.  The wax melts to the hot rock and shows up in brilliant, beautiful streams of color.

Try to cover the whole top of the rock in color.

Wait until they cool off before picking them up.

And then take a picture!

Craft Wednesday - Air and Water

 Gen 1 ⁶ Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. ⁸ God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

It kind of looks like they're under water, doesn't it!  The day we did this art class, the air was so thick and humid that I only got a couple pictures before the lens was all fogged up again. Gross.  But appropriate, in a way, to the lesson.

Before we got to the messy part of the day, I gave each child a piece of white drawing paper, and had them draw an under-water scene.  They got very creative with this.

We had a huge range of ages on this day--from 3 to 10 years old.  I gave the little guys some pointers on how to draw a simple fish.  The older ones just ran with it.

When they were done drawing, I mixed some bubble solution with a little dish soap and a squirt of paint, and we covered the ocean scenes with bubble prints.  A great way to depict Air and Water through and art project.

Note: I do not have any pictures of this process. It is very hands-on, very slippery, and one of my children had a flat-out melt-down in the middle of it.  (It's not the one you're thinking, either...)

But there is a VERY good tutorial on the Paper Crafts blog!

One thing we did learn is to add lots of paint so the bubbles really show up well.

We also learned that little ones need to practice blowing into the bubble mixture a few times so they know not to suck it up.  Ew.

Ethan's (below) Can you find the crab chasing the jelly fish?  LOVE!

The kids loved this project! Most of them didn't even care that they had covered their pictures in painty bubbles.  They just wanted to keep making them. (The bubbles stick together and form a tall tower of colorful foam.  So much fun.)

Oh my gosh.  I just noticed that Ethan's shorts are unbuttoned in every photo. He must have been in the middle of something when he heard the call for group photos...

 

 

And here is another source of wonderful bubble crafts, which would be very nice to try on a day that is not so humid as ours was.  We could not get any bubbles to fly, the air was so heavy!  We did make bubble wands with pipe cleaners, and even though the bubbles wouldn't work, they had tons of fun trying anyway.

 

Time to ship those baby dolls. Today!

There are only three days until those baby dolls need to be in. THREE!  That means, if you are out of town, today is the day they need to go in the mail.  Ship them priority, and they should be here exactly on time.

I got these in today from some local sewists. 

From Karen H.

Love that tiny button detail on the boys!

And these from my sister, Abby:

She gave each one a completely different hair bow.  I love them all, but I think that curly ribbon is my fave.

Also today, my friend Jill brought her three nieces over so I could help them finish the dolls that they were HAND sewing.

Hand. Sewn.

Dory made this one:

They told me that they had never sewn before.  This was their first sewing project ever.  When I looked at the work that had gone into them, I could not believe that they'd never sewn before.  A dolly is by no means your typical beginner project.

Summer made this one:

I want to clarify--I did not teach these girls to sew. The dolls were almost finished when I met them.  Are you as impressed as I am!?  Amazing!

Elizabeth made this one:

And how gracious to offer up your first sewing project to a child in need.  In Haiti.  I am moved by their generosity.  By the generosity of ALL who have donated time, money, sewing skills, and prayers to this project.

Are you ready for today's total?

101!!!!!

***********************

Now, if you have finished dollies that you have not sent it, get to the post office today!

Send your babydolls to:

Baby Dolls for Haiti

c/o Faith Bible Church

1437 W. Pleasant Run Rd.

DeSoto, TX 75115

Valentines Day '12

We were so busy when it came time to make Valentines that I went the easiest possible route.

That's right.  Pinterest.  I know I'm not the only one.

So here they are.

Ethan's:

printable here.

Emma's:

edited here. printed here.

Breakfast:

heart-shaped toast and jelly.

pink lady apples sliced thin and cut with a cookie cutter.

pink cream cheese on a bagel.

eggs fried inside a bell-pepper slice.

Okay, some of these ideas were mine.  But not many.

Valentine's Day conversation:

Emma: (looks at me sitting with a big heart-shaped box of chocolates in my lap.) Mom, are you going to eat ALL of those?

Me: yep!

Emma:  All of them?! Today?

Me: I'm going to try.

Emma: *scoffs* Hmm.  You are not a saver like me.

Me: I guess not.

Emma: What are you going to do when you come home one day and think, "I need some chocolate," but you don't have any because you ate it all?

She's 7 years old, but she already understands that chocolate is a need.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

With Kids

Everything I do with my kids seems to take a little longer than it would take to do alone.  But having kids along is kind of like taking the scenic route.  It's not the fastest way, but the trip will be full of beauty and memories and dialog better that any you could ever write yourself.

This week I'm sewing with Emma.

It's a project for an article I was asked to write about sewing with kids and for kids.

It's taking longer than I had hoped, but every minute is beautiful, teachable, and memorable.

 

While we are working, we are listening to this audio book.  Sadly, it's a little over her head--especially the recent chapter involving the representative of the birth control movement--but I'm cracking up.  She did like the part where their dad made them play a record of French and German language lessons any time they were in the bathroom, bathing or otherwise indisposed, to cut down on wasted time.

My younger children are learning lessons, too. Esther is learning to crawl and pull up on things.  And Ethan is learning that "time out" is much more pleasant now that Esther can crawl and pull up on things.

Have a great week, and enjoy the scenic route.

linked to:

pieceful life

 

 

Making Snowflakes with Ethan

Ethan has been asking to make snowflakes every single day since he learned how. 

Now you can learn how, too.

We all need something we love to make.

 

Christmas

Whatever stress accompanied us as we approached this day, there is nothing I would rather do than watch the wonder of Christmas on the faces of my children.   The glitter, lights, and decorations seem to dim as we read the story of our Savior's birth.  We imagine the surprise of the shepherds, the determination of the wise men, and the hope of the Christ-child's young parents on this miraculous day. 

However you celebrate Christmas, I hope you get to do so with those you love.  Merry Christmas.

Big Day

First day of first grade.

 

Tough day for Momma.

Linked to:

 

Questions

Mom?

Can we talk privately?

If there was already one person on the Earth, why didn't God make Eve a baby?

If we all came from Adam and Eve, why do we say that Abraham is everyone's father?

If God is in Heaven, how did He make me?

Isn't it more like you made me?

If we go to Heaven after we die, and we wake up in Heaven, doesn't it seem like our lives are just a dream?

Mom, how do you know that our life isn't a dream?

--------------------

Six-and-a-half.  Nothing prepares you for it.