MommyCoddle

do something creative

 
Lori and I often email back and forth about homeschooling our children. (Well actually, I email with all my homeschooling woes and she emails back encouragement and ideas.) A few weeks ago in one of my emails she told me that there are a few tasks her boys are required to do each day, on their own. She and I have similar learners--independent learners. Generally, if wasn't Emma's idea, she's not too keen on working on it. It can make for quite a few battles when I try to do some concentrated work with her.

But this is all a series of learning, trying new things, adjusting, evaluating and getting to know my children better. I think I change my approach to homeschooling every other week, but so far, this simple little idea, at the suggestion of Lori, is working.

On a piece of cardstock, which I "laminated" (with packing tape), Emma has a series of tasks she must do every day. She slides the list into her notebook, traces the right side edge, dates the page, and puts a sticker beside every task as she completes it. It allows her to do things on her own time, at her own pace and I believe she feels like she is controlling some of her learning. My help is required for many of the tasks, but it still has an air of independence to it.

Of course, the two favorite things on her list are "play outside" and "do something creative". She wakes up ready to tackle both of these before breakfast has made its way into her stomach. This morning, we shoved bagels and cream cheese aside to break out the ironing board, wool felt and floss. `A la The Creative Family at Home, she's stitching up a wool felt cube for Elizabeth's birthday next week. It's been a great little project for her to work on and chill out in a comfy chair on this gray and damp afternoon. And the whole process of creativity brings a sense of peace and calm to our home. Even Mary has a square that she's filling with giant pink stitches.

I'm thankful for this little taste of quiet, busy hands on a Friday morning.

Happy Weekend, everyone. Wishing you lots of greening grass, warm sun and peace.

my life::up close:: 2/30

take and replace

"Take and replace." It's my new mantra with Emma and Mary these days as they deal with Elizabeth, who now wants to come crashing in on whatever they are doing. Playing with schleich animals? She wants to sit in the middle and suck on the giraffe. Drawing at your desk? She wants to stand up beside you and pull the papers down to shred. So I've taught them "take and replace." Take away what she has that you want. Replace it with something else she'll like.

Maybe that's what Martha Stewart is doing with the new special issue of Martha Stewart Good Things: Kids ? Take away MSKids, replace with MS Good Things? This special issue is good--full of some old favorites that I recognize from my MSKids back issues and some new things, too. Having the issue in hand makes me realize how much I miss Martha Stewart Kids. It makes me want to do something.... like write a letter to Martha or Jodi Levine. Or start a new blog--a petition begging them to bring it back!! There are other good children's magazines out there. Wondertime has filled the Kids-void for me, but it isn't as craft-heavy, which is what I loved about MS Kids...

I sat with the issue last night and went through and made a list of a few of the projects I want to try first--the button bracelets, wrapped pencils, decorated bobby pins. So much good stuff.

I've been an embroidering fool this weekend. I got started on an old bird drawing of emma's that I found which has wing bars. I got it all filled in with the colors she suggested, but then got a little stuck. I'm not sure what direction I want to go from here--a pale grey to fill in the other parts, leave them "blank"? But it made me glad I did a practice run before jumping in with the other sketch. I also need to use less strands of floss in the smaller areas like the beak and dark crown. This is all a fun learning process for me.

**my pictures look so blurry in typepad this morning. they're much better in flickr today. hmm.**

And this morning, just because I wanted something to work on while I drank my cup of coffee, I did this drawing I found buried in my sewing basket. Now Mary is begging for me to do something of hers, too. I'm going to have to make a trip to IKEA this weekend for some cheap frames, if this keeps up. They want to draw everything on fabric. Thank goodness for cheap, but simple muslin cloth.

And speaking of birds, check out these amazing felted birds I stumbled upon last night by Lauren Alane. Aren't they amazing? These kill me. She just updated her shop and sold out, but may be updating again this week, according to her blog. I wish I'd found them earlier. They would have made sweet little valentine gifts for the girls.

It's freezing cold here today. Although I remember, when I lived in Wisconsin, thinking these temperatures being what we called "relief". It's in the twenties. I remember being happy to see double digits again, back in my Wisconsin winter days. Brrr.

stay warm.....

good things to know

1. Always check your barley

...before you shake a big pile of it into your hot bubbling stew that has been happily cooking along in the crockpot all day. Because that barley---that you didn't store in an airtight container--just might be laced with tiny bugs that you'll dump into the stew before noticing them wriggling and writhing around in the hot broth. And you'll hurriedly scoop out as many of the offensive bugs as you can, but when you take a big ladle full from the bottom, there'll still be a few stray deceased offenders floating in it.   

2. You can't register for classes at the local community college

....if you're on academic probation. If, last year, you accidentally signed up for pottery workshop as a credit class instead of an audit, and then you had a difficult pregnancy and didn't do one stitch of pottery, and your professor called you two days before the end of the semester wanting to go over your goals and see your work, and you had nothing, he'll give you an F. And if you have an F on your permanent record, you can't sign up for pottery again (as an audit) without dragging your three children over to Student Services to meet with an academic advisor who will give you permission to take another class. You're never too old for a little academic probation.

3. Don't give your daughter a sharpie

...and tell her to draw her best bird on the muslin cloth so that you can embroider it, without first giving her some direction. Because she'll draw a really good bird on the cloth, one that you really love, with wing bars, but she'll draw it so close to the edge of the cloth that you won't be able to fit it into the embroidery hoop. And the project that you wanted to sit down and work on right away that evening to unwind, will have to wait until you figure out a way to get more room around the edges of that very good drawing of a bird. But then she'll draw you two flowers to work on instead, and that will make you happy. And as you work, you'll realize you really know nothing about embroidery, but it's extremely relaxing and it just might be your new thing.

a place to lay your head

We're packing up the car this morning and heading to my mom's house for a little birthday visit. Emma hemmed and hawed yesterday afternoon trying to "think of a special project to make for NeeNee". I decided not to give her any direction, to see what she came up with. She finally settled on the idea of a special pillow, which I simplified to a decorated pillowcase. (mostly because it was after 4pm, all children were up from naps, and dinner was far from ready)

You had to know there would be some horsey theme to her gift--a "rider girl" walking her pony over to the mounting block. I love the way it turned out. A quick and easy project that only required a little ironing of a pillowcase and a sharpie marker.

I have a feeling Emma's gift will out shine the less-than-thrilling, practical one I got for her. Oh well. That's how it should be.

tooth fairy revisited

The tooth fairy paid a visit to our house this weekend--for the second time. She leaves teeny-tiny hand-written notes wrapped up in thread with a dollar tucked inside. I had to upload this picture in secret because I was worried Emma would start asking questions. With all the scrutiny I got about Santa this year, I was worried she'd be suspicious of my picture of the tooth fairy note.

Apparently I made some rookie mistakes this year at Christmas, like wrapping a gift from santa in paper I had used on other gifts. We really push how santa and his elves make all the presents so she really questioned how Santa knew how to make a "perfect box for a Breyer Horse, just like in the store". And thank goodness she hasn't noticed the Old Navy tag on the slipper socks she's been wearing around the house. Rookie mistake. Rookie mistake!

Emma's tooth was pretty loose to begin with, but playing a game of wild animals and biting down on your sister's shirt only to have it ripped out of your mouth, can sometimes move things along a little more quickly. There was lots of blood, which everyone found fascinating and to which her sister replied, "Do you have another tooth you want me to take out, Emma?"  What a girl.

This weekend I had a losing my mind, too much clutter, cleaning spree. I always start at one end of the house and work my way around--a tip my mother taught me. I made it about half way around and ran out of time...and now today, I'm out of motivation. But at least part of the house is looking very fine. I think I'll just pretend the other three rooms are clean, too.

And did you notice a familiar name in your issue of Wondertime Magazine this month, besides miss twostraightlines' wonderful craft? My three or four sentences on blogging made it in the "Readers Panel" response to how you keep in touch with far-flung friends and family. I meant every word....

And for those that have been asking, I'm starting to put some brainpower into Mini-Swap III, so be watching for more details. Very soon, I hope! Grace, I may take you up on your offer...

Happy Monday!
artwork provided by emma. Her bird drawings have changed recently. I love them and had to post here for posterity.

a box of treasures

I've been meaning to share one of my favorite Christmas gifts that we gave to Mary this year. I was starting to think that you'd all be bored with a holiday recap, but this one could really be given at any time of the year. And it was such a success, I had to share. (And if you haven't read Courtney's post about her holiday giving this year, it is worth the look.)

Before Christmas, I began asking my children what kinds of things they were hoping to receive under the tree. Time and time again, Mary said things like, "A new refrigerator for you. A drill for Daddy. A broom for the kitchen floor." No matter how much I probed, or shoved catalogs in her face, I couldn't get her to give me anything to work with, (though I did appreciate her simple, generous spirit). Finally, one day she settled on "a box of marbles". And that was the present idea that she stuck with for the rest of the holiday pre-season.

So I decided to take the idea and expand on it a bit. Of course, I couldn't think of anything worse or more dangerous to have rolling around the floors of my house. With a newborn scooting all over the place trying out anything from mud to dryer lint in her little mouth, it sounded like potential disaster. I figured I better review my choking baby techniques!

I decided to improvise and make a few additions to her request. Dan built her a large wood box with a lid that slides off easily. The handle is fashioned from one of the mushrooms I ordered and one of these days I'll add some detail to it. He made the box deep enough that nothing is in danger of spilling out and she can really rifle through it without risking anything flying out of the box.

I knew I wanted to fill the box with marbles and treasures--things to sort and count, arrange and examine. I opted for the flat-sided glass marbles in the florist section of the craft store because I knew they wouldn't roll away and get lost as easily as round marbles. I also knew how much she loved shells and since we sadly, don't have a local source for collecting, I settled on a $2 bag of them at the craft store.

I also knew I wanted little wooden objects, too, so I  filled it with all kinds of things from this online source. And of course, Amanda's post about her acorns added some inspiration to include those as well. I added wooden items like robin's eggs, buttons, tree shapes, mushrooms, bowls, ladybugs and egg carriers. I also got a small flat tray with compartments for her to sort some of her "treasures".

It turned out to be a really nice collection of things and one of the most inexpensive gifts under the Christmas tree. It is such a good feeling, seeing that it still gets attention every day. Mary and Emma sit over it and sort and share and 'shop' with the various treasures inside.

And a little girl who wanted to do something special for everyone else this Christmas, received something very special for herself.

december 19

"I can't hold back my tears any longer..."

That would be a quote from my five year old daughter as she lay prostrate on her bed, hugging the neck of her rocking horse that was pushed up alongside her.

"I just know I'm never going to get a real pony."
"Cricket(the pony) is the only thing I love in the whole world!"

Me: But don't you love mommy, and daddy, and mary and elizabeth, too?

"Yessss. I love you all, but Cricket is just the only thing that love. I can't hold back anymore."

I have to admit, my dear Emma feels deeply. It literally broke her heart last week when she had to put a big, doe-eyed stuffed fawn (a companion to this book) back on the shelf at Barnes and Noble.

"It just needs me. I can't bear to put it back on the shelf."

And it broke her heart even more this afternoon when she accidentally found it stashed away under my bed, waiting to be wrapped. But it was sweet. Her heart was broken for me, because...

"...we can't afford to get many presents. And now you won't have many special surprises for me."

(I hope you're reading all these quotes with lots of dramatic inflection and phrasing.)

She's just one big, soft, pulsing heart. She feels deeply and responds to everything deeply. Dan and I always remark that she's a lot like the classic nursery rhyme:

   

There was a little girl,
    Who had a little curl,
    In the middle of her forehead.
    And when she was good, she was very good.
    And when she was bad, she was horrid.

Well, at this point, I can't even remember what I came her to post about. Something about gingerbread houses or how absolutely edible this one is.
After I erected the structure of the gingerbread house today, I gave Emma full reign. I was going to try to make it something Martha-Stewart quality, but in the end decided to just let go and let her make her own fun. It was wonderful to watch.

Happy Wednesday.
Six days until Christmas....
Here's a song for you that we're singing along to today...

apples and bananas

waving to the "flying banana" as he's known in our family. even my grandmother called up, "are your girls outside? the flying banana is here!"  He flies this thing around with what looks like a glorified box fan strapped to his back. I'm not sure how he does it....but he does put on quite a show.

I know this is nothing new, but I've never done it before and man, was it fun. The girls and I made apple prints yesterday on some scraps of linen. They went crazy when they lifted up that apple to see the first print underneath. (I kinda did, too.) We couldn't stop ourselves. There are scraps of apple-stamped fabric hanging around all over the house.

We also made some applesauce yesterday, too. It's hard to make the picture look as good as it tasted. Yum.
Can you tell we just finished up our short vowel sounds? a-a-apple?

kite flying 101 and why I'm losing my mind

(almost...)
Did you know, according to my extensive online research that one can have TOO much wind when flying a kite?
We've had these two kites stored away in the closet waiting for the perfect day...and yesterday seemed like the day. Our very nice kite, already equipped with a tail (also important acc'd to my research), did nothing but climb, climb, swirl and nose dive. Over and over again.

So when we came inside  with such kite-flying bad luck, I (of course) googled " how to fly a kite", wondering how on earth it was possible that I didn't know how to fly a kite. We had all the elements--good kite, good wind, and fast little legs. So, apparently after doing a little research, it IS possible to have too much wind. So, that's where we'll leave it for now.
Emma had no problem handling the defeat. Someone else took it a little harder:

Meanwhile, Emma has found a way to cause me to come frighteningly close to losing my mind.

I'm on my fifth (or sixth, I've lost count) potholder in less than 24 hours. She has only mastered putting the first rows of loops on the loom and takes great joy in making up different color patterns. I am left with the over-under-over-under part and the finishing. The over-under part is maddening. I have those words, "over, under, over, under" going through my brain even when I'm not at the loom.

I know I could just turn the girl away, but she's begun to make these deals with me that are hard to turn down. For example, today's deal was, "if you'll just make the rest of my potholder and finish it for me, I'll put Mary to bed for naps and read her a story." Seriously, now. Can a mother turn down an offer like that??! They were in there reading Mother Goose. She even got her a glass a water and tucker her in.

But, I have told emma that if she makes me get out that red plastic crochet hook and do anymore potholders in the next few days, this will happen to her. I think she's got the message.

*******
The camera in emma's hands
Some of my favorites:
here
here
here

what I did on my summer vacation

(the polaroid project: emma. thrifted polaroid camera. lots of berries.)
Do you remember that always being your first writing assignment when you started school up again in the fall? I can remember doing some exciting summer activity and thinking, "this will be great in my beginning of the year story!" I was always one to like a good story, even if all the facts weren't technically accurate. I can remember in preschool telling the teacher that we had a new calf on our farm that we were bottle-feeding. (Not true). And I was totally busted when my teacher phoned my mom to see if we'd like to bring it in for show and tell. woops.

But back on topic...
I know that so many of you around blog land are doing wonderfully creative and fun projects with your children this summer. (Things that are worthy of being in that first writing sample of the school year, I'm sure). And as I was tooling around flickr last weekend, I was wishing there was a place for us to compile some of these ideas. For one, it's inspiration for me, as a mother, to see what others are doing. And on the other hand, it's also inspiration for my children.

(picking, what else? blueberries.)

(emma: documenting my attempt to teach myself the guitar this summer)

Many times, I've brought my girls over to the computer to show them a project that one of your kids are working on. And after being a bit awed at first, it usually charges up their creative juices and off they go to try their hand at something similar. I love the sharing of ideas and creativity. Which is probably why I'm so drawn to blogging in the first place.

So, the obvious choice was to create a flickr group. A place to display and pool our ideas. And it doesn't have to just be project ideas. I think we all love seeing finished projects or those favorite sketches done on a scrap piece of paper. So I'm hoping you'll join in. And when you post those pictures to your flickr page, I hope you'll take a moment to add them to this group as well.

For some reason, I really hesitated to write this post--you know, just one more "group", one more thing to do, but you are all full of so much inspiration. And I think it's worth sharing and pooling our resources. I hope you'll feel the same....

Join in here.