Making Soap

The boys have been looking forward to the annual home school group Christmas Craft Sale for a while now.  Last year was the first year that they participated, and it was a highlight of the season.  They have been planning, pricing, designing, and crafting their little hearts out.  Today, we made a family project out of making soap.  The lye in it is a little too dangerous to use around little people, but they love helping out before and after that step.  I think that making your own soap is one of those crazy ``Ì wish I was born 100 years ago`` things that I like to do.  It likely ends up costing more than just running to  the store to pick up a bar of Ivory, but I do love it, and the end product is much nicer than store-bought.   Oh well, Jim tends to humour me and the kids do to.  Not to mention that it is a great seller at the craft sale!

 

This is candy cane soap scented with peppermint essential oil, and tomorrow we are going to make oatmeal, almond and honey soap.  Yum!

Play With Clay

Charlie especially loves getting hands into crafting, and one of his favorite places to create is Play With Clay, a pottery studio in Guelph.  It tends to be a bit too far out of our rather tight budget these days, but today was their annual open house with great deals (and free cake, too!)

It is always interesting to see how different 2 boys can be, coming from the same parents and the same home.  Charlie picked out his piece (a little Halloween decoration), slopped some orange paint on it, went for a piece of cake, and was happy to sit and watch the rest of the action going on around him.

William, on the other hand, spent the better part of an hour carefully working through the different colors that he wanted on his bowl (in multiple coats, of course).  That boy is nothing if not meticulous.

Regardless of their different approaches, they both had a great time and can't wait until next week when they can pick up their final products, glazed and fired.

Socks

A little bit of hand knit happiness for you.  These are the socks that I knit for William, that he has been wearing for far too many days in a row.  They are likely getting a little smelly, but it sure makes my heart glad!

Medicine Pouches

As part of our long-lasting and somewhat meandering study of aboriginal culture, the boys and I started reading Sioux Winter by Bill Freeman (Note to self: reading books together = fun, reading books as part of a 'lesson' = bad) I should know better by now, don't you think?

Anyway, in order to keep little fingers busy while we were reading the boys sewed together the pieces from a kit to make medicine bags that they got for Christmas.  A lovely coincidence...

The got them all put together and then promptly ran off to fill them with secret treasures. 

First Snow

Today was the first 'real' snow of the winter.  I am pretty sure it won't last, but we enjoyed playing it in it while we could.  Lessons put aside, the boys and I went for a walk in the white (which was made even  more special by seeing the boys both reach for their mama-made hats to keep their heads warm).

Happy winter!

Bracelets for Russia

We have taken part in a few craft-for-hope projects in the last while - making dolls, knitting squares, and now making bracelets to send off to people in other parts of the world who might enjoy them. Today we got together with some other homeschooling families to make bracelets to send to orphans in Russia. This is certainly not something that will have a drastic impact on these kids who are living such difficult lives, but it is a nice way to perhaps put a little smile on their faces, and to help our kids learn that there are lots of little ways that they can make a difference.
Here is the link.

Creativity Greenhouse

Charlie, in particular, has been feeling very artistic lately. He is all about drawing, painting, sculpting..anything that gets his creative juices flowing. As a way of him getting a bit more 'expert' experience than mama can provide, we arranged a few classes with our home school friends at the Creativity Greenhouse - a local art studio for kids. The instructor there is fabulous - offering up great ideas, and letting us customize a program for the kids that we think they will enjoy.

This time around the kids are exploring ancient civilizations using art. They have done gold tiles and canopic jars while studying Egyptian culture, and Greek theatre masks. Next on the books is Roman and Mayan art.

Salt Dough

Often the simplest things are the best. The cardboard box that the expensive toy came in...the sidewalk chalk instead of the oil pastels, and this stand-by recipe for salt dough. Charlie and I whipped up a batch this afternoon (in about 1 minute flat!) and he had a great time creating masterpieces. His favorite was this hammerhead shark...



Salt Dough Recipe
1 cup salt
2 cups flour
1/2 cup water

Combine the salt and flour. Stir in water. Create something wonderful. Let air dry for a few days, turning over if possible so that it can dry evenly.

Play With Clay

Charlie has been asking me for quite a while to go back to Play With Clay, so this morning we picked up my niece and nephew Max and Tory and headed over. I am always struck by how different the boys are. William has a good enough time when he is there, but would never ask to do something like this on his own. Charlie on the other hand, loves most things crafty. He is always up for painting, molding, beading, or anything else creative. Such is the challenge of parenthood (and homeschooling) I guess. You just get one child figured out, along comes another one, and BAHM! You are right back to figuring things out for the first time....

Muffin Tin Bird Feeders

Our little feathered friends have been away from out back yard for a few days (perhaps because we have been too scattered to go buy more sunflower seeds?!?!) so the boys and I decided to make a little treat to lure them back.

I found this recipe written on a scrap of paper in my idea file, so unfortunately I am not exactly sure where it originally came from, but here it is anyway:

Mix together 3/4 cups of flour and 1 envelope of unflavored gelatin. In a separate bowl, combine 1/2 cup water and 3 tbsp corn syrup. Add water and syrup to flour mixture and stir well. Stir in 4 cups of birdseed.

Spoon the mixture into greased muffin tins about 3/4 full.

Use a small measuring cup or spoon to press the seed mixture firmly into the tins. Use a bamboo skewer or straw to make a hole in centre of each filled muffin tin.

Let the seed cakes set / dry for 3 hours, and then gently remove them from the tins. Put them onto a cooling rack and let dry for another 8 hours or overnight. String them onto ribbons and hang out for the birds!!

Now all we can do is wait...please come back birdies - we miss you!!

Junior Archeologists

For Christmas, both boys received some sort of archeology dig set - Charlie's dig was for dinosaur bones, and William's was for gems. They loved getting them out this morning and getting cracking.

We have a bit of a stash of tools from past kits, and they had a blast getting themselves (and the whole kitchen!) covered in dust. The process of digging out their treasures was fun, but we all admit to being somewhat disappointed by the results. The dino bones were very thin, and made of brittle plastic that broke as Charlie was getting them out. Williams gems, which looked to be the size of walnuts on the package, were more like peas, and were all clustered in the middle of the block at that.


I got to thinking that really it can't be that hard to make these 'treasure blocks', so I did a bit of digging myself and I came across this post for a make-it-yourself recipe. I have yet to try it at home, but it is certainly on the to-do list. Not only can we make them for a lot cheaper than we can buy them, but I can add all sorts of 'treasures' inside that won't disappoint.

I will let you know how it goes!

Playing with Clay

There is a lovely little pottery studio beside an office building that I visit regularly, and I have been lusting to go for quite some time. They offer clay throwing and spinning, as well as bisque painting and firing. It has that come-on-in-and-get-your-hands-dirty kind of look, that pulls me in each time.
I haven't made it in on my own yet, but I did manage to bring the boys for some creative time when the shop held its on year anniversary. There was discounted bisque painting, face painting, and even cake and hot dogs. We invited a neighbourhood friend along for the trip, and the kids had a great time.

I often have a hard time getting the boys to do things that could be considered 'crafty', but they both seemed to love this. Each painted 2 pieces, and they would like to go back again. Charlie was a little upset to have to leave his creations there to be fired, but I know that he will be happy with the result when I pick up their masterpieces next week. Here are the 'in-progress' shots. I will flash up a picture of the finished products when we get them.

Knitting Corner - Before and After

I have to say that I am rather proud of myself these days. I have actually started my Christmas knitting in September, and not on December 19th!! Still, as I went to get some wool this morning to cast on a lovely pair of ********* (that would spoil the surprise, now, wouldn't it?) I came across this:

Sigh. Somewhat discouraging. So I put my needles down and went to work. After a half hour of sorting, winding, tossing, and storing, I managed to get to this:

Much better!! And now for those lovely new *******.

Socks, Glorious Socks!

Behold...my first, for me, pair of socks! This pair has been on my knitting needles, no lie, since October. Since before the Oh-My-Goodness-Christmas-Is-Almost-Here rush, before the after Christmas crafting crash, before the spring exodus to parks, beaches and woods. I have knit socks before, but always for gifting. These green lovelies are just for me. If only it was cool enough to warrent wearing them.....

Erosion Table - second edition

Apparently one erosion table in our family just isn't enough. The drive in to Auntie Bonnie and Uncle Ted's home (all of 25 minutes) just seemed too far away for the boys, so we invited them over for a day to 'play' and help us build a table, too! Actually, it was more like "Uncle Ted, do you want to come over to our house and build a table for us while we swim, and play, and watch you??" Regardless, he graciously agreed, and so here it is - erosion table, 2nd edition. We Love It!!!

Erosion Table Complete!!

My brother-in-law Ted has been working over the past few weeks to make an erosion table for the kids. Today when we went over for a visit we were all thrilled to find out that it was done. He managed to free-cycle most of the parts, and I think that the total cost was likely less than $50 (with the most expensive part being the barrel pump). In the days since it was completed, the neighbourhood kids have been flocking to it, and William and Charlie were all over it, too. The water is a little dark still as the sand gets 'cleaned' of all of the finer particles of dust, but I am sure it will be running clear soon. Not that mucky water is a deterrent for the kids at all...

Erosion Table - Part #1

Nothing is more fun for kids (mine, at least!) than combining water and sand. The beach is of course a favorite, but an erosion table is a close second. They have played with them for hours at Science North, and also at the local University open house. So they were thrilled to hear that their uncle Ted was going to try his hand at making one. Although it is still a work in progress, the pump was a great hit. The anticipation is palpable...

Painting Ecuador

Our home school group's annual World Expo is fast approaching, and we have been starting to prepare our display about Ecuador. Here is a little sneak peek of Charlie hard at work...

Easter Eggs with Pop

Our little family is so blessed to be a part of a larger, equally wonderful family - both on my side, and on my husbands side. We are especially lucky to have Jim's father, Bud (better known throughout the neighbourhood as Pop) living just up the road from us. Today the boys were invited up to take part in the age old family tradition of dying Easter eggs with Pop. Jim and his brother Steve did this throughout their childhood, and now William and Charlie are enjoying it. I snuck up to peek in on their fun and take a few pictures....