i moved my blog for now....

To here: http://thelittlesewingshop.blogspot.com/ Join me at The Little Sewing Shop for our homeschooling adventures and sewing projects!

Skiing and Snowboarding

See his skiing in action here

We went to Lake Tahoe for Christmas. We are very blessed to have a family vacation home in such a beautiful place!

Levi went skiing again this season, he started last spring (at 2.5yrs old) and did great last year, but this year was even better! He is doing very well with his turing, and has good control over his skis. He can start/stop/turn/get off the chairlift all on his own (he needs help getting on because he is so short!). He can even "make a pizza" (wedge) without using an edgie wedgie now (an aid to help kids make a wedge shape, last year he just wasn't strong enough to put his legs in the right position without it!)

He also insisted on trying snowboarding, after using a box lid as a snowboard for several days, I let him try it out at a tiny resort with a great beginners kids area. He is 10lbs too light to make a snowboard flex (the starting weight is 35lbs), so he could pretty much only go straight. But he thought he was SOOO cool. I'm hoping he will stick with skiing for a while, he is good at it and its easier to teach!

Also he got a new helmet - a MUST for winter sports (skiing, snowboarding, sledding, ice skating).

Lowes/Home Depot Kids Program

Both Lowes and Home Depot have kids programs on Saturday mornings. Kids are given an apron, safety goggles, a kids size hammer and a kit to make a wooden toy. They hammer it together, and add stickers to decorate. When they finish a project, they get a certificate to take home and a badge to glue onto their apron.

Kids get to use real tools to create a cool project, all while following directions provided (with pictures for non-readers!), following safety rules (watch where that hammer is going!), and using fine motor skills (to pick up those tiny pieces). The constant hammering is a little annoying to listen to, so get grandpa to take them if at all possible!

Bonus: Its free!

Click here to see it in action

(see what I mean about the noise level in there!?)

Puffy Paint

Mix shaving cream with a glob of elmer's glue to make puffy paint. It dries too (takes a while). You can add a little paint or food coloring to it to color it, or leave it white and use colored paper. Try practicing writing letters, or just smush it. It has a really unique texture.

Bonus: its easy to clean up!

Thanksgiving

Pilgram hat:

1. Cut a large rectangle strip long enough to fit around the child's head, staple it into a loop. Make snips all the way around at the bottom of the hat.

2. Trace the resulting circle shape. Draw a circle 3" bigger than this on the outside.

3. Cut out along the outer circle and inner circle (you now have a ring).

4. Apply glue to the tabs created in step 1, and attach the hat band to the brim.

5. Make a buckle by cutting out a rectangle, fold in half and cut a small rectangle out of it. Glue it on.

6. wear it!

November's Harvest

From the co-op garden

Creative Movement - Ribbon dancing

You need:

A ring (wood or metal, big enough to hold)

ribbon any kind

Tie the ribbon through the ring, at whatever length you prefer. Thats it!

Supervise use closely as ribbons can be a strangulation hazard.

Let the child try it out! Turn on some music and dance, or go outside and let the ribbons blow in the wind.