Are you part of a homeschool co-op? Way off subject (kind of) with this post, but if you aren’t then I encourage you to find one or start one. I love the interaction and support with other homeschool families. Anyways, so I was coming up with ideas last week for the pre-K class in co-op that I help teach and I thought hmm, pumpkins could be fun. And, oh boy was it. So, I wanted to share with you guys, the different sites and ideas.

Sites

Coloring pages, games, etc. – Apples 4 Teachers

Printables for teaching – ABC Teach

Halloween Alternative Crafts & Activities – Danielle’s Place

Preschool Games & Activities – Preschool by Stormie

Bible Study – Creative Bible Study

Stories & Rhymes – Preschool Express

What we actually did in one hour at Pre-K co-op

*Ate a snack – yummy goldfish crackers
*Listened to a story – The Pumpkin Patch Parable
*Craft time –

(a little glue and glitter on a small white pumpkin)
*Colored – colored a pumpkin from one of those sites from up above.

~we also used orange glitter – not shown.

Do you guys remember my cape giveaway, since then we have been coming up with different ways to wear the cape. Total we have found five! Here is the latest.

And…

I had so much fun with hers that I wanted to try it on me, of course it was more of a shirt on me instead of a toga, but I absolutely loved it.

All the ways to wear this material…

1. Super hero cape of course
2. Apron
3. Combine two for a child = toga
4. Combine two for an adult = shirt
5. Combine 5 to 7 = skirt

~the adult shirt and skirt pictures hopefully coming soon. Going to try and bribe my beautiful niece into modeling for me.

(if you have this crazy unbridled feeling to buy one of these please visit my etsy shop.)

My kids love running around yelling bippity boppity boo at each other while holding whatever toy that looks the most like a wand to them. Well, this last week I discovered some of the duct tape crafts. I quickly decided I was going to try and make the kiddos some wands. It was much easier then I ever expected.

Materials

dowels
spray paint (optional)
duct tape
scissors
hot glue gun & hot glue
permanent markers (optional)

I painted their dowels black because that was the available color in Geek Adonis’ shop.

And, I fully realize that there are a crazy amount of different colors of duct tape out there now, but I was working with what I had in the house or in the shop.

I started with Sugar Plum Fairy’s Boo Stick first.

I ripped a bunch of 2-3 inch pieces…

Folded a corner over, then…

the other corner. Take that and wrap it around your dowel, like so…

Rinse, wash, repeat…

Apply that second piece to the other side. Where the tips are opposite of each other.

Continue doing this until you have the above flower. It was very easy to then paint it pink with a permanent marker.

She immediately went to turning me into a frog, rabbit, ooh and then superman.

Onward, to Little Old Man’s Boo Stick…

Sorry, no tutorial, because this guy – Duct Tape Ninja, did an awesome job and I just don’t think I can top him.

So, after making two ninja stars, I just hot glued them to the dowel and bippity boppity boo!

Okay, so now go make your own and please please show them to me!

I recently colored a friend of mines hair in a rainbow pattern. When I was done my daughter climbed up in the chair and said, “My turn”! Well, I was not about to color my two year old’s hair with semi permanent dye and besides that I am sure she wouldn’t have sat still for that long. Not long after that the friend that I had colored the hair for sent me a note about chalk and water and that you can color hair with it and it will wash out with shampoo and water. Well, we definitely had to try that!

This is Little Old Man’s hair. As I said earlier, Miss Sugar Plum Fairy wouldn’t sit still long enough for me to get past her bangs. So, she had pink bangs and she was happy enough with that.

This procedure was really easy. I didn’t even crush the chalk or anything. All I did was get a small glass of water and dip the stick of chalk in it and then proceeded to rub it back and forth in my son’s hair. With short hair it was extremely easy to do, but I think if you had long hair, you might want to crush the chalk and mix it with water and perhaps comb it through the hair. (I am thinking of trying that for Halloween)

The paint is incredibly easy to make and lots of fun too. It is made with three simple ingredients that most momma’s have in their arsenal of goodies.

Ingredients

Cornstarch
Water
Food Coloring
Old Muffin Tin (or whatever you can find)

Directions

Mix water and cornstarch to desired consistency. I did 2 cups of water to 1 box of cornstarch. I recommend either a little more water or either less cornstarch. The consistency was a little too thick. Put a small amount of food coloring into each separate container.

Now add cornstarch and water mix, to the separate containers and stir together to mix in color.

TA DA! I made a tin for each of my children. One with a few more girly colors for Sugar Plum Fairy and the other one with some guy colors for the Little Old Man. So, after you have mixed your paints, grab your camera (cause you gonna want to get pictures of the fun) and go paint. For instance….

My Little Old Man, started out real simple just layering a few colors, while…

Sugar Plum Fairy went wild and started slinging it. Two completely different artist styles. Well, until Little Old Man saw what his sister was doing and wanted to duplicate.

Oh, yeah, it became a paint ourselves session. And, boy did they have a blast.

I think Sugar Plum Fairy became a dancing gypsy and Little Old Man…

A Ninja! (well a colorful camouflage ninja)

~a few side notes: All of this will wash off with the next rain. Although, when they decided to paint their bodies it did stain the skin until the second bath. So, if you decide to let them paint, do not plan it on a day where you are getting family pictures the next day. And, remember just have some fun, throw paint everywhere (well maybe not the car, I dunno), and remember it comes off with water, soap and sunshine.

I so needed to weed my flower garden and the kids wanted to help but they kept trying to pull my good plants instead of the weeds. So, I needed something quick, cheap and easy, that they would enjoy while mommy was weeding.

This worked so well and I can reuse this corrugated board again and again. If you do not have a large piece of corrugation, then you can use any old box and cut it open. The cereal box, old diaper boxes, etc.

Materials – watercolor paints, old plastic cup, two small paintbrushes, water, and cut open corrugated box.

Thank you so much to those that entered my first blog giveaway. I was so excited and cannot wait till the next one. To those of you that did not win, not to worry, the capes will soon be for sale on my etsy page (info to be posted soon on my Facebook page).

And, the winners are –
1. Deanna
2. Megan
3. Terri

Just a heads up, my next giveaway will be in May. It will be from another artist friend of mine, she is very talented and make some very cute items.

I will emailing the winners, so please look for an email from me in your box.

I have been inspired by “The Ultimate Blog Party”, to do a small giveaway. This will be my first giveaway and I am a little excited and nervous. I am giving away – a duo kids cape & apron. It is 100% cotton and hand dyed. I am giving away three of them and whoever wins them, if you want me to, I will hand paint your son/daughter name or initials on it. My precious models decided to pose for me, so that you could see what you are winning.

He had a blast showing me just how the cape works!

Never having actually cooked on the stove before, she was a little disappointed that this was only a photo shoot.

To win, please leave a comment on my blog and the winning contestants will be chosen at random. (I will post the winners on 4/9/11)

(These are the colors of the cape/apron’s that you can choose from)

My husband made a good point, so I wanted to make sure everyone else understands too! I am giving away three cape/apron’s to three different people, not all three of them are going to the same person.

This is a our current favorite paper airplane. It is really simple to make and my four and two year old love flying them around the house. You start out with a regular 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.

Then, fold it in half.

Open it back up and fold down a right and left corner to the middle of the piece of paper, where you made the crease from folding it in half.

Next, take that and fold it down to where the point from the top of the paper is almost reaching the bottom. Leave about an inch between the bottom of the paper and the point.

Now, take the left and right corners again and fold them to the middle crease just like you did earlier.

Next, there should be the small point under your folds facing down toward the bottom of the paper. Take that point and fold it up and over your previous folds. This makes those previous folded corners stay down.

Now, flip it over and fold it in half.

You can leave it like this or you can fold the corners down one more time.

And, your finished airplane looks like this.

Rockvale Art Gallery, is having their Grand Opening on March 19th, 2011. Please come join us as we cut the ribbon and begin a new journey into local Tennessee culture.

Rockvale Art Gallery, LLC is a unique Gallery located in a rustic old barn in Middle Tennessee, showcasing various forms of artistic expression. Their goal is to provide their customers with a relaxing, whimsical environment in which to view and purchase art, antiques, home decor and Interior Design Services. The Gallery offers a step into the past as well as a view of the future. The Gallery’s Artist’ are local, multi-talented, working professionals.

The mission of the Rockvale Art Gallery, LLC is to provide an enjoyable experience as well as a piece of art, jewelry, or home decor to suit every taste and budget.

Rockvale Art Gallery Owner – Paula Francis