Crafty gift ideas--weaving loom, design-a-bag, butterfly magnets!

Need an idea for a craft-loving kid? My daughter loved getting a weaving loom (perfect for her age, a good challenge!) and also a color-your-own messenger bag, which she proudly brought along to spend the night at her friend's house. She also got a great wooden butterfly magnet set which we had also done the year prior---you paint and decorate pre-cut butterfly and flower magnets with paint and glitter. All very fun!

More Fun Groundhog Day Activities!

Don't miss my Groundhog Day Unit Study post that shares a lot of fun ideas for celebrating Groundhog Day with learning about groundhogs, hibernation, the science of shadows and more. Here are some pictures from last year, as well, when other moms added even more spring activities, like planting grass seed in individual trays. We had fun experimenting more with silhouettes and shadows, and of course more burrowing tunnel fun.








Happy Groundhog Day!!
And here's a cute little video your kids can watch to draw a cartoon of a Groundhog!!

The Nutcracker

In December, we attended a field trip with other homeschoolers to the first Act of The Nutcracker Ballet at DeVos Performance Hall. Much like our fun Wizard of Oz experience, (but on a smaller scale), my daughter was able to compare and contrast the live performance with other adaptations of the story, including the Barbie Nutcracker movie and an easy-reader book. The ballet was an awesome experience and really well-done by Grand Rapids Ballet Company. What a terrific opportunity and great exposure to more performance art. A fellow homeschool friend also bought us a great woman/teacher nutcracker afterward... it's a homeschool mom!! ;) Fun!

Batman Birthday Bash

My son turned 3 last month, and we had a small superhero party to celebrate in Mid-December, a "Batman Brunch" giving some time to run around and play superheroes. Decorated with some Batman and Robin decorations, along with Mr. Freeze blue ice cream and cake, Superman Ice Cream and fruit snacks, and even "Cat Woman Claws" (Bugles). The kids all had a blast and dressed up like superheroes (with a new set of superhero dress-up clothes we got for my son---he was so excited to finally have a real Robin costume!) and of course as their favorite villains--my daughter was Poison Ivy--while we played various theme songs from Spiderman, Batman, Mighty Mouse, etc. And what would any good superhero party be without a "bad guy" to get?? We let the kids wrap up my husband from head to toe in toilet paper---it was a fantastic time, the kids thought it was great!!












Our cute little caped crusader had a SUPER heroic time! :)

Highlights from our Homeschool Week

Monday
We started a study on the country Brazil (great link!!) and a unit on the state of Hawaii with making observations on various tropical fruit. My daughter's similes on a horned melon: "It's like a desert with volcanoes all over it," and "It's orange and yellow, like honey." It lead us into the discussion afterward of what similes are.


Had some normal school and dance time, and then enjoyed an afternoon playdate with some of our favorite homeschool friends.



fun!

(yep... different colored socks, "Amelia Bedelia" and snuggle time with our dog, Zelda Ballerina... sounds about right! ;)) Also, here are some great links to Amelia Bedelia related printables.


Tuesday




Banana bread break, practiced measurements

Went outside to chase chickens while we waited for the banana bread to bake...



"Is it done yet, mama?"

Dad gets home from work and spends some "tough guy time" with our son while I take our daughter to Girl Scouts... this is them showing me how strong they are, lol! :D




Wednesday

Sometimes, two chairs just isn't close enough. xoxo

Made it to the playground one more time with some awesome friends to enjoy the strangely warmer January weather before the snow and winter finally hit!


AWANA!! What a blessing we have found in our AWANA program, we love it!!




Friday--Winter finally hit, and we got snowed out of Co-op!!! (our weekly classes we share with other homeschool families) We enjoyed the snow and look forward to the following Friday for co-op.

ah, my daughter finally had the satisfaction of making a snow angel, she's been waiting all season! :)


After the kids came in, and warmed up with hot chocolate, they continued with some "warmer" activities... continuing our tropical studies. ;)


Saturday--we picked up the kids' friend for an all-day playdate, made for an awesome Saturday!

What were your highlights from the week? God Bless!!