HOMESCHOOL - Painting (with shaving cream) and Spring "Showers"...

So I came across the cutest idea on this blog: http://meetthedubiens.blogspot.com/
Paints made from shaving cream and food coloring! Jill from the blog above, used them with her kids in the bath. However, I decided to change it up a bit and make it part of one of my daughter's workboxes for homeschool.
Since we have been learning about Spring, I decided to let her paint a picture of things we discussed we might see during that season. I purchased a simple white plastic shower curtain (liner?) at Walmart (I think this was only about $3) and set her loose with a brush and containers of lavish, foamy paint. She enjoyed herself (I mean, come on - wouldn't you? I know I felt eager to jump in and help when she asked for it)- painting a sun, sky, flowers, and a tree (and even tried mixing some colors together to make new shades) .
She wanted to put a nest in the tree, but we had no brown paint - so I suggested we build a small one of our own. She happily agreed and proceeded to do so with sticks and leaves. Then for the final touch - she used our spray hose to pretend to be a sudden spring rain shower and washed the paint away (um, if you try this at home - expect your kids to get wet. Oh, and you might get a little wet too. Pre-school rain showers are rather unpredictable...).

Spring picture - sun, sky, flowers, tree, and that little pile of sticks and leaves on the tree is the improvised "nest" my daughter made - complete with eggs (leaves) and a mommy bird on top of the eggs (another leaf on top). Sorry the entire painting is a bit hard to see - it was a gorgeous day for painting outside but maybe not so great for taking pictures on a bright white background with the sun reflecting brilliantly off of it (can you hear my camera screaming "Agh! My eye---my lense! My lense!").

Spring "showers" simulation - washing away our paint. Who says cleaning up can't be fun?

Recipe for Shaving Cream Paints:

1. One can of shaving cream

2. Food coloring

Directions: Just mix the two together (at least that is what I did) and have fun!

Michelle

HOMESCHOOL - create your own handwriting practice sheets - website links

I love free print your own handwriting sheet sites! Why?
A. I decide what I want my children to practice writing. Then I just type it in and press print!
B. It's free! :)
For those of you out there who are just beginning to homeschool or maybe only thinking about taking that leap - here are some sites that might help you get started in the writing department. These are easy and free to use (at least they are right now):
http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/manuscript/javascripts/_my8linestext.htm
http://www.handwritingworksheets.com/
http://www.akidsheart.com/threer/manudes.htm

P.S. If you know of any other great FREE create-your-own handwriting sheet sites, please drop me a note and I will check into it and perhaps add it to the list above. :)
Michelle

HOMESCHOOL - Growing Handprints!

Ah the signs of Spring - flowers, ladybugs, handprints.... Yes - you read that correctly - handprints! :) Surf homeschooling blogs long enough and you will find all sorts of fingers and palms in pictures and designs popping up throughout the year. Of course, we had to make at least one ourselves. So here's the scoop on ours in case you want to copy it (if you do, please share the blog love and link back to me)!

The flower is made of coffee filters my daughter painted with watercolors. Very pretty...buuuuuuut it seemed to be missing something. Wanting to add a pop of color and dimension, I dug through my things until I came across a bag of buttons. I think when we added a few to the center of the flower and made a border of them as well, it really gave it a fun twist! And the highlight? The handprints (grass) of course and a little thumbprint ladybug! :)

Baby/Toddler Food - Muffin Tin Mom

Who says you can't always play with your food? (Well, in all honesty - my husband and I find ourselves saying that often enough.)

But I think that even an adult might be tempted to hop these bunnies into the carrot patch amid the spinach grass - and of course take a dip in the pond (mayo tinted blue with food color)! My daughter loved this for a snack and had no trouble coming up with stories where bunnies feasted on carrots and bathed themselves.

Muffin Tin Mom is a wonderful website to get one's brain churning with ideas of how to make lunches and snacks a bit more exciting and manageable. I believe most moms submitting ideas on the site use muffin tins. I chose to use compartmentalized containers instead while others may use divided trays, silicone baking cups, etc. You get the picture - why use just a simple plate when you can divide and conquer, right?

Here's the link: http://michellesjournalcorner.blogspot.com/search/label/Muffin%20Tin%20Monday

Toddler Food - www.wholesometoddlerfood.com

In keeping with yesterday's post, here is another awesome site very similar to http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ but geared more towards the bundles of energy we call "toddlers".


Here's the link: http://www.wholesometoddlerfood.com/

Informative, great recipes, and sample menus for your tot - what's not to love?

Michelle
Head designer for "The Nature of Grace"

Baby food - www.wholesomebabyfood.com

"Solid food stage."


Are there any words more exciting or more terrifying to a mommy than these? Well, potty training and teething come to mind so I guess there are... ;) But for the sake of this post - let's just stick with the awe surrounding the solid food stage, shall we?


What do I feed my baby, how much, when do I feed them, how often, what's healthy, what's not.... and the list goes on. As mommies, we are so excited to see our little ones grow - but ooohhh, the messy road of nutrition we must travel to reach each new milestone. Let's face it - we want our babies to learn and become independent one day, so they are going to need proper nutrients to get there! Fortunately - there are wonderful people out there (bless you, wonderful people!) who are happy to help and even design websites to guide us (so we can spend those precious minutes we saved by not having to search for all this info online - to wipe up faces, clean off trays, wash fingers, mop the floor, and then get ready to start the process all over again).


http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ is one of those awesome sites! It is absolutely full of wonderful information, advice, how to cook and store your own baby food, nutrition information, feeding suggestions, RECIPES - hey, they even have a few menu ideas and schedules! Talk about doing the legwork for you! :)


Not convinced - okay, here is an example. Click on one of their fruits and veggies - like asparagus. It lets you know when it is recommended that a baby try asparagus (including suggestions for babies with digestive issues), gives you nutritional information about asparagus, what to look for in good asparagus when you are purchasing it in a store, suggestions on how to cook and store asparagus for your baby, piles of recipes for your baby with asparagus being in them, and even suggestions for foods good to mix with asparagus!


I don't know about you - but I am SOLD on this website. Definitely a "bookmarker"... :)


Stay tuned for more posts later this week regarding more fun food sites for your baby or tot! :)

Joining the C---- Camp - A Girl Baby Shower/Sip-N-See

Despite a couple of setbacks in the planned launch of our maternity t-shirts in our Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/natureofgrace?ref=si_shop, we have not given up nor have we been idle as you will see in this post... :)

One morning recently, I sat down with a couple of ladies from our church and proceeded to help plan a baby shower - now that doesn't sound unusual, does it - except that this celebration was to take place in less than a week! A bit daunting - yes! But along with some other ladies, I rose to the fun challenge and we managed to throw an adorable shower! Given that this baby shower/sip-n-see had to be planned AND executed in less than a week - I think it turned out beautifully! :) And now for the details...


Theme:
CAMPING... I arrived at this idea for a theme when considering the family who had just welcomed a sweet baby girl into their lives. They are wonderful, fun, and share a love of the outdoors, camping, and many sports/activities. I was pretty sure it wouldn't be long before this little baby "joined" right in! Thus, I came up with the theme idea of "Joining the C------ Camp. Welcome Morgan K..." and although it was very camping oriented, I wanted to "girl" it up with feminine sweetness. Enter pink, pink, pink and lace!!! :)


Food:

The ladies of the church provided the edibles which consisted of piles of yummy finger foods and, in keeping with the camping spirit, a Make-Yer-Own-Smores Bar. (Suggested possible toppings for anyone else wanting to do this: peanut butter, butterscotch chips, coconut, fruit, jam, white chocolate, caramel pieces, etc.).

The cake was made by one of the talented ladies of the church - an adorable camping trailer pulled by a "Morgan" car (apparently she carved these out of rice krispie treats) on its way to the campsite. Didn't she do an incredible job?

Decor and Activities:

Painted faux wooden signs showed guests the way to the "campsite". Outside, these signs also acted as guides for activities for children who attended the shower. A small campsite had been set up with items for the children to enjoy while the adults ate and chatted. A "Camping To Do List" offered suggestions for the children - make a tent (sheet had been set out for this purpose), cook food (play dishes had been placed near a faux campfire), go fishing (fishing hole consisted of blue fabric, paper fish with paper clips attached to them, and magnetic fishing rods), etc. They could also choose to go on a nature walk. Lists of animals to look for on the nature walk were provided for the children as well (pictures of these animals had been placed around the yard for the children to search for and find on their "hike").

A pink sign inside the hosting family's home pointed the way to the "Camp Munchies" which were set out on a table draped with a garland of pinecones, twigs, flowers, and lace. I found this adorable idea from another camping shower here - http://www.jesihaackweddingsblog.com/2011/02/camping-baby-shower/ (and I just added the flowers and lace).

Wanting to portray a rustic feel to the meal without losing feminine charm, I settled on using mason jars and tin cans as vases for beautiful miniature pale pink roses and white flowers (mimicking little white wildflowers one might find on a hike). I dolled these up with lace, jute twine, and pale pink ribbon and added a small sign warning the "campers" not to feed the bears. I also scattered pine cones around the bases of some of the jars/cans but this was after I took the pictures above. (I wish I had thought to wait to take pictures until after I had placed the pine cones because they really added a cute "camp" touch to the table).

A sign in the background spelled out the baby's name using twigs and sticks on a pink background with a pink ribbon bow accent on top.

Over the hosting family's fireplace mantel, I nestled a paddle that I had painted pink (adding the baby's monogram in a darker shade of rose) and tied with pink ribbon and lace. Leaning against the handle are large letters made from twigs/sticks - the baby's initials - and accented with a little bit of lace and ribbon as well. A real camping lantern graced the coffee table where small dishes of nuts had been placed for the guests. A small pink tent was also set up in one corner of the room under which presents were placed.

Another cute idea (which I did not get to) was to place stuffed teddy bears around the area (perhaps near the sign warning against feeding bears). Could also have had a little bear stuffing station where children/families could make-n-take stuffed bears.

Favors:

Before leaving, guests were invited to "take something for the long hike home...". The "something" consisted of rolls of toilet paper wrapped in pink ribbon with a twine bow and trail mix (complete with pink malt balls - or you could use pink m&m's) labeled "Morgan's Mix" in individual clear bags tied with more pink ribbon and twine.

Please feel free to "snag" any of these ideas and add some creative flair for your own shower! If you would like to post this shower or pictures on your blog - please feel free to do so - I just ask that you mention where the ideas and pics came from! Thanks a bunch - hope you had fun looking and leave with some inspiration of your own! :)

Michelle