Friday, March 18, 2011

First Garden Cucumber of the Year


My indoor organic Sumter cucumber plant finally produced an edible four inch cucumber(half eaten in image by my daughter). It smelled wonderful upon cutting and tasted even better. It is warm enough here that I was able to plant this potted cucumber outdoors today. I may try indoor cucumbers again next winter but use a much bigger pot and a plant light.

When planted outdoors, these Sumter cucumbers are prolific and of a good size. This will be my second year growing these cucumbers in the summer garden.

I'm not sure if these are self pollinators, but just in case they were not, I hand pollinated them with a paint brush. The female flowers have a bulge right before the flower. We ended up with many mini cucumbers, but only one grew large enough to eat.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Vintage 1910 Children's March Calendar(Same as 2011)










I found this in a 1910 March edition of "Primary Education", a teacher's periodical. I print out a vintage calendar every month for my daughter's homeschool area. Click on image to enlarge and save. Free and in public domain.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

I'll Be Back


We are all sick with a cold virus. I'm not so inspired to post right now. I am thankful for the gorgeous weather we have been having. It was warm enough to doze in a lounge chair outside. The sun did my body good, and the children where able to play and work quietly near me.

Image - hellebore from my garden, taken last week.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Fabric Dollhouse Tutorial

See here.








HT to Craft Gossip

Moles and Daffodils

We went out into the garden this morning to find little mole tunnels throughout the lawn in the backyard. It needed aerating anyway, and the moles, as carnivores, keep down the population of insects(larvae) and slugs. My cat catches his fair share in the summer when they come up and away from the dry soil.

Enchanted Learning had a nice "Label the Mole" printout of a mole, and I've gone online to reserve a few library books about moles for my daughter.

Children's fact sheet about moles

I had no idea they were once prized for their pelts, as an aristocratic fur."Queen Alexandra, the wife of Edward the Seventh, ordered a mole-fur garment in order to start a fashion that would create a demand for mole fur, thereby turning what had been a serious pest problem in Scotland into a lucrative industry for the country. Hundreds of pelts are cut into rectangles and sewn together to make a coat. The natural color is taupe, but it is readily dyed any color."

Some of our daffodils after this morning's rain.

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Young Children's Lesson Plan Ideas for March



Young Children's Lesson Plan Ideas for March(Vintage)

Ladybugs and Butterflies


Insect Lore Ladybug Land and Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden

I purchased both these habitats online for $26.84 with free shipping. We received the larvae today(separate purchase of $3.00 each) and have been enjoying the babies scoot around in their containers. There is a coupon for the larvae and website address which comes with the habitats. These two did not come as eggs, but as second stage babies - larval ladybugs and Painted Lady caterpillars.

We also checked out the butterfly and ladybug Backyard Book series(Kingfisher) from the library. They all begin with the same title, "Are you a ___ ?" These are very cute engaging stories of the life cycles of particular insects and bugs - clearly written and to the point with nice illustrations. My daughter was able to memorize these(restate the content) and enjoy them because they were short, made for the limited attention span of young children, and memorable. There is a snail book which is particularly cute with a mama and baby snail. All are written in the manner of speaking directly to the reader - perfect for preschoolers through Kindergarten.

Are You a Ladybug? (Backyard Books) and Are You a Butterfly? (Backyard Books)

Simple life cycle printables for the very young: ladybug and butterfly.

I'm thinking about getting a frog and praying mantis habitat. My daughter has a special interest in nature, so this has been a lot of fun for her, and me because it gives her joy.

Monday, March 07, 2011

Easy DIY Junk Wood Farm House Table



This looks like something we would make. She was able to scrounge all of the wood for free. See here for instructions.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Saving Money at the Thrift Stores


This is a good time to check out the thrift stores; people are cleaning out their closets. We brought a load of outgrown clothes and toys to a local thrift yesterday, and decided to do some shopping as well. I was able to find some light jackets, girl's winter pajamas(for next year), new-with-tags tops(Target and The Children's Place, long sleeved for next year) for my daughter, and a few summer T-shirts and Khaki shorts for my teenage son. I spent about $45.00 for 27 items(20% off with frequent donate card).

Sometimes I find next to nothing at the thrift stores, and other times it seems I've hit the mother load. To be successful, I have to check frequently. In the end, I save quite a bit of money on clothing and household goods. This goes a long way toward creating a savings cushion and extra money for vacations.

Friday, March 04, 2011

Heralds of Spring and the Season of Lent



From my garden. These Lenten purple hyacinths come back year after year, and are so fragrant. I've made some lovely cologne spray with these simply by soaking the blossoms in some alcohol.

Thursday, March 03, 2011

Easy DIY Clothing Iron-ons


I've got these ideas on the top of my wish list(time, energy, motivation) for crafts to try in 2011:

Iron on decals from plastic shopping bags- brillant!(image pictured is from tutorial)

How to Print a Design Onto a Shirt Using Sandpaper

Crayon T-Shirts

I think these Iron-ons would be a super solution to cover children's clothing stains, or just jazz up a plain cotton t-shirt.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Grades K-12 Free Printable Short Classic Literature Excerpts with Worksheets and Audio(Human-read MP3)

Lit2Go: MP3 Stories and Poems

Click on banner, grades K-12 available. My son has been working through the chapter excerpts from Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz(seventh grade). This is a little break from our regular curriculum, and these free literature arts printables are just perfect for a change of pace.

I've added the banner to my sidebar.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Printable Short Story and Paper Dolls: Little Journeys to Faraway Lands - Norway


From Primary Plans, February 1909. Click here to print story, pages 16-17. Right click on image of the book pages and and "save as". Read-a-loud for the very young, readable by older children.

Norwegian paper dolls to color here.

Friday, February 25, 2011

How to Remove a Stripped Screw with a Rubberband


We had this problem drilling into thick pieces of wood. I can't wait to try this bit of advice on a table that I messed up with some stripped screws.

See here for tutorial.

DIY Aviary from an Old Storage Furniture Piece


See here for instructions.

(Image from link)


Thursday, February 24, 2011

Make Your Own Rustic Floor Lamp


I've been thinking about making one of these beam floor lamps for the family room. Light kits are relatively inexpensive, and a post is easy to come by at a big box store, or maybe at a thrift store. We do have some reclaimed wood stores in a nearby city; however, their prices are more than I'd like to pay for rustic. See post here(image from link).