Monday Morning Project:4-H Egg and Dairy Cooking Contest

This was not just a morning project, it took all day. My kids love to cook, and it is fun to have them in the kitchen with me, but it is a completely different experience when everyone is trying to cook something different at the same time. Chelsea is pretty self- sufficient in the kitchen, but Nick(7) and Alex (5) still need quite a bit of help and supervision. There are two different categories Egg and Dairy and they can choose to make a Main Dish or a Party Idea. The children are allowed to enter two different categories. I usually only let my children enter one, but this time I let them do two provided they chose dishes that we already had the ingredients for. Since we always have eggs it was pretty easy for them to choose a second dish. Chelsea made Midwestern Cheesecake (she earned a participation ribbon) and a French Omelet (3rd place.) Nick made Shells and Cheese (2nd place) and Egg Casserole (3rd place.) Alex made Country Quiche (2nd place) and Egg Salad (1st place.) We had a great time cooking and trying everyone else's dishes after the contest was over.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project: The Easiest Kite Ever

We did a really fun and easy project this morning. Not only was it fun and easy, but it included teaching a wide variety of subjects. One simple craft taught: reading, following directions, math (measuring), science (experimenting to see what would make the kite go higher), Art, and PE. We made Family Fun's Easiest Kite Ever p.88 of the March Magazine or www.familyfun.com/magazine. We made a few changes to the supplies because we did not have any ribbon so we used streamers instead and instead of embroidery floss we used regular yarn for the cord. It only took a few minutes to make and the children flew these kites outside for over an hour even with very little wind. I had some better pictures, but for some reason they wouldn't load.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project: 4-H Cloverbud Journals

This week our Cloverbud Journals are due for 4-H. The Cloverbuds are a group of 4-H children ages 5-8. It was designed to start introducing the children t0 what kind of things they will be working on as they get into the older 4-H groups ages 9-19. My boys really enjoy the different kinds of fun things they get to do as a Cloverbud, and Chelsea also enjoys her 4-H group. The journals are a record of what the children have worked on during the year, and since they are due on Wednesday, we used our project time to finish them yesterday while Anthony and Christian colored. They have to list what their main project and other projects are along with their Community Service, Leadership, and other activities they do besides 4-H. They also draw or attach pictures showing what they have done throughout the year. They did a good job and it only took about 20 minutes to complete.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project: Owl in a Tree Painting

Well, we survived the stomach bug (don't ask.) The house has been disinfected, the couch is put back together, and the laundry is almost caught up. Today we are trying to get things back to normal. Our Monday Morning Project this week to go along with our Five in a Row book, Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, was to do a painting of an owl in a tree. I got this project out of the Usborne Big Book of Playtime Activities. First, the boys used water colors to paint the background yellow and orange mixed with a little red. Then they painted in the tree, branches, and the owl on the branch. Nick followed the book exactly (that's how he is) and Alex wanted his to look just like Nick's. Anthony painted a whole sheet of paper pink, and Christian was painting red streaks. Chelsea was in the middle of some other schoolwork and did not want to stop until she had finished what she started. The owl pictures will go into the lapbook we are working on for Owl Moon.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project:Torn Paper Collage

Today for our Monday Morning Project we did a simple craft. We made torn paper collages out of construction paper (wrapping paper also works well.) The children made a design out of glue on a piece of construction paper, and tore different colors of construction paper to glue on their design. They enjoyed this craft very much and everyone could participate. Alex really had fun with this and made 6 collages. He did not like to tear the paper, though. Instead he got a pair of scissors and cut strips of paper to make his design.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project- A Simple Sewing Project

Yesterday afternoon we watched an episode of Little Bear on Noggin. On this episode, Little Bear decides that his friend Emily's doll Lucy needs a friend. So Little Bear and Mother Bear make Fisherman Bear to be a friend for Lucy. This morning we decided to sew some stuffed animals out of felt. I have several paper patterns of different shapes and animals so the boys chose what they wanted to make, picked a color from our felt supply, cut out the pattern, sewed up the sides, and stuffed their creations. Nick made a pumpkin, Alex made Cuddles the Bear, and Anthony wanted a Christmas Tree (I think he is missing our Christmas decorations.) Nick and Alex did great sewing (only one finger got poked )and stuffing their projects and just needed help cutting it out and threading the needle. I had to make Anthony's for him but it took less than 10 minutes. Chelsea was busy sewing some doll clothes and Christian wasn't very interested in what was going on. The boys had a lot of fun with this project and it was great for a rainy day.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project

Mom and dad if you are reading this stop here!! (it is supposed to be a surprise.)


For our project this week we made hand print and footprint angel ornaments. These were really cute and fun to make. I liked it too because you use the child's hands and feet to make the ornament (hands are the wings and a foot makes the body) so looking back in a few years you will have something to remember how small they used to be. You could even use a picture of your child for the face. I got the idea from www.dltk-kids.com (can you tell I love this site for crafts?) It was under Holiday crafts, Christmas, Christmas Crafts, paper angels. It also had a really cute poem to write on the back:


This little angel is special you see,
Because she is a part of me.
Her wings are my hands,
Her body my feet,
And on the tree she'll look very sweet.

I also wrote the children's names, date, and age and we will be giving them to my mom and dad as a Christmas present. Sorry no pictures but my camera is acting up again.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project: Count Down to Christmas

Everyone is back where they are supposed to be, so things are back to normal. But, 4 of the children have nasty colds and are a little on the cranky side, so we had a pretty laid back school day. For our Monday morning project we made Christmas Tree Advent Calenders. i printed the template off of http://www.dltk-kids.com/, we traced the tree onto green paper and cut out the ornaments to put on the tree. I thought it would be helpful for the kids to see how many days we have left until Christmas. All of the children wanted to make their own so now we have a houseful of advent Christmas trees.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project

The children and I did not have a Monday Morning Project this week. On Sunday, Chelsea, Nick, and Alex went to stay at my mom and dad's until Friday (boy is my house quiet.) I did have a project for myself which was working on another one of those quilted Christmas purses (I am hoping practice makes perfect.) I worked on it for about 45 minutes on Monday with the intention of finishing it and posting a picture of the completed project yesterday. Well, after taking the boys to our Faithful Moms group, and feeding them lunch, it was already nap time. Nap time is the perfect time to work on mom projects. But, Anthony had a hard time settling down so I laid down with him for just a minute. With the house so quiet that minute turned into an 1 1/2 hour nap for me. As you can imagine I lost my project window. It was wonderful to take a nap though and I hope to have it all finished this afternoon.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project: Operation Christmas Child

November 17-24 is national collection week for Operation Christmas Child. If you are not familiar with this ministry you can go to their website http://www.samaritanspurse.org/ to read more about who they are and what they do. We put together 4 Christmas boxes that will be sent all over the world to children who need them and have never heard the Gospel. I bought the $1 plastic shoe boxes from Walmart and Chelsea sewed some Christmas material to put inside and look like wrapping paper. Then we filled the boxes with several small items: tooth brushes, toothpaste, soap, hard candy, crayons, puzzles, notebooks, a Christmas card, and toys. For the two boy boxes we put in match box cars and balls and for the girls we put in dolls and bracelets. All of the children helped with this and it is an easy way for them to learn to minister to others.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project: Handprint Turkeys

This morning for our Monday Morning Project we made Handprint Turkeys. I found this on http://www.dltk-kids.com/ under holiday, Thanksgiving crafts. We printed out the templates, colored in the pieces, cut them out, traced our hands and glued it all together according to the directions. The only ones that needed help with this craft were Anthony and Christian. The turkeys turned out really well, and there even was a poem suggestion that you could write on the back. Unfortunately, after I took the picture of Christian coloring his turkey, he grabbed my camera and dropped it on the floor. Now the lens refuses to open so I couldn't take a picture of the finished product. I really hope it is not broken beyond repair, maybe it just jammed.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project:Homemade Play Dough

Chelsea's project for Ancient Egypt this week is to sculpt and paint a Canopic Jar. Since she had to make some dough anyway and we haven't made play dough in a long time (I think it was a Monday Morning Project last year) we made play dough. It is very easy and provides hours and sometimes days of fun. Christian did not get to play with it. he kept trying to eat the dough.

Recipe:

2 cups flour

2 cups salt

1 Tablespoon powered alum

1/2 C-1 C hot water

Mix all ingredients together adding water last.

To add color add a teaspoon of cooking oil and some food coloring.

You can let the dough dry for several days or put in a 250 oven for about three hours.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project: Paper Spiders

We have been making these paper spiders since Chelsea was little. They are really easy and fun to make.

1. Fold a piece of construction paper in half.

2.Place your child's hand with their wrist on the fold and their fingers spread open.

3.Trace around their hands.

4. Cut out the hand and cut off the thumb.

5. Open up the piece of paper and you should have a spider with eight legs.

6. Either draw or glue on some eyes and a mouth.

7. Hang up your spider. You can tape it to the wall, hang it from a string, or make a mobile out of several different size spiders.

We now have paper spiders hung up all over the house. Alex especially enjoyed this craft because he could do the whole thing without help (I did have to remind him to put his hand on the side of the paper with the fold.)

Tweet

Mummy Dolls!!

Right now I am working on study of Ancient Egypt. Today as a project for my lap book I Mummified a Barbie Doll. It sounds crazy to all the girls who like Barbie Dolls, I know, but It was actually quite fun. Here's the instructions I used to do so. I call them Mummy Making Steps:

Step 1. Get an old Barbie Doll- I used one I didn't play with for years- and wash it in cold water.

2. Using an old paint brush coat the Barbie in white distilled vinegar (they really used wine). 3. Using a paper towel gently wipe most of the vinegar off the Barbie, then coat in oil. 4. Sprinkle 1-2 spices all over the Barbie, thinly. 5. Sprinkle 4 small handfuls of salt over the "body" and let sit (40 days in Egypt 40 min in our time) while you are doing the next step. 6. Tear or cut long strips white fabric. 7. Gently wash the doll. 8. Take some foam-or paper- and cut out several shapes. 9. Mix 3 cups water and 1 cup flour. 10. coat one end of a strip in the mixture and wrap it around the doll. 11. Wrap the legs and arms separate from the rest of the body. 12. Wrap head. 13. Paint a little of the mixture on your shapes and press them on the doll. 14. Take 1 really long piece of fabric and wrap it around the whole doll. 15. make a paper mask for your Mummy.

And there you have it, a hand-wrapped Mummy Doll!!

We got the idea from the following link http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jaminacema/319302

Written by Chelsea

Tweet

Monday Morning Project: Popcorn Corn Husks

As I mentioned before, we were going to do this project last week, but we had run out of popcorn. I printed the coloring sheet off of http://www.dltk-kids.org/, colored in the corn husks and cut the pieces out. Then we glued the corn cob to a piece of construction paper and glued the husk over top of it. After that, we glued the popcorn to the corn cob. The children really enjoyed this part and quite honestly ate more than they glued. After the glue dried, I hung the pictures in the kitchen. We wanted to hand them on the front door, but the children were afraid that birds would try to eat the popcorn. This was a fun and easy project that everyone could do. I did have to help Anthony with cutting out the pieces.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project: Scarecrow Door Hangers

Today is the first day of Fall. Nick got up this morning and put on a long sleeve shirt and long pants because Fall means it will be getting cold outside (it is 86 degrees here today.) That is not always the case here in Arkansas. It has been cooler in the mornings and evenings but it is still quite warm in the afternoons. We wanted to do a fall project, so the children made scarecrow door knob hangers I found on http://www.dltk-kids.com/ (under holidays and fall) They had several cute ideas that we will be working on to decorate the house over the next few weeks. This craft only required printing out 3 different templates, coloring, cutting, and gluing the scarecrow together. I did have to help Alex and Anthony with the cutting out and some of the gluing. The children really enjoyed working on this project.

Tweet

Origami Fun

.

Our Five in a Row book this week was Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say. The book is about a man born in Japan who travels to the U.S. and back to Japan. We talked about some different things about the Japanese culture and for a fun project decided to try our hand at Origami. I found this website http://www.origami-fun.com/ and clicked on the origami for kids link. We tried out the hat and the drinking cup and all of the children had a great time folding the paper and the results of their efforts. Chelsea was very interested and got back on the website to print out instructions for the tulip and a crane. She spent most of the afternoon working on it and even gave one of her flowers to our dinner guests Saturday night as a gift. You never know what kids are going to be interested in until you give it a try.

Tweet

Monday Morning Project: Watercolor Paintings

For a quick, easy, and fun Monday morning project the children did watercolor paintings. We used long white sheets of paper that I cut into smaller sizes, watercolors, paintbrushes, cups of water, and of course paper towels. All of the childen could participate, and most of them chose to do many paintings instead of just one. Watercolors dry relatively quickly so they can be hung right away.

Tweet

First Day of School!

This morning I thought when I wrote this blog it was going to be about how wonderful our first day back to school was. this was not to be. Our day was full of bickering, whining, and back talk. I am hoping that in a few days we will be back in the swing of things and life will get back to normal. I know that every day is not going to be wonderful when you are raising and homeschooling five children. I do have to admit today was a bit discouraging, but tomorrow will definitely be better.

The pictures were of some of our better moments.

Our Monday morning project was painting. Nick grabbed the Usborne Big Book of things to Make and Do and chose a scarecrow painting. All of the children had a great time painting (even Christian who grabbed a paint brush and started painting like he knew just what he was doing.) I love to see how each child puts him or herself into their art work to make each one unique.

For PE today we were working on Soccer skills. Nick, Alex, and Chelsea are playing soccer this year and getting very excited so we played a little bit of soccer today. Alex and Anthony also went to work on their batting skills.

Tweet

Father's Day Project

Last Monday I wrote about our Monday Morning Project, but I couldn't say what it was because it was a surprise for Art. The children wanted to give their daddy pictures for Father's Day. They decided to take pictures with my digital camera and make frames to put them in. First they painted cardboard strips. While they were drying the pictures were taken. Chelsea took all of the pictures except Nick took the picture of Chelsea. They mounted the pictures onto a piece of card stock and fitted the frame around the picture. All of the pictures turned out great and it was an easy, inexpensive father's day present.

Tweet