Archive for the ‘Crafts’ Category
Crafts in this Post
I love Teacher Appreciation Week. I love it because it honors the most important people in the world, the people who teach our children. Teachers are underpaid, and have to put up with increasingly larger class sizes. These dedicated men and women well deserve our appreciation. Last year, 2012, when Spane was in third grade, the PTA had a special luncheon in the newly created Teachers’ Garden, and I made a Lemon Wafer Cake that everyone thought was art, and not edible. The year before that, 2011, I made Star Party Sandwiches, because Spane had written about them in a second grade paper and his teacher really wanted to taste them. When Spane was in first grade, in 2010, I made Quick Meatless Enchiladas. I don’t think I knew about Teacher Appreciation Week when Spane was in Kinder, but if I did, I probably made something then, too.
Originally, I was going to make napkin rings for the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon, but then realized it is not a sit down type of affair, it’s a buffet featuring dishes prepared by parents (and they are ALL good cooks). So, I decided to make them just for his teacher. Part of appreciation week involves the kids bringing their teacher a present of some sort – Spane said that his teacher only wanted a card, and then when I presented him with these, he was happy.
These are very, very simple to make. You can probably find the apples in a craft store, although you might have a take them out of something else. The ones I found were loose and had been on some kind of spray. I was only charged one dollar for them – your mileage may vary.
Posted in Crafts | 
Tags: fabric flowers, florist wire, hot glue gun, Pipe Cleaners, plastic apples | 
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Crafts in this Post
Today is All Saints Day, the day after Halloween. This is a good time to get supplies for your Advent Wreath.
What is Advent? Advent starts on the 4th Sunday before Christmas, and is the time for preparing ourselves for the coming of the Baby Jesus. Just as pregnant women “nest” in the last few weeks of their pregnancy, we decorate our house, put up the Christmas tree, the Nativity village, and bring out the Advent Wreath. For Roman Catholics like us, Advent is also the beginning of the Liturgical Year.
Advent comes from the Latin word, adventus, meaning “coming”. It can be as early as November 27th, and as late as December 3rd, depending on that year’s calender. There are 22 to 28 days of Advent, depending on the date of First Advent Sunday. This year, 2012, Advent starts on December 2nd.
| Advent Starts | Days til Christmas | Christmas Day of Week |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 2, 2012 | 23 | Tuesday | Dec 1, 2013 | 24 | Wednesday |
| Nov 30, 2014 | 25 | Thursday |
| Nov 29, 2015 | 26 | Friday |
| Nov 27, 2016 | 28 | Sunday |
| Dec 3, 2017 | 22 | Monday |
Spane and his diorama
Crafts in this Post
Spane and his diorama
- Water Well
- Water Reclamation
- Water Windmill
- Cherry Tree
- Bee Hive
- River Osmosis Power Generation
- Grass
- Corn
- Ethanol Fuel
- Solar Powered House
- Solar Water Heater
- Completed Diorama Pictures
- Bibliography
So, Spane comes home and says that he has to make a diorama for his third grade class to be shown at Open House. I’ve never made a diorama before, but I love crafts, and I’m very interested in renewable energy.
When I asked Spane what his diorama was going to be, he said, a farm. His farm has corn, a house, a river, and a cherry tree. He’s actually right on target, there are a lot of things on his farm that can use or create renewable energy.
Part of the project was the diorama itself, the other was research that I did for the project. I have included sources for my research in this post, so you can find more about it.
Update: Parents were treated to all the wonderful dioramas on Open House on Thursday, May 31, 2012. The children got to see other classrooms the next day, Friday, so the diorama had to be up for one more day. I got to do a little repair work at Open House as the kids had been spinning the windmill, and touching the cherry tree. I quickly glued the “leaves” back on the tree, sadly only one of the “cherries” were left, I guess the rest got eaten! The good thing about this diorama is when Spane went to take it home, everything collapsed, he closed up the box, and put it in his backpack.
Posted in Crafts, Spane |
Tags: bottle caps, cork, craft foam, dowels, foxtails, green scouring pads, hot glue gun, medicine bottle, pencil shavings, silver florists' wire, tooth picks, water, white glue |
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Simulated Solar Eclipse in Stellarium
I haven’t really decided what to make, but I am definitely going to make a day of it. I think that Star Party Sandwiches are a good candidate, and maybe Stellar Salad to go with them. Maybe I can make something with Sun Dried tomatoes, and find a recipe for Moon pies.
The picture you see is a screen shot I took when I was using Stellarium, a Windows-based planetarium program. It’s a lot of fun and Spane really enjoys using it. Stellarium is available at Stellarium.org.
I am really excited about this, and I’ll be adding to this post in the days to come. Stay tuned!
Recipes in this Post
Teacher's Garden Cake
Teacher's Garden Cake
The PTA at John Muir Elementary School puts on a staff luncheon every year. Parents are asked to bring in their best dish. Our teachers and staff are very lucky, as a lot of our parents are very good cooks. This year, in fact, the recipes are going to be collected and the PTA is publishing a cookbook. The luncheon was going to take place in the newly planted Teachers’ Garden. I decided to make a cake and decorate it as a garden.
The cake looked lovely tilted up on the dessert station. In fact, it looked so lovely, and so real, that no one ate it. Some guests thought it was too pretty to cut, a few thought it was art, and a few didn’t think it was really edible. I wound up taking it home and will share it with family and friends.
Goody bag with Valentine card
These cards are very simple to make and really make a great presentation. You might already have everything you need, or can pick up what you don’t have at the local dollar store.
