Where, Oh Where, Has My Tablecloth Gone?

What do you use to protect your crafting and activity areas? 

A few years back I attempted to make my own re-usable shopping bags out of vinyl tablecloths.  That project failed miserably and I was left with more intact cloths than I'd ever need for picnicking. That's the day vinyl tablecloths became my go-to crafting area cover-up.

There should be a cute picture, here, huh?  

That's the problem, my tablecloth is missing...

You have, of course, seen our table protectors before.  They've made appearances in picture we take for this blog.  Here are a few examples to refresh your memory...

Our old pink striped tablecloth

Our current fishy table cloth

I love that they cover the entire space (unlike place mats we've tried in the past) and are waterproof so paint spills and globs of glue don't leak through to the table.  When we're done I simply pull it up from the corners, take it outside for a good shake, and toss it in a drawer for use on another day.  

Sure, they get paint all over them, but that's the point, isn't it?  On the cloth and not on my table.  One extra nice thing is never having to scrape play dough off my table; throw out a vinyl table cloth and clean up is a breeze!  Every now and then I throw it in the wash for a little scrubbing power, but I just don't stress about keeping it too clean.  

Unfortunately, today my kids and I are driving each other a little crazy.  I have a fun painting project for them to do, but our fishy tablecloth has gone MIA.  I remember it hanging on the front porch railing for drying after it's last wash, and now I have absolutely no idea where it has ended up.  I have a small suspicion another adult in our house may have thrown it away, but as soon as I openly accuse him I know it'll show up in that really clever spot I decided to put it.  

I guess the painting will have to wait.  Maybe I'll try to entertain the kids with some baking.  And head out to Ross or TJ Max (they have super cute ones for $2-$3)  to replenish my vinyl tablecloth supply first thing tomorrow morning! (Watch for pictures next week of the new cloth and our painting project)

What do you use to keep your tables clean?

Not So Spooky Pumpkin Patch

For some reason, book learning has really been a struggle this week, so today I decided to let my boys do a little hands-on creating.  They were excited the moment they saw me pulling out the "painting sheet." (Painting Sheet=cheap vinyl tablecloth I started using for craft-time a long time ago.  It protects the table and makes for super easy clean-up.  It was cute today to see the kids relate the tablecloth to painting without me saying anything.)

Drawing inspiration from an egg carton craft project I saw a couple weeks ago, I gathered the supplies and sat down with my kids to make pumpkin patches!

Usually I choose crafts that don't require a lot of preparation by Mom beforehand, but today I decided the headache I could avoid by doing some of the work myself seemed worth it.  Those steps included:

• Cutting a 12-egg carton in half so each of my boys would have 6 "pumpkins"
• Cutting a green pipe cleaner into 12 short pieces
• Poking a small hole in the top of each "pumpkin" where the "stem" will go
• Hot Glue the "fence"

The boys got to:

• Paint their "pumpkins" and their "fences"

Okay, so Beck got a little confused and painted his paint plate
 before I re-explained it to him

• Push in their stems 

• Draw on their faces

We were running out of googly eyes,
so each boy got one pair and  then  drew the rest of their eyes

• Pick, cut, and glue on the straw

You could use craft straw, but we had an adventure outside finding dry grass we could use instead.  On the way back home from the field down the street, we had a close call with a snake and barely avoided stepping right on top of it.  The boys LOVED that!

• Choose the best place to display their pumpkin patches for everyone to see.  They decided outside on the front porch so that Daddy would be spooked when he came home.  

Aren't those the cutest "spooky" pumpkins you have ever seen?

Mail from...New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a beautiful state!  Who could argue that when this is their state bird...

Purple Finch

I visited there in a long ago October when the granite mountains were on fire with changing autumn colors.  On that trip, I got to see the Old Man of the Mountain.  I'm so glad I did, because in 2003 the profile collapsed and changed the face of the mountain forever.

Before and After 

Much to my surprise, this pile of crumbled rocks held very little appeal to my boys, so, thinking on my feet, I pulled out the paints to create our own representations of the New Hampshire autumn leaves.  We used Q-tips instead of brushes and I demonstrated how to carefully dot the paint onto the paper.  It did not make any sense to my kids today.  Surprising myself again, I didn't over-react and try to correct them.  I just let them be and worked on my own dotted painting...

So, New Hampshire did not bring about a super-memorable postcard lesson.  I'll have to put "visit New Hampshire" on our to-do list and see if that doesn't turn out to be more inspiring.

Apple Week (and Arkansas)

Last week we pulled out the postcard from Arkansas and discovered that 1) the state bird is the mockingbird, and 2) the state flower is the Apple Blossom.  I could have put it back in the bin until spring when, the apple trees would be blossoming, but decided to link it to the apple harvest of this time of year instead.

This was our week of apple learning...

First, we counted & sorted them by color & size. We also looked for patterns & more than/less than (i.e. stems v. no stems, red v. green, etc)

Then, we made a comparison chart. Beck colored each different apple across the top.  Our categories were: stems, red, not red, & spots/dots.  Does anyone know why apples have those tiny, tiny little dots?

We tried doing a taste test, but my kids didn't seem to think the apples tasted any differently.  After a few probing questions, I decided not to push their apparent lack of taste buds any further.

I found this superhero apple template on Pinterest and KNEW my kids would love it!

After printing, I glued the pieces to a cereal box cardboard, and cut the pieces apart in hopes of avoiding the frustration of tired hands.

Beck had a serious problem that his little brother wasn't putting  his apple together properly...

He forgot soon enough, though, unable to resist the lure of being a superhero!

 Our second craft activity of the week was an attempt at apple printing.  They didn't turn out the way I'd anticipated, but still the boys had a lot of fun.

 And the Apple Week Grand Finale was a field trip with cousin Claire to our local apple orchard!  The kids got to run up and down the planted rows in search of the perfect apple to eat right off the tree.  This picture doesn't show it very well, but these Galas were nearly as sweet as the doughnuts that were waiting at the end of the tour!

Do you have a favorite apple activity you'll be doing this year?

Mail from...Arizona

The "Mail from..." series was part of our participation in a a postcard swap hosted by Beth at Living Life Intentionally.  The idea was to send out 50 postcards of your state-one to every state in the Union-and then receive back the same.  Being a travel junkie, I thought it was an exciting way to add a little geography into this year's kindergarten lessons.  Besides, what kid doesn't LOVE to get mail?

Well, the postcards have started to trickle in.  While most of them have included fairly generic tidbits of information, my kids seem to be most fascinated with learning each state's official bird.  They get confused with senders who didn't understand that was vital information.  And because that's what they're intrigued with, I've started printing out the official state birds and attaching them to the map as we study each new postcard.

The Arizona Cactus Wren

To get us started, let's take a look at Arizona...

The postcard we received showed an enormous Saguaro Cactus.  

I adapted this cute cactus craft from one I saw at Creative Jewish Mom.

To make:

~Cut apart the square parts of a cardboard egg container 

(This part was unexpectedly messy and probably should be done by mom)

~Paint the squares.

~Send your kids outside to collect pebbles and rocks while the paint dries.

~Glue the squares into whatever shape your child thinks a cactus looks like.

~Glue the rocks onto the cardboard  (we used the side of a cereal box) 
so your landscape looks like a desert.

~Crumple tissue paper and glue to your cactus for "blossoms" 

What fun tidbits can you share with us about Arizona?

Thanksgiving Week & A New Focus

I like school weeks right before a holiday when we put the normal workbooks away and do something a little different.  This week we're using the Thanksgiving Pre-K pack I found at Over the Moon.

Beck especially loves the puzzles.

For today's craft/activity Beck & Peyton painted Indian Corn (an idea I saw at I Heart Crafty Things). 

 

And to make the week even more exciting, we've started a new chapter in Teaching Your Children Joy.  The last of the Physical Joys, this month we're focusing on Nature.  With all the other busy things going on this week, we're just going to take it easy.  Maybe we'll...

~ Look at picture books of animals, habitats, and plants

~Make an extra effort to point out things we're seeing outdoors

~And even though it's getting really cold, bundle up and take a nature walk around our neighborhood

What adventures are you having with your kids this holiday week?

School Blah Already?

Beck is still loving school, but I'm already in a rut.  Definitely going to have to get over that...

This week for school we're using this preschool pack from 1+1+1=1.  Today Beck LOVED working on the page of patterns.

Here's an update on our Changing Autumn Leaves poster, five weeks into Fall.

And today we had fun painting Halloween Rocks which Beck calls his "Halloween Cars that only come out at Halloween."  (This was our version of the idea we saw at Craft Gossip)

As for today's Teaching Your Children Joy activity, it took a lot of creativity on Mom's part.  Still working on the physical joys, we tried making letters with our bodies.  With just the two of us it took a lot of bending and turning.  It'd be a lot easier if you were able to gather several kids for this activity.  Regardless of how many you have assembled, it makes it fun for the kids to form their letters in front of a mirror (we were mirror-less, but used our reflections in the tv-that was Beck's idea!).  

Getting More Specific

It looks like the Teaching Your Children Joy activities are now starting to move away from the abstract ideas we've been working with the past two weeks.  Today's activity was very specific.

"Finger paint with shaving cream"

Oh, boy, does that sound messy.  I just couldn't do it.  Instead I took the suggestions about using it as a color mixing lesson, and got out the watercolors with Beck during school time.  That was fun and we did it just as long as he wanted to.  Then while he ate his snack I motivated myself to make a batch of sidewalk paint.

Is it a requirement for mom bloggers at some point to put a recipe for sidewalk paint in their posting history?  There are seriously hundreds of recipes online.  I've looked at them dozens of times and always had hesitations.  What if it stains clothes (or the driveway), what if I don't have the ingredients?  Today I called my neighbor for the parts I was missing and finally did it. If you've been holding out like me, let this be the recipe that sets your brush in motion...

Homemade Sidewalk Paint

1/2 c cornstarch

1/2 c COLD water

Food Coloring

~Simply mix the cornstarch and water together until smooth

 (the key is COLD-it will make your life much easier)

~Divide into separate bowls and add food coloring until reaching desired color.

(I loved not having to count out 22-ish drops)

~Add paint brushes and paint away!

(The paint will need occasional stirring, which kids are good at.  If it thickens too much, just add more water.)

To answer the staining question, don't worry.  The paint dries like chalk.  It will wash off the driveway easily with a hose and if your baby decides to paint his jeans it will brush off.  Just try to get to him before he brushes up against your sofa...