sponge painting

The other day, I needed a quick toddler activity (...well, technically, I guess he's a preschooler now, but we still like to think of him as a toddler.)

I have great intentions to set up montessori stations in the house and let Diego play until his heart's content. But the reality is we do lots of running around and he gets most of his learning in at the garden at school and the cart in the grocery store. Plus I waste lots of time at home doing who knows what when I could be planning for him.

So what's a mom to do? I hit pinterest and quickly typed in something like toddler painting...and this popped up.   (I added the 'take it outside' bit. )

We've sponge painted before, but I loved the idea of using clothes pins instead of getting the paint all over your fingers.

Plus Daddy had brought home an armful of cardboard boxes from work. I thought that would be the perfect canvas, firm and big.

 

Diego loved it! He spent his whole time, of course, with his favorite color, azul. I tried to encourage him to use others, but he was fine with blue.



 I asked him to tell me about his masterpiece and he said it was an alligator.



 Messiness is really the fun of the whole thing. Kids love messy. Messiness is my new resolution. Actually, I think decluttering the house will free me up to be more messy.



 And I have to admit...I think I had a bit more fun at this art project than he did.  I was working all around him as he painted his 'alligator' over and over.  Sponge painting is so FUN!....there's no pressure to stay in the lines because you know it's just going to squish out the sides.

 

 After about forty-five minutes, climbing on the back of the car looked more interesting to Diego, so we moved on.  Clean up was quick and easy.   Outside is definitely going to be our 'go to' place for painting this summer.

 

pueblo, powhatan, AND lakota

I love school projects! OK, I admit I'm a nerd. But what is more fun than making boring old school work come to life with your kids?

Joaquin was only supposed to choose one Native American tribe...but how can you choose just one? So he didn't.

Here's his Pueblo village...painted boxes and popsicle sticks. I think this one's my favorite.


A long house for the Powhatan in winter...the shape of the house comes from a box of butter and half a canister of bread crumbs....yay! for recycling.


And the most unique one...the buffalo jump of the Lakotas. (Our yard overflows with moss which was finally put to good use.)


Could you choose just one?

recycled decorations

We have a recycling pile by the front door. It's HUGE. It started because the recycling company would not deliver us a collection box. And they never come to pick it up. So we started collecting it ourselves, and Juan Pablo takes it to his work when it gets really outrageous.

I know there's a better spot for it than the front door. But somehow it works. It's like it's on it's way out, but it's not on the porch collecting spiders and bugs.

So the other day I was getting ready to add a lunch meat container to it, and I thought, "There must be something I could make out of this."

And there was! It became some kind of a snow globe.


And the snow was Isabela's idea. I couldn't figure out what to use...I'd gotten rid of that fake snow a long time ago because it just kept blowing out of the bag and getting everywhere....and cotton balls were too big. But Isabela said, "What if we grate a bar of soap?" And it turned out perfect! Powdery and it smells good!

scissors, paint and glue

We celebrated another first this week. Scissors!

Diego did his first cutting on this cute squirrel printable. You can find it here at HP, but they have a LOT of other cute printables...great way to make you use more ink!


I've been using the whole family technique on lots of projects. Diego painted the paper for this bear, then I made a pattern and Joaquin cut it out. Diego glued it on and colored the ominous fall sky. This idea was from deepspacesparkle, a great blog for art projects for students.


Isabela was given a set of watercolors in tubes. I've never used the tubes before...always had the crayola watercolor trays growing up.... so she is having fun experimenting with them. She made this turkey all by herself.


Diego made these handprint ships that have been appearing on pinterest everywhere. I'm thinking of naming them after real pilgrim ships. I found this interesting site that records a lot of information about those ships, like the people on board, where and when they landed, etc. I think Patience, Love, and Blessing are good names for ships.


And what would Thanksgiving be without a paper turkey? Again, this was a collaborative project. Diego painted the paper. I found letting him use a sponge brush and acrylic paints turns out the best. Isabela cut out the pieces...and I glued and added the glitter.


There are so many creative ways to record thankfulness these days. I've always wanted to do a tree branch with the leaves hanging from it, but still haven't put one up. This year, we're doing a recycled idea and it's been a big hit. We made a mailbox out of our recycling...diaper boxes are the best!...and everyday, each of us adds a little letter of what we're thankful for. We won't open them until Thanksgiving, so there's a lot of anticipation for the big day. Isn't that what's great about the holidays anyway...anticipation? I saw this idea on one of my new favorite blogs choose to thrive.

anatomy of a school project

All by herself.
Isabela finished her latest school project all by herself.

(I've been known to help a little too much in the past.)

So what does that really mean?
Here's a quick recap:
She laid out her map, every last detail. I debated some of them, but she backed them up with excellent explanations. I suggested chalk pastels instead of marker or crayons, and she agreed. (I sprayed the hairspray to keep the chalk from smearing, and so she wouldn't get it in her eyes.) She decided the symbols for her legend. I tried to change some of them. She stood strong. I helped her spell all the words right.

So did she hole up in her room and complete it without me seeing it? No. And it might have been completely different if she had. But did I draw an example and risk her copying it? No. I gave a little help when needed, but this one is all hers... and it's beautiful.


Now, she WAS up until 10pm finishing her other homework. Time management we'll save for another day.

a mom's life

I'm on the PTA this year.
It's a great responsibility. And amazing how this organization of moms gets money raised and things done for the school. They sure know how the system works. I don't understand half of what they're talking about. Just 'smile and nod' is still a good motto for me.
So I'm Beautification...which is totally ironic if you've ever stopped by my house unexpected.

Out of the many ideas I've proposed, one of them is happening soon! Pansy Day for the Kindergarteners. They'll be planting almost 200 pansies around the school grounds, plus a master gardener is coming to talk to them the day before. The idea came from another nearby elementary school that plants 800 every year! I decided to start small, and as I was organizing this, I felt like a project manager for Donald Trump. Definitely been juggling balls around here lately. But it's finally coming together.

Beautification also means hay bales and scarecrows out front in fall. Besides Juan Pablo's pumpkin contest, that's why I've been painting pumpkins for the last week.

Go bulldogs! (Although Isabela informed me that our football team is called the Miners...don't ask, something about school associations.)


I spray painted some tiny pumpkins our school colors, each having a letter to spell out the name of the school....and added this mascot, too. I found the pattern on pinterest. Did I mention I LOVE pinterest? Still do. If you paint your pumpkins, make sure to cover it with varnish so the paint doesn't wash off in the rain.


A busy mom equals lots of coloring on walls...and sometimes on paper.


And I finally gave in and decided to pay someone to clean the house. The kids!

They have a book fair next week and want to buy lots of books. I've posted a list on the fridge with all the chores and their monetary values. Last night they earned a total of six dollars....and I have a clean tub, folded and put away laundry, clean toilets, and shiny mirrors. I'm happy, and so are they.


There's one more thing I finally tried from the elusive mom manual I've always searched for: Listening. I've been struggling for years to figure out behavior charts, rewards, consequences...they're complicated, time-consuming, sometimes expensive.

But the other night, Joaquin told me, "If I knew I was on yellow or red, then I'd stop." My mind screamed, "What?" All this time, and he finally gave me the answer. See the school uses a color system...their card is changed from green to yellow to red, depending on their behavior. Sooooo, we started that here, too.
Ours works like this: Our colors are Green, Yellow, Red, and Black. Every day, they start on green. Outrageous behavior and unkindness will move their color. Kindness and helpfulness can move it back. Ending the day on anything but green will mean an extra chore the following day, for each color past green...so up to three chores. (Yes, Isabela ended on black one day.)

It's working. I'm happy and they're happy. Again.
I might finally be figuring this mom thing out.

Just look at this angel.

angry birds

Here's a sneak peak of our entry for JP's annual pumpkin contest at work.

I found a great tutorial on drawing the birds here.


He's even going to use our homemade blocks to set them up. It's got my vote!

apple week

Diego and I had an apple week when the kids went back to school. I thought I might try using some theme lessons with him a couple of days a week, since it's just him and I now.

This contact paper apple I found on pinterest. His favorite part of the activity was when we went outside and picked one leaf from a tree to add to the stem. And here is where I learned it's important to have the craft prepared before you start it with a two year old.


It looks pretty in the window and he is proud to see his work displayed.


We collected apples from the playhouse. He couldn't hang them up yet, but that's something we can practice.


I'm working on making some of those cute sensory bins that are all over the web...we played with these apple toys instead since I can't ever get my act together. Ten Apples up on Top was a good book to read this week. His first Dr. Seuss.


And of course, apple printing....cut both ways. Place your paper on a towel if you try this because the apple is never exactly flat, and it makes the print come out better.


And I'm trying to stick to the Spanish...his vocabulary is growing!

LEGO gift bags

We have a birthday coming up tomorrow. It used to be, moms sent cupcakes or cookies to school to celebrate. But I'm really not sure when that tradition started...I don't remember my mom ever doing that. And I, for one, am glad it's a no-no now. Those teachers don't need 25 kids full of sugar 25 times during the year.

What you can send in is a non-food item. Which is still a little confusing to me...the poor birthday boy is giving everyone else a present on his special day. But it's giving. And I'm all for anything that will help my children be more giving.

So this year...he's into LEGOS. And I found this amazing printable LEGO coloring book here.

I added a different cover for a boy or a girl...sewed the pages together...put them in a ziploc baggie...and added a little phrase on top of the bag. (Sewing paper is my new favorite thing to do.) Of course, I waited until tonight to do most of the work, so I just finished a few hours ago. But I think they turned out cute, and Joaquin is eager to hand them out tomorrow. Here's some pics:

good book?

One of Joaquin's favorite books this summer was The Legend of Spud Murphy. It really is funny. He read it twice, then went on to read two others by this author, Eoin Colfer.

One day, we were working on our shrinky dink addiction, and I said, "Why don't you trace the cover of that book you liked?"

He wanted me to do it first....so I traced one and he colored it in with colored pencils.


This could be a fun summer project to remember favorite books your kids read...or something pretty to decorate a baby's window...I could see Goodnight Moon being one.

It could also be a great gift for a teacher (or librarian)...if you find out what their favorite book is. It is large enough to be a key chain or a Christmas tree ornament.

I even did one with a book cover that I thought was cute of a sweet dog saying, "I didn't do it."


Here's Joaquin with two of his favorite books.


Linking up here: Skip to My Lou...check out other great crafts.

marble circus

I finally finished a masterpiece over the weekend. Painting is something I love to do but rarely find the time.
There is always something to clean, a meal to make, dishes to put away, or places to go.

Plus if I pull out the paints, that means the kids will want in on it, too. But somehow, I got away with it...no one asked to paint, and I specifically said, "I'm not doing anything else until I finish this."

I found the idea on Crafty Crow.

Something about the colors of the animals and the design made me have to have it. We had a big piece of cardboard laying around...hers is wood, but cardboard works fine.


The kids play with it some...it's not their favorite toy. But I had fun making it. Obviously, it's not just for marbles...there's even some learning going on here...Can the car fit in this size hole? How many points do you have?





I definitely thank Pinterest for helping me actually DO some of the creative things I find on the web. I can locate them quickly and have a visual list of all the things I'd like to try. Do you use Pinterest? If not, what are you waiting for?

shrinky-dinks

Joaquin's famous last words (said while whining): I don't want to make shrinky-dinks.

Forty-two pieces later, I'd say they are highly addictive.


And the great inspiration for even making these at all can be found at scissorspaperwok. She made the most beautiful buttons from shrinky-dinks. Definitely check it out.

stamp it

We happened to go in Michael's at the right time the other day, and they were doing this fun and easy craft for free. All you need is:

craft foam
paint or ink pad
something pointed like the wrong end of a paintbrush

Draw your design into the craft foam pressing a little hard so it makes a good indentation.


Then you can roller or sponge paint...or even use a stamp pad to get ink on your design and then stamp it on paper. It would make great wrapping paper.


Or cards. Joaquin thought of coloring in the design that it makes and that turned out neat.


Or just make a picture. Warning: Maybe it's just me, but this craft might be more fun for moms than kids.

bored? game

Learn during the summer? NO WAY. When I was little, I did absolutely NO learning June through August.

Wait. I remember taking cooking once in summer school. (It didn't help.) And once I went away to an artsy camp I think. My memory is fading of that, but I do know I made one of those plaster strip masks of my face at the camp.

Unfortunately for my kids, times have changed.

Ever since we dipped our feet into homeschooling, learning just seems so exciting...and possible...and fun...and everywhere. And summer seems like the perfect opportunity for creative projects.

Remember the states the kids chose to read about this summer? Alaska and Hawaii. Polar opposites.

Really it turned into mostly Alaska. Isabela and I came up with a great idea to make some kind of a dog sled board game, and Joaquin ran with it. He forgot all about surfing the waves in High Tide in Hawaii.



And it really is a fun game. With easy directions. It's kind of a cross between Uncle Wiggly and Trivial Pursuit...only all the questions are about Alaska.

You choose a dog to start the race.


And follow the path around the icy, snowy lakes and across slippery rocks. There are short cuts and long ways.


First one to the finish, wins.


But beware...we know all the answers.