Wigwam Craft

In talking about the North American Indians, we made a little wigwam.

First take a 1 inch by 12 inch strip of construction paper.  They said to use brown, but all we had was black.  So that's what we've got here. :)  Put some glue on one end and make a circle with the strip.

Then cut 4 more strips at 1/2inch x 7inches.  Glue the edges and form an arch from the circle base as shown  below with all four strips.

Rip pieces of paper and layer over the "beams".  Make sure to cover the holes.  Once you are done gluing and the glue has dried completely, cut out the circle on top for the smoke, as they always had fires in their wigwams, and cut a small door.

My kids are using their little lego guys in the wigwam. :)





 

Stained Glass Craft-Rehash

We did this well over a year ago.  This time we added to it.  Check it out!

First find a your old crayons and, with an adults help, make small little shavings of the crayon colors.

This time we cut out a word to put in the window....we cut out the name JESUS.

Use a towel (you don't care about) and place some newspaper on top.  Then put your wax paper on top, add your name/word, and start sprinkling your crayon shavings wherever.

When you are done, put another piece of wax paper over top of your wax paper/crayon decoration.  Then top that wax paper with more newspaper.

Next, with a warm iron, iron over the newspaper to melt the crayon wax and this melts the two sheets of wax paper together.

We then cut off the rough edges to make a square or rectangle shape. And added strips of construction paper (1 inch) to make a frame for our window.  We put the frame on both sides.

Display your art in the window to see it's true beauty!

 

Air Experiment 2

 Using air to have a race.  First take a piece of paper and fold up 1 inch of the edge.  Use a piece of cardboard, or thick cardstock paper, and wave it to make it push the air around you, in turn pushing the paper on the floor.  We had a race.  The line difference from the carpet to the wood was the line, but you could make a line with string or something.  Then RACE!  Monkey won the first race, and then Bear figured out how to really get it to go and he won the second race.  We kept it a tie. :)

 Air!  You can't see it, but you can see the evidences of it! :)
 Another simple yet fun experiment for the kids.

 

Water Experiment 6

Let's see what water does on different materials.  First line up some different materials like, a dry sponge, newspaper, wax paper, a tissue, plastic, and a towel.  Now pour a teaspoon of water on each of these materials and see what happens to the water.  Make a checklist to see if the material will soak up all the water, some of the water, or do nothing with the water.

 How great that it's simple, yet science and the kids love it. :)

 

Air Experiment 1

 Air is all around you.  Is that bottle empty?  No!  It's not, it is full of air!  You just can't see it....but put it in a bowl of water, and then you can see the water push the air out of the bottle. 

Again, simple yet fun little experiments for the kids!



 

Water Experiment 5

Can a water experiment get any simpler?  Maybe not!  But yet the kids still love it.
Just dip the end of a paper towel into water to see the water move upward! 

Simple, yet fun for the kids to watch!



 

Routine

Do you have an established routine at your house?  Of any kind?

I don't mean that every minute has to be planned out.  Just a few things that are set in stone, that is the order they happen in, or that is the time you do those things?

Well, I think all kids LOVE routine.  Whether they know it or not.  It's one of those things that they enjoy in the back of their mind.  And sometimes enough that they will voice it.

For instance.  The last week, I was at my moms with 9 children.  At my house we have routine, certain things we do at certain times, etc etc.  And I think sometimes things go smoother especially with a larger number of kids when you have a routine.  Anyway....I established a non-written type of routine with the children while there.  I would tell them it was outside time, or park time, or video time or book time, or game time, or swimming time, or lunch time etc etc.  And towards the end of the week one of the children said, This is so great having like a schedule or something.  A set time for a movie, and playing games, and everything I like it.  Another kid at a later time also said I wish we had a schedule like this at home, we just pretty much sit around all the time and watch tv.

So just incase you think routines are overrated, your children might not.  Some make a plan, and come up with a simplistic routine to get yourself into routine mode....then watch the children soak it up and enjoy the knowing, and the safety that a routine can give them! ;)

I have posted our "scheduled" routine which does not follow the time always, but the order for sure, click to this previous blog, but there are simple things like certain days we have baths, and praying and singing songs every night before bed time, and eating breakfast, brushing our teeth and then doing a chore first thing in the morning.  It gives them something they can count of if nothing else.

 

Spelling Lists

I found this great website with lots of printables for schooling!

Click here to check it out.

I started with their spelling lists.

This is what they look like.

I have Monkey read the list, then spell them in the first column on the first day, then read the list and spell them in the second column the next day, then the third day I give him a blank sheet and read the words to him to spell them without being able to see them.  When the words get harder we might have to have 3-4 days of practice, but for now he did fine with only 2 days of practice before being tested.


 

Photography-Wedding

Did you check out the sneek peek wedding photos on my photography blog?

Well, what are you waiting for?! :)

Click on over and comment to let me know what you think.

Then "like" me on facebook, and don't forget to tell a friend to like my page too!  

Let's see how long before we can get up to 100 likes on my photography page!

Are you up for the challenge?

 GO!

 

Water Experiments 4

For science we are talking about scientists and how they ask questions and then try to experiment with that to find the answer.  A simple little experiment they gave us to try is making an egg float.

First get 2 glasses, wide enough that an egg will fit in it to float or sink.

Leave one cup alone and start pouring in 8-10 teaspoons of salt in the other glass of water.

Stir, and stir and stir and stir until that salt dissolves in the water.  This takes quite a lot of stirring!

 Then grab two fresh eggs and place them in the cups side by side to see what they do.  

Are they the same?  What happened?

 Happy Experimenting! :)



 

Randomness v35

1.
Monkey- Dad, don't sing at the table.
Bear- Yeah, it's against the law!  If the cops saw you singing they'd arrest you.

2.
Me- The concert was super loud.
Bear- Like as loud as a bear can yell?

3.
Monkey- Did a bider spot you?
Me- ?!  Do you mean did a spider bite me?
(that was a weird twist on words)

4.
Bear- What did the road say to the chicken?
answer from Bear- I think you cut my head off!
( I don't get it either, but he sure thought it was a good one!)

5.
6 year old niece- Don't tell that bug where I am, cuz I want to get him.

6.
Monkey- My tongue hurts, I can't say anymore things.

 7.
Grandma- Kids, don't step on the hostas by the tree.
8yr old nephew- Wait, where are the hostages?


 

Craft Time, Name Key Chain

We are talking about how names are special and have meanings.  So to honor our names, we made a key chain.  We could have made a bracelet but I didn't really want my boys wearing a bracelet so I opted to turn it into a key chain instead.

Here are the supplies we purchased for this craft and a look at how we made it.

 I didn't want my name on mine so I went with something else. :)