Jedi Spelling

I had to post this today in honor of my favorite Jedi's birthday!  Levi is officially in the Star Wars phase.  As soon as he wakes up, he dons his cape and lightsaber to conquer the world.  Rather than fight it, I decided to use it to our advantage and do a little spelling practice in the meantime.  

Simply give your child a word to spell (verbally, on a flashcard, written on a whiteboard, whatever) and let them swoosh away.  Of course, speaking in a crazy accent at the time makes things much more fun.  ;-)

Visit 1+1+1=1 for more word play ideas...

PDF Calendar Site

I stumbled across an awesome site for creating customized printable calendars.  I like to look the big version of my school year when sketching out unit/thematic plans, and this site makes it super easy!

I forgot to post it in my back to school stuff, but remembered as I flipped the page over to work on our 2nd quarter plans today.  Oops!  If you would like a copy for yourself (for lesson plans, blog posts, menu, whatever)...

- Click on this link

- Make sure the date is October 23

- Click on the icon of the PDF, or click at the bottom where it says “Download Calendar PDF”

Then you’ll get  an overview from now to the year end all on one page! 

Pumpkin Watercolor Paintings

I saw this idea on Pinterest and knew we had to try it!

First, we looked at our pumpkin and discussed the shapes we would use to create it.  Next we practiced drawing our picture on a whiteboard.

Then on to the glue step.  (I ended up doing the continuous squeeze while they moved my hand around to draw their picture.  Levi tried going at it solo, but soon got frustrated with the way it beaded up.)

Set your pictures on a babyproof spot to dry overnight.  ;-)

The original directions used a fine tip Sharpie to trace on either side of the glue lines.

I opted for some very thin markers I had, that would help them see what colors to use (that would also camoflauge if they bled a little.)

On to the watercolor step...

What focus!

I think these turned out great!

Indoor P.E. - Hallway Liners

We have been cooped up lately between rain, sickness, and no car.  I was desperate for a way to burn some energy and was inspired by a high school flashback.  It’s basketball season here, and as soon as that came to mind, so did the dreaded ... liners!  

To set up the scene:  You first need to find some lines, or markers.  (We used some foam circles since we had too many lines.  hehe)

We had one child at the end of the hallway, another timing,

and the baby watching safely from the stands.

When the time starts, the runner has to run and touch the first line, then run back to the wall, run and touch the next line, then run back to the wall...

Timer stops when they touch the wall (after touching the final line).

"Oops, is it this button Mamita?"

This is great for burning off lots of energy in little time!  See, just 21 seconds to a sweaty boy.  hehe  (Next up, a haircut for the sweaty boy.  Yikes!)