The California Mission 4th grade project is fun and exciting for children and their parents. We decided to make our mission The Misión de la Imaginación.
Crafts
Jeweled Vampire Pumpkin for Halloween
I got inspiration from my friend Shem Walker, of Kobelin By Shem, who does amazing things with Swarovski crystals. Talk about Bling, and you talk about Shem. If only I were as talented as she is. I was also inspired by pictures I saw of decorated pumpkins in Pinterest, including on black one with lots of jewels. But, I wanted my pumpkin to be different.
When I was a teenager, my friends and I went to see the live production of The Rocky Horror Show at the Roxy Theater in West Hollywood. I even dressed up as Frankenfurter in my senior year in high school. A red-lipped vampire pumpkin was the only way to go.
Spane’s school has a pumpkin contest every year, for those students who want to pay the school money to be in the contest. It’s not real money, it’s the school’s money that they print with a picture of the school’s namesake on it. But even so, Spane is just too frugal to spend his hard-earned money on contests, he prefers useful things like pencils, pencil sharpeners, notebooks, etc. It’s a good thing, too, because, with all the other stuff I have had to get done, the pumpkin sat unadorned until tonight. The pumpkin found itself in the pictures of our Halloween costumes, Spane’s Tarantula costume, and my Well Dressed Black Cat costume. I wanted to serve my Mocha Fudge Pie with a completed pumpkin.
Cat Costume – the Well Dressed Black Cat
I believe that accessories are everything when wanting to look well dressed. Accessories should coordinate by color, and sometimes texture. There is no point getting overdressed, and just a few things can make a simple dress look fantastic.
Tarantula Costume for Halloween – Scary and Easy
This tarantula costume is so easy to make. You can make it for a child or an adult. For a girl or woman who wants to be a “black widow”, just add some red ribbon in the shape of an hourglass. Have a great Halloween!
Back to School Teacher Gifts
Back to School Teacher Gifts in this Post
Spane starts back to school on August 12, 2013. I wanted to make a some nice Back to School Teacher Gifts, one for our new Principal and one for Spane’s fifth grade teacher. We don’t know yet who Spane’s teacher is going to be, so I did not want to make anything that was gender specific. I also didn’t have a lot of money to spend, so I headed out to my nearest craft store and purchased two silver toned boxes, some school themed stickers, blue and gold ribbon to reflect the school’s colors, yellow wine gift bags, and some horses from the toy department because the school mascot is a mustang.
How To Make a Scrunchy Ribbon Bow using the Bowdabra
Making bows for any occasion is easy when you have the right tool. I think most of us remember having to hold the ribbon while our mother tied it, often tying our finger as well! This ribbon bow craft is easy, in about 10 minutes, and no small child necessary – unless you just want to have your loved one near you.
Teacher Appreciation Day – Apple Napkin Rings
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.
How to Make an Advent Wreath
All Saints Day is 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, 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 calendar. There are 22 to 28 days of Advent, depending on the date of First Advent Sunday. In 2018, Advent starts on December 2nd.
| Advent Starts | Days til Christmas | Christmas Day of Week |
|---|---|---|
| December 1, 2019 | 24 | Wednesday |
| November 29, 2020 | 26 | Friday |
| November 28, 2021 | 27 | Saturday |
| November 27, 2022 | 28 | Sunday |
| December 3, 2023 | 22 | Monday |
| December 1, 2024 | 24 | Wednesday |
| November 30, 2025 | 26 | Thursday |
| November 29, 2026 | 27 | Friday |
| November 28, 2027 | 28 | Saturday |
| December 3, 2028 | 22 | Monday |
| December 2, 2029 | 23 | Tuesday |
| December 1, 2030 | 24 | Wednesday |
Spane’s Renewable Energy Diorama – Projects for Kids
Estimated reading time: 16 minutes
Contents
Renewable Energy Diorama – Projects for Kids
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 the 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 at 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.
Food Art – Teacher’s Garden No Bake Lemon Wafer Cake
Recipes in this Post
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 at 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.