Free Paint (Paint Blob Test)

Something that I tend to do when kids have had some free paint time is to give each painting a quick glance and see what my mind thinks it is.  I'm certain that the one above is spaghetti, with olives.  

Flying aardvark?  Sometimes I ask the kids what they have created, but not this time.

A messy playroom.

A flag, blowing in the wind.

A dark cave.

A stuffed animal reaching out for a hug.

Now playing at Henle House:

♫'Land Of 1000 Dances' by Wilson Pickett, from the Forrest Gump soundtrack.♫  

♥♥♥Happy Thursday!♥♥♥

Sneaky Leprechaun

We had a day about green.  We made some fruit loop necklaces and green hats to wear.  Don't they look cute?  I think this group has aced the group photo.

The necklace pieces were on the red table for the kids to create during their free morning time.

The hats were very simple to put together.  

One of the kids brought some chocolate coins to share with his friends.  A leprechaun had visited his home and left them for him to find!  I thought that his bringing coins was a perfect excuse to initiate a fake scenario.  I don't often lie to the kids, and when they ask me for the truth, I will give it to them.  NOBODY asked me if leprechauns are real.  I told the kids that after they make their hats, they could enjoy one of those delicious chocolate coins.  Their mouths were watering.

When the time came, they realized that a silly, sneaky leprechaun had TAKEN the coins and replaced them with ROCKS.  We could not believe it.  There was a note. "Ha ha!  Fooled you!  -Leprechaun"

I played my part pretty well.  We placed a fake phone call to Adam the handsome hubby, who would know just what to do.  He suggested that we get out our magnifying glasses and look for the coins, because it's probably possible that Smudge chased the leprechaun out the cat door before he could haul away the gold coins.

The kids took this very seriously!!

My camera malfunctioned during the search, but this is where they found the gold coins.

I love that they were looking at it through the magnifying glass just to make sure.

 "It might be rocks!"

"That leprechaun is mean!"

"No, not mean, just tricky!"

With a collective gasp, they realized the coins were there!

They defeated that sneaky leprechaun.  My camera was driving me crazy!  Flash- no flash- blurry-- ugh!!

♥♥♥Happy Wednesday!♥♥♥

In The Gardens

We had a heavy rain weekend, and the gardens are really looking happy right now.  Just when I was about to get out the paint and start a project (which often happens in late winter when I get bored) the gardens are really waking up.  I can spend some time looking, transplanting, thinning and planning.  The kids are noticing the changes, too!  "Miss Nicole, the gardens are WAKING UP!"

They are particularly excited about the tulips everywhere that are getting ready to bloom.  They remember and share about the tulips they took home recently.

I am excited.  Gardening is one of my favorite hobbies.  My thumb isn't always green, but I try.

The daffodils look cheery!

Looking strong, the oriental poppies are gearing up for another breath taking bloom!  These flowers are fierce, I love them. 

Here they were last year, show stoppers!

Peonies are popping up.

Something VERY exciting-- I learned that the Allium I planted for last year will actually continue to multiply quickly.  This is their second year in the garden box and they have DOUBLED in quantity.  I won't need to separate the bulbs for three more years, and they are drought tolerant.  I am panicking a little bit because the box itself is falling down and I need to build a stone wall around it soon.  Not sure what I will use yet.

Here they were last year, mid-bloom.  Butterflies LOVE them!

I'm excited that the pruning of the Wisteria didn't shock it.  I see budding blooms!

Forsythia is winding down and the green leaves are sprouting.

The Lilac tree is budding.

Meanwhile, we are working on the letter Oo.  

The kids are enjoying markers.  They are all old enough to handle them well.

The only thing I had to do was make sure the lids were all popped back on correctly. 

♥♥♥Happy Tuesday!♥♥♥

*Happy St. Patrick's Day!*

N Is For Nest

We created something similar for our Christmas calendars, but a nest is a fun thing to create.  

We plugged along with the letter Nn all week.  

I didn't really direct the kids, but cut out all of the pieces they would need to create their own nest.  They glued away.

They tore up some construction paper to glue onto the outside of the nest.  

Easy peasy!

That was it as far as photos go.  Did you guys have a good weekend?

Now playing at Henle House:

D'Yer Mak'er by Led Zeppelin.  What on earth does that mean, anyway?

♫♫♫Happy Monday!♫♫♫

Decorate Your Name

It was easy.  It's also a great way to use up supplies.  We prefer to use tacky glue instead of Elmer's because tacky glue is stronger, thicker and will not run down the paper.  The kids got to choose what they wanted to glue onto each letter.

They had quite a bit to choose from!  I think it's time that I spend some time cleaning out supplies.  We have more than we could ever use.

Cheerios is always a good go to craft item!  

The kids liked this project. 

♥♥♥

They have all been checking on their tulips daily.  I think we will send them home today, the tulips should be transplanted into the ground so they can get the nutrients they need.

♥♥♥Happy Friday!♥♥♥

For Jeffrey

Our nephew Jeffrey loves to see pictures of Smudge.  He is still my best beast, and we certainly have no shortage of photos.  I was looking for the photo of Smudge joining us at the table for dinner because he does that almost every night.  He has his own chair, and he just sits there and patiently waits for bites.  As long as he isn't being rude or grabby, he can stay.  Here he was above, snuggling with our laughing monkey toy.

Here he is, still knowing when someone is sick.  The last two times Aiden was ill, he hung out near him.  Otherwise, he doesn't do that.

This is one of his favorite places to perch himself.

He occasionally chooses an item to sit on, though.  Ethans lunch box.

He made his way to the towel, but was removed.  He's not allowed on the counters.

We thought he might eventually fall over.

He is easy to catch in a box.  He doesn't hang out in the living room very often unless there is a box.

 He was trying to play with Chippy.

 "But what about more peanuts?"

He rolled over inviting play.  Chippy wasn't interested.

Look, Jeffrey!  Chippy came in!

We all love when Smudge joins us for group time.

We don't get anything done when this happens.

My favorite thing about Smudge is that he can sense when I am annoyed with paperwork.  He has, on several occasions, recognized my mood changing, and then proceeded to sit on top of the paperwork that was bothering me.  In this photo, it was the menu for Henle House.  My least favorite chore.  Just this week, he placed himself right on top of the cell phone bill I was griping about.  He senses stress and illness.  Good boy!

Meanwhile, the kids all received a copy of 'The Little Mouse The Red Ripe Strawberry, And The Big Hungry Bear'.

I love this book.  It's got beautiful illustrations and the reader is actually engaging the mouse in conversation.

Here's another one I thought was wonderful- 'the cow loves cookies".  

For art, we created a four leaf clover.  The kids were sticking tissue squares to the clear contact paper.

They had a bit of trouble separating the tissue squares.  

Once they had the contact paper covered with tissue squares, they added a four leaf clover frame and a pipe cleaner handle.  Something green for March!

♥♥♥Happy Thursday!♥♥♥