Friday, April 29, 2011

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.


Visit SouleMama to join the fun.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Please accept my apologies.....

for not blogging lately.......

Life seems to be taking up most of my time.

If you don't know, we live in a 920 square foot house, and right now we are moving a grown-up daughter back in. (that makes 5 girls in the "girl's room". A grown-up son is moving out, and into grown-up daughter's apartment. (that makes only 3 boys in the "boy's room").

I may turn this blog into a "living in small spaces" blog.

We are also preparing for Easter and waiting for spring to really arrive.

So for now, I will leave you with the last photo on my camera.....


It's the "Kimmy with a palm tree on her head" photo.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Science Sunday--Learning about seeds

Spring is having a hard time arriving in our neck of the woods, so I thought I would try and speed things up a bit by doing a plant and seeds unit with my kindergarteners.


I used the book Oh Say Can You Seed? as out main guide for this unit. It is the perfect mix of information, using a rhyming text for my 4 and 5 year olds. The first activity we did was to soak bean seeds in water overnight. The next day we examined our seeds. The kids were very excited to be able to find all the parts of the seed...... including the cute little bean embryo.
We then lined a jar with papertowels. Then we gently put several bean seeds between the glass jar and the papertowel.



We were careful to keep the papertowel wet, and then we waited to see what would happen.

While we waited I found this great Garden Preschool Pack at HomeschoolCreations.

Make sure to head over to HomeschoolCreations and check out all free printables available.

We also discovered the hidden "star" in an apple. We also found a lot of seeds!

After 4 days, our bean seeds began to sprout!

At 17 days, we had these marvelous bean plants.

Luke is examining the original seed on his bean plant.

Happy science, everyone!!

Science Sunday




No Time For Flash Cards

abc button

Friday, April 15, 2011

{this moment}-school days

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Cross suncatchers

As we enter Passiontide I thought it was a perfect time to make cross suncatchers for our front windows.

I cut two crosses out of black construction paper for both Kim and Luke.

Then I used clear contact paper and stuck one of the black crosses onto the contact paper, sticky side up. To speed up the process today, I cut alot of tissue paper shapes for the kids to use. If we had more time, Kim and Luke would have cut the tissue paper themselves.

The kids then filled in the whole cross area with tissue scraps. Glue the second cross over the the tissue paper and cross. This makes it look nice from both sides. Hang in a window and enjoy.
It was a perfect craft for this rainy Wednesday as we come closer to the Passion of Jesus.

Yarn Along.......

From Ginny, the founder of Yarn Along~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading?

I finished a kitchen set earlier in the week and decided to do a little knitting for my favorite charity, The Pink Slipper Project. It's the perfect thing for using up left over yarn (the slippers don't have to be pink). Slippers are quick and easy and needed by the women and children in shelters that the Pink Slipper Project helps. There are several patterns on the website to choose from, my favorite is a classic "stay-on" slipper. The pattern is on the right sidebar of the Pink Slipper Project website. When I got my Ipad, I wasn't sure how I would like reading on it, but I have discovered a new love. It's perfect for having all my current books in one spot, and with the back lighting it doesn't bother my eyes. I also didn't realize I would find so many free books using the Kindle app. Right now I am enjoying the free, easy read, Hide in Plain Site.


My deep read is Happy are You Poor. As I strive for more simplicity in my life, this is an inspiration.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Easter Egg Wreath

This was a quick and easy project with very cute results.

All that was needed was:

cardboard

pink paint

plastic Easter eggs

a hot glue gun

a lot of glue sticks

The first step is to make a cardboard wreath base. I used various pots and pans to get the size I wanted.

We then painted the base pink.

I used floral wire to made the first "loop" of eggs.

This isn't needed....the hot glue is enough to keep all the eggs in place. Start hot gluing the eggs to the base. Continue adding eggs until you have your desired look.
This wreath can even be used as headwear.
I made a cardboard hanger on the back. Very simple but very practical.
Hang and enjoy.

I put this on the outside of our front door, and since I used cardboard for the base, I bring it in at the chance of rain.
abc button

Friday, April 8, 2011

Off the needles....

My new favorite dishcloth: Flying Geese

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.