Someone is Turning Six

We had a pizza lunch and some fun at Chuck E. Cheese today for my daughter's birthday.

The cake was a simple low calorie white cake with a sour cream and vanilla pudding frosting. The butterfly was made with a cut-out of an image found here. The template was printed out in 8x5. All you do is cut out the middle, apply it to a frosted cake, and frost in a different color and/or add sprinkles. After you frost, just peel the template off carefully. In order to make room for the pink frosting, I ended up skimming off some of the bottom yellow frosting while the template was in place. Otherwise, the template frosting would have stood higher on the cake.

DIY Replacements for Velcro Wood Play Sets

This is a Melissa & Doug set which had a missing cookie top. I was able to reproduce the missing piece with some thin pressed board and some very sharp utility scissors(Friskars Shop Snip 8.0), both found at a big box store. The pressed board was free, discarded in the wood scraps bin.









Easy directions:

Trace the missing part, cut, sand, and paint. Apply the appropriate side of self adhesive velcro, also found at a big box store, to the back. I used some craft paint that we got from a thrift store, a big bag full of small individual paint pots in many different colors.I'm guessing it is acrylic. I think I've seen these sets at Wallyworld in the crafting aisle. The piece came out a bit larger, but passed muster with my daughter.

It's a bit hard on the hands to cut, but I was thinking about making a velcro pizza set - good for teaching fractions as well as pretend. A jig-saw(don't have one) would be much easier, but the snips do cut fairly well through the thin particle board. Circles are the most difficult to navigate, requiring numerous straight cuts in, and discarding sections before being able to work around.

Printable Vintage Paper Cut-out: Whimsical Squirrel Family Carrying Home Acorns

Completed today for an autumn unit study. We lightened the original before printing to make coloring easier. Not bad for a free printable from 1917. I had to made extra cardboard supports in the back to make it stand.

Click here for the free printable. Simply right click on the image at the link to enlarge and save. It comes with a little story and instructions.

Easy Squirrel Crafts to Accompany Any Young Children's Unit Study

These crafts were started with free online printables. The squirrel template is here along with other free squirrel printables. I added paper fasteners(split brads) with the help of a hole punch for the articulating parts.

Vintage Squirrel paragraph and tracks are from old children's readers(early 1900's). Click on images below to enlarge and save. These were fun to make today with my daughter(age 5). It's difficult to see, but the picture collage has a branch hanger. Baby acorns and a leaf were added to the right side. My daughter has to add glitter to everything, so this nature craft got glitterized. A vintage leaf and acorn cut-out would have looked nice as well.

I made the squirrel say "please" before he got the nut. ;)

Free Downloads for Movie and Book: Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Review from Internet Archives:

As the third screen adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's popular novel(click to free copy), it is an avalanche of sweetness and sentimentality only '30s Hollywood could pull off without having audiences run from theatres in search of insulin. One of the reasons why is this amazing cast of superb character actors (in order of appearance): Una O'Conner, Jessie Ralph, Guy Kibbee, Henry Stephenson, C. Aubrey Smith, Constance Collier, E.E. Clive, plus many more. The title role is played by Freddie Bartholomew, a child actor much loved by mothers and grandmothers, and thoroughly detested by us kids growing up on the lower west side of Manhattan. Delores Costello is his widowed, self-sacrificing mother. Mickey Rooney has a small but important role.

A nine-year-old Brooklyn boy living in genteel poverty, is told he's heir to a British earldom. This necessitates his move to England to live with the aristocratic grandfather he's never known. (Have the first hankie ready for Bartholomew's farewell scenes. Save the second hankie for moisture-inducing scenes to come.) A sudden turn of events puts everything in jeopardy. Nevertheless the plucky lad eventually triumphs. The large cast has no weak links. However the great (sir) C. Aubrey Smith turns in the outstanding performance as Bartholomew's misanthropic grandfather.

Excellent production values, thoroughly professional camera work and skillful direction designed to wring out every last drop of sentiment, results in industrial-strength schmaltz you will either love or hate. I love it.

See here for better quality movie download and viewing. Smaller sized download here. Free and in public domain.

Young Children's Squirrel Printables

The hurricane has brought a premature Autumn to our backyard - leaves and acorns litter the ground. My daughter(age five) has been collecting acorns and painting them, so I'm following behind with a squirrel mini-unit study. I'll add to this post as I find things that we are going to use.

Vintage how to draw a squirrel.

Squirrel "Ss" penmanship page.

Cut and paste squirrel

Squirrel maze

Sweet vintage woodland squirrel coloring page. A bit advanced, but fun to color together.

Squirrel dot-to-dot

Gussie the Ground Squirrel paper doll(vintage)

Cut and paste squirrel family(vintage)

I'm coloring this one for our school wall(printed in black and white).

Realistic coloring page with squirrels on tree, house in background

Squirrel tracks.

To print the following pages, right click on image of page(s). Free and in public domain. Entire book is free to download as well.

Handbook of Nature-study for Teachers and Parents, pages 233- 239.

Squirrel Finger Games and Story(2 pages)

For older children(for the older sibling who wants to join in): Fourth-sixth grades writing lesson, The Squirrel, pages 72-73. 1912 Lessons in English.

Vintage French cut out squirrel(stands up).

Library Finds: Picture Books

Two favorites this week for young children:

Water Hole Waiting

Ages 4-8. The Kurtzes, brother and sister, describe a dawn-to-dusk day at a water hole on an African savannah, citing the activities of the many animals that inhabit the ecosystem. At dawn, as a troop of vervet monkeys forages for food, a youngster attempting to take a drink is stopped by Mama, who notices a herd of hippopotami arriving for a swim. At midday the young monkey tries again, only to be deterred by zebras and a lumbering crocodile. Later, a lion and a giraffe come for drinks, and a family of elephants rumbles down for a splash. Only after dark, when the larger animals have gone, does Mama deem it safe for her baby to quench his thirst. Vivid artwork complements the elegant text, often extending it with additional details: the close-up views of thundering zebra hooves and snapping crocodile jaws are particularly impressive. The story will work well on several levels: young listeners will understand the frustration in having to wait for a cool drink; older children will appreciate the diversity of savannah wildlife.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Box Turtle at Long Pond

PreSchool-Grade 2-- A day in the life of a box turtle is rendered carefully in words and lifelike illustrations with a text that respects its subject, avoids any anthropomorphism, and is simple enough for very young listeners. It records the turtle's actions as, slowly but with perseverance, he drinks, searches for food, evades danger, and sleeps. The outstanding gouache paintings in borderless, horizontal two-page spreads are so realistic that one almost reaches out to feel the turtle's textured shell. Although at times the turtle seems to be camouflaged, blending into his surroundings, he stands out clearly once located. The animals he encounters are equally well illustrated--readers will almost hold their breath so as not to frighten the raccoon and chipmunk. The book's design is excellent; even the well-chosen type, superimposed on the illustrations so that there is no visual break from the scenes, is clear and easily read. This is superior nature study for young readers and listeners.
--Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Harvesting Squash

I am beginning to get more squash now. What really surprised me was finding spaghetti squash in my garden! I don't remember planting this, but it will be a much appreciated extra veggie to use with an Italian recipe. A lot of edibles have failed in my little garden plot over the years, but squash has been a winner this season. Next year I'll be planting more squash, cucumber, green pepper, and tomatoes. All of these vegetables do well for me with very little fuss. I did manage to get a few small carrots and radish early in the season; these I'll plant again too.

Although the bugs and slugs where not a problem this year, the weather was harsh for the garden with heavy rains followed by hot dry spells. My soaker hose sprung a leak, so I've been watering from above. It doesn't work as well, so garden yields have been a little sparse.

How to Plant a Victory Garden

Free download here. Better quality video at this location as well.

The War on Dust

Eight Strategies to Reduce Dust in the Home :

1. Keep closet floors clear for easy cleaning.
2. Upgrade your furnace filter
3. Rotate bedding weekly
4. Capture dust — don't just spread it around.
5. Beat and shake area rugs.
6. Take cushions out for a beating.
7. Clean the air while you clean house.
8. Match the vacuum to the flooring.
See entire article here.

I've begun vacuuming the beds as well. When possible, I air out the house while cleaning. What do you do to fight dust in the home?

Free Resource for English & Language Arts

Ignite the Fire has a helpful page of free resources here. These are mostly for middle school and up. I like their writing resources and guides for middle school students.

Sew a Giraffe Tutorial

Click here.

Dragonfly Printable Nature Study and Language Arts Resources

"...the dragon-flies remain not only entirely harmless to man, but in reality are his friends and allies in waging war against flies and mosquitoes; they are especially valuable in battling mosquitoes since the nymphs, or young, of the dragon-fly, take the wrigglers in the water, and the adults, on swiftest wings, take the mosquitoes while hovering over ponds laying their eggs." ~ Dragonflies and Damselflies By Anna (Botsford) Comstock.

The Insect World: A Reading Book of Entomology, 1902

The Butterfly Vivarium; or, Insect Home, 1858

"ALL you children who live in the country, or spend summers in the country, and some of you city children who do neither, must have seen dragon-flies. You may have called them "Devil's Darning Needles," or "Mosquito-hawks," and you may have heard very absurd stories of their sewing up people's ears! The stories are entirely false, for the beautiful dragon-flies have nothing with which to "sew up" ears or anything else!

I have seen them darting about the streets of New York, Boston, and Chicago, catching the mosquitoes on the wing. I have seen them in many smaller cities and towns, and in the country and by the sea, they abound.

Why do I tell you about them if they are so common? Because, like many common things, they are very interesting when one knows all about them,— or nearly all—and the flying about in the air and catching mosquitoes for breakfast, dinner, and supper, are not nearly all of the life of a dragon-fly." ~ Primary Education, Dragonflies, 1898(Switch to plain text if print too small - upper right button at link)

Fiction, The Fiddler Crab and the Dragonfly, 1901

Little Folks in Feathers and Fur, and Others in Neither, The Little Masker, 1880

The Insect Folk, Our Pretty Dragonflies, 1903.

Good Stories for Great Holidays, The Water Drop,1914

Harper's Fourth Grade Reader, The New Life, 1888

Stories of Woods and Fields, The Dragon Fly, 1902

More later....

Printing Tips: Right click on the image of the pages at the links, or download entire book. All are free and in public domain.

Crafts:

Nature craft dragonfly

Business card dragonfly plane

Sunflower Seed Harvest

Cut today from my garden. Edible and pretty(when in bloom).

Abstract Art Project Tutorial

The tutorial is here, DIY abstract art painting. What a fun art project to do with family! We plan to try this with form core poster board, just one dollar at the dollar store. I might try to copy a Rothko painting with my daughter.

DIY Fabric Wall Art

I've done this project before, and the results are really professional looking. See here for a tutorial. It's just a matter of stretching fabric over a frame, and stapling it to the back. We used a staple gun.

I love her choice of fabric(Moda). Here is a favorite fabric collection for a children's room. I may try one of these in my daughter's room.

Rustic Homemade DIY Twin Platform Bed

We made this twin bed platform today in about two hours. Using the measurements of the twin bed mattress, we took these to find wood at a big box store. Three 2x12x8 rough pine lumber boards for about $7.00 each worked, and with two feet in length to spare for a shelf. We were going to add sections of one foot tall rough pine posts for the legs, getting the cuts at the store, but I spied some lumber in the trash bin at the end of the lumber aisle. They were thick packing pieces, very roughly cut with a bit of the tree bark still attached. All except one were even cuts of 18 inches. I thought we could work with this, so we chose the free lumber in lieu of the post. We also picked up a small box of drywall screws.


We pieced the bed together, three feet across and eight feet long. The middle support leg(pictured) has not been attached. The power drill ran out of juice, so we'll add middle support legs(double thick) later, probably hidden ones, further under the bed. I had some felt adhesive dots, left over from another project, that I added to the bottom of the legs so that they would not scrape the floors.
This was so inexpensive and easy! I like that we didn't need to do any cuts and got free wood for the legs. This could still have been done inexpensively with the purchase of two thick posts from the lumber section. The big box store would have done the cuts for us free of charge.

This bed would have made a nice couch as well. All it needs is some foam, fabric, cushions, and oversized pillows, or even easier, a twin bed mattress. A back support would be easy to screw into the back.

Add longer legs and you've got a table! I'd add an apron of wood and possibly a trestle for stability though.

It's very sturdy. I sat on this bed while reading a story to my young daughter, and it held nicely. There is plenty of room underneath for storage, or for a little play cave area. It was easy to sweep/vacuum under as well.