Father's Day Ideas

Okay, Brian, my love, you can go away now.

Now we can talk.

So, in case your the last minute type too, here's some inspiration:

1. Start coloring now and you'll have plenty of signs to decorate with by Sunday.
2. Make a T-Shirt for Dad, or better yet, go to church wearing matching t-shirts declaring your love.
3. Have your little ones make this mini book, let the slightly older try this one, and the self-motivated can go all out.
4. Create a decorative license plate.
5. Print some coupons.
6. This tie takes the cake.
7. But my kids' Reese's loving dad is getting these.
8. Hijack his desktop and give him some new wallpaper.
9. Get some minor league baseball or monster truck tickets for dad, grandpa, and the kids.
10. Build a picture frame - nifty!
11. Or a business card holder from his best golfin' buddy.
12. And, if your crazy like us, why not sing him a song? I wrote this chart-topping song many years ago and enlisted one of my siblings help in distributing the copies to the kids still living at home, and we sang it to my dad together. We may have to do a reunion tour - what'd'ya say, Hannah?

"DEAR OLD DAD" - (sung to the tune of the Mickey Mouse Club - my dad and I have a long history with this song) - and yes, we are weird, and so is our sense of humor

Who's the leader of the home that's made for you and me

D-E-A-R O-L-D D-A-D-D-Y

Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there We're as happy as can be

D-E-A-R O-L-D D-A-D-D-Y

Dear old Dad (He's so swell!) Dear old Dad (We know it well!)

Forever loving him until we die (Die! Die! Die!)

Come along, and sing a song and join the family

D-E-A-R O-L-D D-A-D-D-Y

Cinco de Mayo

Don't laugh, but it just occurred to me today that cinco means five, so Cinco de Mayo means Fifth of May.

I really have never thought much about the holiday. Brian likes it because it gives him an excuse to go out and eat Mexican at lunch, and he loves Mexican food. He also works for a very cool company that loves to celebrate about as much as I do. His top boss is taking, I think, the entire office out for a Mexican lunch (and I don't even know if anyone in the office is of Mexican descent.)

Anyway. Here's some stuff for a last minute celebration of Cinco de Mayo:

1. First read the Wikipedia explanation of this holiday so that we can all be smart together and actually know why this is a holiday. Or have your kids do this informative reading and comprehension activity.
2. Choose a meal plan from Kraft foods, make these taco nachos or Mexican pizza, get some take-out, make tacos, or buy some seven layer dip at Walmart.
3. If you don't have everything you need, why not visit a local Mexican grocery?
4. Read Meet Josefina or some other book about Americans with a Mexican heritage. Or just read a book or two about Mexico. I like this one. And Learning Pages has one for free this month. (Not a member? It's free and their stuff is really cool.)
5. Make this Mexican flag pinata
6. Do the Mexican Hat Dance; we have it on a Music for Little Mozart's CD
7. How 'bout some printables? Learning pages has this fun picture with questions to answer. Apples 4 the Teacher has lots of coloring pages. Family Fun has cute streamers .
8. And finally, crafts. DTLK has a printable Hot Pepper craft. Kinderart tells you how to make a paper bag poncho.

graphic by Celeste’s Holiday Graphic Collection

Happy Birthday, George... and half my family!

Today is George Washington's birthday. It is also my Nanny's birthday (my paternal grandmother), my father-in-law's birthday, and my brother Titus' birthday. So, Titus requested a gluten-free chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. He, however, lives a few states away from me in northern Virginia, so I shipped 15 chocolate cupcakes, 2 gluten-free fudge brownies, and a few other things, including peanut butter and confectioner's sugar, and my gem of a sister is going to make the peanut butter cup frosting (the recipe was on the cake mix) for me. We're celebrating Dad's birthday on Saturday with a mahi mahi dinner. I found a really cool gift idea last night, and we're going to see if it can be found in town this afternoon. I'll show you later. And we'll give Nanny a birthday phone call sometime too.

As for George, we're about to read the story of the cherry tree, as well as his prayers at Valley Forge from The Children's Treasury of Virtues. And we're having these yummy cherry cheesecake cupcakes for dessert tonight.

graphic from www.historyimages.com

Celebrating Lincoln's Birthday

That would be tomorrow. Hurry, and assemble just a few things and have some fun!

1. Have the kids make a Lincoln Log Cabin centerpiece for the tableDo copywork on this stationary - you could use one of his quotes.
2. Make penny rubbings - or combine it with this poem for your copywork
3. Like making cabins? Here's another one.
4. And an Abraham Lincoln coloring page to color during story time
5. Generate a Lincoln math puzzle.
6. And read some books! This year we have: A. Lincoln and Me, Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books , Abe Lincoln Remembers, and Abe Lincoln and the Muddy Pig
7. Had to add this one that I remembered clipping from a magazine. A little more effort, but sooo worth it: Martha Stewart's penny fashion!

For more links, Dawn just put up this post.

Chinese New Year (and other adventures in geography)

I almost didn't get this post up, and it's a little late, but hey, they celebrate for two weeks, so here it is. We were focusing on geography the last couple of weeks, reviewing continents, reading books about Canada and Mexico, and then about India and China, the two foreign countries that my children are most interested in. We honed in on Chinese New Year activites beginning on Wednesday, which is when the new year began in the U.S., and continuing on through today. Here are some of our activities for Chinese New Year:

Video:

Chinese New Year by Schlessinger Video Productions

Books:

D Is For Dancing Dragon: A China Alphabet-one of the favorites
Celebrating Chinese New Year
Daisy Comes Home- a typically stunning Jan Brett storybook
I Remember China (Why We Left)
Lao Lao of Dragon Mountain-the story highlights the art of paper cutting. It also has a parallel chinese text, and a breakdown of several Chinese characters that resulted in Ethan working very hard to replicate the character for dragon.

still to read -
You Wouldn't Want to Work on the Great Wall of China!: Defenses You'd Rather Not Build
The Great Wall Of China (Aladdin Picture Books)
Ms. Frizzle's Adventures Imperial China

Periodical:

Kids Of Courage: China Olympic Countdown or Crackdown, 1st Quarter 2008 issue(from Voice of the Martyrs)

Crafts:

Chinese New Year coloring page
Year of the Rat coloring page
Dragon Parade Puppet - these were such a big hit! They loved making them and playing with them.
Paper lanterns (also found here)- Ethan made several of these which we strung together on a paper chain to make a garland

More stuff:

We enjoyed Chinese takeout on Wednesday, trying a couple of new dishes.
Ethan wrote a silly dragon story on this handwriting paper. Here is a Great Wall lined page too.
What Is Chinese New Year? and more crafts from Kaboose.
Great links at Activity Village
Glimpses for Kids: Gladys Aylward - we actually read a bit of a longer story in Hero Tales earlier this year which the children enjoyed very much
And their Gran has been sharing the story of The Heavenly Man with them for the past few months.

I have to mention a few books on India that were particularly compelling:
Count Your Way Through India
In The Heart of the Village: The World of the Indian Banyan Tree - richly illustrated
Taj Mahal - beautiful love story behind this famous tomb

New Year's Eve Time Warp Party

Tonight we're hosting a time warp party for our shepherding group friends. We will celebrate midnight at 9PM.

Food:

ham and bean soup - I add a can of diced tomatoes and hot sauce
homemade bread (brought by a friend)
meatballs
little smokies "pig in a blanket"
vegetable tray with dip and hummus
Dr. Pepper (Brian's favorite), hot cocoa, and coffee, chocolate mint and gingerbread creamers
Candy dipped pretzel sticks, candy canes, and marshmallows
peanut butter cheesecake balls
brownies, both gluten free and regular


Activities:

a snowflake cutting contest
recitations/testimonies
maybe some Christmas charades or BOGGLE
a movie for the kids
countdown to midnight with noisemakers, glow bracelets, and, weather permitting, sparklers



What are your plans?

Jack O'Lanterns

Ethan's is two sided.

Thursday Thirteen - Halloween stuff for kids

1. Billy Bears's Halloween Party - this is the ultimate for printables! If Walgreen's ever gets my color cartridge refilled properly, I'm going to print out several Halloween games like bingo, memory, tic tac toe, and dominoes and take them to get laminated. We'll throw in our Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin game and a few from food packages and magazines and are having a Halloween themed game night for family night tomorrow. Oh, and print some Halloween math here.


2. Pumpkin Simulator - try this virtual pumpkin just for fun or to test a design.


3. Writing Paper


4. Picture Frame to print and color


5. Make a Salt Dough Pumpkin Patch


6. T-shirt iron-ons


7. Pumpkin Stencils


8. File-Folder Game: Pumpkin Patch


9. Pumpkin Predictions math


10. Homemade costume ideas


11. Printable Halloween masks


12. Spider Cupcakes


13. Candy Corn Pin - we made these a few years ago - so fun! - and we still wear them.

Patriot Day

We have a tradition that we've done every year since the first anniversary of September 11. We bake cookies and take them to our local fire department. I seriously thought that we would be one of many, especially the first year. But, oddly enough, we seem to be the only ones that remember the date in this way. This year some friends are joining us. I called ahead to be sure the extra people wouldn't be a bother. But, really, when you call to tell firefighters that your bringing cookies, you really don't have much to worry about. I mean, firemen are the nicest people in the world to begin with and when you add food to the mix...

Maybe some of you will join us in our tradition. It just made sense to me to thank the people that would just as willingly risk their lives for my family if such a thing had happened here. Oh, and don't forget to fly your flag.


Resources - not all of these are intended for children:

1. Presidential proclamation of September 11 as Patriot Day
2. "We Remember" writing paper
3. "Remember" pencil flag and window flag
4. A ribbon to color yellow, cut out, and hang
5. Remembering September 11th-Activities and Crafts For The Classroom
6. More Links and activities at Raising Our Kids
7. Last year's Presidential Prayer Team for Kids newsletter
8. National Geographic Kids multimedia "We Survived September 11" - the fourth grade class from the school four blocks from the WTC.
9. National Museum of American History's September 11 collection
10. September 11 digital archive

What do you do to remember?

Independence Day Crafts

I was informed that there was a lack of crafts in my holiday plan. So I adjusted.

1. Fireworks for the little girls to trace with glue or glitter pens. Ethan drew his glitter fireworks on black construction paper.
2. A construction paper windsock with cut and glued stripes and stars and crepe paper tails.
3. A bald eagle.

Happy Birthday, America!

The Flag Goes By

Henry Holcomb Bennett

Hats off!

Along the street there comes

A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,

A flash of color beneath the sky:

Hats off!

The flag is passing by!

*

Blue and crimson and white it shines,

Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines.

Hats off!

The colors before us fly;

But more than the flag is passing by.

*

Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great,

Fought to make and to save the State:

Weary marches and sinking ships;

Cheers of victory on dying lips;

*

Days of plenty and years of peace;

March of a strong land's swift increase;

Equal justice, right, and law,

Stately honor and reverend awe;

*

Sign of a nation, great and strong

Toward her people from foreign wrong:

Pride and glory and honor,--all

Live in the colours to stand or fall.

*

Hats off!

Along the street there comes

A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums;

And loyal hearts are beating high:

Hats off!

The Flag is passing by!

Countdown to the Fourth

1. Paint your toes like flags...and your face too, while you're at it.
2. Make selzter rockets.
3. Plan a future trip to Washington D.C. for their parade and fireworks. There's nothing like it.
4. Check out the top fireworks in the U.S. and find fireworks in your area.
5. If you can't make it to your local fireworks, catch the Boston POPS Fireworks Spectacular at 10PM on CBS. I just love how the city's church bells chime in unison during the "1812 Overture."
6. Read the Declaration of Independence and other historic documents.
7. Teach your kids the Pledge of Allegiance with this free printable.
8. Make America a birthday cake. She'll be 231 years old!
9. Or, for those of you who can eat it, check out this beautiful Patriotic Cookie Pizza.
10. Make some can holders and some easy sand candles for your table.
11. Let your kids make a red, white, and blue paper chain.
12. Print and make a patriotic mini book.
13. And don't miss the Presidential Prayer Team for Kids website.

If you still want more, check out my Flag Day for Kids post.

Modelling by Anna Kate. :^)

Flag Day for Kids

1. Rules for flying the flag and great Americans sharing their thoughts on the flag at the Presidential Prayer Team for Kids website.
2. A candy flag at the Idea Box.
3. A flag to color at Crayola.
4. A craft stick flag craft at Enchanted Learning.
5. Printable flags and skads of other Flag Day ideas at Child Fun.
6. There are several Flag Day worksheets as well as Father's Day sheets in the new Joyous June set of worsksheets at Learning Pages.com. Sign up for access - it's free!
7. The All American Flag Mold, or, if you don't have a mold, Uncle Sam's Red, White, And Blue Parfaits from Kraft Foods.
8. American flag iron-ons from hp.
   

We try to have a Kid's Day party each summer. So far we've had a Pirate and Island Princess Party and a Cowboy and Indians party. This year we're having a Flag Day party. We'll make a flag craft then decorate bikes and wagons and make homemade instruments (or use what we already have) for a parade to Sousa marches. We'll have few all-American games including hot potato (with a flag, of course). We'll learn and sing "You're a Grand Old Flag," then read some flag books while enjoying hot dogs on a stick, the flag mold, and watermelon star pops. After lunch, we'll turn on the sprinkler and jump in the pools for some water fun. Maybe the Cool-Off Game or water balloons too.

May Day

We had great fun delivering May baskets to our neighbors today. I had to drop off paperwork at the doctors for Brian's handicap sign, so we ducked into Walmart and picked up carnations. Dawn has this very simple idea of making paper doilies into cones sealed with a flower sticker, and so - finally - I got to make may baskets (sort of , at least). I've wanted to do this my whole life! I just think of it too late and never get the baskets made. This time, thanks to our killer frost earlier this month, I had a great basket idea, but no flowers! All that's blooming are about three jasmine blossoms, two wisteria on a new vine, and a few purple blossoms on some ivy-like plant that takes over the rosebed. And lots of white clover, of course. But the magnolia is budded and I saw one opening way at the top (my tree is huge, folks) the other day.

Totally tangent to the may day idea: I love this song - Buddy Jewel's "Sweet Southern Comfort". I had to get jasmine to go with my magnolia when I heard this song.

Misty sunrise in my hometown,

Rows of cotton bout knee high,

Mrs. Baker down the dirt road,

Still got clothes out on the line,

Erwin Nichols there with Judge Lee,

Playin checkers at the gin,

When I dream about the southland,

This is where it all begins

From Carolina down to Georgia,

Smell the jasmine and magnollia,

Sleepy Sweet home Alabama,

Roll tide roll,
Muddy water,Misssissippi,

Blessed Graceland whispers to me,

Carry on, Carry on,

Sweet Southern Comfort carry on,

Catchin catfish on the river,

Chasin fireflies by the creek,

Kissin Debbie Williams sister,

On the porch Homecommin week,

With rusty cars and weeping willows,

Keepin watch out in the yard,

Just a snapshot of downhome Dixie,

Could be anywhere you are,

In Carolina or in Georgia,

Open arms are waitin for ya,

Louisianna yellow rose of San Antone,

Arkansas, Mississippi,

Old man river whispers to me,

Carry on, Carry on,

Sweet Southern Comfort carry on,

As I sit here I'm surrounded,

By these priceless memories,

I don't have to think about it,

There's no place I'd rather be,

In Carolina or in Georgia,

Smell the jasmine and magnollia,

Sleepy Sweet home Alabama,

Roll tide roll,

Muddy water, Misssissippi,

Blessed Graceland whispers to me,

Carry on, Carry on,

Sweet Southern Comfort,

Carry on, Carry on,

Sweet Southern Comfort carry on

Saint Patrick's Day Activites

1. Draw a face on the leprechaun at Crayola.
2. Try the mazes from beginner to complex at Kid's Domain.
3. Cute printable preschool workbook from Giggly Games.
4. Read about who Patrick really was as well as his actual writings at A Joyful Heart.
5. Make some pot of gold jello and clover cupcakes from Family Fun.
6. Make and hang the shamrock shimmers at Nestle's Very Best Baking.
7. Find a dancing fairy and other lovely paper crafts at the Toymaker.
8. Choose a celtic cross coloring page at Apples4theTeacher.
9. Scroll down this page to find instructions for pepper painting shamrocks.
10. Print sweet bookmarks at Jen Brett's website.
11. Do your copywork on St. Patty's handwriting paper from BillyBear4Kids.
12. Make a leprechaun friend at Making Friends.
13. Complete the wordsearch from The Family Corner.

Happy Groundhog's Day!

I looked out my kitchen window at the melting

snow in my backyard and way back in the

corner under the rose bush, I spied this:

*

I also spied a robin.

Rosie and I mad a little snowman and put it in the freezer. I think we'll save it for the Fourth of July, and let everyone guess how long it will take to melt. (I read that in a magazine recently, but can't remember which one. Probably Family Fun or Nick,Jr.)

Now I'm off to watch the noon news and see what the groundhog said.

Update according to http://www.punxsutawney.com/:

Phil Says Spring is Right Around the Corner!
Phil's official forecast as read 2/2/07 at 7:28 a.m. at Gobbler's Knob:
El Nino has caused high winds, heavy snow, ice and freezing temperatures in the west.Here in the East with much mild winter weather we have been blessed.
Global warming has caused a great debate.This mild winter makes it seem just great.
On this Groundhog Day we think of one thing.Will we have winter or will we have spring?
On Gobbler's Knob I see no shadow today.I predict that early spring is on the way.

For a great craft go to the Toymaker.

MLK funny

We read a couple of storybook bios today, then tonight we actually watched an online recording of Dr.King's "I Have a Dream" speech. I had actually never read very much about him before, nor had I heard the speech beyond the short, much-quoted "dream" excerpt. I was impressed with his amazing speaking talent as well as the content of his speech.

Anyway, on to the funny part. While I was searching for a recording of the "I Have a Dream" speech, I stopped at The King Center website where a section of his sermon-speech "The Drum Major Instinct" begins playing when the site comes up. You can click on it in a new window to get the full effect. As Dr. King's voice orates,
"You don't have to have a college degree to serve.
You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.
You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve.
You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve.
You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve."
Anna Kate intones, "Breakfast is served!"

The Great Pumpkin

Today we had Great Pumpkin party with some friends.

We did some Halloween math pages, learned the names of bones and cut and pasted a skeleton craft. Cut out the cutest masks and trick or treat scenes from Wondertime. Read lots of books about jack o'lanterns, a pumpkin cat, and a tree that couldn't get it's colors right. Made paper plate spider crafts, watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, ate lunch and a Great Pumpkin cake(mine didn't look nearly that pretty), and played our new It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown board game!

And I think I still have enough stuff that we didn't get to,to take care of next year! Oh,well.

Please bear with me as I try to figure out how to make these posts look the right way. I'm also trying to figure out how to show the real pictures of all of these events that I'm dying to share with you.