Practicing...

and Learning.

I was a little disappointed that Cali wasn't reading better than she was by the end of Kindergarten. Then they had a cool camp for kids still needing help and she wasn't invited. I was a little disappointed by that too. I decided If I didn't know the right people or wasn't one of them, (it's often a lot about who you are or you know- isn't it?) then we'd make our own path. 

Cali's new job is to make grocery lists for me. This was her first one. I found it super cute that she said to me, "In case you can't understand my writing, I drew you some pictures." I think it's pretty wonderful and it's been a fun way to encourage her to write and spell. 

In case your curious, that first word is 'sprinkles'.  :)

A New Spin on Art

SO, Daddy did it! He finally built the spinning art drum thing I'd been bugging him to do.

Cali and I have been talking about this thing since we saw this really cool version here.  Well actually, I first saw one here then followed their link to  Teacher Tom's.  Anyhow, I'd been bugging Scott and he finally did it.  He really did it!

It was finished on Friday and we really wanted to test it out but Cori was having a sleepover for her 13th birthday celebration and therefor monopolized the majority of my time Friday night.

So Saturday, Cali and I decided the girls should go watch the Kenai swim meet then the homecoming football game so we could spin and paint, and paint and spin.

I set the thing up on our table although it would have just as simply worked on the floor.

First she opted to try painting with her feet which worked very well but I kept having to put oo more paint. Then she decided (her own idea I must say) to add hand prints to her masterpiece. These two things go together, she told me.

After we decided we'd gave that a good try we changed the paper and I gave her some paint brushes.  She had to tell me if I was to spin fast and s-l-o-w. She tried side-to-side and up and down. What she really loved was splattering the paint but when I realized it was making it's way to my front window, we nixed it for a sunny day in our near future.

I think the art rollers I'd read about were made a bit fancier than ours but Scott was able to use materials on hand so it didn't cast us any anything.  Grandpa got the drum at work 'cause he entertains my crazy ideas too. :)

I am hoping to take this into Cali's kindergarten to share soon. It makes a slight squeaking noise every now and then so I need to pad the screws. Also Cali says it need a handle and I've got to work on that.

In the mean time, we'll keep practicing art methods and design.

You know you want to try it. Admit it. It's OK, I did! :)

Some Really COOL Furniture

I thought I would show you some really cool furniture I found the other day.

There was a rather comfy couch, and who needs tv when you can view the stars.

Then there was this amazing double sided chair. one piece of modern furniture that seats two. AWESOME!




These are some fine artists. They work super hard and make great furniture.



And they are fun to watch!

***I've linked this outside adventure to the MAGIC ONIONS Friday's Nature Table
Go check out lots of other great explorations, adventures and nature inspired crafts there.

First Quarter

Well, we have made it through the 1st quarter at school. And at the end of the quarter we attend conferences.

I am at the school often so I didn't expect any surprises. True to form, the girls are doing great.

What I love most about conferences is seeing some of the artwork and projects that I don't get to see normally. Either I don't have time to stop and read each one or I see things they hang just for the occasion.

Here is some of Cor's stuff.

The older kids walk the youngest ones to the bus daily. It's interesting to me the way each of the older kids handle this differently.

The upper grades of the school are doing a moon study. Some classes are doing a daily journal. Cori's class is doing one entry weekly.

Here Cori was learning to draw 3 dimensional. She was very proud of this picture.

Here she was trying to use alliterations and onomatopoeias. My favorite; red nose frosty morning.

And lastly a webbing of a prairie. They did this as a group.

Here is some of Cassi's work.

I did this messy project with her class on Wednesday. A textured moon.

These are some silhouette pictures. Cassi's is the 3rd from the left on top with the crescent moon.

Cassi's 3 dimensional landforms sculpture.

I loved this skeleton book report. Cassi and I worked on this together a lot and if was great for us.

This is an entry from her Moon Journal.

I love this description of herself. Cassi- The Learner

A "P"arade of "P"umpkins

We've been discussing the alphabet here almost daily. Cali knows most of her letters by sight and I really should probably put more emphasis on Upper case and Lower case but for now we are playing the phonics game.

Knowing that, you can then understand why we have a parade of pumpkins in our window sill.

We used egg cartons but I had to cut them down to a point where they were round.
Cali painted, and painted and painted some more. I glued them together for her once they were dry or most of them anyway. She actually did some but didn't like the mess trying to keep the glue beaded on the thin line of the carton.

We used pipe cleaners for the stems. Some we twisted and some we looped. After, we used extra to sort of wrap a knot at the bottom. We pushed them up from underneath and the knot helped keep them from sliding out.

Cali drew many of the faces but it was challenging. There were lots of bumps in the cardboard and the sharpie didn't flow easily. She stuck at it but if you had a wee one that doesn't persevere or is tiny, I suggest doing this part for them. They could certainly decide what type of face to make which Cali did on the ones I made. Funny enough, I like the ones with no face. I would have liked to see them amongst some fall leaves but Cali liked this best.

I also think you could hang these with line through the stem for a cute garland. I will be making some bats with Cali and making garland out of them. I found that idea at Mommy-Guru.
She posted it on the Friday Showcase at


where I enjoy swapping ideas with everyone else. (Truthfully though I probably take more than I give. :)

The last few years I haven't decorated much for Halloween but it appears Cali has other plans this year.

Fabulous Frankenstein

Cali made the cutest ever Frankenstein today; I just had to share it.

I've seen this kind of project around a few times. In fact I had originally planned for her to make a pumpkin using this same method but not finding the orange yarn I thought I had in my stash, we shifted gears.

Also, Cali took pictures through out the process but it seems we forgot to put the card back into the camera so I can only tell you how we went about it; can't show you!

We started with a salt canister that I'd been saving for this project. I gave her this green fuzzy yarn that I had in my stash since I'd spilled water on it one day and it was a bit stiffer than it should be and couldn't be used for knitting.

I started the wrapping for her so the end of the yarn would stay hidden under. She wrapped to her hearts content and when she felt it was enough she stopped. I wrapped the very bottom and top ends as she struggled to keep it on there. I tucked the end of the yarn under a few wraps.

The we cut out some felt in designs she liked. She glued them on. Then we pushed in a screw on either side. I think he is the most adorable Frankenstein I've ever seen.

You could easily use an oatmeal container or something like it as well. I glued a black felt circle to the top to cover the white color of the salt container but you could just paint it instead.
Hope you have a ghoulishly great day!

*edit-go here to see the newest addition. THE BABY!

Fairy House Close-ups

I told you a little about the girls making fairy houses. Well, I thought I'd show you a few close-ups of the accessories they included. I am tickled with some of their ideas and special touches.

First, you should know they LOVE glitter at the moment. Secondly, they are also inspired by many of the natural fairy homes they've seen over at THE MAGIC ONIONS blog and are coming up with ideas faster than I can find the time to let them create. I am pretty sure they are creating fairy worlds in their dreams.

Our little fairy obsession started a couple years ago with Cassi. She was a grumpy fairy on Halloween when she was 3. :) I LOVE this old picture of her!) To this day she really does love all things fairy and it kind of caught on. At least the art of it. Cori is still not all that into Tinkerbell or commercial type stuff but she loves all things miniature and the idea of tiny magical creatures intrigues her. Cali has caught onto Cassi's obsession and she is hooked on anything that has to do with fairies also.

Anyway, they took such care with adding special touches to their fairy homes that I thought you might enjoy a close up view. I must say it was VERY hard for me to photograph. I am feeling like I'm struggling with my camera lately and I'm frustrated. These are the best I could get for now.

Each home has a table with a bench.


Cori made a soft and cozy bed for her home.

Cassi made a darling little flag that displays proudly atop her lavish fairy abode.

Cori also made a pond.

A sun deck.

And my very favorite, for those chilly fall nights, a small fire pit in an open and airy room.

Click this to make it larger and you will see more detail.

My photos really don't do them justice for they are simply fairy-sweet!

Cali has a new 'thing'

She has this new obsession with swimsuits.
We are wearing about 3 a day at the moment. Here is one of her more recent throw-togethers.

Loving it? Yeah, me too!

Happy Mother's Day

The sweetest sounds to mortals given
Are heard in Mother, Home, and Heaven.
~William Goldsmith Brown

I love you Mom.

I hear my Mother has chosen Italian as her choice for dinner today.
In honor of that, I say "Felice festa della mamma!"

In honor of my Irish Grandma and all of my Aunts ( her daughter's) I say "Lá na Máithre sona duit"

And for ALL of the beautiful and amazing women in my life I Love You.
Happy Mother's Day!



My mom is a never ending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune. ~Graycie Harmon

Getting to Know You...

...Getting to know all about you.

Cori and Cassi attend a school that specializes in combining standard learning with emphasis on art/music and science. Cassi and I were in the midst of changing out some art work on her art wall (they each have their own spot in our kitchen) and I thought I'd share with you, some of the art the girls have done in school this year.

I think they are pretty fabulous.

This is Cassi's self portrait from last year. Her class didn't do them this year. She left it up as she wanted it clear whose wall it was.

Here they were making abstract geometrical pieces. The one on the left is supposed to be a mirrored image.

She really likes this one; her Dad told her it was a favorite! :) It was a resist project.

I love this drawing. Her class used loupes (a small magnifying eye piece). A lot of the students drew exactly what they saw. She looked at the details of the flower a piece at a time and created the whole flower.

This was a print making activity. They do a lot of this at our school. It seems as though they have done several through the years. She titled this Bamboo.

Cori did this with a visiting artist this past fall. She really dislikes this picture. They also had to include her wishes which I really enjoyed.

Here they were painting animals. I adore the elephant and the camouflaged bird.

This is a Van Gogh style sunflower resist piece. We do a lot of this at home too. Not sure why. Also, near the bottom you can see her sketch of candy canes. That one makes me smile.

This last one is a water color and she enjoyed doing it so much, she made two.

Getting to like you,
Getting to hope you like me.