Starting again

Hurray!  The Sm'Arties are back together again!

And we get new notebooks!

Black and silver Sharpies, and permission to doodle - a pretty good first class, don't you agree?

Oh, and little metallic bead-like stickers, too - it turns out they make good frog eyes.

Final Summer Post: Last Minute Craft for Gym Camp

Note: I wrote up this post 2 months ago, mid-summer, but didn't load in the pictures until now.  The children loved the way this bookmark turned out.  I'm using my tester bookmark in our workbook for Story of the World, Volume 3.

Her voice in the message sounded kind of desperate.  She even ended the message with, "Please, please. please, please call me."  That's 4 pleases.  Well, you can't say no when someone asks you with 4 pleases - and those are just the last four.

See, that week was second week of Gymnastics camp.  We only planned to attend one day of this camp, and I only planned crafts for one day.

But Monday afternoon, our dear friend and camp-organizing coach learned that the mom doing crafts on Tuesday had an unexpected schedule conflict arise.  And Coach called and said, "please, please, please, please..."

So  I looked around and said, "Hmmm...Mod Podge, file folders, non-bleeding tissue paper squares, ribbons...BOOKMARKS!"

Now I know that we can pick up a handful of bookmarks for free every time we walk into the library, but still, it's fun to make one, isn't it?

This is a recycling craft, too - bonus!  Our background was used manila file folders.  So when one of the children said, "My folder says "Orange County DEP,"  I could say,  "It used to be a file folder for Orange County Department of Environmental Protection, but now we are recycling it!"  That idea was a hit. 

I had them trace the general shape of a bookmark onto their rectangle of paper.  Then we tore the tissue paper into shreds.

Then we got out sticky Mod Podge and brushes.  It seemed like most children prefer wet, sticky, messy art and crafts, doesn't it?  We painted on Mod Podge and laid down the tissue paper.  We painted a layer of Mod Podge over the top to give the bookmark more shine (I did this step for the "Littles" group while they took a play break.)  It was fun seeing how the different color combos came together.

Homeschool Hooky

We've started back to school, like most of our friends in public schools, private schools, and homeschools.  But on the first day of public school, we played hooky!

3 Sm'Arties at Stevie B's instead of at school

Tuesday was soon enough to pull out Math and Grammar.

Sm'Arties won't start meeting for a couple of weeks, but I am excited to start pulling together art projects for the first few weeks!  Thank you, generous artists and teachers who share your creativity online - you are coming through for me again!

Introducing Poundcake Kitty

Remember Poundcake Cat, my favorite of the page full of copycat kitty drawings?

Well, a kitty has adopted us.  He is our front porch kitty.  He has found himself a home.  And he is Poundcake.

Meet Poundcake.

Day 4 Gymnastics Camp Crafts

Tie Dye Shirts! 

No, not real dye, SPRAY tie dye!  Did you think I was going to get involved in rinsing and wringing out almost 50 T-shirts again in 98 degree heat?  NO WAY!!!!

 

The purple and blue are our favorites.  Even with coupons for Hobby, Lobby, Joann's, and Michael's, this is a more expensive craft, so I tried to get by with just enough.  Just enough, however, is not enough.  Next time I will buy several extra cans and save the receipts in hopes of returning a few.  As it is, I will be getting some more cans and taking them to regular Gymnstics team practice, because we ran out of paint during the last group.  Learn from my mistake!

Our methodology is to lay the shirt on the ground/newspaper/cardboard, scrunch it around and spray color 1.  Then pull it open, scrunch in a different direction and sray with color 2.

If the shirt has a logo on it, spray it anyway!

Reserved for the boys:  camo set!

I loved it that quite a few children showed up the next day wearing their newly decorated shirts.



Day 3 Gymnastics Camp Crafts

Glass Refrigerator Magnets!

We made these same fridge magnets last year.  The campers who were there last year were excited to make magnets again.  This year I chose a couple of patriotic scrapbook papers.  This year, too, I found (well, our gymnastics coach found) the large flat-backed glass marbles at Dollar Tree.  They were a hit!

Day 2 Gymnastics Camp Crafts

Bugs on Rocks!

I painted bugs on rocks last spring with the Sm'Arties, and at the time filed away the idea for Gymnastics camp. 

To make the process flow quickly, all the rocks arrived with little faces - eyes and a mouth.  The perfectly round eyes come from a dab of white paint applied with a pencil eraser.  The black eyeballs are dots from the handle end of a skinny paintbrush.  I drew the little mouths, some happy, some squiggly.  Each child picked a rock and got to work.

I only brought about 3 regular and 2 skinny brushes so I could keep control of the groups. 

Our procedure:

- Line up.

- Pick your rock, write your name in Sharpie on the bottom.  Both names, please! - we have 3 Hannahs and 3 Graces.

-  Hold your rock, and get back in line.

- When it is your turn, paint the little half-circles for wings in a solid color. DON"T DECORATE IT YET! 

- Get back in line.  Hold your rock.

- When you get to the front of the line, your rock will be dry enough to paint some decorations - spots, stripes, etc.

- Leave your rock to dry.  Miss K-Sue will spray it with shiny spray later.