"Mommy Can You Put This On Your Blog?"

Mommy Can You Post This On Your Blog?

   Dindee wanted to share this with all you readers out there in the blogosphere. She loves animals. Especially dinosaurs, insects, and reptiles. This is her dream pad. She copies words that she sees throughout her day on it. And she draws up scenes she would like to see in real life someday. Yesterday she was thinking about returning to dinosaur state park. She would love to hear your comments. Thanks in advance to anyone who cares enough to make her sweet little heart's day by commenting!

Modern Version Of Ancient History

 
    I love history! American history, world history, current events, social studies, and anything else one can lump up under that title. So, I am excited to now be teaching my Dindeelion my favorite subject. And I would love to be able to teach her in a way that she can enjoy history as well. As we go along this educational journey I want to make it as fun and accessible to her as possible. For starters we are using Usborne's Book Of World History. There are already some good craft ideas to go along with some select lessons. The artwork is engaging Dindee. Therefore, I plan to use that as a springboard for ideas for hands on activities.

    The first chapter is on archeology. What is it, who uses it, and what do they do. So basically one is looking at a cross section of a "tell" or dig site. I thought as we were looking this section over, "why not do our own 'dig'?" So, I tried a mulling over a few different ideas in my head. What can I use instead of dirt and sand? (To save myself a mess ;) ) And I remembered I had rainbow rice. Rainbow rice is very easy and a lot of fun to make. Get out some plastic zip lock bags, instant rice, food color, and rubbing alcohol. Combine rice, a few drops of rubbing alcohol, and a different shade of foo coloring to each zip lock bag. ZIp up the bag and smoosh the rice around. Once the rice is coated, empty bags out onto wax lined trays and let dry. We left ours out overnight. This makes a great, easy to clean base for your dig site. And of course, you can use plain rice or dried beans as well.

     So, once you get your dig site (ours is a plastic food storage container) prepared you will need archeological finds and tools. We used a spoon and a paintbrush. This was to replicate what archeologicals actaully use. Then I filled our site with plastic trinkets (what people may have used as tools), rocks, crystals, little bits of paper with writing on it (for hieroglyphs), beads (for money or jewelry), tiny blocks (for bricks that were used for walls and houses). The list can go on and on according to your creative spark.
    Dindee just loved her dig site. We used it last week and she is still playing "archeologist" with it almost daily! May you future archeologists and world travelers have a wonderful week!

Inexpensive DIY Privacy Film For Windows

   I love that window privacy cling that is sold at the big box store. It sells for 19.99 a package. And that package is big enough to cover one complete window. So, I was thinking the other day, what can I use to let the light in my home at a much cheaper price? Bubble wrap, I read that once in Ready Made magazine. (I read every issue of that magazine and I still miss it! It was the best Gen X DIY magazine ever! The ideas were truly genius.) Okay but I do not have any bubble wrap handy. And no one ships anything in that anymore :( . I buy a lot from Amazon, but they use a air filled plastic bag. I suppose that is better than packing peanuts. So I keep thinking for a day or so. Generally my best thinking is done in the bathroom. The one place I can almost always have uninterrupted peace. And then it came to me as I was stepping out of the shower.....   

    Yup, just get that frosty shower curtain for five bucks, measure your windows, and cut your privacy film up! I used double stick tape. But you can use a dab of hot glue or clear tape at the edges of your window for a professional look, too.



Thought for the day....

I found this on www.sandradodd.com a really good website on how children learn. It really struck a chord with me. So, I thought I would share....


If you want to never say "have to", the only thing you "have to" do is die. Not much of a life in my book.
I see it exactly the opposite. If my life is nothing but a bunch of "have to's," then that's not much of a life. I choose to do the things I do, no matter what they are.
A robot goes through its actions because it 'has to'; it has no other options. I choose where my actions will take me.

Lyle

Yummy Vegan Food

   I will posting what is for dinner here and there now that we are vegetarians. Myself for health issues and Dindee for animal rights (my little activist, I am so proud :) ). So, this is what we had the other night. Whole wheat pizza with sauteed zucchini, broccoli, a little tomato sauce, and nutritional yeast instead of cheese. This was a super yummy dinner and easy to make. By the way, nutritional yeast is a fantastic substitute for parmesan cheese. It was salty and cheesy tasting!

   And for the tasty soup below. We found vegan broth cubes. I threw in broccoli, celery and carrot. I also added lentils and quinoa that I cooked separately. It made a filling meal.I was somewhat impressed with myself I must say. We are sticking with this lifestyle change longer than we usually would!

An Irreverent Oak Meadow Homeschool Review (Mixed A Few Recollections From Our House)

    Hi everyone! As you may have noticed, I have not written in awhile. The flu flew through our house and now we are all officially healthy once again!I am sure glad Dindeelion is feeling better! Things just are not the same when my little partner in crafting is down and out! My hubby has finally stopped coughing also. I did not get the flu. I credit it to my diet. I have been eating vegan for about three weeks now. Not only did I avoid the flu (and I am not the best hand washer out there!) but the psoriasis I have dealt with for eleven years is clearing up nicely! I would definitely recommend looking into to this diet if you have autoimmune issues. I also gave up garlic. That gave me an almost immediate relief from the intense itching that comes along with psoriasis. I have been trying to (lovingly) trick my family into a vegetarian diet as well. As I shop, which I do almost daily, I replace the usual foods in our home with a healthy counterpart as needed. It really does not cost as much as I thought it would either. The prices even out more or less. I do not spend money on meat and processed food now. So, what I save on that goes for the healthier for us food. That being said, I will probably be posting some vegetarian recipes up here soon. I will still post other recipes as well.
    Now, on to homeschooling, we have been keeping up fairly well with our work even though Dindeelion was sick. One of the things I love about homeschooling is that we can do our work at the most convenient times for us. We have both decided we are not particularly crazy about our prepackaged curriculum anymore. Oak Meadow is Waldorf inspired. And although Dindee loves imaginary play and stories, she is not responding well to the stories in the kindergarten syllabus. For kindergarten year you get a Beatrix Potter anthology and some of their companies originals in the lesson plans. Some of the Beatrix Potter stories are either odd and/or disturbing for Dindee. I have heard from others that their children have had some of the same reactions. The original stories tend to be very archetypal (Steiner believed strongly in this), which is fine in some cases. But for a little girl there is not much in the way of role models in the stories. That is to say, the princess is more or less always getting rescued or the prince is winning the princesses hand in marriage. Sometimes this is okay. I think the storybooks on the Mighty Girl website is much more appropriate reading material for our little girls. Its written for parents who want to encourage their little girls to grow up to be someone special in their own right and do not need to be rescued. So, we have a pretty long Amazon wishlist at the moment !! :)
    But I am getting tangential here, let me get back on track. The program was around $360 to buy for kindergarten. We bought the art kit and a few of the suggested books. You can get the whole kindergarten kit for just under $300. We actually went to the site itself and picked up what we needed. The staff there is great and very helpful. It was a nice trip for us. In the beginning of the year Dindee loved her OM school. In the fall there is a lot to do with nature and crafts. As we got in to the winter season, the interest level dropped. She already knew her letters. But a little review is okay. The loss of interest had more to do with the repetition. Your child is expected to draw a picture for each letter of the alphabet and numbers 1-10. So after 10 or so letters and numbers, it becomes tedious. This program does not come with any work sheets. Your child basically journals. This is fine at times. I personally found myself needing to supplement. My Dindee likes to color, cut and paste. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. So, unless your child is an avid artist who likes to be given a specific prompt and then draw it, your child might not be happy with this program. OM has an extension school which helps those who are in states that are not particularly homeschooler friendly. I will not be buying their curriculum again. Individual books and craft items are what I plan to buy from them in the future.
    Hope you all enjoy reading stream of consciousness. And do not mind a little ADD thrown in the mix. Its all I do! :)

Paint Chip Phonics - DIY Word Sliders

 It has been quiet in Dindeelion land this week because the magical princess has a touch of the flu bug that has been flying around town. Realizing this has caused a writer's block, I will give due diligence to catching up with those that follow us in the blogosphere. :)

 I have been looking for ways to make our own phonics word sliders for our homeschool. The phonics program we are using sells a set for around $20. I recently saw a really cute idea for teaching word families on line. (I cannot give credit to any one source because there are so many blogs and websites out there with this DIY project.) You can make your own word family sliders out of paint chips.

 

 

Step one. Find yourself a whole bunch of paint samples. I went to a local paint store and got permission from the counter clerk if I could take several samples before I just dove in and took thirty or so paint chips.

Step two. Get a nice dark pen or maker and write common word blends, (examples:br, cr, fr, dr, bl, cl, pl, sl, str, sw, st, sk, ct, ld), digraphs ( examples: sh, ch, th, wh, ew, aw, oo), and word family/word endings (examples: at, ag, ab, ad).

Put them together and voila! Free word sliders!

Below is a list of some common blends, digraphs and word family endings. It is by no means and exhaustive list. Just a list from an exhausted momma! But I thought I would add some type of list just to help you get started. Stay well! :)

Blends           Word Family Endings          Digraphs

bl               ab                                  ch            

br               ar                                  sh            

cr               ast                                 shr

dr               at                                  th         

fl                all                                  thr                 

gl               ake

gr               ave

kl               ate

pl               et

pr              est
ph              ed
qu              ell
qua            eet
sl               it
tr               ir
wh             in
                 ill
                 ot
                 ob
                 ost
                 og
                 on
                 ut
                 ug
                 un
                 y

Dindee's Apron - Sew A Child's Apron Without A Pattern

   My Dindee was really excited when she saw my apron that I made last weekend. You can find all the directions to it here. http://dindeelionshouse.blogspot.com/2013/01/sew-reversible-apron-without-pattern.html So we trotted off to another excursion at Walmart's fabric department. She found a rocking country star print she adored! I found another flowery print in the bargain aisle that will compliment her choice well! I forgot to buy pink thread. Believe it or not I did not have any pink thread at home. I could not believe it. Almost everything in her room has some shade of pink in it. So, I was shocked when I could not find any about the house. You might see the lovely shade of lavender in the stitching. It really did compliment her trim well, though! :)

   So, before I start with the instructions, there are a few important habits to get accustomed to doing to attain a nice professional ( store bought) look from your sewing. Once of these habits is washing and drying your fabrics before you do anything else with them. That's right, just throw your fabric in the washer as soon as you get home from the store! It is so much easier to work with fabric that I have already washed. I don't know why that is. I do know that shrinkage can occur with a first washing, so it is better to preshrink your fabric before cutting a pattern. Another habit I have gotten accustomed to is ironing. I iron the entire fabric before cutting a pattern. I iron creases as well when I am pinning. It just makes everything look nicer and it makes the fabric easier to work with. It is so worth not skipping these simple steps. I know it takes up some time when you are excited to get started on a project. Again just two things i recommend when sewing something.

   I bought 3/4 yard of each fabric. There was plenty left over. I am not the best with numbers, but i know you can do this pattern with less. Then I cut out two square from each piece of fabric. The bib measurement was 10 inches wide by 6 inches long. The bottom of the apron was 16 inches wide by 16 inches long. For the bottom half I folded the fabric in half and cut it on an angle after my first cut. I did this to get an A line look. Just follow one of the angle lines on your cutting board (if you have one) to get this effect.

   Back to the  bib, I lined the first piece with fusible interfacing. Then I flipped it over and ironed the other fabric to the other side of the interfacing. Now my fabrics were ironed attached by the interfacing.

       Then I edged the top of the bib with bias tape. Pinned it into place. Then sewed it into place.

   After sewing the top trim in place, I trimmed the edges of the bib with the same bias tape. I measured it on Dindee to get the right size loop to fit over her head nicely! :) I like this option better than tie backs for the neck line. I did the same thing with mine. Then just sew the trim in place all the way around.

   Again the measurement for the bottom half of the apron was 16X16. Place two pieces of fabric facing right side in and sew up the sides. Make sure to pin your back ties facing the inside of your fabric before sewing the bottom half up.

   Here is a photo of the tiebacks. They were 16 inches long and 5 inches wide. Fold them in half right side facing in and iron. Sew up around the two sides and bottom of tie. Turn inside out and iron. I used a bamboo skewer to help me turn the tiebacks right side out. Evidently there is a too for that purpose. It's called a bobkin. Walmart does not carry them. :(

    Leave an inch up past the tiebacks to fold in when you attach the two pieces together. Fold your fabric in, iron, and place the bib inside the fold. Pin into place and sew. You are all done! I think this took me all of an 45 minutes to stitch up.

   Here is a close up of the previous photo. If you set your pins perpendicular to the fabric you can sew without stopping to remove pins as you go along.

    Dindee loved hers and so did her babies! By the way, this is also a reversible apron! :)