Patriot's Day

My kids created these Q Tip Fireworks to celebrate Patriot’s Day BUT, they are good for any holiday or special occasion.

An easy craft for preschoolers on up for Independence Day or an important sporting event! Even younger hands can pull it off! The baby (15 months) made a cute one!

Here’s what you’ll need

• Q Tips
• Water
• Small container
• Food coloring
• Paper plate
• Black construction paper
• Glue

Here’s how you make them…1. Cut your Q Tips in various sizes. You can actually break them off pretty easily with your hands.

2.Now you will need to color you Q Tips. Put some water in a small container and add food coloring (6-8 drops is good). Dip your swabs in to the colored water and place on a paper plate. Repeat for as many colors of fireworks as you’d like.

3. If you are not doing this craft right away, or have time to prepare ahead of time, you can leave your swabs out to dry overnight. If you need them to be dry quickly you can put them in the microwave, on high for 5-6 minutes, or until they are dry.

4. On a piece of black paper glue your Q Tips in a circular pattern. For younger children it will be easier if you drawa black dot on the paper and instruct them to glue their swabs all pointing to the dot in the middle.

Make as many different fireworks as you can, make them all different colors, sizes and patterns!

Keep in mind that the more food coloring you add the more vibrant your swabs will be!

Patriot's Day

Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is not only one of the most beautiful birds, but is also a well recognized American symbol. This would make a great preschool or kindergarten craft for American holidays!

Ages: 3 and up



Here’s what you’ll need…• Brown, white, blue and yellow
construction paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue
• Google eye

Here’s how you make it…

1. First you will need cut trace and cut out all the shapes. You will need a brown foot and hand prints, white feathers, and a yellow beak.

2. Glue your foot print body onto a piece of blue paper. Next, glue the hand print wings on either side of the body so it looks like the Eagle is flying(as shown in the picture).

3. Glue your white feathers on the Eagles head and neck, and don’t forget to put a few on his tail! Once that is done it’s time to put on your yellow beak and eyes. If you don’t have any google eyes you can always just draw on an eye with a black marker.

You don’t have to make a flying Eagle, you may choose to do a standing up Eagle like the one in the picture.

Grandparent's Day

Have kids assemble small green leaves to represent their grandparents and parents, as well as themselves and each of their siblings. Have them attach each leaf with a paperclip to a small twig with numerous branches or do a brown-paint hand print on construction paper and fingerprints in fall leaf colors to fill in the top of the tree. Starting with the grandparents’ at the top of the tree, let them glue the generations at varying levels on the tree, and then write each person’s on each of the leaves.

Picture Frame

Use foam craft sheets to make frames for family photos. Find a family photo. Draw an interesting shape, at least 1 inch wider on all sides than the photo, onto the foam sheet and cut it out, using decorative-edged scissors if desired. Cut out a circle or square, slightly smaller than the photo, from the center of the foam sheet. Glue the photo to the back of the foam sheet. Alternatively, cut different colored and shaped frames for individual pictures of family members. String all of the frames together on a ribbon for grandparents to drape over a shelf or fireplace.

Magnets

Make magnets with holiday messages that grandparents can use for reminders and lists on the refrigerator. Trace small hands and feet onto colorful, thick card stock. Let kids write personal Grandparents Day messages or poems with colorful markers or crayons on the cutouts and glue a small magnet to the back. Add the year to the message and make new ones each year to show how much kids have grown and how their writing has improved.

Silhouettes

Create portraits to frame of kids’ silhouettes. Have kids trace the outlines of their own and their siblings’ faces and necks onto black construction paper or card stock, using a white crayon. Cut out the silhouette inside the white lines and glue it to a colorful piece of card stock, solid or printed. Frame the silhouette in a wood or metal frame. Alternatively, create a small scrapbook of the silhouettes of each family member, using construction paper and lacing the pages together along one edge through punched holes with ribbon or yarn.

DIVING IN...

An educational experience to last a lifetime!





Here we go! No turning back now! Home-schooling it is for us!

I am certain for the time being this is the BEST decision for Jonathan for now, for this year and probably next, but who knows what the future will hold? Not I.

So let’s do this thing!

It won’t be easy, but it’ll be good and we’ll make it work, heck we’ll make it the BEST experience we can and something he’ll remember forever — at least that’s the goal.

Our Story

The decision to homeschool comes about differently for every family. While we knew that our children would never attend public schools, we only toyed with the idea that homeschooling would become a part of our family while our firstborn child, Jonathan, was still an infant.

As a certified teacher, it seemed wrong to us for me to leave him with a sitter in order to go teach (and essentially raise) other people's children. In the short time I was with Jonathan (vacations and snow days and such), he would grow leaps and bounds, but once I returned to work, he would slide backward again. As my hours got longer and my pay did not increase, we decided once my third year within the school system was complete, I was done.

As soon as my first official stay-at-home-mom day came, it was clear that Jonathan was/is brilliant. His language exploded and became quite precise.
As a certified teacher, I had access to the state assessment tests and began testing Jonathan at age two. He tested into kindergarten at 2 1/2 years old and out of kindergarten before age 3. I began to explore our options for schooling in the private sector, but was quickly turned away soly based on his age. Frustrated with the thought of him being completely bored and thus misbehaving after roughly three-years of review, we made an uncommon decision.

Now, we firmly committed to homeschooling each of our children. I teach on a year-to-year basis, never committing to more than one year at a time. Of course, I cannot foresee any reason why any of our children would rejoin the public schools but we'd like to see them enter the private or Montessori sector in the not-so-distant future.

The decision was stressful, the community/extended family back-lash harsh and financially a strain.


My husband and I, just about a year before we were married.

Our little "Bug", Jonathan (Jack), the true adventurer - hands-on eager to learn mentality. A true first born.

Our little "Beana", Katrina (Trina), the constantly moving, girly-girl with no fear, eager to do anything her brother is doing. So easy-going you'd think she was a middle child (no one tell my husband 'wink').


If at any time you have questions, please feel free to contact me.

ONE of THOSE moms....

Okay so I am one of "THOSE MOM'S" ... a home-schooling, diet regulating, recycling & reusing, home-making, schedule-oriented, attachment parenting, coupon shopping mom....
My kids are always dressed in color-coordinated outfits when we take family photographs. Their schedules are more full than mine. They both have team sports and activities YEAR round. I am one of THOSE mom's
I am strict, I set limits and I have high expectations for my children. I do not feed my children junk, or let them watch television. My heart breaks when they cry, regardless of the reason. My children have a chore chart THAT WILL be followed. We praise more than discipline and focus on the positives.
I know that getting dirty is apart of learning, and a dirty child is a happy child. I am one of THOSE MOM'S. My children are my number ONE priority.
I'm also one of THOSE moms who lets my daughter play with dinosaurs, trucks, trains, and all that other 'boy' stuff. And I'd also let my son, if he chooses play with dolls, and wear pink.
I'm one of those moms that made my children's baby food because I didn't want them to eat anything that I wouldn't want to eat myself, and he eats organic where it matters. I am one of "those" moms that only take fresh fruit to my kids parties at school or a friends house.
I am one of those moms who can be seen hugging or kissing the children several times a day, heard whispering "I Love You" in their little ears JUST because. I am one of those moms who thinks her children are brilliant - because they are.
I'm one of those moms who has a messy house during the day, but clean at night.
Who lets their kids run around with milk mustaches, lets the kids run through the sprinkler in their undies, gives their kids vitamins every single day, chases their kids around the house pretending to be a scary monster or makes up silly songs with the kids.
I'm one of those moms whose heart breaks when their child cries, but usually tells them to stand up and "shake if off" or "rub some dirt on it" (as long as there's no blood). I'm one of those, "if you didn't clean your room yet, shut the door before you go out to play" moms. I am one of those, stay up late to get it all done, cook them breakfast so they don't HAVE to eat cereal moms.
I am one of those moms who tries to see both sides before making up my mind.
One of those who hasn't had her hair or nails professionally done in two years because she feels guilty spending money on herself.
But deep down, I'm one of those moms that is doing everything that I can to make my children the first in their generation to be healthy, emotionally secure and intelligent, because to me that is the key to success.

Twirly Skirt

What little girl doesn’t love a good, twirling skirt? This tutorial will show you how to make one!

To make a twirly skirt you will need:

Main skirt fabric (between 3/4 and 1 yard, depending on size).
Contrast fabric (1/2 yard)
1/2″ elastic (enough to go around the child’s waist, plus a little for overlap)
Sewing machine
Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
Ruler
Thread to match
Pinking shears (optional)
Safety pin

This tutorial is meant for personal use. Please don’t sell skirts made from these instructions.

OK, then, let’s get sewing!

Cut your fabric according to the sizes below. ALL PIECES ARE CUT WITH THE CENTER ON THE FOLD. WHEN YOU UNFOLD YOUR PIECES, THEY SHOULD BE TWICE AS WIDE AS STATED. The pieces in this photo are still folded. You should have two pieces for each part: skirt, casing, hem. The waist tie is made the same for each size. Of course, you can always make your skirt longer or shorter to suit your own needs.

This pattern uses European sizing (similar to Hanna Andersson). To ensure a good fit, you need to know the child’s height.

90cm (34-38 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (19″w x 9″l each or 38″ wide by 9″ long each when unfolded)
100cm (38-42 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (19.5″w x 10.5″l each or 39″ wide by 10.5″ long each when unfolded)
110cm (42-46 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (20″w x 12″l each or 40″ wide by 12″ long each when unfolded)
120cm (46-50 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (21″w x 13.5″l each or 42″ wide by 13.5″ long each when unfolded)
130cm (50-54 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (21.75″w x 15″l each or 43.5″ wide by 15″ long each when unfolded)

For the waistband, cut 2 pieces on the fold 2.5″ long by the width of your skirt (e.g., size 120 = 21″w x 2.5″l)

For the hem band, cut 2 pieces on the fold 3.5″ long by the width of your skirt (e.g., size 120 = 21″w x 3.5″l)

For the waist tie, cut 1 piece on the fold 1.5 ” long by the width of your fabric (42-44″) and 1 piece (not on the fold) 1.5″ long by 12″ wide. Or you can use ribbon – approximately 65″ in length.

OK – let’s start. All seam allowances are 1/2 inch unless stated otherwise!

Pin skirt pieces right sides together. Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, sew right side seam. On left side, start sewing your seam 1 1/2 inches from the top.

Press open side seams and pink or zig zap the edge

With right sides together, sew both side seams of the hem band.

Press seams open and pin to bottom of the skirt, right sides together, lining up side seams.

Sew the hem band to the skirt bottom.

Press seam toward hem band.

Turn edge of hem band 1/4 inch towards wrong side and press.

Fold hem band towards wrong side of skirt. Line up the edge you just pressed with the seam stitches.

Press and pin in place.

Staying 1/8 inch from edge, sew hem band in place.

Sew right side seam of waistband together and press open.

With right sides together, line up the seam you just sewed to the right seam of the skirt. Pin in place.

Fold back seam allowances on open end of waistband so that they match the skirt seam. Press and pin in place.

Sew waist band in skirt.

Press seam towards waistband.

Top stitch open end of waistband 1/8 inch from edge, pivoting at the bottom corners.

Now fold the waistband towards the wrong side of the skirt aligning it with the seam stitching – just like you did on the hem. Press and pin in place.

Sew waistband 1/8 inch from edge to form casing.

Using a safety pin, attach your tie (or ribbon) to the elastic.

Gather it up and pull the safety pin through the other open end.

Try the skirt on its new owner to determine where you should sew the elastic together. The ends should overlap about 1 inch. I mark the both ends of the elastic with a pen or pin them together so I know just where to sew.

Using a wide zig zag stitch, sew the elastic together. It’s a good idea to backstitch this so it doesn’t come loose.

Even out the ends of your drawstring, tie a bow and ta da….you have a twirly skirt!