School is winding down for the year. Or ramping up, depending on whether your the kid or the mom. They are enjoying less homework and more fun stuff in class these last couple of weeks. I just finished organizing the school talent show and I'm scrambling around taking care of teacher gifts, facilitating a multitude of school projects, clearing some space in my schedule to be at end-of-the-year events, trying to get some work projects finished and off my calendar during my last few kid-free weekdays until September, counting down the number of school lunches left to make, and working on my "summer sanity plan". (Stay tuned...more on that soon!)
Taite performed Katy Perry's "Firework" in the talent show
If the prospect of summer vacation quickly approaching has you panicking about how to keep the kids entertained for the next couple of months, you'll want to be sure to check out my Kidding Around class, which starts June 14. It's full of fun ideas and writing prompts with a fun, art journaling angle.
We just finished celebrating Teacher Appreciation Day at our school, and since I'm often scouring blogs for fresh "room mom" ideas, I thought I'd make a deposit in my karma bank and put this candygram idea out there for others.
I started with a big sheet of foam core and a plan of what I wanted to say. I arranged all my candy in order, estimating the room in between for words, so I could get an idea of how it would fit the space. Then I printed my words on colored cardstock and cut into strips. This doesn't have to be super exact, as in all the strips being the same width or the line breaks being just right. A ransom look kind of adds to the charm.
The candy is attached with super-strong double-sided scrapbooking tape, available at any craft store. Even the heavy boxes of Runts and Nerds won't budge with a few strips of that stuff. For the candy bars, you'll want to make sure you tape over the flap on the back, or they will flop forward when the candygram is upright.
There are lots of fun ways this can be embellished...none of which I felt inspired to do at 2 am when I finally got around to finishing this one. But trust me, they can be really foofy and cute with some Cricut borders, flourishes, and whatever other fun stuff you can think of.
The wording, in case you can't see it well:
Mrs. Hoffman, we SKORed big when we got you for a teacher! Do U-NO how much we love you? You're MOUNDS of fun & the learning is GOOD & PLENTY in your class. You help us CRUNCH numbers & learn things we'll use NOW & LATER. We'd be a bunch of NERDS if we didn't thank you. You go the EXTRA mile for us & you're the RIESEN there are more SMARTIES and less AIRHEADS in this world. We wish your PAYDAY could be 100GRAND but instead, here's a big thank you for putting up with our SNICKERS and silliness. We know some days are a ROCKY ROAD but we always appreciate you!
HUGS from your little RUNTS
Your candy may vary -- meaning, I have made a bunch of these over the years, and every time without fail, at least one of my needed candy bars has become extinct or is unavailable at stores near me (I'm LOOKing at you, LOOK bar!). The good news is with a little bit of creativity, you can always find a substitute candy bar name that will fit into a sentence to round things out...you may just have to change your wording a bit.
Here's a pic of our adorable teacher and her candygram...I think she liked it. :)
We threw in a movie gift card wrapped in a popcorn bag, so she would have someplace to sit and eat all that candy.
What fun Teacher Appreciation ideas have you seen lately?
My summer kids' class, Kidding Around {2}, is officially open for registration!
This year's class project is more art journal than scrapbook, and while any type of journal or notebook can be used, I am using and recommending the much-anticipated Smash book. Big Picture Classes has a limited amount available for registered students to order. So if you want to be guaranteed a Smash journal (which are likely to sell like hot cakes everywhere when they hit stores next month!), I would register sooner rather than later. Just sayin'. :)
A few things you might want to know about the class:
It runs June 23 - August 3. If you're on vacation during that time, no worries...you can tack missed assignments on at the end, double up, or just skip 'em.
It's geared toward elementary school kids, but younger kids can absolutely participate with a little parental help...for instance they can dictate their journaling to you, then decorate the pages on their own. Older kids are welcome, too!
You do not have to be a parent to sign up your favorite kid...aunties, grandmas, babysitters, etc. are all welcome!
There will be daily assignments, Monday through Friday. These will range from simple journaling prompts, to imaginative activities, to make-something-in-the-kitchen tasks. The most involved activities are on Fridays, to give a little extra time, and the whole six weeks worth will be viewable in the classroom on the very first day, in case you like to plan ahead. Each activity will have an accompanying journal assignment.
If you took the class last year, 95% of the content will be new to you.
If you have more than one child, you only need to sign up once, but each child will need their own journal.
Taite will be playing along in real-time, and we'll be posting her pages on a blog in the classroom.
Everyday technological advances fascinate me. I spent most of my childhood with 13 TV channels, no remote control, no TV recording capabilities, no microwave, and no computer. Instead of a smartphone, I grew up with a wall-mounted push-button (the latest technology!) with a 6 foot, tangled, curly cord that I would stretch all the way to the coat closet for privacy. If I wanted to contact a friend, I called them and hoped I didn't get a busy signal, or worse, the forever ring that indicated no one was home. There were no answering machines or voicemail.
My kids' world is so very different.
Exhibit A: A couple of days ago, Reece and Taite were playing, and he told her, "BRB" as he ran to get something. As in, the text/IM version of "be right back". Which I probably don't need to explain to anyone reading a blog, but just in case...
The thing is, Reece has never IM'ed anyone, and he doesn't have a cell phone. I finally figured out he picked it up from Club Penguin, which is the elementary school equivalent of talking to your friends online, in the form of a technicolor, dressed up penguin. Again, just in case you are among the uninitiated.
I searched dictionary.com, and guess what? BRB is listed. So are LOL, LMAO, TTYL, and other internet acronyms. I don't know if they are actually included in printed versions of Merriam-Webster yet, because we don't own a recently-printed dictionary...the internet has rendered that need obsolete. I'm sure it's only a matter of time, if they're not already "official" words.
Exhibit B: Today Taite was doing her usual "why do you have to go to work, Daddy?" morning routine. Matt told her he had customers to see, and she said, "You could just video chat with them." It blows me away that video chatting is such a nonchalant part of my six-year-old's mentality. When I was six, that was something only the Jetson's did.
Exhibit C: This shirt is part of Reece's back to school wardrobe.
When I brought it home and had him try it on, I asked if he knew what those were on the front. He did recognize them as tapes, but when I asked if he knew what they were for, he said, "Ummm...sound or something?" He has no frame of reference, of course. He has never listened to music on a tape, even though his older brother and sister did. To him, music has always only been on computers, iPods, and CDs. Will his children wear a t-shirt with "old school" CDs or iPods all over it, and have no clue what they were used for?
I am all for embracing technology, as well as celebrating both the similarities and the differences of life "then and now". It's fun to speculate what will come next, or to imagine how life will be different in another 40 years.
And if the Jetsons continue to be accurate in their futuristic predictions, definitely sign me up for a Rosie the Robot!
3. Know how to apologize sincerely when you need to.
4. Celebrate the things that matter - big and small.
5. Step up and do your share - volunteer, give back, lend a hand whenever you're able.
I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Nanny McPhee Returns blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.
It's the first official week of summer vacation at my house, and I'm trying to find my groove. I've got deadlines, the kids have boundless energy, and we all WANT to have fun. I have discovered in summers past that a little bit of organization and creativity on my part can go a long way toward keeping a semblance of order around here. I believe my kids should have chores over the summer, since they are the primary culprits in messing the place up. And I believe they need to spend some time exercising their academic skills - my 4th grader in particular seems to be a "use it or lose it" type of kid.
So without further ado, I present Cafe Summer, also known as my summer 2010 sanity system!
This is the big bulletin board in our mud room, revamped for summer. As a "retired" preschool teacher, I truly enjoy putting this sort of thing together - the planning, the creative touches, the organization. It makes me happy. The checked awning is cut from a cheap-o plastic table cloth, probably from Oriental Trading. I found a bunch of them in my garage. No idea what I originally bought them for, but hey, they come in handy sometimes.
We have done bingo (thank you, Stacy Julian!) and carnival ticket incentive programs in the past, but this summer we're going with a restaurant theme. The main reasons are because I'm digging the "order" pun, and because I have a whole bunch of these restaurant order pads from Staples. There are 50 sheets per pad, so two pads will be exactly enough for 10 weeks of summer for both of my kids. I simply tore the pages off the pad, set up a file in Word, and ran them right through my printer.
The kids have a "main dish" job on their menu that changes with each day of the week, and two smaller "side dish" jobs that stay the same every day. They also have "drinks of knowledge", which include at least 20 minutes of reading time each day, and one "refill" of their choice: math flash cards, a word search or activity sheet, or writing in their journal or reading log.
I noticed that the back of our order sheets say "Thank You", with a bunch of lines for writing - perfect for tipping Mom with a "graditudity" each day. The kids will check off their tasks as they complete them, and then write one thing they are grateful for on the back. They put their name & the date on the bottom portion and turn in the order sheet to me. I tear off the stub and give it to them, and they can exchange that for an hour of "screen time" - TV, Wii, or computer games. Planned movie time or family TV time (like when we all gather to watch a new iCarly episode) doesn't count against their screen time, and neither does Nintendo DS that they bring along to keep busy when we're out and about.
We're keeping it super simple this year - no crazy long list of reward options. The screen time is what they want the most, so that's the only reward. Plus, they have to have their order sheet turned in before we go do fun stuff.
I also included a calendar for our weekly activities, so they can see what they have to look forward to, and what errands we need to get done. They made lists last week of things they hope to do over the summer, and their ideas will be incorporated whenever possible. The yellow activities are the everyday fun stuff like the pool, beach, or organized crafts. The orange are "have to" activities - errands, lessons, appointments. And the blue are special adventures, like birthday parties, day trips, and family get-togethers.
The calendar is from a pad I ordered AGES ago from Pottery Barn, and they don't sell them anymore. As I started getting low on sheets, I panicked that I was going to run out and quit writing on them. Now we just reuse the same sheet and pin stuff to it.
So there you have it - my version of keeping order while having fun this summer!
And speaking of fun, I have to include this video clip, because the whole time I was working on my "Order, please" diner theme, I couldn't stop thinking, "Betty, please!". This is possibly my favorite Laverne and Shirley episode EVER.
Spring break is in full swing here, which means sleeping in, board games, crafts, staying up later, the occasional sibling smackdown, and liberal amounts of pajama time.
It also means I let the kids eat things like this for breakfast...
...because there are only so many opportunities in a lifetime for colorful hard boiled eggs, chocolate bunnies, and cheesy hash browns to converge on the same plate. You've gotta seize the day. Or the chocolate, as the case may be.
I did draw the line at the jellybean burrito that Taite tried to invent for lunch, though. I have standards.
Reece's 4th grade California Mission project is officially behind us.
Three down, one to go.
The history of the missions, and the accompanying report and projects, are a huge part of the California 4th grade curriculum. Thankfully, the students now do the bulk of this unit in class, liberating me from the sugar cube architecture and outlandish projects of the Justin and Kendra era. (I recall a trip to Kendra's mission that involved me toting video equipment while she played roving reporter circa 1769...in the pouring rain.)
Here is Reece, with his painted tile of Mission San Diego Alcala.
Sidenote: That is supposed to be a cross on the top, but the brush he was using was rather thick. When Taite saw it, she said, "You did a good job on Texas". I spent about three seconds marveling smugly over my kindergartner's advanced cognitive ability to recognize the shape of Texas. Then she informed me she garnered that bit of knowledge from Spongebob, and my exalted parenting status plummeted back to its previous level.
I think I might have
squealed out load when I saw these adorable tickets this week (tweeted by Erin Bassett, designed by Ambrosia Girl).
I am forever looking
for new motivational tools for the kids, and these are, pardon the pun, just
the ticket! I love the vintage look, especially when they’re printed on kraft
paper, and I love that they offer quick gratification. I am randomly handing
them out to the kidlets when they do something that makes me happy. I put
together a treat bucket that contains candy, trading cards, and other little
trinkets – inexpensive stuff, so I can be liberal with the tickets.
It turns out they are
also pretty fun on a scrapbook page…
And best of all,
they’re free! So what are you waiting for? Scoot on over and download some
happiness. :)
So what do you do when the temperature hits triple digits, the kids hit triple decibels, and one more game of Cadoo will put you in the nuthouse?
You head to your local, air conditioned scrapbook store with a box of purged supplies and indoctrinate the next generation of scrapbookers, that’s what!
Just remember not to delude yourself into thinking that YOU will get any scrapbooking done. You will be too busy being asked to “Cut this”, “Make that stick”, and “Look what I made!” You will, however, be able to read that scrapbooking magazine that has been sitting on your coffee table for weeks, and you can tweet, text, and and email from your phone to your heart’s content. Best of all, you will get the satisfaction of hearing adorable youngsters use vocabulary like "journaling" and "embellishment". You might even have your 9 year old son decide to save a little paper American flag from his deli sandwich a few days later, because it would look great on a page with the photo from his patriotic class play. <insert fist pump here>
Ssshhh…don’t tell the kids (my youngest two, plus a stray niece who joined us for the day) that it was a ploy to stay cool and keep Mommy off the Xanax while ensuring the hobby of scrapbooking enjoys a long and prosperous future. Because right now, they just think I’m a super fun mom/auntie, and they can't wait to do it again!
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