Lovely Yarn

by Jenny Irvine // February 20, 2011 // No Comments

So I took these pictures with the intent to post this on Valentines Day (well, that did not happen)!! However, they did come out super cute, and I thought this would still be fun for upcoming “holidays” (St.Patrick’s Day, Easter, etc.)! They would also make great “little gifts” for family, friends, and teachers.

You Need:
Cookie Cutters (any shape we did hearts)
Corn Starch
Yarn
Water
Parchment Paper
A Magnet Strip (or old advertising magnet would work great too!)

First, cut the yarn into pieces and make the cornstarch glue. Using a sauce pan heat 1/4 c. cornstarch and 1/2 c. water over a low/medium heat stir until smooth (see below).

Allow the “glue” to cool to touch. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet/activity tray. Then place the cookie cutter on top of the parchment paper let your little ones go to town dipping string pieces into the “glue”. Carefully pulling out one string at a time and using your thumb and forefinger to clean off an access “glue”. Lay the yarn inside the cookie cutter. Repeating the process until a thin layer of yarn is in the cookie cutter forming the chosen shape.

Remove the cookie cutter and gently press the shape down. Let dry completely (we put ours in the oven for 1 hr @ 250 degrees). After the drying is compete you can then glue your yarn shape onto a magnet for a fun gift or decoration!!

My Little Man “8” Months Old

by Jenny Irvine // February 18, 2011 // No Comments

I have not done an update on my little man “Mr. Smiles” in sometime and as I have said before this blog and our school blog…both serve as my “memory” at times. He is 8 months already!! I can not believe it!! Seems like only yesterday, I was cuddling on the couch with my blue eyed baby (yep, they are still blue!) and NOW…we are off!!

He is crawling EVERYWHERE…he is speedy quick, and has no problem keeping up with big sisters. He even stood up for the first time Tuesday, February, 15th. The best part was we all got to see it…he has not done it since, but it is coming! He will by far be my earliest walker. Pumpkin did not walk until she was 19 months old…Im hoping Mr. Smiles makes it to 9 mo (Mommy is not ready)!!

He is has two bottom teeth and is working on more!

He is ALL boy…he loves balls, trains, cars, and anything that has wheels, rolls, and is loud!! He growls like a lion, makes fish lips, has great fine motor skills, and loves to dance. This boy is a blast..I just want to bottle him up! We think the little man has some food allergies but other than that he is easy peasy!!

Big Hugs and Kisses!! From Mr. Smiles 🙂

USA Adventure – Alaska

by Jenny Irvine // February 13, 2011 // No Comments

Our USA Adventure started a couple weeks ago…first stop was ALASKA!! We have been having a blast…it was never my intent to start such a huge geography lesson in the middle of the year. However, the timing just ‘seemed’ right and we set sail with our passports in hand!!

Pumpkin is enjoying her “review” using the Members Only 1+1+1+1

We made these fun Igloos out of sugar cubes and egg white glue!

We made a real Igloo but ours was for tiny outdoor animals. Pumpkin made multiple “doors” so all of our outdoor friends could have neighbors, and be friends. Every morning she would check to see if any small creatures had a sleep over.

The girls really enjoyed all of our activities using marshmallows!! (Be sure to check my links at the end of the post). We played a fun game of “Build the Igloo”, we built structures with toothpicks, we counted them, stacked them, and enjoyed a cup or two of hot chocolate.

Boo colored her map of Alaksa

We made tissue paper polar bears with our homeschool co-op. Each child was given an outlined drawing of a polar bear and then had to fill it in with white tissue paper “fur”. It was a lot of fun to see the variations of this. Some kids slapped down the paper flat while others rolled each piece into precise little “fur” balls.

We also did several experiments; (none of which I have pictures of..sorry)
We explored Ice Melting (in our hands, in salt water, sitting in a bowl, etc. to determine which environment ice melts the quickest)
We also experimented with the “blubber” of Arctic animals similar to what they did HERE

We have been working on More Than, Less Than, and Addition in our math curriculum so the printables from Musings of Me were a perfect review for Pumpkin!!

We have also been working on our 50 States Song!

My children love dogs so we also spent a lot of time learning about Mushing/Iditarod. Pumpkin really enjoyed being a Musher herself and learning about “working dogs”.

We discussed the Northern Lights/Aurora Borealis and will be making our own Aurora today!! We simply ran out of time….

As we continue on our USA Adventure we will be traveling with friends so be sure to visit them as well…
Montessori Tidbits and Musings of Me are both ahead of us on the journey, but have MANY, MANY great ideas. They will likely remain ahead of us because states that really catch our attention we will likely be spending a bit more time on…while others we will go through more quickly. Not to mention with two other little guys in the house….sometimes “life” just takes a “little bit” longer!!