kidding around

The big question other pre-kindergarten mothers are asking is: What camps is Alfredo doing? And the answer I give? None. Zip. Nada.

And you want to know why? Here we are in the last summer before school and I just want to hang out with him, have fun, be silly, have playdates. Make stuff, go on little trips, hang out at the pool. Work on things like our fine motor skills, writing his name in initial cap only, reading...but in a fun, no pressure environment.

So when I saw the Kidding Around class over at Big Picture, I knew it would be just the thing for us to do this summer.

Alfredo is extra excited to have his very own Smash book to use as his art journal for the course. It'll be a fun thing for us to do together and we can't wait!

Before the course started, there was a pre-assignment to make a paper chain to countdown to the class's start. Since we didn't get a chance to do that (the workshop starts today and I've been busy getting ready for St. Louis) I adapted this idea to make a countdown to his first day of kindergarten. Alfredo is a little worried about it and suprises me with questions like "Am I going to kindergarten tomorrow?" He doesn't seem to understand how long summer is. So what better way to show him than to make a paper chain, one link per day, 75 links in all until our big day. Every night we'll cut off a link to make the extra long chain a bit shorter, until kindergarten.

To sign your guys up for Kidding Around 3 with Tami Morrison, click here. It'll be fun to see you there!

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EDITED TO ADD:
Guess what! The folks over at Big Picture Classes offered that I could host a giveaway for a pair of classes so that you and friend can take the class together with your kiddos! How fun is that! Leave a comment below with your name, where you live, and your email address and you might just win! (I'll pick a winner Friday June 15 at 5 PM EST)

Winner: Congratulations Lida M!

glitter spy jar

This idea started out as a "mind jar"...perhaps you've seen them on Pinterest here, here, and here...and while I like the idea of a meditation jar (it's meant to help a child calm her/himself as the glitter falls) I thought it might be fun to make it into more of a game. Our challenge this summer is more about competing with video games and television for entertainment.

So I combined the idea of the glitter jar with the game "ispy"!

Alfredo was involved in every part of making this project...and enjoyed it almost as much as the finished thing!

First, we went on a hunt for tiny things. Goodness knows we have a lot of them. Toys, charms, buttons, and even alpha-beads that spell out his name. We collected about 30 things. The more you collect and the smaller the things, the more challenging the game. Or wouldn't it be fun to fill it with a bunch of similar things, like dinosaurs, and then search for each one.

Next, we photographed each individual thing, or group of things (for instance, 3 purple beads together). I set those up to be printed 2 each on a 4" x 6" photo paper. Then I trimmed the cards to 4' x 3" oversized cards.

Our favorite part was putting together the jar. The mind jars all used clear glue but I thought I would use cooking oil  (I don't really cook with a lot of vegetable oil but I had a couple of bottles which had turned a bit rancid. You can tell by taking a whiff...rancid oil smells funny.) First we filled the jar 3/4 full with oil. I had this fun tall jar that had contained Looza fruit juice. The tall, skinny jar worked great for us but it will work with any size jar. If you're concerned about using a glass jar, plastic will work fine too. Perhaps you could even use the plastic jar the oil came in?

Next we dumped in some glitter...a combination of colors and sizes. We are glitter rich in this house so we had plenty to choose from.

Then, Alfredo's favorite part of all...he dropped each little toy in, one at a time, watching it drift slowly to the bottom. Some toys floated for a while on top and then took the dive. Fun, fun!

Fill to about a 1/4" from the top with more oil.

Finally, because the idea of an oil slick in my living room makes me crazy, I secured the top with a bit of strong glue. Simply run a bit of the glue around the inner rim of the lid and attach. Clear bathroom caulk would work great too.

For the game, we can play together or Alfredo can play by himself. I think this might be just the thing for him while I'm preparing meals. Choose a card and then see how quickly you can find what's pictured. Some things, bigger toys like the snake, will be easy to spot, while smaller items like the buttons, will be more challenging. Choosing the card with the alpha beads spelling ALFREDO is most challenging of all since we'll have to find the letters in order!

Good cheap fun...

 Have fun making your own...I'd love to see how it turns out!

charm sampler class

We switched gears on Sunday and worked on samplers. Above is Lucy's amazing VW bug sampler, all planned out and ready to stitch. Isn't it adorable?

It was so much fun to watch how the students' samplers took shape. Above is Brenda's...I love the Holly Hobbie charm!

Carol's is looking very "Mary"...so sweet!

Hillary had planned to make a red, white, and blue sampler but was so inspired by the kit and samples that she changed her mind...it's looking so lovely!

Jamie used a Sunbonnet Sue her mom had made and built a lovely sampler around it, using the quote "Grandmas are antique little girls" as the theme!

Jenn stitched a tiny little version of herself with dinosaur silhouettes. She plans on creating the grid beneath them and stitching bones...isn't that so clever?! She's an amazing dinosaur artist/pastry chef/brilliant girl. So much fun to have her in class!

Julie planned ahead with a little stitching journal filled with sketches and ideas to help her along...love the paddle ball!

The other Julie brought an amazing treasure trove of trinkets, charms, buttons, etc, including the most adorable original shrinky dinks that her children made when they were young.

I love the flag that Lori stitched...and she even made a little dress for her tiny naked baby.

And I love the real thimble charm she dangled onto the stitching square!

Margaret came prepared with a patchworked piece to use in place of the grid. Love!

Can you tell how much fun we were having?

p.s. If you're wishing you'd come, why not sign up for my Happy Go Lucky Stitchalong over at Big Picture Classes. For a limited time, it's only $10 (regularly $20). It's really going to be so much fun.