Writing Our Name for Valentines
Posted: February 14, 2013 | Author: Jena | Filed under: after school cool down, Artsy Fartsy, Community, Cut and Paste, Developmental Themes, Holiday, Literacy, Printing, Small Motor Skill | Leave a comment »Little K and I team up to construct his very first set of Valentines for his classmates.
We use a photo from his hammerin’ heartsies experience and mount them on a piece of red construction paper.
I write “hammerin heartsies” on top.
He writes his name on the bottom.
He hasn’t ever really been asked to write his name, and he wasn’t so interested in doing it.
But a mom’s job sometimes, is to give a gentle nudge.
I gave him the schpeel…
“This a way to show your friends that you care, to put your special letters on this paper.”
He wrote his name 20 times.
“This is taking 100 years!”
These are some gentle ways to encourage this activity:
-Demonstrate how to hold the writing tool and how to write out the letters.
-Display the name. I folded a piece of paper that stood at the center of the table. We referred to it many times.
-Keep the project and supplies out so he can return to it at will.
-Add some other supplies that might act as comic relief, like stickers, cool markers and whole punchers.
-Spread the project out over a long period of time, working a little at a time to reach your goal.
-Be supportive by sitting with him/her while he/she works, so you can lend help when needed.
-Respond positively. Little K made a long line across the whole piece of paper as one of “K” parts. He started to look discouraged. I said, “Wow, that letter is so cool. It looked like a Rapunzel letter, it’s so long.”
Perler Bead Valentine
Posted: February 13, 2013 | Author: Jena | Filed under: after school cool down, Artsy Fartsy, Community, Holiday, Small Motor Skill, Tradition, Working Together | Leave a comment »
Little J has decided that he would like to make a Perler Bead heart for each of his classmates.
He’s inspired by a little beaded heart my neice gave me for Christmas.
We set to work trying to figure out how to make one.
We fill a cookie cutter with beads and melt them, but they’re a little too fragile.
We end up buying a Perler mold, fit with tiny pegs for every little bed in the shape of a heart and set to work.
What you’ll need: a Perler bead mold of your choice, Perler Beads of course, an iron set on medium, wax paper, a steady hand and lots of time and patience.
Setting 100+ beads in the mold is hard work, surgeon hard. I think it should be a required study for doctors studying to be surgeons to Perler bead. You need a very patient and steady hand We use tweezers when beads slip out of our fingers. The kids love this part…and this is a family affair. Everyone takes turns putting beads on the little plastic pegs that fill the mold.
The three year old put in a couple of beads and lost patients, attention when the bead fell off the pegs. He drifted off to play with cars leaving me to finish the heart on my own, no plea would get him to return.
The four year old lasted a little longer, but not much, could finish the heart with consistent adult help.
The five year old had just enough small motor skill and patience to make 1 heart a day…keep in mind he needs 20.
We started this project a month ago, with mom secretly making a heart on her own every now and then after the kids are tucked in for the night.
It takes a little over 6 minutes to make one heart.
When all the beads are set in place, you sandwich the mold and beads behind a layer of wax paper, ironing the beads in small circular motions for about 10 seconds. If you iron for longer, the holes of the beads melt shut, which is kinda cool too. Don’t put your iron directly on the beads. Not a happy mess!
We choose to keep the wholes in the beads so we can sting them. We hope people might hand the hearts in their windows.
et voila
100 Days of School
Posted: February 12, 2013 | Author: Jena | Filed under: after school cool down, Artsy Fartsy, Community, Developmental Themes, Music, sensory, Small Motor Skill | Leave a comment »The 100th Day of Kindergarden in upon us, and Little J is asked to “take 100 of anything that you can find around the house and arrange them together.”
Some examples that were given were:
-draw the number 100 on a piece of paper with 100 buttons or pennies
-an aquarium with 100 gold fish crackers
-build something with 100 popsicle sticks
-igloo created with 100 sugar cubes.
After reading the instructions with Little J, I hold back my million ideas running around my head like kids on a spinning swing ride at a carnival. And on his own, he comes up with a simple, elegant and charming idea.
I find it difficult not to direct his projects and not to provide a solution to a problem that he hasn’t noticed for himself.
It was both challenging and freeing to give him the space and freedom to do this on his own steam.
We’ve been working with Perle beads to create Valentines.
Naturally, he thought to use them for the 100 day project.
“We should count out 100 beads, and put them in a box. When you shake it, it will be like an instrument.”
We make a number chart with 100 boxes and begin counting out beads.
We put the beads in the box and he shakes it almost spilling the box of beads.
He finds the Washi tape and closes the seam of the box.
He writes the number 100 on the top.
As Little J steps out of the house this morning on the way to school, he expresses concern that others will not like his project and that they might laugh. I told him that it matters more that he loves his project. It’s the sound of 100 beads, how cool is that!
Here are 3 books we’ve taken out of the library that are about 100 days of school:
Snowflakes for Newtown, CT
Posted: December 29, 2012 | Author: Jena | Filed under: Community | Leave a comment »
I set up a table at my town library with all the materials needed to create a unique snowflake.
The snowflakes will be mailed to Newtown, CT.
I just learned about a great way to fold the paper before making your design…found the instructions in a library book, Zoo Flakes ABC by Will C. Howell.
Imagine yourself standing outside, while the sky and air around you fills with snowflakes making a slow, soft, quiet world. It’s the perfect gift to give these children and teachers in Newtown, CT, who will be returning to school after this winter break.
I cried all day after hearing the news from Newton, CT.
I’m an educator.
I’m a mother.
I pray for these babies and the people who died protecting them. I hope the end came quickly and that they’re in a heaven better than any of us can imagine. I pray for this disturbed boy and for others like him that are haunted by anger and mental illness.
I thanked my son’s teachers for standing on the forefront everyday with my babies in their hands.
Even without cable, I’m hit every day since, with news and opinions and reactions to this tragedy.
Many of the opinions revolve around, how we could have stopped it: gun control, creating better policies for the mentally challenged.
Many of the opinions revolve around, how we’re going to protect our children: more guns, stricter security protocols in schools.
I’m not going to focus my energies on a false illusion of safety.
I refuse to live through my fears of what might happen.
Short of sixth sense, gun toting teachers, a sniper on every school roof top, some grand solution to mental illness, stricter gun controls…we are never perfectly safe.
The only thing we can do, is love our people.
If our lives are cut short, even if it’s before that life has hardly begun, “may we find peace no matter what we’re given.” Aruni Nun
Look at your babies.
Listen to them while they talk and focus on their work of play.
Celebrate who they are, who they might become.
Show them, the best way you can, that you love them.
Hold them, smell their sweet smells and to them, act right.
It’s the best we can do in this imperfect world.
“My heart, my heart, I’ve got to keep my heart.
It’s not too late, it’s not to late, I’ve got to keep my heart.”
Neal Young
Molasses Cookie Recipe & Cookie Exchange
Posted: December 14, 2012 | Author: Jena | Filed under: Community, Holiday, playing with our food, sensory, Small Motor Skill, Tradition | Leave a comment »There are some cookies that are fast and have a “low messiness” factor, that just aren’t worth the calories. There are other fussy, high-maintenence cookies, that cause you to use just about every bowl and measuring cup, spoon in the kitchen…and they are magic in your mouth.
These molasses cookies are easy and magical. It is a matter of taste too, of course. Big K’s favorite would be something that involves lots of chocolatey, chocolate, chocolate and peanut butter.
The cookie of which I drool, is the Chewy Molasses-Spice Cookies from the Martha Stewart website. I’ve never particularly had much luck with Madame Martha’s recipes…there always seems to be something missing, but this one is DYNAMITE!
(I say this with my best Cookie Monster / Animal from the Muppets” impression.)
I hang out at a friend’s house with the kids, so the hubbyies could watch football.
An innocent, wonderful container of molasses cookies, all thick and chewy and molassess-y, sit on the kitchen counter.
Did you know molasses is sugar cane, reduced down to a syrup.
No wonder the ingredient is my kryptonite.
I rave so much about these cookies, my friend packs me half the container to go home, to be savored one delicious bite at a time. The family that made them, quickly got me the recipe. (Probably for fear I might bite their hand as they hand me the paper.)
Friend A and I have the morning to ourselves. He is curious about the molten, thick molasses that moves slowly in the transparent jar as we tip it back and forth. I let him dip his finger in, to answer all his questions about its consistency. He licks his finger and says, “Mmmm, tastes like chocolate and honey.”
We pick up the younger friends from school before lunch and Friend E, Friend A and Little K help me with the dishes by licking the spoons.
It’s a great recipe for kidlet helpers. They love to roll the dough into balls and then in the sugar.
We are making them today for an annual MOMS Club holiday cookie swap.
Chewy Molasses-Spice Cookies
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a shallow bowl, place 1/2 cup sugar; set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat butter and remaining cup of sugar until combined. Beat in egg and then molasses until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in dry ingredients, just until a dough forms.
Pinch off and roll dough into balls, each equal to 1 tablespoon. Roll balls in reserved sugar to coat.
Arrange balls on baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Bake, one sheet at a time, until edges of cookies are just firm, 10 to 15 minutes (cookies can be baked two sheets at a time, but they will not crackle uniformly). Cool 1 minute on baking sheets; transfer to racks to cool completely.
Parents.com has some great advice on how to organize a cookie exchange. If you click on the link, the article also includes more delicious cookie recipes.
Here’s how the MOMS Club does it:
* An invitation is sent out via Evite about 2 weeks in advance. The whole club is invited, 60 families, but due to schedules, not everyone can make the chosen date and time. Usually 10 to 20 familes attend.
* Guests let host know, in their Evite RSVP, what kind of cookies they’re baking, so there aren’t any duplicates.
* Families are asked to bring 3 dozen cookies. Guests bring the cookies on a pretty platter, with labels for cookies, especially if there are allergens in the cookies, and especially if there is a family with a food allergy. Some groups like to exchange recipes too.
* Everyone brings an empty container for toting their selections home. (My son has a nut allergy, but Big K loves peanut buttery cookies. I bring a separate baggy for the nutty cookies.)
* We make the event a pot luck brunch. Families contribute fruit, eggy casseroles, baked sweet breads, along with their cookies.
* After snacking and schmoozing, guests circle the cookie platters and collect their share, trade recipes etc.
* The MOMS Club arranges one extra platter of cookies. We donate to the group of choice, decided among the families in attendance at the event. Last year, the platter was donated to the town Selectman, the year before, the DPW and the year previous, the police and fire department.
The Festival of (Giving) Trees
Posted: November 29, 2012 | Author: Jena | Filed under: Artsy Fartsy, Community, Holiday, textiles, Working Together | Leave a comment »
The Festival of (Giving) Trees is a four day family event, designed to be a holiday activity. Chosen organizations donate a artificial tree decorated with a theme. The MOMS Club was chosen to contribute a tree. Trees are raffled. The mission is to raise money to help the Silent Spring Institute, the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition and the Cancer Center at Harrington Hospital to fight the battle against breast cancer and to help fund cancer research. Over the past fourteen years, the Festival of (Giving) Trees has raised and donated over $390,000 to these beneficiaries.
MOMS Club puts up a family tree, themed yarn and color. MOMS, dads and kiddos help hang the ornaments.
The tree is beautiful.
Scavenger Tree Hunt
Posted: November 27, 2012 | Author: Jena | Filed under: after school cool down, Artsy Fartsy, body/mind/spirit, Community, Developmental Themes, Field Trip, Holiday, large motor skill, Outside, Tradition | Leave a comment »The MOMS Club has set up their outdoor tree for the Annual Scavenger Tree Hunt, organized by the Conservation Committee in town.
When we are finished hanging all the sticks and rocks, we step back, admire our work, and venture off to find the rest of the hidden trees.
We hike about 2 miles and find 13 trees.
It is a long and tiring hike for a 3 and 5 year old. It was cold, but we kept moving, saying, “never give up.”
We’re going on a tree hunt, we’re gonna find a beauty, what a beautiful day, we’re not tired.
What if you decorated a tree on local trail for people to find? That’s be fun, right?
We will be sending the pics of the boys and trees to the conservation committee, and entering to win a grand prize of movie tickets.
Making Ornaments: Community Holiday Trees
Posted: November 26, 2012 | Author: Jena | Filed under: after school cool down, Artsy Fartsy, Community, Holiday, Jena's work, Recycling, Small Motor Skill, textiles, Working Together | Leave a comment »In the winter, the MOMS Club contributes to two holiday tree events.
The Festival of (Giving) Trees is a four day family event, designed to be a holiday activity. Chosen organizations donate a artificial tree decorated with a theme. The MOMS Club was chosen to contribute a tree. Trees are raffled. The mission is to raise money to help the Silent Spring Institute, the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition and the Cancer Center at Harrington Hospital to fight the battle against breast cancer and to help fund cancer research. Over the past fourteen years, the Festival of (Giving) Trees has raised and donated over $390,000 to these beneficiaries.
The theme we’ve chosen for this tree is yarn and color. We score Pinterest for simple, colorful yarn ornament ideas that families can do together.
wrap yarn around a wire shape
God’s eyes
lacing cards
finger knit garland
The town’s Conservation Commission organizes a Winter Tree Scavenger Hunt. The object of the hunt is to find 8-10 decorated trees, take your photo with each tree and email all photos to the Conservation Commission between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.
The Scavenger Tree will be sticks and stones: Nature’s Best Toys Ever! Approved by the MOMS Club of Sturbridge.
We paint sticks,
color on hot stones,
and modge modge magazine bits onto stones too.
We set up a morning at the local basement of the Federated Church for MOMS and kids to play with yarn. We share project ideas on the MOMS Club Facebook page and set up goodie bags with supplies people can take home to work on the ornaments on their own time.
We will meet at the church to decorate the yarn and color tree.
We will meet in the woods to pick a tree and hang sticks and stones.
A Visit to Heifer International, Rutland, MA
Posted: November 12, 2012 | Author: Jena | Filed under: after school cool down, Community, Field Trip, Garden, Outside, playing with our food | Leave a comment »A group of about 20 folks, MOMS and all our little ducklings, organize a tour at our local Heifer International Learning Center.
This working farm is experiential, hands-on, interactive and fun. Overlook Farm is also a demonstration farm complete with gardens and animals including yaks and traditional farm animals such as pigs, goats and more.
Heifer International Learning Centers introduce participants to the idea that one person can make a difference in ending hunger and poverty.
We start the tour with a short video, featuring 5 children from around the world, who have personally gained positive life change due to the donation of livestock. We learn that a small donation of livestock can sustain a family by supplying food and helping them earn a living. The 7 m’s of livestock: milk, manure, meat, muscle, money, materials and motivation.
We walk around the farm visiting little huts from around the world. We see how someone might live in another country.
We card some wool and spin it into a bracelet.
We visit animals, collect eggs, crack them open and compare the colors of the yolk to a store bought egg. We take turns milking a goat, feed pigs the milk, check out the yaks.
This is an exceptional experience for MOMS and kids alike.
There are only 5 learning centers like this across the USA.
I hope there’s one near you! If not, any farm will do. Farms are Fun!
Heifer Village: Little Rock, Arkansas
Heifer Learning Center at Heifer Ranch: Perryville, Arkansas
Heifer Learning Center: Rutland, Massachusetts
Shepard’s Spring: Winslow, Maryland
Howell Nature Center Howell, Michigan
Batty about Bats: Song, Craft and Books
Posted: November 5, 2012 | Author: Jena | Filed under: after school cool down, Artsy Fartsy, Community, Developmental Themes, Holiday, Literacy, Music | Leave a comment »We learned all this info at the local library!
Flight of the Bats, to the tune of Saints Go Marching In
Oh when the bats, fly in the night
Oh when the bats fly in the night.
The mosquitoes better scatter,
when the bats fly in the night.
They use their screech, to search the dark
They use their screech to search the dark
they find their way, using sonar,
when they use their screech at night.
Oh when the sun, is on the rise,
Oh when the sun is on the rise,
The bats head back to the the rafters
when the sun is on the rise.
And when those bats, call it a night,
oh when those bats call it a night,
They hang upside down and hold on tight
When those bats call it a night. SHHHHHH!
Little J loves bats. He forgoes the Iron Man costume this Halloween for his handmade piecemeal bat costume from last Halloween.
I think the idea of Halloween can be even more fun after it happens. The kids’ love of dress up is rekindled, there is candy to enjoy and to remember the holiday with every sweet treat.
We decide to pull out a simple, hand tracing, bat craft the day after Halloween.
The kids trace their little hands on black or brown paper.
Cut them out, with or without adult help.
Draw and cut out a bat head.
Glue the wings onto the head.
Draw a face with white colored pencil.
A quick little craft like this one is a great excuse to archive the size of our little peoples’ hands and to practice and build up those small motor skills.
If you’re studying a unit about night creatures or if your child just really likes bats, you might want to check out these bat books.
Bats at the Library by Brian Lies
Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies
Batty by Sarah Dyer
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
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