Folding Paper Airplanes: 5 Free Patterns

Sarah and I were together last week, and her Natalie (just a reminder we both have 6 year-old Natalies) wanted to know how to build a paper  airplane. Unfortunately, the one I folded was a disappointment.  The next day we went to the Henry Ford Museum and found a whole section dedicated to building paper airplanes.

If you are anything like Sarah or me, you will end up creating 
your own version of these neat planes :)

Quick Fixes to a Princess Dress Up Costume

My kids love dressing up and making up stories.  My 6-year-old daughter has a Snow Princess dress she was given last Christmas. When I went looking for it, my daughter told me that it needed some fixing. The dress costume fabric frays so easily. I have serged seams before, but couldn't on this problem area.  The silver, glittery edging was off and surrounded by fraying fabric.  I need a quick fix!!

Trim the excess fuzz. Fray Check is great and is at JoAnn's in their notion aisle. Fray Check is not glue. It is liquid that dries hard and prevents fraying. It is about $2.00 without a coupon. You cut the top of the tube to the size you want.  You can insert a pin into the top or cut it depending on how easily you want the liquid to come out. You do not want it to come into contact with other surfaces while it is wet. I folded paper over and placed it on top to dry.

Go along the edge of the fabric. Because I don't want to repeat this process again for another section, I treated the entire area even the part that had not detached yet.

I applied the Fray Check.  You can see where too much came out, but that is not a problem because it dries clear.

Fray Check is great and is at JoAnn's in their notion aisle.  It is about $2.00 without a coupon. You cut the opening the size you want.  You can insert a pin into the top or cut it depending on how easily you want the liquid to come out.

Time to reconnect the edging to the dress.

Sew a zig-zag stich over the decorative edging.  To make the strongest seam, make sure you are sewing on fabric, not the frayed edge.

Trim the frayed fabric.  Make sure you trim over the trash can!! Or you will have a mess.

She's a happy princess!! ~Julia

Build and Grow At Lowe's

The Build and Grow program at Lowe's is a great free activity that we have enjoyed for several years.  If you arrive at 10:00 on Saturday's and go to the back of the store, you'll be greeted with the sound of hammering and the visual of parents trying to assemble wooden kits.  

When Noah started he could not hit the nail with any level of accuracy. So we would get two kits and only assemble one at the store.  Now he can hammer with the best of them, but my fingers are as distant as possible.

We are busy building and keeping all of the parts together when tiny hands are waiting for their opportunity to strike.

Natalie does really well even reading the instructions. She also loves placing stickers.

The finished product. Two Creepy Keepers. 

Click here to see the upcoming schedule. You will want to register your children for the activities. If you do not register, you are still able to go, but you must wait until 10:15 and if they have any kits left then you may participate. 

~Julia

Best Kids Halloween Costumes 2012

So, here are the best kids costume ideas for 2012. Sorry some of the images are missing heads, but tis the season for headless things, right?.  You can check out all these ideas and more at CostumeWorks.com. They had a competition and these are the best of the submissions.  They are pretty cute.

My personal favorite is the old man with his walker about 83 years before he needs one :)

A hatching chick, a Cabbage Patch Doll in a stroller (great if you want to keep your child warm), Cruella Deville, KFC's very own Colonel Sanders, A Piggly Wiggly Shopping Bag with groceries coming out of the top, two Lego brothers, Raggedy Anne, a Garden Gnome with friends, a Waste Management Trash guy, A girl in a Bubble Bath, Papa Smurf, A puppy, an elegant peacock, Starbucks, and the result of it all: a tooth and toothpaste!!

Enjoy!! Let us know who your favorite is :)

~Julia

Free Election Education Activity Pack 2012

This 20 page unit study is the perfect way to cover the election with your preschooler through early elementary age child. It includes activities, games, writing, biblical references on leadership, easy to understand lessons in government, politics and the history of elections in America. And it's FREE!

>>>> Download Here 

Several ideas are out there for younger children. One of our favorite books is Duck For President.  You can easily obtain it from your local library at a great price :)

~Julia and Sarah

We are linked with

SugarBeeCrafts, HomeStoriesAtoZ,  

Pumpkin Activity Pack

We're really excited about this fun Fall Pumpkin Pack of activities!! Almost 20 pages chucked full of games, coloring activities, letter tracing and handwriting, cutting practice, history, grammar, recipes, jokes, stories, crafts and more! And best of all... it's free!! Print a copy for yourself, and pass the link on to a friend. Teachers, home educators, moms, grandparents (and anyone else for that matter) will enjoy completing these projects and activities with your kids of all ages. 

Just click here to download: Free Pumpkin Pack
Note: For some reason, my computer printed this weird when I did it straight from the web. You may want to save it to your computer and then print for optimal results!

Watch Natalie and Noah demonstrate the art of frosting cupcakes:

Use Your Noodle

Quick! Before the Summer is completely gone, hit up your local dollar store for some pool noodles. Did you ever think about how many great things you can make out of a pool noodle?? Here are some of my favorites!

Race Track

Star Wars Lightsabers

Keep your boots looking nice!

Headboard

Marble Race Track

Wreath Form

Cool Yard Games

Shopping Cart Guard

Cool Trick!

Kids in the Kitchen: Making Fruit Salad

Making meals can be challenging because it seems like your kids are running around hungry and ready to eat. So the other day we made fruit salad! Butter knives were perfect for the occasion and were a novelty for them. Our ingredients included mandarin oranges, banana, pineapple, and grapes.

Noah dumped the mandarin oranges in the bowl, and then he cut up the two bananas. Natalie spent her time cutting the pineapple. Noah pulled the grapes off the stems. All the while I was working finishing lunch on the other side of the counter. ~Julia

National Night Out 2012: Lessons in Safety and Obedience

National Night Out is an awareness program held the first Tuesday of August. The main theme at ours was emergency preparedness. I thought my kids were prepared, but found out in a unique way they were not. We started the night well. Natalie and I went around to the different stations and learned about...

What an emergency shower station would look like for a chemical spill.

What kind of supplies families should have to last for
three days without help from the government.

We were taken into a camper and smoke poured in the top of the room.
We were then asked to crawl out. A great time to ensure your kids
 have been exposed to that concept. 

As the storm clouds rolled in, we were able to see what a
disaster ambulance looked like inside. 

And the Coast Guard made a

grand entrance!! 

The kids definitely had fun, too!! 

After we completed all the stations, and had fun in the firetruck sprinklers and bounce houses, it was time for the bike drawing. In order to win, you needed to be present. With the impending clouds, the crowds were down significantly by 8:00. As a result, they kept calling numbers with no response. By the time the last bike was ready to be given away, the volunteers were ready to be done. So, they said whoever is the first person on the stage gets the bike. I grabbed Natalie's hand, thinking it would increase our chances to win if an actual child got there, and started running. She applied what she had learned in the fire demonstration and without any hesitation did the stop, drop and roll. I could not believe it. I was shocked that she would not go with me when it was clear what she was expected to do. 

I asked her what was going on. She said, Mom I would have liked you to ask me if I wanted to go up. I said, Natalie, there was not time to ask you. You just needed to come with me. After more discussion, I found out she did not want to go on the stage. 

If this had been an emergency, something I didn't have time to explain, what would her response have been? I could have forceably taken her, but I have two other children and she is my oldest. I explained to her that she would need to do what she could to help. Getting angry with me is not an option. We have a saying at our house: Obey first, ask questions second. I guess we have some more work to do.

I would challenge you the next time you consider letting some form of discipline go think, "Will my child obey me the first time I ask without explanation?" Ephesians 6:1, "Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." ~Julia

IXL.com A Great Website for Math - Try It Free

Click Here to Try It Free

Where have I been?  It seems like everyone knows about the website ixl.com, but me. Over the past year I have had two other homeschooling moms refer it to me, but I never got around to making it happen.  I finally plugged in, and the kids are loving it.  Natalie is 5 and takes it very seriously if she misses a question. She loves getting her medals! (Awards that show up on the screen after you answer so many questions successfully) Noah is 3 and loves the fact that he's on the computer! I love the fact that he is working on Pre-K Math. Fortunately for me, if you click it will read the questions and answers for you since he's a touch shy of reading math problems :)

Click Here to Try It Free

How does it work? You are able to pick any grade that you want starting with Pre-K through Algebra. The great part is you have access to your state's standards for each grade, and you get  performance tracking for each child. For example, if I ask Natalie to complete the section on reading clocks, I can see how much time she spent, how many questions she attempted, and get a grading of the questions she answered: mastered, satisfactory, needs improvement.

If a question is answered incorrectly, the answer is explained. They both learn in a fun and easy way. I find that review is very important, but I don't always remember to do it. For example, she learned all of her shapes a couple of years ago and I noticed recently she was struggling with the difference between a hexagon and octagon.  Now I am able to have her click on shapes and she gets to play for her review.

Yesterday a friend came over with her girls and ixl.com was still up on the computer. She started to go on and on about how much fun her girls have with the website.  I thought, "Really!?!, I am the last one!" So, if you have not heard of it before or just have not gotten around to checking it out, do it!! Twenty free problems are available per day. You will not have access to tracking performance that way, but you can get an idea of what the problems are and if your kids are addicted like mine. ~Julia

Camping Activities with Kids: Making T-Shirts

Camping is great, but having activities planned when you have 9 children (3 are mine :) under the age of 8 is an absolute must!! Grandma pulled through again.  She had the idea to create tie-dye T-Shirts without the hassle of actually using tie-dye! This is a finished product. These shirts are great for family reunions, too.

Step One: 

Start with Fabric Markers, which were purchased at Wal-Mart.

Step Two:

Get a plain white T-Shirt. Also purchased at Wal-Mart.

Step Three:

Get a stabilizing board. These are foam boards from the Dollar Store. One could just as easily use card board.

Step Four:

Sprayable Fabric Paint. Clearance at Michael's or any craft store.

Step Five:

After you have put your stabilizing board in the T-Shirt. Write whatever you want on your T-Shirt.

Step Six: 

Start Spraying. Below you will see several examples of styles. The closer you spray the more intense the color. Consequently the farther away you spray the lighter the intensity. Before you flip sides, wipe your surface area with a paper towel, so the colors don't get on the other side and affect your design.

Here are the kids practicing and doing their shirts by themselves.

~Julia