Whew! Had to take a few weeks off from FSF's there! But, we're back on track with them now, and had a great time yesterday!
This week's FSF had a Nature theme. We have a large backyard and as we are headed into the Winter season, we spent this week's FSF getting the yard ready to welcome our resident wildlife. And a little nature indoors project, as well.
Nature Project 1 - Wooden Bird Feeders - I purchased 2 wooden bird feeder kits from the local Dollar General store for a few dollars each. They came with everything but paint. The kids put them together with only a little help from dear old Mama. I had a few cans of outdoor paint left in the garage, so I got them out and we have two of the best-looking red, white and black bird feeders ever created!! LOL Mr. T's has a squirrel cut out on top, and Miss K's has a maple leaf cut out on top. She accidently nailed the leaf cut out on upside down, but has decided it makes it "unique." Let's hope the birds find them appealing! We'll hang one from a shepherd's hook and the other will hang from a branch of our maple.
Nature Project 2 - Soda Bottle Bird Feeder - I also bought a $3 kit from Rainbow Resource. (I needed just a little something to get the shipping down another bracket. You know what I mean, right?) We had to bum a 2 litre bottle from our neighbor because we don't drink soda pop. After acquiring our neighbor's empty Mt. Dew bottle, I follwed the directions with the kit and in a few minutes, we had another feeder to hang from our other shepherd's hook! Filling it will require taking it down every time, so I didn't want it in the tree.
Nature Project 3 - Table Bird Feeder - Not every little birdie likes to perch to eat, so we took some lumber scraps (specifically a 3 ft. X 3 ft. piece of 3/4 inch plywood, some 3 ft. lengths of 1 X 2's, and some 2 foot lengths of 2 X 4's) and built a table feeder. I nailed the 2 X 4's to the four corner of the plywood scrap and then nailed the 1 X 2's to the edgs of the plywood top to make a "lip" so the seed won't end up onthe ground. I had to trim the 1 X 2's a bit to make them fit, but otherwise, it was a fairly easy project. Now, I KNOW it should be sealed or painted or whatever to protect it, but I haven't got anything, so it'll probably only last this winter season and then we'll have to make another next year. Maybe we can get some stain or something on it before the really bad weather hits.....
Nature Project 4 - Squirrel Feeder - If you can't beat 'em, feed 'em!! LOL So, to assist the four legged creatures in staving off hunger this winter, we made a squirrel feeder. I took two pieces of 1 X 6 and nailed them together to make an "L". I drilled two small holes in the upright part of the "L" shape because I want to hang this on our chain-link fence. Then, I took a plastic milk jug and cut out two of the circles in the sides. (If your milk jugs don't have cirlces on their sides, just cut two circles out.) I used Liquid Nail and attached the jug's bottom to the board. I filled it with unshelled peanuts and hung it on the chain link fence with a zip tie threaded through the holes. It's so much fun to watch the squirrels do their tight rope act along the top of the fence to the feeder!
Nature Project 5 - I bought 4 herb lants at the produce market this week - an oregano, a sweet basil, a dill and a parsley. We repotted them into identical-sized square pots and then took some of our leftover 1 X 2's and created a stand to hold the pots. I cut four lengths of 3 ft. 1 X 2. I nailed 4 lengths the size I needed to hold my square pots to one end of the 3ft lengths to form a square with 3 ft. long legs. Then, about 1 1/2 ft. from the floor, I nailed another 4 lengths to the 1 X 2 "legs." This formed the center of my stand. I took four more lengths of 1 X 2 and cut them 2 ft. long. Using 8 smaller lengths, I created 2 more squares with 2 legs. I nailed the two corners of the squares to the 3 ft. long legs of the center portion. This gave me the two outer pot holders. The kids wanted to paint it, but since the family room is almost all natural wood furniture, I convinced them that staining it would be better......We did paint the names of the herbs on the respective holder squares, so I do hope the oregano is happy where it is, because he can't be moved now, can he?? LOL
Well, that's it for this week's FSF. If you don't have access to the Great Outdoors, or if it's the wrong season for bird feeding in your corner of the world, pot some herbs, plant some flowers, buy a potted fern. Grow a windowsill garden. Learn to keep a bonsai tree. Line a picture window with miniature roses or cacti. There are so many ways to add some nature to your life, to your world!
Make some green fun!
Showing posts with label fall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fall. Show all posts
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Better Late Than Never....
Yesterday was "one of those days," so this week's FSF is a Fun School Saturday, instead. LOL
Art Challenge: Shape Shifters - Use the shapes in the Shape Shifters .pdf file to create templates for the children out of cardstock or cardboard. (You can make yours bigger. Mine were half a sheet of stock each. I made them smaller just to fit them all onto one nice neat template for ya'll.) Choose 5 of the following to have the children create drawings - dog, cat, boat, car, bug, monkey, elephant, robot, clown, fish, bird, spaceship. They must use one shape for each drawing and only use each of the five shapes to create one drawing. They should start by tracing the shape, and then they can add any other lines, features, etc. they desire to create their shifted shape creation. To make it even more fun, assign numbers to the shapes and have the artist roll a die to decide which shape to use and then write the drawing titles onto slips of paper that must be drawn out. The combinations of shapes and drawing titles create some very interesting artwork, without the old whine "I don't know what to draw!!"
Math Challenge: Teach your children to play "15." You can create number cards (1 - 9) or simply use the Ace through 9 of any deck of playing cards (Uno cards are a good alternative, too.) Place the nine cards face up in a 3 X 3 array on the table. Two players take turns drawing cards from the array. The first person to create the sum 15 using three of their cards wins that round. For example: Player 1 draws the 8. Player 2 draws the 4. Player 1 then draws the 2. Player 2 takes the 5. Player 1 draws the 6. Player 2 draws the 3. Player 1 draws the 1 for the win of 8 + 6 + 1 = 15. Youngest player gets to draw first in the the first round. Loser gets to draw first on the next round. In the event of a "draw" - a game where all nine cards are drawn without a 15, whichever player did not go first, draws first next round. (This game really reinforces both adding skills and strategical, logical thinking. But, don't tell the kids - they'll think they are just playing a fun game....BWHAHAHAHA!!)
Language Challenge: As well as a language challenge, this is also a great thinking challenge. Apples - Have children come up with answers to the following. Trick is, they can only use an answer ONCE to complete the sentences.
1.) As ___________ as an apple.
2.) As ___________ as an apple.
3.) As ___________ as an apple.
4.) As ___________ as an apple.
5.) As ___________ as an apple.
6.) A ____________ is not as ____________ as an apple.
7.) A ____________ is not as ____________ as an apple.
8.) A ____________ is not as ____________ as an apple.
9.) A ____________ is not as ____________ as an apple.
10.) A ___________ is not as ____________ as an apple.
11) A ____________ is as ____________ as an apple.
12.) Nothing in the world is as __________ as an apple.
We took these and wrote them out on cardstock apple shapes and created "apple poems" out of them. (You might want to use this as a journal entry or a word game in the car. We substituted other Fall words, too, like leaf, pumpkin, scarecrow, and squirrel.)
Social Studies/Culture Challenge: Celebrate Michaelmas in some way. September 29th is the Feast of St. Michael. He is the patron saint of police officers and soldiers. You don't have to be Catholic or Orthodox or even Christian to enjoy Michaelmas (pronouced MICKLE-mas.) There are many different ways to honor St. Michael or to just have a fun Fall celebration.
1.) Take a visit to your local police station. Take along some homemade treats or cards expressing your appreciation of all the officers do for your community. Or simply create your cards and post them in the mail.
2.) Find a way to help a soldier or his family. (St. Michael is also a helper to those in peril on the sea, so sailors and marines count, too.)
Adopt a Soldier or Any Soldier are both sites that can help you "adopt" a soldier by matching you with a serviceman or woman . You can share emails, send cards, letters, and care packages, too. Take this opportunity to teach your children about the USO and see if there is anything you can do to help them help our service personnel. Above all, pray for the safe return of all our men and women in uniform.
3.) St. Michael is often shown holding a sword and wearing armor. Create swords and shields from cardboard. Research heraldry or your family's coat of arms. Create your own individual coats of arms or recreate your family crest as an art project. In Germany and other parts of Erupoe, St. Michael is often depicted fighting a devil or dragon. Create "knight" masks or helmets and devil or dragon masks and recreate St. Micheal's victory over Satan. Use your shield and sword.
4.) Take this opportunity to create some "angelic" art. Study Raphael's cherubs or Michaelangelo's masterpieces. Make angels out of wire, clay or felt. Draw or trace angels on waxed paper with permanent marker. Color with crayons. When complete, rub the finished artwork with a cotton ball dipped in cooking oil. The oil will make the paper translucent and your angel will glow when taped to a sunny window. (We super-glued ours in cheap dollar store frames with the backing cardboards removed for a more permanent hanging.) There are numerous patterns and ideas to choose from. Perhaps your Michaelmas angels will find their way onto your Christmas tree or in a box as a present for a loved one.
5.) Make some tradtional Michealmas foods. Blackberries, blackberry tarts and pies are common in England. Bannock or scones are popular in Ireland. Apples are regularly on many Michaelmas menus, especially baked filled with brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts or raisins. Here's a blackberry bannock recipe you might like to try:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (I like to use 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat)
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, chilled (YES the real stuff)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 cup blackberries
1 teaspoon water
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lightly sprinkle a 14-x-16-inch baking sheet with flour and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, pecans, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of sugar.
3. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or fork until it has the consistency of small crumbs.
4. In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk and one egg. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just moistened. The dough will be quite wet and sticky; work it as little as possible.
5. Divide the dough in half and shape one piece into a 9-inch circle on the prepared baking sheet. Spread the blackberries evenly over the circle and sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar. On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, form a 9-inch circle with the remaining dough and gently slide it on top of the berries. With the backside of a knife, score the top in 8 wedges.
6. Beat the remaining egg with the water and lightly brush the egg wash over the top of the bannock. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar.
7. Bake until the bannock is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. When cool, cut into wedges and serve.
Make some fun!!
Art Challenge: Shape Shifters - Use the shapes in the Shape Shifters .pdf file to create templates for the children out of cardstock or cardboard. (You can make yours bigger. Mine were half a sheet of stock each. I made them smaller just to fit them all onto one nice neat template for ya'll.) Choose 5 of the following to have the children create drawings - dog, cat, boat, car, bug, monkey, elephant, robot, clown, fish, bird, spaceship. They must use one shape for each drawing and only use each of the five shapes to create one drawing. They should start by tracing the shape, and then they can add any other lines, features, etc. they desire to create their shifted shape creation. To make it even more fun, assign numbers to the shapes and have the artist roll a die to decide which shape to use and then write the drawing titles onto slips of paper that must be drawn out. The combinations of shapes and drawing titles create some very interesting artwork, without the old whine "I don't know what to draw!!"
Math Challenge: Teach your children to play "15." You can create number cards (1 - 9) or simply use the Ace through 9 of any deck of playing cards (Uno cards are a good alternative, too.) Place the nine cards face up in a 3 X 3 array on the table. Two players take turns drawing cards from the array. The first person to create the sum 15 using three of their cards wins that round. For example: Player 1 draws the 8. Player 2 draws the 4. Player 1 then draws the 2. Player 2 takes the 5. Player 1 draws the 6. Player 2 draws the 3. Player 1 draws the 1 for the win of 8 + 6 + 1 = 15. Youngest player gets to draw first in the the first round. Loser gets to draw first on the next round. In the event of a "draw" - a game where all nine cards are drawn without a 15, whichever player did not go first, draws first next round. (This game really reinforces both adding skills and strategical, logical thinking. But, don't tell the kids - they'll think they are just playing a fun game....BWHAHAHAHA!!)
Language Challenge: As well as a language challenge, this is also a great thinking challenge. Apples - Have children come up with answers to the following. Trick is, they can only use an answer ONCE to complete the sentences.
1.) As ___________ as an apple.
2.) As ___________ as an apple.
3.) As ___________ as an apple.
4.) As ___________ as an apple.
5.) As ___________ as an apple.
6.) A ____________ is not as ____________ as an apple.
7.) A ____________ is not as ____________ as an apple.
8.) A ____________ is not as ____________ as an apple.
9.) A ____________ is not as ____________ as an apple.
10.) A ___________ is not as ____________ as an apple.
11) A ____________ is as ____________ as an apple.
12.) Nothing in the world is as __________ as an apple.
We took these and wrote them out on cardstock apple shapes and created "apple poems" out of them. (You might want to use this as a journal entry or a word game in the car. We substituted other Fall words, too, like leaf, pumpkin, scarecrow, and squirrel.)
Social Studies/Culture Challenge: Celebrate Michaelmas in some way. September 29th is the Feast of St. Michael. He is the patron saint of police officers and soldiers. You don't have to be Catholic or Orthodox or even Christian to enjoy Michaelmas (pronouced MICKLE-mas.) There are many different ways to honor St. Michael or to just have a fun Fall celebration.
1.) Take a visit to your local police station. Take along some homemade treats or cards expressing your appreciation of all the officers do for your community. Or simply create your cards and post them in the mail.
2.) Find a way to help a soldier or his family. (St. Michael is also a helper to those in peril on the sea, so sailors and marines count, too.)
Adopt a Soldier or Any Soldier are both sites that can help you "adopt" a soldier by matching you with a serviceman or woman . You can share emails, send cards, letters, and care packages, too. Take this opportunity to teach your children about the USO and see if there is anything you can do to help them help our service personnel. Above all, pray for the safe return of all our men and women in uniform.
3.) St. Michael is often shown holding a sword and wearing armor. Create swords and shields from cardboard. Research heraldry or your family's coat of arms. Create your own individual coats of arms or recreate your family crest as an art project. In Germany and other parts of Erupoe, St. Michael is often depicted fighting a devil or dragon. Create "knight" masks or helmets and devil or dragon masks and recreate St. Micheal's victory over Satan. Use your shield and sword.
4.) Take this opportunity to create some "angelic" art. Study Raphael's cherubs or Michaelangelo's masterpieces. Make angels out of wire, clay or felt. Draw or trace angels on waxed paper with permanent marker. Color with crayons. When complete, rub the finished artwork with a cotton ball dipped in cooking oil. The oil will make the paper translucent and your angel will glow when taped to a sunny window. (We super-glued ours in cheap dollar store frames with the backing cardboards removed for a more permanent hanging.) There are numerous patterns and ideas to choose from. Perhaps your Michaelmas angels will find their way onto your Christmas tree or in a box as a present for a loved one.
5.) Make some tradtional Michealmas foods. Blackberries, blackberry tarts and pies are common in England. Bannock or scones are popular in Ireland. Apples are regularly on many Michaelmas menus, especially baked filled with brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts or raisins. Here's a blackberry bannock recipe you might like to try:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (I like to use 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat)
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, chilled (YES the real stuff)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 cup blackberries
1 teaspoon water
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lightly sprinkle a 14-x-16-inch baking sheet with flour and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, pecans, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of sugar.
3. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or fork until it has the consistency of small crumbs.
4. In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk and one egg. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just moistened. The dough will be quite wet and sticky; work it as little as possible.
5. Divide the dough in half and shape one piece into a 9-inch circle on the prepared baking sheet. Spread the blackberries evenly over the circle and sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar. On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, form a 9-inch circle with the remaining dough and gently slide it on top of the berries. With the backside of a knife, score the top in 8 wedges.
6. Beat the remaining egg with the water and lightly brush the egg wash over the top of the bannock. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar.
7. Bake until the bannock is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. When cool, cut into wedges and serve.
Make some fun!!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Fall is Here at Fun School Friday!
Fall has definitely made her early appearance here down in the Valley. If that is not the case in your little neck of the woods, feel free to adapt these ideas to whatever season has taken up residence where you live.
Art Challenge: Stained Glass Candle Holders
Materials:
Clear Votive candle cups
Tissue paper in fall colors (NOT metallic tissue)
School glue or PVC glue (Elmer's works well)
Wide tipped artist brushes
Votive or tea light candles
Directions: Tear the tissue paper into small pieces (not confetti, mind you.) Dip the brush into the glue and "paint" the tissue paper bits onto the outside of your votive cup. Cover the outside surface, overlapping the pieces of tissue paper to create interesting color effects. Allow the glue to dry. Insert candle and light it. The candlelight should create a "stained glass" effect when shining through your colored votive cup. (NOTE: NEVER EVER EVER leave your children alone with an open flame!!) You can use these in your window at night, or as a decoration for a table for dinner, or during prayer/devotional time.
Language Challenge: Read, and perhaps memorize or dramatize, some great seasonal poetry. Suggestions:
Robert Frost' s "After Apple Picking," "Gathering Leaves" or "Nothing Gold Can Stay"
John Keats's "Ode to Autumn"
Emily Dickinson's "Autumn"
Emily Brady's "Leaves"
John Updike's "September"
Nature Challenge: Get ready for autumn's natural bounty with an Autumn Watch Guide from Nature Detectives. (For those of you who don't get much Autumn, of for whom this time of year may be Spring, a quick search of the site may help you find nature activities more appropriate to your location and climate.)
Cooking Challenge: Get the whole family involved in making a big pot of your favorite chili, soup or stew. How about baking an apple pie? Or making apple butter or applesauce in the crock pot? If you haven't got any favorite fall-ish recipes, here's one of our family favorites:
Crock pot Cider
1 gallon apple cider or natural apple juice
1 quart cranberry juice
several pieces of cinnamon stick
whole cloves
Place everything in your crock pot. Cook on low until heated through. If needed, stir a little honey, maple syrup or brown sugar in your cider to sweeten it.
Musical Challenge: Listen to Vivaldi's "Autumn" from the Four Seasons. Or, if you prefer, Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag." Classics for Kids has the music plus an activity sheet and info on Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" for those of you who HAVE to make it schoolish.
Art Challenge: Stained Glass Candle Holders
Materials:
Clear Votive candle cups
Tissue paper in fall colors (NOT metallic tissue)
School glue or PVC glue (Elmer's works well)
Wide tipped artist brushes
Votive or tea light candles
Directions: Tear the tissue paper into small pieces (not confetti, mind you.) Dip the brush into the glue and "paint" the tissue paper bits onto the outside of your votive cup. Cover the outside surface, overlapping the pieces of tissue paper to create interesting color effects. Allow the glue to dry. Insert candle and light it. The candlelight should create a "stained glass" effect when shining through your colored votive cup. (NOTE: NEVER EVER EVER leave your children alone with an open flame!!) You can use these in your window at night, or as a decoration for a table for dinner, or during prayer/devotional time.
Language Challenge: Read, and perhaps memorize or dramatize, some great seasonal poetry. Suggestions:
Robert Frost' s "After Apple Picking," "Gathering Leaves" or "Nothing Gold Can Stay"
John Keats's "Ode to Autumn"
Emily Dickinson's "Autumn"
Emily Brady's "Leaves"
John Updike's "September"
Nature Challenge: Get ready for autumn's natural bounty with an Autumn Watch Guide from Nature Detectives. (For those of you who don't get much Autumn, of for whom this time of year may be Spring, a quick search of the site may help you find nature activities more appropriate to your location and climate.)
Cooking Challenge: Get the whole family involved in making a big pot of your favorite chili, soup or stew. How about baking an apple pie? Or making apple butter or applesauce in the crock pot? If you haven't got any favorite fall-ish recipes, here's one of our family favorites:
Crock pot Cider
1 gallon apple cider or natural apple juice
1 quart cranberry juice
several pieces of cinnamon stick
whole cloves
Place everything in your crock pot. Cook on low until heated through. If needed, stir a little honey, maple syrup or brown sugar in your cider to sweeten it.
Musical Challenge: Listen to Vivaldi's "Autumn" from the Four Seasons. Or, if you prefer, Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag." Classics for Kids has the music plus an activity sheet and info on Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" for those of you who HAVE to make it schoolish.
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