Part II: DIY scarecrow how-to...

So, here's the how-to on the scarecrows. It's pretty simple. You'll need a few items:
-Two pieces of wood for each scarecrow. One for the body (however tall you want the scarecrow, plus 8" to 1' of space to drive into the ground. I use all kinds of wood- fencing, broken broom handles, garden stakes from Home Depot; we use them all.) and one for the arms (shorter than the one you use for the body-  2 feet long will do it).
-Nails and a hammer
-Fabric for the heads (I use felt, myself. Any fabric can be used, though. You can hot glue felt or any other fabric with some nap. If you use muslin or another cotton, you'll need to sew it). We use sort of an off-white felt; you'll also need scraps of other colors or some paint (acrylic or fabric both work fine) for facial features. Any polyester felt you get at the craft store is great and it won't fade or bleed. Do NOT use wool felt; it does bleed. Long story.
-Cast-off clothes (I let each kid pick out what they want, with the reminder that whatever they use will be close to ruined due to rain, sun damage, etc.), hats, scarves, whatever else you want. 
-Stuffing. We've used a variety of materials over the years. Fiberfill (pillow stuffing), leaves, even crumpled newspaper work great, as long as they're encased in something waterproof (I use target plastic bags and tie them, put them in tie side down). You just don't want your stuffing getting soggy...
-Hot glue gun or sewing machine.

How to assemble:

1. Nail the two pieces of wood together in a cross formation. Here's a photo of one scarecrow, with only the skirt attached. I get all the scarecrow frames assembled on the front lawn before I start dressing and putting them in the ground. I always feel a bit self-conscious because it looks like I'm getting ready to burn some crosses on our lawn or something. So I try to do this part as quickly as possible.

2. Dress the bottom half of your scarecrow BEFORE you drive it into the ground. You can get away with dressing the top half once it's in the ground, but the bottom half won't work. I've tried this a lot of different ways, but the simplest is to drive a nail (or use a staple gun) through the pants/skirt; make sure the shirt is long enough to meet the pants where you want it to, before you nail them on. 

3. Dress the top half. Slip one sleeve on (and shirt over the head if you need to) and then it usually takes a bit of forcing to get that second sleeve on.

I used navy blue felt this year for the heads, only because I wanted the shape of the skulls to stand out against the dark background. Most years, I use skin-tone felt...and store the heads from year to year.

4. Make the heads. I trace around dinner plates (cutting a bit inside the circle for kid-sized heads), then leave a bit of skinnier 'neck' space at the bottom to tuck into the shirt and hide your wood cross-piece. I glue them, leaving enough space at the bottom to fit my hand in to stuff the head. I stuff them lightly- just enough to give them shape. If you try to stuff them too much, the facial features get all misshapen. Then do your facial features. There are so many ways you can do this- one suggestion I have is to google 'scarecrow' images  and copy some facial features that you like the looks of. That's what I did for our Day of the Dead ones. Leave the bottom of the head/neck open- that's how you're going to put it on the top of the stake. What works best for me is to feel inside the head and bring the stuffing to the front of the scarecrow, putting the stick part at the back of the head. They usually slip on there pretty easily.

My husband wants it noted: he does not actually have a blue and green sequined mustache. I have taken artistic license, here.

5. Finishing touches: hats, scarves, we've put gardening tools in their 'hands' (usually I just stick random gloves on the ends of the sticks to make hands), fake flowers in their pockets, a parrot on the shoulder? This is where the found object thing comes in- think creatively about the junk you have lying around the house and how it can be used.

For our Day of the Dead scarecrows, if you look closely, you can see that I used dollar store pompoms, leftover Christmas ribbon, fake flowers that have seen better days (I asked around and a friend of mine donated some flowers she was about to throw away. Score!), and even some of the flowery facial features are foam shapes from one of those Michaels' tub-o-foamy shapes. The theme was 'Hawaiian', I believe, and I just didn't punch out the little holes in the hibiscus flowers. And they really were perfect here. My scarecrows are not finished, in fact...some are still missing their headwear, some faces have yet to be embellished with sequins and beads, etc. But I wanted to get this post finished so people who are interested can start working on their scarecrows.

Most years, I can get the scarecrows done in a day or two-maybe two to three hours, total. That includes time for the kids to help get their clothes together, work on their faces if they're old enough, etc. The first year will be the hardest; you can just store the heads and frames year-to-year, which cuts down on the time. This is a project that is so worth it- and I hope that of all the wacky projects we do, my kids really remember this one.

One note- If you have any questions at all about these directions, feel free to leave a comment and I will surely get back to you. Next year I plan to make scarecrow heads in different styles and put them in my etsy and ebay shops. If having me make some for you this year is something that interests you, let me know. I can get them made and in the mail in just a few days.



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An ever-expanding family of scarecrows...Part I

 One family tradition we have is that we make scarecrows every Autumn. We started maybe five or six years ago, when we had just one child. We've added a new scarecrow (or a pregnant scarecrow!) practically every year since. Last year, with a newborn baby and three other kids six and under, I just didn't quite make it in the scarecrow department. But this year we are back...with a vengeance.

Normally, we do run-of-the mill scarecrows...hats, regular clothes, happy smiles, the whole nine yards. The only stipulation is that each scarecrow looks as close as possible to its real-person equivalent in color of hair, eyes and use of that person's cast-off clothes. The bad news: I don't have a lot of photos of those. One thing I can tell you: they are 100% more awesome than the store-bought ones, and we regularly have people tell us that they come to our house on Halloween just to see them. We also have people slow down just to look at them, kids pointing out the window. The picture above is probably the second year we did them, and they are pretty rudimentary. As with most things, we get better and better at them every year.

I have big fantasies of scarecrows to come: an alien theme, separate costumes just for Halloween night, the band KISS (I had to give that one up once we passed the four band members by in numbers), The Wizard of Oz...I mention this only as an encouragement to others who might have time to get more elaborate in their concept of the scarecrow. I've also thought a family of mummies would be fun. Pirates, the characters for the tv show 'Arthur', well, okay, I'll stop now.

This year, we're doing a 'Day of the Dead' theme. I've had a fascination with Mexican folk art since high school or college, and have been known to set up Day of the Dead altars, most notably when a beloved family member has passed during that year. I love the spirit of celebration of loved ones, the sense of humor with the skeletons doing every day acts of ridiculousness. I enjoy the reminder that we are all just passing through this life, and the veil between us and 'them' is mighty thin.

I  encourage you to embark on this scarecrow-making journey- be it by yourself, with your kids, even dragging your husband or wife kicking and screaming along with you (guess which one I am). It's easy. And did I mention how cheap it is? I have a rule that I use as much 'found' stuff around the house as I can- and random wood from the garage. This year my grand total for 6 scarecrows? Less than $5.00. If you own a glue gun, you're halfway there.

Next up: detailed instructions for scarecrows, plain, Day of the Dead, or any variety you please.

Post Office Creative Play Center

We have a sometimes-unused corner in our project room, aka schoolroom. I like to fill this space with creative play centers- a florist shop, an ice cream shop (thanks to my friend Grace who brought over all the stuff from the ice cream shop that SHE made), an arts-and-crafts area with DIY supplies for little kids, a valentine-making center, the list goes on...

One of the perennial favorites is the mail center. I assemble the supplies, and they go to town. A center like this takes some prep work, although not too much time to assemble. It can also be left up for weeks before the kids get tired of it, and kids of all ages enjoy it. Everyone from the 1 year old to the big 2nd grader spends plenty of time in there.

First necessary item is a table/place for the kids to 'work'. You don't necessarily need chairs, as postal workers are up on their feet- and no chairs saves space for more kids to get in there. I like to set our table up with blank envelopes, envelopes I collect from junk mail, paper for writing letters, postcards, pens, pencils, squarish stickers to use as stamps, stamps and an ink pad for 'cancelling' the mail as it comes through, a scale and cash register for customers who may happen through to mail stuff. Also fun would be little boxes wrapped up to mail, padded envelopes, etc.

* A great activity for bigger kids, here, would be to make a basket full of envelopes and a how-to on addressing envelopes, writing a friendly letter with appropriate headings, etc...

 This is our mail sorter. Most of the time they just stick the letters, etc. in there randomly, but if you wanted to make mailboxes for family members, it would be easy to affix photos of your family on the individual slots, make a letter, color, number sorting center (tape the colors/numbers/letters on pieces of mail with packing tape and make a slot for each on the sorter). If you don't have one of these, I was thinking cereal boxes with the flaps cut off and taped together would make a good, cheap DIY version. I set this sorter on a small table (right now it's on our piano bench) so it's the right height for little people to stand up and sort the mail.
                                                                                   
This is similar to the one I have, although a bit smaller, it looks like. Also much cheaper, but I bought mine years ago when I was teaching school to use as cubbies for students' papers to take home. This would be a great find at a yard sale or thrift store!

I found this really great wood mailbox, made by Melissa and Doug, a few years ago. It's a set that comes with wood letters, postcards, and stamps that stick on with velcro. It also has a key to open the mailbox- fun! We use it with its intended items, but also as a 'receiving' mailbox in our mail center for everyone to put their mail- and then they get the fun of sorting it, stamping it, and placing it in the appropriate mailboxes. Amazon sells this set! We bought ours at least 5 years ago...and this is actually way cheaper than what I paid at the fancy schmancy teacher store.






Finally, a few supplies to gather around the house:
-envelopes/address labels/little pads of paper out of junk mail. This is the one time in your life that junk mail could be described as 'an awesome resource'.
-Tape dispenser/stapler/pens/pencils/stamps/stamp pad/square stickers to use as 'stamps'.
-some sort of bag to use as a mail carrier's satchel.
-costumes would be fun here! some hats, maybe a blue vest or two. I haven't ever done costumes, but I'm sure my kids would love it.

Happy Stamping!

In Search of...

I always loved that show when I was a kid, for some reason. Leonard Nimoy (hey! where are his pointy ears?!?) with his resonant voice, looking for elusive phemomena. I think the last time I watched this show I was maybe ten years old, and I distinctly remember loving the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot episodes. Today, however, I am in search of the elusive homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe that tastes JUST LIKE STARBUCKS. I put this in all caps because it's really imperative that it taste as close to the beloved Starbucks' version as possible. My friend Eilyne requires it.

 Eilyne has embarked on a most interesting journey. She has vowed to give up Starbucks for 100 days. That's right. 100 days. And she writes a fascinating, funny, heartfelt blog about her journey, which as it has turned out, really is only partly about giving up Starbucks. She had a very good reason for doing this, which you can read all about if you look at the very first post, some 75ish days ago (see  link to her blog to your right).  And Eilyne and I have a few things in common. She happens to be married to one of my really, really good friends from junior high and high school. We both have more-than-the-average number of children by today's standards, so we can commiserate about the three ring circus that is currently our lives. Finally, and most importantly, here, is that we both love the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks.

So, when I started thinking (well, fantasizing) about the this year's impending release of the PSL a month or so ago, I got really concerned about Eilyne. How would she handle this?  She's so close, she can't give up her quest now! So I got cracking with the google search and came up with a few recipes for the PSL. I passed one along to Eilyne, and my testing of one of the other ones is below.

I thought this recipe was really, really good. Is it EXACTLY like Starbucks' recipe? Nope, not quite. But very good, yes. Perfect for my preschool co-op group; we mommies like to drink coffee while we're chasing, teaching, reading and playing. So I highly recommend you give it a shot.  You can find the complete recipe at thekitchn.com, here.

Now, I'm not much of a recipe cook. I get more of a feel for a recipe, and then I go for it. The same with this. I didn't bother putting it in the blender; I just whisked the mixture while it was on the stove heating up, and it was plenty frothy. I also made my own pumpkin pie spice blend of ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon, which was great.

So, try out the recipe on a cool Autumn morning (or afternoon!), and then hop on over to my friend Eilyne's blog, read her post and try out her recipe, here .

Cheers!

All About Me (well, us)

This past week, we played a bit of catch-up with our homeschool preschool. I have it designed so that Young Yeller can join in, too, when she feels like it, for the activities that she finds interesting. Otherwise, she does her homework in the afternoons during preschool time.

Our theme was 'All About Me'.Well, and 'Back To School', technically, since the previous week was the first week of public school and we did absolutely nothing while we got back into the school groove. So I tried to smoosh them both together, which was mildly successful, as I might have suspected if I'd given it more careful consideration beforehand. 

One project the kids did which was really fun was making their own 'people'. Sort of a paper doll with cloth clothes, dressed by the kids and decorated to look like themselves. Super easy, but it did take a bit of prep; I'd say no more than 20 minutes- and it would be shorter if you only had to do it for one child. I would call this project appropriate for kids up to 8, at least.

The first step was to cut out the 'person's' shape. I used manila file folders opened up, and sketched a basic person shape. Simple. It doesn't have to be perfect (look at mine!), as it will be clothed.

I cut out clothes from random extra cloth I had sitting around. Shirts, pants, dresses, and belts were all I needed. I made sure to cut out extra so that each child could have a choice. 

Then, it's assembly time. I had them glue the clothes right on their 'people'. We used yarn for hair, stick-on gems for decoration, and I cut shoes for those who wanted them out of felt. It would be easy to add bits of lace or other trim if you wanted. Of course, the essential step is having them draw their own faces. I left the imperfect bits (clothing glued on wonky, eyes in the wrong place, etc.) because it's actually THEIR project, not mine, and because I like to do these sorts of things once a year or so and compare the results just for fun.

'Cooking' in the great outdoors....

It's true, we do spend a lot of time outside, especially when the weather's very nice. Much of that time is spent with the hose on. As a result, we've come up with quite a few favorite outdoor activities, some requiring prep, some not.

Tonight after dinner, I took the 3 littles out to play, fresh-cut donut peach slices  and freshly made whipped cream in hand as dessert (um, no. I did not want the 13 month old spreading whipped cream all over the house. So outside, it is!). Young Yeller and my husband were at softball practice, so it was just the four of us. I grabbed my big soup pot (used to cook dinner's potatoes, so already technically 'dirty'), two ladles, a whisk and some random plastic cups and bowls. We turned the hose on, and 'the restaurant' was born. All three of them were thrilled to be making me soup-together, playing peacefully- and had great fun serving it up and bringing it to me. The Meatloaf (4y/o) laughed uproariously when I found new and ever-more complicated ways to hide the fact that I was dumping the 'soup' and not actually eating it, so I could ask her for more. All told, this water-cooking activity kept them happily entertained, improving their motor skills (hello! pouring, filling, emptying, carrying; all great toddler skills), for a good 45 minutes.

I was thinking it might be fun to get a set of pots and pans at a garage sale or thrift store to keep outside for this sort of activity permanently. 

Photographic Essays for Big Kids

There has been something funny showing up on our camera. Photos I don't remember taking, weird ones, of people's faces up close and random toys. It became clear- Young Yeller is enjoying using our camera to document the world as she sees it. And why not? Actually, she's not half bad. So, I've decided to cave and get her a camera, probably for Christmas. I like film, myself, but I'm definitely going to digital here- much less wasted film and easier to trash the bad pictures.

So for those of you interested in perhaps letting your bigger kid document the world around them (and avoiding a Barbie photo shoot), I have a few ideas:

- Give a specific assignment. 'Take pictures during our nature walk'; 'take a photo of each family member doing something they love'; 'Photograph each of the pets'. Official Vacation Photographer has a nice ring to it!

- Give your child 'the talk'. I've instructed YY that she is not allowed to snap photos of anyone naked, without their permission (especially if they're screaming at you in toddler-ese), etc. For some families, the 'naked' rule might be a bit much. I admit, after that story earlier in the year about that family who had photos of their kids out of the tub and Walmart turned them into CPS, I'm a lot more cautious about this. All the more reason to go digital- you can have a gander at the photos before they go off to the fotomat. The guidelines might be different for each family, but I advise you to think about it, and make it clear to your child, BEFORE you are looking at pictures of yourself shaving your legs.

-If you have a creative child on your hands: one who likes to build things, take things apart, etc., have them take pictures of their messes, er, creations.

 

Post-photo Activities:
 
-Make a scrapbook. For those of you with developing writers, having them write captions would be fun and good practice. They could write it (using the ideas above) about their family, the household pets, or the flora and fauna in your neighborhood.

-They could also use any random photos to build a story. Get one of those dollar photo albums from Dollar Tree or the dollar section at Target, and have them write a 'book' about a fantastical land of Lego skyscrapers. They can then use their own photos as illustrations for the book.

I know my Young Yeller is going to be thrilled with me giving her assigned excuses to use the camera. What a great way to round out the summer!

Happy snapping!

...and one for the big folks...

On the same dark and not-so stormy night as I made the below activities for the 'littles', I made this game for Young Yeller, age 7. It is not my original work, but I have to take a moment and say that these games (see source below) do require a bit of prep. I'm lucky in that I have an all-in-one printer with a flat bed for copying stuff; otherwise I'd be sunk. I'm just not that organized.

Math Facts Ladybugs (math facts/fact families)

This is a great game that YY absolutely loves. With her new math program at school, they spent very little time on fact families. As a former 2nd grade teacher, I must admit to being just the tiniest bit horrified that my soon-to-be 2nd grader is not totally proficient at math facts OR fact families. So it's been a real priority this summer, but one I'm pretty committed to doing in a fun way whenever possible. 

The gist of the game is that the child picks a ladybug (I laminated them for future use with her 3 little sisters). I pre-programmed the ladybugs with assorted numbers of spots to represent fact families ( 2,4,6 for example). If you don't remember, fact families are three related numbers for which two addition and two subtraction problems can be made. On the half-sheet, the child writes the facts that go with that ladybug's spots. (Using the above example, that would be 2+4=6/4+2=6/6-2=4/6-4=2). For some kids having trouble memorizing math facts, this more associative way of learning them can be really helpful. For YY, she enjoyed doing the activity, and then coloring her ladybug to look like the ones I had made. 

So, learning how to do fact families, check. She's got a really good grasp on it now. Still working on the math facts. (And yes, I noticed in the picture that the ladybug and worksheet do not match. I just pulled them out of their bag randomly.)

Um, no. I did not create this activity. I got it from a book that I dearly love. In fact, it is a series of books published by Scholastic, of which I have quite a few. They are called 'Shoebox Learning Centers', and are intended for Grades K-2, although I have had no problem adjusting many of them for my preschooler. You can find this particular book (the 'Addition and Subtraction' version) here .

Catching Up...

My intention was to post at least one activity each day. I've run into an illness or two, a 4th birthday, and other life obstacles. So today, I catch up.

Color Matching/Coloring Activity (ages 2-4)

This one, I made for Chunko Munko. I keep them (I made three of them at once) in ziploc bags with the appropriate markers.  CM just turned two and is getting pretty good with naming colors, but still needs to work on visual matching, and of course, coloring. This activity takes care of both. I'm big into recycling materials, so nothing fancy here: the pages were torn from a dollar store newsprint-type drawing pad. The purpose is for her to choose the correct color to match the shape, and then color it. I also labeled each triangle with the appropriate color word...environmental print and all that.

Letter Matching (kids learning letters)

This one I made using a pad of Sesame Street stickers I got from either the Target dollar section, or Dollar Tree (usually I'm great at remember these things, but eh). Luckily, there were two of each sheet of stickers, so one I used for the matching mat, and one I used to laminate, cut up, and thus make the pieces for the activity.

To make the pieces any kind of durable, it's essential to laminate them. But if you were using this as a one-time activity (hard to believe unless your child already knows their letters) or were only using it for one child, you could just have them put the stickers directly on top of the mat. Both the mat and the pieces are laminated.

A quick word on storage....

I store all of these types of activities in ziploc bags. I use the ones with the little zipper thing on the top, as they seem to be easier for little kids to manage. I file them by topic or theme if applicable. I usually label the fronts with some sort of label, attached and sealed with packing tape. 

 

....and next topic, an activity for the 'big kid'....

Meatloaf and tomatoes

Everyone around here likes to garden. Strike that. I and the kids like to garden. While we don't have a huge yard- pool takes up a pretty good portion of the backyard- we have enough to grow LOTS of flowers and some produce, too. There is a whole year's worth of gardening tasks to do around here. But right now, I want to address tomatoes. Those tomatoes are worth much more than one day's worth of activities.

We grow tomatoes every year, many varieties, somewhere between 3 and 10 plants. The absolute best for eating right off the vine, as kids love to do, is the Sungold 100, a small yellow-orangey cherry tomato. They are really sweet and don't take too long to grow. While it's too late to start your tomatoes for this year, put it on the calendar (NOW) for next year....after danger of frost, when it's fairly warm during the day AND at night, preferably. For us (northern CA) , we usually plant in late April. Tomatoes love rich soil and warmth all day and all night, so April is sometimes a bit early even for us...if you get an unexpected frost or cold snap, you can always cover them. Use a sheet or something else permeable.

Tomato related activities:

-This year, we spray painted our tomato cages wacky colors. Fire engine red, robin's egg blue, sort of an electric limey green. Beautiful complementary color combination; the kids loved watching me do the spray painting and helping to choose colors. You can buy them painted, but why? You can create something uniquely your own. And spray paint comes in such an array of wonderful colors now.

-Watering and harvest are a daily affair around here. The Meatloaf has adopted the tomatoes this year and has really taken charge.

-If we really got crazy, we could get into canning tomatoes. But frankly, 5 or more plants is just barely enough for the kids to eat of the vine and use for some cooking. We'd have to have 30+ to have enough to make canning worth it. But I'm putting it out there as an option...

The Meatloaf says that eating a tomato right off the vine is 'like a delicious donut'. I agree.

Mailroom!

While YY was away for what was supposed to be four days, visiting her grandparents (she came home a bit early...well, three days early, to be exact), I made this for the littles. All are in love with this activity, and it's open ended enough that Miss Big Seven Year Old can enjoy it, too....although it only takes her about 20 seconds.

Materials Needed:
-Bins for sorting mail (I bought these in the dollar section at Target awhile back)
-envelopes for 'mail' (I used a combo of junk mail envelopes and new)
-colored paper for cutting out shapes

I chose to do the basics: circles, squares, triangles. Cut a bunch out, in different colors and different sizes. Instead of gluing, I packing-taped them to the envelopes, so I wouldn't have to wait for them to dry and so there wouldn't be any loose ends for Curly Lurly or Munko to pick off. I also taped a shape to the front of each of the bins. And, time to sort some mail!!! What is it about mail? Kids LOVE it.

Obviously, this is an activity best suited to the 3 y/o; she's practicing identifying, matching, sorting shapes and all that. But the 2 y/o CM enjoys just sorting randomly, and I think with a bit of help, she'll be able to start sorting them correctly. The baby enjoys putting in, taking out- classic 1 y/o style.

Some other ideas:
-I think I might make another one of these for YY, but use math facts, which she needs to practice, still. Answers on the bins, problems on the mail. She figures out the answers and puts them in the correct bin.
-You could let you kids go crazy with stickers, etc. to decorate the mail, er, put 'stamps' on it.

-You could also let your kids 'postmark' the mail as they sort it with a stamp pad and some stamps. I guess it depends on how long and for how many kids you want to use this activity.

A new 'toy', or fun slave labor?

Today's impromptu 'activity' turns out to be a big help to me. A few days ago, I bought the best new toy ever. It's a vacuum. Well, it's a glorified dustbuster on a stick, really. Our vacuum hasn't been working so great lately, but we're reticent to spend a bunch of money on a new one because we have pretty much all hardwood floors and (the bigger reason) my kids are all freaked out by the noise of the vacuum and hide like a bunch of frightened mice in the back of the house whenever we use it. So, we never use it...opting instead for sweeping, the dustbuster, etc.

So, this new one, the Dirt Devil Versa, less than $20, how could I go wrong? It is corded, which was important to me, as my husband often leaves the dustbuster off the cradle all night, and then it's dead in the morning when I need to use it (although I do seriously appreciate the cleaning help, don't get me wrong). It has on-board crevice tools, you can detach the bottom part to use it like a regular dustbuster, and really it's so lightweight and small, the KIDS USE IT WITH EASE. They are a bunch of vacuuming fools, racing to get the Versa whenever we have a spill, such as an entire bottle of glitter. Ahem. It's not very noisy, either.

I checked this baby out online to see what the reviews were, because I was a bit skeptical. I've found what they said to be true: great for quick cleanups, but you would definitely not want to use this as your only vacuum if you had carpet- it's not heavy duty enough.
BTW, Dirt Devil, not paying me for this endorsement. But they should.

A tradition in the making?

Somehow, Young Yeller (7 y/o) and I have started emailing back and forth. She's had her own email account for awhile. She and assorted grandparents keep in touch that way, I figure it helps with spelling/typing, etc., and she's signed up for some newsletters that we approve of. I always know what's coming into her inbox because our Google homepage is mostly always logged into her email, so I have a constant window of her most recent emails. The last few days, we've been emailing about she and her sisters (most notably The Meatloaf) and how I can help them to get along a bit better. Here is her latest pearl of wisdom:

yes little kids are tireing!!!!!!! believe ME i know ! its a zoo! dad said that! that's why i want to be a mom! it is fun! believe me it is really fun. and also believe me it is tireing . i know because you do . and i know every thing you know. just some math facts. and a little much .

There's so much just in these few sentences. First of all, tiring=fun, apparently. I also think that she 'knows everything' I do is hilarious. But, she admits, I do know my math facts a bit better than she does. Thanks goodness for that! It does make me feel good that she thinks being a mom is a fun job, and that living in a zoo is something she desires for herself (and yes, I admit it's a zoo around here).

I suppose this activity- communicating with your children via email- is really just for kids who are a bit older. But I really think there's a lot to be gained here. We're able to think about things, consider them before responding in a way that isn't really possible with three other little, needy kids breathing down our necks, and we're talking about important stuff. That might be good for later. Like when she's 13. Yikes.

Off To The Races!

I cheated a bit, here. Today's activity was totally impromptu and required absolutely no materials. I have another one, though, and I'll write about that one later. As I mentioned before, my goal is to PLAN an activity every day, so I guess this one doesn't really count.

Young Yeller likes to race. They all do, but YY really takes it to heart. She sees it as a chance to use her superior speed and agility (which really becomes obvious when most of the other participants are naked) to get one over on her competitors. I took part in this one, too. Then I was the official referee. One might say I was kicked out for cheating.

Racing:
You need an 'on your mark/get set/go' person. Then, of course, you need the racers. You also need an agreed upon course. Today's course was around the perimeter of our front yard, but it's fun to take it to a local playground, up the street to the corner and back, etc. Some types of races:
-running
-skipping
-jumping
-crawling
-toe-to-heel
-relay with a rock/toy/ball
-crab walking
-scooter/bike/etc. (this one's tough if you have little kids participating, though)

One of the wonderful things about this type of activity is that the littles can get involved. In our case, that 'little' was a naked Chunko Munko, who had just stripped her clothes off to play in the hose. They don't care much that they actually lose every race; it's the act of THE RACE that they love.

Hey, yous guys, Take it outside!

Activity #1.
Materials needed: paint, brushes or other, rocks, paper, etc.

Gather paint. I like tempera, comes in big bottles, fairly washable, weird schoolroom smell you remember from first grade. Craft paint (acrylic) is okay, too, but be forewarned that it probably won't come out of the clothes. (I personally have a tub of clothes labeled 'play clothes'. This is where the yuck-o clothes go- the ones with the holes, the paint, the ground-in blueberry juice.)

Paint brushes are good. Your little angel ripped all the bristles out? That's okay. Gather sponges cut into strips, q-tips, pencils, whatever could conceivably be used to apply paint. Take it all outside. Small plasticky melamine type plates that can be rinsed afterward and thrown in the dishwasher are great for mixing paint, too. And yes, they will love to mix the paint.

Let's be honest. We usually start out painting on paper. Or a wood frame from Michaels for Father's Day. But I also like to paint rocks (glue on googly eyes when they dry!), the sidewalk (add a bit of dishsoap for washability, and rinse with hose before it dries or your husband sees it), the lawn, the Little Tikes picnic table, you name it. We paint it. Our clothes. Our hair. Each other. And then we get to turn on the hose and wash it all down. A good 45 minutes or more of fun, with very little planning on your part. Congratulations, you are now the mom who organizes "The most funnest day I ever had!!!" (The Meatloaf).

Bonus activity: Sudsy Painty Water Table
Have a water/sand play table? Or a big tub/bucket/storage container? Fill it with water and a little squirt of dishsoap, make bubbles. Lots of them. Then dump all your painting supplies in there and let your littles (and bigs) swish them around. They're cleaning, and they don't even know it. And the water turns interesting colors.

Why? Why add another thing to my day? Why?

My goal is to come up with at least one planned multi-age activity each day. That is to say, we do many activities each day, but many of them are of the unplanned, don't throw that at your sister's head, wait! get down from there! Hold my hand! Wait for Mama! variety. By multi-age, I mean that all, or most, anyway (I'm not that nuts) of my kids can participate and enjoy this activity.

It's summer! That means Young Yeller is out of school, getting along with some of her sisters, and yes, yelling on a fairly regular basis. She likes to yell. She has perfected a growly, from-the-gut yell that is meant to intimidate and get her little sisters out of her room, pronto. Here's the other thing about YY: she gets bored. And when she gets bored, she causes trouble.

And really, my kids all love planned activities. Crafty things, sorting things, move around, music, goofy fish puppets on a stick; you name it. It's good for everyone. And it forces me to pry myself from the dishes and the laundry and the food prep for a few minutes and actually enjoy these little people my husband and I decided to bring into the world.

My goal: at least one planned, multi-age activity each day...short on prep time, long on enjoyment. And post about it. And take pictures. Pictures would be good.