Spinning Yarn

I read this sweet post of a woman who raised her own sheep, sheared it, had the wool washed and carded, then she dyed it and spun it into yarn and then knitted a sweater for her son. It's sort of a modern day version of the lovely story, Pelle's New Suit. I was so moved and very inspired.

Now, since I can't raise my own sheep (though I *wish* I could!) and since I have no access to the sheep on the island, I ordered this gorgeous roving (appropriately named 'Paradise on the Playground') from here and decided I'd learn how to spin my own yarn!

I saw this tutorial on making a homemade spindle and quickly created one of my own.

Then I saw this post on Childhood Magic which recommended these spinning videos from YouTube: drafting, spinning and finishing. After watching the videos I set to work...

I split and drafted the wool into several bunches and began spinning. Because I couldn't spin and take pictures at the same time I have no photos of me in sheer spinning bliss. :) It was a bit tricky at first, and I did modify the way I held the roving from the way that's shown in the video (I wrap mine around my right wrist), but it wasn't long before I was a spinning machine!

I kept at it and practiced spinning into the wee hours of the night. I couldn't stop once I got hang of it! I felt so happy and content while spinning, and I kept thinking about how ancient this craft is. In this day and age when everything is done for you in the name of convenience, I felt honored to put the effort into creating something special with my own two hands.

And here's my first bit of hand spun yarn...

(This is post washing, hanging and drying.)

It's not anywhere near perfect, but I love it! Now the question is what shall I knit with it??? A sweater or a pair of wool socks isn't really practical for Bermuda. I would love to hear your suggestions!

Linking up to some of my favorite blog carnivals - click around for some really inspiring ideas!

Round-up

I've been wanting to do a "round up" post for some time now. I think it's such a great way to support fellow bloggers and spread the word about all of the amazing ideas that are out there. With over 200 subscriptions my Google Reader is FULL of good things - here are few that caught my eye recently...

Organizing the Jelly Beans created this adorable bus counting activity and is generously offering to share it with anyone who'd like a copy (me!).

I love this simple lemonade recipe over at Wee Folk Art. Definitely something I will be making with James very soon! Click around on this blog because there are lots of craft tutorials you'll want to try out.

Lindsay, from Bytes of Memory, is one of my favorite Tot School mamas - take a look at her recent Tot School post where her cute little guy made an adorable frog out of various materials.

I keep meaning to tell you all that I had the honor of meeting - in person! - Natalie, author of Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns and creator of the ever popular, What My Child is Reading. You'll find TONS of children's book recommendations here. She's such a lovely person and it was a real treat to spend time with her!

RedTedArt shows you how to make rainbow cookies... yum!!

Pretty much everything on Childhood Magic is brilliant - the wool name banner, the toy snake, the giant bubble wand, and the star lantern tutorial are at the top of my must make list.

If you're looking for a blog that has it all - crafts, giveaways, tips & advice - take a look around at Mommy Moment.

Elise, over at Inspiration Surrounds... Creativity Abounds, made these felt flowers a while back. They are SO beautiful and I think they'd be perfect for our nature table.

The Picky Apple is a fantastic blog with tons of great recipes and recommendations, most of which are starred in my Reader. Check out this post about the scratch-n-sniff paint she made - SO FUN!

We all know and love The Activity Mom! She has a seemingly endless supply of clever and creative ideas. This ABC Hunt was a big hit with James.

My dear bloggy friend, Susan of Chasing Marcus, has (finally!) opened an Etsy store where she sells all of her gorgeous felt food creations. I have the great honor of hosting a giveaway of her food very soon, so stay tuned!

I always enjoy reading the 5 Question Friday posts over at All About Aidan and I'm so inspired by her 365 project.

The Sippy Cup Mom wins the Most Ingenious award for making this alligator cake for her daughter's birthday. That's one lucky little girl!!

This was fun to put together and I think I'll *try* to do it monthly. :) My next round-up post will be a collection of the many fabulous Montessori ideas I've seen recently.

Past Giveaways

2012
Jumbo Paperclips / Winner: Puddles and Mud
Montessori Services-For Small Hands / Winner: Frontier Dreams
Montessori Print Shop / Winner: Vanessa Hoffman
Montessori At Home! & Montessori Print Shop / Cris
Ruby & Sue / Hillary
Guide to The Magic For Kids / Traci

2011
Space Materials / Winner: Irby Road
Alphabet Crayons / Winner: Little Learner's Lounge
Montessori Print Shop / Winner: Life Flying By
Spring Cleaning / Winner: The Preschool Experiment
Montessori At Home! / Winner: Samantha Lee
Fruits & Numbers / Winner: Jen Raubenolt

2010
Moon Dog Farms / Winner: The Russian Thiele & Sippy Cup Mom
Mudpuppy / Winner: The Adventures of Bear
Cookie Cutters / Winner: All About Aidan
Spinny Speller / Winner: The Montessori Bee
Alphabet Box / Winner: The Ramblings and Adventures of... a S.A.H.M.
The Felted Pear / Winner: Heartfelt Homemaking
Storytelling Fun / Winner: A Mommy's Adventures
ABC Twiggles / Winner: Bytes of Memory
The Felted Pear / Winner: Kite Koop

Fourth of July Activities

With summer in full swing we are spending 99.9% of our time outside (or so it seems!). Truth be told, I've been purposely lax about our school time lately because this time of year is always so busy for us - lots of time spent with friends, family and in the ocean! Still, I always make sure to have a handful of trays on our shelves because James *loves* to learn! He is going through such a sensitive period for learning right now -- day after day he blows us away with his thoughts, ideas and new-found knowledge of the world. It's SO much fun being his mommy!

Here are some activities I put together in honor of America's Independence Day. Hooray for red, white and blue! :)

Practical Life

Spooning red beads When I set up James' activities I always make sure to arrange the material so he can transfer it from left to right, which simulates how we read. James calls these little beads "cherries". :) I found them at our local craft store.

Pouring water from a pitcher into four cups
I just *love* this pouring set. It's hard to see in the photo, but the design combined with the cobalt blue color makes for such an inviting activity. James was SO careful with these. I didn't have to remind him to be careful - it's as though he just knew he should be. I believe this is what comes of allowing children to use breakable materials.

Tweezing and transferring puffs
It took a bit for James to get the "press, pinch, hold and release" technique of tweezing down pat, but when he did he worked on this activity for quite a well. He loved the little clear box the puffs "lived in". :)

Transferring ice cube stars These stars are filled with water and are meant to be frozen and used as in drinks (I found them at Michael's). James created a repeating red, white and blue pattern and shook each and every star in the process. He said they sounded wet!

Plucking flowers
This is a good fine motor activity. I found a cheap bunch of fake flowers (at Micheal's) and showed James how to pinch the flowers off of the stem. I spoke for a moment about how it's not a good idea to do this to real flowers because they're still growing. He liked this activity and worked on it here and there for a few days.

Sensory
Our sensory tub and playdough were a HUGE hit!

Size sequencing stars
I created these stars in Word and then printed and laminated them. You can find a link to download this here on my printables page.

Language
We read a couple of patriotic books - F is for Flag, and L is for Liberty. Both of these are really good, very factual, yet easy to read and for children to understand. James really enjoyed these books.

Another book we had on hand is America: A Patriotic Primer. I love this one - it's packed with details and fun facts and it lists the topics in alphabetical order, e.g. L is for Lincoln, E is for Equality, etc. Each page is full of detailed illustrations, which really captured James' attention.

I found this printable here. Inside the little box are flat sided marbles which James matched up with the circles on the flag. The control of error was that here were just enough blue marbles for the stars and red marbles for the stripes.

Memory matching US symbols
This activity was a great way to introduce some new topics and vocabulary words to James, such as Statue of Liberty and Liberty Bell. I think I printed these off from abcteach.com.

Math

Flag game I created this game for James and WOW did he get such a kick out of it! Inside the small tray are enough star-shaped beads for as many dots are on any given side of the dice. James rolls the dice and if, say, he rolls a five, he'd remove five beads from the tin and place them in the empty blue section of the flag. Like I said, James loved this and easily worked through each number. Since this wasn't as challenging for him as I thought it would be, I adapted it be a simple addition/subtraction game. For example, when James rolled five and added five beads to the flag, and then on the next turn he rolled a three, I taught him to remove two beads to get the three he needed. You can find a link to download this here on my printables page.

Star sticker numbers
I made these cards in Word, printed and laminated them. Each card has a number and James will stick the appropriate number of star stickers on each card. The fact that the cards are laminated means they're reusable - yay! You can find a link to download this here on my printables page.

Culture & Geography

Flag pushing Another great fine motor activity. I found these flag toothpicks at the dollar store and the Styrofoam block at the craft store. James was thrilled about this - I think I put about 50 flag picks in that bowl and he pushed each and every one into the foam block.

James' love for his USA puzzle has reached a new level - he plays with it all. the. time. He will work on it from start to finish and calls off the states he knows and asks for names of those he doesn't. The other day he had the puzzle nearly complete with the exception of one piece. He said to me, "Mama, I can't find Wisconsin! Minnesota will miss it - let's find it! Hurry!". :D

You can download my Fourth of July printables by clicking on these links:
Star Sequencing
Sticker Flags
Flag Game
Calendar Cards

As always, my printables are available for your personal use only - please do not sell or offer them in a giveaway. Thank you!

I'm linking this post up to Montessori Monday, The Preschool Corner and What My Child is Reading - check out these links for more activities!

Alphabet Box Giveaway Winner

First, I just want to say thank you to everyone who enthusiastically entered my Alphabet Box giveaway. You blew me away with your kind, helpful and entertaining comments. :) I had no idea this was going to be such a hit and it makes me sad that I'm unable to giveaway more than just this one set.

So, without further ado, I'm thrilled to announce that the winner of the Alphabet Box giveaway is #152...

The Ramblings and Adventures... of a S.A.H.M.!!

Congratulations!! I'll be emailing you in the coming days to get your shipping address. :)

July Sensory Tub & Playdough - Red, White & Blue

Ok, I'm jumping ahead a bit by posting this in June, but I never got around to making a June tub and this one is actually themed for the 4th of July, so there you go. :)

Sensory Tub
This was a bit hard to photograph because there are so many sparkly light reflective things in this tub!

Here's what's inside:
:: LOTS of red and blue pony beads
:: White star-shaped beads
:: Red, white and blue puffs
:: Tiny red, white and blue flowers
:: Sparkly red, white and blue chenille sticks twisted around one another to look like fireworks. Hubs tells me they look like fireworks, but I wonder if they look a bit more like patriotic spiders?
:: Bits of the chenille sticks cut up into 1" pieces
:: Containers - one for pouring and one for collecting
:: A spoon for scooping

James was SO excited about this tub!! He reaaaallly liked the "fireworks" and kept holding them up and saying "BOOM!"

Playdough

I wasn't able to get the dark blue and red I was aiming for, but it's all good. :) The white ball has red, white and blue glitter mixed into it.

This is the recipe I use for the playdough. Be sure to keep your homemade dough sealed in an airtight container and kept in the refrigerator. Sadly, we can only play with ours for 30 minutes at a time. Beyond that and it starts to get gooey thanks to the humidity.

**PS: Don't forget to enter my Alphabet Box giveaway going on until 6/29!!**

Completed Craft Hope Project

I knitted a bundle of washcloths and sent them to Pensacola to aid in the clean up of the animals affected by the he Gulf Coast Oil Spill. The good people at Craft Hope hosted this project. I wish time permitted me to knit more!

The deadline for sending in washcloths is July 3rd, so if you're quick you can still make and send some things in. Otherwise, they'll still willingly accept donations and use them for other Coastal Wildlife Refuges.

The Alphabet Box - Part II (& Giveaway!)

~This giveaway is now closed~

~click here for Part I~

As promised, here's Part II to The Alphabet Box. In this post I'll share how we use our box for learning & fun and I'll also have a giveaway at the end. :)

When I first introduced the drawers to James, I focused on one drawer at a time. I'd lay out all the objects on a mat and as I called out the name of each object I'd emphasize the sound of the letter, (e.g. "this is a ssssnake"). James would repeat the names after me and after we'd gone through each object I'd say, "All of these objects begin with the sound 's'."

After James had learned a handful of sounds, I put together a few games. The first was a "Seek and Find" game. I'd randomly place all the objects from 2-3 drawers on the mat and ask him to find an object that began with one of the letters. He'd find it and line it up under the appropriate letter.

James' favorite game is the "Please Bring Me" game. I place some objects (from two trays) on a shelf across the room and ask James to bring to me something that begins with the "t" sound (for example). When he brings back with the correct object I ask him to name it. I confirm the name and making note of the sound, e.g. "Yes, that's a tree. Can you hear the "t" sound in the word 'tree'?"

Another fun game to play with the alphabet box is "I Spy". I put several objects from various drawers on a tray and I'll say, "I spy with my little eye something that begins with the "b" sound." James will then find the object and name it.

Once we start working with our sandpaper letters, my intent is to combine the objects and letters together.
This is really just a variation to the "seek and find" game. The difference being that we'd be working with 10-12 letters at a time and that James will first trace and say the sound of the letter and then he'll need to find the object that matches that sound. The challenge is that there are many more objects and letters to choose from. This activity also has a sensory element to it (touching the sandpaper).

Now for the giveaway!
{I'm so excited about this and I hope you are, too!}

I think the alphabet box is such a fantastic learning tool and I truly believe all homeschoolers and teachers should have one. I've given you tips and ideas on how to create your own, but I'd love to help you even more. So, I'm going to give away to one person all of the following...

~Letter cards in both upper and lowercase and ONE object for each letter~

(Note: objects are exactly as shown above and the coins are Bermudian currency.)

You'll have 6 chances to win - simply leave me one comment per day until the end of the giveaway, which is at midnight (ADT) on July 29th. This giveaway is open to anyone anywhere! (Yes, that includes you, my lovely reader in Qatar.) :)

** Please be sure to include your email address if it's not public in your profile!! **

The Alphabet Box - Part I

~click here for Part II~

Several of you have written to me asking about our alphabet box - what's in it, where did I find the little objects, how we use it. I'm more than happy to finally answer your questions! In fact, I can't believe I haven't devoted a post to it sooner because it really is such a fun learning tool.

::For those of you who don't know, an alphabet box or sound pouch* is simply a tool used to teach children sound recognition by using pictures and/or objects. There's a container for each letter and inside each container are about 6 (give or take a few) objects, each beginning with the sound of that letter.::

I've decided to split my answers to your questions into two posts. I tried writing everything in just one post and it was just way too long. So, first, I'll share what's in our box - yes, that means there are lots of pictures for you to look through. :) I'll also give you some ideas and resources for where you can find your own teeny tiny goodies and how you can create your own alphabet box. Finally, in Part II, I'll explain how we use our box for learning and I'll have a little giveaway (click here for the giveaway!), as well!

Here we go...

The contents of our box, from A to Z...

A: apple, astronaut, alphabet, alligator, ant
B: ball, bowl, butterfly, bird, book (Bible), banana, buffalo, bee

C: car, cork, cat, cow, card, candlestick, clock, crab
D: duck, dog, dice, dolphin, dinosaur

E: egg, Eskimo, elephant, envelope, eight
F: feather, fence, frog, flag, fish, flower, football, flipper

G: golfclub, gorilla, guitar, grapes, gold
H: house, hat, heart, hen, hand, hanger, horn

I: igloo, Indian, in
J: jack, jewels, jug, jar

K: kettle, kite, kangeroo, key
L: lanturn, lobster, lamb, lid, leather, leaf, lego

M: monkey, mouse, moose, marble, milk, millipede, mug
N: nail, needle, nine, nickle, nut

O: octopus, olive, otter, octagon
P: pumpkin, penny, piano, present, pig, pin

Q: queen, question mark, quartz, quilt, quarter
R: ruler, ribbon, ring, rabbit, rose, rock

S: spring, sponge, spider, snowflake, stamp, sun, spoon, sunglasses, strawberry, star, sewing machine, spool
T: tiger, triangle, tree, trumpet, turtle, two

U: underwear, umbrella, (James') uncle :)
V: violin, valentine, vase, vacuum

W: wagon, whale, watermelon, wood, wheel, walnut, walrus
X: ax, fox, box, wax, x-ray

Y: yellow, yak, yarn
Z: zero, zipper, zebra, zig-zag

Next I'll share some tips, resources and ideas on how to make your own alphabet box.

First, the sounds:
Before you begin searching for fun little objects, I recommend you read the little chart I've created below so you know the proper phonetic sound pronunciations for each letter. You may have the cutest little orange for your O drawer, but it won't work because the phonetic sound for O is quite different. Momtessori posted a helpful video of the sounds, so give that a quick look as well.

a - apple
b - bat
c - cat
d - dog
e - elf
f - frog
g - gum
h - hat
i - igloo
j - jet
k - kite
l - lemon
m - mom
n - nut
o - octopus
p - pig
q - queen (sounds like kw)
r - rat
s - snake
t - teacher
u - umbrella
v - violin
w - watermelon
x - box (sounds like cks)
y - yogurt
z - zipper

Second, the box:
I found ours in the tool section of our version of a Lowes. It's one of those multi-compartment units used for storing nuts and bolts and the like, which you can find at almost any hardware store. Sadly, gray was the only color option I had. I tried to jazz it up with letter stickers from my scrapbooking stash. :)

*You don't need to limit yourself to a box - if you're crafty and willing to devote some time, why not make individual sound pouches, one for each letter? Jojoebi did an amazing job at this - check out her photo stream here. It's my hope to eventually transfer out of the box and into some homemade pouches. They look so much nicer!

Third, the contents:
You'll want to create small letter cards for each drawer. I think it's important to create a card for both capital and lowercase. Here are some options:

• I've uploaded a free template for you that has the proper font (e.g. the letter 'a' is written as a child learns it and not as it appears in the font I'm using on this blog) - click here for that template.
  
• Another idea is to use letter stickers and just apply them onto cardstock.
• Or, instead of making cards, you can use puzzle letters, foam letters, magnetic letters or letter beads.
• Also look at a scrapbooking store for alphabet embellishments - I'm thinking wood chips, die cuts, brads, buttons... you'd be surprised at how versatile scrapbooking materials can be!

Now, as to the tiny objects. I'm a collector (read: pack rat) by nature and it just so happens I LOVE miniatures, so creating an alphabet box of our own was just way too much fun for me!! That said, I already had quite of few of these things on hand - and I'm willing to bet you do, too!

• Take a look through your children's toys (look to Barbies for those little hats, gloves and jackets), your tool box, your craft drawer, your office supplies, your junk drawer, your board games. Once you get started you won't be able to stop hunting for these little treasures!
• You can also make many of these things yourself. For example, I knitted that little apple and hat and sewed the quilt and the underwear. I needle felted the olive and crafted the box, the envelope, the alphabet and the valentine. Be creative!
• You could certainly make it very easy on yourself and simply find clip art for everything. Just print and go! I chose to do this for things I couldn't find. An excellent resource for school friendly clip art is abcteach.com. This is an amazing site with much, much more than clip art. You'll need a membership to access most things, but believe me when I tell you the membership is sooo worth it!
  
• When in doubt, buy it! My two favorite resources for miniatures are Montessori Services - click here to see their full list of language objects and Safari Ltd. for their amazing Toobs - you can buy these on Amazon, but I've seen them in stores like Michael's Crafts and Target. Another great resource is Lakeshore Learning - they have this fantastic set. One of my readers told me about this collection. Both sets looks very appealing, but are a little too pricey for me. All told I think I put this box together for under $25 - $20 for the box and $5 for the minis I purchased.

Fourth, put it all together. Add a letter sticker to the outside of each drawer, then toss all of your treasures into the corresponding space! And that's it - easy-peasy!

Remember to "stay-tuned" for Part II of The Alphabet Box where I explain how we use ours for learning and where I'll host a little giveaway, too. :)

Linking this post up to: Montessori Monday, The Preschool Corner, Sharing Time, and Tot Tuesdays.

Our Nature Shelf

Since January we've dedicated a little area in our home where we keep the lovely treasures we find outside and where we celebrate the changing seasons. We call it out nature shelf. Nature spaces like these are commonly found in Montessori and Waldorf classrooms and homes.

Generally, I only allow things found in nature or things handmade with natural materials to be put onto the shelf. Here are some close-ups of the goodies on our shelf.

The wooden mushroom, the frame and card, the silks, and the wooden duck all come from here. I needle felted the "pond" and the flower. That sweet little summer time peg person was handpainted by Beneath the Rowan Tree and purchased through her Etsy store.

We recently participated in an international postcard swap and received this beautiful bit of artwork from a child in Singapore. There's a piece of driftwood James found at the beach and inside the bowl are shells we've found locally, some quartz and amethysts (found at a local shop) and a walnut filled with beeswax, which we made earlier this year. The bowl itself is handmade with recycled paper - I found it at a craft market. That sweet little rainbow kitten was made by Ann of Simply Playing. You can buy one here.

James really enjoys our nature space and I often find him touching the items and rearranging the set up. :) I just love having this area available to him - it's such a rich sensory experience and it opens the door to many happy, curious questions such as, "Why is this rock purple?".

I hope you enjoyed my little tour and I'll do my best to post about our ever-changing nature shelf more often.


The Magic Onions and Natural Suburbia each host a weekly blog party where people can link up to share ideas. Click the buttons to check them out!