A Homeschool Prom

 This year's "formal" turned out so great! 

 The teens in our co-op picked out the theme "A Masquerade in Paris." 

 I enjoyed making the masks.  (I adore glitter.)

A Few New Things

The sun is shining.

The flowers are blooming.

I have my first sunburn of the season,
 a new lease on life...

Tip Tuesday: Homemade Playdough

 Hi guys!  After much trial and error, I'm happy to report that we have found a winner!!

Because, you know that not everything you read on the internet is true.... and that also goes for recipes. But this one is super easy and turns out perfectly!

Jewelry In The Making

Hi guys!  I just wanted to share a few new items that we recently listed on Etsy...  I'm having so much fun getting lots of feedback and also a few sales-- Yippee!!

Painting Silly Faces

 This is such a totally random and strange post.

  I guess it's alot like my life, really!

Painting Together

 Here's a really fun project that you can do with your kids this summer.  I've had this old canvas in my art stuff for years, but could never quite figure out what to do with it... until yesterday!  We decided to do a "family painting."

The Fourth Fun

Here's a picture recap of a really fun, festive, free family day.  

Yay for the Fourth of July!

Homemade 80's Shirts

 One evening last week, the girls were trying to decide what to wear the next day.  They were wishing they had one of those cool, trendy (80's flashback) type shirts.  You know, the ones that sortof hang off of one shoulder?  Yeah.  Well, I said, "Hey, that's no problem!  I used to make those all the time in the 80's!"

Socialized Homeschoolers Learning Fair

This was a neat opportunity for our homeschool kids.  Our co-op put together a learning fair.  Kindof like a science fair, but with lots more varietly.

 Graci did a display about chickens.  She sure got lots of questions.

An Edible Art Lesson

OK, So yesterday at our homeschool co-op day I learned some very important lessons.  First off, I learned that if you attempt to teach the can-can to a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds until they are tired out, and you happen to be as old and out-of-shape as I am...you will pay for it later.  Ouch!

Secondly, classical music is considered very boring to 7 and 8 year olds unless it is accompanied by very silly lyrics.  In that case, it is considered highly entertaining.  Also, most 7 and 8 year olds think that Beethoven is a dog in a movie.  Well, who knew?

My third discovery yesterday was that edible art is more fun than non-edible art.  Color mixing is easier to teach with icing than paint.  Which leads to my project.  I wish I could take credit for the idea, but I found it somewhere on an art blog.  I'll tell you where if I find it again.  It was a keeper.

The Edible Color Wheel:

Here's what you need:

Homemade Cards

Here's an easy project for making homemade Christmas cards.

I did this printmaking project in art class yesterday with seven 2nd and 3rd graders.  We were all pleasantly surprised by the results.

Family Glue

Have you decided on a Christmas craft project yet?  Or maybe you're way ahead of the game and you've been working on it for weeks already.  I'm impressed!  But whatever the case, I'd like to encourage you to do some crafting with your kids.  These really are the memory makers... that bonding time when you're giving your children your full attention, helping them with something that is really important to them.  And having fun together.  As you can see in this picture from last year, it is a real mess.  There's going to be piles of supplies in the corners of your kitchen and stuff drying on the windowsill.
 You might even be asked to bake some toxic-smelling stuff in your oven in between batches of cookies.

Crafting With Toddlers

Here's a quick,  fun craft project that little kids really enjoy.  It's also cheap and easy to clean up, so moms can enjoy it, too!

Busy Little Elves

Hey there crafty ladies!

Yesterday at co-op, some friends were asking me about Christmas craft ideas.  The criteria was that they needed to be easy, fun and CHEAP!  Here's a fun project that works for toddlers to teens, and also makes a nice little gift for grandmas.  : )


Snowflake ornaments: